When the world had its beginning, the word was already there; and the word was with God; and the word was God. This word was in the beginning with God. The beginning of John's gospel is of such importance and of such depth of meaning that we must study it almost verse by verse. It is John's great t... [ Continue Reading ]
When the world had its beginning, the Word was already there; and the Word was with God; and the Word was God. This Word was in the beginning with God. He was the agent through whom all things were made; and there is not a single thing which exists in this world which came into being without him. In... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORD (John 1:1-18)... [ Continue Reading ]
There emerged a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness, in order to bear witness to the light, that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; his function was to bear witness to the light. It is a strange fact that in the Fourth Gospel every reference to John... [ Continue Reading ]
He was in the world, and, although the world came into being through him, the world did not recognize him. It was into his own home that he came, and his own people did not welcome him. When John wrote this passage two thoughts were in his mind. (i) He was thinking of the time before Jesus Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
To all those who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God. These were born not of blood, nor of any human impulse, nor of any man's will, but their birth was of God. Not everyone rejected Jesus when he came; there were some who did receive h... [ Continue Reading ]
John was his witness and his statement still sounds out: "This is he of whom I said to you, he who comes after me has been advanced before me, because he was before me." On his fullness we all of us have drawn, and from him we have received grace upon grace, for it was the law which was given by Mos... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him: "Who are you?" He quite definitely affirmed and stated: "I am not the Messiah." So they asked him: "What then are we to think? Are you Elijah?" He said: "I am not..... Are you the promised prophet?... [ Continue Reading ]
On the next day, John saw Jesus as he was coming towards him, and said: "See! The Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said to you: 'There is a man who is coming after me, who has been advanced before me, because he was before me.' Even I did not know him. All th... [ Continue Reading ]
So John bore his witness. "With my own eyes, he said, "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven, as it might have been a dove, and the Spirit remained upon him. And I did not know him. But it was he who sent me to baptize with water who said to me: 'The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and... [ Continue Reading ]
On the next day John was again standing with two of his disciples. John looked at Jesus as he walked. "See!" he said, "The Lamb of God!" And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him. "What are you looking for?" he said to them. "Rabbi" (the wor... [ Continue Reading ]
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who had heard John speaking about Jesus, and who had followed him. First thing in the morning, he went and found his own brother Simon. "We have found the Messiah, he said to him. (The word Messiah means the same as the word Christ.) He brought him t... [ Continue Reading ]
On the next day Jesus determined to go away to Galilee; and there he found Philip. Jesus said to him: "Follow me!" Now Philip came from Bethsaida, which was the town from which Andrew and Peter came. Philip went and found Nathanael and said to him: "We have found the One about whom Moses wrote in th... [ Continue Reading ]