3aAll things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4aIn Him was life, and bthe life was the light of men.
5 And athe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not1 comprehend it.
John’s Witness: The True Light
6 There was a aman sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came for a awitness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might bbelieve.
8 He was not that Light, but wassent to bear witness of that aLight.
9aThat1 was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and athe world did not know Him.
11aHe came to His1 own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But aas many as received Him, to them He gave the1 right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13awho were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Becomes Flesh
14aAnd the Word bbecame cflesh and dwelt among us, and dwe beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, efull of grace and truth.
15aJohn bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, b‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, cfor He was before me.’ ”
16 And of His afullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For athe law was given through Moses, butbgrace and ctruth came through Jesus Christ.
18aNo one has seen God at any time. bThe only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
A Voice in the Wilderness
19 Now this is athe testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20aHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you athe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: a“I am b‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, a“I baptize with water, bbut there stands One among you whom you do not know.
27aIt is He who, coming after me,1 is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done ain Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! aThe Lamb of God bwho takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who1 is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, atherefore I came baptizing with water.”
32aAnd John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.
33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, athis is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34 And I have seen and testified that this is the aSon of God.”
The First Disciples
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.
36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, a“Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they afollowed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was aAndrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the1 Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of1Jonah.aYou shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
Philip and Nathanael
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found aPhilip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
44 Now aPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found aNathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom bMoses in the law, and also the cprophets, wrote—Jesus dof Nazareth, the eson of Joseph.”
John 1:1-3 The Beginning of Christ's Ministry SUMMARY OF JOHN 1: The Word Made Flesh. The Witness of John. John's Disciples Pointed to Christ. The Lord Calls His First Disciples. An Israelite Indeed. In the beginning was the Word, etc. The first fourteen verses are introductory. In order to set at rest all controversy the Divine nature of Jesus, John glances, in the first three verses, back to the "beginning", recorded in Genesis, and affirms: (1) That he who was afterwards manifest as the Christ existed before creation began; (2) that he was present with God; (3) that he was divine; (4) that he was the Word; (5) that by or through him were all things made that were made (John 1:3). The first chapter of Genesis helps us to understand its meaning. God said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), "Let there be a firmament" (Genesis 1:6), "Let the earth bring forth" (Genesis 1:11), etc., and it was done. God exhibits his creative power through the Word, and manifests his will through the Word. There are mysteries belonging to the divine nature and to the relation between the Son and the Father that we have to wait for eternity to solve. They are too deep for human solution, but this is clear: that God creates and speaks to man through the Word. As we clothe "our" thoughts in words, so God reveals his will by the Word, and when the Word is clothed in flesh, as the Teacher of men, we recognize it as Jesus Christ.
Other People's Commentary (NT) entries containing John 1:1:
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