Yohanes 3:11-13

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  3:12 If I have told you people ⁵  about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ⁶  3:13 No one ⁷  has ascended ⁸  into heaven except the one who descended from heaven – the Son of Man. ⁹ 

Yohanes 3:31-36

3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. ¹⁰  The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. ¹¹  The one who comes from heaven ¹²  is superior to all. ¹³  3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. ¹⁴  3:34 For the one whom God has sent ¹⁵  speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. ¹⁶  3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. ¹⁷  3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects ¹⁸  the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath ¹⁹  remains ²⁰  on him.

Yohanes 4:34

4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me ²¹  and to complete ²²  his work. ²³ 

Yohanes 5:19-23

5:19 So Jesus answered them, ²⁴  “I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁵  the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, ²⁶  but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father ²⁷  does, the Son does likewise. ²⁸  5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed. 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, ²⁹  so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. ³⁰  5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge ³¹  anyone, but has assigned ³²  all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people ³³  will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Yohanes 5:30

5:30 I can do nothing on my own initiative. ³⁴  Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, ³⁵  because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. ³⁶ 

Yohanes 6:38

6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

Yohanes 7:16

7:16 So Jesus replied, ³⁷  “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. ³⁸ 

Yohanes 8:28-29

8:28 Then Jesus said, ³⁹  “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, ⁴⁰  and I do nothing on my own initiative, ⁴¹  but I speak just what the Father taught me. ⁴²  8:29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, ⁴³  because I always do those things that please him.”

Yohanes 12:49-50

12:49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, ⁴⁴  but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me ⁴⁵  what I should say and what I should speak. 12:50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. ⁴⁶  Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.” ⁴⁷ 

Yohanes 14:10

14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? ⁴⁸  The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, ⁴⁹  but the Father residing in me performs ⁵⁰  his miraculous deeds. ⁵¹ 

Yohanes 14:24

14:24 The person who does not love me does not obey ⁵²  my words. And the word ⁵³  you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

Yohanes 17:1-26

Jesus Prays for the Father to Glorify Him

17:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward ⁵⁴  to heaven ⁵⁵  and said, “Father, the time ⁵⁶  has come. Glorify your Son, so that your ⁵⁷  Son may glorify you – 17:2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, ⁵⁸  so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. ⁵⁹  17:3 Now this ⁶⁰  is eternal life ⁶¹  – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, ⁶²  whom you sent. 17:4 I glorified you on earth by completing ⁶³  the work you gave me to do. ⁶⁴  17:5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side ⁶⁵  with the glory I had with you before the world was created. ⁶⁶ 

Jesus Prays for the Disciples

17:6 “I have revealed ⁶⁷  your name to the men ⁶⁸  you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, ⁶⁹  and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed ⁷⁰  your word. 17:7 Now they understand ⁷¹  that everything ⁷²  you have given me comes from you, 17:8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They ⁷³  accepted ⁷⁴  them ⁷⁵  and really ⁷⁶  understand ⁷⁷  that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 17:9 I am praying ⁷⁸  on behalf of them. I am not praying ⁷⁹  on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you. ⁸⁰  17:10 Everything ⁸¹  I have belongs to you, ⁸²  and everything you have belongs to me, ⁸³  and I have been glorified by them. ⁸⁴  17:11 I ⁸⁵  am no longer in the world, but ⁸⁶  they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe ⁸⁷  in your name ⁸⁸  that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. ⁸⁹  17:12 When I was with them I kept them safe ⁹⁰  and watched over them ⁹¹  in your name ⁹²  that you have given me. Not one ⁹³  of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, ⁹⁴  so that the scripture could be fulfilled. ⁹⁵  17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience ⁹⁶  my joy completed ⁹⁷  in themselves. 17:14 I have given them your word, ⁹⁸  and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, ⁹⁹  just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁰⁰  17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe ¹⁰¹  from the evil one. ¹⁰²  17:16 They do not belong to the world ¹⁰³  just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁰⁴  17:17 Set them apart ¹⁰⁵  in the truth; your word is truth. 17:18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. ¹⁰⁶  17:19 And I set myself apart ¹⁰⁷  on their behalf, ¹⁰⁸  so that they too may be truly set apart. ¹⁰⁹ 

Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere

17:20 “I am not praying ¹¹⁰  only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe ¹¹¹  in me through their testimony, ¹¹²  17:21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray ¹¹³  that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 17:22 The glory ¹¹⁴  you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one – 17:23 I in them and you in me – that they may be completely one, ¹¹⁵  so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.

17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, ¹¹⁶  so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world ¹¹⁷ . 17:25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men ¹¹⁸  know that you sent me. 17:26 I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, ¹¹⁹  so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”

[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).

[3:12]  ⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than Nicodemus alone).

[3:12]  ⁶ sn Obviously earthly things and heavenly things are in contrast, but what is the contrast? What are earthly things which Jesus has just spoken to Nicodemus? And through him to others – this is not the first instance of the plural pronoun, see v. 7, you must all. Since Nicodemus began with a plural (we know, v. 2) Jesus continues it, and through Nicodemus addresses a broader audience. It makes most sense to take this as a reference to the things Jesus has just said (and the things he is about to say, vv. 13-15). If this is the case (and it seems the most natural explanation) then earthly things are not necessarily strictly physical things, but are so called because they take place on earth, in contrast to things like v. 16, which take place in heaven. Some have added the suggestion that the things are called earthly because physical analogies (birth, wind, water) are used to describe them. This is possible, but it seems more probable that Jesus calls these things earthly because they happen on earth (even though they are spiritual things). In the context, taking earthly things as referring to the words Jesus has just spoken fits with the fact that Nicodemus did not believe. And he would not after hearing heavenly things either, unless he first believed in the earthly things – which included the necessity of a regenerating work from above, by the Holy Spirit.

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Grk “And no one.”

[3:13]  ⁸ sn The verb ascended is a perfect tense in Greek (ἀναβέβηκεν, anabebhken) which seems to look at a past, completed event. (This is not as much of a problem for those who take Jesus’ words to end at v. 12, and these words to be a comment by the author, looking back on Jesus’ ascension.) As a saying of Jesus, these words are a bit harder to explain. Note, however, the lexical similarities with 1:51: “ascending,” “descending,” and “son of man.” Here, though, the ascent and descent is accomplished by the Son himself, not the angels as in 1:51. There is no need to limit this saying to Jesus’ ascent following the resurrection, however; the point of the Jacob story (Gen 28), which seems to be the background for 1:51, is the freedom of communication and relationship between God and men (a major theme of John’s Gospel). This communication comes through the angels in Gen 28 (and John 1:51); but here (most appropriately) it comes directly through the Son of Man. Although Jesus could be referring to a prior ascent, after an appearance as the preincarnate Son of Man, more likely he is simply pointing out that no one from earth has ever gone up to heaven and come down again. The Son, who has come down from heaven, is the only one who has been ‘up’ there. In both Jewish intertestamental literature and later rabbinic accounts, Moses is portrayed as ascending to heaven to receive the Torah and descending to distribute it to men (e.g., Targum Ps 68:19.) In contrast to these Jewish legends, the Son is the only one who has ever made the ascent and descent.

[3:13]  ⁹ tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (A^[*^] Θ Ψ 050 Ë^1,13 Ï latt sy^c,p,h), have at the end of this verse “the one who is in heaven” (ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, Jo wn en tw ouranw). A few others have variations on this phrase, such as “who was in heaven” (e sy^c), or “the one who is from heaven” (0141 pc sy^s). The witnesses normally considered the best, along with several others, lack the phrase in its entirety (Ì^66,75 א B L T W^s 083 086 33 1241 pc co). On the one hand, if the reading ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ is authentic it may suggest that while Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus he spoke of himself as in heaven even while he was on earth. If that is the case, one could see why variations from this hard saying arose: “who was in heaven,” “the one who is from heaven,” and omission of the clause. At the same time, such a saying could be interpreted (though with difficulty) as part of the narrator’s comments rather than Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus, alleviating the problem. And if v. 13 was viewed in early times as the evangelist’s statement, “the one who is in heaven” could have crept into the text through a marginal note. Other internal evidence suggests that this saying may be authentic. The adjectival participle, ὁ ὤν, is used in the Fourth Gospel more than any other NT book (though the Apocalypse comes in a close second), and frequently with reference to Jesus (1:18; 6:46; 8:47). It may be looking back to the LXX of Exod 3:14 (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν). Especially since this exact construction is not necessary to communicate the location of the Son of Man, its presence in many witnesses here may suggest authenticity. Further, John uses the singular of οὐρανός (ourano", “heaven”) in all 18 instances of the word in this Gospel, and all but twice with the article (only 1:32 and 6:58 are anarthrous, and even in the latter there is significant testimony to the article). At the same time, the witnesses that lack this clause are very weighty and must not be discounted. Generally speaking, if other factors are equal, the reading of such mss should be preferred. And internally, it could be argued that ὁ ὤν is the most concise way to speak of the Son of Man in heaven at that time (without the participle the point would be more ambiguous). Further, the articular singular οὐρανός is already used twice in this verse, thus sufficiently prompting scribes to add the same in the longer reading. This combination of factors suggests that ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ is not a genuine Johannism. Further intrinsic evidence against the longer reading relates to the evangelist’s purposes: If he intended v. 13 to be his own comments rather than Jesus’ statement, his switch back to Jesus’ words in v. 14 (for the lifting up of the Son of Man is still seen as in the future) seems inexplicable. The reading “who is in heaven” thus seems to be too hard. All things considered, as intriguing as the longer reading is, it seems almost surely to have been a marginal gloss added inadvertently to the text in the process of transmission. For an argument in favor of the longer reading, see David Alan Black, “The Text of John 3:13,” GTJ 6 (1985): 49-66.

[3:13]  sn See the note on the title Son of Man in 1:51.

[3:31]  ¹⁰ tn Or “is above all.”

[3:31]  ¹¹ tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”

[3:31]  ¹² sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.

[3:31]  ¹³ tc Ì⁷⁵ א* D ˹ 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanw pantwn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (Ì^36vid,66 א² A B L W^s Θ Ψ 083 086 ˹³ 33 Ï lat sy^s,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.

[3:31]  tn Or “is above all.”

[3:33]  ¹⁴ tn Or “is true.”

[3:34]  ¹⁵ tn That is, Christ.

[3:34]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.

[3:35]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “has given all things into his hand” (an idiom).

[3:36]  ¹⁸ tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”

[3:36]  ¹⁹ tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”

[3:36]  ²⁰ tn Or “resides.”

[4:34]  ²¹ sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.

[4:34]  ²² tn Or “to accomplish.”

[4:34]  ²³ tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.

[4:34]  sn No one brought him anything to eat, did they? In the discussion with the disciples which took place while the woman had gone into the city, note again the misunderstanding: The disciples thought Jesus referred to physical food, while he was really speaking figuratively and spiritually again. Thus Jesus was forced to explain what he meant, and the explanation that his food was his mission, to do the will of God and accomplish his work, leads naturally into the metaphor of the harvest. The fruit of his mission was represented by the Samaritans who were coming to him.

[5:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[5:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:19]  ²⁶ tn Grk “nothing from himself.”

[5:19]  ²⁷ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:19]  ²⁸ sn What works does the Son do likewise? The same that the Father does – and the same that the rabbis recognized as legitimate works of God on the Sabbath (see note on working in v. 17). (1) Jesus grants life (just as the Father grants life) on the Sabbath. But as the Father gives physical life on the Sabbath, so the Son grants spiritual life (John 5:21; note the “greater things” mentioned in v. 20). (2) Jesus judges (determines the destiny of people) on the Sabbath, just as the Father judges those who die on the Sabbath, because the Father has granted authority to the Son to judge (John 5:22-23). But this is not all. Not only has this power been granted to Jesus in the present; it will be his in the future as well. In v. 28 there is a reference not to spiritually dead (only) but also physically dead. At their resurrection they respond to the Son as well.

[5:21]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and makes them live.”

[5:21]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the Son makes whomever he wants to live.”

[5:22]  ³¹ tn Or “condemn.”

[5:22]  ³² tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”

[5:23]  ³³ tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).

[5:30]  ³⁴ tn Grk “nothing from myself.”

[5:30]  ³⁵ tn Or “righteous,” or “proper.”

[5:30]  ³⁶ tn That is, “the will of the Father who sent me.”

[7:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “So Jesus answered and said to them.”

[7:16]  ³⁸ tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.

[8:28]  ³⁹ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them” (the words “to them” are not found in all mss).

[8:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “that I am.” See the note on this phrase in v. 24.

[8:28]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “I do nothing from myself.”

[8:28]  ⁴² tn Grk “but just as the Father taught me, these things I speak.”

[8:29]  ⁴³ tn That is, “he has not abandoned me.”

[12:49]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “I have not spoken from myself.”

[12:49]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “has given me commandment.”

[12:50]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “his commandment results in eternal life.”

[12:50]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “The things I speak, just as the Father has spoken to me, thus I speak.”

[14:10]  ⁴⁸ tn The mutual interrelationship of the Father and the Son (ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν, egw en tw patri kai Jo pathr en emoi estin) is something that Jesus expected even his opponents to recognize (cf. John 10:38). The question Jesus asks of Philip (οὐ πιστεύεις, ou pisteuei") expects the answer “yes.” Note that the following statement is addressed to all the disciples, however, because the plural pronoun (ὑμῖν, Jumin) is used. Jesus says that his teaching (the words he spoke to them all) did not originate from himself, but the Father, who permanently remains (μένων, menwn) in relationship with Jesus, performs his works. One would have expected “speaks his words” here rather than “performs his works”; many of the church fathers (e.g., Augustine and Chrysostom) identified the two by saying that Jesus’ words were works. But there is an implicit contrast in the next verse between words and works, and v. 12 seems to demand that the works are real works, not just words. It is probably best to see the two terms as related but not identical; there is a progression in the idea here. Both Jesus’ words (recall the Samaritans’ response in John 4:42) and Jesus’ works are revelatory of who he is, but as the next verse indicates, works have greater confirmatory power than words.

[14:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “I do not speak from myself.”

[14:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “does.”

[14:10]  ⁵¹ tn Or “his mighty acts”; Grk “his works.”

[14:10]  sn Miraculous deeds is most likely a reference to the miraculous signs Jesus had performed, which he viewed as a manifestation of the mighty acts of God. Those he performed in the presence of the disciples served as a basis for faith (although a secondary basis to their personal relationship to him; see the following verse).

[14:24]  ⁵² tn Or “does not keep.”

[14:24]  ⁵³ tn Or “the message.”

[17:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “he raised his eyes” (an idiom).

[17:1]  sn Jesus also looked upward before his prayer in John 11:41. This was probably a common posture in prayer. According to the parable in Luke 18:13 the tax collector did not feel himself worthy to do this.

[17:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “to the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.

[17:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “the hour.”

[17:1]  sn The time has come. Jesus has said before that his “hour” had come, both in 12:23 when some Greeks sought to speak with him, and in 13:1 where just before he washed the disciples’ feet. It appears best to understand the “hour” as a period of time starting at the end of Jesus’ public ministry and extending through the passion week, ending with Jesus’ return to the Father through death, resurrection, and exaltation. The “hour” begins as soon as the first events occur which begin the process that leads to Jesus’ death.

[17:1]  ⁵⁷ tc The better witnesses (א B C* W 0109 0301) have “the Son” (ὁ υἱός, Jo Juios) here, while the majority (C³ L Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) read “your Son also” (καὶ ὁ υἱὸς σου, kai Jo Juio" sou), or “your Son” (ὁ υἱὸς σου; A D Θ 0250 1 579 pc lat sy); the second corrector of C has καὶ ὁ υἱός (“the Son also”). The longer readings appear to be predictable scribal expansions and as such should be considered secondary.

[17:1]  tn Grk “the Son”; “your” has been added here for English stylistic reasons.

[17:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”

[17:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”

[17:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Using αὕτη δέ (Jauth de) to introduce an explanation is typical Johannine style; it was used before in John 1:19, 3:19, and 15:12.

[17:3]  ⁶¹ sn This is eternal life. The author here defines eternal life for the readers, although it is worked into the prayer in such a way that many interpreters do not regard it as another of the author’s parenthetical comments. It is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its quality derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent. Christ (Χριστός, Cristos) is not characteristically attached to Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel; it occurs elsewhere primarily as a title and is used with Jesus’ name only in 1:17. But that is connected to its use here: The statement here in 17:3 enables us to correlate the statement made in 1:18 of the prologue, that Jesus has fully revealed what God is like, with Jesus’ statement in 10:10 that he has come that people might have life, and have it abundantly. These two purposes are really one, according to 17:3, because (abundant) eternal life is defined as knowing (being in relationship with) the Father and the Son. The only way to gain this eternal life, that is, to obtain this knowledge of the Father, is through the Son (cf. 14:6). Although some have pointed to the use of know (γινώσκω, ginwskw) here as evidence of Gnostic influence in the Fourth Gospel, there is a crucial difference: For John this knowledge is not intellectual, but relational. It involves being in relationship.

[17:3]  ⁶² tn Or “and Jesus the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[17:4]  ⁶³ tn Or “by finishing” or “by accomplishing.” Jesus now states that he has glorified the Father on earth by finishing (τελειώσας [teleiwsas] is best understood as an adverbial participle of means) the work which the Father had given him to do.

[17:4]  sn By completing the work. The idea of Jesus being sent into the world on a mission has been mentioned before, significantly in 3:17. It was even alluded to in the immediately preceding verse here (17:3). The completion of the “work” the Father had sent him to accomplish was mentioned by Jesus in 4:34 and 5:36. What is the nature of the “work” the Father has given the Son to accomplish? It involves the Son’s mission to be the Savior of the world, as 3:17 indicates. But this is accomplished specifically through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross (a thought implied by the reference to the Father “giving” the Son in 3:16). It is not without significance that Jesus’ last word from the cross is “It is completed” (19:30).

[17:4]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the work that you gave to me so that I may do it.”

[17:5]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “in your presence”; Grk “with yourself.” The use of παρά (para) twice in this verse looks back to the assertion in John 1:1 that the Word (the Λόγος [Logos], who became Jesus of Nazareth in 1:14) was with God (πρὸς τὸν θεόν, pro" ton qeon). Whatever else may be said, the statement in 17:5 strongly asserts the preexistence of Jesus Christ.

[17:5]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “before the world was.” The word “created” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[17:5]  sn It is important to note that although Jesus prayed for a return to the glory he had at the Father’s side before the world was created, he was not praying for a “de-incarnation.” His humanity which he took on at the incarnation (John 1:14) remains, though now glorified.

[17:6]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “made known,” “disclosed.”

[17:6]  ⁶⁸ tn Here “men” is retained as a translation for ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") rather than the more generic “people” because in context it specifically refers to the eleven men Jesus had chosen as apostles (Judas had already departed, John 13:30). If one understands the referent here to be the broader group of Jesus’ followers that included both men and women, a translation like “to the people” should be used here instead.

[17:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “Yours they were.”

[17:6]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “have kept.”

[17:7]  ⁷¹ tn Or “they have come to know,” or “they have learned.”

[17:7]  ⁷² tn Grk “all things.”

[17:8]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “received.”

[17:8]  ⁷⁵ 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]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “truly.”

[17:8]  ⁷⁷ tn Or have come to know.”

[17:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “I am asking.”

[17:9]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “I am not asking.”

[17:9]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “because they are yours.”

[17:10]  ⁸¹ tn Grk And all things.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:10]  ⁸² tn Or “Everything I have is yours.”

[17:10]  ⁸³ tn Or “everything you have is mine.”

[17:10]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “I have been honored among them.”

[17:10]  sn The theme of glory with which Jesus began this prayer in 17:1-5 now recurs. Jesus said that he had been glorified by his disciples, but in what sense was this true? Jesus had manifested his glory to them in all of the sign-miracles which he had performed, beginning with the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana (2:11). He could now say that he had been glorified by them in the light of what he had already said in vv. 7-8, that the disciples had come to know that he had come from the Father and been sent by the Father. He would, of course, be glorified by them further after the resurrection, as they carried on his ministry after his departure.

[17:11]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:11]  ⁸⁶ tn The context indicates that this should be translated as an adversative or contrastive conjunction.

[17:11]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “protect them”; Grk “keep them.”

[17:11]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “by your name.”

[17:11]  ⁸⁹ tn The second repetition of “one” is implied, and is supplied here for clarity.

[17:12]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “I protected them”; Grk “I kept them.”

[17:12]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “and guarded them.”

[17:12]  ⁹² tn Or “by your name.”

[17:12]  ⁹³ tn Grk And not one.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:12]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “the son of destruction” (a Semitic idiom for one appointed for destruction; here it is a reference to Judas).

[17:12]  sn The one destined to destruction refers to Judas. Clearly in John’s Gospel Judas is portrayed as a tool of Satan. He is described as “the devil” in 6:70. In 13:2 Satan put into Judas’ heart the idea of betraying Jesus, and 13:27 Satan himself entered Judas. Immediately after this Judas left the company of Jesus and the other disciples and went out into the realm of darkness (13:30). Cf. 2 Thess 2:3, where this same Greek phrase (“the son of destruction”; see tn above) is used to describe the man through whom Satan acts to rebel against God in the last days.

[17:12]  ⁹⁵ sn A possible allusion to Ps 41:9 or Prov 24:22 LXX. The exact passage is not specified here, but in John 13:18, Ps 41:9 is explicitly quoted by Jesus with reference to the traitor, suggesting that this is the passage to which Jesus refers here. The previous mention of Ps 41:9 in John 13:18 probably explains why the author felt no need for an explanatory parenthetical note here. It is also possible that the passage referred to here is Prov 24:22 LXX, where in the Greek text the phrase “son of destruction” appears.

[17:13]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “they may have.”

[17:13]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “fulfilled.”

[17:14]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “your message.”

[17:14]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “because they are not of the world.”

[17:14]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “just as I am not of the world.”

[17:15]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “that you protect them”; Grk “that you keep them.”

[17:15]  ¹⁰² tn The phrase “the evil one” is a reference to Satan. The genitive noun τοῦ πονηροῦ (tou ponhrou) is ambiguous with regard to gender: It may represent the neuter τὸ πονηρόν (to ponhron), “that which is evil,” or the masculine ὁ πονηρός (Jo ponhro"), “the evil one,” i.e., Satan. In view of the frequent use of the masculine in 1 John 2:13-14, 3:12, and 5:18-19 it seems much more probable that the masculine is to be understood here, and that Jesus is praying for his disciples to be protected from Satan. Cf. BDAG 851 s.v. πονηρός 1.b.β and 1.b.γ.

[17:16]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “they are not of the world.” This is a repetition of the second half of v. 14. The only difference is in word order: Verse 14 has οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου (ouk eisin ek tou kosmou), while here the prepositional phrase is stated first: ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου οὐκ εἰσίν (ek tou kosmou ouk eisin). This gives additional emphasis to the idea of the prepositional phrase, i.e., origin, source, or affiliation.

[17:16]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Grk “just as I am not of the world.”

[17:17]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “Consecrate them” or “Sanctify them.”

[17:17]  sn The Greek word translated set…apart (ἁγιάζω, Jagiazw) is used here in its normal sense of being dedicated, consecrated, or set apart. The sphere in which the disciples are to be set apart is in the truth. In 3:21 the idea of “practicing” (Grk “doing”) the truth was introduced; in 8:32 Jesus told some of his hearers that if they continued in his word they would truly be his disciples, and would know the truth, and the truth would make them free. These disciples who are with Jesus now for the Farewell Discourse have continued in his word (except for Judas Iscariot, who has departed), and they do know the truth about who Jesus is and why he has come into the world (17:8). Thus Jesus can ask the Father to set them apart in this truth as he himself is set apart, so that they might carry on his mission in the world after his departure (note the following verse).

[17:18]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Jesus now compared the mission on which he was sending the disciples to his own mission into the world, on which he was sent by the Father. As the Father sent Jesus into the world (cf. 3:17), so Jesus now sends the disciples into the world to continue his mission after his departure. The nature of this prayer for the disciples as a consecratory prayer is now emerging: Jesus was setting them apart for the work he had called them to do. They were, in a sense, being commissioned.

[17:19]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “I sanctify.”

[17:19]  sn In what sense does Jesus refer to his own ‘sanctification’ with the phrase I set myself apart? In 10:36 Jesus referred to himself as “the one whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,” which seems to look at something already accomplished. Here, however, it is something he does on behalf of the disciples (on their behalf) and this suggests a reference to his impending death on the cross. There is in fact a Johannine wordplay here based on slightly different meanings for the Greek verb translated set apart (ἁγιάζω, Jagiazw). In the sense it was used in 10:36 of Jesus and in 17:17 and here to refer to the disciples, it means to set apart in the sense that prophets (cf. Jer 1:5) and priests (Exod 40:13, Lev 8:30, and 2 Chr 5:11) were consecrated (or set apart) to perform their tasks. But when Jesus speaks of setting himself apart (consecrating or dedicating himself) on behalf of the disciples here in 17:19 the meaning is closer to the consecration of a sacrificial animal (Deut 15:19). Jesus is “setting himself apart,” i.e., dedicating himself, to do the will of the Father, that is, to go to the cross on the disciples’ behalf (and of course on behalf of their successors as well).

[17:19]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “for their sake.”

[17:19]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “they may be truly consecrated,” or “they may be truly sanctified.”

[17:20]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “I do not pray.”

[17:20]  ¹¹¹ tn Although πιστευόντων (pisteuontwn) is a present participle, it must in context carry futuristic force. The disciples whom Jesus is leaving behind will carry on his ministry and in doing so will see others come to trust in him. This will include not only Jewish Christians, but other Gentile Christians who are “not of this fold” (10:16), and thus Jesus’ prayer for unity is especially appropriate in light of the probability that most of the readers of the Gospel are Gentiles (much as Paul stresses unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Eph 2:10-22).

[17:20]  ¹¹² tn Grk “their word.”

[17:21]  ¹¹³ tn The words “I pray” are repeated from the first part of v. 20 for clarity.

[17:22]  ¹¹⁴ tn Grk And the glory.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:23]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “completely unified.”

[17:24]  ¹¹⁶ tn Grk “the ones you have given me, I want these to be where I am with me.”

[17:24]  ¹¹⁷ tn Grk “before the foundation of the world.”

[17:25]  ¹¹⁸ tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more general term like “people” because the use of the aorist verb ἔγνωσαν (egnwsan) implies that Jesus is referring to the disciples present with him as he spoke these words (presumably all of them men in the historical context), rather than to those who are yet to believe because of their testimony (see John 17:20).

[17:26]  ¹¹⁹ tn The translation “will continue to make it known” is proposed by R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:773).