Teen Life Application Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 4
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14
So the Word became human* and made
his home among us. He was full of unfailing
love and faithfulness.* And we have seen his
glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only
Son.
15
John testified about him when he shouted
to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking
about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after
me who is far greater than I am, for he existed
long before me.’”
16
From his abundance we have all received
one gracious blessing after another.* 17For
the law was given through Moses, but God’s
unfailing love and faithfulness came through
Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But
the unique One, who is himself God,* is near to
the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 19This
was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders
sent priests and Temple assistants* from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20He came
right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”
21
“Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are
you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”*
“No.”
22
“Then who are you? We need an answer for
those who sent us. What do you have to say
about yourself?”
23
John replied in the words of the prophet
Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”*
24
Then the Pharisees who had been sent
asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to
baptize?”
26
John told them, “I baptize with* water, but
right here in the crowd is someone you do not
recognize. 27Though his ministry follows mine,
I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie
the straps of his sandal.”
28
This encounter took place in Bethany, an
area east of the Jordan River, where John was
baptizing.
25
JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD 29The next day John
saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
1:14a Greek became flesh. 1:14b Or grace and truth; also in 1:17.
1:16 Or received the grace of Christ rather than the grace of the law;
Greek reads received grace upon grace. 1:18 Some manuscripts
read But the one and only Son. 1:19 Greek and Levites. 1:21 Greek
Are you the Prophet? See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6. 1:23 Isa 40:3.
1:26 Or in; also in 1:31, 33.
JOHN 1
MY STORY: Haley
It was a devastating weekend. A twister
hit my town, and suddenly our house was
ruined, my wrist was broken, and I lost my
best friend.
I didn’t know what to do, where to turn.
It was too much to take in all at once. I felt
depressed, then angry, then cheated. In all
the confusion of adjusting to these disasters,
I finally decided to open the Bible.
I started reading the Gospel of John. And
as I thought about Jesus and all he gave up
in heaven to come down to earth and live
among us, my attitude started to change. I
thought about verses 10-12 in the first chapter, how Jesus wasn’t respected by the very
people he came to help. If anybody had the
right to feel self-pity, he did! But Jesus did
everything for love, all for us.
The first 27 verses of chapter one opened
my eyes to God’s faithfulness and love. They
made me realize that God would stand by me
through everything, even this terrible time.
I turned everything over to God and discovered a joy that was as incredible as everything that had happened to me in that one
terrible weekend. I began to live the kind of
Christian life I’d been missing so long when
I was just going my own way.
The following weeks were the happiest I’d
ever felt, even though I still had to deal with
the sorrow over losing my friend and our
home. I found that the love of God was so
much more real. It gave me strength.
the world! 30He is the one I was talking about
when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is
far greater than I am, for he existed long before
me.’ 31I did not recognize him as the Messiah,
but I have been baptizing with water so that he
might be revealed to Israel.”
32
Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit
descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33I didn’t know he was the one,
but when God sent me to baptize with water,
he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the
Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I saw this happen
