10:31 The Jewish leaders 8 picked up rocks again to stone him to death. 10:32 Jesus said to them, 9 “I have shown you many good deeds 10 from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” 10:33 The Jewish leaders 11 replied, 12 “We are not going to stone you for a good deed 13 but for blasphemy, 14 because 15 you, a man, are claiming to be God.” 16
18:31 Pilate told them, 21 “Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him 22 according to your own law!” 23 The Jewish leaders 24 replied, 25 “We cannot legally put anyone to death.” 26
1 sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.
2 sn The accusers themselves subtly misrepresented the law. The Mosaic law stated that in the case of adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22), but they mentioned only such women.
3 tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”
4 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53–8:11.
5 tn Or possibly “Jesus bent down and wrote an accusation on the ground with his finger.” The Greek verb καταγράφω (katagrafw) may indicate only the action of writing on the ground by Jesus, but in the overall context (Jesus’ response to the accusation against the woman) it can also be interpreted as implying that what Jesus wrote was a counteraccusation against the accusers (although there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote, some scribes added “the sins of each one of them” either here or at the end of v. 8 [U 264 700 al]).
6 tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.
7 tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).
8 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrases “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in v. 24.
9 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
10 tn Or “good works.”
11 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here again the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in vv. 24, 31.
12 tn Grk “answered him.”
13 tn Or “good work.”
14 sn This is the first time the official charge of blasphemy is voiced openly in the Fourth Gospel (although it was implicit in John 8:59).
15 tn Grk “and because.”
16 tn Grk “you, a man, make yourself to be God.”
17 tn Grk “The disciples said to him.”
18 tn Or “the Jewish 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 to the Jewish leaders. See the previous references and the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19, and “Jewish religious leaders” in vv. 24, 31, 33.
19 tn Grk “seeking.”
20 tn Grk “And are.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
21 tn Grk “Then Pilate said to them.”
22 tn Or “judge him.” For the translation “pass judgment on him” see R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:848).
23 sn Pilate, as the sole representative of Rome in a troubled area, was probably in Jerusalem for the Passover because of the danger of an uprising (the normal residence for the Roman governor was in Caesarea as mentioned in Acts 23:35). At this time on the eve of the feast he would have been a busy and perhaps even a worried man. It is not surprising that he offered to hand Jesus back over to the Jewish authorities to pass judgment on him. It may well be that Pilate realized when no specific charge was mentioned that he was dealing with an internal dispute over some religious matter. Pilate wanted nothing to do with such matters, as the statement “Pass judgment on him according to your own law!” indicates. As far as the author is concerned, this points out who was really responsible for Jesus’ death: The Roman governor Pilate would have had nothing to do with it if he had not been pressured by the Jewish religious authorities, upon whom the real responsibility rested.
24 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12.
25 tn Grk “said to him.”
26 tn Grk “It is not permitted to us to kill anyone.”
27 sn See the note on v. 11 above.
28 tn Grk “cast.”
29 tn Or “city.”
30 tn The Greek conjunction ὥστε (Jwste) here indicates their purpose.
31 sn The attempt to throw him down the cliff looks like “lynch law,” but it may really be an indication that Jesus was regarded as a false prophet who was worthy of death (Deut 13:5). Such a sentence meant being thrown into a pit and then stoned.
32 sn They covered their ears to avoid hearing what they considered to be blasphemy.