The Gospel of John

The Aramaic New Testament

 

The Johannine Corpus

 

 

 

The Preaching Of Juchanon

The Holy Gospel which is the Preaching of Juchanon the Preacher that He Proclaimed at Ephesus

 

Chapter One


In the beginning was the Word (Meltha), and the Word himself was with Alaha, and Alaha was the Word himself. This was in the beginning with Alaha. Everything by his hand was made; and without him was not one thing made that was made. In him was life and the life is the light of the sons of man; and the Light himself shineth in the darkness, and the darkness perceived him not.
There was a man who was sent from Alaha, his name was Juchanon (pronounced Yu'hanon). He came for the testimony, to testify concerning the Light, that all men might believe through by his hand. He was not the Light himself, but came to testify concerning the Light. For that was the true Light that enlighteneth every man who cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world by his hand had been made, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not. But they who received him, he gave to them power, that the sons of Alaha they should become, to those who believe in his name. These are born, not from blood, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of man, but from Aloha,. And the Word flesh was made, and tabernacled with us; and we saw his glory, the glory as of the one-begotten who was from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Juchanon testified concerning him, and cried, and said, "This is he of whom I said, that he cometh after me, and was before me, because he is before me." And from his fullness we all have received, and grace for grace. For the law by the hand of Musha was given; but the truth and the grace were by Yeshu Meshikha.
Alaha no man hath ever seen: the one-begotten God, he who is in the bosom of his Father, he hath declared him. And this was the testimony of Juchanon, when the Judeans sent to him from Jerusalam priests and Levites to demand of him, "Who art thou?" And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Meshikha." And they asked him again, "What then? art thou Elia?" And he said, "I am not." "Art thou the Prophet?" And he said, "No." And they said to him, "And who art thou? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?" He saith, I am the voice which crieth in the wilderness, Make plain the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. But they who were sent were from the Pharisee. And they demanded and said to him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Meshikha, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? Juchanon answered and said to them, I baptize you with waters; but he standeth among you whom you know not: he it is who cometh after me, and he was before me; he, the latchets of whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethany, at the passage of the Jordan, where Juchanon was baptizing.
And the day after, Juchanon seeth Yeshu, who was coming to him; and he said, "Behold the Lamb of Alaha, who beareth the sin of the world ! This is he concerning whom I said, 'After me cometh a man, and he was preferred before me, because he is before me.' And I knew him not, but that he should be made known unto Israel, therefore have I come with waters to baptize." And Juchanon testified and said, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven as a dove, and it remained upon him. And I knew him not: but he who sent me to baptize with water, he said to me, He upon whom thou seest the Spirit descend and remain, this baptizeth with the Spirit of Holiness: and I saw, and bare witness that this is the Son of Alaha."

And the day after Juchanon stood, and two of his disciples; and, contemplating Yeshu as he walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of Alaha!" And his two disciples heard him as he spake, and they went after Yeshu. And Yeshu turned himself, and saw them coming after him, and said to them, "Whom seek you?" They say to him, "Raban, where dwellest thou?" He saith to them, "Come and see." And they went and saw where he dwelt; and they were with him that day: and it was about the tenth hour. Now one of those who heard Juchanon and went after Yeshu was Andreas, the brother of Shemun. This saw first Shemun his brother, and said to him, "We have found the Meshikha; and he brought him to Yeshu. And Yeshu saw him, and said, "Thou art Shemun Bar Jona; thou shalt be called Kepha."
And the day following Yeshu willed to go forth into Galila. And he found Philipos, and said to him, "Come follow me." Now Philipos was from Beth-tsaida, from the city of Andreas and of Shemun. Philipos found Nathanael, and said to him, "Him of whom Musha in the law, and the prophets, did write we have found, that he is Yeshu, the son of Yauseph who is from Natsrath." Saith to him Nathanael, "Can any good thing be from Natsrath?" Philipos saith to him, "Come and see." And Yeshu saw Nathaniel as he was coming to him, and said of him, "Behold truly a son of Israel who hath no guile in him." Nathaniel saith to him, "Whence knowest thou me?" Yeshu saith to him, "While yet Philipos had not called thee, while thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee." Nathaniel answered and said to him, "Rabi, thou art the Son of Alaha himself, thou art the very King of Israel." Yeshu saith to him, "Upon my telling thee that I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Greater things than these thou shalt see. He saith to him, Amen, amen, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of Alaha ascending and descending unto the Son of Man."

Chapter Two

And on the third day there was a feast in Kotna, a city of Galilee; and the mother of Yeshu was there: and Yeshu and his disciples were called to the feast. And the wine failed, and his mother saith to him, to Yeshu, They have no wine. Yeshu saith to her, "What is it to me and to thee, woman? Not yet hath come mine hour. His mother saith to the servitors, "Whatever he telleth you, do." Now there were six water pots of stone set there, unto the purification of the Jewish people, which contained each two quarantals or three. Yeshu saith to them, Fill these water-pots with waters; and they filled them to the top. He saith to them, Draw now, and carry to the chief of the guests. And they carried. And when that chief of the guests had tasted those waters which were made wine, and knew not whence it was, (but the servitors knew, who had filled them with waters,) the chief of the guests called the bridegroom, and said to him, Every man at first the good wine produceth, and when they are satisfied, then that which is inferior; but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This is the first sign that Yeshu wrought in Kotna of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.


After this he went to Kapher-nachum, he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples. And they were there a few days. And the Pascha of the Jews was nigh, and Yeshu went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting. And he made him a scourge of cord, and drove them all from the temple, and the sheep and the oxen and the money-changers; and he shed their money, and their tables he overturned. And to those who sold doves he said, "Take these hence; make not the house of my Father a house of merchandise." And his disciples remembered that it was written, "The zeal of thy house hath devoured me." The Jewish leaders answered and said to him, "What sign showest thou to us, as these things thou doest?" Yeshu answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it. The Jewish leaders say to him, "Forty-and six years was this temple being built, and wilt thou in three days raise it?" But he spake of the temple of his body. But when he was risen from the house of the dead, his disciples remembered that this he had said; and they believed the scriptures, and the word which Yeshu had spoken.

While Yeshu was in Jerusalem at the Pascha, at the feast, many believed in him who saw the signs which he wrought. But he, Yeshu, did not confide himself to them, because he knew every man, and needed not that any should testify to him concerning any man, because he knew what is in man.

 

Chapter Three

 

But there was one of the Pharishee whose name was Nikodimos, a ruler of the Jihudoyee: this came to Jeshu in the night, and said to him, Rabi, we know that thou art sent a teacher from Alaha; for no man can these signs perform which thou doest, unless Alaha be with him. Jeshu answered and said to him, Amen, amen, I say to thee, Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of Aloha. Nikodimos said to him, How can an old man be born ? Who can again the womb of his mother the second time enter, and be born? Jeshu answered and said to him, Amen, amen, I say to thee, That if a man be not born of waters and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Aloha. Whatever is born of the flesh, is flesh; and whatever is born of the Spirit, is spirit. Wonder not that I have said to thee, that it behoves you to be born anew. The wind bloweth where she willeth,* and her voice thou hearest; but thou knowest not whence she cometh, nor whither she goeth: so is every man who is born of the Spirit.
(Rucha signifies either the Spirit, or the wind; as, in like manner, does the corresponding Greek word pneuma and hence most of the versions of the latter have, " The Spirit bloweth where he willeth; " but in the Syriac text the verbs and the pronominal affix to the noun " voice" being in the feminine, the application of Rucho to the Holy Spirit seems not to have been contemplated. OLSHAUSEN on the Greek text has well said, "The comparison itself, and the expression, fwnhn autou, show, beyond doubt, that wneuma does not here mean the breath of the Divine Spirit, but the wind properly so called.")

 

Nikodimos answered and said to him, How can these things be? Jeshu answered and said to him, Art thou Malphona of Israel, and these knowest not ? Amen, amen, I say to thee, What we know we speak, and what we have seen we testify; but our testimony you receive not. If of what is on earth I tell you, and you believe not, how if I tell you of what is in heaven, could you believe me ?

And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, he who is in heaven. And as Musha elevated the serpent in the wilderness, so is to be elevated the Son of Man, that every man who believeth in him might not perish, but have the life which is eternal. For so loved Alaha the world, as his Son, the Only-begotten, he would give, that every one who believeth in him might not perish, but have the life which is eternal. For Alaha sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might live by him. He who believeth on him is not judged, and he who believeth not is judged already, because he believeth not in the name of the only-begotten Son of Alaha. And this is the judgment, that the light hath come into the world, and the sons of men have loved darkness rather than the light, for their deeds have been evil. For every one who doeth abominable things hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he who doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be known that in Aloha they are wrought.

After these came Jeshu and his disciples into the land of Judea, and there conversed with them and baptized. But Juchanon also was baptizing in Ein-yon, near Sholim, because the waters were there many; and they came and were baptized; for not yet was Juchanon cast into the house of the bound. But there was a question with some of the disciples of Juchanon and a certain Jew, upon purification. And they came to Juchanon, and said to him, Raban, he who was with thee at the passage of Jurdan, and concerning whom thou didst give witness, he also baptizeth, and many come to him. Juchanon answered and said to them, A man cannot receive of his own will any thing, unless it be given to him from heaven. You bear me witness that I said, I am not the Meshicha, but I am an apostle (Shelikha) before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and attendeth him, with great joy rejoiceth on account of the voice of the bridegroom: this my joy therefore, behold, is complete. To him it must be to increase, and to me to decrease. For he who from above hath come, is above all; and he who is from the earth, is of the earth, and of the earth speaketh: he who from heaven hath come, is above all. And what he hath seen and heard he testifieth, and his testimony no man receiveth. But he who hath received his testimony, hath sealed that the true Alaha is he. (D'Alaha sharira-u: compare the same words, 1 John v. 20) For he whom Alaha hath sent, the very words of Alaha speaketh; for it was not in measure that Alaha gave the Spirit. The Father loveth the Son, and every thing hath he given into his hands. He who believeth in the Son hath the life which is eternal; and he who obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Alaha remaineth on him.