Acts 14:27

14:27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported ¹  all the things God ²  had done with them, and that he had opened a door ³  of faith for the Gentiles.

Matthew 9:8

9:8 When ⁴  the crowd saw this, they were afraid ⁵  and honored God who had given such authority to men. ⁶ 

Matthew 12:28

12:28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God ⁷  has already overtaken ⁸  you.

Luke 11:20

11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger ⁹  of God, then the kingdom of God ¹⁰  has already overtaken ¹¹  you.

John 5:17-20

5:17 So he ¹²  told ¹³  them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” ¹⁴  5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders ¹⁵  were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.

5:19 So Jesus answered them, ¹⁶  “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁷  the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, ¹⁸  but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father ¹⁹  does, the Son does likewise. ²⁰  5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed.

John 9:33

9:33 If this man ²¹  were not from God, he could do nothing.”

John 11:40-42

11:40 Jesus responded, ²²  “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 11:41 So they took away ²³  the stone. Jesus looked upward ²⁴  and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. ²⁵  11:42 I knew that you always listen to me, ²⁶  but I said this ²⁷  for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

John 14:10-11

14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? ²⁸  The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, ²⁹  but the Father residing in me performs ³⁰  his miraculous deeds. ³¹  14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, ³²  believe because of the miraculous deeds ³³  themselves.

[14:27]  ¹ tn Or “announced.”

[14:27]  ² sn Note that God is the subject of the activity. The outcome of this mission is seen as a confirmation of the mission to the Gentiles.

[14:27]  ³ sn On the image of opening, or of the door, see 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12; Col 4:3.

[9:8]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:8]  ⁵ tc Most witnesses (C L Θ 0233 ˹³ Ï) have ἐθαύμασαν (eqaumasan; “marveled, were amazed”) instead of ἐφοβήθησαν (efobhqhsan) here, effectively turning the fearful reaction into one of veneration. But the harder reading is well supported by א B D W 0281 ˹ 33 892 1424 al lat co and thus is surely authentic.

[9:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “people.” The plural of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") usually indicates people in general, but the singular is used in the expression “Son of Man.” There is thus an ironic allusion to Jesus’ statement in v. 6: His self-designation as “Son of Man” is meant to be unique, but the crowd regards it simply as meaning “human, person.” To maintain this connection for the English reader the plural ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated here as “men” rather than as the more generic “people.”

[12:28]  ⁷ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong.

[12:28]  ⁸ tn The phrase ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (efqasen ef’ Juma") is quite important. Does it mean merely “approach” (which would be reflected in a translation like “has come near to you”) or actually “come upon” (as in the translation given above, “has already overtaken you,” which has the added connotation of suddenness)? Is the arrival of the kingdom merely anticipated or already in process? Two factors favor arrival over anticipation here. First, the prepositional phrase ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (ef’ Jumas, “upon you”) in the Greek text suggests arrival (Dan 4:24, 28 Theodotion). Second, the following illustration in v. 29 looks at the healing as portraying Satan being overrun. So the presence of God’s authority has arrived. See also L&N 13.123 for the translation of φθάνω (fqanw) as “to happen to already, to come upon, to come upon already.”

[11:20]  ⁹ sn The finger of God is a figurative reference to God’s power (L&N 76.3). This phrase was used of God’s activity during the Exodus (Exod 8:19).

[11:20]  ¹⁰ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[11:20]  ¹¹ tn The phrase ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (efqasen ef’ Juma") is important. Does it mean merely “approach” (which would be reflected in a translation like “has come near to you”) or actually “come upon” (as in the translation given above, “has already overtaken you,” which has the added connotation of suddenness)? The issue here is like the one in 10:9 (see note there on the phrase “come on”). Is the arrival of the kingdom merely anticipated or already in process? Two factors favor arrival over anticipation here. First, the prepositional phrase “upon you” suggests arrival (Dan 4:24, 28 Theodotion). Second, the following illustration in vv. 21-23 looks at the healing as portraying Satan being overrun. So the presence of God’s authority has arrived. See also L&N 13.123 for the translation of φθάνω (fqanw) as “to happen to already, to come upon, to come upon already.”

[5:17]  ¹² 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.

[5:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “answered.”

[5:17]  ¹⁴ 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.

[5:18]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[5:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[5:19]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:19]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “nothing from himself.”

[5:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:19]  ²⁰ sn What works does the Son do likewise? The same that the Father does – and the same that the rabbis recognized as legitimate works of God on the Sabbath (see note on working in v. 17). (1) Jesus grants life (just as the Father grants life) on the Sabbath. But as the Father gives physical life on the Sabbath, so the Son grants spiritual life (John 5:21; note the “greater things” mentioned in v. 20). (2) Jesus judges (determines the destiny of people) on the Sabbath, just as the Father judges those who die on the Sabbath, because the Father has granted authority to the Son to judge (John 5:22-23). But this is not all. Not only has this power been granted to Jesus in the present; it will be his in the future as well. In v. 28 there is a reference not to spiritually dead (only) but also physically dead. At their resurrection they respond to the Son as well.

[9:33]  ²¹ tn Grk “this one.”

[11:40]  ²² tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[11:41]  ²³ tn Or “they removed.”

[11:41]  ²⁴ tn Grk “lifted up his eyes above.”

[11:41]  ²⁵ tn Or “that you have heard me.”

[11:42]  ²⁶ tn Grk “that you always hear me.”

[11:42]  ²⁷ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[14:10]  ²⁸ tn The mutual interrelationship of the Father and the Son (ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν, egw en tw patri kai Jo pathr en emoi estin) is something that Jesus expected even his opponents to recognize (cf. John 10:38). The question Jesus asks of Philip (οὐ πιστεύεις, ou pisteuei") expects the answer “yes.” Note that the following statement is addressed to all the disciples, however, because the plural pronoun (ὑμῖν, Jumin) is used. Jesus says that his teaching (the words he spoke to them all) did not originate from himself, but the Father, who permanently remains (μένων, menwn) in relationship with Jesus, performs his works. One would have expected “speaks his words” here rather than “performs his works”; many of the church fathers (e.g., Augustine and Chrysostom) identified the two by saying that Jesus’ words were works. But there is an implicit contrast in the next verse between words and works, and v. 12 seems to demand that the works are real works, not just words. It is probably best to see the two terms as related but not identical; there is a progression in the idea here. Both Jesus’ words (recall the Samaritans’ response in John 4:42) and Jesus’ works are revelatory of who he is, but as the next verse indicates, works have greater confirmatory power than words.

[14:10]  ²⁹ tn Grk “I do not speak from myself.”

[14:10]  ³⁰ tn Or “does.”

[14:10]  ³¹ tn Or “his mighty acts”; Grk “his works.”

[14:11]  ³² 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.

[14:11]  ³³ tn Grk “because of the works.”