Acts 5:36

5:36 For some time ago ¹  Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He ²  was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. ³ 

John 7:18

7:18 The person who speaks on his own authority ⁴  desires ⁵  to receive honor ⁶  for himself; the one who desires ⁷  the honor ⁸  of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, ⁹  and there is no unrighteousness in him.

John 7:2

7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles ¹⁰  was near. ¹¹ 

John 2:4

2:4 Jesus replied, ¹²  “Woman, ¹³  why are you saying this to me? ¹⁴  My time ¹⁵  has not yet come.”

John 2:2

2:2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. ¹⁶ 

John 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ¹⁷  at night ¹⁸  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ¹⁹  that you do unless God is with him.”

John 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁰  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ²¹  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ²²  at night ²³  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ²⁴  that you do unless God is with him.”

John 2:18

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders ²⁵  responded, ²⁶  “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” ²⁷ 

[5:36]  ¹ tn Grk “For before these days.”

[5:36]  ² tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point.

[5:36]  ³ tn Grk “and they came to nothing.” Gamaliel’s argument is that these two insurrectionists were taken care of by natural events.

[7:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “who speaks from himself.”

[7:18]  ⁵ tn Or “seeks.”

[7:18]  ⁶ tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”

[7:18]  ⁷ tn Or “seeks.”

[7:18]  ⁸ tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”

[7:18]  ⁹ tn Or “is truthful”; Grk “is true.”

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.

[7:2]  ¹¹ sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (a.d. 29 or 32, depending on whether one dates the crucifixion in a.d. 30 or 33) there would have been a 6-month interval during which no events are recorded. The author is obviously selective in his approach; he is not recording an exhaustive history (as he will later tell the reader in John 21:25). After healing the paralytic on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (John 5:1-47), Jesus withdrew again to Galilee because of mounting opposition. In Galilee the feeding of the 5,000 took place, which marked the end of the Galilean ministry for all practical purposes. John 7:1-9 thus marks Jesus’ final departure from Galilee.

[2:4]  ¹² tn Grk “and Jesus said to her.”

[2:4]  ¹³ sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? It probably indicates that a new relationship existed between Jesus and his mother once he had embarked on his public ministry. He was no longer or primarily only her son, but the “Son of Man.” This is also suggested by the use of the same term in 19:26 in the scene at the cross, where the beloved disciple is “given” to Mary as her “new” son.

[2:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Woman, what to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι (ti emoi kai soi, gunai) is Semitic in origin. The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) implies merely disengagement. Mere disengagement is almost certainly to be understood here as better fitting the context (although some of the Greek Fathers took the remark as a rebuke to Mary, such a rebuke is unlikely).

[2:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “my hour” (referring to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and return to the Father).

[2:2]  ¹⁶ sn There is no clue to the identity of the bride and groom, but in all probability either relatives or friends of Jesus’ family were involved, since Jesus’ mother and both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the celebration. The attitude of Mary in approaching Jesus and asking him to do something when the wine ran out also suggests that familial obligations were involved.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  ¹⁹ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.

[3:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ²¹ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[3:2]  ²² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ²³ tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  ²⁴ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.

[2:18]  ²⁵ 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. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[2:18]  ²⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[2:18]  ²⁷ sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).