John 5:19

5:19 So Jesus answered them, ¹  “I tell you the solemn truth, ²  the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, ³  but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father ⁴  does, the Son does likewise. ⁵ 

John 6:22

6:22 The next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the lake ⁶  realized that only one small boat ⁷  had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded ⁸  it with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

John 9:16

9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, ⁹  “This man is not from God, because he does not observe ¹⁰  the Sabbath.” ¹¹  But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform ¹²  such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division ¹³  among them.

John 20:25

20:25 The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, ¹⁴  “Unless I see the wounds ¹⁵  from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!” ¹⁶ 

[5:19]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[5:19]  ² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:19]  ³ tn Grk “nothing from himself.”

[5:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:19]  ⁵ 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.

[6:22]  ⁶ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

[6:22]  ⁷ 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 [˹³ 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.

[6:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “entered.”

[9:16]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “he does not keep.”

[9:16]  ¹³ sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.

[9:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “do.”

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “So there was discord.”

[20:25]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “but he said to them.”

[20:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or “marks.”

[20:25]  ¹⁸ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context. The use of “it” here as direct object of the verb πιστεύσω (pisteusw) specifies exactly what Thomas was refusing to believe: that Jesus had risen from the dead, as reported by his fellow disciples. Otherwise the English reader may be left with the impression Thomas was refusing to “believe in” Jesus, or “believe Jesus to be the Christ.” The dramatic tension in this narrative is heightened when Thomas, on seeing for himself the risen Christ, believes more than just the resurrection (see John 20:28).