John 1:50

1:50 Jesus said to him, ¹  “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ² 

John 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ³  at night ⁴  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ⁵  that you do unless God is with him.”

John 4:46

Healing the Royal Official’s Son

4:46 Now he came again to Cana ⁶  in Galilee where he had made the water wine. ⁷  In ⁸  Capernaum ⁹  there was a certain royal official ¹⁰  whose son was sick.

[1:50]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “said to him.”

[1:50]  ² sn What are the greater things Jesus had in mind? In the narrative this forms an excellent foreshadowing of the miraculous signs which began at Cana of Galilee.

[3:2]  ³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁴ tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  ⁵ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.

[4:46]  ⁶ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[4:46]  ⁷ sn See John 2:1-11.

[4:46]  ⁸ tn Grk “And in.”

[4:46]  ⁹ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[4:46]  ¹⁰ tn Although βασιλικός (basiliko") has often been translated “nobleman” it is almost certainly refers here to a servant of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee (who in the NT is called a king, Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29). Capernaum was a border town, so doubtless there were many administrative officials in residence there.