John 1

Quick answer

The eternal Word, who was with God and was God, becomes flesh; John the Baptist points to him as the Lamb of God.

John's prologue (1:1–18) deliberately echoes Genesis 1 to declare Jesus' deity and pre-existence, then announces the incarnation. The rest of the chapter gathers the first witnesses and disciples around him.

Part of The Word Became Flesh📖 John introduction

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¹In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ✦ ²He existed in the beginning with God. ³God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. ✦ ⁴The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. ✦ ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. ✦ ⁶God sent a man, John the Baptist, ✦ ⁷to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. ✦ ⁸John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. ✦ ⁹The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ✦ ¹⁰He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ✦ ¹¹He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ✦ ¹²But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ✦ ¹³They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. ✦ ¹⁴So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. ✦ ¹⁵John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” ✦ ¹⁶From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. ✦ ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. ✦ ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. ✦ ¹⁹This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” ✦ ²⁰He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.” ✦ ²¹“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,” he replied. “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?” “No.” ✦ ²²“Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?” ✦ ²³John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’” ✦ ²⁴Then the Pharisees who had been sent ✦ ²⁵asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?” ✦ ²⁶John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. ✦ ²⁷Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.” ✦ ²⁸This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing. ✦ ²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ✦ ³⁰He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ ✦ ³¹I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” ✦ ³²Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. ✦ ³³I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ✦ ³⁴I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.” ✦ ³⁵The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. ✦ ³⁶As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” ✦ ³⁷When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. ✦ ³⁸Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” ✦ ³⁹“Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day. ✦ ⁴⁰Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. ✦ ⁴¹Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). ✦ ⁴²Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”). ✦ ⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” ✦ ⁴⁴Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. ✦ ⁴⁵Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ✦ ⁴⁶“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. ✦ ⁴⁷As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” ✦ ⁴⁸“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” ✦ ⁴⁹Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” ✦ ⁵⁰Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” ✦ ⁵¹Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

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.

In this chapter

Theme Light & Darkness Person / place John the Baptist Person / place Moses Concept The Lamb of God Concept The Word (Logos)

Where this chapter connects

John 1 ·56 John 3 ·29 John 6 ·17 Matt 3 ·16 Luke 1 ·15 John 5 ·15 Luke 3 ·14 Mark 1 ·13

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical
A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical
Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.
ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical
A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed
Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)
SermonGospel in Life — Tim KellerTim Keller · Free · reformed
Tim Keller's gospel-centered preaching — sermons stream free (the complete downloadable archive is paid).
ArticleRecommended NT commentaries (9Marks / Schreiner)Thomas R. Schreiner · Free · reformed
A trusted pastor-oriented guide to the best commentary on each New Testament book.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.
VideoVerse By Verse Ministry InternationalVerse By Verse Ministry Int'l · Free · evangelical
In-depth, verse-by-verse expository teaching book-by-book — strong for working straight through a whole New Testament book.
CommentaryCommentary on John 1Matthew Henry · Free
Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.
VideoLook at the Book — John PiperJohn Piper · Free · reformed
Watch Piper trace the logic of a passage phrase by phrase on screen — a model of close reading.

Seminary

★ Start hereApologeticsGary Habermas — the resurrectionGary Habermas · Free · evangelical
130+ free videos and lectures from the scholar behind the "minimal facts" method — the start-here on the historical evidence for the resurrection. (Only his books are paid.)
★ 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 1YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — John 1David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — John 1Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

John 2 →