John 18:37

18:37 Then Pilate said, ¹  “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to ²  my voice.”

John 20:17

20:17 Jesus replied, ³  “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

John 6:51

6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread ⁴  that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

John 15:16

15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you ⁵  and appointed you to go and bear ⁶  fruit, fruit that remains, ⁷  so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

John 18:36

18:36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being ⁸  handed over ⁹  to the Jewish authorities. ¹⁰  But as it is, ¹¹  my kingdom is not from here.”

[18:37]  ¹ tn Grk “said to him.”

[18:37]  ² tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”

[20:17]  ³ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[6:51]  ⁵ tn Grk “And the bread.”

[15:16]  ⁷ sn You did not choose me, but I chose you. If the disciples are now elevated in status from slaves to friends, they are friends who have been chosen by Jesus, rather than the opposite way round. Again this is true of all Christians, not just the twelve, and the theme that Christians are “chosen” by God appears frequently in other NT texts (e.g., Rom 8:33; Eph 1:4ff.; Col 3:12; and 1 Pet 2:4). Putting this together with the comments on 15:14 one may ask whether the author sees any special significance at all for the twelve. Jesus said in John 6:70 and 13:18 that he chose them, and 15:27 makes clear that Jesus in the immediate context is addressing those who have been with him from the beginning. In the Fourth Gospel the twelve, as the most intimate and most committed followers of Jesus, are presented as the models for all Christians, both in terms of their election and in terms of their mission.

[15:16]  ⁸ tn Or “and yield.”

[15:16]  ⁹ sn The purpose for which the disciples were appointed (“commissioned”) is to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains. The introduction of the idea of “going” at this point suggests that the fruit is something more than just character qualities in the disciples’ own lives, but rather involves fruit in the lives of others, i.e., Christian converts. There is a mission involved (cf. John 4:36). The idea that their fruit is permanent, however, relates back to vv. 7-8, as does the reference to asking the Father in Jesus’ name. It appears that as the imagery of the vine and the branches develops, the “fruit” which the branches produce shifts in emphasis from qualities in the disciples’ own lives in John 15:2, 4, 5 to the idea of a mission which affects the lives of others in John 15:16. The point of transition would be the reference to fruit in 15:8.

[18:36]  ⁹ tn Grk “so that I may not be.”

[18:36]  ¹⁰ tn Or “delivered over.”

[18:36]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Jewish leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12. In the translation “authorities” was preferred over “leaders” for stylistic reasons.

[18:36]  ¹² tn Grk “now.”