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 ]