John 1:11

1:11 He came to what was his own, ¹  but ²  his own people ³  did not receive him. ⁴ 

John 11:42

11:42 I knew that you always listen to me, ⁵  but I said this ⁶  for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

John 15:24

15:24 If I had not performed ⁷  among them the miraculous deeds ⁸  that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. ⁹  But now they have seen the deeds ¹⁰  and have hated both me and my Father. ¹¹ 

Matthew 11:20

Woes on Unrepentant Cities

11:20 Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities ¹²  in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.

Luke 16:31

16:31 He ¹³  replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to ¹⁴  Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” ¹⁵ 

[1:11]  ¹ tn Grk “to his own things.”

[1:11]  ² tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:11]  ³ tn “People” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:11]  ⁴ sn His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the λόγος (logos) came into the world, he came to his own (τὰ ἴδια, ta idia, literally “his own things”) and his own people (οἱ ἴδιοι, Joi idioi), who should have known and received him, but they did not. This time John does not say that “his own” did not know him, but that they did not receive him (παρέλαβον, parelabon). The idea is one not of mere recognition, but of acceptance and welcome.

[11:42]  ⁵ tn Grk “that you always hear me.”

[11:42]  ⁶ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[15:24]  ⁷ tn Or “If I had not done.”

[15:24]  ⁸ tn Grk “the works.”

[15:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:24]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the deeds” are supplied to clarify from context what was seen. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[15:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.” It is possible to understand both the “seeing” and the “hating” to refer to both Jesus and the Father, but this has the world “seeing” the Father, which seems alien to the Johannine Jesus. (Some point out John 14:9 as an example, but this is addressed to the disciples, not to the world.) It is more likely that the “seeing” refers to the miraculous deeds mentioned in the first half of the verse. Such an understanding of the first “both – and” construction is apparently supported by BDF §444.3.

[11:20]  ¹² tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places Jesus’ mentions in the following verses.

[16:31]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” See the note on the phrase “respond to” in v. 29.

[16:31]  ¹⁵ sn The concluding statement of the parable, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead, provides a hint that even Jesus’ resurrection will not help some to respond. The message of God should be good enough. Scripture is the sign to be heeded.