From the very beginning the Word was with God.  Through Him God made all things; Not one thing in  

all creation was made without Him. The  Word was the source of life, and this life  

brought light to people. The light shines in the  darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

God sent his messenger, a man named John,  

who came to tell people about the light, so  that all should hear the message and believe.  

He himself was not the light;  he came to tell about the light.  

This was the real light - the light that  comes into the world and shines on all people.

The Word was in the world, and though  God made the world through him,  

yet the world did not recognize him.

He came to his own country, but  his own people did not receive him.

Some, however, did receive him and  believed in him; so he gave them the right  

to become God's children. They did not  become God's children by natural means,  

that is, by being born as the children of a  human Father; God himself was their Father.

The Word became a human being

and, full of grace and truth, lived among us.

We saw his glory the glory which he  received as the father's only Son.  

John spoke about him. "This is the one I was  talking about when I said, "He comes after me,

But he is greater than I am, because  he existed before i was born." '

Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed  us all, giving us one blessing after another.  

God gave the law through Moses, but  grace and truth came through Jesus Christ

No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is  the same as God and is at the father's side,  

he has made him known

The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem  sent some priests and Levites to John.  

"Who are you?" John did not refuse to  answer, but spoke out openly and clearly.

"I am not the messiah." "Who  are you then?" "Are you Elijah?"  

"No i'm not." "Are you the Prophet." "No."  "Then tell us who you are." "We have to  

take an answer back to those who sent  us." "What do you say about yourself?"

John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah: "I  am the voice of someone shouting in the desert:  

Make a straight path for the lord to travel!"

The messengers, who had been sent  by the Pharisees, then asked John,  

"If you're not the Messiah nor Elijah  nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?"

I baptize with water,

but among you stands the one you do not know.  He is coming after me, but I'm not good enough  

even to untie his sandals."

All this happened in Bethany on the east side  of the Jordan river, where John was baptizing.  

The next day John saw Jesus coming to him.

"There is the Lamb of God, who  takes away the sin of the world!

This is the one I was talking about  when I said, "A man is coming after me,  

but he is greater than I am, because  he existed before i was born.'

i did not know who he would be

but i came baptizing with water in order  to make him known to the people of israel  

and john gave this testimony i saw the spirit  come down like a dove from heaven and stay on him

i still did not know that he was the one but God  who sent me to baptize with water had said to me  

you will see the spirit  come down and stay on a man  

he is the one who baptizes with the holy spirit

i have seen it and i tell  you that he is the son of God

the next day john was standing there again with  two of his disciples when he saw Jesus walking by  

there's the lamb of God the two disciples  heard him say this and went with Jesus

jesus turned saw them following him

what are you looking for um where do you  live rabbi rabbi this word means teacher

come and see

it was then about four o'clock in the afternoon  so they went with him and saw where he lived  

and spent the rest of that day with him

one of them was andrew simon peter's brother

and once he found his brother

we have found the messiah this word means christ

then he took simon to jesus

jesus looked at him

your name is simon son of john

but you will be called cephas

this is the same as peter and means a rock

the next day jesus decided to go to galilee

he found phillip

and said to him come with me philip was from  bethsaida the town where andrew and peter lived

philip found nathanael

we have found the one who moses wrote about in the  book of the law and whom the prophets also wrote  

about he is jesus son of joseph from nazareth  can anything good come from nazareth come and see

when jesus saw nathanael  coming to him he said about him  

here is a real israelite  there is nothing false in him

how do you know me i saw you when you were  under the fig tree before philip called you

i know

teacher

you are the son of God

you are the king of Israel do you believe just  because i told you i saw you when you were  

under the victory you will see much greater  things than this i am telling you the truth  

you will see heaven open and God's angels  going up and coming down on the Son of man

Days later there was a wedding  in the town of Cana in Galilee

jesus mother was there and jesus and his  disciples have also been invited to the wedding

when the wine had given out jesus mother  said to him they are out of wine madam

what do you have to do with this

my time has not yet come

do whatever he tells you

the jews have rules about ritual washing  and for this purpose six stone water jars  

were there each one large enough  to hold between 20 and 30 gallons

fill these jars with water

they filled them to the brim now draw some water  out and take it to the mana chart of the feast

they took him the water which now  had turned into wine and he tasted it

he did not know where this wine  had come from but of course  

the servants who had drawn out the  water knew so he called the bridegroom

everyone else serves the best wine first  and after the guests have drunk a lot  

he served the ordinary wine but you  have kept the best wine until now

jesus performed this first  miracle in cana in galilee  

there he revealed his glory and his  disciples believed in him after this  

jesus and his mother brothers and disciples  went to capernaum and stayed there a few days

it was almost time for the passover  festival so jesus went to jerusalem

bye

there in the temple he found people selling cattle  

sheep and pigeons and also the money  changers sitting at their table

so he made a whip from cords and drove  all the animals out of the temple  

both the sheep and the cattle

he overturned the tables of the money  changers and scattered their coins  

he ordered those who sold pigeons

stop making my father's house a marketplace

his disciples remember that  the scripture says my devotion  

to your house oh God burns in me like a fire

the jewish authorities came back at him with a  question what miracle can you perform to show us  

that you have the right to do this tear down this  temple and in three days i will build it again  

are you going to build it again in three days  it has taken 46 years to build this temple  

but the temple jesus was  speaking about was his body

so when he was raised from  death his disciples remember  

that he had said this and they believed  the scripture and what jesus had

said while jesus was in jerusalem during the  passover festival many believed in him as they saw  

the miracles he performed but jesus did not trust  himself to them because he knew them all there  

was no need for anyone to tell him about them  because he himself knew what was in their hearts

there was a jewish leader named nicodemus  who belonged to the party of the pharisees  

one night he went to Jesus

rabbi we know that you are a teacher sent by God  no one could perform the miracles you are doing  

unless God were with him  i am telling you the truth

no one can see the kingdom of God without being  born again how can a grown man be born again he  

certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be  born a second time i am telling you the truth

no one can enter the kingdom of God  without being born of water in the spirit  

a person is born physically of human parents  but is born spiritually of the spirit

do not be surprised because i tell  you that you must all be born again

the wind blows wherever it wishes  

you hear the sound it makes but you do not  know where it comes from or where it is going  

it is like that with everyone who was  born of the spirit how can this be

you are a great teacher in  israel and you don't know this

i am telling you the truth

we speak of what we know  and report what we have seen  

yet none of you is willing to accept our message

you do not believe me when i tell  you about the things of this world

uh will you ever believe me then when  i tell you about the things of heaven  

that no one has ever gone up to heaven except  the son of man who came down from heaven

as moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in  the desert in the same way the son of man must be  

lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may  have eternal life for God loved the world so much  

but he gave his only son so that everyone who  believes in him may not die but have eternal life  

for God did not send his son  into the world to be its judge  

but to be its savior those who believe in the  son are not judged but those who do not believe  

have already been judged because they  have not believed in God's only son

this is how the judgment works the light has come  into the world but people love the darkness rather  

than the light because their deeds are evil those  who do evil things hate the light and will not  

come to the light because they do not want their  evil deed to be shown up but those who do what is  

true come to the light in order that the light may  show that what they did was in obedience to God

after this jesus and his disciples went  to the province of judea where he spent  

some time with him and baptized john also  was baptizing in aenon not far from salim  

because there was plenty of water in  that place people were going to him  

and he was baptizing them this was  before john had been put in prison  

some of John's disciples began arguing with  a Jew about the matter of ritual washing  

you remember the man who was with you on the  east side of Jordan the one you spoke about  

well he is baptizing now and everyone's going to  him no one can have anything unless God gives it  

you yourselves are my witnesses that i said i am  not the Messiah but i've been sent ahead of him  

the bridegroom is the one to whom the  pride belongs but the bridegroom's friend  

who stands by and listens is glad  when he hears the bridegroom's voice  

this is how my own happiness is made complete

he must become more important well i become less  important he who comes from above is greater than  

all he who is from the earth belongs to the earth  and speaks about earthly matters but he who comes  

from heaven is above all he tells what he has  seen and heard yet no one accepts his message  

but whoever accepts his message  confirms by this that God is truthful  

the one whom God has sent speaks God's words  because God gives him the fullness of his spirit  

the Father loves his son and has put everything in  his power whoever believes in the son has eternal  

life whoever disobeys the sign will not have  light but will remain under God's punishment

the pharisees heard that Jesus was winning  and baptizing more disciples than john  

actually Jesus himself did not baptize anyone only  his disciples did so when Jesus heard what was  

being said he left judea and went back to galilee  on his way there he had to go through samaria

in samaria he came to a town named sikka  which was not far from the field that  

jacob had given to his son joseph

jacob's well was there and jesus tired out by  the trip sat down by the well it was about noon

mmm a samaritan woman came to draw some water

give me a drink of water his  disciples had gone into town  

to buy food you're a jew and i'm a samaritan

so how can you ask me for a drink jews will not  use the same cups and bowls that samaritans use  

if you only knew what God gives and who it is  that is asking you for a drink you would ask  

him and he would give you a life-giving water  sir you don't have a bucket and the well is  

deep where would you get that life-giving water  it was our ancestor jacob who gave us this well  

he and his children and his flocks all drank from  it you don't claim to be greater than jacob do you  

those who drink this water will get thirsty again  but those who drink the water that i will give  

them will never be thirsty again the water that i  will give them will become in them a spring which  

will provide them with life-giving water and  give them eternal life sir give me that water