John 4:10

4:10 Jesus answered ¹  her, “If you had known ²  the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water ³  to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ⁴ 

John 8:44

8:44 You people ⁵  are from ⁶  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ⁷  He ⁸  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ⁹  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ¹⁰  he speaks according to his own nature, ¹¹  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ¹² 

John 15:16

15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you ¹³  and appointed you to go and bear ¹⁴  fruit, fruit that remains, ¹⁵  so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

John 20:19

Jesus’ Appearance to the Disciples

20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together ¹⁶  and locked the doors ¹⁷  of the place ¹⁸  because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. ¹⁹  Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

[4:10]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to her.”

[4:10]  ² tn Or “if you knew.”

[4:10]  ³ tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).

[4:10]  ⁴ tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.

[8:44]  ⁵ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ⁶ tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ⁷ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ⁸ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ⁹ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ¹² tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[15:16]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “and yield.”

[15:16]  ¹¹ 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.

[20:19]  ¹³ tn Although the words “had gathered together” are omitted in some of the earliest and best mss, they are nevertheless implied, and have thus been included in the translation.

[20:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the doors were shut”; “locked” conveys a more appropriate idea for the modern English reader.

[20:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “where they were.”

[20:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders.