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The Word of Life

In the beginning was the one
    who is called the Word.
The Word was with God
    and was truly God.
From the very beginning
    the Word was with God.

And with this Word,
    God created all things.
Nothing was made
    without the Word.
Everything that was created
    received its life from him,
and his life gave light
    to everyone.
The light keeps shining
    in the dark,
and darkness has never
    put it out.[a]
(A) God sent a man named John,
who came to tell
    about the light
and to lead all people
    to have faith.
John wasn't this light.
He came only to tell
    about the light.

The true light that shines
on everyone
    was coming into the world.
10 The Word was in the world,
    but no one knew him,
though God had made the world
    with his Word.
11 He came into his own world,
but his own nation
    did not welcome him.
12 Yet some people accepted him
    and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right
    to be the children of God.
13 They were not God's children
by nature or because
    of any human desires.
God himself was the one
    who made them his children.

14 The Word became
a human being
    and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
    of the Father.
From him the complete gifts
of undeserved grace and truth
    have come down to us.

15 John spoke about him and shouted, “This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”

16 Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.[b] 17 The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.

John the Baptist Tells about Jesus

(Matthew 3.1-12; Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.15-17)

19-20 The religious authorities in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 (B) Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, “No, I am not!” And when they asked if he were the Prophet,[c] he also said “No!”

22 Finally, they said, “Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!”

23 (C) John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord!’ ”

24 Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. 25 They asked him, “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”

26 John told them, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don't know. 27 Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” 28 John said this as he was baptizing east of the Jordan River in Bethany.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. 1.5 put it out: Or “understood it.”
  2. 1.16 one blessing after another: Or “one blessing in place of another.”
  3. 1.21 the Prophet: Many of the Jewish people expected God to send them a prophet who would be like Moses, but with even greater power (see Deuteronomy 18.15,18).
  4. 1.28 Bethany: An unknown village east of the Jordan with the same name as the village near Jerusalem.

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