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Jesus, the Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world! 30 This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘There is a man coming after me who is greater than I am, because he was living even before I was born.’ 31 I did not know who he was. But I came baptizing people with water so that Israel could know that he is the Messiah.[a]

32-34 Then John said this for everyone to hear: “I also did not know who the Messiah was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man. He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen this happen. I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on this man. So this is what I tell people: ‘He is the Son of God.’[b]

The First Followers of Jesus

35 The next day John was there again and had two of his followers with him. 36 He saw Jesus walking by and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37 The two followers heard him say this, so they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw the two men following him. He asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)

39 He answered, “Come with me and you will see.” So the two men went with him. They saw the place where he was staying, and they stayed there with him that day. It was about four o’clock.

40 These men followed Jesus after they had heard about him from John. One of them was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to go and find his brother Simon. Andrew said to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”)

42 Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.[c]”)

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He met Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the man that Moses wrote about in the law. The prophets wrote about him too. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth.”

46 But Nathanael said to Philip, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said, “This man coming is a true Israelite, one you can trust.[d]

48 Nathanael asked, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “I saw you when you were under the fig tree, before Philip told you about me.”

49 Then Nathanael said, “Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”

50 Jesus said to him, “Do you believe this just because I said I saw you under the fig tree? You will see much greater things than that!” 51 Then he said, “Believe me when I say that you will all see heaven open. You will see ‘angels of God going up and coming down’[e] on the Son of Man.”

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:31 so that … the Messiah Literally, “so that he might be revealed as the Messiah to Israel.” See “Messiah” in the Word List.
  2. John 1:32 He is the Son of God Some very early Greek copies have “He is the chosen one of God.”
  3. John 1:42 Peter The Greek name “Peter,” like the Aramaic name “Cephas,” means “rock.”
  4. John 1:47 one you can trust Literally, “in whom is no deceit.” In the Old Testament, Israel’s other name, Jacob, is explained with words that mean “deceit” or “trickery,” for which he was well known. See Gen. 27:35, 36.
  5. John 1:51 Quote from Gen. 28:12.

John Testifies About Jesus

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

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.(D) 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water(E) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’(F) 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[a](G)

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(H)

35 The next day John(I) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(J)

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi”(K) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(L) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(M) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[b]).(N)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(O) he said to him, “Follow me.”(P)

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(Q) 45 Philip found Nathanael(R) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(S) and about whom the prophets also wrote(T)—Jesus of Nazareth,(U) the son of Joseph.”(V)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(W) Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(X) in whom there is no deceit.”(Y)

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

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(Z) you are the Son of God;(AA) you are the king of Israel.”(AB)

50 Jesus said, “You believe[c] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[d] you[e] will see ‘heaven open,(AC) and the angels of God ascending and descending(AD) on’[f] the Son of Man.”(AE)

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
  2. John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.
  3. John 1:50 Or Do you believe … ?
  4. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  5. John 1:51 The Greek is plural.
  6. John 1:51 Gen. 28:12