5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds 9 that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds 10 I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me.
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. 14 5:46 If 15 you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses 16 wrote, how will you believe my words?”
12:37 Although Jesus 19 had performed 20 so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him, 12:38 so that the word 21 of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, 22 “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord 23 been revealed?” 24 12:39 For this reason they could not believe, 25 because again Isaiah said,
12:40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart, 26
so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their heart, 27
and turn to me, 28 and I would heal them.” 29
12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s 30 glory, and spoke about him.
12:42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers 31 many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees 32 they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, 33 so that they would not be put out of 34 the synagogue. 35 12:43 For they loved praise 36 from men more than praise 37 from God.
12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he 38 had raised from the dead.
1 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ question.
2 tn Grk “judged.”
3 tn Grk “judged.”
4 tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.
5 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
6 tn Or “I do not receive.”
7 sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.
8 tn Grk “for an hour.”
9 tn Or “works.”
10 tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.
11 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
12 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
13 tc Several early and important witnesses (Ì66,75 B W a b sa) lack θεοῦ (qeou, “God”) here, thus reading “the only one,” while most of the rest of the tradition, including some important
14 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.
15 tn Grk “For if.”
16 tn Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Grk “answered them.”
18 tn Or “the works.”
19 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Or “done.”
21 tn Or “message.”
22 tn Grk “who said.”
23 tn “The arm of the Lord” is an idiom for “God’s great power” (as exemplified through Jesus’ miraculous signs). This response of unbelief is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa 53:1). The phrase ὁ βραχίων κυρίου (Jo braciwn kuriou) is a figurative reference to God’s activity and power which has been revealed in the sign-miracles which Jesus has performed (compare the previous verse).
24 sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.
25 sn The author explicitly states here that Jesus’ Jewish opponents could not believe, and quotes Isa 6:10 to show that God had in fact blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. This OT passage was used elsewhere in the NT to explain Jewish unbelief: Paul’s final words in Acts (28:26-27) are a quotation of this same passage, which he uses to explain why the Jewish people have not accepted the gospel he has preached. A similar passage (Isa 29:10) is quoted in a similar context in Rom 11:8.
26 tn Or “closed their mind.”
27 tn Or “their mind.”
28 tn One could also translate στραφῶσιν (strafwsin) as “repent” or “change their ways,” but both of these terms would be subject to misinterpretation by the modern English reader. The idea is one of turning back to God, however. The words “to me” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
29 sn A quotation from Isa 6:10.
30 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent supplied here is “Christ” rather than “Jesus” because it involves what Isaiah saw. It is clear that the author presents Isaiah as having seen the preincarnate glory of Christ, which was the very revelation of the Father (see John 1:18; John 14:9).
31 sn The term rulers here denotes members of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in 3:1.
32 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
33 tn The words “Jesus to be the Christ” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see 9:22). As is often the case in Greek, the direct object is omitted for the verb ὡμολόγουν (Jwmologoun). Some translators supply an ambiguous “it,” or derive the implied direct object from the previous clause “believed in him” so that the rulers would not confess “their faith” or “their belief.” However, when one compares John 9:22, which has many verbal parallels to this verse, it seems clear that the content of the confession would have been “Jesus is the Christ (i.e., Messiah).”
34 tn Or “be expelled from.”
35 sn Compare John 9:22. See the note on synagogue in 6:59.
36 tn Grk “the glory.”
37 tn Grk “the glory.”
38 tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.