1 In the beginning awas the Word, and the bWord was cwith God, and the Word was dGod. 2 eHe was in the beginning with God.
The Incarnation of Christ
14 sAnd the Word tbecame uflesh and dwelt among us, and vwe beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, wfull of grace and truth.
15 xJohn bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, y‘He who comes after me 6is preferred before me, zfor He was before me.’ ”
16 7And of His afullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For bthe law was given through Moses, but cgrace and dtruth came through Jesus Christ. 18 eNo one has seen God at any time. fThe only begotten 8Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
John’s Witness to the Priests and Levites
19 Now this is gthe testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 hHe confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you ithe Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: j“I am
k‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, l“I baptize with water, mbut there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 nIt is He who, coming after me, 9is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done oin 1Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Christ’s Departure to the Father
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said 6to them, m“I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I ngo to Him who sent Me. 34 You owill seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you pcannot come.”
35 Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to qthe Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not findMe, and where I am you cannot come’?”
Christ Reveals the “Living Water”
37 rOn the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, s“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 tHe who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, uout of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 vBut this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those 7believing in Him would receive; for the 8Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet wglorified.
Israel is Divided over Christ
40 Therefore 9many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is xthe Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is ythe Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 zHas not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, awhere David was?” 43 So bthere was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now csome of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
The Sanhedrin is Confused Over Christ
45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
46 The officers answered, d“No man ever spoke like this Man!”
47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus