John

In 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 came into being through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be,

through him was life;

And this life was the light of all people,

light that shines in darkness,

light that darkness could not overcome.

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

He came to bear witness, as a witness to introduce the light, so that all might believe through him.

He was not the light,

but a witness to introduce the light;

for the light was coming into the world,

the true light that enlightens everyone.

He was in the world

and through him, the world was made,

but the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own,

yet his own people did not accept him.

But to all who received him,

he empowers to become children of God,

for they believe in his name.

These are born, but not of blood

or the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man,

but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us;

and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth.

John bore witness to him openly saying, “This is the one who comes after me, but he is already ahead of me, for he was before me.”

From his fullness we have all received,

grace upon grace.

For God had given us the law through Moses,

but grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God,

The only Son, God,

who is at the Father’s side,

has made him know.

This was John’s testimony when the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him:

“Who are you?”

John acknowledged the truth and refused to deny it. He stated:

“I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him:

“Then who are you? Elijah?”

He answered:

“I am not.”

They said:

“Are you the Prophet?”

And he answered:

“No.”

So they said to him:

“Tell us who you are so that we can give some answer to those who sent us. How do you see yourself?”

John said, quoting the prophet Isaiah:

“I am the voice of one

crying out in the wilderness:

Make straight the way of the LORD!”

Those who were sent were Pharisees;

and they asked John another question: “Then why are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet?”

John answered:

“I baptize you with water, but among you stands one you do not recognize;

although he comes after me, I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.”

This took place in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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

“There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! :

It is he whom I said: A man who comes after me is already ahead of me because he was before me.

I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing to prepare the way for him, so that he might be revealed in Israel.

John also gave this testimony:

“I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven and rest on him.

I didn’t know him myself, but God, who sent me to baptize, told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest on the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

Yes, I have seen it! And I declare that this is the Chosen One of God!”

The next day, John was once again standing there with two of his disciples.

As Jesus passed by, John looked at him and said:

“There is the Lamb of God.”

Hearing this, the two disciples started to follow Jesus.

He turned and saw them following him, then asked:

“What are you looking for?”

They replied:

“Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying?”

Jesus said:

“Come and see.”

So they went to see where he stayed and spent the rest of that day with him. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard what John said and followed Jesus.

Early the next morning, he found his brother Simon and told him:

“We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed),

and he brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said:

“You are Simon, son of John, but you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

The following day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him:

“Follow me.”

Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him:

“We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and the prophets: he is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Nathanael asked:

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip responded:

“Come and see.”

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him:

“Here comes an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.”

Nathanael asked him:

“How do you know me?”

Jesus answered:

“Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.”

Nathanael responded:

“Master, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!”

Jesus answered:

“You believe because I said, ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ But you will see greater things than that.”

And he said to him:

“Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”