John 3:9

3:9 Nicodemus replied, ¹  “How can these things be?” ² 

John 5:47

5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses ³  wrote, how will you believe my words?”

John 7:15

7:15 Then the Jewish leaders ⁴  were astonished ⁵  and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” ⁶ 

John 9:10

9:10 So they asked him, ⁷  “How then were you made to see?” ⁸ 

John 9:26

9:26 Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” ⁹ 

John 11:36

11:36 Thus the people who had come to mourn ¹⁰  said, “Look how much he loved him!”

[3:9]  ¹ tn Grk “Nicodemus answered and said to him.”

[3:9]  ² sn “How can these things be?” is Nicodemus’ answer. It is clear that at this time he has still not grasped what Jesus is saying. Note also that this is the last appearance of Nicodemus in the dialogue. Having served the purpose of the author, at this point he disappears from the scene. As a character in the narrative, he has served to illustrate the prevailing Jewish misunderstanding of Jesus’ teaching about the necessity of a new, spiritual birth from above. Whatever parting words Nicodemus might have had with Jesus, the author does not record them.

[5:47]  ³ tn Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:15]  ⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.

[7:15]  ⁶ tn Or “began to be astonished.” This imperfect verb could also be translated ingressively (“began to be astonished”), but for English stylistic reasons it is rendered as a simple past.

[7:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “How does this man know learning since he has not been taught?” The implication here is not that Jesus never went to school (in all probability he did attend a local synagogue school while a youth), but that he was not the disciple of a particular rabbi and had not had formal or advanced instruction under a recognized rabbi (compare Acts 4:13 where a similar charge is made against Peter and John; see also Paul’s comment in Acts 22:3).

[9:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “So they were saying to him.”

[9:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “How then were your eyes opened” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:26]  ⁹ tn Grk “open your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[11:36]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Judeans”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the friends, acquaintances, and relatives of Lazarus or his sisters who had come to mourn, since the Jewish religious authorities are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the notes on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8 and “the Jewish people of the region” in v. 19, as well as the notes on the word “people” in vv. 31, 33.