The Word [already] existed in the beginning [of time]. [Note: This is a reference to the preexistence of Jesus. See verse 14]. And the Word was with God and the Word was [what] God [was].

He came to be a witness, so that he might testify concerning that Light, so that all people would believe [in Jesus] through him [i.e., through his testimony. See Acts 19:4].

[Such people] were born of God, not of blood ties [i.e., from physical descendants], nor of the will of the flesh [i.e., merely from a sexual desire], nor of the will of man [i.e., from a husband's desire for offspring].

[Eventually] this Word became a human being and lived among us [Note: The word "lived" here refers to pitching a temporary tent]. (And we saw His splendor; such splendor as belongs to the Father's only Son), full of God's favor and truth.

For the law was given through Moses; [but] God's favor and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God [i.e., His full splendor], but God, the only conceived [and eventually born Son], who is at the Father's side, has shown us who He is.

Then he declared openly, without denying it, "I am not the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one]."

So, they asked him, "Who then [are you]? Are you Elijah [i.e., returned from the dead]?" But he answered, "[No], I am not." "[Then], are you the prophet [i.e., Moses. See Deut. 18:15-19]?" they asked. And he answered, "No."

So, they asked him [again], "[Then], who are you? We need to take back an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

So, John answered them, saying, "I am immersing people in water, but there is Someone among you whom you do not recognize.

On the next day John [the Immerser] saw Jesus approaching him and said, "Look, [there is] the Lamb of God; He [will] take away the sin of the people of the world.

And I would not have recognized Him, but I came immersing people in water so that He would become known to the Israelites."

So, John gave his testimony, saying, "I have seen the Holy Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it remained on Him.

And I did not recognize Him, but He [i.e., God], who sent me to immerse in water, said to me, 'The one on whom you see the Holy Spirit descending and remaining is the same One who [will] immerse people in the Holy Spirit.'

And when he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Look, [there is] the Lamb of God!"

[When] the two disciples heard him say that, they began following Jesus.

Then Jesus turned and saw them following [Him] and said to them, "What are you looking for?" And they answered Him, "Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying?"

Then He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So, they went and saw where He was staying and they stayed with Him that day. It was about ten o'clock in the morning. [Note: Hour designations in this book are being calculated by Roman time, but this would have been

One of the two men who had listened to John and had become a follower of Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother Simon and say to him, "We have found the Messiah (which means Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one])."

So, Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus. [And when] Jesus saw him, He said [to him], "You are Simon, the son of John [Note: Peter's father is called Jonah in Matt. 16:17]; you will be called Cephas (which means Peter [i.e., "a stone." See Matt. 16:18])."

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew's and Peter's home town. [Note: This town was on the northwest shore of Lake Galilee, a few miles from Capernaum].

[Then] Philip found Nathaniel [i.e., the same as Bartholomew. See Matt. 10:3] and said to him, "We have found Him, the one Moses wrote about in the law; and the prophets [also wrote about Him]. [He is] Jesus from Nazareth, the [step-] son of Joseph."

Nathaniel replied to him, "Can anything worthwhile come from Nazareth?" [Note: Nazareth had a bad reputation and Jewish writings made no prediction of a prophet coming from that area. See John 7:52]. Philip answered him, "Come and see."

[As] Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward Him, He said [this] about him, "Look, [there is] a true Israelite, a completely honest man!"

Nathaniel asked Jesus, "How did you know me?" Jesus answered him, "I saw you when you were under that fig tree, [even] before Philip called you."

Jesus said to him, "Do you believe [in me just] because I told you, 'I saw you under that fig tree'? You will see [even] greater things than these [happen]."

Then Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened up and the angels of God going up [from] and coming down on the Son of man" [i.e., probably a reference to angels ministering to Jesus' needs. See Matt. 4:6, 11; Luke 22:43].

Then on the third day [i.e., since Jesus' conversation with Nathaniel. See 1:47], a wedding took place in Cana in Galilee. [Note: This was a small town near Nazareth]. Jesus' mother was there

So, Jesus said to her, "[My dear] woman, what do you want me to do [about it]? My time [i.e., to be revealed to people as the Messiah] has not yet come."

Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." So, the servants filled them clear full.

Then He said to them, "Now pour [some of it] out and take it to the banquet host." So, they took some to him,

and when the banquet host tasted the water, which had [now] been turned into wine, he did not know where it had come from. (But the servants who had poured out the water knew [full well]). So, the banquet host called the groom

and said to him, "Everyone sets out the best wine first, and when people have had plenty to drink, he then sets out the poor quality [wine]. But you have kept the best wine until now." [Note: See Barnes Notes and The Gospel of John by Butler for evidence suggesting that this was not intoxicating wine].

Now the Jewish Passover Festival was soon [to be held], so Jesus went up to Jerusalem [to attend it].

There in the Temple [area] He found people selling oxen, sheep and pigeons. [i.e., for use as sacrifices]. Also cashiers were sitting there. [Note: These people exchanged foreign coins so visitors to Jerusalem could make purchases and pay taxes].

He said to those who were selling the pigeons, "Take these things out of here, and quit making my Father's house [i.e., the Temple] a merchandise mart."

Then Jesus' disciples remembered that it was written [Psa. 69:9], "Enthusiasm for Your [i.e., God's] house [i.e., the Temple] will consume me."

So, the Jews asked Him, "What [miraculous] sign will you show us, since you are doing these things [i.e., disrupting their merchandising activities]?"

Now when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people believed in His name [i.e., in Jesus Himself] when they saw the [miraculous] signs He was doing.

Jesus said to him, "Truly, truly, I tell you, a person cannot see the kingdom of God [i.e., enter it. See verse 5], unless he is born from above [Note: The words "from above" are also used in verse 31, but in this place they could also mean "again," or "anew" and refer to the source of a person's second birth].

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born [again] after he is [already] old? He cannot enter his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?"

So, do not be surprised that I have said to you, 'You must be born from above." [See note on verse 3].

The wind blows wherever it wants to, and you can hear the sound of it, without knowing where it came from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born from the Holy Spirit."

And [just] like Moses lifted up the snake [on the pole] in the wilderness [Num. 21:9], so the Son of man must be lifted up [on the cross]

so that whoever believes in Him would have never ending life." [Note: Some translations extend Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus through verse 21].

For God loved the world [of sinners] so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that every person who believes in Him would not [have to] be destroyed, but have never ending life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge [i.e., to condemn it], but [rather] so that the people of the world could be saved [from condemnation] though Him.

The person who believes in Him will not be condemned, but the one who does not believe in Him has already been condemned, because he did not believe in the name of God's one and only Son.

Now this is [how God's] judgment [works]: The Light [See 1:5-9] has come into the world, but people loved darkness [i.e., sin] rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil.

But the person who does what is [according to the] truth [i.e., good things] comes to the light so that his deeds may be shown to have been produced by God.

John [the Immerser] was also immersing people in Aenon, near Salem [Note: These locations are thought to have been in northeastern Judea, near the Jordan River], because there was a lot of water there; so people were coming to be immersed.

[About then] a dispute arose between John's disciples and a Jew over ceremonial cleansing.

These disciples went to John and said to him, "Rabbi, look, that man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan River [i.e., Jesus], whom you testified about, is immersing people and everyone is going to him." [Note: Actually, it was Jesus' disciples who did the immersing. See 4:2].

You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one] but [rather] that I was sent [by God] ahead of Him.'

The one who has the bride is the groom; but the best man, who stands up with him and listens to him [take his vows], is very happy when he hears him speak. So, [now] my joy is complete [i.e. over hearing about Jesus' ministry].

For the One whom God has sent [i.e., Jesus] speaks the words of God, for He [i.e., God] does not give the Holy Spirit in a limited quantity [i.e., to Jesus. See next verse].

The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hands [See Eph. 1:20-22].

The person who believes in the Son has never ending life, but the person who disobeys the Son will not see life [i.e., will not experience never ending life], but [instead], God's wrath remains on him.

So, He arrived at the Samaritan town called Sychar, which was near the piece of property that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob's [spring-fed] well was there so Jesus, tired from His [long] journey, sat down beside the well just as He was [i.e., before doing anything else]. It was about six o'clock in the morning [Note: This would have been

but whoever drinks the water I give him will never get thirsty [again]. For the water I will give him will become in him [i.e., in his spirit] a spring of water, bubbling up and producing never ending life." [See John 7:38].

The woman [then] said to Him, "Sir, [please] give me [some of] that water, so that I do not get thirsty [again], or have to come all the way here to draw [water]."

because you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not [really] your husband. So, you have told the truth."

Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain [i.e., Mt. Gerizim, which was visible from where they were sitting]; but you say that Jerusalem is the place where people should worship [God]."

But the time will come, and is now [actually] here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [i.e., from the heart] and truth [i.e., according to God's revealed will], for these are the people whom the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

So, the woman left her water jar and went back into town and told the people [there],

"Come [and] see a man who told me everything I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"

[So], the people went out from the town and came to where Jesus was.

So, the disciples said to one another, "No one has brought Him anything to eat [have they]?"

Already the person who is harvesting [the crop] is being paid for his work, and is gathering a crop for never ending life, so that the one planting and the one harvesting [the crop] may rejoice together.

So, the saying is true that one person plants and another harvests [the crop].

When the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Jesus to stay with them, so He remained there for two days.

So, when He got to Galilee, the people there welcomed Him, for they had also gone to the [Passover] Festival in Jerusalem and had seen everything He had done there during the festival.

So, Jesus said to him, "None of you people will believe [in me] unless you see [miraculous] signs and wonders, [will you?]."

So [then], the father realized that it was at that [exact] hour that Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So, he and his entire family believed [in Jesus].

When Jesus saw him lying [there by the pool], and knew that he had been [in that condition] a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?"

[So], Jesus said to him, "Get up; pick up your cot and walk."

So, the Jews said to the man who was healed, "It is not permissible for you to pick up your cot because it is the Sabbath day."

So, for this reason the Jews began persecuting Jesus, because He did these [kinds of] things on the Sabbath day.

So, for this reason the Jews looked for more [opportunities] to kill Him, because He not only broke Sabbath day [restrictions], but also He had called God His own Father, [thereby] making Himself equal with God.

So, Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son [of God] cannot do anything on His own [i.e., independently of the Father]; but [He does] what He sees His Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does as well.

For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself does; and He will show Him [even] greater deeds [i.e., more extensive in scope] than these [i.e., than merely healing a crippled man], so that you people will be amazed.

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them [renewed] life [for their bodies ?], even so the Son also gives [renewed] life to [the spirits ?] of whoever He wants to.

so that everyone will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The person who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

"Truly, truly, I tell you, the person who listens to my message and believes [in] the One who sent me [i.e., God] has never ending life [i.e., as a hope. See Titus 1:2; 3:7]. He will not be judged [and condemned], but has [already] passed from being [spiritually] dead to being [spiritually] alive.

"You people have sent to John [the Immerser, for information. See 1:19] and he has given true testimony [about me].

But I do not rely on the testimony of men about me; therefore I tell you these things so you will be saved [i.e., from condemning judgment. See verse 29].

But my testimony is greater than John's. For the deeds the Father has given me to complete, the very deeds I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me.

But you do not want to come to me [i.e., to believe in me. See verse 38] so that you will have [never ending] life.

I have come in my Father's name [i.e., by His authority] and you do not accept me. If someone else comes in his own name [i.e., by his own authority], you will accept him.

For if you believed Moses' [writings], you would [also] believe in me, for he wrote about me. [See Deut. 18:15-19].

So Jesus, looking up and seeing a large crowd coming to Him, said to Philip [Note: He was one of the apostles, whose home town was at nearby Bethsaida. See 1:44], "Where are we going to buy [enough] bread, so that this crowd can eat?"

Philip answered Him, "Not even two hundred coins' worth of bread would be enough to feed them if everyone ate only a little bit." [Note: The amount here indicated was two hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or about $14,000 in 1994].

[Then] one of His disciples, named Andrew, [who was] Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,

"There is a little boy here who has five [small] loaves of barley bread and two [probably smoked] fish. But what is this amount for [feeding] so many people?"

Jesus answered, "Have these people recline [on the ground]." Now there was a lot of grass in that place. So, the men, numbering about five thousand, reclined [on the grass].

And when the people were [all] full, Jesus said to His disciples, "Gather up the broken pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted."

So, they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces left over from the five loaves of barley bread which they had eaten.

So, when the people saw the [miraculous] sign that Jesus had performed [i.e., the feeding of the large crowd with such a small amount of food], they said, "Truly, this is the prophet who was to come into the world." [Note: This was probably a reference to the promise made in Deut. 18:15-19].