The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (^[a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and ^[b]the Word was God Himself.^{(A) 2} He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. ³ All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines on in the ^[c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].^(B)

The Witness of John the Baptist

⁶ There came a man commissioned and sent from God, whose name was ^[d]John.^{(C) 7} This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him. ⁸ John was not the Light, but came to testify about the Light.

⁹ There it was—the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.^{(D) 10} He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. ¹¹ He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him—His world, His creation, His possession], and those who were His own [people—the Jewish nation] did not receive and welcome Him. ¹² But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—^{(E) 13} who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].

The Word Made Flesh

¹⁴ And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).^{(F) 15} John testified [repeatedly] about Him and ^[e]has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ^[f]has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ.^{(G) 18} No one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father].^(H)

The Testimony of John

¹⁹ This is the testimony of John [the Baptist] when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed [truthfully] and did not deny [that he was only a man], but acknowledged, “I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)!” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the [promised] Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”^{(I) 22} 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?” ²³ He said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”^(J)

²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them, “I baptize [only] ^[g]in water, but among you there stands One whom you do not recognize and of whom you know nothing.^{(K) 27} It is He [the preeminent One] who comes after me, the ^[h]strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie [even as His slave].” ²⁸ These things occurred in Bethany across the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing], where John was baptizing.

²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God ^[i]who takes away the sin of the world!^{(L) 30} 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.’ ^31 [j]I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah]; but I came baptizing ^[k]in water so that He would be [publicly] revealed to Israel.” ³² John gave [further] evidence [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], saying, “I have seen the ^[l]Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.^{(M) 33} I did not recognize Him [as the Messiah], but He who sent me to baptize ^[m]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.’ ³⁴ I myself have [actually] seen [that happen], and my testimony is that this is the Son of God!”

Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

³⁵ Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they ^[n]followed Jesus. ³⁸ 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?” ³⁹ 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 ^[o]tenth hour. ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard what John said and [as a result] followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first looked for and found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the ^[p]Messiah” (which translated means the Christ). ⁴² 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 ^[q]Peter).”

⁴³ 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].” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about—Jesus from Nazareth, the son of Joseph [according to public record].” ⁴⁶ Nathanael answered him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ 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!” ⁴⁸ 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.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered, “Rabbi (Teacher), You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” ⁵⁰ 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.” ⁵¹ 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].”^(N)

Miracle at Cana

2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; ² and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “^[r]They have no more wine.” ⁴ Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, ^[s]what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.”^{(O) 5} His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” ⁶ Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification (ceremonial washing), containing twenty or thirty gallons each. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ Then He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter [of the banquet].” So they took it to him. ⁹ And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had turned into wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew) he called the bridegroom, ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone else serves his best wine first, and when people have ^[t]drunk freely, then he serves that which is not so good; but you have kept back the good wine until now.” ¹¹ This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him].^(P)

¹² After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

First Passover—Cleansing the Temple

¹³ Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And in the temple [enclosure] He found the ^[u]people who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at their tables.^{(Q) 15} He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; ¹⁶ then to those who sold the doves He said, “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!”^{(R) 17} His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Scriptures], “Zeal (love, concern) for Your house [and its honor] will consume Me.”^{(S) 18} Then the Jews retorted, “What sign (attesting miracle) can You show us as [proof of] your authority for doing these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ Then the Jews replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But He was speaking of the temple which was His body. ²² 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.^(T)

²³ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name [identifying themselves with Him] after seeing His signs (attesting miracles) which He was doing. ²⁴ But Jesus, for His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people [and understood the ^[v]superficiality and fickleness of human nature], ²⁵ and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man [and human nature], for He Himself knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being].^(U)

The New Birth

3 Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, ² 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.” ³ Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”

⁴ 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?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.^{(V) 6} That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be possible?” ¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]? ¹¹ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven]. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross],^{(W) 15} so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

¹⁶ “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] ^[w]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because ^[x]he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. ¹⁹ This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the ^[y]darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.^{(X) 20} For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. ²¹ But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”

John’s Last Testimony

²² After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the land of Judea, and there He spent time with them and baptized.^{(Y) 23} Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— ²⁴ for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Therefore there arose a controversy between John’s disciples and a Jew in regard to ^[z]purification (ceremonial washing). ²⁶ So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi (Teacher), the Man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing]—and to whom you have testified—look, He is baptizing too, and everyone is going to Him!” ²⁷ John replied, “A man can receive nothing [he can claim nothing at all] unless it has been granted to him from heaven [for there is no other source than the sovereign will of God]. ²⁸ You yourselves are my witnesses that I stated, ‘I am not the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ but, ‘I have [only] been sent ahead of Him [as His appointed forerunner and messenger to announce and proclaim His coming].’^{(Z) 29} He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.^{(AA) 30} He must increase [in prominence], but I must decrease.^(AB)

³¹ “He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true]. ³³ Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal [of approval] to this: God is true [and he knows that God cannot lie]. ³⁴ For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father’s own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]!^{(AC) 35} The Father loves the Son and has given and entrusted all things into His hand.^{(AD) 36} He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.”^(AE)

Jesus Goes to Galilee

4 So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John ² (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), ³ He left Judea and returned again to Galilee. ⁴ Now ^[aa]He had to go through ^[ab]Samaria. ⁵ So He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; ⁶ and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (noon).

The Samaritan Woman

⁷ Then a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink”— ⁸ For His disciples had gone off into the city to buy food— ⁹ The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a ^[ac]Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.) ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).” ¹¹ She said to Him, “Sir, ^[ad]You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father ^[ae]Jacob, who gave us the well, and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?” ¹³ Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. ¹⁴ But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”

¹⁵ 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.” ¹⁶ At this, Jesus said, “Go, call your husband and come back.” ¹⁷ The woman answered, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I do not have a husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your ^[af]husband. You have said this truthfully.” ¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple].” ²¹ 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. ²² You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ 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].” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).”

²⁷ Just then His disciples came, and they were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. However, no one said, “What are You asking about?” or, “Why are You talking to her?” ²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and began telling the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done! Can this be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)?” ³⁰ So the people left the city and were coming to Him.

³¹ Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus [to have a meal], saying, “Rabbi (Teacher), eat.” ³² But He told them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest. ³⁶ Already the reaper is receiving his wages and he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying is true, ‘One [person] sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work.”

The Samaritans

³⁹ 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.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked Him to remain with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ Many more believed in Him [with a deep, abiding trust] because of His word [His personal message to them]; ⁴² 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.”

⁴³ After the two days He went on from there into Galilee. ⁴⁴ For Jesus Himself declared that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵ So when He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans ^[ag]welcomed Him, since they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they too came to the feast.

Healing a Nobleman’s Son

⁴⁶ So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a ^[ah]certain royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. ⁴⁷ Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he ^[ai]went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you [people] see [miraculous] signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The royal official pleaded with Him, “Sir, do come down [at once] before my child dies!” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives!” The man believed what Jesus said to him and started home. ⁵¹ As he was already going down [the road], his servants met him and reported that his son was living [and was healthy]. ⁵² So he asked them at what time he began to get better. They said, “Yesterday during the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ 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]. ⁵⁴ This is the second sign (attesting miracle) that Jesus performed [in Cana] after He had come from Judea to Galilee [revealing that He is the Messiah].

The Healing at Bethesda

5 Later on there was a Jewish feast (festival), and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, there is a ^[aj]pool, which is called in Hebrew (Jewish Aramaic) Bethesda, having five porticoes (alcoves, colonnades). ³ In these porticoes lay a great number of people who were sick, blind, lame, withered, ^[ak][waiting for the stirring of the water; ⁴ for an angel of the Lord went down into the pool at appointed seasons and stirred up the water; the first one to go in after the water was stirred was healed of his disease.] ⁵ There was a certain man there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. ⁶ 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?” ⁷ The invalid answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am coming [to get into it myself], someone else steps down ahead of me.” ⁸ Jesus said to him, “Get up; pick up your pallet and walk.” ⁹ Immediately the man was healed and recovered his strength, and ^[al]picked up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ So the Jews kept saying to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not ^[am]permitted to pick up your pallet [because it is unlawful].” ¹¹ 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.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the Man who told you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” ¹³ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away [unnoticed] since there was a crowd in that place. ¹⁴ Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. ¹⁶ For this reason the Jews began to persecute Jesus continually because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now [He has never ceased working], and I too am working.”

Jesus’ Equality with God

¹⁸ This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him, for not only was He breaking the Sabbath [from their viewpoint], but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

¹⁹ So Jesus answered them by saying, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son ^[an]can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way. ²⁰ For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder. ²¹ Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life [and allows them to live on], even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. ²² For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment [that is, the prerogative of judging] to the Son [placing it entirely into His hands], ²³ so that all will give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him.

²⁴ “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.

Two Resurrections

²⁵ I assure you and most solemnly say to you, a time is coming and is [here] now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent]. ²⁷ And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of Man [sinless humanity, qualifying Him to sit in judgment over mankind].^{(AF) 28} Do not be surprised at this; for a time is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear His voice, ²⁹ and they will come out—those who did good things [will come out] to a resurrection of [new] life, but those who did evil things [will come out] to a resurrection of judgment [that is, to be sentenced].^(AG)

³⁰ “I can do nothing on my own initiative or authority. Just as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just (fair, righteous, unbiased), because I do not seek My own will, but only the will of Him who sent Me.

³¹ “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not ^[ao]valid. ³² There is another [My Father] who testifies about Me, and I know [without any doubt] that His testimony on My behalf is true and valid.

Testimony of John

³³ You have sent [an inquiry] to ^[ap]John [the Baptist] and he has testified [as an eyewitness] to the truth. ³⁴ But the testimony I receive is not from man [a merely human witness]; but I say these things so that you may be saved [that is, have eternal life]. ³⁵ John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you the way], and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.^(AH)

Testimony of Works

³⁶ But the testimony which I have is far greater than the testimony of John; for the works that the Father has given Me to finish—the very same works [that is, the miracles and proofs of My deity] that I am [now] doing—testify about Me, [by providing evidence] that the Father has sent Me.

Testimony of the Father

³⁷ And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form [His majesty and greatness—what He is like]. ³⁸ You do not have His word (Scripture) abiding in you [actually living in your hearts and minds], because you do not believe in Him whom He has sent.

Testimony of the Scripture

^39 [aq]You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me; ⁴⁰ and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. ⁴¹ I do not receive glory and approval from men; ⁴² but I know you and recognize that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. ⁴³ I have come in My Father’s name and with His power, and you do not receive Me [because your minds are closed]; but if another comes in his own name and with no authority or power except his own, you will receive him and give your approval to an imposter. ⁴⁴ How can you believe [in Me], when you [seek and] receive glory and approval from one another, and yet you do not seek the glory and approval which comes from the one and only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I [am the One who] will accuse you before the Father. There [already] is one who accuses you: Moses, [the very one] in whom you have placed your hope [for salvation]. ⁴⁶ For if you believed and relied on [the Scriptures written by] Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me [personally].^{(AI) 47} But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”