John 1:32

1:32 Then ¹  John testified, ²  “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove ³  from heaven, ⁴  and it remained on him. ⁵ 

John 7:15

7:15 Then the Jewish leaders ⁶  were astonished ⁷  and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” ⁸ 

John 7:40

Differing Opinions About Jesus

7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd ⁹  began to say, “This really ¹⁰  is the Prophet!” ¹¹ 

John 8:34

8:34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹²  everyone who practices ¹³  sin is a slave ¹⁴  of sin.

John 8:58

8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁵  before Abraham came into existence, ¹⁶  I am!” ¹⁷ 

John 10:7

10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁸  I am the door for the sheep. ¹⁹ 

[1:32]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:32]  ² tn Grk “testified, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:32]  ³ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

[1:32]  ⁴ tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[1:32]  ⁵ sn John says the Spirit remained on Jesus. The Greek verb μένω (menw) is a favorite Johannine word, used 40 times in the Gospel and 27 times in the Epistles (67 together) against 118 times total in the NT. The general significance of the verb μένω for John is to express the permanency of relationship between Father and Son and Son and believer. Here the use of the word implies that Jesus permanently possesses the Holy Spirit, and because he does, he will dispense the Holy Spirit to others in baptism. Other notes on the dispensation of the Spirit occur at John 3:5 and following (at least implied by the wordplay), John 3:34, 7:38-39, numerous passages in John 14-16 (the Paraclete passages) and John 20:22. Note also the allusion to Isa 42:1 – “Behold my servant…my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him.”

[7:15]  ⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:15]  ⁷ tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.

[7:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).

[7:40]  ¹¹ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).

[7:40]  ¹² tn Or “truly.”

[7:40]  ¹³ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[8:34]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:34]  ¹⁷ tn Or “who commits.” This could simply be translated, “everyone who sins,” but the Greek is more emphatic, using the participle ποιῶν (poiwn) in a construction with πᾶς (pas), a typical Johannine construction. Here repeated, continuous action is in view. The one whose lifestyle is characterized by repeated, continuous sin is a slave to sin. That one is not free; sin has enslaved him. To break free from this bondage requires outside (divine) intervention. Although the statement is true at the general level (the person who continually practices a lifestyle of sin is enslaved to sin) the particular sin of the Jewish authorities, repeatedly emphasized in the Fourth Gospel, is the sin of unbelief. The present tense in this instance looks at the continuing refusal on the part of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge who Jesus is, in spite of mounting evidence.

[8:34]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[8:58]  ²¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ²² tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ²³ sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).

[10:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:7]  ²⁷ tn Or “I am the sheep’s door.”