John 3:6

3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, ¹  and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

John 4:7

4:7 A Samaritan woman ²  came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water ³  to drink.”

John 4:54

4:54 Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign ⁴  when he returned from Judea to Galilee.

John 10:27

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 17:4

17:4 I glorified you on earth by completing ⁵  the work you gave me to do. ⁶ 

John 18:19

Jesus Questioned by Annas

18:19 While this was happening, ⁷  the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ⁸ 

[3:6]  ¹ sn What is born of the flesh is flesh, i.e., what is born of physical heritage is physical. (It is interesting to compare this terminology with that of the dialogue in John 4, especially 4:23, 24.) For John the “flesh” (σάρξ, sarx) emphasizes merely the weakness and mortality of the creature – a neutral term, not necessarily sinful as in Paul. This is confirmed by the reference in John 1:14 to the Logos becoming “flesh.” The author avoids associating sinfulness with the incarnate Christ.

[4:7]  ² tn Grk “a woman from Samaria.” According to BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, the prepositional phrase is to be translated as a simple attributive: “γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας a Samaritan woman J 4:7.”

[4:7]  ³ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:54]  ³ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. 2:11 where the same construction occurs.

[17:4]  ⁴ tn Or “by finishing” or “by accomplishing.” Jesus now states that he has glorified the Father on earth by finishing (τελειώσας [teleiwsas] is best understood as an adverbial participle of means) the work which the Father had given him to do.

[17:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “the work that you gave to me so that I may do it.”

[18:19]  ⁵ tn The introductory phrase “While this was happening” is not in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the translation to clarify the alternation of scenes in the narrative for the modern reader.

[18:19]  ⁶ sn The nature of this hearing seems to be more that of a preliminary investigation; certainly normal legal procedure was not followed, for no indication is given that any witnesses were brought forth at this point to testify against Jesus. True to what is known of Annas’ character, he was more interested in Jesus’ disciples than in the precise nature of Jesus’ teaching, since he inquired about the followers first. He really wanted to know just how influential Jesus had become and how large a following he had gathered. This was of more concern to Annas that the truth or falsity of Jesus’ teaching.