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 3:9

3:9 Nicodemus replied, ⁴  “How can these things be?” ⁵ 

John 19:6

19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify ⁶  him! Crucify him!” ⁷  Pilate said, ⁸  “You take him and crucify him! ⁹  Certainly ¹⁰  I find no reason for an accusation ¹¹  against him!”

[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.”

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Grk “Nicodemus answered and said to him.”

[3:9]  ⁵ sn “How can these things be?” is Nicodemus’ answer. It is clear that at this time he has still not grasped what Jesus is saying. Note also that this is the last appearance of Nicodemus in the dialogue. Having served the purpose of the author, at this point he disappears from the scene. As a character in the narrative, he has served to illustrate the prevailing Jewish misunderstanding of Jesus’ teaching about the necessity of a new, spiritual birth from above. Whatever parting words Nicodemus might have had with Jesus, the author does not record them.

[19:6]  ⁷ sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero (106-43 b.c.) called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.

[19:6]  ⁸ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from context.

[19:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.

[19:6]  ¹⁰ sn How are Pilate’s words “You take him and crucify him” to be understood? Was he offering a serious alternative to the priests who wanted Jesus crucified? Was he offering them an exception to the statement in 18:31 that the Jewish authorities did not have the power to carry out a death penalty? Although a few scholars have suggested that the situation was at this point so far out of Pilate’s control that he really was telling the high priests they could go ahead and crucify a man he had found to be innocent, this seems unlikely. It is far more likely that Pilate’s statement should be understood as one of frustration and perhaps sarcasm. This seems to be supported by the context, for the Jewish authorities make no attempt at this point to seize Jesus and crucify him. Rather they continue to pester Pilate to order the crucifixion.

[19:6]  ¹¹ tn On this use of γάρ (gar) used in exclamations and strong affirmations, see BDAG 190 s.v. γάρ 3.

[19:6]  ¹² tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”