Yohanes 1:33

1:33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

Yohanes 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ¹  at night ²  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ³  that you do unless God is with him.”

Yohanes 9:16

9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, ⁴  “This man is not from God, because he does not observe ⁵  the Sabbath.” ⁶  But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform ⁷  such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division ⁸  among them.

Yohanes 12:34

12:34 Then the crowd responded, ⁹  “We have heard from the law that the Christ ¹⁰  will remain forever. ¹¹  How ¹²  can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Yohanes 19:38

Jesus’ Burial

19:38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders ¹³ ), ¹⁴  asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate ¹⁵  gave him permission, so he went and took the body away. ¹⁶ 

Yohanes 21:23

21:23 So the saying circulated ¹⁷  among the brothers and sisters ¹⁸  that this disciple was not going to die. But Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but rather, “If I want him to live ¹⁹  until I come back, ²⁰  what concern is that of yours?”

[3:2]  ¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ² tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.

[3:2]  ³ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.

[9:16]  ⁴ tn As a response to the answers of the man who used to be blind, the use of the imperfect tense in the reply of the Pharisees is best translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to say” or “started saying”).

[9:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “he does not keep.”

[9:16]  ⁶ sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.

[9:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “do.”

[9:16]  ⁸ tn Or “So there was discord.”

[12:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”

[12:34]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[12:34]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[12:34]  ¹¹ tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).

[12:34]  ¹² tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[19:38]  ¹³ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees (see John 12:42). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.

[19:38]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[19:38]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And Pilate.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[19:38]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “took away his body.”

[21:23]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “went out.”

[21:23]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the brothers,” but here the term refers to more than just the immediate disciples of Jesus (as it does in 20:17). Here, as R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 2:1110), it refers to Christians of the Johannine community (which would include both men and women).

[21:23]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.

[21:23]  ²⁰ tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.