The Word Became Flesh
In the very beginning, before anything else existed, there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God himself. He existed with God from the very beginning of everything. All things came into being through him—absolutely everything that exists was made through him, and nothing that exists was made without him. Life itself was in him, and this life was the light that shines for all people. This light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to put it out or defeat it. God sent a man named John. John came to tell people about this light, so that everyone might believe through his testimony. John himself was not the light—he came only to point people toward the light. The true light that gives light to every person was coming into the world. He was already in the world, and even though the world itself was made through him, the world did not recognize who he was. He came to his own people, but his own people did not welcome him or accept him. However, to everyone who did receive him and believe in his name, he gave the amazing privilege of becoming God's own children. These are children who were not born through human bloodlines or human desire or human planning, but who were born from God himself. The Word became a human being and lived among us as one of us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the one and only Son who came from the Father, completely filled with grace and truth. John spoke about him, calling out to people: "This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'The man who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before I was even born.'" From his complete fullness, we have all received one blessing after another, grace piled upon grace. The law came to us through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No human being has ever seen God, but God's one and only Son, who is himself God and who lives in the closest relationship with the Father, has shown us exactly what God is like.
John the Baptist's Testimony About Himself
The Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem were curious about John, so they sent priests and Levites to question him. They came to him and asked directly, "Who are you?" John didn't try to hide anything or avoid their question. Instead, he spoke clearly and honestly: "I am not the Messiah." This wasn't the answer they expected, so they pressed him further. "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" they asked. "No, I am not," John replied. "Are you the Prophet we've been waiting for?" they continued. "No," he answered again. By now the religious leaders were getting frustrated. They needed to bring back some kind of answer to the people who had sent them. "Look," they said, "you have to tell us something. Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us here. What do you say about yourself?" John answered by quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah: "I am the voice of someone calling out in the wilderness, saying, 'Make the road straight for the Lord to come.'" Among those who had been sent to question John were some Pharisees. They weren't satisfied with his answer, so they challenged him further: "If you're not the Messiah, and you're not Elijah, and you're not the Prophet, then why are you baptizing people? What gives you the right?" John answered them, "I baptize with water, but there is someone standing among you right now that you don't recognize. He is the one who is coming after me, and I'm not even worthy to kneel down and untie his sandals." All of this took place at Bethany on the far side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people.
John the Baptist's Testimony About Jesus
The next day, John saw Jesus walking toward him. When he saw Jesus coming, John called out, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the man I was talking about when I said, 'Someone is coming after me who is greater than I am, because he existed before I was even born.' I didn't know who he was at first, but the whole reason I came here baptizing people with water was so that he could be revealed to the people of Israel." Then John shared what he had witnessed: "I saw the Spirit of God coming down from heaven like a dove, and it settled on him and stayed there. I had not known who he was, but the One who sent me to baptize with water had told me, 'When you see the Spirit come down and rest on someone, that person is the one who will baptize people with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen this happen, and I testify to you that this man is the Son of God."
The First Disciples
The next day, John was standing there again with two of his followers. When he saw Jesus walking past, he pointed and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" When his two followers heard John say this, they left him and began following Jesus instead. Jesus turned around and noticed them walking behind him. "What are you looking for?" he asked them. They answered, "Rabbi"—which means Teacher—"where are you staying?" Jesus replied, "Come and you will see." So they went with him and saw the place where he was living, and they remained with him for the rest of that day. This happened around four o'clock in the afternoon. One of the two men who had heard John speak and then followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew immediately went to find his brother Simon and told him excitedly, "We have found the Messiah!"—which means the Christ, the promised one. Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he looked straight at him and said, "You are Simon, the son of John. But you will be called Cephas"—which means Peter, the rock.
The Calling of Philip and Nathanael
The next day, Jesus made up his mind to travel to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town where Andrew and Peter lived. Philip went and found Nathanael. He told him excitedly, "We have found the person Moses wrote about in the Law and the prophets spoke about—Jesus from Nazareth, Joseph's son." Nathanael responded with doubt: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip simply said, "Come and see for yourself." When Jesus saw Nathanael walking toward him, he said about him, "Look, here comes a genuine Israelite—a man with no dishonesty in him." Nathanael was puzzled. "How do you know anything about me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you sitting under the fig tree before Philip ever called you." This stunned Nathanael completely. "Teacher," he declared, "you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus replied, "Do you believe simply because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You're going to see much greater things than this." Then Jesus made a solemn promise: "I tell you the absolute truth—you will see heaven opened up, and God's angels going up and coming down upon the Son of Man."