John 1:39

1:39 Jesus ¹  answered, ²  “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ³ 

John 3:26

3:26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, ⁴  about whom you testified – see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

John 3:31

3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. ⁵  The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. ⁶  The one who comes from heaven ⁷  is superior to all. ⁸ 

John 4:45

4:45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem ⁹  at the feast ¹⁰  (for they themselves had gone to the feast). ¹¹ 

John 5:43

5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept ¹²  me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept ¹³  him.

John 16:13

16:13 But when he, ¹⁴  the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide ¹⁵  you into all truth. ¹⁶  For he will not speak on his own authority, ¹⁷  but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you ¹⁸  what is to come. ¹⁹ 

[1:39]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:39]  ² tn Grk “said to them.”

[1:39]  ³ tn Grk “about the tenth hour.”

[3:26]  ⁴ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:31]  ⁷ tn Or “is above all.”

[3:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”

[3:31]  ⁹ sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.

[3:31]  ¹⁰ tc Ì⁷⁵ א* D ˹ 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanw pantwn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (Ì^36vid,66 א² A B L W^s Θ Ψ 083 086 ˹³ 33 Ï lat sy^s,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.

[4:45]  ¹⁰ sn All the things he had done in Jerusalem probably refers to the signs mentioned in John 2:23.

[4:45]  ¹¹ sn See John 2:23-25.

[4:45]  ¹² sn John 4:44-45. The last part of v. 45 is a parenthetical note by the author. The major problem in these verses concerns the contradiction between the proverb stated by Jesus in v. 44 and the reception of the Galileans in v. 45. Origen solved the problem by referring his own country to Judea (which Jesus had just left) and not Galilee. But this runs counter to the thrust of John’s Gospel, which takes pains to identify Jesus with Galilee (cf. 1:46) and does not even mention his Judean birth. R. E. Brown typifies the contemporary approach: He regards v. 44 as an addition by a later redactor who wanted to emphasize Jesus’ unsatisfactory reception in Galilee. Neither expedient is necessary, though, if honor is understood in its sense of attributing true worth to someone. The Galileans did welcome him, but their welcome was to prove a superficial response based on what they had seen him do at the feast. There is no indication that the signs they saw brought them to place their faith in Jesus any more than Nicodemus did on the basis of the signs. But a superficial welcome based on enthusiasm for miracles is no real honor at all.

[5:43]  ¹³ tn Or “you do not receive.”

[5:43]  ¹⁴ tn Or “you will receive.”

[16:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “that one.”

[16:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “will lead.”

[16:13]  ¹⁸ sn Three important points must be noted here. (1) When the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide the disciples into all truth. What Jesus had said in 8:31-32, “If you continue to follow my teaching you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” will ultimately be realized in the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit to the disciples after Jesus’ departure. (2) The things the Holy Spirit speaks to them will not be things which originate from himself (he will not speak on his own authority), but things he has heard. This could be taken to mean that no new revelation is involved, as R. E. Brown does (John [AB], 2:714-15). This is a possible but not a necessary inference. The point here concerns the source of the things the Spirit will say to the disciples and does not specifically exclude originality of content. (3) Part at least of what the Holy Spirit will reveal to the disciples will concern what is to come, not just fuller implications of previous sayings of Jesus and the like. This does seem to indicate that at least some new revelation is involved. But the Spirit is not the source or originator of these things – Jesus is the source, and he will continue to speak to his disciples through the Spirit who has come to indwell them. This does not answer the question, however, whether these words are addressed to all followers of Jesus, or only to his apostles. Different modern commentators will answer this question differently. Since in the context of the Farewell Discourse Jesus is preparing the twelve to carry on his ministry after his departure, it is probably best to take these statements as specifically related only to the twelve. Some of this the Holy Spirit does directly for all believers today; other parts of this statement are fulfilled through the apostles (e.g., in giving the Book of Revelation the Spirit speaks through the apostles to the church today of things to come). One of the implications of this is that a doctrine does not have to be traced back to an explicit teaching of Jesus to be authentic; all that is required is apostolic authority.

[16:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “speak from himself.”

[16:13]  ²⁰ tn Or will announce to you.”

[16:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “will tell you the things to come.”