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John 1

John identifies Jesus as the eternal Word made flesh and traces how testimony about him leads people to follow him.

John is baptizing beyond the Jordan when priests and Levites arrive from Jerusalem to question him. He directs their attention to Jesus, whom he identifies as the Lamb of God and the Son of God. Before recounting these encounters, the Gospel’s narrator identifies Jesus as the eternal Word who became flesh. The account then follows Andrew and other early disciples as they meet Jesus, bring others to him, and begin to confess who he is.

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1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
3All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.
6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
8He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.
9The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.
11He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.
12But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”
17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
18No one has seen God at any time. The only born Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.
19This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, “I am not the Christ.”
21They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”
23He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees.
25They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
26John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know.
27He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.”
28These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, 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 preferred before me, for he was before me.’
31I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.”
32John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
33I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
34I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
35Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,
36and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they 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 found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ).
42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).
43On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
48Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
50Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!”
51He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
John 1:1The opening establishes the Word’s eternal existence, his relationship with God, and his deity before describing his entrance into human life.
John 1:14The eternal Word becomes flesh, revealing the Father’s glory through a human life full of grace and truth.
John 1:29John identifies Jesus as God’s Lamb, placing the removal of the world’s sin at the center of his testimony.
Where this chapter reaches

The opening echoes Genesis through its language of beginning, creation, and light, while Colossians shares its claim that all things were made through the Son. John’s wilderness testimony quotes Isaiah, and his identification of Jesus as the Lamb connects with Revelation’s portrayal of the Lamb slain to redeem people.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which title given to Jesus in this chapter most challenges or deepens your understanding of him?

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What do you notice about how people move from hearing testimony about Jesus to meeting him?

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Questions people ask about John 1

What does the Word mean in John 1?

The Word is Jesus Christ, identified through the chapter’s movement from the eternal Word to the Son who became flesh. He existed in the beginning, was with God, and was God. All things were made through him, and he makes the unseen Father known.

Why does John call Jesus the Lamb of God?

John explains the title by saying that Jesus takes away the sin of the world. The image points toward sacrifice and deliverance, though this chapter does not specify a single background for it. Its focus is Jesus’ God-given role in dealing with sin, extending beyond Israel.

What does John 1:51 mean?

Jesus promises a revelation greater than his knowledge of Nathanael under the fig tree. The angels ascending and descending echo Jacob’s dream in Genesis, but here their movement centers on the Son of Man. The image presents Jesus as the meeting point between heaven and earth.

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John · 21 chapters

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).