The Grace Commentary – Your free verse-by-verse Bible commentary John 1

John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(a) The Word of God is the way by which God makes himself and his will known (1 Sam. 3:21). God’s word is powerful, creative and sustains all things. His word is the means by which the universe came into existence (Gen. 1:3). His word gives life to the dead (Eze. 37:4). His word is a lamp that guides us in the path of life (Ps. 119:105). God’s word always comes to pass (Is. 55:11).

(b) The Word was God. The primary way God reveals himself is through his Son. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14, Rev. 19:13), and the exact radiance or representation of God the Father (Heb. 1:3).

See entry for The Word of God.

John 1:2

He was in the beginning with God.

In the previous verse, the Word was God; here he is with God. God the Father and God the Son are separate yet one (John 10:30). Their union with each other and the Holy Spirit – the mystery of the Trinity – is beyond our understanding.

John 1:3

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

(a) All things. All of creation including the heavens and the earth (Eph. 1:10).

(b) Came into being through him. The Son is God’s agent of creation. “For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth” (Col. 1:16).

John 1:4

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

(a) Life. Two kinds of life are described in the Bible; the psuche- or soul life we inherited from Adam and the zoe- or spirit life that comes from God (John 5:26). It’s the second kind of life that is described here. See entry for New Life.

(b) The Light of men. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). Adam’s fallen race lives in the valley of the shadow of death. Into this dark valley comes Jesus with the bright and shining revelation that God offers us a new life.

John 1:5

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

(a) The Light shines. Jesus came to our dark and orphaned world to reveal the light of the Father’s love.

(b) Darkness. Unbelieving humanity.

(c) Did not comprehend it. Although God’s invisible attributes – his love, power and wisdom – are evident throughout creation (Rom. 1:20), a refusal to acknowledge God dulls our spiritual senses to the light of his love (Eph. 4:17–19).

John 1:6

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.

John the Baptist (Mark 1:4) or John the Baptizer (John 1:26), was sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah (Luke 3:2). John’s arrival was foretold by the prophet Isaiah (see Mark 1:2–4).

John 1:7–8

He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

(a) Testify. Like all good preachers, John did not desire to build a name for himself. His purpose was to point people to Jesus so that they might believe in him and have life in his name (John 20:31).

(b) The Light; see entry for John 1:4.

John 1:9

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

The true Light and the Light of Life and the Light of the world and the Light of men are all names for Jesus (John 1:4, 8:12, 9:5). Jesus is the Light of the World. See entry for John 9:5.

John 1:10

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

(a) The world was made through Him. Jesus is God’s agent of creation and the Maker of the world (John 1:3, Col. 1:16).

(b) The world did not know him. Many of those who encountered Jesus did not know his true identity. They may have called him rabbi, but they did not believe he was the Son of God.

John 1:11

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.

(a) His own. The Jews knew from the prophets that a Messiah from God would come, but when Jesus came they did not receive him.

(b) Receive Him. To receive him is to believe in him.

In the New Testament, there are more than 200 imperative statements linked with faith. Some of these statements exhort us to: receive Jesus (John 5:43), receive the message of Jesus (John 17:8), obey or heed the message or good news of Jesus (John 17:6) and turn to God in repentance (Acts 26:20).

Other scriptures encourage us to accept the word (Mark 4:20), confess Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9), call on the name of the Lord (Act 2:21), eat the bread of life (John 6:50-51), be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20), submit to God’s righteousness (Rom. 10:3), and be born again (John 3:3, 7). But the one imperative that appears far more than any other, is the instruction to believe. We are to believe in Jesus (see entry for John 3:16).

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

(a) Received Him. To receive him by faith is to believe in his name (see previous verse).

(b) Children of God. Although God is the Father of all (Acts 17:29, 1 Cor. 8:6, Eph. 3:15), the phrase “children of God” usually refers to believers. See entry for Children of God.

John 1:13

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

(a) Born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh. The children of God are God begotten, and not born of natural descent.

(b) Born … of God. To be born of God is to be born of the Spirit or born again. See entry for John 3:3.

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(a) The Word became flesh. The primary way God reveals himself is through his Son. Jesus is the embodiment of the Father’s will (Rev. 19:13), and the exact representation of his being (Heb. 1:3).

See entry for The Word of God.

(b) We saw his glory. The majesty, splendor, and beauty of the Father is revealed in the Son (Heb. 1:3).

(d) Full of grace and truth. See entry for John 1:17.

John 1:15

John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

(a) John the Baptist; see entry for John 1:6.

(b) He existed before me. Although John was six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:26), he knew that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He was the first to recognize that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:34).

John 1:16

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

(a) His fullness. Saying God is full of grace, is like saying the ocean is full of waves.

(b) Grace upon grace means God can bless you with wave after wave of grace and never run out. See entry for Grace of God.

John 1:17

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

(a) The Law given through Moses points to our need for the grace that comes through Jesus (Gal. 3:24).

(b) Moses. The first recorded act of Moses is he killed a man (Ex. 2:11–12). The ministry of Moses, which is represented by the law, is associated with death (2 Cor. 3:6–7). The law ministers death, but Jesus gives life (John 10:10).

(c) Grace and truth are inseparable. Grace and law are different, but grace and truth are one and the same thing. Living under grace can be contrasted with living under law (Rom. 6:14–15), but only when you are in the grace of God are you walking in truth.

In Christ, we find the perfect and harmonious expression of God’s grace and truth. If you would preach the truth, preach grace. When you are preaching grace, you are preaching the truth, and the truth is that God sits on a throne of grace, not a throne of law (Heb. 4:16). Alternatively, if you preach the law, you are not preaching the gospel truth. You are preaching Moses instead of Jesus.

(d) Grace. The grace of God is embodied in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4). The gospel of grace is synonymous with the gospel of Jesus. There is no difference.

(e) Truth is defined in Christ. Jesus is the definition and personification of Truth (see entry for John 14:6).

(f) Jesus Christ. To refer to Jesus as Christ is to recognize that he is the prophesied Messiah or Rescuer (John 1:41). The word Christ means anointed one.

John 1:18

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

(a) The Father; see entry for John 4:21.

(b) He has explained him. Jesus is God explaining himself to the human race (Heb. 1:2-3).

John 1:19

This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

(a) John the Baptizer; see entry for John 1:6.

(b) Priests and Levites. All priests were Levites, but most Levites were not priests. Priests were descended from Aaron and his sons. Levites who weren’t from Aaron’s line served as priests’ assistants in the temple.

John 1:20

And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

John was a popular preacher who attracted crowds (Luke 3:7), but his sole purpose was to point people to Christ (John 1:7–8).

John 1:21

They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

(a) Elijah? The priests and Levites wanted to know if John was the Elijah foretold by Malachi. “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:5). John demurred, but Jesus spoke plainly. “If you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come” (Matt. 11:14).

(b) The Prophet. The Jews revered Moses, but Moses said that the Lord would send another prophet that they should listen to (Deu. 18:15). The Jews wondered if John the Baptist might be the prophet (John 1:21), but they soon came to realize the Prophet was Jesus (John 6:14). Peter and Stephen said the same thing (Acts 3:22, 7:37).

John 1:22

Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

(a) Who are you? John’s only interest was in pointing people to Jesus (John 1:8, 15). He had no interesting in drawing attention to himself or building a reputation. He did not tell the priests and Levites about the angel who said he would “minister in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). He simply quoted a prophecy about clearing the way for the Lord (see next verse).

(b) Those who sent us. It was the Pharisees who sent the priests and Levites to interrogate John.

John 1:23

He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

The prophecy comes from Isaiah 40:3.

John 1:24

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were one of the powerful parties that controlled the Sanhedrin; see entry for Matt. 3:7.

John 1:25

They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Although ceremonial washing was practiced by the Jews under the old covenant, John’s style of water baptism was considered strange by the Pharisees and they refused to participate (Luke 7:30). They did not understand its prophetic significance. See entry for Mark 1:8.

John 1:26

John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

(a) Baptize. The original word implies total immersion. See entry for Baptism.

(b) Among you. John knew that the long-awaited Messiah was already among them. No doubt he had learned from his parents that their relative Mary had given birth to the Savior (Luke 1:39–45).

John 1:27

“It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

John understood Jesus’ true identity as the Savior sent by God to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

John 1:28

These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Bethany beyond the Jordan should not be confused with the Bethany of Martha and Mary which was near Jerusalem (John 11:18). Bethany beyond the Jordan was also known as Bethabara, and when Jesus’ life was threatened in Jerusalem, he went there (John 10:40).

John 1:29

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

(a) The Lamb of God. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:36, Acts 8:32, 1 Pet. 1:19, Rev. 5:6).

John was the greatest of the old covenant prophets and he had an old covenant understanding of Christ’s ministry. Just as lambs were brought as sin offerings, trespass offerings, and sacrifices for the Days of Atonement and Passover, Jesus is the Lamb of God who bears all our sin. “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth…. he himself bore the sin of many” (Is. 53:7, 12).

Only a Lamb from God can bear the sins of the world. A son of Adam could not carry our sins, but a Son of God can.

See entry for Virgin Birth.

(b) The sin of the world! On the cross, the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world (Heb. 7:27). The startling announcement of the gospel is that God holds nothing against you, and that all may freely come to his throne of grace to receive grace. See entry for 1 John 2:2.

(c) World. In context, the world (kosmos) refers to fallen humanity or those for whom Jesus died (John 3:16). It is also the self-serving civilization which is under the influence of Satan and the powers of darkness (1 John 5:19).

John 1:30

“This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’

He existed before me; see entry for John 1:15.

John 1:31

“I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”

(a) I did not recognize him. It may seem strange to us that there was a time when John did not understand that his cousin Jesus was the Messiah. But Jesus’ own family did not recognize him (Mark 3:20–21).

(b) Baptizing in water. The original word implies total immersion. See entry for Baptism.

John 1:32

John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.

(a) I have seen. John had seen the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus while baptizing him (Matt. 3:16).

(b) A dove out of heaven. John saw something descend from heaven and alight upon Jesus. He understood that he was seeing the Holy Spirit settling upon the Son of God.

John 1:33

“I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’

(a) I did not recognize him; see entry for John 1:31.

(b) He who sent me. God sent John (John 1:6). God told John in advance how to recognize the coming Messiah.

(d) Water… Holy Spirit; John’s baptism of water prophetically foreshadowed the baptism of the Holy Spirit. See entry for Mark 1:8.

(e) The Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ; see entry for John 14:26.

John 1:34

“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

(a) Seen. John saw the sign that God had told him to watch for – the Spirit descending and remaining on Jesus.

(b) The Son of God. John the Baptist was the first person to recognize that Jesus is God’s Son. Jesus is the Christ (the anointed one), and the Lord (supreme above all), but ultimately Jesus is the Son of God. See entry for John 20:31.

John 1:35

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,

(a) The next day. The day after Jesus had been baptized.

(b) Disciples. A disciple is a student. One of John’s disciples was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter (John 1:40). The other disciple was possibly John (see entry for John 1:38).

John 1:36

and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

The Lamb of God; see entry for John 1:29.

John 1:37

The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

Disciples; see entry for John 1:35.

John 1:38

And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

The two disciples of John the Baptist were now following Jesus. One of the disciples was Andrew (John 1:40), but the other is unnamed. Since this conversation is recorded nowhere else in the Gospels, it is possible that John, the author of this Gospel, was the other disciple.

John 1:39

He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

The tenth hour. Either four in the afternoon (if John was using Jewish time) or ten in the morning (if he was using Roman time). The fact that he can recall the specific time suggests that it was John himself, the author of this Gospel, who met Jesus.

John 1:40

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

(a) Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the Lord’s first disciples. With his brother, he was a fisherman who fished in the Sea of Galilee, and he lived in Bethsaida (John 1:44) near Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29). Andrew introduced his brother to Jesus (see next verse). Later, Jesus called both Andrew and Simon Peter to follow him (Mark 1:17).

(b) Simon; see entry for John 1:42.

John 1:41

He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).

Messiah is a Hebrew word which means “Anointed One” (Ps. 2:2, Dan. 9:25–26). The Greek equivalent is Christos which gives us the English word Christ (John 1:41).

John 1:42

He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

(a) Simon was a common Biblical name. Since there were two disciples named Simon, they were distinguished as Simon the son of John or Simon Peter and Simon the zealot (Matt. 10:4). In addition, the New Testament names seven other Simons including Simon the step-brother of Jesus (Matt. 13:55), Simon the leper (Matt. 26:6), Simon of Cyrene (Matt. 27:32), Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36–40), Simon, the father of Judas Iscariot (John 13:2), Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9), and Simon the tanner (Acts 10:6). Simon Peter lived with his brother Andrew in Bethsaida (John 1:44) near Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29).

(b) The son of John or Jonah, see Matt. 16:17.

John 1:43

The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”

(a) Galilee was a region of northern Israel that was administered as part of the Roman province of Judea. Much of Christ’s life and ministry took place in the Galilean cities of Nazareth and Capernaum.

(b) Philip, who was from Bethsaida at the northern end of Galilee (see next verse), met Jesus at the Jordan River near where John was baptizing.

John 1:44

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.

(a) Bethsaida was located on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee in the plain of Gennesaret (Mark 6:53). It was about four miles northeast of Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles there (Matt. 11:21). It was known as the home town of three disciples.

(b) Andrew, see entry for John 1:40.

John 1:45

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

(a) Nathanael; see next verse.

(b) Nazareth was an insignificant town in lower Galilee. Evidently Jesus had told Philip that he grew up there (Matt. 2:23).

(c) The Law. The law is not your teacher, your friend, or your protector. The law is a guide who leads you to Jesus (Rom. 3:21). See entry for The Law.

(d) Joseph, the husband of Mary; see entry for Matt. 1:16.

John 1:46

Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

(a) Nathanael was from Cana in Galilee (John 21:2), just a few miles from Nazareth. Either he was prejudiced towards Nazareth, another Galilean town, or he did not expect the Messiah to come from there. Jesus’ first recorded miracle was performed in Nathanael’s home town (John 2:1). Scholars believe that the Nathanael written about in John’s Gospel is the Bartholomew recorded in the others (Matt. 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14). Bartholomew was his patronymic name (bar-Tolmai or “son of Tolmai”).

(b) Any good thing. In the New Testament, the phrase “good thing” can refer to Jesus himself. See the entry for Heb. 10:1.

(c) Come and see. Philip shows us how to introduce people to Jesus. He does not try to convince Nathanael with clever arguments or the terror of Hell. He gives a testimony (“We have found him!”) grounded in scripture (“of whom Moses and the Prophets wrote”) and invites Nathanael to see for himself. Nathanael, to his everlasting credit, got up and went to see for himself.

John 1:47

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

Jesus saw Nathanael and realized he was seeing a true seeker and a true Israelite. Jesus encountered many Jews who played religious games and quoted the scriptures for their own advancement, but Nathanael was not one of them.

John 1:48

Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

(a) The fig tree could represent Nathanael’s home (1 Kgs. 4:25).

(b) I saw you. Judging by Nathanael’s astonished reaction (see next verse), Jesus had perceived something in him that only the Holy Spirit could have revealed.

John 1:49

Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

The Son of God. If John the Baptist was the first person in the New Testament to recognize that Jesus as God’s Son (John 1:30), Nathanael may have been the second. Jesus is the Christ (the anointed one), and the Lord (supreme above all), but ultimately Jesus is the Son of God. See entry for John 20:31.

John 1:50

Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

Unlike some of his sceptical countrymen, Nathanael was quick to believe the truth about Jesus. Jesus promised that he would see many miracles, and he did.

John 1:51

And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

(a) Truly. The original word (amēn) is sometimes translated as “amen” and it means “truly” or “so be it.” It’s a word to introduce a statement of truth, as in this verse, or convey a strong affirmation. In the New Testament, the word “amen” often concludes expressions of praise and prayers to God (e.g., Jude 1:25, Rev. 7:12). It is also used as a name of the Lord (Rev. 3:14).

(b) You will see. If Jesus said it, it surely happened and Nathanael saw it. But nowhere in the gospels do we find any account of something like angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Possibly Jesus was referring to Jacob’s famous dream of angels ascending and descending a stairway between heaven and earth (Gen. 28:12). Jacob believed he had seen the gate of heaven (Gen. 28:17). That dream foreshadowed the coming of Christ who is, for us, the gate or way to the heavenly kingdom of God.

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