The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. ⁵ The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ This man came as a witness in order to testify concerning the Light, that all men through Him might believe. ⁸ He was not this Light, but was sent in order to testify concerning the Light.

⁹ The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. ¹² Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, ¹³ who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ John bore witness of Him and cried out, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” ¹⁶ We have all received from His fullness grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist^(A)

¹⁹ Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ They asked him, “Who then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²² They said to him then, “Who are you? Tell us so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say concerning yourself?”

²³ John said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’^[a] just as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why do you baptize then, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize with water, but One stands among you, whom you do not know. ²⁷ This is He who comes after me, who is preferred before me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹ I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and have borne witness that He is the Son of God.”

The First Disciples

³⁵ Again, the next day John was standing with two of his disciples. ³⁶ Looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

³⁷ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Then Jesus turned, saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?”

And they said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹ Jesus said to them, “Come and see.”

So they came and saw where He stayed and remained with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means the Christ). ⁴² Then he brought him to Jesus.

When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

The Calling of Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip, and said to him, “Follow Me.”

⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, as well as the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him and said concerning him, “Here is an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.”

⁴⁸ Nathanael 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.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰ Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

The Preaching of John the Baptist^(A)

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ² As it is written in the Prophets:

⁴ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. ⁵ The whole region of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist. And he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He preached saying, “After me is coming One mightier than I, the straps of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I indeed have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus^(B)

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Coming up out of the water, He immediately saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus^(C)

¹² The Spirit immediately drove Him into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the angels ministered to Him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry^(D)

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”

The Calling of the First Disciples^(E)

¹⁶ As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, throwing a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹ When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed Him.

The Man With an Unclean Spirit^(F)

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ In their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit. ²⁴ And he cried out, “Leave us alone! What do You have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God.”

²⁵ Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” ²⁶ When the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, it came out of him.

²⁷ They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, “What is this? What new teaching is this? With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ Immediately His fame spread everywhere throughout the region surrounding Galilee.

The Healing of Many People^(G)

²⁹ When He came out of the synagogue with James and John, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰ The mother of Simon’s wife lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. ³¹ So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

³² In the evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were possessed with demons. ³³ The whole city was gathered at the door, ³⁴ and He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. And He did not let the demons speak, because they knew Him.

A Preaching Tour^(H)

³⁵ In the morning, rising up a great while before sunrise, He went out and departed to a solitary place. And there He prayed. ³⁶ Simon and those who were with Him followed Him, ³⁷ and when they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is searching for You.”

³⁸ He said to them, “Let us go into the nearby towns, that I may preach there also. For that is why I have come.” ³⁹ So He preached in their synagogues throughout Galilee and cast out demons.

The Cleansing of a Leper^(I)

⁴⁰ A leper came to Him, pleading with Him and kneeling before Him, saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus, moved with compassion, extended His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will. Be clean.” ⁴² As soon as He had spoken, the leprosy immediately departed from him, and he was cleansed.

⁴³ He sternly warned him, and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ saying, “See that you say nothing to anyone. But go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news around, so that Jesus could no more openly enter the city, but was out in remote places. And they came to Him from every quarter.

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a man is born again,^[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can this be?”

¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, but you do not know these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly I say to you, We speak of what We know and bear witness of what We have seen, but you do not receive Our testimony. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended to heaven except He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but may have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ This is the verdict, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that it may be revealed that his deeds have been done in God.”

Jesus and John the Baptist

²² After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea. He remained with them there and baptized. ²³ John also was baptizing in Aenon toward Salim, because much water was there. And people came and were baptized. ²⁴ For John had not yet been put in prison. ²⁵ Then a dispute arose between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about ceremonial cleansing. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, look, He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

²⁷ John answered, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear witness of me, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but ‘I have been sent before Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He Who Comes From Heaven

³¹ He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He bears witness of what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony. ³³ He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. ³⁴ For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without measure to Him. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has placed all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who believes in the Son has eternal life. He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

4 Now when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John ² (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), ³ He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.

⁴ Now it was necessary that He go through Samaria. ⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, therefore, being exhausted from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷ A woman of Samaria came there to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water that I shall give him will become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

¹⁷ The woman answered, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. So you have spoken truthfully.”

¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you all say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ Yet the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeks such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.”

²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

²⁷ Then His disciples came. They marveled that He talked with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

²⁸ The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ²⁹ “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰ They went out of the city and came to Him.

³¹ Meanwhile His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

³³ Therefore the disciples said one to another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen! I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest. ³⁶ He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit that leads to eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this is the saying true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap a crop for which you did not labor. And you have benefited from their labor.”

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to remain with them. And He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of His word.

⁴² They said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this Man is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

The Healing of the Nobleman’s Son^(A)

⁴³ After the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. ⁴⁴ For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵ Then, when He came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him, having seen all the things He did at Jerusalem at the feast. For they had also gone to the feast.

⁴⁶ So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick in Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him, pleading that He would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

⁴⁹ The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.”

And the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ⁵¹ While he was going down, his servants met him and told him, “Your son lives!” ⁵² When he inquired of them the hour when he began to heal, they answered, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”

⁵³ Then the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” So he and his whole household believed.

⁵⁴ This was the second sign that Jesus did when He had come from Judea to Galilee.