John 8:15

8:15 You people ¹  judge by outward appearances; ²  I do not judge anyone. ³ 

John 5:22

5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge ⁴  anyone, but has assigned ⁵  all judgment to the Son,

John 18:9

18:9 He said this ⁶  to fulfill the word he had spoken, ⁷  “I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me.” ⁸ 

John 18:31

18:31 Pilate told them, ⁹  “Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him ¹⁰  according to your own law!” ¹¹  The Jewish leaders ¹²  replied, ¹³  “We cannot legally put anyone to death.” ¹⁴ 

[8:15]  ¹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

[8:15]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[5:22]  ⁴ tn Or “condemn.”

[5:22]  ⁵ tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”

[18:9]  ⁷ tn The words “He said this” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. There is an ellipsis in the Greek text that must be supplied for the modern English reader at this point.

[18:9]  ⁸ sn This expression is similar to John 6:39 and John 17:12.

[18:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “Of the ones whom you gave me, I did not lose one of them.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style.

[18:31]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Then Pilate said to them.”

[18:31]  ¹¹ tn Or “judge him.” For the translation “pass judgment on him” see R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:848).

[18:31]  ¹² sn Pilate, as the sole representative of Rome in a troubled area, was probably in Jerusalem for the Passover because of the danger of an uprising (the normal residence for the Roman governor was in Caesarea as mentioned in Acts 23:35). At this time on the eve of the feast he would have been a busy and perhaps even a worried man. It is not surprising that he offered to hand Jesus back over to the Jewish authorities to pass judgment on him. It may well be that Pilate realized when no specific charge was mentioned that he was dealing with an internal dispute over some religious matter. Pilate wanted nothing to do with such matters, as the statement “Pass judgment on him according to your own law!” indicates. As far as the author is concerned, this points out who was really responsible for Jesus’ death: The Roman governor Pilate would have had nothing to do with it if he had not been pressured by the Jewish religious authorities, upon whom the real responsibility rested.

[18:31]  ¹³ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12.

[18:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “said to him.”

[18:31]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “It is not permitted to us to kill anyone.”