Yohanes 1:32

1:32 Then ¹  John testified, ²  “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove ³  from heaven, ⁴  and it remained on him. ⁵ 

Yohanes 2:12

Cleansing the Temple

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum ⁶  with his mother and brothers ⁷  and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.

Yohanes 5:38

5:38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent.

Yohanes 8:31

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ⁸  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ⁹  you are really ¹⁰  my disciples

Yohanes 9:41

9:41 Jesus replied, ¹¹  “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, ¹²  but now because you claim that you can see, ¹³  your guilt ¹⁴  remains.” ¹⁵ 

Yohanes 10:40

10:40 Jesus ¹⁶  went back across the Jordan River ¹⁷  again to the place where John ¹⁸  had been baptizing at an earlier time, ¹⁹  and he stayed there.

Yohanes 12:46

12:46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness.

Yohanes 21:22

21:22 Jesus replied, ²⁰  “If I want him to live ²¹  until I come back, ²²  what concern is that of yours? You follow me!”

[1:32]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:32]  ² tn Grk “testified, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:32]  ³ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

[1:32]  ⁴ tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

[1:32]  ⁵ sn John says the Spirit remained on Jesus. The Greek verb μένω (menw) is a favorite Johannine word, used 40 times in the Gospel and 27 times in the Epistles (67 together) against 118 times total in the NT. The general significance of the verb μένω for John is to express the permanency of relationship between Father and Son and Son and believer. Here the use of the word implies that Jesus permanently possesses the Holy Spirit, and because he does, he will dispense the Holy Spirit to others in baptism. Other notes on the dispensation of the Spirit occur at John 3:5 and following (at least implied by the wordplay), John 3:34, 7:38-39, numerous passages in John 14-16 (the Paraclete passages) and John 20:22. Note also the allusion to Isa 42:1 – “Behold my servant…my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit on him.”

[2:12]  ⁶ sn Verse 12 is merely a transitional note in the narrative (although Capernaum does not lie on the direct route to Jerusalem from Cana). Nothing is mentioned in John’s Gospel at this point about anything Jesus said or did there (although later his teaching is mentioned, see 6:59). From the synoptics it is clear that Capernaum was a center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and might even be called “his own town” (Matt 9:1). The royal official whose son Jesus healed (John 4:46-54) was from Capernaum. He may have heard Jesus speak there, or picked up the story about the miracle at Cana from one of Jesus’ disciples.

[2:12]  map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[2:12]  ⁷ sn With respect to Jesus’ brothers, the so-called Helvidian view is to be preferred (named after Helvidius, a 4th-century theologian). This view holds that the most natural way to understand the phrase is as a reference to children of Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. Other views are that of Epiphanius (they were children of Joseph by a former marriage) or Jerome (they were cousins). The tradition of Mary’s perpetual virginity appeared in the 2nd century and is difficult to explain (as J. H. Bernard, St. John [ICC], 1:85, points out) if some of her other children were prominent members of the early church (e.g., James of Jerusalem). But this is outweighed by the natural sense of the words.

[8:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), 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; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31]  ⁹ tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ¹⁰ tn Or “truly.”

[9:41]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”

[9:41]  ¹² tn Grk “you would not have sin.”

[9:41]  ¹³ tn Grk “now because you say, ‘We see…’”

[9:41]  ¹⁴ tn Or “your sin.”

[9:41]  ¹⁵ sn Because you claim that you can see, your guilt remains. The blind man received sight physically, and this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, were spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and don’t understand these things?” In other words, to receive Jesus was to receive the light of the world, to reject him was to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the serious sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people was incurable since they had rejected the only cure that exists (cf. 12:39-41).

[10:40]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:40]  ¹⁷ tn The word “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[10:40]  ¹⁸ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[10:40]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “formerly.”

[10:40]  sn This refers to the city of Bethany across the Jordan River (see John 1:28).

[21:22]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[21:22]  ²¹ tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:22]  ²² tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.