John 1:9-45

⁹the true Light which illumines everyone who comes into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, the world that came into being by Him, yet the world did not know Him.

¹¹He came to His own things, yet His own people did not receive Him.

¹²But, as many as did receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe into His name:

¹³who were begotten, not by blood, nor by the desire of the flesh, nor by the will of a man, but by God.

¹⁴So the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we observed His glory, glory of an Only-begotten, from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John testified about Him and called out saying: “This is He of whom I said, ‘The One coming after me is now ahead of me, because He existed before I did.’ ”

¹⁶Now we have all received from His fullness, yes, grace upon grace.

¹⁷Because the Law was given through Moses; the Grace and the Truth came through Jesus Christ.

¹⁸No one has ever seen God. The Only-begotten Son, who exists in the bosom of the Father, He has interpreted Him.

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

²⁰He confessed, he did not deny but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹So they asked him, “What then, are you Elijah?” And he says, “I am not.” “Are you ‘the Prophet’?” “No,” he answered.

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

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

²⁴Now those who had been sent were from the Pharisees.

²⁵So they asked him saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor ‘the Prophet’?”

²⁶John answered them saying: “I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

²⁷He is the One coming after me who is now ahead of me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸These things happened in Bithabara, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

²⁹The next day John sees Jesus coming toward him and says: “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is now ahead of me, because He existed before I did.’

³¹I did not know Him; but so that He should be revealed to Israel, that is why I came baptizing with water.”

³²And John testified saying: “I observed the Spirit coming down like a dove out of heaven, and He rested upon Him.

³³Now I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting—this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

³⁴So I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

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

³⁶And seeing Jesus walking by, he says, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

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

³⁸So turning and observing them following Jesus says to them, “What do you want?” So they said to Him, “Rabbi” (which translated means ‘Teacher’), “where are You staying?”

³⁹He says to them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and stayed with Him that day—it was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

⁴¹He first finds his own brother Simon and says to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated ‘Christ’).

⁴²And he led him to Jesus. Looking at him Jesus said, “You are Simon, the son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas” (which is translated ‘Stone’).

⁴³The next day He decided to go to Galilee, so He finds Philip and says to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴(Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.)

⁴⁵Philip finds Nathanael and says to him, “We have found the One of whom Moses in the Law—and also the prophets—wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Natsareth.”