John

¹In the beginning was the Word,¹⁰⁰⁴ and the Word was with God, and the Word was {what} God¹⁰⁰⁵ {was}. ²This one was in the beginning with God. ³All things came into being through him, and without him, nothing came into being that has come into being.^{1006 4}In him was life, life that was the light of mankind. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome¹⁰⁰⁷ it. ⁶There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷John came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He was not the light, but [he was sent] to bear witness to the light. ⁹The true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world had come into existence through him, and the world did not recognize¹⁰⁰⁸ him. ¹¹He came to his own [people], and those who were his own did not receive¹⁰⁰⁹ him. ¹²But as many as received him, to them he gave the ability¹⁰¹⁰ to become God’s children, to those who believe in his Name. ¹³They¹⁰¹¹ were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling¹⁰¹² among us. We beheld his glory, glory as a Father’s uniquely-begotten¹⁰¹³ son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵John testified about him; he cried out, saying, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’” ¹⁶And from his fullness,¹⁰¹⁴ we have all received grace upon grace.^{1015 17}For the law was given through Moses, [but] grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has seen God at any time. The uniquely-begotten¹⁰¹⁶ son¹⁰¹⁷ who is in the bosom of the Father,¹⁰¹⁸ he has explained him.

John bears witness—The Lamb of God

¹⁹This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

²⁰He admitted and did not deny [it], [plainly] admitting, “I am not the Christ!”

²¹They asked him, “What then? Are you Elias (Elijah)?”

He said, “I am not!”

“Are you the prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²²Therefore, they asked him, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³John said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,¹⁰¹⁹ ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’¹⁰²⁰ as Isaias (Isaiah) the prophet said.”

²⁴Those who had been sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵They asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?”

²⁶John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you do not know.^{1021 27}He is the one who comes after me, who is ranked before me,¹⁰²² whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹The next day, John¹⁰²³ saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is the one of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is ranked before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹I did not know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: so that he would be revealed to Israel.” ³²John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven and remain on him. ³³I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘Upon whom you will see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴Moreover, I myself have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”¹⁰²⁴

³⁵Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶He looked at Jesus as he was walking by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷The two disciples heard him speak, and they began to follow Jesus. ³⁸Turning and seeing them following, Jesus asked them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

First disciples

³⁹Jesus¹⁰²⁵ said to them, “Come and see!”

They came therefore and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. (It was about the tenth hour).^{1026 40}One of the two who heard John and who began to follow Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!”¹⁰²⁷ (which translated means Christ).^{1028 42}And Andrew¹⁰²⁹ brought him to Jesus who looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah.¹⁰³⁰ You shall be called Kephas” (which translated means Peter). ⁴³On the next day, being determined to go out into Galilee, Jesus¹⁰³¹ met Philip and said to him, “Follow me!” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph!”

⁴⁶Nathanael asked him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip replied, “Come and see!”

⁴⁷As Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

⁴⁸Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” ⁵¹He said to Philip, “Amen, amen, I tell you; hereafter, you¹⁰³² will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon¹⁰³³ the Son of Man.”

The wedding at Cana—First sign: the water changed into wine

1004. The Greek word Logos (lo,goj) is traditionally translated as “Word.” French translations sometimes use “Verb” which has a dynamic quality. The English “Message” or “Expression of the Mind” may also be appropriate attempts to convey the nuance of the Greek concept. The Jewish-Alexandrian theologian and philosopher Philo wrote extensively about the Logos in ways that are reminiscent of NT theology. For instance, his teaching that “For the Logos of the living God being the bond of every thing, as has been said before, holds all things together, and binds all the parts, and prevents them from being loosened or separated” echoes Colossians 1:17.
1005. VEn avrch/| h=n o` lo,goj( kai. o` lo,goj h=n pro.j to.n qeo,n( kai. qeo.j h=n o` lo,gojÅ This second theos could also be translated ‘divine’ as the construction indicates a qualitative sense for theos. The Word is not God in the sense that he is the same person as the theos mentioned in 1:1a; he is not God the Father (God absolutely as in common NT usage) or the Trinity. The point being made is that the Logos is of the same uncreated nature or essence as God the Father, with whom he eternally exists. This verse is echoed in the Nicene Creed: “God (qualitative or derivative) from God (personal, the Father), Light from Light, True God from True God… homoousion with the Father.”
1006. Compare Wisdom 9:1
1007. The word translated “overcome” (katelaben) can also be translated “comprehended.” It may refer to getting a grip on an enemy to defeat him. “Extinguish” is another possible translation.
1008. Or “know”
1009. The Greek also conveys the idea of “choosing/taking hold of/taking advantage of”
1010. Greek evxousi,an—or “right/privilege”
1011. A few manuscripts and ancient writers read “he” instead of “they” in reference to the incarnate Logos.
1012. Or “pitched his tent,” a strong allusion to the journey motif discussed in the Introduction
1013. Or “uniquely loved on account of [his] origin,” and “only begotten.” Also translated “one and only,” or “unique.” See Appendix C for a more complete discussion.
1014. Compare Colossians 1:19; 2:9-10
1015. Or “grace in the place of the grace given in the past”
1016. See note for 1:14
1017. CT reads “God” and many ancient writers (Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa) know of this reading. 1:18 is sometimes translated “the only-begotten God who is…” or “the unique God.” See Appendix C for a discussion of 1:1 and 1:18
1018. Or “intimate with the Father,” “close to the Father’s heart”
1019. NT agrees with LXX against MT.
1020. Isaias 40:3
1021. Or “recognize”
1022. CT omits “who is ranked before me”
1023. Greek “he”
1024. A few manuscripts read “the chosen son of God/the chosen one of God”
1025. Greek “he”
1026. 4:00 pm
1027. Greek Messi,an not Cristo,j
1028. “Messiah” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek) both mean “Anointed One.”
1029. Greek “he”
1030. CT reads “John” instead of “Jonah”
1031. Greek “he”
1032. This “you” is plural
1033. Greek “upon, on, toward”—this may be an allusion to a Jewish understanding of Jacob’s vision of angels. Jesus is often presented as the new Jacob-Israel, as in Matthew’s (2:15) application of Hosea 11:1 MT.