John 5:45

5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. ¹ 

John 8:15-16

8:15 You people ²  judge by outward appearances; ³  I do not judge anyone. ⁴  8:16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate, ⁵  because I am not alone when I judge, ⁶  but I and the Father who sent me do so together. ⁷ 

John 12:47-48

12:47 If anyone ⁸  hears my words and does not obey them, ⁹  I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ¹⁰  12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept ¹¹  my words has a judge; ¹²  the word ¹³  I have spoken will judge him at the last day.

Luke 9:56

9:56 and they went on to another village.

¹ sn The final condemnation will come from Moses himself – again ironic, since Moses is the very one the Jewish authorities have trusted in (placed your hope). This is again ironic if it is occurring at Pentecost, which at this time was being celebrated as the occasion of the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There is evidence that some Jews of the 1st century looked on Moses as their intercessor at the final judgment (see W. A. Meeks, The Prophet King [NovTSup], 161). This would mean the statement Moses, in whom you have placed your hope should be taken literally and relates directly to Jesus’ statements about the final judgment in John 5:28-29.

² tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

³ tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.

⁴ sn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment, because it forced people to make a choice. Would they accept Jesus or reject him? Would they come to the light or shrink back into the darkness? As they responded, so were they judged – just as 3:19-21 previously stated. One’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.

⁵ tn Grk “my judgment is true.”

⁶ tn The phrase “when I judge” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

⁷ tn The phrase “do so together” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

⁸ tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

⁹ tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”

¹⁰ sn Cf. John 3:17.

¹¹ tn Or “does not receive.”

¹² tn Grk “has one who judges him.”

¹³ tn Or “message.”