The Word Became Flesh

1 ^aIn the beginning was ^bthe Word, and ^cthe Word was with God, and ^dthe Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 ^eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 ^fIn him was life,¹ and ^gthe life was the light of men. 5 ^hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man ⁱsent from God, whose name was ^jJohn. 7 He came as a ^kwitness, to bear witness about the light, ^lthat all might believe through him. 8 ^mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 ⁿThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet ^othe world did not know him. 11 He came to ^phis own,² and ^qhis own people^{3 r}did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, ^swho believed in his name, ^the gave the right ^uto become ^vchildren of God, 13 who ^wwere born, ^xnot of blood ^ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And ^zthe Word ^abecame flesh and ^bdwelt among us, ^cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son⁴ from the Father, full of ^dgrace and ^etruth. 15 (^fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ^g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from ^hhis fullness we have all received, ⁱgrace upon grace.⁵ 17 For ^jthe law was given through Moses; ^kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 ^lNo one has ever seen God; ^mthe only God,⁶ who is at the Father’s side,^{7 n}he has made him known.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the ^otestimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ^p“Who are you?” 20 ^qHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? ^rAre you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you ^sthe Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am ^tthe voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight⁸ the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, ^u“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, ^v“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even ^whe who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Behold, the Lamb of God

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, ^xthe Lamb of God, who ^ytakes away the sin ^zof the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ^a‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but ^bfor this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John ^cbore witness: ^d“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and ^eit remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but ^fhe who sent me to baptize ^gwith water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, ^hthis is he who baptizes ^gwith the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son⁹ of God.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ⁱthe Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ^j“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, ^k“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.¹⁰ 40 ^lOne of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus¹¹ was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found ^mthe Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of ⁿJohn. You shall be called ^oCephas” (which means ^pPeter¹²).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 ^qThe next day Jesus decided ^rto go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now ^sPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found ^tNathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom ^uMoses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus ^vof Nazareth, ^wthe son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, ^x“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, ^yan Israelite indeed, ^zin whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How ^ado you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, ^b“Rabbi, ^cyou are the Son of God! You are the ^dKing of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,¹³ you will see ^eheaven opened, and ^fthe angels of God ascending and descending on ^gthe Son of Man.”

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

1 ^d“Let not your hearts be troubled. ^eBelieve in God;¹ believe also in me. 2 In ^fmy Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that ^gI go to prepare a place for you?² 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you ^hto myself, that ⁱwhere I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”³ 5 ^jThomas said to him, “Lord, ^kwe do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am ^lthe way, and ^mthe truth, and ⁿthe life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 ^oIf you had known me, you would have ^pknown my Father also.⁴ From now on you do know him and ^qhave seen him.”

8 ^rPhilip said to him, “Lord, ^sshow us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? ^tWhoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that ^uI am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you ^vI do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that ^uI am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else ^wbelieve on account of the works themselves.

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^xwhoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I ^yam going to the Father. 13 ^zWhatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that ^athe Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 ^zIf you ask me⁵ anything in my name, I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 ^b“If you love me, you will ^ckeep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another ^dHelper,⁶ to be with you forever, 17 even ^ethe Spirit of truth, ^fwhom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and ^gwill be⁷ in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; ^hI will come to you. 19 ⁱYet a little while and the world will see me no more, but ^jyou will see me. ^kBecause I live, you also will live. 20 ^lIn that day you will know that ^mI am in my Father, and ⁿyou in me, and ^oI in you. 21 ^pWhoever has my commandments and ^qkeeps them, he it is who loves me. And ^rhe who loves me ^swill be loved by my Father, and I will love him and ^tmanifest myself to him.” 22 ^uJudas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it ^vthat you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, ^w“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and ^xwe will come to him and ^ymake our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And ^zthe word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the ^aHelper, the Holy Spirit, ^bwhom the Father will send in my name, ^che will teach you all things and ^dbring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 ^ePeace I leave with you; ^fmy peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. ^gLet not your hearts be troubled, neither ^hlet them be afraid. 28 ⁱYou heard me say to you, ^j‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I ^kam going to the Father, for ^lthe Father is greater than I. 29 And ^mnow I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for ⁿthe ruler of this world is coming. ^oHe has no claim on me, 31 but I do ^pas the Father has commanded me, ^qso that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

The Resurrection

1 ^mNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and ⁿthe other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for ^oan angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 ^pHis appearance was like lightning, and ^qhis clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and ^rbecame like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, ^sas he said. Come, see the place where he¹ lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, ^the is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb ^uwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus ^vmet them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^wtook hold of his feet and ^xworshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ^ygo and tell ^zmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

11 While they were going, behold, some of ^athe guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ^b‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to ^cthe governor’s ears, we will ^dsatisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews ^eto this day.

The Great Commission

16 Now the eleven disciples ^fwent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they ^gworshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ^h“All authority ⁱin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 ^jGo therefore and ^kmake disciples of ^lall nations, ^jbaptizing them ^min^{2 n}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them ^oto observe all that ^pI have commanded you. And behold, ^qI am with you always, to ^rthe end of the age.”

Ministers of the New Covenant

1 ^qAre we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ^ras some do, ^sletters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 ^tYou yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our¹ hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ^uthe living God, not on ^vtablets of stone but on ^wtablets of ^xhuman hearts.²

4 ^ySuch is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 ^zNot that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but ^aour sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ^bministers of ^ca new covenant, not of ^dthe letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ^ethe Spirit gives life.

7 Now if ^fthe ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory ^gthat the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in ^hthe ministry of condemnation, ⁱthe ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

12 Since we have such a hope, ^jwe are very bold, 13 not like Moses, ^kwho would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But ^ltheir minds were ^mhardened. For to this day, ⁿwhen they read ^othe old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when ^pone³ turns to the Lord, ^qthe veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord⁴ is the Spirit, and where ^rthe Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^sfreedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, ^tbeholding ^uthe glory of the Lord,^{5 v}are being transformed into the same image ^wfrom one degree of glory to another.⁶ For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.