Read the Gospels in 40 Days
A New Creation[a]
In the Beginning Was the Word[b]
Chapter 1
The Word of God, Source of Life[c]
1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the very beginning.
3 Through him all things came into existence,
and without him there was nothing.
That which came to be
4 found life in him,
and the life was the light of the human race.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has been unable to overcome it.
Faith Means Welcoming the Word of God Made Man.[d] 6 A man appeared, sent by God, whose name was John.[e] 7 He came as a witness to give testimony to the light, so that through him all might come to believe. 8 He himself was not the light; his role was to bear witness to the light.
9 The true light that enlightens everyone
was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world,
the world had come into existence through him,
yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own,
but his own did not accept him.
12 However, to those who did accept him
and who believed in his name
he granted the power to become children of God,
13 who were born not from blood
or human desire or human will,
but from God.
14 And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us.
And we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
15 Jesus Christ, Fullness of Truth.[f] John testified to him, proclaiming, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ ”
16 From his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace.
17 For the Law was given through Moses,
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.
It is the only Son, God,
who is at the Father’s side,
who has made him known.
Jesus Is the Expected Messiah[g]
19 John the Baptist Is Not the Messiah.[h] This is the testimony offered by John when the Jews[i] sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”[j] 21 Then they asked him, “Who then are you? Are you Elijah?”[k] He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so we may have an answer to give to those who sent us? What do you have to say about yourself?” 23 He replied, in the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’ ”
24 Some Pharisees were present in this group, 25 and they asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but among you there is one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me. I am not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 Behold, the Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sin of the World.[l] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and he said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
30 This is the one of whom I said,
‘After me is coming one
who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
31 I myself did not know him,[m]
but the reason I came to baptize with water
was so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 John also gave this testimony, saying,
“I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove,
and it came to rest on him.[n]
33 I myself did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest
is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit.’[o]
34 And I myself have seen and have testified
that this is the Son of God.”
35 We Have Found the Messiah.[p] The next day John was standing there with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus pass by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” 37 On hearing him say this, the two disciples began to follow Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which, translated, is “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 He answered them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him for the rest of that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.[q]
40 One of the two who had heard John speak and had followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to seek out his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah”[r] (which, translated, is “Christ”), 42 and he took him to Jesus. Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas”[s] (which, translated, is “Peter”).
43 The next day Jesus[t] decided to go to Galilee. Encountering Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida,[u] as Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael[v] and said to him, “We have found the one about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Behold, a true Israelite, in whom there is no deception.”[w] 48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip summoned you, when you were under the fig tree,[x] I saw you.” 49 Nathanael said to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus responded, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.” 51 Then he added, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”[y]
The First Sign Worked by Jesus
Chapter 2
The Wedding Feast at Cana.[z] 1 On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana[aa] in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. 3 When the wine was exhausted, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus responded, “Woman,[ab] what concern is this to us? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now standing nearby there were six stone water jars, of the type used for Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus instructed the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When they had filled them to the brim, 8 he ordered them, “Now draw some out and take it to the chief steward,” and they did so.
9 When the chief steward tasted the water that had become wine, he did not know where it came from, although the servants who had drawn the water knew. The chief steward called over the bridegroom 10 and said, “Everyone serves the choice wine first, and then an inferior vintage when the guests have been drinking for a while. However, you have saved the best wine until now.”[ac]
11 Jesus performed this, the first of his signs,[ad] at Cana in Galilee, thereby revealing his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brethren,[ae] and his disciples, and they remained there for a few days.
Worship of the Father in Spirit and Truth[af]
The Mystery of the New Temple
Jesus Casts the Merchants Out of the Temple.[ag]13 When the time of the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, including the sheep and the cattle. He also overturned the tables of the money changers, scattering their coins, 16 and to those who were selling the doves he ordered, “Take them out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” 17 His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then challenged him, “What sign can you show us to justify your doing this?” 19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews responded, “This temple has taken forty-six years to build, and you are going to raise it up in three days!” 21 But the temple he was talking about was the temple of his body. 22 After he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
The Mystery of the New Covenant
23 Jesus in Jerusalem.[ah]While Jesus was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many people saw the signs he was performing and came to believe in his name. 24 However, Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he fully understood them all. 25 He did not need evidence from others about man, for he clearly understood men.
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