The Life of Jesus

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

All things came to be through him, and without him nothing made had being.

In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was Yochanan.

He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him.

He himself was not that light; no, he came to bear witness concerning the light.

This was the true light, which gives light to everyone entering the world.

He was in the world — the world came to be through him — yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own homeland, yet his own people did not receive him.

But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God,

not because of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God.

The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh’khinah, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

Yochanan witnessed concerning him when he cried out, “This is the man I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”

We have all received from his fullness, yes, grace upon grace.

For the Torah was given through Moshe; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah.

No one has ever seen God; but the only and unique Son, who is identical with God and is at the Father’s side — he has made him known.

Here is Yochanan’s testimony: when the Judeans sent cohanim and L’vi’im from Yerushalayim to ask him, “Who are you?”

he was very straightforward and stated clearly, “I am not the Messiah.”

“Then who are you?” they asked him. “Are you Eliyahu?” “No, I am not,” he said. “Are you ‘the prophet,’ the one we’re expecting?” “No,” he replied.

So they said to him, “Who are you? — so that we can give an answer to the people who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

He answered in the words of Yesha‘yahu the prophet, “I am The voice of someone crying out: ‘In the desert make the way of Adonai straight!’”

Some of those who had been sent were P’rushim.

They asked him, “If you are neither the Messiah nor Eliyahu nor ‘the prophet,’ then why are you immersing people?”