John 1:48

1:48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, ¹  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, ²  I saw you.”

John 18:26

18:26 One of the high priest’s slaves, ³  a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, ⁴  said, “Did I not see you in the orchard ⁵  with him?” ⁶ 

John 19:6

19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify ⁷  him! Crucify him!” ⁸  Pilate said, ⁹  “You take him and crucify him! ¹⁰  Certainly ¹¹  I find no reason for an accusation ¹²  against him!”

[1:48]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[1:48]  ² sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)

[18:26]  ³ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[18:26]  ⁴ sn This incident is recounted in v. 10.

[18:26]  ⁵ tn Or “garden.”

[18:26]  ⁶ tn This question, prefaced with οὐκ (ouk) in Greek, anticipates a positive answer.

[19:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from context.

[19:6]  ⁷ tn Grk “said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.

[19:6]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn On this use of γάρ (gar) used in exclamations and strong affirmations, see BDAG 190 s.v. γάρ 3.

[19:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”