Yohanes 1:19

The Testimony of John the Baptist

1:19 Now ¹  this was ²  John’s ³  testimony ⁴  when the Jewish leaders ⁵  sent ⁶  priests and Levites from Jerusalem ⁷  to ask him, “Who are you?” ⁸ 

Yohanes 8:25

8:25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, ⁹  “What I have told you from the beginning.

Yohanes 8:53

8:53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? ¹⁰  And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?”

Yohanes 9:22

9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ¹¹  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ¹²  to be the Christ ¹³  would be put out ¹⁴  of the synagogue. ¹⁵ 

Lukas 22:67-70

22:67 and said, “If ¹⁶  you are the Christ, ¹⁷  tell us.” But he said to them, “If ¹⁸  I tell you, you will not ¹⁹  believe, 22:68 and if ²⁰  I ask you, you will not ²¹  answer. 22:69 But from now on ²²  the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand ²³  of the power ²⁴  of God.” 22:70 So ²⁵  they all said, “Are you the Son of God, ²⁶  then?” He answered ²⁷  them, “You say ²⁸  that I am.”

Lukas 22:2

22:2 The ²⁹  chief priests and the experts in the law ³⁰  were trying to find some way ³¹  to execute ³²  Jesus, ³³  for they were afraid of the people. ³⁴ 

Kolose 3:12

Exhortation to Unity and Love

3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, ³⁵  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

[1:19]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:19]  ² tn Grk “is.”

[1:19]  ³ sn John’s refers to John the Baptist.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Or “witness.”

[1:19]  sn John the Baptist’s testimony seems to take place over 3 days: day 1, John’s testimony about his own role is largely negative (1:19-28); day 2, John gives positive testimony about who Jesus is (1:29-34); day 3, John sends his own disciples to follow Jesus (1:35-40).

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Iουδαῖοι (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 authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[1:19]  ⁶ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have πρὸς αὐτόν (pro" auton, “to him”) either here (B C* 33 892^c al it) or after “Levites” (Ì^{66c vid} A Θ Ψ Ë¹³ 579 al lat), while the earliest mss as well as the majority of mss (Ì^66*,75 א C³ L W^s ˹ Ï) lack the phrase. On the one hand, πρὸς αὐτόν could be perceived as redundant since αὐτόν is used again later in the verse, thus prompting scribes to omit the phrase. On the other hand, both the variation in placement of πρὸς αὐτόν and the fact that this phrase rather than the latter αὐτόν is lacking in certain witnesses (cf. John 11:44; 14:7; 18:31), suggests that scribes felt that the sentence needed the phrase to make the sense clearer. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading is slightly preferred. NA²⁷ has πρὸς αὐτόν in brackets, indicating doubt as to the phrase’s authenticity.

[1:19]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:19]  ⁸ sn “Who are you?” No uniform Jewish expectation of a single eschatological figure existed in the 1st century. A majority expected the Messiah. But some pseudepigraphic books describe God’s intervention without mentioning the anointed Davidic king; in parts of 1 Enoch, for example, the figure of the Son of Man, not the Messiah, embodies the expectations of the author. Essenes at Qumran seem to have expected three figures: a prophet, a priestly messiah, and a royal messiah. In baptizing, John the Baptist was performing an eschatological action. It also seems to have been part of his proclamation (John 1:23, 26-27). Crowds were beginning to follow him. He was operating in an area not too far from the Essene center on the Dead Sea. No wonder the authorities were curious about who he was.

[8:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[8:53]  ¹⁰ 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?”).

[9:22]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “confessed him.”

[9:22]  ¹³ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[9:22]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[9:22]  ¹⁴ tn Or “would be expelled from.”

[9:22]  ¹⁵ 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.

[22:67]  ¹⁶ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

[22:67]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[22:67]  sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.

[22:67]  ¹⁸ tn This is a third class condition in the Greek text. Jesus had this experience already in 20:1-8.

[22:67]  ¹⁹ tn The negation in the Greek text is the strongest possible (οὐ μή, ou mh).

[22:68]  ²⁰ tn This is also a third class condition in the Greek text.

[22:68]  ²¹ tn The negation in the Greek text is the strongest possible (οὐ μή, ou mh).

[22:69]  ²² sn From now on. Jesus’ authority was taken up from this moment on. Ironically he is now the ultimate judge, who is himself being judged.

[22:69]  ²³ sn Seated at the right hand is an allusion to Ps 110:1 (“Sit at my right hand…”) and is a claim that Jesus shares authority with God in heaven. Those present may have thought they were his judges, but, in fact, the reverse was true.

[22:69]  ²⁴ sn The expression the right hand of the power of God is a circumlocution for referring to God. Such indirect references to God were common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

[22:70]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ pronouncement.

[22:70]  ²⁶ sn The members of the council understood the force of the claim and asked Jesus about another title, Son of God.

[22:70]  ²⁷ tn Grk “He said to them.”

[22:70]  ²⁸ sn Jesus’ reply, “You say that I am,” was not a denial, but a way of giving a qualified positive response: “You have said it, but I do not quite mean what you think.”

[22:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:2]  ³⁰ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:2]  ³¹ tn Grk “were seeking how.”

[22:2]  ³² tn The Greek verb here means “to get rid of by execution” (BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2; cf. also L&N 20.71, which states, “to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures”).

[22:2]  ³³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ³⁴ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.

[3:12]  ³⁵ tn If the genitive construct σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (splancna oiktirmou) is a hendiadys then it would be “compassion” or “tenderheartedness.” See M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 161.