John 12:16

12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, ¹  but when Jesus was glorified, ²  then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened ³  to him.) ⁴ 

John 14:26-28

14:26 But the Advocate, ⁵  the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you ⁶  everything, ⁷  and will cause you to remember everything ⁸  I said to you.

14:27 “Peace I leave with you; ⁹  my peace I give to you; I do not give it ¹⁰  to you as the world does. ¹¹  Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage. ¹²  14:28 You heard me say to you, ¹³  ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad ¹⁴  that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. ¹⁵ 

John 15:20

15:20 Remember what ¹⁶  I told you, ‘A slave ¹⁷  is not greater than his master.’ ¹⁸  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ¹⁹  my word, they will obey ²⁰  yours too.

John 16:4

16:4 But I have told you these things ²¹  so that when their time ²²  comes, you will remember that I told you about them. ²³ 

“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you. ²⁴ 

John 16:21

16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ²⁵  because her time ²⁶  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ²⁷  has been born into the world. ²⁸ 

[12:16]  ¹ tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”

[12:16]  ² sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.

[12:16]  ³ tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).

[12:16]  ⁴ sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).

[14:26]  ⁵ tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). See the note on the word “Advocate” in v. 16 for a discussion of how this word is translated.

[14:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “that one will teach you.” The words “that one” have been omitted from the translation since they are redundant in English.

[14:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “all things.”

[14:26]  ⁸ tn Grk “all things.”

[14:27]  ⁹ sn Peace I leave with you. In spite of appearances, this verse does not introduce a new subject (peace). Jesus will use the phrase as a greeting to his disciples after his resurrection (20:19, 21, 26). It is here a reflection of the Hebrew shalom as a farewell. But Jesus says he leaves peace with his disciples. This should probably be understood ultimately in terms of the indwelling of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who has been the topic of the preceding verses. It is his presence, after Jesus has left the disciples and finally returned to the Father, which will remain with them and comfort them.

[14:27]  ¹⁰ tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[14:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “not as the world gives do I give to you.”

[14:27]  ¹² tn Or “distressed or fearful and cowardly.”

[14:28]  ¹³ tn Or “You have heard that I said to you.”

[14:28]  ¹⁴ tn Or “you would rejoice.”

[14:28]  ¹⁵ sn Jesus’ statement the Father is greater than I am has caused much christological and trinitarian debate. Although the Arians appealed to this text to justify their subordinationist Christology, it seems evident that by the fact Jesus compares himself to the Father, his divine nature is taken for granted. There have been two orthodox interpretations: (1) The Son is eternally generated while the Father is not: Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Hilary, etc. (2) As man the incarnate Son was less than the Father: Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose, Augustine. In the context of the Fourth Gospel the second explanation seems more plausible. But why should the disciples have rejoiced? Because Jesus was on the way to the Father who would glorify him (cf. 17:4-5); his departure now signifies that the work the Father has given him is completed (cf. 19:30). Now Jesus will be glorified with that glory that he had with the Father before the world was (cf. 17:5). This should be a cause of rejoicing to the disciples because when Jesus is glorified he will glorify his disciples as well (17:22).

[15:20]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

[15:20]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:20]  ¹⁹ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

[15:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “if they kept.”

[15:20]  ²¹ tn Or “they will keep.”

[16:4]  ²¹ tn The first half of v. 4 resumes the statement of 16:1, ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν (tauta lelalhka Jumin), in a somewhat more positive fashion, omitting the reference to the disciples being caused to stumble.

[16:4]  ²² tn Grk “their hour.”

[16:4]  ²³ tn The words “about them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:4]  ²⁴ sn This verse serves as a transition between the preceding discussion of the persecutions the disciples will face in the world after the departure of Jesus, and the following discussion concerning the departure of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit-Paraclete. Jesus had not told the disciples these things from the beginning because he was with them.

[16:21]  ²⁵ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ²⁶ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ²⁷ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ²⁸ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.