Discovery BoxJohn 5:1--12:50
Context5:1 After this 1 there was a Jewish feast, 2 and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 3 5:2 Now there is 4 in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate 5 a pool called Bethzatha 6 in Aramaic, 7 which has five covered walkways. 8 5:3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. 5:4 [[EMPTY]] 9 5:5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. 10 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized 11 that the man 12 had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 5:7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, 13 I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, 14 someone else 15 goes down there 16 before me.” 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat 17 and walk.” 5:9 Immediately the man was healed, 18 and he picked up his mat 19 and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.) 20
5:10 So the Jewish leaders 21 said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.” 22 5:11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat 23 and walk.’” 5:12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat 24 and walk’?” 25 5:13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place.
5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, 26 lest anything worse happen to you.” 5:15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders 27 that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things 28 on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders 29 began persecuting 30 him. 5:17 So he 31 told 32 them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” 33 5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders 34 were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.
5:19 So Jesus answered them, 35 “I tell you the solemn truth, 36 the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, 37 but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father 38 does, the Son does likewise. 39 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, 40 so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 41 5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge 42 anyone, but has assigned 43 all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people 44 will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, 45 the one who hears 46 my message 47 and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, 48 but has crossed over from death to life. 5:25 I tell you the solemn truth, 49 a time 50 is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 5:27 and he has granted the Son 51 authority to execute judgment, 52 because he is the Son of Man.
5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time 53 is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 5:29 and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation. 54 5:30 I can do nothing on my own initiative. 55 Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, 56 because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. 57
5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 5:32 There is another 58 who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. 5:33 You have sent to John, 59 and he has testified to the truth. 5:34 (I do not accept 60 human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, 61 and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time 62 in his light.
5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds 63 that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds 64 I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people 65 have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, 66 5:38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. 5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly 67 because you think in them you possess eternal life, 68 and it is these same scriptures 69 that testify about me, 5:40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.
5:41 “I do not accept 70 praise 71 from people, 72 5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God 73 within you. 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept 74 me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept 75 him. 5:44 How can you believe, if you accept praise 76 from one another and don’t seek the praise 77 that comes from the only God? 78
5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. 79 5:46 If 80 you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses 81 wrote, how will you believe my words?”
6:1 After this 82 Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). 83 6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 6:3 So Jesus went on up the mountainside 84 and sat down there with his disciples. 6:4 (Now the Jewish feast of the Passover 85 was near.) 86 6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up 87 and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6:6 (Now Jesus 88 said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) 89 6:7 Philip replied, 90 “Two hundred silver coins worth 91 of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 6:8 One of Jesus’ disciples, 92 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good 93 are these for so many people?”
6:10 Jesus said, “Have 94 the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) 95 So the men 96 sat down, about five thousand in number. 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, 97 as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus 98 said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 6:13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves 99 left over by the people who had eaten.
6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus 100 performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet 101 who is to come into the world.” 102 6:15 Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone. 103
6:16 Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 104 6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake 105 to Capernaum. 106 (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) 107 6:18 By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 6:19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, 108 they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, 109 approaching the boat, and they were frightened. 6:20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 6:21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.
6:22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake 110 realized that only one small boat 111 had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded 112 it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 6:23 But some boats from Tiberias 113 came to shore 114 near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 115 6:24 So when the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats 116 and came to Capernaum 117 looking for Jesus.
6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, 118 they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 119 6:26 Jesus replied, 120 “I tell you the solemn truth, 121 you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. 122 6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, 123 but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food 124 which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” 125
6:28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds 126 God requires?” 127 6:29 Jesus replied, 128 “This is the deed 129 God requires 130 – to believe in the one whom he 131 sent.” 6:30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 6:31 Our ancestors 132 ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 133
6:32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, 134 it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 6:33 For the bread of God is the one who 135 comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 6:34 So they said to him, “Sir, 136 give us this bread all the time!”
6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. 137 6:36 But I told you 138 that you have seen me 139 and still do not believe. 6:37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. 140 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 6:39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up 141 at the last day. 6:40 For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up 142 at the last day.” 143
6:41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus 144 began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 6:42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 6:43 Jesus replied, 145 “Do not complain about me to one another. 146 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, 147 and I will raise him up at the last day. 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ 148 Everyone who hears and learns from the Father 149 comes to me. 6:46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God – he 150 has seen the Father.) 151 6:47 I tell you the solemn truth, 152 the one who believes 153 has eternal life. 154 6:48 I am the bread of life. 155 6:49 Your ancestors 156 ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This 157 is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person 158 may eat from it and not die. 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread 159 that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
6:52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus 160 began to argue with one another, 161 “How can this man 162 give us his flesh to eat?” 6:53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, 163 unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, 164 you have no life 165 in yourselves. 6:54 The one who eats 166 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 167 6:55 For my flesh is true 168 food, and my blood is true 169 drink. 6:56 The one who eats 170 my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him. 171 6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes 172 me will live because of me. 6:58 This 173 is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors 174 ate, but then later died. 175 The one who eats 176 this bread will live forever.”
6:59 Jesus 177 said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue 178 in Capernaum. 179 6:60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things, 180 said, “This is a difficult 181 saying! 182 Who can understand it?” 183 6:61 When Jesus was aware 184 that his disciples were complaining 185 about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 186 6:62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 187 6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! 188 The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 189 6:64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 190 6:65 So Jesus added, 191 “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.” 192
6:66 After this many of his disciples quit following him 193 and did not accompany him 194 any longer. 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?” 195 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 6:69 We 196 have come to believe and to know 197 that you are the Holy One of God!” 198 6:70 Jesus replied, 199 “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?” 200 6:71 (Now he said this about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, 201 for Judas, 202 one of the twelve, was going to betray him.) 203
7:1 After this 204 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. 205 He 206 stayed out of Judea 207 because the Jewish leaders 208 wanted 209 to kill him. 7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles 210 was near. 211 7:3 So Jesus’ brothers 212 advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. 213 7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself 214 does anything in secret. 215 If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) 216
7:6 So Jesus replied, 217 “My time 218 has not yet arrived, 219 but you are ready at any opportunity! 220 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 7:8 You go up 221 to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast 222 because my time 223 has not yet fully arrived.” 224 7:9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.
7:10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus 225 himself also went up, not openly but in secret. 7:11 So the Jewish leaders 226 were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?” 227 7:12 There was 228 a lot of grumbling 229 about him among the crowds. 230 Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others, “He deceives the common people.” 231 7:13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders. 232
7:14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts 233 and began to teach. 234 7:15 Then the Jewish leaders 235 were astonished 236 and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?” 237 7:16 So Jesus replied, 238 “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. 239 7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, 240 he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. 241 7:18 The person who speaks on his own authority 242 desires 243 to receive honor 244 for himself; the one who desires 245 the honor 246 of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, 247 and there is no unrighteousness in him. 7:19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps 248 the law! Why do you want 249 to kill me?”
7:20 The crowd 250 answered, “You’re possessed by a demon! 251 Who is trying to kill you?” 252 7:21 Jesus replied, 253 “I performed one miracle 254 and you are all amazed. 255 7:22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision 256 (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child 257 on the Sabbath. 7:23 But if a male child 258 is circumcised 259 on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, 260 why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well 261 on the Sabbath? 7:24 Do not judge according to external appearance, 262 but judge with proper 263 judgment.”
7:25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem 264 began to say, “Isn’t this the man 265 they are trying 266 to kill? 7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, 267 and they are saying nothing to him. 268 Do the rulers really know that this man 269 is the Christ? 270 7:27 But we know where this man 271 comes from. 272 Whenever the Christ 273 comes, no one will know where he comes from.” 274
7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, 275 cried out, 276 “You both know me and know where I come from! 277 And I have not come on my own initiative, 278 but the one who sent me 279 is true. You do not know him, 280 7:29 but 281 I know him, because I have come from him 282 and he 283 sent me.”
7:30 So then they tried to seize Jesus, 284 but no one laid a hand on him, because his time 285 had not yet come. 7:31 Yet many of the crowd 286 believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ 287 comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” 288
7:32 The Pharisees 289 heard the crowd 290 murmuring these things about Jesus, 291 so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers 292 to arrest him. 293 7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, 294 and then 295 I am going to the one who sent me. 7:34 You will look for me 296 but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”
7:35 Then the Jewish leaders 297 said to one another, “Where is he 298 going to go that we cannot find him? 299 He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed 300 among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? 301 7:36 What did he mean by saying, 302 ‘You will look for me 303 but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, 304 Jesus stood up and shouted out, 305 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. 306 Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him 307 will flow rivers of living water.’” 308 7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, 309 because Jesus was not yet glorified.) 310
7:40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd 311 began to say, “This really 312 is the Prophet!” 313 7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” 314 But still others said, “No, 315 for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? 316 7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant 317 of David 318 and comes from Bethlehem, 319 the village where David lived?” 320 7:43 So there was a division in the crowd 321 because of Jesus. 322 7:44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. 323
7:45 Then the officers 324 returned 325 to the chief priests and Pharisees, 326 who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?” 327 7:46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered, 328 “You haven’t been deceived too, have you? 329 7:48 None of the rulers 330 or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they? 331 7:49 But this rabble 332 who do not know the law are accursed!”
7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus 333 before and who was one of the rulers, 334 said, 335 7:51 “Our law doesn’t condemn 336 a man unless it first hears from him and learns 337 what he is doing, does it?” 338 7:52 They replied, 339 “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you? 340 Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet 341 comes from Galilee!”
7:53 342 [[And each one departed to his own house. 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 343 8:2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach 344 them. 8:3 The experts in the law 345 and the Pharisees 346 brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them 8:4 and said to Jesus, 347 “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 8:5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death 348 such women. 349 What then do you say?” 8:6 (Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against 350 him.) 351 Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger. 352 8:7 When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight 353 and replied, 354 “Whoever among you is guiltless 355 may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8:8 Then 356 he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
8:9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, 357 until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 8:10 Jesus stood up straight 358 and said to her, “Woman, 359 where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 8:11 She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]] 360
8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, 361 “I am the light of the world. 362 The one who follows me will never 363 walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 8:13 So the Pharisees 364 objected, 365 “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” 366 8:14 Jesus answered, 367 “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people 368 do not know where I came from or where I am going. 369 8:15 You people 370 judge by outward appearances; 371 I do not judge anyone. 372 8:16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate, 373 because I am not alone when I judge, 374 but I and the Father who sent me do so together. 375 8:17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 376 8:18 I testify about myself 377 and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
8:19 Then they began asking 378 him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” 379 8:20 (Jesus 380 spoke these words near the offering box 381 while he was teaching in the temple courts. 382 No one seized him because his time 383 had not yet come.) 384
8:21 Then Jesus 385 said to them again, 386 “I am going away, and you will look for me 387 but will die in your sin. 388 Where I am going you cannot come.” 8:22 So the Jewish leaders 389 began to say, 390 “Perhaps he is going to kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 8:23 Jesus replied, 391 “You people 392 are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 8:24 Thus I told you 393 that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, 394 you will die in your sins.”
8:25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, 395 “What I have told you from the beginning. 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge 396 about you, but the Father 397 who sent me is truthful, 398 and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” 399 8:27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.) 400
8:28 Then Jesus said, 401 “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, 402 and I do nothing on my own initiative, 403 but I speak just what the Father taught me. 404 8:29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, 405 because I always do those things that please him.” 8:30 While he was saying these things, many people 406 believed in him.
8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans 407 who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, 408 you are really 409 my disciples 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 410 8:33 “We are descendants 411 of Abraham,” they replied, 412 “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, 413 ‘You will become free’?” 8:34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, 414 everyone who practices 415 sin is a slave 416 of sin. 8:35 The slave does not remain in the family 417 forever, but the son remains forever. 418 8:36 So if the son 419 sets you free, you will be really free. 8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. 420 But you want 421 to kill me, because my teaching 422 makes no progress among you. 423 8:38 I am telling you the things I have seen while with the 424 Father; 425 as for you, 426 practice the things you have heard from the 427 Father!”
8:39 They answered him, 428 “Abraham is our father!” 429 Jesus replied, 430 “If you are 431 Abraham’s children, you would be doing 432 the deeds of Abraham. 8:40 But now you are trying 433 to kill me, a man who has told you 434 the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! 435 8:41 You people 436 are doing the deeds of your father.”
Then 437 they said to Jesus, 438 “We were not born as a result of immorality! 439 We have only one Father, God himself.” 8:42 Jesus replied, 440 “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. 441 I 442 have not come on my own initiative, 443 but he 444 sent me. 8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept 445 my teaching. 446 8:44 You people 447 are from 448 your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. 449 He 450 was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, 451 because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, 452 he speaks according to his own nature, 453 because he is a liar and the father of lies. 454 8:45 But because I am telling you 455 the truth, you do not believe me. 8:46 Who among you can prove me guilty 456 of any sin? 457 If I am telling you 458 the truth, why don’t you believe me? 8:47 The one who belongs to 459 God listens and responds 460 to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, 461 because you don’t belong to God.” 462
8:48 The Judeans 463 replied, 464 “Aren’t we correct in saying 465 that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” 466 8:49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, 467 but I honor my Father – and yet 468 you dishonor me. 8:50 I am not trying to get 469 praise for myself. 470 There is one who demands 471 it, and he also judges. 472 8:51 I tell you the solemn truth, 473 if anyone obeys 474 my teaching, 475 he will never see death.” 476
8:52 Then 477 the Judeans 478 responded, 479 “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! 480 Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet 481 you say, ‘If anyone obeys 482 my teaching, 483 he will never experience 484 death.’ 485 8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? 486 And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” 8:54 Jesus replied, 487 “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. 488 The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people 489 say, ‘He is our God.’ 8:55 Yet 490 you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, 491 I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey 492 his teaching. 493 8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed 494 to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” 495
8:57 Then the Judeans 496 replied, 497 “You are not yet fifty years old! 498 Have 499 you seen Abraham?” 8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, 500 before Abraham came into existence, 501 I am!” 502 8:59 Then they picked up 503 stones to throw at him, 504 but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area. 505
9:1 Now as Jesus was passing by, 506 he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 9:2 His disciples asked him, 507 “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man 508 or his parents?” 509 9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man 510 nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that 511 the acts 512 of God may be revealed 513 through what happens to him. 514 9:4 We must perform the deeds 515 of the one who sent me 516 as long as 517 it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 518 9:6 Having said this, 519 he spat on the ground and made some mud 520 with the saliva. He 521 smeared the mud on the blind man’s 522 eyes 9:7 and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” 523 (which is translated “sent”). 524 So the blind man 525 went away and washed, and came back seeing.
9:8 Then the neighbors and the people who had seen him previously 526 as a beggar began saying, 527 “Is this not the man 528 who used to sit and beg?” 9:9 Some people said, 529 “This is the man!” 530 while others said, “No, but he looks like him.” 531 The man himself 532 kept insisting, “I am the one!” 533 9:10 So they asked him, 534 “How then were you made to see?” 535 9:11 He replied, 536 “The man called Jesus made mud, 537 smeared it 538 on my eyes and told me, 539 ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and was able to see.” 540 9:12 They said 541 to him, “Where is that man?” 542 He replied, 543 “I don’t know.”
9:13 They brought the man who used to be blind 544 to the Pharisees. 545 9:14 (Now the day on which Jesus made the mud 546 and caused him to see 547 was a Sabbath.) 548 9:15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he had gained his sight. 549 He replied, 550 “He put mud 551 on my eyes and I washed, and now 552 I am able to see.”
9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, 553 “This man is not from God, because he does not observe 554 the Sabbath.” 555 But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform 556 such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division 557 among them. 9:17 So again they asked the man who used to be blind, 558 “What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?” 559 “He is a prophet,” the man replied. 560
9:18 Now the Jewish religious leaders 561 refused to believe 562 that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned 563 the parents of the man who had become able to see. 564 9:19 They asked the parents, 565 “Is this your son, whom you say 566 was born blind? Then how does he now see?” 9:20 So his parents replied, 567 “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 9:21 But we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who caused him to see. 568 Ask him, he is a mature adult. 569 He will speak for himself.” 9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. 570 For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus 571 to be the Christ 572 would be put out 573 of the synagogue. 574 9:23 For this reason his parents said, “He is a mature adult, 575 ask him.”) 576
9:24 Then they summoned 577 the man who used to be blind 578 a second time and said to him, “Promise before God to tell the truth. 579 We know that this man 580 is a sinner.” 9:25 He replied, 581 “I do not know whether he is a sinner. I do know one thing – that although I was blind, now I can see.” 9:26 Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he cause you to see?” 582 9:27 He answered, 583 “I told you already and you didn’t listen. 584 Why do you want to hear it 585 again? You people 586 don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”
9:28 They 587 heaped insults 588 on him, saying, 589 “You are his disciple! 590 We are disciples of Moses! 9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man 591 comes from!” 9:30 The man replied, 592 “This is a remarkable thing, 593 that you don’t know where he comes from, and yet he caused me to see! 594 9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to 595 sinners, but if anyone is devout 596 and does his will, God 597 listens to 598 him. 599 9:32 Never before 600 has anyone heard of someone causing a man born blind to see. 601 9:33 If this man 602 were not from God, he could do nothing.” 9:34 They replied, 603 “You were born completely in sinfulness, 604 and yet you presume to teach us?” 605 So they threw him out.
9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, so he found the man 606 and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 607 9:36 The man 608 replied, 609 “And who is he, sir, that 610 I may believe in him?” 9:37 Jesus told him, “You have seen him; he 611 is the one speaking with you.” 612 9:38 [He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 613 9:39 Jesus 614 said,] 615 “For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may gain their sight, 616 and the ones who see may become blind.”
9:40 Some of the Pharisees 617 who were with him heard this 618 and asked him, 619 “We are not blind too, are we?” 620 9:41 Jesus replied, 621 “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, 622 but now because you claim that you can see, 623 your guilt 624 remains.” 625
10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, 626 the one who does not enter the sheepfold 627 by the door, 628 but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 10:2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 10:3 The doorkeeper 629 opens the door 630 for him, 631 and the sheep hear his voice. He 632 calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 633 10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep 634 out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize 635 his voice. 10:5 They will never follow a stranger, 636 but will run away from him, because they do not recognize 637 the stranger’s voice.” 638 10:6 Jesus told them this parable, 639 but they 640 did not understand 641 what he was saying to them.
10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth, 642 I am the door for the sheep. 643 10:8 All who came before me were 644 thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 645 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, 646 and find pasture. 647 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill 648 and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. 649
10:11 “I am the good 650 shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life 651 for the sheep. 10:12 The hired hand, 652 who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons 653 the sheep and runs away. 654 So the wolf attacks 655 the sheep and scatters them. 10:13 Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, 656 he runs away. 657
10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I 658 know my own 659 and my own know me – 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life 660 for 661 the sheep. 10:16 I have 662 other sheep that do not come from 663 this sheepfold. 664 I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, 665 so that 666 there will be one flock and 667 one shepherd. 10:17 This is why the Father loves me 668 – because I lay down my life, 669 so that I may take it back again. 10:18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down 670 of my own free will. 671 I have the authority 672 to lay it down, and I have the authority 673 to take it back again. This commandment 674 I received from my Father.”
10:19 Another sharp division took place among the Jewish people 675 because of these words. 10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! 676 Why do you listen to him?” 10:21 Others said, “These are not the words 677 of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see, 678 can it?” 679
10:22 Then came the feast of the Dedication 680 in Jerusalem. 681 10:23 It was winter, 682 and Jesus was walking in the temple area 683 in Solomon’s Portico. 684 10:24 The Jewish leaders 685 surrounded him and asked, 686 “How long will you keep us in suspense? 687 If you are the Christ, 688 tell us plainly.” 689 10:25 Jesus replied, 690 “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds 691 I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give 692 them eternal life, and they will never perish; 693 no one will snatch 694 them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, 695 and no one can snatch 696 them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I 697 are one.” 698
10:31 The Jewish leaders 699 picked up rocks again to stone him to death. 10:32 Jesus said to them, 700 “I have shown you many good deeds 701 from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” 10:33 The Jewish leaders 702 replied, 703 “We are not going to stone you for a good deed 704 but for blasphemy, 705 because 706 you, a man, are claiming to be God.” 707
10:34 Jesus answered, 708 “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 709 10:35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), 710 10:36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apart 711 and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 10:37 If I do not perform 712 the deeds 713 of my Father, do not believe me. 10:38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, 714 so that you may come to know 715 and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” 10:39 Then 716 they attempted 717 again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches. 718
10:40 Jesus 719 went back across the Jordan River 720 again to the place where John 721 had been baptizing at an earlier time, 722 and he stayed there. 10:41 Many 723 came to him and began to say, “John 724 performed 725 no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man 726 was true!” 10:42 And many believed in Jesus 727 there.
11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 728 11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil 729 and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 730 11:3 So the sisters sent a message 731 to Jesus, 732 “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” 11:4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, 733 but to God’s glory, 734 so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 735 11:5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) 736
11:6 So when he heard that Lazarus 737 was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days. 11:7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 738 11:8 The disciples replied, 739 “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders 740 were just now trying 741 to stone you to death! Are 742 you going there again?” 11:9 Jesus replied, 743 “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, 744 because he sees the light of this world. 745 11:10 But if anyone walks around at night, 746 he stumbles, 747 because the light is not in him.”
11:11 After he said this, he added, 748 “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. 749 But I am going there to awaken him.” 11:12 Then the disciples replied, 750 “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 11:13 (Now Jesus had been talking about 751 his death, but they 752 thought he had been talking about real sleep.) 753
11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 11:15 and I am glad 754 for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. 755 But let us go to him.” 11:16 So Thomas (called Didymus 756 ) 757 said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.” 758
11:17 When 759 Jesus arrived, 760 he found that Lazarus 761 had been in the tomb four days already. 762 11:18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles 763 from Jerusalem, 764 11:19 so many of the Jewish people of the region 765 had come to Martha and Mary to console them 766 over the loss of their brother.) 767 11:20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 768 11:21 Martha 769 said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 11:22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant 770 you.” 771
11:23 Jesus replied, 772 “Your brother will come back to life again.” 773 11:24 Martha said, 774 “I know that he will come back to life again 775 in the resurrection at the last day.” 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live 776 even if he dies, 11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. 777 Do you believe this?” 11:27 She replied, 778 “Yes, Lord, I believe 779 that you are the Christ, 780 the Son of God who comes into the world.” 781
11:28 And when she had said this, Martha 782 went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, 783 “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” 784 11:29 So when Mary 785 heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 11:30 (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him.) 11:31 Then the people 786 who were with Mary 787 in the house consoling her saw her 788 get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep 789 there.
11:32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people 790 who had come with her weeping, he was intensely moved 791 in spirit and greatly distressed. 792 11:34 He asked, 793 “Where have you laid him?” 794 They replied, 795 “Lord, come and see.” 11:35 Jesus wept. 796 11:36 Thus the people who had come to mourn 797 said, “Look how much he loved him!” 11:37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see! 798 Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus 799 from dying?”
11:38 Jesus, intensely moved 800 again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.) 801 11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” 802 Martha, the sister of the deceased, 803 replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, 804 because he has been buried 805 four days.” 806 11:40 Jesus responded, 807 “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 11:41 So they took away 808 the stone. Jesus looked upward 809 and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. 810 11:42 I knew that you always listen to me, 811 but I said this 812 for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 11:43 When 813 he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, 814 “Lazarus, come out!” 11:44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, 815 and a cloth wrapped around his face. 816 Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him 817 and let him go.”
11:45 Then many of the people, 818 who had come with Mary and had seen the things Jesus 819 did, believed in him. 11:46 But some of them went to the Pharisees 820 and reported to them 821 what Jesus had done. 11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees 822 called the council 823 together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs. 11:48 If we allow him to go on in this way, 824 everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary 825 and our nation.”
11:49 Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, 826 “You know nothing at all! 11:50 You do not realize 827 that it is more to your advantage to have one man 828 die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” 829 11:51 (Now he did not say this on his own, 830 but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, 831 11:52 and not for the Jewish nation 832 only, 833 but to gather together 834 into one the children of God who are scattered.) 835 11:53 So from that day they planned together to kill him.
11:54 Thus Jesus no longer went 836 around publicly 837 among the Judeans, 838 but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, 839 and stayed there with his disciples. 11:55 Now the Jewish feast of Passover 840 was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem 841 from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually. 842 11:56 Thus they were looking for Jesus, 843 and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts, 844 “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?” 11:57 (Now the chief priests and the Pharisees 845 had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus 846 was should report it, so that they could arrest 847 him.) 848
12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he 849 had raised from the dead. 12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus 850 there. Martha 851 was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table 852 with him. 12:3 Then Mary took three quarters of a pound 853 of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard 854 and anointed the feet of Jesus. She 855 then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.) 856 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) 857 said, 12:5 “Why wasn’t this oil sold for three hundred silver coins 858 and the money 859 given to the poor?” 12:6 (Now Judas 860 said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money box, 861 he used to steal what was put into it.) 862 12:7 So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. 863 12:8 For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me!” 864
12:9 Now a large crowd of Judeans 865 learned 866 that Jesus 867 was there, and so they came not only because of him 868 but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. 12:10 So the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too, 869 12:11 for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem 870 were going away and believing in Jesus.
12:12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 871 12:13 So they took branches of palm trees 872 and went out to meet him. They began to shout, 873 “Hosanna! 874 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 875 Blessed is 876 the king of Israel!” 12:14 Jesus found a young donkey 877 and sat on it, just as it is written, 12:15 “Do not be afraid, people of Zion; 878 look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!” 879 12:16 (His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened, 880 but when Jesus was glorified, 881 then they remembered that these things were written about him and that these things had happened 882 to him.) 883
12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. 884 12:18 Because they had heard that Jesus 885 had performed this miraculous sign, the crowd went out to meet him. 12:19 Thus the Pharisees 886 said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”
12:20 Now some Greeks 887 were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast. 12:21 So these approached Philip, 888 who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, 889 “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 12:22 Philip went and told Andrew, and they both 890 went and told Jesus. 12:23 Jesus replied, 891 “The time 892 has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 893 12:24 I tell you the solemn truth, 894 unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. 895 But if it dies, it produces 896 much grain. 897 12:25 The one who loves his life 898 destroys 899 it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards 900 it for eternal life. 12:26 If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow 901 me, and where I am, my servant will be too. 902 If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
12:27 “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me 903 from this hour’? 904 No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. 905 12:28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, 906 “I have glorified it, 907 and I will glorify it 908 again.” 12:29 The crowd that stood there and heard the voice 909 said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to him. 910 12:30 Jesus said, 911 “This voice has not come for my benefit 912 but for yours. 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world 913 will be driven out. 914 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people 915 to myself.” 12:33 (Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.) 916
12:34 Then the crowd responded, 917 “We have heard from the law that the Christ 918 will remain forever. 919 How 920 can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 12:35 Jesus replied, 921 “The light is with you for a little while longer. 922 Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. 923 The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 12:36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light.” 924 When Jesus had said these things, he went away and hid himself from them.
12:37 Although Jesus 925 had performed 926 so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him, 12:38 so that the word 927 of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, 928 “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord 929 been revealed?” 930 12:39 For this reason they could not believe, 931 because again Isaiah said,
12:40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart, 932
so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their heart, 933
and turn to me, 934 and I would heal them.” 935
12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s 936 glory, and spoke about him.
12:42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers 937 many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees 938 they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, 939 so that they would not be put out of 940 the synagogue. 941 12:43 For they loved praise 942 from men more than praise 943 from God.
12:44 But Jesus shouted out, 944 “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, 945 12:45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 946 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. 12:47 If anyone 947 hears my words and does not obey them, 948 I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 949 12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept 950 my words has a judge; 951 the word 952 I have spoken will judge him at the last day. 12:49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, 953 but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me 954 what I should say and what I should speak. 12:50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. 955 Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.” 956
[5:1] 1 sn The temporal indicator After this is not specific, so it is uncertain how long after the incidents at Cana this occurred.
[5:1] 2 tc The textual variants ἑορτή or ἡ ἑορτή (Jeorth or Jh Jeorth, “a feast” or “the feast”) may not appear significant at first, but to read ἑορτή with the article would almost certainly demand a reference to the Jewish Passover. The article is found in א C L Δ Ψ Ë1 33 892 1424 pm, but is lacking in {Ì66,75 A B D T Ws Θ Ë13 565 579 700 1241 pm}. Overall, the shorter reading has somewhat better support. Internally, the known proclivity of scribes to make the text more explicit argues compellingly for the shorter reading. Thus, the verse refers to a feast other than the Passover. The incidental note in 5:3, that the sick were lying outside in the porticoes of the pool, makes Passover an unlikely time because it fell toward the end of winter and the weather would not have been warm. L. Morris (John [NICNT], 299, n. 6) thinks it impossible to identify the feast with certainty.
[5:1] 3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[5:2] 4 tn Regarding the use of the present tense ἐστιν (estin) and its implications for the dating of the Gospel of John, see the article by D. B. Wallace, “John 5,2 and the Date of the Fourth Gospel,” Bib 71 (1990): 177-205.
[5:2] 5 tn The site of the miracle is also something of a problem: προβατικῇ (probatikh) is usually taken as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple. Some (R. E. Brown and others) would place the word κολυμβήθρα (kolumbhqra) with προβατικῇ to read “in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Pool, there is (another pool) with the Hebrew name.” This would imply that there is reference to two pools in the context rather than only one. This does not seem necessary (although it is a grammatical possibility). The gender of the words does not help since both are feminine (as is the participle ἐπιλεγομένη [epilegomenh]). Note however that Brown’s suggestion would require a feminine word to be supplied (for the participle ἐπιλεγομένη to modify). The traditional understanding of the phrase as a reference to the Sheep Gate near the temple appears more probably correct.
[5:2] 6 tc Some
[5:2] 8 tn Or “porticoes,” or “colonnades”; Grk “stoas.”
[5:4] 7 tc The majority of later
[5:5] 10 tn Grk “who had had thirty-eight years in his disability.”
[5:6] 14 tn Grk “he.” The referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:7] 16 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage the paralytic who was healed by Jesus never acknowledges Jesus as Lord – he rather reports Jesus to the authorities.
[5:7] 17 tn Grk “while I am going.”
[5:7] 19 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
[5:8] 19 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” Some of these items, however, are rather substantial (e.g., “mattress”) and would probably give the modern English reader a false impression.
[5:9] 22 tn Grk “became well.”
[5:9] 23 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in the previous verse.
[5:9] 24 tn Grk “Now it was Sabbath on that day.”
[5:10] 25 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. Here the author refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9).
[5:10] 26 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8.
[5:11] 28 tn Or “pallet,” “mattress,” “cot,” or “stretcher.” See the note on “mat” in v. 8.
[5:12] 31 tc While a number of
[5:12] 32 tn Grk “Pick up and walk”; the object (the mat) is implied but not repeated.
[5:14] 34 tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.
[5:15] 37 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
[5:16] 40 sn Note the plural phrase these things which seems to indicate that Jesus healed on the Sabbath more than once (cf. John 20:30). The synoptic gospels show this to be true; the incident in 5:1-15 has thus been chosen by the author as representative.
[5:16] 41 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
[5:17] 43 tc ‡ Most witnesses (Ì66 A D L Θ Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï latt co) have ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”) here, while generally better witnesses (Ì75 א B W {0141} 892 1241 pbo) lack the name. Although it is possible that Alexandrian scribes deleted the name due to proclivities to prune, this is not as likely as other witnesses adding it for clarification, especially since multiple strands of the Alexandrian text are represented in the shorter reading. NA27 places the word in brackets, indicating some doubts as to authenticity.
[5:17] 45 sn “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” What is the significance of Jesus’ claim? A preliminary understanding can be obtained from John 5:18, noting the Jewish authorities’ response and the author’s comment. They sought to kill Jesus, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God. This must be seen in the context of the relation of God to the Sabbath rest. In the commandment (Exod 20:11) it is explained that “In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth…and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Philo, based on the LXX translation of Exod 20:11, denied outright that God had ever ceased his creative activity. And when Rabban Gamaliel II, R. Joshua, R. Eleazar ben Azariah, and R. Akiba were in Rome, ca.
[5:18] 46 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
[5:19] 49 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[5:19] 50 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:19] 51 tn Grk “nothing from himself.”
[5:19] 52 tn Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:19] 53 sn What works does the Son do likewise? The same that the Father does – and the same that the rabbis recognized as legitimate works of God on the Sabbath (see note on working in v. 17). (1) Jesus grants life (just as the Father grants life) on the Sabbath. But as the Father gives physical life on the Sabbath, so the Son grants spiritual life (John 5:21; note the “greater things” mentioned in v. 20). (2) Jesus judges (determines the destiny of people) on the Sabbath, just as the Father judges those who die on the Sabbath, because the Father has granted authority to the Son to judge (John 5:22-23). But this is not all. Not only has this power been granted to Jesus in the present; it will be his in the future as well. In v. 28 there is a reference not to spiritually dead (only) but also physically dead. At their resurrection they respond to the Son as well.
[5:21] 52 tn Grk “and makes them live.”
[5:21] 53 tn Grk “the Son makes whomever he wants to live.”
[5:22] 56 tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”
[5:23] 58 tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).
[5:24] 61 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:24] 64 tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”
[5:25] 64 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[5:27] 68 tn Grk “authority to judge.”
[5:29] 73 tn Or “a resurrection resulting in judgment.”
[5:30] 76 tn Grk “nothing from myself.”
[5:30] 77 tn Or “righteous,” or “proper.”
[5:30] 78 tn That is, “the will of the Father who sent me.”
[5:32] 79 sn To whom does another refer? To John the Baptist or to the Father? In the nearer context, v. 33, it would seem to be John the Baptist. But v. 34 seems to indicate that Jesus does not receive testimony from men. Probably it is better to view v. 32 as identical to v. 37, with the comments about the Baptist as a parenthetical digression.
[5:33] 82 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
[5:34] 85 tn Or “I do not receive.”
[5:35] 88 sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.
[5:35] 89 tn Grk “for an hour.”
[5:36] 92 tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.
[5:37] 94 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.
[5:37] 95 sn You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time. Compare Deut 4:12. Also see Deut 5:24 ff., where the Israelites begged to hear the voice no longer – their request (ironically) has by this time been granted. How ironic this would be if the feast is Pentecost, where by the 1st century
[5:39] 97 tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.
[5:39] 98 sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”
[5:39] 99 tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).
[5:41] 100 tn Or “I do not receive.”
[5:41] 101 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
[5:41] 102 tn Grk “from men,” but in a generic sense; both men and women are implied here.
[5:42] 103 tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (thn agaphn tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, the emphasis would be on the love God gives which in turn produces love for him, but Jesus’ opponents are lacking any such love inside them.
[5:43] 106 tn Or “you do not receive.”
[5:43] 107 tn Or “you will receive.”
[5:44] 109 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
[5:44] 110 tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).
[5:44] 111 tc Several early and important witnesses (Ì66,75 B W a b sa) lack θεοῦ (qeou, “God”) here, thus reading “the only one,” while most of the rest of the tradition, including some important
[5:45] 112 sn The final condemnation will come from Moses himself – again ironic, since Moses is the very one the Jewish authorities have trusted in (placed your hope). This is again ironic if it is occurring at Pentecost, which at this time was being celebrated as the occasion of the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There is evidence that some Jews of the 1st century looked on Moses as their intercessor at the final judgment (see W. A. Meeks, The Prophet King [NovTSup], 161). This would mean the statement Moses, in whom you have placed your hope should be taken literally and relates directly to Jesus’ statements about the final judgment in John 5:28-29.
[5:47] 118 tn Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:1] 121 tn Again, μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta) is a vague temporal reference. How Jesus got from Jerusalem to Galilee is not explained, which has led many scholars (e.g., Bernard, Bultmann, and Schnackenburg) to posit either editorial redaction or some sort of rearrangement or dislocation of material (such as reversing the order of chaps. 5 and 6, for example). Such a rearrangement of the material would give a simple and consistent connection of events, but in the absence of all external evidence it does not seem to be supportable. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:236) says that such an arrangement is attractive in some ways but not compelling, and that no rearrangement can solve all the geographical and chronological problems in John.
[6:1] 122 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Only John in the New Testament refers to the Sea of Galilee by the name Sea of Tiberias (see also John 21:1), but this is correct local usage. In the mid-20’s Herod completed the building of the town of Tiberias on the southwestern shore of the lake; after this time the name came into use for the lake itself.
[6:3] 124 sn Up on the mountainside does not necessarily refer to a particular mountain or hillside, but may simply mean “the hill country” or “the high ground,” referring to the high country east of the Sea of Galilee (known today as the Golan Heights).
[6:4] 127 sn Passover. According to John’s sequence of material, considerable time has elapsed since the feast of 5:1. If the feast in 5:1 was Pentecost of
[6:4] 128 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[6:5] 130 tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).
[6:6] 133 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:6] 134 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[6:7] 136 tn Grk “Philip answered him.”
[6:7] 137 tn Grk “two hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about eight months’ pay.
[6:8] 139 tn Grk “one of his disciples.”
[6:9] 142 tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[6:10] 146 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author (suggesting an eyewitness recollection).
[6:10] 147 tn Here “men” has been used in the translation because the following number, 5,000, probably included only adult males (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).
[6:11] 148 tn Grk “likewise also (he distributed) from the fish.”
[6:12] 151 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:13] 154 sn Note that the fish mentioned previously (in John 6:9) are not emphasized here, only the five barley loaves. This is easy to understand, however, because the bread is of primary importance for the author in view of Jesus’ upcoming discourse on the Bread of Life.
[6:14] 157 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:14] 158 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
[6:14] 159 sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.
[6:15] 160 sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).
[6:16] 163 tn Or “sea.” The Greek word indicates a rather large body of water, but the English word “sea” normally indicates very large bodies of water, so the word “lake” in English is a closer approximation.
[6:17] 166 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.
[6:17] 167 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[6:17] 168 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[6:19] 169 tn Grk “about twenty-five or thirty stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).
[6:19] 170 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16. John uses the phrase ἐπί (epi, “on”) followed by the genitive (as in Mark, instead of Matthew’s ἐπί followed by the accusative) to describe Jesus walking “on the lake.”
[6:22] 172 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.
[6:22] 173 tc Most witnesses have after “one” the phrase “which his disciples had entered” (ἐκεῖνο εἰς ὃ ἐνέβησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, ekeino ei" }o enebhsan Joi maqhtai autou) although there are several permutations of this clause ([א* D] Θ [Ë13 33] Ï [sa]). The witnesses that lack this expression are, however, significant and diffused (Ì75 א2 A B L N W Ψ 1 565 579 1241 al lat). The clarifying nature of the longer reading, the multiple variants from it, and the weighty testimony for the shorter reading all argue against the authenticity of the longer text in any of its variations.
[6:23] 175 map For location see Map1 E2; Map2 C2; Map3 C3; Map4 D1; Map5 G4.
[6:23] 176 tn Or “boats from Tiberias landed”; Grk “came.”
[6:23] 177 tc D 091 a e sys,c lack the phrase “after the Lord had given thanks” (εὐχαριστήσαντος τοῦ κυρίου, eucaristhsanto" tou kuriou), while almost all the rest of the witnesses ({Ì75 א A B L W Θ Ψ 0141 [Ë1] Ë13 33 Ï as well as several versions and fathers}) have the words (though {l672 l950 syp pbo} read ᾿Ιησοῦ [Ihsou, “Jesus”] instead of κυρίου). Although the shorter reading has minimal support, it is significant that this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and possibly 4:1 (but see tc note on “Jesus” there). There is thus but one undisputed preresurrection text in which the narrator calls Jesus “Lord.” This fact can be utilized on behalf of either reading: The participial phrase could be seen as a scribal addition harking back to 6:11 but which does not fit Johannine style, or it could be viewed as truly authentic and in line with what John indisputably does elsewhere even if rarely. On balance, in light of the overwhelming support for these words it is probably best to retain them in the text.
[6:24] 178 tn Or “embarked in the boats.”
[6:24] 179 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[6:25] 181 tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.
[6:25] 182 sn John 6:25-31. The previous miracle of the multiplication of the bread had taken place near the town of Tiberias (cf. John 6:23). Jesus’ disciples set sail for Capernaum (6:17) and were joined by the Lord in the middle of the sea. The next day boats from Tiberias picked up a few of those who had seen the multiplication (certainly not the whole 5,000) and brought them to Capernaum. It was to this group that Jesus spoke in 6:26-27. But there were also people from Capernaum who had gathered to see Jesus, who had not witnessed the multiplication, and it was this group that asked Jesus for a miraculous sign like the manna (6:30-31). This would have seemed superfluous if it were the same crowd that had already seen the multiplication of the bread. But some from Capernaum had heard about it and wanted to see a similar miracle repeated.
[6:26] 184 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[6:26] 185 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:26] 186 tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”
[6:27] 187 tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).
[6:27] 188 tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.
[6:27] 189 tn Grk “on this one.”
[6:28] 190 tn Grk “the works.”
[6:28] 191 tn Grk “What must we do to work the works of God?”
[6:29] 193 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[6:29] 195 tn Grk “This is the work of God.”
[6:29] 196 tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).
[6:31] 196 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
[6:31] 197 sn A quotation from Ps 78:24 (referring to the events of Exod 16:4-36).
[6:32] 199 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:34] 205 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage it is not at all clear at this point that the crowd is acknowledging Jesus as Lord. More likely this is simply a form of polite address (“sir”).
[6:35] 208 tn Grk “the one who believes in me will not possibly thirst, ever.”
[6:36] 211 tn Grk “But I said to you.”
[6:36] 212 tc A few witnesses lack με (me, “me”; א A a b e q sys,c), while the rest of the tradition has the word (Ì66,75vid rell). It is possible that the
[6:37] 214 tn Or “drive away”; Grk “cast out.”
[6:39] 217 tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.
[6:40] 220 tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”
[6:40] 221 sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).
[6:41] 223 tn Grk “Then 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 translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). Likewise, the designation “Judeans” does not fit here because the location is Galilee rather than Judea.
[6:43] 226 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
[6:43] 227 tn Or “Do not grumble among yourselves.” The words “about me” are supplied to clarify the translation “complain to one another” (otherwise the Jewish opponents could be understood to be complaining about one another, rather than complaining to one another about Jesus).
[6:44] 229 tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).
[6:45] 232 sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.
[6:45] 233 tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”
[6:46] 236 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Although some would attribute these words to Jesus himself, the switch from first person in Jesus’ preceding and following remarks to third person in v. 46 suggests that the author has added a clarifying comment here.
[6:47] 238 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:47] 239 tc Most witnesses (A C2 D Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï lat and other versions) have “in me” (εἰς ἐμέ, eis eme) here, while the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac versions read “in God.” These clarifying readings are predictable variants, being motivated by the scribal tendency toward greater explicitness. That the earliest and best witnesses (Ì66,75vid א B C* L T W Θ 892 pc) lack any object is solid testimony to the shorter text’s authenticity.
[6:47] 240 tn Compare John 6:40.
[6:48] 241 tn That is, “the bread that produces (eternal) life.”
[6:49] 244 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
[6:50] 248 tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).
[6:51] 250 tn Grk “And the bread.”
[6:52] 253 tn Grk “Then the Jews began to argue.” Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). See also the note on the phrase “the Jews who were hostile to Jesus” in v. 41.
[6:52] 254 tn Grk “with one another, saying.”
[6:52] 255 tn Grk “this one,” “this person.”
[6:53] 256 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[6:53] 257 sn Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. These words are at the heart of the discourse on the Bread of Life, and have created great misunderstanding among interpreters. Anyone who is inclined toward a sacramental viewpoint will almost certainly want to take these words as a reference to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, because of the reference to eating and drinking. But this does not automatically follow: By anyone’s definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.
[6:53] 258 tn That is, “no eternal life” (as opposed to physical life).
[6:54] 259 tn Or “who chews”; Grk ὁ τρώγων (Jo trwgwn). The alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) may simply reflect a preference for one form over the other on the author’s part, rather than an attempt to express a slightly more graphic meaning. If there is a difference, however, the word used here (τρώγω) is the more graphic and vivid of the two (“gnaw” or “chew”).
[6:54] 260 sn Notice that here the result (has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day) is produced by eating (Jesus’) flesh and drinking his blood. Compare John 6:40 where the same result is produced by “looking on the Son and believing in him.” This suggests that the phrase here (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood by the phrase in 6:40 (looks on the Son and believes in him).
[6:56] 265 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
[6:56] 266 sn Resides in me, and I in him. Note how in John 6:54 eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood produces eternal life and the promise of resurrection at the last day. Here the same process of eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood leads to a relationship of mutual indwelling (resides in me, and I in him). This suggests strongly that for the author (and for Jesus) the concepts of ‘possessing eternal life’ and of ‘residing in Jesus’ are virtually interchangeable.
[6:57] 268 tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
[6:58] 272 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
[6:58] 273 tn Grk “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not just like your ancestors ate and died.” The cryptic Greek expression has been filled out in the translation for clarity.
[6:58] 274 tn Or “who chews.” On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.
[6:59] 274 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:59] 275 sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).
[6:59] 276 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.
[6:60] 277 tn The words “these things” are not present in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, and must be supplied for the English reader.
[6:60] 278 tn Or “hard,” “demanding.”
[6:60] 279 tn Or “teaching”; Grk “word.”
[6:60] 280 tn Or “obey it”; Grk “hear it.” The Greek word ἀκούω (akouw) could imply hearing with obedience here, in the sense of “obey.” It could also point to the acceptance of what Jesus had just said, (i.e., “who can accept what he said?” However, since the context contains several replies by those in the crowd of hearers that suggest uncertainty or confusion over the meaning of what Jesus had said (6:42; 6:52), the meaning “understand” is preferred here.
[6:61] 280 tn Grk “When Jesus knew within himself.”
[6:61] 281 tn Or “were grumbling.”
[6:61] 282 tn Or “Does this cause you to no longer believe?” (Grk “cause you to stumble?”)
[6:62] 283 tn Or “he was formerly?”
[6:63] 286 tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”
[6:63] 287 tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”
[6:64] 289 sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.
[6:65] 292 tn Grk “And he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:65] 293 tn Grk “unless it has been permitted to him by the Father.”
[6:66] 295 tn Grk “many of his disciples went back to what lay behind.”
[6:66] 296 tn Grk “were not walking with him.”
[6:67] 298 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “do you?”).
[6:69] 302 sn See 1 John 4:16.
[6:69] 303 tc The witnesses display a bewildering array of variants here. Instead of “the Holy One of God” (ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ, Jo {agio" tou qeou), Tertullian has ὁ Χριστός (Jo Cristo", “the Christ”); C3 Θ* Ë1 33 565 lat read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (Jo Cristo" Jo Juio" tou qeou, “the Christ, the Son of God”); two versional witnesses (b syc) have ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Son of God”); the Byzantine text as well as many others (Ψ 0250 Ë13 33 Ï) read ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος (Jo Cristo" Jo Juio" tou qeou tou zwnto", “the Christ, the Son of the living God”); and Ì66 as well as a few versions have ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Christ, the Holy One of God”). The reading ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ is, however, well supported by Ì75 א B C* D L W as well as versional witnesses. It appears that Peter’s confession in the Synoptic Gospels (especially Matt 16:16) supplied the motivation for the variations. Although the witnesses in Matt 16:16; Mark 8:29; and Luke 9:20 vary considerably, the readings are all intra-synoptic, that is, they do not pull in “the Holy One of God” but reflect various permutations of “Christ”/“Christ of God”/“Christ, the Son of God”/“Christ, the Son of the living God.” The wording “the Holy One of God” (without “Christ”) in important witnesses here is thus unique among Peter’s confessions, and best explains the rise of the other readings.
[6:70] 304 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
[6:70] 305 tn Although most translations render this last phrase as “one of you is a devil,” such a translation presupposes that there is more than one devil. This finds roots in the KJV in which the Greek word for demon was often translated “devil.” In fact, the KJV never uses the word “demon.” (Sixty-two of the 63 NT instances of δαιμόνιον [daimonion] are translated “devil” [in Acts 17:18 the plural has been translated “gods”]. This can get confusing in places where the singular “devil” is used: Is Satan or one of the demons in view [cf. Matt 9:33 (demon); 13:39 (devil); 17:18 (demon); Mark 7:26 (demon); Luke 4:2 (devil); etc.]?) Now regarding John 6:70, both the construction in Greek and the technical use of διάβολος (diabolos) indicate that the one devil is in view. To object to the translation “the devil” because it thus equates Judas with Satan does not take into consideration that Jesus often spoke figuratively (e.g., “destroy this temple” [John 2:19]; “he [John the Baptist] is Elijah” [Matt 11:14]), even equating Peter with the devil on one occasion (Mark 8:33). According to ExSyn 249, “A curious phenomenon has occurred in the English Bible with reference to one particular monadic noun, διάβολος. The KJV translates both διάβολος and δαιμόνιον as ‘devil.’ Thus in the AV translators’ minds, ‘devil’ was not a monadic noun. Modern translations have correctly rendered δαιμόνιον as ‘demon’ and have, for the most part, recognized that διάβολος is monadic (cf., e.g., 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 20:2). But in John 6:70 modern translations have fallen into the error of the King James translators. The KJV has ‘one of you is a devil.’ So does the RSV, NRSV, ASV, NIV, NKJV, and the JB [Jerusalem Bible]. Yet there is only one devil…The legacy of the KJV still lives on, then, even in places where it ought not.”
[6:71] 307 sn At least six explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). See D. A. Carson, John, 304.
[6:71] 308 tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:71] 309 sn This parenthetical statement by the author helps the reader understand Jesus’ statement one of you is the devil in the previous verse. This is the first mention of Judas in the Fourth Gospel, and he is immediately identified (as he is in the synoptic gospels, Matt 10:4, Mark 3:19, Luke 6:16) as the one who would betray Jesus.
[7:1] 310 sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of
[7:1] 311 tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”
[7:1] 312 tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.
[7:1] 313 tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”
[7:1] 314 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 should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.
[7:1] 315 tn Grk “were seeking.”
[7:2] 313 tn Or “feast of the Tents” (the feast where people lived in tents or shelters, which was celebrated in the autumn after harvest). John’s use of σκηνοπηγία (skhnophgia) for the feast of Tabernacles constitutes the only use of this term in the New Testament.
[7:2] 314 sn Since the present verse places these incidents at the feast of Tabernacles (
[7:3] 316 tn Grk “his brothers.”
[7:3] 317 tn Grk “your deeds that you are doing.”
[7:4] 319 tn Or “seeks to be well known.”
[7:4] 320 sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)
[7:5] 322 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[7:6] 325 tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”
[7:6] 326 tn Or “my opportunity.”
[7:6] 327 tn Or “is not yet here.”
[7:6] 328 tn Grk “your time is always ready.”
[7:8] 328 sn One always speaks of “going up” to Jerusalem in Jewish idiom, even though in western thought it is more common to speak of south as “down” (Jerusalem lies south of Galilee). The reason for the idiom is that Jerusalem was identified with Mount Zion in the OT, so that altitude was the issue.
[7:8] 329 tc Most
[7:8] 330 tn Although the word is καιρός (kairos) here, it parallels John’s use of ὥρα (Jwra) elsewhere as a reference to the time appointed for Jesus by the Father – the time of his return to the Father, characterized by his death, resurrection, and ascension (glorification). In the Johannine literature, synonyms are often interchanged for no apparent reason other than stylistic variation.
[7:8] 331 tn Or “my time has not yet come to an end” (a possible hint of Jesus’ death at Jerusalem); Grk “my time is not yet fulfilled.”
[7:10] 331 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:11] 334 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.
[7:11] 335 tn Grk “Where is that one?”
[7:12] 337 tn Grk “And there was.”
[7:12] 338 tn Or “complaining.”
[7:12] 339 tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in the previous verse).
[7:13] 340 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 1.
[7:14] 343 tn Grk “to the temple.”
[7:14] 344 tn Or “started teaching.” An ingressive sense for the imperfect verb (“began to teach” or “started teaching”) fits well here, since the context implies that Jesus did not start his teaching at the beginning of the festival, but began when it was about half over.
[7:15] 346 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] 347 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] 348 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).
[7:16] 349 tn Grk “So Jesus answered and said to them.”
[7:16] 350 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
[7:17] 353 tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”
[7:18] 355 tn Grk “who speaks from himself.”
[7:18] 357 tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”
[7:18] 359 tn Or “praise”; Grk “glory.”
[7:18] 360 tn Or “is truthful”; Grk “is true.”
[7:19] 358 tn Or “accomplishes”; Grk “does.”
[7:20] 361 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities mentioned in 7:15).
[7:20] 362 tn Grk “You have a demon!”
[7:20] 363 tn Grk “Who is seeking to kill you?”
[7:21] 364 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”
[7:21] 365 tn Grk “I did one deed.”
[7:21] 366 sn The “one miracle” that caused them all to be amazed was the last previous public miracle in Jerusalem recorded by the author, the healing of the paralyzed man in John 5:1-9 on the Sabbath. (The synoptic gospels record other Sabbath healings, but John does not mention them.)
[7:22] 367 tn Grk “gave you circumcision.”
[7:22] 368 tn Grk “a man.” While the text literally reads “circumcise a man” in actual fact the practice of circumcising male infants on the eighth day after birth (see Phil 3:5) is primarily what is in view here.
[7:23] 370 tn Grk “a man.” See the note on “male child” in the previous verse.
[7:23] 371 tn Grk “receives circumcision.”
[7:23] 372 sn If a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken. The Rabbis counted 248 parts to a man’s body. In the Talmud (b. Yoma 85b) R. Eleazar ben Azariah (ca.
[7:23] 373 tn Or “made an entire man well.”
[7:24] 373 tn Or “based on sight.”
[7:24] 374 tn Or “honest”; Grk “righteous.”
[7:25] 376 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[7:25] 377 tn Grk “Is it not this one.”
[7:26] 379 tn Or “speaking openly.”
[7:26] 380 sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.
[7:26] 382 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:27] 383 sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.
[7:27] 384 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:27] 385 sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.
[7:28] 385 tn Grk “the temple.”
[7:28] 386 tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”
[7:28] 387 sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.
[7:28] 388 tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”
[7:28] 389 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
[7:28] 390 tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”
[7:29] 388 tn Although the conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, the contrast is implied (an omitted conjunction is called asyndeton).
[7:29] 389 tn The preposition παρά (para) followed by the genitive has the local sense preserved and can be used of one person sending another. This does not necessarily imply origin in essence or eternal generation.
[7:29] 390 tn Grk “and that one.”
[7:30] 391 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:31] 394 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).
[7:31] 395 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:31] 396 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “will he?”).
[7:32] 397 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[7:32] 398 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the Pharisees).
[7:32] 399 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:32] 400 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing “police” duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (see K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
[7:32] 401 tn Grk “to seize him.” In the context of a deliberate attempt by the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees to detain Jesus, the English verb “arrest” conveys the point more effectively.
[7:33] 400 tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”
[7:33] 401 tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[7:35] 406 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 is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).
[7:35] 408 tn Grk “will not find him.”
[7:35] 409 sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.
[7:35] 410 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “is he?”).
[7:36] 409 tn Grk “What is this word that he said.”
[7:37] 412 sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.
[7:37] 413 tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”
[7:38] 415 tn An alternate way of punctuating the Greek text of vv. 37-38 results in this translation: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate. Certainly Jesus picks up on the literal water used in the ceremony and uses it figuratively. But what does the figure mean? According to popular understanding, it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer. There is some difficulty in locating an OT text which speaks of rivers of water flowing from within such a person, but Isa 58:11 is often suggested: “The
[7:38] 416 tn Or “out of the innermost part of his person”; Grk “out of his belly.”
[7:38] 417 sn An OT quotation whose source is difficult to determine; Isa 44:3, 55:1, 58:11, and Zech 14:8 have all been suggested.
[7:39] 418 tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT
[7:39] 419 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[7:40] 421 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).
[7:40] 423 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
[7:41] 424 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[7:41] 425 tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.
[7:41] 426 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).
[7:42] 427 tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).
[7:42] 428 sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.
[7:42] 429 sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.
[7:42] 430 tn Grk “the village where David was.”
[7:43] 430 tn Or “among the common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities like the chief priests and Pharisees).
[7:43] 431 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:44] 433 sn Compare John 7:30 regarding the attempt to seize Jesus.
[7:45] 436 tn Or “servants.” The “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. As “servants” or “officers” of the Sanhedrin, their representatives should be distinguished from the Levites serving as temple police (perhaps John 7:30 and 44; also John 8:20; 10:39; 19:6; Acts 4:3). Even when performing ‘police’ duties such as here, their “officers” are doing so only as part of their general tasks (See K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:540).
[7:45] 438 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[7:45] 439 tn Grk “Why did you not bring him?” The words “back with you” are implied.
[7:47] 439 tn Grk “answered them.”
[7:47] 440 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have you?”).
[7:48] 442 sn The chief priests and Pharisees (John 7:45) is a comprehensive term for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26. Likewise the term ruler here denotes a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in John 3:1, and Nicodemus also speaks up in this episode (John 7:50).
[7:48] 443 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “have they?”).
[7:49] 445 tn Grk “crowd.” “Rabble” is a good translation here because the remark by the Pharisees is so derogatory.
[7:50] 448 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:50] 449 tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:50] 450 tn Grk “said to them.”
[7:51] 453 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does it?”).
[7:52] 454 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”
[7:52] 455 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
[7:52] 456 tc At least one early and important ms (Ì66*) places the article before “prophet” (ὁ προφήτης, Jo profhths), making this a reference to the “prophet like Moses” mentioned in Deut 18:15.
[7:53] 457 tc This entire section, 7:53-8:11, traditionally known as the pericope adulterae, is not contained in the earliest and best
[8:1] 460 sn The Mount of Olives is a hill running north to south about 1.8 mi (3 km) long, lying east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It was named for the large number of olive trees that grew on it.
[8:2] 463 tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.
[8:3] 466 tn Or “The scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
[8:3] 467 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[8:4] 469 tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:5] 472 sn An allusion to Lev 20:10 and Deut 22:22-24.
[8:5] 473 sn The accusers themselves subtly misrepresented the law. The Mosaic law stated that in the case of adultery, both the man and woman must be put to death (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22), but they mentioned only such women.
[8:6] 475 tn Grk “so that they could accuse.”
[8:6] 476 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author of 7:53–8:11.
[8:6] 477 tn Or possibly “Jesus bent down and wrote an accusation on the ground with his finger.” The Greek verb καταγράφω (katagrafw) may indicate only the action of writing on the ground by Jesus, but in the overall context (Jesus’ response to the accusation against the woman) it can also be interpreted as implying that what Jesus wrote was a counteraccusation against the accusers (although there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote, some scribes added “the sins of each one of them” either here or at the end of v. 8 [U 264 700 al]).
[8:7] 478 tn Or “he straightened up.”
[8:7] 479 tn Grk “and said to them.”
[8:8] 481 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.
[8:9] 484 tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”
[8:10] 487 tn Or “straightened up.”
[8:10] 488 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
[8:11] 490 tc The earliest and best
[8:12] 493 tn Grk “Then again Jesus spoke to them saying.”
[8:12] 494 sn The theory proposed by F. J. A. Hort (The New Testament in the Original Greek, vol. 2, Introduction; Appendix, 87-88), that the backdrop of 8:12 is the lighting of the candelabra in the court of women, may offer a plausible setting to the proclamation by Jesus that he is the light of the world. The last time that Jesus spoke in the narrative (assuming 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text, as the textual evidence suggests) is in 7:38, where he was speaking to a crowd of pilgrims in the temple area. This is where he is found in the present verse, and he may be addressing the crowd again. Jesus’ remark has to be seen in view of both the prologue (John 1:4, 5) and the end of the discourse with Nicodemus (John 3:19-21). The coming of Jesus into the world provokes judgment: A choosing up of sides becomes necessary. The one who comes to the light, that is, who follows Jesus, will not walk in the darkness. The one who refuses to come, will walk in the darkness. In this contrast, there are only two alternatives. So it is with a person’s decision about Jesus. Furthermore, this serves as in implicit indictment of Jesus’ opponents, who still walk in the darkness, because they refuse to come to him. This sets up the contrast in chap. 9 between the man born blind, who receives both physical and spiritual sight, and the Pharisees (John 9:13, 15, 16) who have physical sight but remain in spiritual darkness.
[8:12] 495 tn The double negative οὐ μή (ou mh) is emphatic in 1st century Hellenistic Greek.
[8:13] 496 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[8:13] 497 tn Grk “Then the Pharisees said to him.”
[8:13] 498 sn Compare the charge You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true! to Jesus’ own statement about his testimony in 5:31.
[8:14] 499 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”
[8:14] 500 tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun (“you”) and verb (“do not know”) in Greek are plural.
[8:14] 501 sn You people do not know where I came from or where I am going. The ignorance of the religious authorities regarding Jesus’ origin works on two levels at once: First, they thought Jesus came from Galilee (although he really came from Bethlehem in Judea) and second, they did not know that he came from heaven (from the Father), and this is where he would return. See further John 7:52.
[8:15] 502 tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.
[8:15] 503 tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.
[8:15] 504 sn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment, because it forced people to make a choice. Would they accept Jesus or reject him? Would they come to the light or shrink back into the darkness? As they responded, so were they judged – just as 3:19-21 previously stated. One’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.
[8:16] 505 tn Grk “my judgment is true.”
[8:16] 506 tn The phrase “when I judge” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.
[8:16] 507 tn The phrase “do so together” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.
[8:17] 508 sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.
[8:18] 511 tn Grk “I am the one who testifies about myself.”
[8:19] 514 tn Grk “Then they were saying to him.” The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force here because of the introduction of a new line of questioning by the Pharisees. Jesus had just claimed his Father as a second witness; now his opponents want to know who his father is.
[8:19] 515 sn If you knew me you would know my Father too. Jesus’ reply is based on his identity with the Father (see also John 1:18; 14:9).
[8:20] 517 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:20] 518 tn The term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion) can be translated “treasury” or “treasure room” in this context. BDAG 186 s.v. 1 notes, “It can be taken in this sense J 8:20 (sing.) in (or at) the treasury.” BDAG 186 s.v. 2 argues that the occurrences of this word in the synoptic gospels also refer to the treasury: “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.
[8:20] 519 tn Grk “the temple.”
[8:20] 521 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[8:21] 520 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:21] 521 tn The expression οὖν πάλιν (oun palin) indicates some sort of break in the sequence of events, but it is not clear how long. The author does not mention the interval between 8:12-20 and this next recorded dialogue. The feast of Tabernacles is past, and the next reference to time is 10:22, where the feast of the Dedication is mentioned. The interval is two months, and these discussions could have taken place at any time within that interval, as long as one assumes something of a loose chronological framework. However, if the material in the Fourth Gospel is arranged theologically or thematically, such an assumption would not apply.
[8:21] 522 tn Grk “you will seek me.”
[8:21] 523 tn The expression ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε (en th Jamartia Jumwn apoqaneisqe) is similar to an expression found in the LXX at Ezek 3:18, 20 and Prov 24:9. Note the singular of ἁμαρτία (the plural occurs later in v. 24). To die with one’s sin unrepented and unatoned would be the ultimate disaster to befall a person. Jesus’ warning is stern but to the point.
[8:22] 523 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 authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. It was the Pharisees who had begun this line of questioning in John 8:13, and there has been no clear change since then in the identity of Jesus’ opponents.
[8:22] 524 tn The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force (“began to say”) because the comments that follow were occasioned by Jesus’ remarks in the preceding verse about his upcoming departure.
[8:23] 526 tn Grk “And he said to them.”
[8:23] 527 tn The word “people” is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
[8:24] 529 tn Grk “thus I said to you.”
[8:24] 530 tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).
[8:25] 532 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”
[8:26] 535 tn Or “I have many things to pronounce in judgment about you.” The two Greek infinitives could be understood as a hendiadys, resulting in one phrase.
[8:26] 536 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:26] 537 tn Grk “true” (in the sense of one who always tells the truth).
[8:26] 538 tn Grk “and what things I have heard from him, these things I speak to the world.”
[8:27] 538 sn They did not understand…about his Father is a parenthetical note by the author. This type of comment, intended for the benefit of the reader, is typical of the “omniscient author” convention adopted by the author, who is writing from a postresurrection point of view. He writes with the benefit of later knowledge that those who originally heard Jesus’ words would not have had.
[8:28] 541 tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them” (the words “to them” are not found in all
[8:28] 542 tn Grk “that I am.” See the note on this phrase in v. 24.
[8:28] 543 tn Grk “I do nothing from myself.”
[8:28] 544 tn Grk “but just as the Father taught me, these things I speak.”
[8:29] 544 tn That is, “he has not abandoned me.”
[8:30] 547 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity and smoothness in the translation.
[8:31] 550 tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), 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; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).
[8:31] 551 tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”
[8:32] 553 tn Or “the truth will release you.” The translation “set you free” or “release you” (unlike the more traditional “make you free”) conveys more the idea that the hearers were currently in a state of slavery from which they needed to be freed. The following context supports precisely this idea.
[8:33] 556 tn Grk “We are the seed” (an idiom).
[8:33] 557 tn Grk “They answered to him.”
[8:33] 558 tn Or “How is it that you say.”
[8:34] 559 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[8:34] 560 tn Or “who commits.” This could simply be translated, “everyone who sins,” but the Greek is more emphatic, using the participle ποιῶν (poiwn) in a construction with πᾶς (pas), a typical Johannine construction. Here repeated, continuous action is in view. The one whose lifestyle is characterized by repeated, continuous sin is a slave to sin. That one is not free; sin has enslaved him. To break free from this bondage requires outside (divine) intervention. Although the statement is true at the general level (the person who continually practices a lifestyle of sin is enslaved to sin) the particular sin of the Jewish authorities, repeatedly emphasized in the Fourth Gospel, is the sin of unbelief. The present tense in this instance looks at the continuing refusal on the part of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge who Jesus is, in spite of mounting evidence.
[8:34] 561 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.
[8:35] 562 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] 563 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).
[8:36] 565 tn Or “Son.” The question is whether “son” is to be understood as a direct reference to Jesus himself, or as an indirect reference (a continuation of the generic illustration begun in the previous verse).
[8:37] 568 tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).
[8:37] 569 tn Grk “you are seeking.”
[8:37] 571 tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.
[8:38] 571 tc The first person pronoun μου (mou, “my”) may be implied, especially if ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) follows the second mention of “father” in this verse (as it does in the majority of
[8:38] 572 tn Grk “The things which I have seen with the Father I speak about.”
[8:38] 574 tc A few significant witnesses lack ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) here (Ì66,75 B L W 070 pc), while the majority have the pronoun (א C D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë1,13 33 565 892 Ï al lat sy). However, these
[8:39] 574 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.”
[8:39] 575 tn Or “Our father is Abraham.”
[8:39] 576 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”
[8:39] 577 tc Although most
[8:39] 578 tc Some important
[8:40] 578 tn Grk “has spoken to you.”
[8:40] 579 tn The Greek word order is emphatic: “This Abraham did not do.” The emphasis is indicated in the translation by an exclamation point.
[8:41] 580 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
[8:41] 581 tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א B L W 070 it sys,p co) lack the conjunction here, while the earliest witnesses along with many others read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì66,75 C D Θ Ψ 0250 Ë13 33 Ï). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the combined testimony of two early papyri for the conjunction is impressive, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 52). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA27 has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
[8:41] 582 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:41] 583 sn We were not born as a result of immorality! is ironic, because Jesus’ opponents implied that it was not themselves but Jesus who had been born as a result of immoral behavior. This shows they did not know Jesus’ true origin and were not aware of the supernatural events surrounding his birth. The author does not even bother to refute the opponents’ suggestion but lets it stand, assuming his readers will know the true story.
[8:42] 583 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”
[8:42] 584 tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”
[8:42] 585 tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
[8:42] 586 tn Grk “from myself.”
[8:42] 587 tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).
[8:43] 586 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.
[8:44] 589 tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.
[8:44] 590 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] 591 tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”
[8:44] 592 tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).
[8:44] 593 tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).
[8:44] 594 tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”
[8:44] 595 tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”
[8:44] 596 tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”
[8:45] 592 tn Or “because I tell you.”
[8:46] 595 tn Or “can convict me.”
[8:46] 596 tn Or “of having sinned”; Grk “of sin.”
[8:46] 597 tn Or “if I tell you.”
[8:47] 598 tn Grk “who is of.”
[8:47] 599 tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).
[8:47] 600 tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).
[8:47] 601 tn Grk “you are not of God.”
[8:48] 601 tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They had become increasingly hostile as Jesus continued to teach. Now they were ready to say that Jesus was demon-possessed.
[8:48] 602 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
[8:48] 603 tn Grk “Do we not say rightly.”
[8:48] 604 tn Grk “and have a demon.” It is not clear what is meant by the charge Σαμαρίτης εἶ σὺ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχεις (Samarith" ei su kai daimonion ecei"). The meaning could be “you are a heretic and are possessed by a demon.” Note that the dual charge gets one reply (John 8:49). Perhaps the phrases were interchangeable: Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24) and in later traditions Dositheus, the two Samaritans who claimed to be sons of God, were regarded as mad, that is, possessed by demons.
[8:49] 604 tn Grk “I do not have a demon.”
[8:49] 605 tn “Yet” is supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
[8:50] 607 tn Grk “I am not seeking.”
[8:50] 609 tn Grk “who seeks.”
[8:50] 610 tn Or “will be the judge.”
[8:51] 610 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[8:51] 611 tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”
[8:51] 613 tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.
[8:52] 613 tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (Ì66 א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì75 D L Ψ 070 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (Ì75) has the conjunction, the combination of Ì66 א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA27 has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
[8:52] 614 tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).
[8:52] 615 tn Grk “said to him.”
[8:52] 616 tn Grk “you have a demon.”
[8:52] 617 tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.
[8:52] 618 tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”
[8:52] 620 tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
[8:52] 621 tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.
[8:53] 616 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are you?”).
[8:54] 619 tn Grk “Jesus answered.”
[8:54] 620 tn Grk “is nothing.”
[8:54] 621 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
[8:55] 622 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.
[8:55] 623 tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”
[8:56] 625 tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”
[8:56] 626 tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice – an occasion of certain rejoicing.
[8:57] 628 tn Grk “Then the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31, 48, and 52, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31). They have now become completely hostile, as John 8:59 clearly shows.
[8:57] 629 tn Grk “said to him.”
[8:57] 630 tn Grk ‘You do not yet have fifty years” (an idiom).
[8:58] 631 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[8:58] 632 tn Grk “before Abraham was.”
[8:58] 633 sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).
[8:59] 634 tn Grk “they took up.”
[8:59] 635 sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.
[8:59] 636 tc Most later witnesses (A Θc Ë1,13 Ï) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielqwn dia mesou kai parhgen {outw"), while many others have similar permutations (so א1,2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several
[9:1] 637 tn Or “going along.” The opening words of chap. 9, καὶ παράγων (kai paragwn), convey only the vaguest indication of the circumstances.
[9:2] 640 tn Grk “asked him, saying.”
[9:2] 642 tn Grk “in order that he should be born blind.”
[9:3] 644 tn Grk “but so that.” There is an ellipsis that must be supplied: “but [he was born blind] so that” or “but [it happened to him] so that.”
[9:3] 645 tn Or “deeds”; Grk “works.”
[9:3] 646 tn Or “manifested,” “brought to light.”
[9:4] 646 tn Grk “We must work the works.”
[9:4] 647 tn Or “of him who sent me” (God).
[9:5] 649 sn Jesus’ statement I am the light of the world connects the present account with 8:12. Here (seen more clearly than at 8:12) it is obvious what the author sees as the significance of Jesus’ statement. “Light” is not a metaphysical definition of the person of Jesus but a description of his effect on the world, forcing everyone in the world to ‘choose up sides’ for or against him (cf. 3:19-21).
[9:6] 652 tn Grk “said these things.”
[9:6] 653 tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency). The textual variant preserved in the Syriac text of Ephraem’s commentary on the Diatessaron (“he made eyes from his clay”) probably arose from the interpretation given by Irenaeus in Against Heresies: “that which the Artificer, the Word, had omitted to form in the womb, he then supplied in public.” This involves taking the clay as an allusion to Gen 2:7, which is very unlikely.
[9:6] 654 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) was replaced by a third person pronoun and a new sentence started here in the translation.
[9:7] 655 tn The pool’s name in Hebrew is shiloah from the Hebrew verb “to send.” In Gen 49:10 the somewhat obscure shiloh was interpreted messianically by later Jewish tradition, and some have seen a lexical connection between the two names (although this is somewhat dubious). It is known, however, that it was from the pool of Siloam that the water which was poured out at the altar during the feast of Tabernacles was drawn.
[9:7] 656 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Why does he comment on the meaning of the name of the pool? Here, the significance is that the Father sent the Son, and the Son sent the man born blind. The name of the pool is applicable to the man, but also to Jesus himself, who was sent from heaven.
[9:7] 657 tn Grk “So he”; the referent (the blind man) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:8] 659 tn An ingressive force (“began saying”) is present here because the change in status of the blind person provokes this new response from those who knew him.
[9:9] 661 tn Grk “Others were saying.”
[9:9] 662 tn Grk “This is the one.”
[9:9] 663 tn Grk “No, but he is like him.”
[9:9] 664 tn Grk “That one”; the referent (the man himself) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:10] 664 tn Grk “So they were saying to him.”
[9:10] 665 tn Grk “How then were your eyes opened” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:11] 667 tn Grk “That one answered.”
[9:11] 668 tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).
[9:11] 669 tn Grk “and smeared.” Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when obvious from the context.
[9:11] 670 tn Grk “said to me.”
[9:11] 671 tn Or “and I gained my sight.”
[9:12] 670 tn Grk “And they said.”
[9:12] 671 tn Grk “that one.” “Man” is more normal English style for the referent.
[9:13] 673 tn Grk “who was formerly blind.”
[9:13] 674 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[9:14] 676 tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).
[9:14] 677 tn Grk “and opened his eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:14] 678 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[9:15] 679 tn Or “how he had become able to see.”
[9:15] 680 tn Grk “And he said to them.”
[9:15] 681 tn Or “clay” (moistened earth of a clay-like consistency).
[9:15] 682 tn The word “now” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate the contrast between the man’s former state (blind) and his present state (able to see).
[9:16] 682 tn As a response to the answers of the man who used to be blind, the use of the imperfect tense in the reply of the Pharisees is best translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to say” or “started saying”).
[9:16] 683 tn Grk “he does not keep.”
[9:16] 684 sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.
[9:16] 686 tn Or “So there was discord.”
[9:17] 685 tn Grk “the blind man.”
[9:17] 686 tn Grk “since he opened your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:17] 687 tn Grk “And he said, ‘He is a prophet.’”
[9:18] 688 tn Or “the Jewish religious 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 mainly to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. References in this context to Pharisees and to the synagogue (v. 22) suggest an emphasis on the religious nature of the debate which is brought out by the translation “the Jewish religious leaders.”
[9:18] 689 tn The Greek text contains the words “about him” at this point: “the Jewish authorities did not believe about him…”
[9:18] 690 tn Grk “they called.”
[9:18] 691 tn Or “the man who had gained his sight.”
[9:19] 691 tn Grk “and they asked them, saying”; the referent (the parents) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:19] 692 tn The Greek pronoun and verb are both plural (both parents are addressed).
[9:20] 694 tn Grk “So his parents answered and said.”
[9:21] 697 tn Grk “who opened his eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:21] 698 tn Or “he is of age.”
[9:22] 700 tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Twice in this verse the phrase refers to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. The second occurrence is shortened to “the Jewish leaders” for stylistic reasons. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish religious leaders” in v. 18.
[9:22] 701 tn Grk “confessed him.”
[9:22] 702 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[9:22] 703 tn Or “would be expelled from.”
[9:22] 704 sn This reference to excommunication from the Jewish synagogue for those who had made some sort of confession about Jesus being the Messiah is dismissed as anachronistic by some (e.g., Barrett) and nonhistorical by others. In later Jewish practice there were at least two forms of excommunication: a temporary ban for thirty days, and a permanent ban. But whether these applied in NT times is far from certain. There is no substantial evidence for a formal ban on Christians until later than this Gospel could possibly have been written. This may be a reference to some form of excommunication adopted as a contingency to deal with those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. If so, there is no other record of the procedure than here. It was probably local, limited to the area around Jerusalem. See also the note on synagogue in 6:59.
[9:23] 703 tn Or “he is of age.”
[9:23] 704 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author explaining the parents’ response.
[9:24] 706 tn Grk “they called.”
[9:24] 707 tn Grk “who was blind.”
[9:24] 708 tn Grk “Give glory to God” (an idiomatic formula used in placing someone under oath to tell the truth).
[9:24] 709 tn The phrase “this man” is a reference to Jesus.
[9:25] 709 tn Grk “Then that one answered.”
[9:26] 712 tn Grk “open your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:27] 715 tn Grk “He answered them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[9:27] 716 tn Grk “you did not hear.”
[9:27] 717 tn “It” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when they were clearly implied in the context.
[9:27] 718 tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
[9:28] 718 tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[9:28] 719 tn The Greek word means “to insult strongly” or “slander.”
[9:28] 721 tn Grk “You are that one’s disciple.”
[9:29] 721 tn Grk “where this one.”
[9:30] 724 tn Grk “The man answered and said to them.” This has been simplified in the translation to “The man replied.”
[9:30] 725 tn Grk “For in this is a remarkable thing.”
[9:30] 726 tn Grk “and he opened my eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:31] 727 tn Grk “God does not hear.”
[9:31] 729 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:32] 730 tn Or “Never from the beginning of time,” Grk “From eternity.”
[9:32] 731 tn Grk “someone opening the eyes of a man born blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[9:34] 736 tn Grk “They answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “They replied.”
[9:34] 737 tn Or “From birth you have been evil.” The implication of this insult, in the context of John 9, is that the man whom Jesus caused to see had not previously adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees. Thus he had no right to instruct them about who Jesus was.
[9:34] 738 tn Grk “and are you teaching us?”
[9:35] 739 tn Grk “found him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:35] 740 tc Although most witnesses (A L Θ Ψ 070 0250 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat) have θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) instead of ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou, “of man”) here, the better witnesses (Ì66,75 א B D W sys) have ἀνθρώπου. Not only is the external evidence decidedly on the side of ἀνθρώπου, but it is difficult to see such early and diverse witnesses changing θεοῦ to ἀνθρώπου. The wording “Son of Man” is thus virtually certain.
[9:36] 743 tn Grk answered and said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”
[9:36] 744 tn Or “And who is he, sir? Tell me so that…” Some translations supply elliptical words like “Tell me” (NIV, NRSV) following the man’s initial question, but the shorter form given in the translation is clear enough.
[9:37] 746 tn The καί – καί (kai – kai) construction would normally be translated “both – and”: “You have both seen him, and he is the one speaking with you.” In this instance the English semicolon was used instead because it produces a smoother and more emphatic effect in English.
[9:38] 748 sn Assuming the authenticity of John 9:38-39a (see the tc note following the bracket in v. 39), the man’s response after Jesus’ statement of v. 37 is extremely significant: He worshiped Jesus. In the Johannine context the word would connote its full sense: This was something due God alone. Note also that Jesus did not prevent the man from doing this. The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) is used in John 4:20-25 of worshiping God, and again with the same sense in 12:20. This would be the only place in John’s Gospel where anyone is said to have worshiped Jesus using this term. As such, it forms the climax of the story of the man born blind, but the uniqueness of the concept of worshiping Jesus at this point in John's narrative (which reaches its ultimate climax in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28) may suggest it is too early for such a response and it represents a later scribal addition.
[9:39] 751 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[9:39] 752 tc ‡ Some early and important witnesses (Ì75 א* W b sams ac2 mf) lack the words, “He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him. Jesus said,” (vv. 38-39a). This is weighty evidence for the omission of these words. It is difficult to overstate the value of Ì75 here, since it is the only currently available papyrus ms extant for the text of John 9:38-39. Further, א is an important and early Alexandrian witness for the omission. The versional testimony and codex W also give strong support to the omission. Nearly all other
[9:39] 753 tn Or “that those who do not see may see.”
[9:40] 754 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[9:40] 755 tn Grk “heard these things.”
[9:40] 756 tn Grk “and said to him.”
[9:40] 757 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “are we?”).
[9:41] 757 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”
[9:41] 758 tn Grk “you would not have sin.”
[9:41] 759 tn Grk “now because you say, ‘We see…’”
[9:41] 761 sn Because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains. The blind man received sight physically, and this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, were spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and don’t understand these things?” In other words, to receive Jesus was to receive the light of the world, to reject him was to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the serious sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people was incurable since they had rejected the only cure that exists (cf. 12:39-41).
[10:1] 760 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[10:1] 761 sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).
[10:3] 763 tn Or “porter” (British English).
[10:3] 764 tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
[10:3] 765 tn Grk “For this one.”
[10:3] 766 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[10:3] 767 sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.
[10:4] 766 tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[10:4] 767 tn Grk “because they know.”
[10:5] 769 tn Or “someone whom they do not know.”
[10:5] 771 tn Or “the voice of someone they do not know.”
[10:6] 772 sn A parable is a fairly short narrative that has symbolic meaning. The Greek word παροιμίαν (paroimian) is used again in 16:25, 29. This term does not occur in the synoptic gospels, where παραβολή (parabolh) is used. Nevertheless it is similar, denoting a short narrative with figurative or symbolic meaning.
[10:6] 774 tn Or “comprehend.”
[10:7] 775 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[10:7] 776 tn Or “I am the sheep’s door.”
[10:8] 778 tn Grk “are” (present tense).
[10:8] 779 tn Or “the sheep did not hear them.”
[10:9] 781 tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.
[10:9] 782 sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.
[10:10] 784 tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).
[10:10] 785 tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.
[10:11] 787 tn Or “model” (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:386, who argues that “model” is a more exact translation of καλός [kalos] here).
[10:11] 788 tn Or “The good shepherd dies willingly.”
[10:12] 790 sn Jesus contrasts the behavior of the shepherd with that of the hired hand. This is a worker who is simply paid to do a job; he has no other interest in the sheep and is certainly not about to risk his life for them. When they are threatened, he simply runs away.
[10:12] 793 tn Or “seizes.” The more traditional rendering, “snatches,” has the idea of seizing something by force and carrying it off, which is certainly possible here. However, in the sequence in John 10:12, this action precedes the scattering of the flock of sheep, so “attacks” is preferable.
[10:13] 793 tn Grk “does not have a care for the sheep.”
[10:13] 794 tc The phrase “he runs away” is lacking in several important
[10:14] 796 tn Grk “And I.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[10:14] 797 tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”
[10:15] 799 tn Or “I die willingly.”
[10:15] 800 tn Or “on behalf of” or “for the sake of.”
[10:16] 802 tn Grk “And I have.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[10:16] 803 tn Or “that do not belong to”; Grk “that are not of.”
[10:16] 804 sn The statement I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold almost certainly refers to Gentiles. Jesus has sheep in the fold who are Jewish; there are other sheep which, while not of the same fold, belong to him also. This recalls the mission of the Son in 3:16-17, which was to save the world – not just the nation of Israel. Such an emphasis would be particularly appropriate to the author if he were writing to a non-Palestinian and primarily non-Jewish audience.
[10:16] 805 tn Grk “they will hear my voice.”
[10:16] 806 tn Grk “voice, and.”
[10:16] 807 tn The word “and” is not in the Greek text, but must be supplied to conform to English style. In Greek it is an instance of asyndeton (omission of a connective), usually somewhat emphatic.
[10:17] 805 tn Grk “Because of this the Father loves me.”
[10:17] 806 tn Or “die willingly.”
[10:18] 808 tn Or “give it up.”
[10:18] 809 tn Or “of my own accord.” “Of my own free will” is given by BDAG 321 s.v. ἐμαυτοῦ c.
[10:18] 810 tn Or “I have the right.”
[10:18] 811 tn Or “I have the right.”
[10:19] 811 tn Or perhaps “the Jewish religious leaders”; 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 could be taken to refer to the Jewish religious leaders, since the Pharisees were the last to be mentioned specifically by name, in John 9:40. However, in light of the charge about demon possession, which echoes 8:48, it is more likely that Jewish people in general (perhaps in Jerusalem, if that is understood to be the setting of the incident) are in view here.
[10:20] 814 tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.
[10:21] 817 tn Or “the sayings.”
[10:21] 818 tn Grk “open the eyes of the blind” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[10:21] 819 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can it?”).
[10:22] 820 tn That is, Hanukkah or the ‘Festival of Lights.’ The Greek name for the feast, τὰ ἐγκαίνια (ta enkainia), literally means “renewal” and was used to translate Hanukkah which means “dedication.” The Greek noun, with its related verbs, was the standard term used in the LXX for the consecration of the altar of the Tabernacle (Num 7:10-11), the altar of the temple of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5), and the altar of the second temple (Ezra 6:16). The word is thus connected with the consecration of all the houses of God in the history of the nation of Israel.
[10:22] 821 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[10:23] 823 sn It was winter. The feast began on 25 Kislev, in November-December of the modern Gregorian calendar.
[10:23] 824 tn Grk “in the temple.”
[10:23] 825 tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”
[10:24] 826 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.
[10:24] 827 tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.
[10:24] 828 tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”
[10:24] 829 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[10:25] 829 tn Grk “answered them.”
[10:25] 830 tn Or “the works.”
[10:28] 832 tn Grk “And I give.”
[10:28] 833 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
[10:28] 834 tn Or “no one will seize.”
[10:29] 835 tn Or “is superior to all.”
[10:29] 836 tn Or “no one can seize.”
[10:30] 838 tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.
[10:30] 839 tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).
[10:31] 841 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrases “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in v. 24.
[10:32] 844 tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”
[10:32] 845 tn Or “good works.”
[10:33] 847 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here again the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19 and “Jewish leaders” in vv. 24, 31.
[10:33] 848 tn Grk “answered him.”
[10:33] 849 tn Or “good work.”
[10:33] 850 sn This is the first time the official charge of blasphemy is voiced openly in the Fourth Gospel (although it was implicit in John 8:59).
[10:33] 851 tn Grk “and because.”
[10:33] 852 tn Grk “you, a man, make yourself to be God.”
[10:34] 850 tn Grk “answered them.”
[10:34] 851 sn A quotation from Ps 82:6. Technically the Psalms are not part of the OT “law” (which usually referred to the five books of Moses), but occasionally the term “law” was applied to the entire OT, as here. The problem in this verse concerns the meaning of Jesus’ quotation from Ps 82:6. It is important to look at the OT context: The whole line reads “I say, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Jesus will pick up on the term “sons of the Most High” in 10:36, where he refers to himself as the Son of God. The psalm was understood in rabbinic circles as an attack on unjust judges who, though they have been given the title “gods” because of their quasi-divine function of exercising judgment, are just as mortal as other men. What is the argument here? It is often thought to be as follows: If it was an OT practice to refer to men like the judges as gods, and not blasphemy, why did the Jewish authorities object when this term was applied to Jesus? This really doesn’t seem to fit the context, however, since if that were the case Jesus would not be making any claim for “divinity” for himself over and above any other human being – and therefore he would not be subject to the charge of blasphemy. Rather, this is evidently a case of arguing from the lesser to the greater, a common form of rabbinic argument. The reason the OT judges could be called gods is because they were vehicles of the word of God (cf. 10:35). But granting that premise, Jesus deserves much more than they to be called God. He is the Word incarnate, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world to save the world (10:36). In light of the prologue to the Gospel of John, it seems this interpretation would have been most natural for the author. If it is permissible to call men “gods” because they were the vehicles of the word of God, how much more permissible is it to use the word “God” of him who is the Word of God?
[10:35] 853 sn The parenthetical note And the scripture cannot be broken belongs to Jesus’ words rather than the author’s. Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.
[10:36] 856 tn Or “dedicated.”
[10:38] 863 tn Or “so that you may learn.”
[10:39] 865 tc It is difficult to decide between ἐζήτουν οὖν (ezhtoun oun, “then they were seeking”; Ì66 א A L W Ψ Ë1,13 33 pm lat), ἐζήτουν δέ (ezhtoun de, “now they were seeking”; Ì45 and a few versional witnesses), καὶ ἐζήτουν (kai ezhtoun, “and they were seeking”; D), and ἐζήτουν (Ì75vid B Γ Θ 700 pm). Externally, the most viable readings are ἐζήτουν οὖν and ἐζήτουν. Transcriptionally, the οὖν could have dropped out via haplography since the verb ends in the same three letters. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain the readings with δέ or καί if ἐζήτουν οὖν is original; such readings would more likely have arisen from the simple ἐζήτουν. Intrinsically, John is fond of οὖν, using it some 200 times. Further, this Gospel begins relatively few sentences without some conjunction. The minimal support for the δέ and καί readings suggests that they arose either from the lone verb reading (which would thus be prior to their respective Vorlagen but not necessarily the earliest reading) or through carelessness on the part of the scribes. Indeed, the ancestors of Ì45 and D may have committed haplography, leaving later scribes in the chain to guess at the conjunction needed. In sum, the best reading appears to be ἐζήτουν οὖν.
[10:39] 866 tn Grk “they were seeking.”
[10:39] 867 tn Grk “he departed out of their hand.”
[10:40] 868 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:40] 869 tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
[10:40] 870 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
[10:40] 871 tn Grk “formerly.”
[10:41] 871 tn Grk “And many.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[10:41] 872 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
[10:41] 874 tn Grk “this one.”
[11:1] 877 tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”
[11:2] 880 tn Or “perfume,” “ointment.”
[11:2] 881 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It is a bit surprising that the author here identifies Mary as the one who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, since this event is not mentioned until later, in 12:3. Many see this “proleptic” reference as an indication that the author expected his readers to be familiar with the story already, and go on to assume that in general the author in writing the Fourth Gospel assumed his readers were familiar with the other three gospels. Whether the author assumed actual familiarity with the synoptic gospels or not, it is probable that he did assume some familiarity with Mary’s anointing activity.
[11:3] 883 tn The phrase “a message” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from context.
[11:3] 884 tn Grk “to him, saying”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:4] 886 tn Grk “This sickness is not to death.”
[11:4] 887 tn Or “to God’s praise.”
[11:4] 888 sn So that the Son of God may be glorified through it. These statements are highly ironic: For Lazarus, the sickness did not end in his death, because he was restored to life. But for Jesus himself, the miraculous sign he performed led to his own death, because it confirmed the authorities in their plan to kill Jesus (11:47-53). In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ death is consistently portrayed as his ‘glorification’ through which he accomplishes his return to the Father.
[11:5] 889 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It was necessary for the author to reaffirm Jesus’ love for Martha and her sister and Lazarus here because Jesus’ actions in the following verse appear to be contradictory.
[11:6] 892 tn Grk “that he”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:7] 895 sn The village of Bethany, where Lazarus was, lies in Judea, less than 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem (see 11:18).
[11:8] 898 tn Grk “The disciples said to him.”
[11:8] 899 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. See the previous references and the notes on the phrase “Jewish people” in v. 19, and “Jewish religious leaders” in vv. 24, 31, 33.
[11:8] 901 tn Grk “And are.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[11:9] 901 tn Grk “Jesus answered.”
[11:9] 902 tn Or “he does not trip.”
[11:9] 903 sn What is the light of this world? On one level, of course, it refers to the sun, but the reader of John’s Gospel would recall 8:12 and understand Jesus’ symbolic reference to himself as the light of the world. There is only a limited time left (Are there not twelve hours in a day?) until the Light will be withdrawn (until Jesus returns to the Father) and the one who walks around in the dark will trip and fall (compare the departure of Judas by night in 13:30).
[11:10] 904 tn Grk “in the night.”
[11:11] 907 tn Grk “He said these things, and after this he said to them.”
[11:11] 908 tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “asleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term, especially in light of the disciples’ confusion over what Jesus actually meant (see v. 13).
[11:12] 910 tn Grk “Then the disciples said to him.”
[11:13] 913 tn Or “speaking about.”
[11:13] 915 tn Grk “the sleep of slumber”; this is a redundant expression to emphasize physical sleep as opposed to death.
[11:15] 916 tn Grk “and I rejoice.”
[11:15] 917 sn So that you may believe. Why does Jesus make this statement? It seems necessary to understand the disciples’ belief here in a developmental sense, because there are numerous references to the disciples’ faith previous to this in John’s Gospel, notably 2:11. Their concept of who Jesus really was is continually being expanded and challenged; they are undergoing spiritual growth; the climax is reached in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28.
[11:16] 919 sn Didymus means “the twin” in Greek.
[11:16] 920 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[11:16] 921 sn One gets the impression from Thomas’ statement “Let us go too, so that we may die with him” that he was something of a pessimist resigned to his fate. And yet his dedicated loyalty to Jesus and his determination to accompany him at all costs was truly commendable. Nor is the contrast between this statement and the confession of Thomas in 20:28, which forms the climax of the entire Fourth Gospel, to be overlooked; certainly Thomas’ concept of who Jesus is has changed drastically between 11:16 and 20:28.
[11:17] 922 tn Grk “Then when.”
[11:17] 924 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:17] 925 tn Grk “he had already had four days in the tomb” (an idiom).
[11:18] 925 tn Or “three kilometers”; Grk “fifteen stades” (a stade as a unit of linear measure is about 607 feet or 187 meters).
[11:18] 926 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:19] 928 tn Or “many of the Judeans” (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e); Grk “many of the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in general (those who had been friends or relatives of Lazarus or his sisters would mainly be in view) since the Jewish religious authorities (“the chief priests and the Pharisees”) are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8.
[11:19] 929 tn Or “to comfort them” or “to offer them sympathy.”
[11:19] 930 tn Grk “to comfort them concerning their brother”; the words “loss of” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
[11:20] 931 sn Notice the difference in the response of the two sisters: Martha went out to meet Jesus, while Mary remains sitting in the house. It is similar to the incident in Luke 10:38-42. Here again one finds Martha occupied with the responsibilities of hospitality; she is the one who greets Jesus.
[11:21] 934 tn Grk “Then Martha.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[11:22] 938 sn The statement “whatever you ask from God, God will grant you” by Martha presents something of a dilemma, because she seems to be suggesting here (implicitly at least) the possibility of a resurrection for her brother. However, Martha’s statement in 11:39 makes it clear that she had no idea that a resurrection was still possible. How then are her words in 11:22 to be understood? It seems best to take them as a confession of Martha’s continuing faith in Jesus even though he was not there in time to help her brother. She means, in effect, “Even though you weren’t here in time to help, I still believe that God grants your requests.”
[11:23] 940 tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”
[11:23] 941 tn Or “Your brother will rise again.”
[11:24] 943 tn Grk “Martha said to him.”
[11:24] 944 tn Or “will rise again.”
[11:25] 946 tn That is, will come to life.
[11:26] 949 tn Grk “will never die forever.”
[11:27] 952 tn Grk “She said to him.”
[11:27] 953 tn The perfect tense in Greek is often used to emphasize the results or present state of a past action. Such is the case here. To emphasize this nuance the perfect tense verb πεπίστευκα (pepisteuka) has been translated as a present tense. This is in keeping with the present context, where Jesus asks of her present state of belief in v. 26, and the theology of the Gospel as a whole, which emphasizes the continuing effects and present reality of faith. For discussion on this use of the perfect tense, see ExSyn 574-76 and B. M. Fanning, Verbal Aspect, 291-97.
[11:27] 954 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[11:27] 955 tn Or “the Son of God, the one who comes into the world.”
[11:28] 955 tn Grk “she”; the referent (Martha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:28] 956 tn Or “in secret” (as opposed to publicly, so that the other mourners did not hear).
[11:28] 957 tn Grk “is calling you.”
[11:29] 958 tn Grk “she”; the referent (Mary) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:31] 961 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.
[11:31] 962 tn Grk “her”; the referent (Mary) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:31] 963 tn Grk “Mary”; the proper name (Mary) has been replaced with the pronoun (her) in keeping with conventional English style, to avoid repetition.
[11:31] 964 tn Or “to mourn” (referring to the loud wailing or crying typical of public mourning in that culture).
[11:33] 964 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, “the Jewish people of the region” in v. 19, and the word “people” in v. 31.
[11:33] 965 tn Or (perhaps) “he was deeply indignant.” The verb ἐνεβριμήσατο (enebrimhsato), which is repeated in John 11:38, indicates a strong display of emotion, somewhat difficult to translate – “shuddered, moved with the deepest emotions.” In the LXX, the verb and its cognates are used to describe a display of indignation (Dan 11:30, for example – see also Mark 14:5). Jesus displayed this reaction to the afflicted in Mark 1:43, Matt 9:30. Was he angry at the afflicted? No, but he was angry because he found himself face-to-face with the manifestations of Satan’s kingdom of evil. Here, the realm of Satan was represented by death.
[11:33] 966 tn Or “greatly troubled.” The verb ταράσσω (tarassw) also occurs in similar contexts to those of ἐνεβριμήσατο (enebrimhsato). John uses it in 14:1 and 27 to describe the reaction of the disciples to the imminent death of Jesus, and in 13:21 the verb describes how Jesus reacted to the thought of being betrayed by Judas, into whose heart Satan had entered.
[11:34] 967 tn Grk “And he said.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[11:34] 968 tn Or “Where have you placed him?”
[11:34] 969 tn Grk “They said to him.” The indirect object αὐτῷ (autw) has not been translated here for stylistic reasons.
[11:35] 970 sn Jesus wept. The Greek word used here for Jesus’ weeping (ἐδάκρυσεν, edakrusen) is different from the one used to describe the weeping of Mary and the Jews in v. 33 which indicated loud wailing and cries of lament. This word simply means “to shed tears” and has more the idea of quiet grief. But why did Jesus do this? Not out of grief for Lazarus, since he was about to be raised to life again. L. Morris (John [NICNT], 558) thinks it was grief over the misconception of those round about. But it seems that in the context the weeping is triggered by the thought of Lazarus in the tomb: This was not personal grief over the loss of a friend (since Lazarus was about to be restored to life) but grief over the effects of sin, death, and the realm of Satan. It was a natural complement to the previous emotional expression of anger (11:33). It is also possible that Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus because he knew there was also a tomb for himself ahead.
[11:36] 973 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.
[11:37] 976 tn Grk “who opened the eyes of the blind man” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
[11:37] 977 tn Grk “this one”; the second half of 11:37 reads Grk “Could not this one who opened the eyes of the blind have done something to keep this one from dying?” In the Greek text the repetition of “this one” in 11:37b referring to two different persons (first Jesus, second Lazarus) could confuse a modern reader. Thus the first reference, to Jesus, has been translated as “he” to refer back to the beginning of v. 37, where the reference to “the man who caused the blind man to see” is clearly a reference to Jesus. The second reference, to Lazarus, has been specified (“Lazarus”) in the translation for clarity.
[11:38] 979 tn Or (perhaps) “Jesus was deeply indignant.”
[11:38] 980 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[11:39] 982 tn Or “Remove the stone.”
[11:39] 983 tn Grk “the sister of the one who had died.”
[11:39] 984 tn Grk “already he stinks.”
[11:39] 985 tn Or “been there” (in the tomb – see John 11:17).
[11:39] 986 sn He has been buried four days. Although all the details of the miracle itself are not given, those details which are mentioned are important. The statement made by Martha is extremely significant for understanding what actually took place. There is no doubt that Lazarus had really died, because the decomposition of his body had already begun to take place, since he had been dead for four days.
[11:40] 985 tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”
[11:41] 988 tn Or “they removed.”
[11:41] 989 tn Grk “lifted up his eyes above.”
[11:41] 990 tn Or “that you have heard me.”
[11:42] 991 tn Grk “that you always hear me.”
[11:42] 992 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
[11:43] 994 tn Grk “And when.”
[11:43] 995 sn The purpose of the loud voice was probably to ensure that all in the crowd could hear (compare the purpose of the prayer of thanksgiving in vv. 41-42).
[11:44] 997 sn Many have wondered how Lazarus got out of the tomb if his hands and feet were still tied up with strips of cloth. The author does not tell, and with a miracle of this magnitude, this is not an important fact to know. If Lazarus’ decomposing body was brought back to life by the power of God, then it could certainly have been moved out of the tomb by that same power. Others have suggested that the legs were bound separately, which would remove the difficulty, but the account gives no indication of this. What may be of more significance for the author is the comparison which this picture naturally evokes with the resurrection of Jesus, where the graveclothes stayed in the tomb neatly folded (20:6-7). Jesus, unlike Lazarus, would never need graveclothes again.
[11:44] 998 tn Grk “and his face tied around with cloth.”
[11:44] 999 tn Grk “Loose him.”
[11:45] 1000 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 and the phrase “people who had come to mourn” in v. 36.
[11:45] 1001 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:46] 1003 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[11:46] 1004 tn Grk “told them.”
[11:47] 1006 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
[11:47] 1007 tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.
[11:48] 1009 tn Grk “If we let him do thus.”
[11:48] 1010 tn Or “holy place”; Grk “our place” (a reference to the temple in Jerusalem).
[11:49] 1012 tn Grk “said to them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[11:50] 1015 tn Or “you are not considering.”
[11:50] 1016 tn Although it is possible to argue that ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") should be translated “person” here since it is not necessarily masculinity that is in view in Caiaphas’ statement, “man” was retained in the translation because in 11:47 “this man” (οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, outo" Jo anqrwpo") has as its referent a specific individual, Jesus, and it was felt this connection should be maintained.
[11:50] 1017 sn In his own mind Caiaphas was no doubt giving voice to a common-sense statement of political expediency. Yet he was unconsciously echoing a saying of Jesus himself (cf. Mark 10:45). Caiaphas was right; the death of Jesus would save the nation from destruction. Yet Caiaphas could not suspect that Jesus would die, not in place of the political nation Israel, but on behalf of the true people of God; and he would save them, not from physical destruction, but from eternal destruction (cf. 3:16-17). The understanding of Caiaphas’ words in a sense that Caiaphas could not possibly have imagined at the time he uttered them serves as a clear example of the way in which the author understood that words and actions could be invested retrospectively with a meaning not consciously intended or understood by those present at the time.
[11:51] 1018 tn Grk “say this from himself.”
[11:51] 1019 tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).
[11:52] 1021 tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.
[11:52] 1022 sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.
[11:52] 1023 tn Grk “that he might gather together.”
[11:52] 1024 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[11:54] 1026 tn Grk “among the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Judea in general, who would be likely to report Jesus to the religious authorities. The vicinity around Jerusalem was no longer safe for Jesus and his disciples. On the translation “Judeans” cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e. See also the references in vv. 8, 19, 31, 33, 36, and 45.
[11:54] 1027 tn There is no certain identification of the location to which Jesus withdrew in response to the decision of the Jewish authorities. Many have suggested the present town of Et-Taiyibeh, identified with ancient Ophrah (Josh 18:23) or Ephron (Josh 15:9). If so, this would be 12-15 mi (19-24 km) northeast of Jerusalem.
[11:55] 1027 tn Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is the final Passover of Jesus’ ministry. The author is now on the eve of the week of the Passion. Some time prior to the feast itself, Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims from the surrounding districts (ἐκ τῆς χώρας, ek th" cwra") who had come to purify themselves ceremonially before the feast.
[11:55] 1028 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[11:55] 1029 tn Or “to purify themselves” (to undergo or carry out ceremonial cleansing before participating in the Passover celebration).
[11:56] 1030 tn Grk “they were seeking Jesus.”
[11:56] 1031 tn Grk “in the temple.”
[11:57] 1033 tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
[11:57] 1034 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:57] 1035 tn Or “could seize.”
[11:57] 1036 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[12:1] 1036 tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.
[12:2] 1039 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.
[12:2] 1040 tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.
[12:2] 1041 tn Grk “reclining at the table.”
[12:3] 1042 tn Or “half a liter”; Grk “a pound” (that is, a Roman pound, about 325 grams or 12 ounces).
[12:3] 1043 tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.
[12:3] 1044 tn Grk “And she.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
[12:3] 1045 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. With a note characteristic of someone who was there and remembered, the author adds that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil. In the later rabbinic literature, Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7.1.1 states “The fragrance of good oil is diffused from the bedroom to the dining hall, but a good name is diffused from one end of the world to the other.” If such a saying was known in the 1st century, this might be the author’s way of indicating that Mary’s act of devotion would be spoken of throughout the entire world (compare the comment in Mark 14:9).
[12:4] 1045 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[12:5] 1048 tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” The denarius was a silver coin worth a standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking into account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).
[12:5] 1049 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).
[12:6] 1051 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:6] 1052 tn Grk “a thief, and having the money box.” Dividing the single Greek sentence improves the English style.
[12:6] 1053 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. This is one of the indications in the gospels that Judas was of bad character before the betrayal of Jesus. John states that he was a thief and had responsibility for the finances of the group. More than being simply a derogatory note about Judas’ character, the inclusion of the note at this particular point in the narrative may be intended to link the frustrated greed of Judas here with his subsequent decision to betray Jesus for money. The parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark seem to indicate that after this incident Judas went away immediately and made his deal with the Jewish authorities to deliver up Jesus. Losing out on one source of sordid gain, he immediately went out and set up another.
[12:7] 1054 tn Grk “Leave her alone, that for the day of my burial she may keep it.” The construction with ἵνα (Jina) is somewhat ambiguous. The simplest way to read it would be, “Leave her alone, that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” This would imply that Mary was going to use the perfumed oil on that day, while vv. 3 and 5 seem to indicate clearly that she had already used it up. Some understand the statement as elliptical: “Leave her alone; (she did this) in order to keep it for the day of my burial.” Another alternative would be an imperatival use of ἵνα with the meaning: “Leave her alone; let her keep it.” The reading of the Byzantine text, which omits the ἵνα and substitutes a perfect tense τετήρηκεν (tethrhken), while not likely to be original, probably comes close to the meaning of the text, and that has been followed in this translation.
[12:8] 1057 tc A few isolated witnesses omit v. 8 (D sys), part of v. 8 (Ì75), or vv. 7-8 ({0250}). The latter two omissions are surely due to errors of sight, while the former can be attributed to D’s sometimes erratic behavior. The verse is secure in light of the overwhelming evidence on its behalf.
[12:9] 1060 tn Grk “of the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e), 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 residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area who by this time had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and were curious to see him.
[12:9] 1062 tn Grk “he”; normal English clause structure specifies the referent first and substitutes the pronoun in subsequent references to the same individual, so the referent (Jesus) has been specified here.
[12:9] 1063 tn Grk “Jesus”; normal English clause structure specifies the referent first and substitutes the pronoun in subsequent references to the same individual, so the pronoun (“him”) has been substituted here.
[12:10] 1063 sn According to John 11:53 the Jewish leadership had already planned to kill Jesus. This plot against Lazarus apparently never got beyond the planning stage, however, since no further mention is made of it by the author.
[12:11] 1066 tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem who had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and as a result were embracing Jesus as Messiah. See also the note on the phrase “Judeans” in v. 9.
[12:12] 1069 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:13] 1072 sn The Mosaic law stated (Lev 23:40) that branches of palm trees were to be used to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. Later on they came to be used to celebrate other feasts as well (1 Macc. 13:51, 2 Macc. 10:7).
[12:13] 1073 tn Grk “And they were shouting.” An ingressive force for the imperfect tense (“they began to shout” or “they started shouting”) is natural in this sequence of events. The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) is left untranslated to improve the English style.
[12:13] 1074 tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” As in Mark 11:9 the introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.
[12:13] 1075 sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.
[12:13] 1076 tn Grk “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” The words “Blessed is” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are repeated in the translation to avoid the awkwardness in English of the ascensive καί (kai).
[12:14] 1075 sn The author does not repeat the detailed accounts of the finding of the donkey recorded in the synoptic gospels. He does, however, see the event as a fulfillment of scripture, which he indicates by quoting Zech 9:9.
[12:15] 1078 tn Grk “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion” (the phrase “daughter of Zion” is an idiom for the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “people of Zion”). The idiom “daughter of Zion” has been translated as “people of Zion” because the original idiom, while firmly embedded in the Christian tradition, is not understandable to most modern English readers.
[12:15] 1079 sn A quotation from Zech 9:9.
[12:16] 1081 tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”
[12:16] 1082 sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.
[12:16] 1083 tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).
[12:16] 1084 sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).
[12:17] 1084 tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
[12:18] 1087 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:19] 1090 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[12:20] 1093 sn These Greeks (῞Ελληνές τινες, {ellhne" tine") who had come up to worship at the feast were probably “God-fearers” rather than proselytes in the strict sense. Had they been true proselytes, they would probably not have been referred to as Greeks any longer. Many came to worship at the major Jewish festivals without being proselytes to Judaism, for example, the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27, who could not have been a proselyte if he were physically a eunuch.
[12:21] 1096 sn These Greeks approached Philip, although it is not clear why they did so. Perhaps they identified with his Greek name (although a number of Jews from border areas had Hellenistic names at this period). By see it is clear they meant “speak with,” since anyone could “see” Jesus moving through the crowd. The author does not mention what they wanted to speak with Jesus about.
[12:21] 1097 tn Grk “and were asking him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
[12:22] 1099 tn Grk “Andrew and Philip”; because a repetition of the proper names would be redundant in contemporary English style, the phrase “they both” has been substituted in the translation.
[12:23] 1102 tn Grk “Jesus answered them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
[12:23] 1103 tn Grk “the hour.”
[12:23] 1104 sn Jesus’ reply, the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, is a bit puzzling. As far as the author’s account is concerned, Jesus totally ignores these Greeks and makes no further reference to them whatsoever. It appears that his words are addressed to Andrew and Philip, but in fact they must have had a wider audience, including possibly the Greeks who had wished to see him in the first place. The words the time has come recall all the previous references to “the hour” throughout the Fourth Gospel (see the note on time in 2:4). There is no doubt, in light of the following verse, that Jesus refers to his death here. On his pathway to glorification lies the cross, and it is just ahead.
[12:24] 1105 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
[12:24] 1106 tn Or “it remains only a single kernel.”
[12:24] 1108 tn Grk “much fruit.”
[12:25] 1109 tn Or “loses.” Although the traditional English translation of ἀπολλύει (apolluei) in John 12:25 is “loses,” the contrast with φυλάξει (fulaxei, “keeps” or “guards”) in the second half of the verse favors the meaning “destroy” here.
[12:26] 1111 tn As a third person imperative in Greek, ἀκολουθείτω (akolouqeitw) is usually translated “let him follow me.” This could be understood by the modern English reader as merely permissive, however (“he may follow me if he wishes”). In this context there is no permissive sense, but rather a command, so the translation “he must follow me” is preferred.
[12:26] 1112 tn Grk “where I am, there my servant will be too.”
[12:27] 1115 tn Or “this occasion.”
[12:27] 1116 tn Or “this occasion.”
[12:28] 1117 tn Or “from the sky” (see note on 1:32).
[12:28] 1118 tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[12:28] 1119 tn “It” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[12:29] 1120 tn “The voice” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[12:29] 1121 tn Grk “Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” The direct discourse in the second half of v. 29 was converted to indirect discourse in the translation to maintain the parallelism with the first half of the verse, which is better in keeping with English style.
[12:30] 1123 tn Grk “Jesus answered and said.”
[12:30] 1124 tn Or “for my sake.”
[12:31] 1126 sn The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
[12:31] 1127 tn Or “will be thrown out.” This translation regards the future passive ἐκβληθήσεται (ekblhqhsetai) as referring to an event future to the time of speaking.
[12:32] 1129 tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).
[12:33] 1132 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[12:34] 1135 tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”
[12:34] 1136 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[12:34] 1137 tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).
[12:34] 1138 tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
[12:35] 1138 tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them.”
[12:35] 1139 tn Grk “Yet a little while the light is with you.”
[12:35] 1140 sn The warning Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you operates on at least two different levels: (1) To the Jewish people in Jerusalem to whom Jesus spoke, the warning was a reminder that there was only a little time left for them to accept him as their Messiah. (2) To those later individuals to whom the Fourth Gospel was written, and to every person since, the words of Jesus are also a warning: There is a finite, limited time in which each individual has opportunity to respond to the Light of the world (i.e., Jesus); after that comes darkness. One’s response to the Light decisively determines one’s judgment for eternity.
[12:36] 1141 tn The idiom “sons of light” means essentially “people characterized by light,” that is, “people of God.”
[12:37] 1144 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:38] 1148 tn Grk “who said.”
[12:38] 1149 tn “The arm of the Lord” is an idiom for “God’s great power” (as exemplified through Jesus’ miraculous signs). This response of unbelief is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa 53:1). The phrase ὁ βραχίων κυρίου (Jo braciwn kuriou) is a figurative reference to God’s activity and power which has been revealed in the sign-miracles which Jesus has performed (compare the previous verse).
[12:38] 1150 sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.
[12:39] 1150 sn The author explicitly states here that Jesus’ Jewish opponents could not believe, and quotes Isa 6:10 to show that God had in fact blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. This OT passage was used elsewhere in the NT to explain Jewish unbelief: Paul’s final words in Acts (28:26-27) are a quotation of this same passage, which he uses to explain why the Jewish people have not accepted the gospel he has preached. A similar passage (Isa 29:10) is quoted in a similar context in Rom 11:8.
[12:40] 1153 tn Or “closed their mind.”
[12:40] 1154 tn Or “their mind.”
[12:40] 1155 tn One could also translate στραφῶσιν (strafwsin) as “repent” or “change their ways,” but both of these terms would be subject to misinterpretation by the modern English reader. The idea is one of turning back to God, however. The words “to me” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
[12:40] 1156 sn A quotation from Isa 6:10.
[12:41] 1156 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent supplied here is “Christ” rather than “Jesus” because it involves what Isaiah saw. It is clear that the author presents Isaiah as having seen the preincarnate glory of Christ, which was the very revelation of the Father (see John 1:18; John 14:9).
[12:42] 1159 sn The term rulers here denotes members of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in 3:1.
[12:42] 1160 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[12:42] 1161 tn The words “Jesus to be the Christ” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see 9:22). As is often the case in Greek, the direct object is omitted for the verb ὡμολόγουν (Jwmologoun). Some translators supply an ambiguous “it,” or derive the implied direct object from the previous clause “believed in him” so that the rulers would not confess “their faith” or “their belief.” However, when one compares John 9:22, which has many verbal parallels to this verse, it seems clear that the content of the confession would have been “Jesus is the Christ (i.e., Messiah).”
[12:42] 1162 tn Or “be expelled from.”
[12:42] 1163 sn Compare John 9:22. See the note on synagogue in 6:59.
[12:43] 1162 tn Grk “the glory.”
[12:43] 1163 tn Grk “the glory.”
[12:44] 1165 tn Grk “shouted out and said.”
[12:44] 1166 sn The one who sent me refers to God.
[12:45] 1168 sn Cf. John 1:18 and 14:9.
[12:47] 1171 tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
[12:47] 1172 tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”
[12:47] 1173 sn Cf. John 3:17.
[12:48] 1174 tn Or “does not receive.”
[12:48] 1175 tn Grk “has one who judges him.”
[12:49] 1177 tn Grk “I have not spoken from myself.”
[12:49] 1178 tn Grk “has given me commandment.”
[12:50] 1180 tn Or “his commandment results in eternal life.”
[12:50] 1181 tn Grk “The things I speak, just as the Father has spoken to me, thus I speak.”
