King James Version · Under Rome
John 1
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was the Word, and the Word was with , and the Word was . 2The same was with . All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was of men. And shineth ; and comprehended it not. There was a man sent from , whose name was . The same came for a , to bear of , that all men through him might . He was not that , but was sent to bear of that . That was the true , which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he to become , even to them that on his name: Which were born, not of , nor of the will of , nor of the will of man, but of . And the Word was made , and , (and we beheld his , the as of the only begotten of ,) full of and truth. of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and for . For was given by , but and truth came by . No man hath seen at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the of , he hath declared him. And this is the record of , when the sent priests and from to ask him, Who art thou? And he , and denied not; but , I am not . And they asked him, What then? Art thou ? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that ? And he answered, No. 22Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in , Make straight of , as said the . And they which were sent were of the . And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that , nor , neither that ? answered them, saying, I with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where was . The next day seeth coming unto him, and saith, Behold of , which taketh away the of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come with water. And record, saying, I saw descending from like a , and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Ghost. And I saw, and record that this is the Son of . Again the next day after stood, and two of his ; And looking upon as he walked, he saith, Behold of ! And the two heard him speak, and they followed . Then turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard speak, and followed him, was , ’s brother. He first findeth his own brother , and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, . And he brought him to . And when beheld him, he said, Thou art the son of Jona: thou shalt be called , which is by , A stone. The day following would go forth into , and findeth , and saith unto him, Follow me. Now was of , the city of and . findeth , and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom in , and , did write, of , the son of . And said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of ? saith unto him, Come and see. saw coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an indeed, in whom is no guile! saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? answered and said unto him, Before that called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of ; thou art the King of Israel. answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see open, and the of ascending and descending upon .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Is Jesus God? · John 1:1-18
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.