April 6: John 1
The Living Expression
1 In the very beginning[a] the Living Expression[b] was already there.
And the Living Expression was with God, yet fully God.[c]
2 They were togetherâface-to-face,[d] in the very beginning.[e]
3 And through his creative inspiration
  this Living Expression made all things,[f]
  for nothing has existence apart from him!
4 Life came into being[g] because of him,
  for his life is light for all humanity.[h]
5 And this Living Expression is the Light that bursts through gloom[i]â
  the Light that darkness could not diminish![j]
6 Then suddenly a man appeared who was sent from God,
  a messenger named John.[k]
7 For he came to be a witness, to point the way to the Light of Life,
  and to help everyone believe.
8 John was not that Light but he came to show who is.
  For he was merely a messenger to speak the truth about the Light.
9 For the Light of Truth[l] was about to come into the world
  and shine upon everyone.[m]
10 He entered into the very world he created,
  yet the world was unaware.[n]
11 He came to the very people he created[o]â
  to those who should have recognized him,
  but they did not receive him.
12 But those who embraced him and took hold of his name[p]
  were given authority to become
  the children of God!
13 He was not born by the joining of human parents[q]
  or from natural means,[r] or by a manâs desire,
  but he was born of God.[s]
14 And so the Living Expression
  became a man[t] and lived among us![u]
  And we gazed upon the splendor of his glory,[v]
  the glory of the One and Only[w]
  who came from the Father overflowing
  with tender mercy[x] and truth!
15 John taught the truth about him
  when he announced to the people,
  âHeâs the One! Set your hearts on him!
  I told you he would come after me,
  even though he ranks far above me,
  for he existed before I was even born.â[y]
16 And now out of his fullness we are fulfilled![z]
  And from him we receive grace heaped upon more grace![aa]
17 Moses gave us the Law, but Jesus, the Anointed One,
  unveils truth wrapped in tender mercy.
18 No one has ever gazed upon the fullness of Godâs splendor
  except the uniquely beloved Son,
  who is cherished by the Father[ab]
  and held close to his heart.
  Now he has unfolded to us[ac]
  the full explanation of who God truly is!
The Ministry of John the Baptizer
19 There were some of the Jewish leaders[ad] who sent an entourage of priests and temple servants[ae] from Jerusalem to interrogate John. They asked him, âWho are you?â
20 John answered them directly,[af] saying, âI am not the Messiah!â
21 âThen who are you?â they asked. âAre you Elijah?â
âNo,â John replied.
So they pressed him further, âAre you the prophet Moses said was coming, the one weâre expecting?â[ag] âNo,â he replied.
22 âThen who are you?â they demanded. âWe need an answer for those who sent us. Tell us something about yourselfâanything!â
23 So, John answered them, âI am fulfilling Isaiahâs prophecy: âI am an urgent, thundering voice shouting in the desertâclear the way and prepare your hearts for the coming of the Lord Yahweh!ââ[ah]
24 Then some members of the religious sect known as the Pharisees[ai] questioned John, 25 âWhy do you baptize the people since you admit youâre not the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet?â
26â27 John answered them, âI baptize in this river, but the One who will take my place is to be more honored than I,[aj] but even when he stands among you, you will not recognize or embrace him! I am not worthy enough to stoop down in front of him and untie his sandals!â 28 This all took place at Bethany,[ak] where John was baptizing at the place of the crossing of the Jordan River.[al]
The Lamb of God
29 The very next day John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, and John cried out, âLook! There he isâGodâs Lamb![am] He will take away[an] the sins of the world![ao] 30 I told you that a Mighty One[ap] would come who is far greater than I am, because he existed long before I was born! 31 My baptism was for the preparation of his appearing to Israel, even though Iâve yet to experience him.â
32 Then, as John baptized Jesus he spoke these words: âI see the Spirit of God appear like a dove descending from the heavenly realm and landing upon himâand it rested upon him from that moment forward![aq] 33 And even though Iâve yet to experience him, when I was commissioned to baptize with water God spoke these words to me, âOne day you will see the Spirit descend and remain upon a man. He will be the One I have sent to baptize with the Holy Spirit.â[ar] 34 And now I have seen with discernment. I can tell you for sure that this man is the Son of God.â[as]
Jesusâ First Followers
35â36 The very next day John was there again with two of his disciples as Jesus was walking right past them. John, gazing upon him, pointed to Jesus and said, âLook! Thereâs Godâs Lamb!â 37 And as soon as Johnâs two disciples heard this, they immediately left John and began to follow a short distance behind Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned around and saw they were following him and asked, âWhat do you want?â[at] They responded, âRabbi (which means, Master Teacher[au]), where are you staying?â[av] 39 Jesus answered, âCome and discover for yourselves.â So they went with him and saw where he was staying, and since it was late in the afternoon, they spent the rest of the day with Jesus.
40â41 One of the two disciples who heard Johnâs words and began to follow Jesus was a man named Andrew.[aw] He went and found his brother, Simon, and told him, âWe have found the Anointed One!â[ax] (Which is translated, the Christ.) 42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet him. When Jesus gazed upon Andrewâs brother, he prophesied to him, âYou are Simon and your fatherâs name is John.[ay] But from now on you will be called Cephasâ (which means, Peter the Rock).[az]
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to the region of Galilee. There he found Philip and said to him, âCome and follow me.â 44 (Now Philip, Andrew, and Peter were all from the same village of Bethsaida.)[ba] 45 Then Philip went to look for his friend, Nathanael,[bb] and told him, âWeâve found him! Weâve found the One weâve been waiting for! Itâs Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth, the Anointed One! Heâs the One that Moses and the prophets prophesied would come!â
46 Nathanael sneered, âNazareth! What good thing could ever come from Nazareth?â[bc] Philip answered, âCome and letâs find out!â
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said, âNow here comes a true son of Israelâan honest man with no hidden motive!â
48 Nathanael was stunned and said, âBut youâve never met meâhow do you know anything about me?â
Jesus answered, âNathanael, right before Philip came to you I saw you sitting under the shade of a fig tree.â[bd]
49 Nathanael blurted out, âTeacher, you are truly the Son of God and the King of Israel!â
50 Jesus answered, âDo you believe simply because I told you I saw you sitting under a fig tree? You will experience even more impressive things than that! 51 I prophesy to you eternal truth:[be] From now on[bf] you will see[bg] an open heaven and gaze upon the Son of Man[bh] like a stairway reaching into the sky[bi] with the messengers of God climbing up and down upon[bj] him!â