The Eternal Word Created All
John 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through ʜɪᴍ. Without ʜɪᴍ, nothing was made that has been made. In ʜɪᴍ was life, and that life was the light of humans. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overtaken it.
The Witness John
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a testifier to testify about the light, so that through him all might believe. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light that shines on all humans was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own, but his own didn’t receive him. Yet to all who received him and believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children not born from blood or the will of the flesh of the will of a man, but from God.
The Word Became Flesh
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only begotten+1:14 The Greek word “μονογενους” can be translated “only begotten”, “one and only” or “unique.” of the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about him, crying out, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, because he existed before me.’” For from his fullness we all have received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made ʜɪᴍ known.
John Testifies about the Christ
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
He confessed, and didn’t deny, but he confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally, they said to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Y’all make straight the way of the Lord [YHWH],’+Isa 40:3 as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Now those who had been sent were from the Pharisees. So they asked him, “Then why do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among y’all stands one whom y’all don’t know. He is the one who comes after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Father and Spirit Recognize the Son
The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after has surpassed me, because he existed before me.’ I didn’t know him, but the reason I came baptizing in water was so that he would be revealed to Israel.” Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Jesus’s First Disciples
The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples again, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by, and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are y’all looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Y’all come and see.”
They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.+1:39 4:00 p.m. One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. Right away, he found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated means Christ+1:41 “Christ” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek) both mean “Anointed One”.). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).+1:42 “Cephas” (Aramaic) and “Peter” (Greek) both mean “Rock”.
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee. He found Philip, and Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and the prophets also wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael replied, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, and said about him, “Look, a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!”
Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?”
Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
Jesus responded, saying, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” Then he added, “Very truly, I tell y’all, y’all will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Humanity.”