The Word of Life

1In the beginning was the one

who is called the Word.

The Word was with God

and was truly God.

2From the very beginning

the Word was with God.

3And with this Word,

God created all things.

Nothing was made

without the Word.

Everything that was created

4received its life from him,

and his life gave light

to everyone.

5The light keeps shining

in the dark,

and darkness has never

put it out.+

6 God sent a man named John,

7who came to tell

about the light

and to lead all people

to have faith.

8John wasn't this light.

He came only to tell

about the light.

9The true light that shines

on everyone

was coming into the world.

10The Word was in the world,

but no one knew him,

though God had made the world

with his Word.

11He came into his own world,

but his own nation

did not welcome him.

12Yet some people accepted him

and put their faith in him.

So he gave them the right

to be the children of God.

13They were not God's children

by nature or because

of any human desires.

God himself was the one

who made them his children.

14The Word became

a human being

and lived here with us.

We saw his true glory,

the glory of the only Son

of the Father.

From him the complete gifts

of undeserved grace and truth

have come down to us.

15John spoke about him and shouted, “This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”

16Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.+ 17The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. 18No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.

John the Baptist Tells about Jesus

(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.15-17)

19-20The religious authorities in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, “No, I am not!” And when they asked if he were the Prophet,+ he also said “No!”

22Finally, they said, “Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!”

23 John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord!’ ”

24Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. 25They asked him, “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”

26John told them, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don't know. 27Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” 28John said this as he was baptizing east of the Jordan River in Bethany.+

The Lamb of God

29The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said:

Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come, who is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.” 31I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.

32I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. 33Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” 34I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.

The First Disciples of Jesus

35The next day, John was there again, and two of his followers were with him. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” 37John's two followers heard him, and they went with Jesus.

38When Jesus turned and saw them, he asked, “What do you want?”

They answered, “Rabbi, where do you live?” The Hebrew word “Rabbi” means “Teacher.”

39Jesus replied, “Come and see!” It was already about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him and saw where he lived. So they stayed on for the rest of the day.

40One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”

42Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, “Simon son of John, you will be called Cephas.” This name can be translated as “Peter.”+

Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

43-44The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Follow me.”

45Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets+ wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

46Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn't deceitful.”+

48“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

50Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51 I tell you for certain you will see heaven open and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”+