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The Gospel According to St. John

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- Chapter 1 -

(Genesis 1:1–2; Hebrews 11:1–3)
1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.(a)
2
He was with God in the beginning.
3
All things were made through Him, and nothing that was made was made without Him.
4
Life was in Him, and Life was the light of men.(b)
5
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.(c)

The Witness of John

6
There was a man sent by God, whose name was John.
7
He arrived as a witness to offer testimony about the Light, so that all would believe through him.
8
He was not the Light, but he was to offer testimony about the Light.
9
The true Light, which illuminates every man, was coming into this world.
10
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not recognize him.
11
He went to his own, and his own did not accept him.
12
Yet whoever did accept him, those who believed in his name, he gave them the power to become the sons of God.
13
These are born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word Became Flesh

(Psalm 84:1–12)
14
And the Word became flesh, and he lived among us, and we saw his glory, glory like that of an only-begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15
John offers testimony about him, and he cries out, saying: “This is the one about whom I said: ‘He who is to come after me, has been placed ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”(d)
16
And from his fullness, we all have received, even grace for grace.(e)
17
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18
No one ever saw God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he himself has described him.

The Mission of John the Baptist

(Isaiah 40:1–5; Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20)
19
And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to him, so that they might ask him, “Who are you?”
20
And he confessed it and did not deny it; and what he confessed was: “I am not the Christ.”
21
And they questioned him: “Then what are you? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22
Therefore, they said to him: “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23
He said, “I am a voice crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24
And some of those who had been sent were from among the Pharisees.
25
And they questioned him and said to him, “Then why do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the Prophet?”
26
John answered them by saying: “I baptize with water. But in your midst stands one, whom you do not know.
27
The same is he who is to come after me, who has been placed ahead of me, the laces of whose shoes I am not worthy to loosen.”
28
These things happened in Bethania, across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Jesus the Lamb of God

(Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22)
29
On the next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and so he said: “Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold, he who takes away the sin of the world.
30
This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me arrives a man, who has been placed ahead of me, because he existed before me.’
31
And I did not know him. Yet it is for this reason that I come baptizing with water: so that he may be made manifest in Israel.”
32
And John offered testimony, saying: “For I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove; and he remained upon him.
33
And I did not know him. But he who sent me to baptize with water said to me: ‘He over whom you will see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34
And I saw, and I gave testimony: that this one is the Son of God.”

The First Disciples

(Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11)
35
The next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples.
36
And catching sight of Jesus walking, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”
37
And two disciples were listening to him speaking. And they followed Jesus.
38
Then Jesus, turning around and seeing them following him, said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi (which means in translation, Teacher), where do you live?”
39
He said to them, “Come and see.” They went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about the tenth hour.
40
And Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard about him from John and had followed him.
41
First, he found his brother Simon, and he said to him, “We have found the Messiah,” (which is translated as the Christ).
42
And he led him to Jesus. And Jesus, gazing at him, said: “You are Simon, son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas,” (which is translated as Peter).(f)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43
On the next day, he wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
44
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45
Philip found Nathanael, and he said to him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
46
And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, and he said about him, “Behold, an Israelite in whom truly there is no deceit.”
48
Nathanael said to him, “From where do you know me?” Jesus responded and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
49
Nathanael answered him and said: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”(g)
50
Jesus responded and said to him: “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, you believe. Greater things than these, you will see.”
51
And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the Angels of God ascending and descending over the Son of man.”

Footnotes

(a)1:1 The words ‘Deus’ and ‘Verbum’ are both in the nominative case, so the text could be read as ‘God was the Word,’ or as ‘the Word was God.’ However, word order in Latin is not entirely irrelevant, therefore this translation prefers ‘God was the Word,’ over ‘the Word was God.’ The same translation choice is made in the original Rheims New Testament of 1582.(Conte)
(b)1:4 Deus, Verbum, Vita represents Father, Son, Spirit.(Conte)
(c)1:5 The darkness represents the fallen angels and all evil in the world, which cannot understand the light of goodness. Notice that the light shines in the present tense, which is the closest tense to the timelessness of the Eternity of God, but the darkness is spoken of using the past tense, because fallen angels are trapped in Time.(Conte)
(d)1:15 On one level of meaning, ‘ante me factus est’ means ‘ranks ahead of me.’ But there are other levels of meaning which that translation obscures. This is a frequent translation dilemma: one translation makes one level of meaning clearer, and other levels of meaning more obscure.(Conte)
(e)1:16 This verse (particularly the last phrase) has several levels of meaning, and is somewhat obscure. This translation does not try to clear up every obscurity in Scripture, nor does it try to decide between various levels of meaning. On one level, it means that we have received grace upon grace; on another level, it means that we need grace from Christ for everything we do, even our cooperation with grace is a grace. And it seems to me that there are other levels of meaning also.(Conte)
(f)1:42 I believe that John originally wrote his Gospel in Aramaic, the same language that Jesus most often used to teach, and that later John’s disciples translated it into Greek and added to it. That is why there are repeated references in the text saying ‘which is translated as.’(Conte)
(g)1:49 He was able to perceive the truth so readily because there was no deceit in him.(Conte)
(Genesis 1:1–2; Hebrews 11:1–3)
1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2
The same was in the beginning with God.
3
All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.
4
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome(a) it.

The Witness of John

6
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7
The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
8
He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.
9
The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
10
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.
11
He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.
12
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe 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.

The Word Became Flesh

(Psalm 84:1–12)
14
The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born (b) Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15
John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”
16
From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
17
For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.(c)
18
No one has seen God at any time. The only born(d) Son,(e) who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared him.

The Mission of John the Baptist

(Isaiah 40:1–5; Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20)
19
This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20
He declared, and didn’t deny, but he declared, “I am not the Christ.”
21
They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”
22
They said therefore to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23
He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’(f) as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24
The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees.
25
They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
26
John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know.
27
He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.”
28
These things were done in 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)
29
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold,(g) 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 didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.”
32
John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
33
I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
34
I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

The First Disciples

(Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11)
35
Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,
36
and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37
The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38
Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39
He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.(h)
40
One of the two who heard John 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 is, being interpreted, Christ (i)).
42
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).(j)

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43
On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus 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 and also 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 about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
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 King of Israel!”
50
Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!”
51
He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Footnotes

(a)1:5 The word translated “overcome” (κατέλαβεν) can also be translated “comprehended.” It refers to getting a grip on an enemy to defeat him.
(b)1:14 The phrase “only born” is from the Greek word “μονογενους”, which is sometimes translated “only begotten” or “one and only”.
(c)1:17 “Christ” means “Anointed One”.
(d)1:18 The phrase “only born” is from the Greek word “μονογενη”, which is sometimes translated “only begotten” or “one and only”.
(e)1:18 NU reads “God”
(f)1:23 ℘ Isaiah 40:3
(g)1:29 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
(h)1:39 p.m.
(i)1:41 “Messiah” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek) both mean “Anointed One”.
(j)1:42 “Cephas” (Aramaic) and “Peter” (Greek) both mean “Rock”.
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