This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who has written them down. And we know that his testimony is true.
Parallel translations
- WEB This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his witness is true.
- KJV This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
- NKJV This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
- NASB This is the disciple who is testifying about these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
- NLT This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.
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
John identifies himself as the disciple who testifies to and wrote these things, affirming his witness is true. It matters because it establishes the Gospel's eyewitness authority.
Overview
The beloved disciple is named as both the author and the eyewitness behind the Gospel. The collective 'We know' affirms confidence in the truthfulness of his testimony. This authorial signature grounds the Gospel in firsthand witness to Jesus. It assures readers that what they have received rests on reliable, truthful testimony.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- John 19:35The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
- John 15:27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
- 1 Jn 1:1–2That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
- 1 Jn 5:6This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ—not by water alone, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies to this, because the Spirit is the truth.
- 3 Jn 1:12Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also testify for him, and you know that our testimony is true.
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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 21:24 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.