John 5:18

5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders ¹  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.

John 6:42

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’?”

John 14:12

14:12 I tell you the solemn truth, ²  the person who believes in me will perform ³  the miraculous deeds ⁴  that I am doing, ⁵  and will perform ⁶  greater deeds ⁷  than these, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:28

14:28 You heard me say to you, ⁸  ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad ⁹  that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. ¹⁰ 

John 15:24

15:24 If I had not performed ¹¹  among them the miraculous deeds ¹²  that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. ¹³  But now they have seen the deeds ¹⁴  and have hated both me and my Father. ¹⁵ 

John 16:17

16:17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, ¹⁶  ‘In a little while you ¹⁷  will not see me; again after a little while, you ¹⁸  will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁹ 

John 16:23

16:23 At that time ²⁰  you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, ²¹  whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ²² 

[5:18]  ¹ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.

[14:12]  ² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[14:12]  ³ tn Or “will do.”

[14:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “the works.”

[14:12]  ⁵ tn Or “that I do.”

[14:12]  ⁶ tn Or “will do.”

[14:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “greater works.”

[14:28]  ³ tn Or “You have heard that I said to you.”

[14:28]  ⁴ tn Or “you would rejoice.”

[14:28]  ⁵ sn Jesus’ statement the Father is greater than I am has caused much christological and trinitarian debate. Although the Arians appealed to this text to justify their subordinationist Christology, it seems evident that by the fact Jesus compares himself to the Father, his divine nature is taken for granted. There have been two orthodox interpretations: (1) The Son is eternally generated while the Father is not: Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Hilary, etc. (2) As man the incarnate Son was less than the Father: Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose, Augustine. In the context of the Fourth Gospel the second explanation seems more plausible. But why should the disciples have rejoiced? Because Jesus was on the way to the Father who would glorify him (cf. 17:4-5); his departure now signifies that the work the Father has given him is completed (cf. 19:30). Now Jesus will be glorified with that glory that he had with the Father before the world was (cf. 17:5). This should be a cause of rejoicing to the disciples because when Jesus is glorified he will glorify his disciples as well (17:22).

[15:24]  ⁴ tn Or “If I had not done.”

[15:24]  ⁵ tn Grk “the works.”

[15:24]  ⁶ tn Grk “they would not have sin” (an idiom).

[15:24]  ⁷ tn The words “the deeds” are supplied to clarify from context what was seen. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[15:24]  ⁸ tn Or “But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.” It is possible to understand both the “seeing” and the “hating” to refer to both Jesus and the Father, but this has the world “seeing” the Father, which seems alien to the Johannine Jesus. (Some point out John 14:9 as an example, but this is addressed to the disciples, not to the world.) It is more likely that the “seeing” refers to the miraculous deeds mentioned in the first half of the verse. Such an understanding of the first “both – and” construction is apparently supported by BDF §444.3.

[16:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”

[16:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “A little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”

[16:17]  ⁸ sn These fragmentary quotations of Jesus’ statements are from 16:16 and 16:10, and indicate that the disciples heard only part of what Jesus had to say to them on this occasion.

[16:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “And in that day.”

[16:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:23]  ⁸ sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.