11 From the first he was the Word, and the Word was in relation with God and was God. 2 This Word was from the first in relation with God. 3 All things came into existence through him, and without him nothing was. 4 What came into existence in him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came for witness, to give witness about the light, so that all men might have faith through him. 8 He himself was not the light: he was sent to give witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to every man, was then coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, the world which came into being through him, but the world had no knowledge of him. 11 He came to the things which were his and his people did not take him to their hearts. 12 To all those who did so take him, however, he gave the right of becoming children of God—that is, to those who had faith in his name: 13 Whose birth was from God and not from blood, or from an impulse of the flesh and man's desire. 14 And so the Word became flesh and took a place among us for a time; and we saw his glory—such glory as is given to an only son by his father—saw it to be true and full of grace.
15 John gave witness about him, crying, This is he of whom I said, He who is coming after me is put over me because he was in existence before me. 16 From his full measure we have all been given grace on grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and the true way of life are ours through Jesus Christ. 18 No man has seen God at any time; the only Son, who is on the breast of the Father, he has made clear what God is.
19 And this is the witness of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to him with the question, Who are you? 20 He said quite openly and straightforwardly, I am not the Christ. 21 And they said to him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And his answer was, I am not. 22 So they said to him, Who are you then? We have to give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the waste land, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. 24 Those who had been sent came from the Pharisees. 25 And they put this question to him, saying, Why then are you giving baptism if you are not the Christ, or Elijah, or the prophet? 26 John's answer was: I give baptism with water; but there is one among you of whom you have no knowledge; 27 It is he who is coming after me; I am not good enough to undo his shoes. 28 These things took place at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was giving baptism.
29 The day after, John sees Jesus coming to him and says, See, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, One is coming after me who is put over me because he was in existence before me. 31 I myself had no knowledge of him, but I came giving baptism with water so that he might be seen openly by Israel. 32 And John gave this witness, saying, I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove and resting on him. 33 I had no knowledge who he was, but he who sent me to give baptism with water said to me, The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting, it is he who gives baptism with the Holy Spirit. 34 This I saw myself and my witness is that he is the Son of God.
35 The day after, John was there again with two of his disciples; 36 And looking at Jesus while he was walking he said, See, there is the Lamb of God!
37 Hearing what he said, the two disciples went after Jesus. 38 And Jesus, turning round, saw them coming after him and said to them, What are you looking for? They said to him, Rabbi (which is to say, Master), where are you living? 39 He said to them, Come and see. They went with him then and saw where he was living; and they were with him all that day: it was then about the tenth hour of the day. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two men who, hearing what John said, went after Jesus. 41 Early in the morning he came across his brother and said to him, We have made discovery! It is the Messiah! (which is to say, the Christ). 42 And he took him to Jesus. Looking at him fixedly Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John; your name will be Cephas (which is to say, Peter).
43 The day after this, Jesus had a desire to go into Galilee. He came across Philip and said to him, Come and be my disciple. 44 Now Philip's town was Beth-saida, where Andrew and Peter came from. 45 Philip came across Nathanael and said to him, We have made a discovery! It is he of whom Moses, in the law, and the prophets were writing, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 Nazareth! said Nathanael, Is it possible for any good to come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said of him, See, here is a true son of Israel in whom there is nothing false. 48 Nathanael said to him, Where did you get knowledge of me? In answer Jesus said, Before Philip was talking with you, while you were still under the fig-tree, I saw you. 49 Nathanael said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel! 50 In answer Jesus said to him, You have faith because I said to you, I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than these. 51 And he said to him, Truly I say to you all, You will see heaven opening and God's angels going up and coming down on the Son of man.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 1:1-142
Commentary on John 1:1-5
(Read John 1:1-5)
The plainest reason why the Son of God is called the Word, seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others, so was the Son of God sent in order to reveal his Father's mind to the world. What the evangelist says of Christ proves that he is God. He asserts, His existence in the beginning; His coexistence with the Father. The Word was with God. All things were made by him, and not as an instrument. Without him was not any thing made that was made, from the highest angel to the meanest worm. This shows how well qualified he was for the work of our redemption and salvation. The light of reason, as well as the life of sense, is derived from him, and depends upon him. This eternal Word, this true Light shines, but the darkness comprehends it not. Let us pray without ceasing, that our eyes may be opened to behold this Light, that we may walk in it; and thus be made wise unto salvation, by faith in Jesus Christ.
Commentary on John 1:6-14
(Read John 1:6-14)
John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning Jesus. Nothing more fully shows the darkness of men's minds, than that when the Light had appeared, there needed a witness to call attention to it. Christ was the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Christ was in the world when he took our nature upon him, and dwelt among us. The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world. He was in the world, but not of it. He came to save a lost world, because it was a world of his own making. Yet the world knew him not. When he comes as a Judge, the world shall know him. Many say that they are Christ's own, yet do not receive him, because they will not part with their sins, nor have him to reign over them. All the children of God are born again. This new birth is through the word of God as the means, 1 Peter 1:23, and by the Spirit of God as the Author. By his Divine presence Christ always was in the world. But now that the fulness of time was come, he was, after another manner, God manifested in the flesh. But observe the beams of his Divine glory, which darted through this veil of flesh. Men discover their weaknesses to those most familiar with them, but it was not so with Christ; those most intimate with him saw most of his glory. Although he was in the form of a servant, as to outward circumstances, yet, in respect of graces, his form was like the Son of God His Divine glory appeared in the holiness of his doctrine, and in his miracles. He was full of grace, fully acceptable to his Father, therefore qualified to plead for us; and full of truth, fully aware of the things he was to reveal.
Commentary on John 1:15-18
(Read John 1:15-18)
As to the order of time and entrance on his work, Christ came after John, but in every other way he was before him. The expression clearly shows that Jesus had existence before he appeared on earth as man. All fulness dwells in him, from which alone fallen sinners have, and shall receive, by faith, all that renders them wise, strong, holy, useful, and happy. Our receivings by Christ are all summed up in this one word, grace; we have received "even grace," a gift so great, so rich, so invaluable; the good will of God towards us, and the good work of God in us. The law of God is holy, just, and good; and we should make the proper use of it. But we cannot derive from it pardon, righteousness, or strength. It teaches us to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, but it cannot supply the place of that doctrine. As no mercy comes from God to sinners but through Jesus Christ, no man can come to the Father but by him; no man can know God, except as he is made known in the only begotten and beloved Son.
Commentary on John 1:19-28
(Read John 1:19-28)
John disowns himself to be the Christ, who was now expected and waited for. He came in the spirit and power of Elias, but he was not the person of Elias. John was not that Prophet whom Moses said the Lord would raise up to them of their brethren, like unto him. He was not such a prophet as they expected, who would rescue them from the Romans. He gave such an account of himself, as might excite and awaken them to hearken to him. He baptized the people with water as a profession of repentance, and as an outward sign of the spiritual blessings to be conferred on them by the Messiah, who was in the midst of them, though they knew him not, and to whom he was unworthy to render the meanest service.
Commentary on John 1:29-36
(Read John 1:29-36)
John saw Jesus coming to him, and pointed him out as the Lamb of God. The paschal lamb, in the shedding and sprinkling of its blood, the roasting and eating of its flesh, and all the other circumstances of the ordinance, represented the salvation of sinners by faith in Christ. And the lambs sacrificed every morning and evening, can only refer to Christ slain as a sacrifice to redeem us to God by his blood. John came as a preacher of repentance, yet he told his followers that they were to look for the pardon of their sins to Jesus only, and to his death. It agrees with God's glory to pardon all who depend on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. He takes away the sin of the world; purchases pardon for all that repent and believe the gospel. This encourages our faith; if Christ takes away the sin of the world, then why not my sin? He bore sin for us, and so bears it from us. God could have taken away sin, by taking away the sinner, as he took away the sin of the old world; but here is a way of doing away sin, yet sparing the sinner, by making his Son sin, that is, a sin-offering, for us. See Jesus taking away sin, and let that cause hatred of sin, and resolutions against it. Let us not hold that fast, which the Lamb of God came to take away. To confirm his testimony concerning Christ, John declares the appearance at his baptism, in which God himself bore witness to him. He saw and bare record that he is the Son of God. This is the end and object of John's testimony, that Jesus was the promised Messiah. John took every opportunity that offered to lead people to Christ.
Commentary on John 1:37-42
(Read John 1:37-42)
The strongest and most prevailing argument with an awakened soul to follow Christ, is, that it is he only who takes away sin. Whatever communion there is between our souls and Christ, it is he who begins the discourse. He asked, What seek ye? The question Jesus put to them, we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Him, What do we design and desire? In following Christ, do we seek the favour of God and eternal life? He invites them to come without delay. Now is the accepted time, 2 Corinthians 6:2. It is good for us to be where Christ is, wherever it be. We ought to labour for the spiritual welfare of those related to us, and seek to bring them to Him. Those who come to Christ, must come with a fixed resolution to be firm and constant to him, like a stone, solid and stedfast; and it is by his grace that they are so.
Commentary on John 1:43-51
(Read John 1:43-51)
See the nature of true Christianity, it is following Jesus; devoting ourselves to him, and treading in his steps. Observe the objection Nathanael made. All who desire to profit by the word of God, must beware of prejudices against places, or denominations of men. They should examine for themselves, and they will sometimes find good where they looked for none. Many people are kept from the ways of religion by the unreasonable prejudices they conceive. The best way to remove false notions of religion, is to make trial of it. In Nathanael there was no guile. His profession was not hypocritical. He was not a dissembler, nor dishonest; he was a sound character, a really upright, godly man. Christ knows what men are indeed. Does He know us? Let us desire to know him. Let us seek and pray to be Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile; truly Christians, approved of Christ himself. Some things weak, imperfect, and sinful, are found in all, but hypocrisy belongs not to a believer's character. Jesus witnessed what passed when Nathanael was under the fig-tree. Probably he was then in fervent prayer, seeking direction as to the Hope and Consolation of Israel, where no human eye observed him. This showed him that our Lord knew the secrets of his heart. Through Christ we commune with, and benefit by the holy angels; and things in heaven and things on earth are reconciled and united together.