Yohanes 1:11

1:11 He came to what was his own, ¹  but ²  his own people ³  did not receive him. ⁴ 

Yohanes 3:18

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. ⁵  The one who does not believe has been condemned ⁶  already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only ⁷  Son of God.

Yohanes 3:28

3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ ⁸  but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’

Yohanes 3:36

3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects ⁹  the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath ¹⁰  remains ¹¹  on him.

Yohanes 4:25

4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); ¹²  “whenever he ¹³  comes, he will tell ¹⁴  us everything.” ¹⁵ 

Yohanes 7:26-27

7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, ¹⁶  and they are saying nothing to him. ¹⁷  Do the rulers really know that this man ¹⁸  is the Christ? ¹⁹  7:27 But we know where this man ²⁰  comes from. ²¹  Whenever the Christ ²²  comes, no one will know where he comes from.” ²³ 

Yohanes 7:31

7:31 Yet many of the crowd ²⁴  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ²⁵  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ²⁶ 

Yohanes 9:22

9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ²⁷  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ²⁸  to be the Christ ²⁹  would be put out ³⁰  of the synagogue. ³¹ 

Yohanes 10:24

10:24 The Jewish leaders ³²  surrounded him and asked, ³³  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ³⁴  If you are the Christ, ³⁵  tell us plainly.” ³⁶ 

Yohanes 11:9

11:9 Jesus replied, ³⁷  “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, ³⁸  because he sees the light of this world. ³⁹ 

Yohanes 12:34

12:34 Then the crowd responded, ⁴⁰  “We have heard from the law that the Christ ⁴¹  will remain forever. ⁴²  How ⁴³  can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Yohanes 20:31

20:31 But these ⁴⁴  are recorded ⁴⁵  so that you may believe ⁴⁶  that Jesus is the Christ, ⁴⁷  the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ⁴⁸ 

[1:11]  ¹ tn Grk “to his own things.”

[1:11]  ² tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:11]  ³ tn “People” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:11]  ⁴ sn His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the λόγος (logos) came into the world, he came to his own (τὰ ἴδια, ta idia, literally “his own things”) and his own people (οἱ ἴδιοι, Joi idioi), who should have known and received him, but they did not. This time John does not say that “his own” did not know him, but that they did not receive him (παρέλαβον, parelabon). The idea is one not of mere recognition, but of acceptance and welcome.

[3:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ⁷ tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

[3:28]  ⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[3:28]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[3:36]  ⁹ tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”

[3:36]  ¹⁰ tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”

[3:36]  ¹¹ tn Or “resides.”

[4:25]  ¹² tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”

[4:25]  sn The one called Christ. This is a parenthetical statement by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[4:25]  ¹³ tn Grk “that one.”

[4:25]  ¹⁴ tn Or “he will announce to us.”

[4:25]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “all things.”

[7:26]  ¹⁶ tn Or “speaking openly.”

[7:26]  ¹⁷ sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.

[7:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:26]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:27]  ²⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:27]  ²¹ sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.

[7:27]  ²² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:27]  ²³ sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.

[7:31]  ²⁴ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

[7:31]  ²⁵ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:31]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:31]  ²⁶ 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 it is “will he?”).

[9:22]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Grk “confessed him.”

[9:22]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Or “would be expelled from.”

[9:22]  ³¹ 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.

[10:24]  ³² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.

[10:24]  ³³ tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.

[10:24]  ³⁴ tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”

[10:24]  ³⁵ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[10:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[10:24]  ³⁶ tn Or “publicly.”

[11:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[11:9]  ³⁸ tn Or “he does not trip.”

[11:9]  ³⁹ sn What is the light of this world? On one level, of course, it refers to the sun, but the reader of John’s Gospel would recall 8:12 and understand Jesus’ symbolic reference to himself as the light of the world. There is only a limited time left (Are there not twelve hours in a day?) until the Light will be withdrawn (until Jesus returns to the Father) and the one who walks around in the dark will trip and fall (compare the departure of Judas by night in 13:30).

[12:34]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”

[12:34]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[12:34]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[12:34]  ⁴² tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).

[12:34]  ⁴³ tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[20:31]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “these things.”

[20:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “are written.”

[20:31]  ⁴⁶ tc ‡ A difficult textual variant is present at this point in the Greek text. Some mss (Ì^66vid א* B Θ 0250 pc) read the present subjunctive πιστεύητε (pisteuhte) after ἵνα (Jina; thus NEB text, “that you may hold the faith”) while others (א² A C D L W Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï) read the aorist subjunctive πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) after ἵνα (cf. NEB margin, “that you may come to believe”). As reflected by the renderings of the NEB text and margin, it is often assumed that the present tense would suggest ongoing belief (i.e., the Fourth Gospel primarily addressed those who already believed, and was intended to strengthen their faith), while the aorist tense would speak of coming to faith (i.e., John’s Gospel was primarily evangelistic in nature). Both textual variants enjoy significant ms support, although the present subjunctive has somewhat superior witnesses on its behalf. On internal grounds it is hard to decide which is more likely the original. Many resolve this issue on the basis of a reconstruction of the overall purpose of the Gospel, viz., whether it is addressed to unbelievers or believers. However, since elsewhere in the Gospel of John (1) the present tense can refer to both initial faith and continuation in the faith and (2) the aorist tense simply refrains from commenting on the issue, it is highly unlikely that the distinction here would be determinative for the purpose of the Fourth Gospel. The question of purpose cannot be resolved by choosing one textual variant over the other in 20:31, but must be decided on other factors. Nevertheless, if a choice has to be made, the present subjunctive is the preferred reading. NA²⁷ puts the aorist’s sigma in brackets, thus representing both readings virtually equally (so TCGNT 220).

[20:31]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “Jesus is the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[20:31]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[20:31]  ⁴⁸ sn John 20:31. A major question concerning this verse, the purpose statement of the Gospel of John, is whether the author is writing primarily for an audience of unbelievers, with purely evangelistic emphasis, or whether he envisions an audience of believers, whom he wants to strengthen in their faith. Several points are important in this discussion: (1) in the immediate context (20:30), the other signs spoken of by the author were performed in the presence of disciples; (2) in the case of the first of the signs, at Cana, the author makes a point of the effect the miracle had on the disciples (2:11); (3) if the primary thrust of the Gospel is toward unbelievers, it is difficult to see why so much material in chaps. 13-17 (the last meal and Farewell Discourse, concluding with Jesus’ prayer for the disciples), which deals almost exclusively with the disciples, is included; (4) the disciples themselves were repeatedly said to have believed in Jesus throughout the Gospel, beginning with 2:11, yet they still needed to believe after the resurrection (if Thomas’ experience in 20:27-28 is any indication); and (5) the Gospel appears to be written with the assumption that the readers are familiar with the basic story (or perhaps with one or more of the synoptic gospel accounts, although this is less clear). Thus no account of the birth of Jesus is given at all, and although he is identified as being from Nazareth, the words of the Pharisees and chief priests to Nicodemus (7:52) are almost certainly to be taken as ironic, assuming the reader knows where Jesus was really from. Likewise, when Mary is identified in 11:2 as the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil, it is apparently assumed that the readers are familiar with the story, since the incident involved is not mentioned in the Fourth Gospel until 12:3. These observations must be set over against the clear statement of purpose in the present verse, 20:31, which seems to have significant evangelistic emphasis. In addition to this there is the repeated emphasis on witness throughout the Fourth Gospel (cf. the witness of John the Baptist in 1:7, 8, 15, 32, and 34, along with 5:33; the Samaritan woman in 4:39; Jesus’ own witness, along with that of the Father who sent him, in 8:14, 18, and 18:37; the disciples themselves in 15:27; and finally the testimony of the author himself in 19:35 and 21:24). In light of all this evidence it seems best to say that the author wrote with a dual purpose: (1) to witness to unbelievers concerning Jesus, in order that they come to believe in him and have eternal life; and (2) to strengthen the faith of believers, by deepening and expanding their understanding of who Jesus is.