John 14:3

14:3 And if I go and make ready ¹  a place for you, I will come again and take you ²  to be with me, ³  so that where I am you may be too.

John 14:28

14:28 You heard me say to you, ⁴  ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad ⁵  that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. ⁶ 

Psalms 101:2

101:2 I will walk in ⁷  the way of integrity.

When will you come to me?

I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. ⁸ 

Hosea 6:3

6:3 So let us acknowledge him! ⁹ 

Let us seek ¹⁰  to acknowledge ¹¹  the Lord!

He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn,

as certainly as the winter rain comes,

as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.”

Matthew 18:20

18:20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

Matthew 28:20

28:20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, ¹²  I am with you ¹³  always, to the end of the age.” ¹⁴ 

[14:3]  ¹ tn Or “prepare.”

[14:3]  ² tn Or “bring you.”

[14:3]  ³ tn Grk “to myself.”

[14:28]  ⁴ tn Or “You have heard that I said to you.”

[14:28]  ⁵ tn Or “you would rejoice.”

[14:28]  ⁶ 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).

[101:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “take notice of.”

[101:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”

[6:3]  ⁹ tn The object (“him”) is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let us pursue in order to know.” The Hebrew term רָדַף (radaf, “to pursue”) is used figuratively: “to aim to secure” (BDB 923 s.v. רָדַף 2). It describes the pursuit of a moral goal: “Do not pervert justice…nor accept a bribe…pursue [רָדַף] justice” (Deut 16:20); “those who pursue [רָדַף] righteousness and who seek [בָּקַשׁ, baqash] the Lord” (Isa 51:1); “He who pursues [רָדַף] righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor” (Prov 21:20); “Seek [בָּקַשׁ] peace and pursue [רָדַף] it” (Ps 34:15); “they slander me when I pursue [רָדַף] good” (Ps 38:21).

[6:3]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct with לְ (lamed) denotes purpose: “to know” (לָדַעַת, lada’at).

[28:20]  ¹² tn The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has been translated here as “remember” (BDAG 468 s.v. 1.c).

[28:20]  ¹³ sn I am with you. Matthew’s Gospel begins with the prophecy that the Savior’s name would be “Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us,’” (1:23, in which the author has linked Isa 7:14 and 8:8, 10 together) and it ends with Jesus’ promise to be with his disciples forever. The Gospel of Matthew thus forms an inclusio about Jesus in his relationship to his people that suggests his deity.

[28:20]  ¹⁴ tc Most mss (A^c Θ Ë¹³ Ï it sy) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of v. 20. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, no good reason exists for the omission of the particle in significant and early witnesses such as א A* B D W ˹ 33 al lat sa.