Yohanes 15:20

15:20 Remember what ¹  I told you, ‘A slave ²  is not greater than his master.’ ³  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ⁴  my word, they will obey ⁵  yours too.

Yohanes 12:26

12:26 If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow ⁶  me, and where I am, my servant will be too. ⁷  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Yohanes 13:16

13:16 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁸  the slave ⁹  is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger ¹⁰  greater than the one who sent him.

Yohanes 20:17

20:17 Jesus replied, ¹¹  “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

[15:20]  ¹ tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

[15:20]  ² tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:20]  ³ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

[15:20]  ⁴ tn Or “if they kept.”

[15:20]  ⁵ tn Or “they will keep.”

[12:26]  ⁶ tn As a third person imperative in Greek, ἀκολουθείτω (akolouqeitw) is usually translated “let him follow me.” This could be understood by the modern English reader as merely permissive, however (“he may follow me if he wishes”). In this context there is no permissive sense, but rather a command, so the translation “he must follow me” is preferred.

[12:26]  ⁷ tn Grk “where I am, there my servant will be too.”

[13:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[13:16]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[13:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “nor is the apostle” (“apostle” means “one who is sent” in Greek).

[20:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”