John 1

The Beginning// Genesis 1:1–2; Hebrews 11:1–3

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

• JN 1:1[FULFILLS]Foreordained from everlasting ← PROV 8:23MEDIUM
• JN 1:1[NOTE]THE WORD. See Is Jesus God?

The Witness of John

⁶There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. ⁸He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

⁹The true Light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹²But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

• JN 1:11[FULFILLS]A stranger to His own brethren ← PS 69:8
• JN 1:11[FULFILLS]Despised by the nation of Israel ← IS 49:7

The Word Became Flesh// Psalm 84:1–12

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• JN 1:14[FULFILLS]God would dwell among His people in the tabernacle and 5 more ← EX 25:8; NUM 23:21; IS 9:6; IS 40:5; IS 40:9; EZK 37:27

¹⁵John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”

¹⁶From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

• JN 1:17[FULFILLS]Words of grace would flow from His lips ← PS 45:2MEDIUM
• JN 1:18[TEXT]The oldest copies of John, like Papyrus 66 and Papyrus 75, say the only begotten God. Many later manuscripts and the KJV say the only begotten Son. This Bible follows the oldest copies: the one and only Son, who is Himself God. Either way John is saying Jesus is God and shows us the Father.

The Mission of John the Baptist// Isaiah 40:1–5; Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20

¹⁹And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

• JN 1:23[FULFILLS]His coming preceded by a forerunner (John the Baptist) ← IS 40:3-4

²⁴Then the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. ²⁷He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Jesus the Lamb of God// Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”

• JN 1:29[FULFILLS]God Himself would provide the Lamb for sacrifice and 3 more ← GEN 22:8; GEN 22:13-14; LEV 16:21-22; IS 53:7c
• JN 1:29[PROPHECY]Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world → JN 19:14; JN 19:36; 1PE 1:19; 1JN 3:5MEDIUM

³²Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. ³³I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

• JN 1:32[MIRACLE]John testifies he saw the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus
• JN 1:33[PROPHECY]The One coming after John would baptize with the Holy Spirit → ACTS 1:5; ACTS 2:1-4; ACTS 11:16

The First Disciples// Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11

³⁵The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

³⁸Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked.

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

³⁹“Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).

• JN 1:41[FULFILLS]He would be the Anointed One ← PS 2:2

⁴²Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).

• JN 1:42[PROPHECY]You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (a stone) → Fulfilled progressively as Peter becomes the foundational apostleMEDIUM

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.

⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

• JN 1:46[ARCHAEOLOGY]Nazareth excavations
• JN 1:46[FIELD NOTES]Digs show Nazareth was a tiny farm village in Jesus' day, which fits Nathanael's question. See the Nazareth in the Time of Jesus Field Notes page in Luke.

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

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

⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

• JN 1:50[PROPHECY]You will see greater things than these... You will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man (to Nathanael) → Fulfilled throughout Jesus's ministry in signs and miraclesMEDIUM
• JN 1:51[FULFILLS]Jacob's ladder prefigures Christ as the bridge between heaven and earth ← GEN 28:12