John 1 - NKJV Study Bible

1:1 In the beginning: Genesis 1:1 starts with the moment of creation and moves forward to the creation of humanity. John 1:1 starts with creation and contemplates eternity past. The fact that the Word was with God suggests a face-to-face relationship. In the ancient world, it was important that persons of equal station be on the same level, or face-to-face, when sitting across from one another. Thus the word with indicates a personal relationship, but also implies equal status. The Word, Jesus Christ Himself, is an active Person in communication with the Father (see 1 John 1:2). Moreover, the Word was God. The word order in Greek shows that the Word was “God,” not “a god.” This is a straightforward declaration of Christ’s deity, since John uses Word to refer to Jesus. The Word was of the very quality of God, while still retaining His personal distinction from the Father.

1:2 Neither the Person of Christ, nor His Sonship, came into being at a point in time. Rather, the Father and the Son have always been in loving fellowship with one another.

1:3 All things were made through Him: God the Father created the world (Gen. 1:1) through God the Son (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). All creation was made through Him. Thus He is the Creator God.

1:4 Note that life is not said to have been created; life existed in Christ (5:26; 6:57; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6; 17:3; 20:31). Humans are dependent on God for life. Our existence, spiritually and physically, depends on God’s sustaining power. In contrast, the Son has life in Himself from all eternity. The life, Jesus Christ, is also the light of men. This image conveys the concept of revelation. As the light, Jesus Christ reveals both sin and God to humans (see Ps. 36:9). Later in this Gospel, Christ declares Himself to be both the life (11:25) and the light (8:12). Death and darkness flee when the life and light enter. The dead are raised and the blind receive their sight, both physically and spiritually.

1:5 light shines in the darkness: Christ entered this dark world to give it spiritual light (see Is. 9:2). The word translated comprehend can mean (1) to take hold of; (2) to overpower; or (3) to understand. Therefore, this verse may mean that darkness did not positively take hold of or understand the light, or that darkness did not negatively overcome the light. Both statements are true. Humans did not appropriate or understand the light, nor did they overtake or overpower it. Although Satan and his forces resist the light, they cannot thwart its power. In short, Jesus is life and light; those who accept Him are “sons of light” (12:35,36). As the creation of light was the beginning of the original creation (Gen. 1:3), so when believers receive the light, they become part of the new creation (2 Cor. 4:3–6).

1:6 John the Baptist is here contrasted with Jesus Christ. Jesus is God (v. 1); John was a man sent from God. Jesus was the Light (v. 4); John was the lamp that bore witness to the Light (vv. 7,8).

1:7 To bear witness means “to testify” or “to declare.” John uses the word translated witness 33 times as a verb and 14 times as a noun in his Gospel. The term is particularly important to his purpose, which is to record adequate witnesses to Jesus as the Messiah so that individuals might believe in Him (20:30,31). Believe means “to trust.” John uses this verb almost one hundred times in his Gospel to express what must take place for a person to receive the gift of eternal life.

1:9 In order to give due notice to the incarnation of Jesus, this verse may be rephrased: “That was the true Light coming into the world, which enlightens every man.” Jesus became man in order to reveal the truth to all people. Depending on the context, world can refer to (1) the universe; (2) the earth; (3) humanity; or (4) the human system opposed to God.

1:11 Receive here means “to receive with favor” and implies “welcome.” Instead of a welcome mat, Jesus had a door slammed in His face. The themes of rejection and reception (v. 12) introduced in the prologue (1:1–18) appear again and again throughout the Gospel of John.

1:12 The phrase believe in His name occurs three times in the Gospel of John (1:12; 2:23; 3:18). Name does not refer to the term by which He is called, but to what His name stands for—the Lord is salvation (see Ex. 3:14,15). In this context, the phrase means to believe that Jesus is the Word, the life, and the Light—that is, He is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31). To them He gave the right refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of children of God. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God’s family.

1:13 born . . . of God: This new spiritual birth is not of blood, that is, by physical generation or by parents. Nor is the new birth of the will of the flesh, that is, by personal effort. Neither is the birth of the will of man, that is, something done by another individual. Each person must individually trust Jesus Christ for eternal life. It is a gift to be received (4:10,14), not a reward achieved through any human effort.

1:14 the Word became flesh: The Son of God who was from eternity became human, with limitations in time and space (see Phil. 2:5–8). This is the doctrine of the incarnation: God became human. Nothing of the essential nature of deity was lost in this event; we might rephrase became as “took to Himself.” John uses the word flesh to refer to the physical nature of humans, not to our sinful disposition (contrast Rom. 8:1–11). dwelt among us: Dwelt comes from the Greek word for tent that was used in the Greek OT for the tabernacle, where the presence of God dwelt. In the OT, glory refers to the divine presence (see Ex. 33:18). As God manifested His glory in the tabernacle, so Jesus displayed His divine presence before the apostles (18:6; 20:26,27). Only begotten (3:16,18) means unique, one of a kind. The same term is used of Isaac (see Heb. 11:17), who was not the only physical son of Abraham, but was the unique son of promise. All who trust Christ are born of God. In the Gospel of John, these “born ones” are called children of God (vv. 12,13), but Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God. He is the only Son who is fully God. He is also full of grace and truth. When God revealed Himself to Moses, He proclaimed Himself to be “abounding in goodness and truth” (see Ex. 34:6). As applied to Jesus Christ, this phrase marks Him as the author of perfect redemption and perfect revelation.

1:15 He was before me: Jesus was born after John the Baptist (see Luke 1:36) and began His ministry later than John the Baptist. Yet John the Baptist said Jesus was before him, meaning that Jesus’ existence is from eternity past (v. 30).

1:16 Most people take the words of v. 15 to be John the Baptist’s. Probably the words of vv. 16–18 are those of John the writer of this Gospel, although they too may be John the Baptist’s. Grace for grace means grace piled upon grace. The background of this doubled term, as well as the use of the term in v. 17, is found in Ex. 32–34. Moses and the people had received grace, but they were in tremendous need of more grace (Ex. 33:13).

1:17 Throughout the NT, grace is God’s favor expressed to sinful humankind apart from any human works or worth. Though there was abundant grace and truth expressed by God through the Law He gave Moses, it is in the person of Jesus Christ that grace and truth are realized to the fullest.

1:18 No one has seen God: God is Spirit (4:24) and is invisible (see Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17) unless God chooses to reveal Himself. Humans cannot look at God and live (Ex. 33:20). Abraham, the friend of God, did not see God. Even Moses, the lawgiver, could not look at God’s face (see Ex. 33:22,23). However, the Son is in intimate relationship with the Father, face-to-face with God (see 1:1; 6:46; 1 John 1:2). God became visible to human eyes in the man Jesus. It is through seeing the Son that we see God. We cannot see Him today, but we know Him through His word. The bosom, or chest, is used here to designate a close and intimate relationship (see 13:23; Luke 16:23). The One who is the Father’s only begotten Son and who knows God intimately came to earth and declared Him. Declared can also mean “explained.”

1:19,20 The Jews refers to the Jewish leaders or the council (the Sanhedrin), who would be responsible for examining anyone thought to be a prophet, to see if the person was true or false. The Sanhedrin included Sadducees and Pharisees; those who came to investigate John the Baptist were Pharisees (v. 24). Who are you: In the first century many people were waiting for the coming of the Messiah promised by the OT prophets. John did not claim to be the Messiah, but the rulers were concerned about maintaining peace under the eye of Rome, and they kept a close watch on all prospective messiahs. John was quick to acknowledge that he was not the Christ.

1:21 Are you Elijah: The OT promised that Elijah would come before the great day of the Lord (see Mal. 4:5). Are you the Prophet: Moses had predicted that a prophet like himself would come (see Deut. 18:15).

1:23 The voice: Christ is the Word; John the Baptist was the voice. When pressed to identify himself, John the Baptist claimed that he was the fulfillment of Is. 40:3. In Isaiah’s day there were few roads. When a king traveled, roads were built so that the royal chariot would not have to travel over rough terrain or be stuck in the mud. Isaiah was saying that before God appeared to manifest His glory, a voice would be heard, inviting Israel to make straight the way by which God Himself would come. John was identifying himself as that voice calling people to make straight the way of the LORD.

1:24 The Pharisees were an influential sect that numbered about six thousand. As strict interpreters of the Law in Israel, they were extremely zealous for ritual and tradition.

1:25 Why . . . do you baptize: Performing the rite of baptism was regarded as making a claim to authority. The Pharisees were asking, “By what authority do you perform this religious rite?”

1:27 Undoing the sandal strap was the job of a slave. The Jewish Talmud says, “Everything that a servant will do for his master a scholar shall perform for his teacher, except the menial task of loosing his sandal thong.” Thus John was saying that “Jesus Christ is the living Lord and I am the voice, His servant and slave. Actually, I’m not even worthy to be His slave.”

1:28 The location of Bethabara is unknown. Some think that Bethany is meant, but not the same Bethany as the familiar one near Jerusalem. Beyond the Jordan means east of the Jordan River. Evidently, this was John’s normal place for baptizing.

1:29 The Lamb of God: In the OT, the Israelites sacrificed lambs at the Passover feast (see Ex. 12:21) and as offerings (see Lev. 14:10–25). Jesus Christ is the Lamb that God would give as a sacrifice for the sins not only of Israel, but of the whole world (see Is. 52:13—53:12).

1:31 I did not know Him: John and Jesus were cousins, so they probably knew each other. But John apparently did not know that Jesus was the Messiah. All John knew was that he was to baptize with water and that the Messiah would be made known to Israel through him. God had given John a sign by which he would know the Messiah, namely, the descending of the Holy Spirit as a dove.

1:33 He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit: Seven times the NT mentions this ministry of Jesus. Five are prophetic (see also Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5); one is historical (see Acts 11:16–18); one is doctrinal (see 1 Cor. 12:13).

1:35 One of the two disciples of John the Baptist was Andrew (v. 40). The other is not named but was probably John, the author of this Gospel.

1:41 He first found: As soon as he came to faith, Andrew must have sought out his brother Simon Peter (note the four distinct days suggested in vv. 29,35,43). The excitement of discovering the Son of God, the Messiah (see Matt. 26:63,64; Mark 14:61,62; Luke 22:67–70), was contagious among the early believers.

1:42 he brought him to Jesus: Andrew appears two more times in the Gospel of John (6:4–9; 12:20–22); both times he is bringing someone to Jesus. Cephas is the Aramaic word for “rock” (see Matt. 16:18).

1:43 From this verse, it might appear that Philip followed Jesus without being evangelized by another disciple, but there are several indications that Philip was approached by Andrew and Peter before he actually met the Lord. Verse 44 says that Andrew and Peter were from the same city as Philip, suggesting that they had talked to him. Furthermore, when Philip told Nathanael what had happened, he said “we” have found the Messiah (v. 45).

1:45 Nathanael is not mentioned in the synoptic Gospels. But in every list of the apostles in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the name Bartholomew is listed with Philip, as Nathanael is linked with Philip here. It is likely that Nathanael and Bartholomew were the same person. son of Joseph: Philip did not have knowledge of the virgin birth at this time. However, soon all of the disciples would recognize Christ as the Son of God (v. 49).

1:46 Nazareth: Nathanael knew that the OT prophets had predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Furthermore, Nazareth was an obscure village. Nathanael simply could not fathom that such a significant person as the Messiah could come from such an insignificant place as Nazareth.

1:47 an Israelite indeed: In his younger life Jacob, the first Israelite, was a cunning, scheming fellow full of deceit. Nathanael was an Israelite, a descendant of Jacob, but he was genuine and sincere. Jesus read Nathanael’s character like an open book (2:24).

1:48,49 under the fig tree: In the OT, this expression often suggests being safe and at leisure (see 1 Kin. 4:25; Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10). Nathanael may have been meditating under the tree about the dream of Jacob referred to in vv. 50,51. I saw you: Jesus manifested His supernatural knowledge. Apparently, this incident convinced Nathanael that since Jesus had such knowledge of him, He had to be the Son of God, the King of Israel (20:31). These titles referred to the Messiah.

1:50 greater things: Jesus assured Nathanael that he would see even greater supernatural manifestations in the future. Jesus’ statement may have referred to the miracles performed in Chs. 2–11; it may also refer to the future glory of Christ as the coming Son of Man (see 1:51; Dan. 7:13).

1:51 Jacob had a vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder from heaven (Gen. 28:12). The thought here is similar, namely that there will be communication between heaven and earth. Son of Man, an expression used in Dan. 7:13 of a heavenly being, was Jesus’ favorite designation of Himself (Matt. 8:20; Mark 2:10).