John 3:14

3:14 Just as ¹  Moses lifted up the serpent ²  in the wilderness, ³  so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ⁴ 

John 8:35

8:35 The slave does not remain in the family ⁵  forever, but the son remains forever. ⁶ 

John 8:43

8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept ⁷  my teaching. ⁸ 

John 14:16

14:16 Then ⁹  I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate ¹⁰  to be with you forever –

John 19:17

19:17 and carrying his own cross ¹¹  he went out to the place called “The Place of the Skull” ¹²  (called in Aramaic ¹³  Golgotha). ¹⁴ 

[3:14]  ¹ tn Grk “And just as.”

[3:14]  ² sn Or the snake, referring to the bronze serpent mentioned in Num 21:9.

[3:14]  ³ sn An allusion to Num 21:5-9.

[3:14]  ⁴ sn So must the Son of Man be lifted up. This is ultimately a prediction of Jesus’ crucifixion. Nicodemus could not have understood this, but John’s readers, the audience to whom the Gospel is addressed, certainly could have (compare the wording of John 12:32). In John, being lifted up refers to one continuous action of ascent, beginning with the cross but ending at the right hand of the Father. Step 1 is Jesus’ death; step 2 is his resurrection; and step 3 is the ascension back to heaven. It is the upward swing of the “pendulum” which began with the incarnation, the descent of the Word become flesh from heaven to earth (cf. Paul in Phil 2:5-11). See also the note on the title Son of Man in 1:51.

[8:35]  ⁵ tn Or “household.” The Greek work οἰκία (oikia) can denote the family as consisting of relatives by both descent and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house (more the concept of an “extended family”).

[8:35]  ⁶ sn Jesus’ point is that while a slave may be part of a family or household, the slave is not guaranteed a permanent place there, while a son, as a descendant or blood relative, will always be guaranteed a place in the family (remains forever).

[8:43]  ⁹ tn Grk “you cannot hear,” but this is not a reference to deafness, but rather hearing in the sense of listening to something and responding to it.

[8:43]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “my word.”

[14:16]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.

[14:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklhto"). Finding an appropriate English translation for παράκλητος is a very difficult task. No single English word has exactly the same range of meaning as the Greek word. “Comforter,” used by some of the older English versions, appears to be as old as Wycliffe. But today it suggests a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral. “Counselor” is adequate, but too broad, in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor.” “Helper” or “Assistant” could also be used, but could suggest a subordinate rank. “Advocate,” the word chosen for this translation, has more forensic overtones than the Greek word does, although in John 16:5-11 a forensic context is certainly present. Because an “advocate” is someone who “advocates” or supports a position or viewpoint and since this is what the Paraclete will do for the preaching of the disciples, it was selected in spite of the drawbacks.

[19:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “carrying the cross by himself.”

[19:17]  ¹⁸ sn Jesus was led out to the place called “The Place of the Skull” where he was to be crucified. It is clear from v. 20 that this was outside the city. The Latin word for the Greek κρανίον (kranion) is calvaria. Thus the English word “Calvary” is a transliteration of the Latin rather than a NT place name (cf. Luke 23:33 in the KJV).

[19:17]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in Hebrew.”

[19:17]  ²⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.