5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds 8 that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds 9 I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me.
12:37 Although Jesus 15 had performed 16 so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him,
20:30 Now Jesus performed 19 many other miraculous signs in the presence of the 20 disciples, which are not recorded 21 in this book. 22
2:22 “Men of Israel, 23 listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, 24 wonders, and miraculous signs 25 that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know –
1 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
2 tn Or “good works.”
3 tn Or “works.”
4 tn Or “so that you may learn.”
5 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Or “during the night.”
7 sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.
8 tn Or “works.”
9 tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.
10 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).
11 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
12 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “will he?”).
13 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
14 tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.
15 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Or “done.”
17 tn The phrase “but if you do not believe me” contains an ellipsis; the Greek text reads Grk “but if not.” The ellipsis has been filled out (“but if [you do] not [believe me]…”) for the benefit of the modern English reader.
18 tn Grk “because of the works.”
19 tn Or “did.”
20 tc ‡ Although most
21 tn Grk “are not written.”
22 sn The author mentions many other miraculous signs performed by Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in the Gospel. What are these signs the author of the Gospel has in mind? One can only speculate. The author says they were performed in the presence of the disciples, which emphasizes again their role as witnesses (cf. 15:27). The point here is that the author has been selective in his use of material. He has chosen to record those incidents from the life and ministry of Jesus which supported his purpose in writing the Gospel. Much which might be of tremendous interest, but does not directly contribute to that purpose in writing, he has omitted. The author explains his purpose in writing in the following verse.
23 tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
24 tn Or “miraculous deeds.”
25 tn Again, the context indicates the miraculous nature of these signs, and this is specified in the translation.
26 sn The somewhat awkward naming of Jesus as from Nazareth here is actually emphatic. He is the key subject of these key events.
27 tn Or “how.” The use of ὡς (Jws) as an equivalent to ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect or even direct discourse is well documented. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5 lists Acts 10:28 in this category.
28 tn Grk “power, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.
29 tn The translation “healing all who were oppressed by the devil” is given in L&N 22.22.
30 sn See Acts 7:9.