Yohanes 1:23

1:23 John ¹  said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight ²  the way for the Lord,’ ³  as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Yohanes 1:40

Andrew’s Declaration

1:40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said ⁴  and followed Jesus. ⁵ 

Yohanes 3:33

3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. ⁶ 

Yohanes 4:51

4:51 While he was on his way down, ⁷  his slaves ⁸  met him and told him that his son was going to live.

Yohanes 5:21

5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, ⁹  so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. ¹⁰ 

Yohanes 6:41

6:41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus ¹¹  began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,”

Yohanes 8:50

8:50 I am not trying to get ¹²  praise for myself. ¹³  There is one who demands ¹⁴  it, and he also judges. ¹⁵ 

Yohanes 10:9

10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ¹⁶  and find pasture. ¹⁷ 

Yohanes 11:6

11:6 So when he heard that Lazarus ¹⁸  was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days.

Yohanes 11:12

11:12 Then the disciples replied, ¹⁹  “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

Yohanes 11:52

11:52 and not for the Jewish nation ²⁰  only, ²¹  but to gather together ²²  into one the children of God who are scattered.) ²³ 

Yohanes 13:4

13:4 he got up from the meal, removed ²⁴  his outer clothes, ²⁵  took a towel and tied it around himself. ²⁶ 

Yohanes 15:13

15:13 No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life ²⁷  for his friends.

Yohanes 16:8

16:8 And when he ²⁸  comes, he will prove the world wrong ²⁹  concerning sin and ³⁰  righteousness and ³¹  judgment –

Yohanes 18:19

Jesus Questioned by Annas

18:19 While this was happening, ³²  the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. ³³ 

Yohanes 19:34

19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced ³⁴  his side with a spear, and blood and water ³⁵  flowed out immediately.

Yohanes 21:4

21:4 When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

[1:23]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ² sn This call to “make straight” is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:23]  ³ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[1:40]  ⁴ tn Grk “who heard from John.”

[1:40]  ⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:33]  ⁶ tn Or “is true.”

[4:51]  ⁷ sn While he was on his way down. Going to Capernaum from Cana, one must go east across the Galilean hills and then descend to the Sea of Galilee. The 20 mi (33 km) journey could not be made in a single day. The use of the description on his way down shows the author was familiar with Palestinian geography.

[4:51]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “servants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[5:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “and makes them live.”

[5:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the Son makes whomever he wants to live.”

[6:41]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Then the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the translation restricts the phrase to those Jews who were hostile to Jesus (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.β), since the “crowd” mentioned in 6:22-24 was almost all Jewish (as suggested by their addressing Jesus as “Rabbi” (6:25). Likewise, the designation “Judeans” does not fit here because the location is Galilee rather than Judea.

[8:50]  ¹² tn Grk “I am not seeking.”

[8:50]  ¹³ tn Grk “my glory.”

[8:50]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “who seeks.”

[8:50]  ¹⁵ tn Or “will be the judge.”

[10:9]  ¹⁶ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ¹⁷ sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

[11:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “that he”; the referent (Lazarus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Then the disciples said to him.”

[11:52]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.

[11:52]  ²¹ sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.

[11:52]  ²² tn Grk “that he might gather together.”

[11:52]  ²³ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[13:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “and removed”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[13:4]  ²⁵ tn The plural τὰ ἱμάτια (ta Jimatia) is probably a reference to more than one garment (cf. John 19:23-24). If so, this would indicate that Jesus stripped to a loincloth, like a slave. The translation “outer clothes” is used to indicate that Jesus was not completely naked, since complete nudity would have been extremely offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context.

[13:4]  ²⁶ tn Grk “taking a towel he girded himself.” Jesus would have wrapped the towel (λέντιον, lention) around his waist (διέζωσεν ἑαυτόν, diezwsen Jeauton) for use in wiping the disciples’ feet. The term λέντιον is a Latin loanword (linteum) which is also found in the rabbinic literature (see BDAG 592 s.v.). It would have been a long piece of linen cloth, long enough for Jesus to have wrapped it about his waist and still used the free end to wipe the disciples’ feet.

[15:13]  ²⁷ tn Or “one dies willingly.”

[16:8]  ²⁸ tn Grk “when that one.”

[16:8]  ²⁹ tn Or “will convict the world,” or “will expose the world.” The conjunction περί (peri) is used in 16:8-11 in the sense of “concerning” or “with respect to.” But what about the verb ἐλέγχω (elencw)? The basic meanings possible for this word are (1) “to convict or convince someone of something”; (2) “to bring to light or expose something; and (3) “to correct or punish someone.” The third possibility may be ruled out in these verses on contextual grounds since punishment is not implied. The meaning is often understood to be that the Paraclete will “convince” the world of its error, so that some at least will repent. But S. Mowinckel (“Die Vorstellungen des Spätjudentums vom heiligen Geist als Fürsprecher und der johanneische Paraklet,” ZNW 32 [1933]: 97-130) demonstrated that the verb ἐλέγχω did not necessarily imply the conversion or reform of the guilty party. This means it is far more likely that conviction in something of a legal sense is intended here (as in a trial). The only certainty is that the accused party is indeed proven guilty (not that they will acknowledge their guilt). Further confirmation of this interpretation is seen in John 14:17 where the world cannot receive the Paraclete and in John 3:20, where the evildoer deliberately refuses to come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed for what they really are (significantly, the verb in John 3:20 is also ἐλέγχω). However, if one wishes to adopt the meaning “prove guilty” for the use of ἐλέγχω in John 16:8 a difficulty still remains: While this meaning fits the first statement in 16:9 – the world is ‘proven guilty’ concerning its sin of refusing to believe in Jesus – it does not fit so well the second and third assertions in vv. 10-11. Thus R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:705) suggests the more general meaning “prove wrong” which would fit in all three cases. This may be so, but there may also be a developmental aspect to the meaning, which would then shift from v. 9 to v. 10 to v. 11.

[16:8]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and concerning.”

[16:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “and concerning.”

[18:19]  ³² tn The introductory phrase “While this was happening” is not in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the translation to clarify the alternation of scenes in the narrative for the modern reader.

[18:19]  ³³ sn The nature of this hearing seems to be more that of a preliminary investigation; certainly normal legal procedure was not followed, for no indication is given that any witnesses were brought forth at this point to testify against Jesus. True to what is known of Annas’ character, he was more interested in Jesus’ disciples than in the precise nature of Jesus’ teaching, since he inquired about the followers first. He really wanted to know just how influential Jesus had become and how large a following he had gathered. This was of more concern to Annas that the truth or falsity of Jesus’ teaching.

[19:34]  ³⁴ sn If it was obvious to the soldiers that the victim was already dead it is difficult to see why one of them would try to inflict a wound. The Greek verb pierced (νύσσω, nussw) can indicate anything from a slight prod to a mortal wound. Probably one of the soldiers gave an exploratory stab to see if the body would jerk. If not, he was really dead. This thrust was hard enough to penetrate the side, since the author states that blood and water flowed out immediately.

[19:34]  ³⁵ sn How is the reference to the blood and water that flowed out from Jesus’ side to be understood? This is probably to be connected with the statements in 1 John 5:6-8. In both passages water, blood, and testimony are mentioned. The Spirit is also mentioned in 1 John 5:7 as the source of the testimony, while here the testimony comes from one of the disciples (19:35). The connection between the Spirit and the living water with Jesus’ statement of thirst just before he died in the preceding context has already been noted (see 19:28). For the author, the water which flowed out of Jesus’ side was a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit who could now be given because Jesus was now glorified (cf. 7:39); Jesus had now departed and returned to that glory which he had with the Father before the creation of the world (cf. 17:5). The mention of blood recalls the motif of the Passover lamb as a sacrificial victim. Later references to sacrificial procedures in the Mishnah appear to support this: m. Pesahim 5:3 and 5:5 state that the blood of the sacrificial animal should not be allowed to congeal but should flow forth freely at the instant of death so that it could be used for sprinkling; m. Tamid 4:2 actually specifies that the priest is to pierce the heart of the sacrificial victim and cause the blood to come forth.