Yohanes 3:11

3:11 I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but ²  you people ³  do not accept our testimony. ⁴ 

Yohanes 3:32

3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.

Yohanes 8:14-16

8:14 Jesus answered, ⁵  “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people ⁶  do not know where I came from or where I am going. ⁷  8:15 You people ⁸  judge by outward appearances; ⁹  I do not judge anyone. ¹⁰  8:16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate, ¹¹  because I am not alone when I judge, ¹²  but I and the Father who sent me do so together. ¹³ 

Yohanes 18:37

18:37 Then Pilate said, ¹⁴  “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to ¹⁵  my voice.”

[3:11]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:11]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to show the contrast present in the context.

[3:11]  ³ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the translation to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).

[3:11]  ⁴ sn Note the remarkable similarity of Jesus’ testimony to the later testimony of the Apostle John himself in 1 John 1:2: “And we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us.” This is only one example of how thoroughly the author’s own thoughts were saturated with the words of Jesus (and also how difficult it is to distinguish the words of Jesus from the words of the author in the Fourth Gospel).

[8:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “Jesus answered and said to them.”

[8:14]  ⁶ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun (“you”) and verb (“do not know”) in Greek are plural.

[8:14]  ⁷ sn You people do not know where I came from or where I am going. The ignorance of the religious authorities regarding Jesus’ origin works on two levels at once: First, they thought Jesus came from Galilee (although he really came from Bethlehem in Judea) and second, they did not know that he came from heaven (from the Father), and this is where he would return. See further John 7:52.

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

[8:15]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[8:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “my judgment is true.”

[8:16]  ¹² tn The phrase “when I judge” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[8:16]  ¹³ tn The phrase “do so together” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the context.

[18:37]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “said to him.”

[18:37]  ¹⁵ tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”