NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 9
John 1:27
1770
do not recognize. 27Though his ministry
follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his
slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”
28This encounter took place in Bethany,
an area east of the Jordan River, where John
was baptizing.
Jesus, the Lamb of God
John 1:29-34 // Matt 3:13-17 // Mark 1:9-11 //
Luke 3:21-22
29The
next day John saw Jesus coming to
ward him and said, “Look! The hLamb of
God who takes away the sin of 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 Mes
siah, but I have been baptizing with water
so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32Then John test ified, “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 bap
tize 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 to Jesus, so I tes
tify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
The First Disciples
35The following day John was again stand
ing with two of his disciples. 36As Jesus
walked by, John looked at him and declared,
“Look! There is the iLamb of God!” 37When
John’s two disciples heard this, they fol
lowed Jesus.
38Jesus looked around and saw them
following. “What do you want?” he asked
them.
1:27 A menial task such as removing a
sandal was reserved for a slave; these
tasks were never performed by a disciple.
1:29 The phrase Lamb of God might
refer to the Passover sacrifice of a lamb
(see “The Cross and Passover” at 19:1736, p. 1812) or to the daily sacrifice in
the Temple (Exod 29:38-46; Heb 10).
See also Rev 5.
1:32 John the Baptist’s second testimony (see 1:19-23) told what happened
when Jesus was baptized. In the OT,
kings and prophets were anointed with
the Holy Spirit, but these anointings
were temporary and tied to a particular
office or occasion. By contrast, with the
Spirit’s resting on him, Jesus’ anointing
was permanent (see 3:34).
1:34 the Chosen One of God: Some
manuscripts read the Son of God. See
also Isa 42:1.
1:35-51 This section introduces the
template for discipleship in John’s
Gospel. Disciples desired to come and
They replied, “jRabbi” (which means
“Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39“Come and see,” he said. It was about
four o’clock in the afternoon when they
went with him to the place where he was
staying, and they remained with him the
rest of the day.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was
one of these men who heard what John said
and then followed Jesus. 41Andrew went to
find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We
have found the kMessiah” (which means
“Christ”).
42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet
Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus
said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but
you will be called Cephas” (which means
“aPeter”).
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Gal
ilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come,
follow me.” 44Philip was from Bethsaida,
Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45Philip went to look for Nathanael and
told him, “We have found the very person
Moses and the prophets wrote about! His
name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Naz
areth.”
46“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can
anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip re
plied.
47As they approached, Jesus said, “Now
here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of
complete integrit y.”
48“How do you know about me?” Nathan
ael asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the
fig tree before Philip found you.”
see Jesus (1:39), and when they encountered him, they remained with him (see
“Disciples of Jesus” at 9:1-41, p. 1789).
1:40-42 Simon is well known in the
Gospels, not for his courage and faith,
but for his failings (see 18:15-18, 25-27).
Jesus named him Cephas (“the rock”;
see 1:42 and note), referring to the
great church leader he would later
become (see Acts 1–5, 8–12, 15).
1:41 Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ
(a Greek term) both mean “anointed
one.”
1:42 The names Cephas (from Aramaic)
and Peter (from Greek) both mean “rock.”
1:43-44 Galilee was the region of northern Israel around the Sea of Galilee.
Bethsaida (“house of fishing”) was
a village on Galilee’s north shore and
the home of Peter, Andrew, and Philip.
Later, Peter and Andrew moved to
Capernaum, a village west of Bethsaida
(Mark 1:21, 29).
1:45 Philip, a Greek name, and
1:27
Mark 1:7
John 1:15
Acts 13:25
1:28
John 3:26; 10:40
1:29
Isa 53:7
1 Cor 5:7
1 Pet 1:19
hamnos (0286)
John 1:36
1:30
John 1:15, 27
1:32
Matt 3:16
Mark 1:10
Luke 3:22
1:33
Luke 3:16
Acts 1:5
1:34
John 1:49; 10:36;
11:27; 20:30-31
1:36
iamnos (0286)
Acts 8:32
1:38
jrhabbi (4461)
John 1:49
1:40
Matt 4:18-22
Mark 1:16
Luke 5:2-11
1:41
Ps 2:2
John 4:25
kmessias (3323)
John 4:25
1:42
Matt 16:18
1 Cor 15:5
1 Pet 2:5
apetros (4074)
1 Cor 10:4
1:43
John 6:5-6; 12:20-22
1:45
Luke 24:25-27
athanael, a Hebrew name, represent
N
the mix of cultures in Galilee. Jesus’
message there addressed both audiences.
When Greeks wanted to see Jesus in Jerusalem, they approached Philip (12:20-22).
Moses: Literally Moses in the law. Jesus
grew up in Nazareth, a mountain village
southwest of the Sea of Galilee.
1:46 Can anything good come from Nazareth? This village was not considered
famous enough to be the hometown for
a great leader (cp. Matt 13:53-58).
1:47 Jesus referred to Nathanael as a
man of complete integrity, contrasting
him with Jacob, the scheming, deceitful
patriarch whom God renamed Israel
(see Gen 25:27-34; 27:1-36; 32:22-32). It
is as though Nathanael embodied God’s
ideal for Israel.
1:48-49 Jesus captured Nathanael’s
attention by knowing his character
(1:47), then he captured his worship by
supernaturally knowing his previous
actions. Nathanael witnessed a miracle
and took a remarkable step of faith.
