John 5:16

Responding to Jewish Leaders

5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things ¹  on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders ²  began persecuting ³  him.

John 6:6

6:6 (Now Jesus ⁴  said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) ⁵ 

John 9:23

9:23 For this reason his parents said, “He is a mature adult, ⁶  ask him.”) ⁷ 

John 11:7

11:7 Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸ 

John 12:5

12:5 “Why wasn’t this oil sold for three hundred silver coins ⁹  and the money ¹⁰  given to the poor?”

John 12:33

12:33 (Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.) ¹¹ 

John 12:39

12:39 For this reason they could not believe, ¹²  because again Isaiah said,

John 13:28

13:28 (Now none of those present at the table ¹³  understood ¹⁴  why Jesus ¹⁵  said this to Judas. ¹⁶ 

John 14:14

14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 20:22

20:22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, ¹⁷  “Receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ 

John 21:14

21:14 This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

[5:16]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[5:16]  ³ tn Or “harassing.”

[6:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6]  ⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[9:23]  ⁷ tn Or “he is of age.”

[9:23]  ⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author explaining the parents’ response.

[11:7]  ¹⁰ sn The village of Bethany, where Lazarus was, lies in Judea, less than 2 mi (3 km) from Jerusalem (see 11:18).

[12:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

[12:33]  ¹⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:39]  ¹⁹ 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.

[13:28]  ²² tn Grk “reclining at the table.” The phrase reclining at the table reflects the normal practice in 1st century Near Eastern culture of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.

[13:28]  ²³ tn Or “knew.”

[13:28]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:28]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:22]  ²⁵ tn Grk “said to them.”

[20:22]  ²⁶ sn He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The use of the Greek verb breathed on (ἐμφυσάω, emfusaw) to describe the action of Jesus here recalls Gen 2:7 in the LXX, where “the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” This time, however, it is Jesus who is breathing the breath-Spirit of eternal life, life from above, into his disciples (cf. 3:3-10). Furthermore there is the imagery of Ezek 37:1-14, the prophecy concerning the resurrection of the dry bones: In 37:9 the Son of Man is told to prophesy to the “wind-breath-Spirit” to come and breathe on the corpses, so that they will live again. In 37:14 the Lord promised, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land.” In terms of ultimate fulfillment the passage in Ezek 37 looks at the regeneration of Israel immediately prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. The author saw in what Jesus did for the disciples at this point a partial and symbolic fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, much as Peter made use of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 in his sermon on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:17-21. What then did Jesus do for the disciples in John 20:22? It appears that in light of the symbolism of the new creation present here, as well as the regeneration symbolism from the Ezek 37 passage, that Jesus at this point breathed into the disciples the breath of eternal life. This was in the form of the Holy Spirit, who was to indwell them. It is instructive to look again at 7:38-39, which states, “Just as the scripture says, ‘Out from within him will flow rivers of living water.’ (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, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”) But now in 20:22 Jesus was glorified, so the Spirit could be given. Had the disciples not believed in Jesus before? It seems clear that they had, since their belief is repeatedly affirmed, beginning with 2:11. But it also seems clear that even on the eve of the crucifixion, they did not understand the necessity of the cross (16:31-33). And even after the crucifixion, the disciples had not realized that there was going to be a resurrection (20:9). Ultimate recognition of who Jesus was appears to have come to them only after the postresurrection appearances (note the response of Thomas, who was not present at this incident, in v. 28). Finally, what is the relation of this incident in 20:22 to the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2? It appears best to view these as two separate events which have two somewhat different purposes. This was the giving of life itself, which flowed out from within (cf. 7:38-39). The giving of power would occur later, on the day of Pentecost – power to witness and carry out the mission the disciples had been given. (It is important to remember that in the historical unfolding of God’s program for the church, these events occurred in a chronological sequence which, after the church has been established, is not repeatable today.)