Yohanes 1:7

1:7 He came as a witness ¹  to testify ²  about the light, so that everyone ³  might believe through him.

Yohanes 1:12

1:12 But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name ⁴  – he has given the right to become God’s children

Yohanes 2:11

2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, ⁵  in Cana ⁶  of Galilee. In this way he revealed ⁷  his glory, and his disciples believed in him. ⁸ 

Yohanes 2:22

2:22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture ⁹  and the saying ¹⁰  that Jesus had spoken.

Yohanes 3:16

3:16 For this is the way ¹¹  God loved the world: He gave his one and only ¹²  Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish ¹³  but have eternal life. ¹⁴ 

Yohanes 3:18

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. ¹⁵  The one who does not believe has been condemned ¹⁶  already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only ¹⁷  Son of God.

Yohanes 5:24

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁸  the one who hears ¹⁹  my message ²⁰  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ²¹  but has crossed over from death to life.

Yohanes 6:29

6:29 Jesus replied, ²²  “This is the deed ²³  God requires ²⁴  – to believe in the one whom he ²⁵  sent.”

Yohanes 6:47

6:47 I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁶  the one who believes ²⁷  has eternal life. ²⁸ 

Yohanes 8:24

8:24 Thus I told you ²⁹  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ³⁰  you will die in your sins.”

Yohanes 9:35-38

The Man’s Response to Jesus

9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, so he found the man ³¹  and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³²  9:36 The man ³³  replied, ³⁴  “And who is he, sir, that ³⁵  I may believe in him?” 9:37 Jesus told him, “You have seen him; he ³⁶  is the one speaking with you.” ³⁷  9:38 [He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁸ 

Yohanes 11:25-27

11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live ³⁹  even if he dies, 11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. ⁴⁰  Do you believe this?” 11:27 She replied, ⁴¹  “Yes, Lord, I believe ⁴²  that you are the Christ, ⁴³  the Son of God who comes into the world.” ⁴⁴ 

Yohanes 11:40

11:40 Jesus responded, ⁴⁵  “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?”

Yohanes 13:19

13:19 I am telling you this now, ⁴⁶  before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe ⁴⁷  that I am he. ⁴⁸ 

Yohanes 14:1

Jesus’ Parting Words to His Disciples

14:1 “Do not let your hearts be distressed. ⁴⁹  You believe in God; ⁵⁰  believe also in me.

Yohanes 14:11

14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, ⁵¹  believe because of the miraculous deeds ⁵²  themselves.

Yohanes 16:27

16:27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ⁵³ 

Yohanes 16:30

16:30 Now we know that you know everything ⁵⁴  and do not need anyone ⁵⁵  to ask you anything. ⁵⁶  Because of this ⁵⁷  we believe that you have come from God.”

Yohanes 17:8

17:8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They ⁵⁸  accepted ⁵⁹  them ⁶⁰  and really ⁶¹  understand ⁶²  that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

Yohanes 20:8

20:8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed. ⁶³ 

Yohanes 20:29

20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people ⁶⁴  who have not seen and yet have believed.” ⁶⁵ 

Yohanes 20:31

20:31 But these ⁶⁶  are recorded ⁶⁷  so that you may believe ⁶⁸  that Jesus is the Christ, ⁶⁹  the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ⁷⁰ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Grk “came for a testimony.”

[1:7]  sn Witness is also one of the major themes of John’s Gospel. The Greek verb μαρτυρέω (marturew) occurs 33 times (compare to once in Matthew, once in Luke, 0 in Mark) and the noun μαρτυρία (marturia) 14 times (0 in Matthew, once in Luke, 3 times in Mark).

[1:7]  ² tn Or “to bear witness.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Grk “all.”

[1:12]  ⁴ tn On the use of the πιστεύω + εἰς (pisteuw + ei") construction in John: The verb πιστεύω occurs 98 times in John (compared to 11 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark [including the longer ending], and 9 times in Luke). One of the unsolved mysteries is why the corresponding noun form πίστις (pistis) is never used at all. Many have held the noun was in use in some pre-Gnostic sects and this rendered it suspect for John. It might also be that for John, faith was an activity, something that men do (cf. W. Turner, “Believing and Everlasting Life – A Johannine Inquiry,” ExpTim 64 [1952/53]: 50-52). John uses πιστεύω in 4 major ways: (1) of believing facts, reports, etc., 12 times; (2) of believing people (or the scriptures), 19 times; (3) of believing “in” Christ” (πιστεύω + εἰς + acc.), 36 times; (4) used absolutely without any person or object specified, 30 times (the one remaining passage is 2:24, where Jesus refused to “trust” himself to certain individuals). Of these, the most significant is the use of πιστεύω with εἰς + accusative. It is not unlike the Pauline ἐν Χριστῷ (en Cristw) formula. Some have argued that this points to a Hebrew (more likely Aramaic) original behind the Fourth Gospel. But it probably indicates something else, as C. H. Dodd observed: “πιστεύειν with the dative so inevitably connoted simple credence, in the sense of an intellectual judgment, that the moral element of personal trust or reliance inherent in the Hebrew or Aramaic phrase – an element integral to the primitive Christian conception of faith in Christ – needed to be otherwise expressed” (The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, 183).

[2:11]  ⁵ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. also 4:54 where the same construction occurs.

[2:11]  ⁶ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:11]  ⁷ tn Grk “in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed.”

[2:11]  ⁸ tn Or “his disciples trusted in him,” or “his disciples put their faith in him.”

[2:22]  ⁹ sn They believed the scripture is probably an anaphoric reference to Ps 69:9 (69:10 LXX), quoted in John 2:17 above. Presumably the disciples did not remember Ps 69:9 on the spot, but it was a later insight.

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “statement”; Grk “word.”

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16,” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (Jwste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God's love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.

[3:16]  ¹² tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[3:16]  ¹³ tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.

[3:16]  ¹⁴ sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.

[3:18]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

[5:24]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:24]  ¹⁹ tn Or “obeys.”

[5:24]  ²⁰ tn Or “word.”

[5:24]  ²¹ tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”

[6:29]  ²² tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:29]  ²³ tn Grk “the work.”

[6:29]  ²⁴ tn Grk “This is the work of God.”

[6:29]  ²⁵ tn Grk “that one” (i.e., God).

[6:47]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:47]  ²⁷ tc Most witnesses (A C² D Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat and other versions) have “in me” (εἰς ἐμέ, eis eme) here, while the Sinaitic and Curetonian Syriac versions read “in God.” These clarifying readings are predictable variants, being motivated by the scribal tendency toward greater explicitness. That the earliest and best witnesses (Ì^66,75vid א B C* L T W Θ 892 pc) lack any object is solid testimony to the shorter text’s authenticity.

[6:47]  ²⁸ tn Compare John 6:40.

[8:24]  ²⁹ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ³⁰ tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).

[8:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[9:35]  ³¹ tn Grk “found him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:35]  ³² tc Although most witnesses (A L Θ Ψ 070 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) have θεοῦ (qeou, “of God”) instead of ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou, “of man”) here, the better witnesses (Ì^66,75 א B D W sy^s) have ἀνθρώπου. Not only is the external evidence decidedly on the side of ἀνθρώπου, but it is difficult to see such early and diverse witnesses changing θεοῦ to ἀνθρώπου. The wording “Son of Man” is thus virtually certain.

[9:36]  ³³ tn Grk “That one.”

[9:36]  ³⁴ tn Grk answered and said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”

[9:36]  ³⁵ tn Or “And who is he, sir? Tell me so that…” Some translations supply elliptical words like “Tell me” (NIV, NRSV) following the man’s initial question, but the shorter form given in the translation is clear enough.

[9:37]  ³⁶ tn Grk “that one.”

[9:37]  ³⁷ tn The καί – καί (kai – kai) construction would normally be translated “both – and”: “You have both seen him, and he is the one speaking with you.” In this instance the English semicolon was used instead because it produces a smoother and more emphatic effect in English.

[9:38]  ³⁸ sn Assuming the authenticity of John 9:38-39a (see the tc note following the bracket in v. 39), the man’s response after Jesus’ statement of v. 37 is extremely significant: He worshiped Jesus. In the Johannine context the word would connote its full sense: This was something due God alone. Note also that Jesus did not prevent the man from doing this. The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) is used in John 4:20-25 of worshiping God, and again with the same sense in 12:20. This would be the only place in John’s Gospel where anyone is said to have worshiped Jesus using this term. As such, it forms the climax of the story of the man born blind, but the uniqueness of the concept of worshiping Jesus at this point in John's narrative (which reaches its ultimate climax in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28) may suggest it is too early for such a response and it represents a later scribal addition.

[11:25]  ³⁹ tn That is, will come to life.

[11:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “will never die forever.”

[11:27]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “She said to him.”

[11:27]  ⁴² tn The perfect tense in Greek is often used to emphasize the results or present state of a past action. Such is the case here. To emphasize this nuance the perfect tense verb πεπίστευκα (pepisteuka) has been translated as a present tense. This is in keeping with the present context, where Jesus asks of her present state of belief in v. 26, and the theology of the Gospel as a whole, which emphasizes the continuing effects and present reality of faith. For discussion on this use of the perfect tense, see ExSyn 574-76 and B. M. Fanning, Verbal Aspect, 291-97.

[11:27]  ⁴³ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[11:27]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[11:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “the Son of God, the one who comes into the world.”

[11:40]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”

[13:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Or (perhaps) “I am certainly telling you this.” According to BDF §12.3 ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι (ap’ arti) should be read as ἀπαρτί (aparti), meaning “exactly, certainly.”

[13:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “so that you may believe.”

[13:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “that I am.” R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:555) argues for a nonpredicated ἐγώ εἰμι (egw eimi) here, but this is far from certain.

[14:1]  ⁴⁹ sn The same verb is used to describe Jesus’ own state in John 11:33, 12:27, and 13:21. Jesus is looking ahead to the events of the evening and the next day, his arrest, trials, crucifixion, and death, which will cause his disciples extreme emotional distress.

[14:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “Believe in God.” The translation of the two uses of πιστεύετε (pisteuete) is difficult. Both may be either indicative or imperative, and as L. Morris points out (John [NICNT], 637), this results in a bewildering variety of possibilities. To complicate matters further, the first may be understood as a question: “Do you believe in God? Believe also in me.” Morris argues against the KJV translation which renders the first πιστεύετε as indicative and the second as imperative on the grounds that for the writer of the Fourth Gospel, faith in Jesus is inseparable from faith in God. But this is precisely the point that Jesus is addressing in context. He is about to undergo rejection by his own people as their Messiah. The disciples’ faith in him as Messiah and Lord would be cast into extreme doubt by these events, which the author makes clear were not at this time foreseen by the disciples. After the resurrection it is this identification between Jesus and the Father which needs to be reaffirmed (cf. John 20:24-29). Thus it seems best to take the first πιστεύετε as indicative and the second as imperative, producing the translation “You believe in God; believe also in me.”

[14:11]  ⁵¹ tn The phrase “but if you do not believe me” contains an ellipsis; the Greek text reads Grk “but if not.” The ellipsis has been filled out (“but if [you do] not [believe me]…”) for the benefit of the modern English reader.

[14:11]  ⁵² tn Grk “because of the works.”

[14:11]  sn In the context of a proof or basis for belief, Jesus is referring to the miraculous deeds (signs) he has performed in the presence of the disciples.

[16:27]  ⁵³ tc A number of early mss (א¹ B C* D L pc co) read πατρός (patros, “Father”) here instead of θεοῦ (qeou, “God”; found in Ì⁵ א*^,2 A C³ W Θ Ψ 33 Ë^1,13 Ï). Although externally πατρός has relatively strong support, it is evidently an assimilation to “I came from the Father” at the beginning of v. 28, or more generally to the consistent mention of God as Father throughout this chapter (πατήρ [pathr, “Father”] occurs eleven times in this chapter, while θεός [qeos, “God”] occurs only two other times [16:2, 30]).

[16:30]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “all things.”

[16:30]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “and have no need of anyone.”

[16:30]  ⁵⁶ tn The word “anything” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[16:30]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “By this.”

[17:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “received.”

[17:8]  ⁶⁰ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[17:8]  ⁶¹ tn Or “truly.”

[17:8]  ⁶² tn Or have come to know.”

[20:8]  ⁶³ sn What was it that the beloved disciple believed (since v. 7 describes what he saw)? Sometimes it is suggested that what he believed was Mary Magdalene’s report that the body had been stolen. But this could hardly be the case; the way the entire scene is narrated such a trivial conclusion would amount to an anticlimax. It is true that the use of the plural “they” in the following verse applied to both Peter and the beloved disciple, and this appears to be a difficulty if one understands that the beloved disciple believed at this point in Jesus’ resurrection. But it is not an insuperable difficulty, since all it affirms is that at this time neither Peter nor the beloved disciple had understood the scripture concerning the resurrection. Thus it appears the author intends his reader to understand that when the beloved disciple entered the tomb after Peter and saw the state of the graveclothes, he believed in the resurrection, i.e., that Jesus had risen from the dead.

[20:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “are those.”

[20:29]  ⁶⁵ tn Some translations treat πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") as a gnomic aorist (timeless statement) and thus equivalent to an English present tense: “and yet believe” (RSV). This may create an effective application of the passage to the modern reader, but the author is probably thinking of those people who had already believed without the benefit of seeing the risen Jesus, on the basis of reports by others or because of circumstantial evidence (see John 20:8).

[20:31]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “these things.”

[20:31]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “are written.”

[20:31]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁰ 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.