Limitless Word
And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
John 1:34 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
  • BSB I have seen and testified 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 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 declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
  • John 1:49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
  • Matt 4:3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
  • Ps 89:26–27He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
  • John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
  • Rev 2:18And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
  • Rom 1:4And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
  • John 3:16–18For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
  • 1 Jn 2:23Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
  • 1 Jn 5:9–13If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
  • John 10:36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
  • Heb 1:5–6For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
  • Mark 1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
  • John 11:27She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
  • 2 Cor 1:19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
  • Matt 27:54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
  • Matt 17:5While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
  • Matt 26:63But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
  • 1 Jn 3:8He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
  • 1 Jn 4:9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
  • John 19:7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
  • Matt 27:43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
  • Heb 1:1–2God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
  • 1 Jn 4:14–15And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
  • John 5:23–27That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
  • Matt 27:40And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
  • John 3:35–36The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
  • Heb 7:3Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
  • Matt 4:6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
  • Matt 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
  • Matt 16:16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
  • Mark 1:11And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  • Matt 8:29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
  • Luke 3:22And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
  • Luke 1:35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
  • Matt 3:17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
  • 2 Jn 1:9Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
  • John 6:69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
  • John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

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.