John 2:7

2:7 Jesus told the servants, ¹  “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top.

John 5:17

5:17 So he ²  told ³  them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” ⁴ 

John 2:10

2:10 and said to him, “Everyone ⁵  serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper ⁶  wine when the guests ⁷  are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!”

John 9:4

9:4 We must perform the deeds ⁸  of the one who sent me ⁹  as long as ¹⁰  it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work.

John 9:18

9:18 Now the Jewish religious leaders ¹¹  refused to believe ¹²  that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned ¹³  the parents of the man who had become able to see. ¹⁴ 

John 13:38

13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? ¹⁵  I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁶  the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times!

John 16:24

16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive it, ¹⁷  so that your joy may be complete.

John 21:22

21:22 Jesus replied, ¹⁸  “If I want him to live ¹⁹  until I come back, ²⁰  what concern is that of yours? You follow me!”

John 10:24

10:24 The Jewish leaders ²¹  surrounded him and asked, ²²  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ²³  If you are the Christ, ²⁴  tell us plainly.” ²⁵ 

John 21:23

21:23 So the saying circulated ²⁶  among the brothers and sisters ²⁷  that this disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but rather, “If I want him to live ²⁸  until I come back, ²⁹  what concern is that of yours?”

¹ tn Grk “them” (it is clear from the context that the servants are addressed).

² tc ‡ Most witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ A D L Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt co) have ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while generally better witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א B W {0141} 892 1241 pbo) lack the name. Although it is possible that Alexandrian scribes deleted the name due to proclivities to prune, this is not as likely as other witnesses adding it for clarification, especially since multiple strands of the Alexandrian text are represented in the shorter reading. NA²⁷ places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to authenticity.

³ tn Grk “answered.”

⁴ sn “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” What is the significance of Jesus’ claim? A preliminary understanding can be obtained from John 5:18, noting the Jewish authorities’ response and the author’s comment. They sought to kill Jesus, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God. This must be seen in the context of the relation of God to the Sabbath rest. In the commandment (Exod 20:11) it is explained that “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth…and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Philo, based on the LXX translation of Exod 20:11, denied outright that God had ever ceased his creative activity. And when Rabban Gamaliel II, R. Joshua, R. Eleazar ben Azariah, and R. Akiba were in Rome, ca. a.d. 95, they gave as a rebuttal to sectarian arguments evidence that God might do as he willed in the world without breaking the Sabbath because the entire world was his private residence. So even the rabbis realized that God did not really cease to work on the Sabbath: Divine providence remained active on the Sabbath, otherwise, all nature and life would cease to exist. As regards men, divine activity was visible in two ways: Men were born and men died on the Sabbath. Since only God could give life and only God could deal with the fate of the dead in judgment, this meant God was active on the Sabbath. This seems to be the background for Jesus’ words in 5:17. He justified his work of healing on the Sabbath by reminding the Jewish authorities that they admitted God worked on the Sabbath. This explains the violence of the reaction. The Sabbath privilege was peculiar to God, and no one was equal to God. In claiming the right to work even as his Father worked, Jesus was claiming a divine prerogative. He was literally making himself equal to God, as 5:18 goes on to state explicitly for the benefit of the reader who might not have made the connection.

³ tn Grk “every man” (in a generic sense).

⁴ tn Or “poorer.”

⁵ tn Grk “when they”; the referent (the guests) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Grk “We must work the works.”

⁵ tn Or “of him who sent me” (God).

⁶ tn Or “while.”

⁵ tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers mainly to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. References in this context to Pharisees and to the synagogue (v. 22) suggest an emphasis on the religious nature of the debate which is brought out by the translation “the Jewish religious leaders.”

⁶ tn The Greek text contains the words “about him” at this point: “the Jewish authorities did not believe about him…”

⁷ tn Grk “they called.”

⁸ tn Or “the man who had gained his sight.”

⁶ tn Or “Will you die willingly for me?”

⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

⁷ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁸ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

⁹ tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

¹⁰ tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.

⁹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.

¹⁰ tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.

¹¹ tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”

¹² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

¹³ tn Or “publicly.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “went out.”

¹¹ tn Grk “the brothers,” but here the term refers to more than just the immediate disciples of Jesus (as it does in 20:17). Here, as R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 2:1110), it refers to Christians of the Johannine community (which would include both men and women).

¹² tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

¹³ tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.