John 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2He was with God in the beginning.

3Everything came to be through him, and apart from him not one thing came to be that has come to be.

4Life was in him, and this life was the light of humankind.

5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overpower it.

6A man came, sent from God; his name was John.

7He came to bear testimony—to testify about the light—so that through him everyone might believe.

8He was not the light himself; he came so that he could testify about the light.

9The true light that shines on every person was coming into the world.

10He was in the world, and though the world came into being through him, the world did not recognize him.

11He came to what belonged to him, but his own people did not receive him.

12But to all who received him he gave the authority to become God’s children—to those who believe in his name,

13who were born not from blood, nor from the desire of the flesh, nor from a man’s decision, but from God.

14The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. We looked on his glory, glory like that of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15John testifies about him and cries out, “This was the one I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”

16For all of us have received from his fullness, grace following grace.

17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

18No one has ever seen God. The one and only, who is God and is in the Father’s embrace, has made him known.

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

20He spoke openly and did not deny it; he stated plainly, “I am not the Messiah.”

21So they asked him, “Then what are you? Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

22So they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we have an answer to give those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23He said, “I am the voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

24They had been sent from the Pharisees.

25They asked him, “If you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, then why do you baptize?”

26John answered them, “I baptize with water. There is one standing in your midst whom you do not know,

27the one coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.”

28These events happened in Bethany on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29The next day John saw Jesus approaching him and said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world!

30He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’

31I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason: so that he would be made known to Israel.”

32Then John testified, “I have seen the Spirit coming down out of heaven like a dove and remaining on him.

33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘When you see the Spirit coming down and remaining on someone, that is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

34I have seen it myself, and I have testified that this is the Son of God.”

35Again, on the next day, John was standing there with two of his disciples.

36He looked at Jesus as he walked past and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37The two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus.

38Jesus turned, noticed them following, and asked them, “What are you looking for?” They replied, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying?”

39“Come,” he told them, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40One of the two who had heard John and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.

41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).

42He led him to Jesus. Looking intently at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which translated means Peter).

43The next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

44Philip came from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “The one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets as well—we have found him: Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

46Nathanael replied, “Can something good come from Nazareth?” Philip told him, “Come and see.”

47As Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said about him, “Look, a genuine Israelite, with no deceit in him!”

48“How is it that you know me?” Nathanael asked him. Jesus replied, “I saw you while you were under the fig tree, before Philip called you.”

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

50Jesus replied, “Because I told you I saw you beneath the fig tree, you believe? You will see things greater than these.”

51And he said to him, “Truly, truly I tell you, you will see heaven standing open and the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”