John testified [repeatedly] about Him and has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’”

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

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

He said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

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

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

I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this One is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

and he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”

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

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

One of the two who heard what John said and [as a result] followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

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

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

The next day Jesus decided to go into Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher, and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor duplicity!”

Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do You know [these things about] me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Jesus replied, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe [in Me]? You will see greater things than this.”

Then He said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man [the bridge between heaven and earth].”

When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no more wine.”

Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.

Then He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet].” So they took it to him.

and said to him, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.”

then to those who sold the doves He said, “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!”

So when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said. And they believed and trusted in and relied on the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”

Then a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink”—

The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.)

She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?

The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty nor [have to continually] come all the way here to draw.”

At this, Jesus said, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

The woman answered, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I do not have a husband’;

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet.

Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].”

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).”

So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.

Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

Many more believed in Him [with a deep, abiding trust] because of His word [His personal message to them];

and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you [people] see [miraculous] signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.”

Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives!” The man believed what Jesus said to him and started home.

So he asked them at what time he began to get better. They said, “Yesterday during the seventh hour the fever left him.”

Then the father realized that it was at that very hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son lives”; and he and his entire household believed and confidently trusted [in Him as Savior].

When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

Jesus said to him, “Get up; pick up your pallet and walk.”

He answered them, “The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength was the One who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’”

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward Him, and He said to Philip, “Where will we buy bread for these people to eat?”

But He said this to test Philip, because He knew what He was about to do.

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down [to eat].” Now [the ground] there was [covered with] an abundance of grass, so the men sat down, about 5,000 in number.

When they had eaten enough, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.”

But Jesus said to them, “It is I (I Am); do not be afraid.”

And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Then they asked Him, “What are we to do, so that we may habitually be doing the works of God?”

So they said to Him, “What sign (attesting miracle) will You do that we may see it and believe You? What [supernatural] work will You do [as proof]?

Then Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.

Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Now the Jews murmured and found fault with Him because He said, “I am the Bread that came down out of heaven.”

And Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you believe in Me as Savior and believe in the saving power of My blood which will be shed for you], you do not have life in yourselves.

He said these things in a synagogue while He was teaching in Capernaum.

When many of His disciples heard this, they said, “This is a difficult and harsh and offensive statement. Who can [be expected to] listen to it?”

But Jesus, aware that His disciples were complaining about it, asked them, “Does this cause you to stumble and take offense?

And He was saying, “This is the reason why I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him [that is, unless he is enabled to do so] by the Father.”

So Jesus said to the twelve [disciples], “You do not want to leave too, do you?”

So His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples [there] may also see the works that You do.

So Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come; but any time is right for you.

Having said these things to them, He stayed behind in Galilee.

There was a lot of whispered discussion and murmuring among the crowds about Him. Some were saying, “He is a good man”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He misleads the people [giving them false ideas].”

Then the Jews were perplexed. They said, “How did this man become learned [so versed in the Scriptures and theology] without formal training?”

Then some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Is this not the Man they want to kill?

Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am [still] with you, and then I go to Him who sent Me.

Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does this Man intend to go that we will not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion [of Jews scattered and living] among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’”

Listening to these words, some of the people said, “This is certainly the Prophet!”

Others said, “This is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!” But others said, “Surely the Christ is not going to come out of Galilee, is He?

Then the Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been deluded and swept off your feet?

and they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of adultery.

They said this to test Him, hoping that they would have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and began writing on the ground with His finger.

However, when they persisted in questioning Him, He straightened up and said, “He who is without [any] sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

She answered, “No one, Lord!” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Then the Pharisees said to Him, “Where is this Father of Yours?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

Jesus said these things in the treasury, as He taught in the temple [courtyard]; and no one seized Him, because His time had not yet come.

Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and you will die [unforgiven and condemned] in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

So they said to Him, “Who are You [anyway]?” Jesus replied, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?

As He said these things, many believed in Him.

So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples.

They answered, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are [truly] Abraham’s children, then do the works of Abraham and follow his example.

You are doing the works of your [own] father.” They said to Him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one [spiritual] Father: God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father [but He is not], you would love and recognize Me, for I came from God [out of His very presence] and have arrived here. For I have not even come on My own initiative [as self-appointed], but He [is the One who] sent Me.

The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon [and are under its power]. Abraham died, and also the prophets; yet You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never, ever taste of death.’

Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not even fifty years old, and You [claim to] have seen Abraham?”

When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made mud with His saliva, and He spread the mud [like an ointment] on the man’s eyes.