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I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John 1:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
  • KJV And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
  • ESV And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
  • NKJV And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
  • NASB And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
  • NLT I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

On the basis of what he saw, John testifies that Jesus is the Son of God. His witness reaches its climax in this confession.

Overview

Having seen the Spirit descend, John declares Jesus to be 'the Son of God' (some manuscripts read 'the Chosen One of God'). Either reading affirms Jesus' unique standing and messianic identity. This testimony fulfills John's God-given task and presents readers with the central claim of the Gospel: Jesus is God's own Son.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Ps 2:7I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.
  • John 1:49“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
  • Matt 4:3The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
  • Ps 89:26–27He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’
  • John 20:31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
  • Rev 2:18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze.
  • Rom 1:4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
  • John 3:16–18For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
  • 1 Jn 2:23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
  • 1 Jn 5:9–13Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son.
  • John 10:36then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?
  • Heb 1:5–6For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”?
  • Mark 1:1This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
  • John 11:27“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
  • 2 Cor 1:19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.”
  • Matt 27:54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
  • Matt 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
  • Matt 26:63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
  • 1 Jn 3:8The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
  • 1 Jn 4:9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
  • John 19:7“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
  • Matt 27:43He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
  • Heb 1:1–2On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
  • 1 Jn 4:14–15And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
  • John 5:23–27so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
  • Matt 27:40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
  • John 3:35–36The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
  • Heb 7:3Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.
  • Matt 4:6“If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
  • Matt 11:27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
  • Matt 16:16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
  • Mark 1:11And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
  • Matt 8:29“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
  • Luke 3:22and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
  • Luke 1:35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
  • Matt 3:17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
  • 2 Jn 1:9Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.
  • John 6:69We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.”
  • John 1:18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Pastoral

  • CommentaryCommentary on John 1Matthew Henry · Free

    Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed

    The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 1:34YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 1:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.