John 1:51

1:51 He continued, ¹  “I tell all of you the solemn truth ²  – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” ³ 

John 3:3

3:3 Jesus replied, ⁴  “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁵  unless a person is born from above, ⁶  he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁷ 

John 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁸  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ⁹  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 6:26

6:26 Jesus replied, ¹⁰  “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹¹  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ¹² 

John 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹³  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ¹⁴  by the door, ¹⁵  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

John 10:41

10:41 Many ¹⁶  came to him and began to say, “John ¹⁷  performed ¹⁸  no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man ¹⁹  was true!”

John 11:28

11:28 And when she had said this, Martha ²⁰  went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, ²¹  “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” ²² 

John 13:16

13:16 I tell you the solemn truth, ²³  the slave ²⁴  is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger ²⁵  greater than the one who sent him.

John 13:20

13:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁶  whoever accepts ²⁷  the one I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” ²⁸ 

John 13:38

13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? ²⁹  I tell you the solemn truth, ³⁰  the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times!

John 16:20

16:20 I tell you the solemn truth, ³¹  you will weep ³²  and wail, ³³  but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, ³⁴  but your sadness will turn into ³⁵  joy.

[1:51]  ¹ tn Grk “and he said to him.”

[1:51]  ² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[1:51]  ³ sn The title Son of Man appears 13 times in John’s Gospel. It is associated especially with the themes of crucifixion (3:14; 8:28), revelation (6:27; 6:53), and eschatological authority (5:27; 9:35). The title as used in John’s Gospel has for its background the son of man figure who appears in Dan 7:13-14 and is granted universal regal authority. Thus for the author, the emphasis in this title is not on Jesus’ humanity, but on his heavenly origin and divine authority.

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

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:3]  ⁶ tn The word ἄνωθεν (anwqen) has a double meaning, either “again” (in which case it is synonymous with παλίν [palin]) or “from above” (BDAG 92 s.v. ἄνωθεν). This is a favorite technique of the author of the Fourth Gospel, and it is lost in almost all translations at this point. John uses the word 5 times, in 3:3, 7; 3:31; 19:11 and 23. In the latter 3 cases the context makes clear that it means “from above.” Here (3:3, 7) it could mean either, but the primary meaning intended by Jesus is “from above.” Nicodemus apparently understood it the other way, which explains his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? He can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” The author uses the technique of the “misunderstood question” often to bring out a particularly important point: Jesus says something which is misunderstood by the disciples or (as here) someone else, which then gives Jesus the opportunity to explain more fully and in more detail what he really meant.

[3:3]  ⁷ sn What does Jesus’ statement about not being able to see the kingdom of God mean within the framework of John’s Gospel? John uses the word kingdom (βασιλεία, basileia) only 5 times (3:3, 5; 18:36 [3x]). Only here is it qualified with the phrase of God. The fact that John does not stress the concept of the kingdom of God does not mean it is absent from his theology, however. Remember the messianic implications found in John 2, both the wedding and miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the temple. For Nicodemus, the term must surely have brought to mind the messianic kingdom which Messiah was supposed to bring. But Nicodemus had missed precisely this point about who Jesus was. It was the Messiah himself with whom Nicodemus was speaking. Whatever Nicodemus understood, it is clear that the point is this: He misunderstood Jesus’ words. He over-literalized them, and thought Jesus was talking about repeated physical birth, when he was in fact referring to new spiritual birth.

[3:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ⁸ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[6:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:26]  ¹² tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”

[10:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ¹⁴ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “entrance.”

[10:41]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And many.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:41]  ¹⁷ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:41]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “did.”

[10:41]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “this one.”

[11:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “she”; the referent (Martha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:28]  ²⁰ tn Or “in secret” (as opposed to publicly, so that the other mourners did not hear).

[11:28]  ²¹ tn Grk “is calling you.”

[13:16]  ²² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[13:16]  ²³ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[13:16]  ²⁴ tn Or “nor is the apostle” (“apostle” means “one who is sent” in Greek).

[13:20]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[13:20]  ²⁶ tn Or “receives,” and so throughout this verse.

[13:20]  ²⁷ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

[13:38]  ²⁸ tn Or “Will you die willingly for me?”

[13:38]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:20]  ³² tn Or “wail,” “cry.”

[16:20]  ³³ tn Or “lament.”

[16:20]  ³⁴ tn Or “sorrowful.”

[16:20]  ³⁵ tn Grk “will become.”