Yohanes 10:35

10:35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), ¹ 

Yohanes 9:29

9:29 We know that God has spoken to Moses! We do not know where this man ²  comes from!”

Yohanes 10:34

10:34 Jesus answered, ³  “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? ⁴ 

Yohanes 1:1

The Prologue to the Gospel

1:1 In the beginning ⁵  was the Word, and the Word was with God, ⁶  and the Word was fully God. ⁷ 

Yohanes 17:17

17:17 Set them apart ⁸  in the truth; your word is truth.

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 8:47

8:47 The one who belongs to ⁹  God listens and responds ¹⁰  to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, ¹¹  because you don’t belong to God.” ¹² 

Yohanes 3:34

3:34 For the one whom God has sent ¹³  speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. ¹⁴ 

Yohanes 14:24

14:24 The person who does not love me does not obey ¹⁵  my words. And the word ¹⁶  you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

Yohanes 17:8

17:8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They ¹⁷  accepted ¹⁸  them ¹⁹  and really ²⁰  understand ²¹  that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

Yohanes 15:3

15:3 You are clean already ²²  because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Yohanes 1:2

1:2 The Word ²³  was with God in the beginning.

Yohanes 17:14

17:14 I have given them your word, ²⁴  and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, ²⁵  just as I do not belong to the world. ²⁶ 

Yohanes 8:55

8:55 Yet ²⁷  you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, ²⁸  I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey ²⁹  his teaching. ³⁰ 

Yohanes 17:6

Jesus Prays for the Disciples

17:6 “I have revealed ³¹  your name to the men ³²  you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, ³³  and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed ³⁴  your word.

Yohanes 12:38

12:38 so that the word ³⁵  of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, ³⁶  “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord ³⁷  been revealed?” ³⁸ 

Yohanes 12:48

12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept ³⁹  my words has a judge; ⁴⁰  the word ⁴¹  I have spoken will judge him at the last day.

Yohanes 1:14

1:14 Now ⁴²  the Word became flesh ⁴³  and took up residence ⁴⁴  among us. We ⁴⁵  saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, ⁴⁶  full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

Yohanes 1:4

1:4 In him was life, ⁴⁷  and the life was the light of mankind. ⁴⁸ 

Yohanes 1:16

1:16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. ⁴⁹ 

Yohanes 6:45

6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ ⁵⁰  Everyone who hears and learns from the Father ⁵¹  comes to me.

Yohanes 12:50

12:50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. ⁵²  Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.” ⁵³ 

Yohanes 14:23

14:23 Jesus replied, ⁵⁴  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ⁵⁵  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ⁵⁶ 

Yohanes 18:9

18:9 He said this ⁵⁷  to fulfill the word he had spoken, ⁵⁸  “I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me.” ⁵⁹ 

Yohanes 1:3

1:3 All things were created ⁶⁰  by him, and apart from him not one thing was created ⁶¹  that has been created. ⁶² 

Yohanes 1:10

1:10 He was in the world, and the world was created ⁶³  by him, but ⁶⁴  the world did not recognize ⁶⁵  him.

Yohanes 3:33

3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. ⁶⁶ 

Yohanes 8:43

8:43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept ⁶⁷  my teaching. ⁶⁸ 

Yohanes 8:51

8:51 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁶⁹  if anyone obeys ⁷⁰  my teaching, ⁷¹  he will never see death.” ⁷² 

Yohanes 15:25

15:25 Now this happened ⁷³  to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’ ⁷⁴ 

Yohanes 18:32

18:32 (This happened ⁷⁵  to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken when he indicated ⁷⁶  what kind of death he was going to die. ⁷⁷ )

Yohanes 8:31

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ⁷⁸  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ⁷⁹  you are really ⁸⁰  my disciples

Yohanes 8:37

8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. ⁸¹  But you want ⁸²  to kill me, because my teaching ⁸³  makes no progress among you. ⁸⁴ 

Yohanes 12:47

12:47 If anyone ⁸⁵  hears my words and does not obey them, ⁸⁶  I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁸⁷ 

Yohanes 12:49

12:49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, ⁸⁸  but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me ⁸⁹  what I should say and what I should speak.

Yohanes 14:31

14:31 but I am doing just what the Father commanded me, so that the world may know ⁹⁰  that I love the Father. ⁹¹  Get up, let us go from here.” ⁹² 

Yohanes 15:7

15:7 If you remain ⁹³  in me and my words remain ⁹⁴  in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. ⁹⁵ 

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 8:52

8:52 Then ⁹⁶  the Judeans ⁹⁷  responded, ⁹⁸  “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! ⁹⁹  Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet ¹⁰⁰  you say, ‘If anyone obeys ¹⁰¹  my teaching, ¹⁰²  he will never experience ¹⁰³  death.’ ¹⁰⁴ 

Yohanes 15:20

15:20 Remember what ¹⁰⁵  I told you, ‘A slave ¹⁰⁶  is not greater than his master.’ ¹⁰⁷  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed ¹⁰⁸  my word, they will obey ¹⁰⁹  yours too.

[10:35]  ¹ sn The parenthetical note And the scripture cannot be broken belongs to Jesus’ words rather than the author’s. Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.

[9:29]  ² tn Grk “where this one.”

[10:34]  ³ tn Grk “answered them.”

[10:34]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 82:6. Technically the Psalms are not part of the OT “law” (which usually referred to the five books of Moses), but occasionally the term “law” was applied to the entire OT, as here. The problem in this verse concerns the meaning of Jesus’ quotation from Ps 82:6. It is important to look at the OT context: The whole line reads “I say, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Jesus will pick up on the term “sons of the Most High” in 10:36, where he refers to himself as the Son of God. The psalm was understood in rabbinic circles as an attack on unjust judges who, though they have been given the title “gods” because of their quasi-divine function of exercising judgment, are just as mortal as other men. What is the argument here? It is often thought to be as follows: If it was an OT practice to refer to men like the judges as gods, and not blasphemy, why did the Jewish authorities object when this term was applied to Jesus? This really doesn’t seem to fit the context, however, since if that were the case Jesus would not be making any claim for “divinity” for himself over and above any other human being – and therefore he would not be subject to the charge of blasphemy. Rather, this is evidently a case of arguing from the lesser to the greater, a common form of rabbinic argument. The reason the OT judges could be called gods is because they were vehicles of the word of God (cf. 10:35). But granting that premise, Jesus deserves much more than they to be called God. He is the Word incarnate, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world to save the world (10:36). In light of the prologue to the Gospel of John, it seems this interpretation would have been most natural for the author. If it is permissible to call men “gods” because they were the vehicles of the word of God, how much more permissible is it to use the word “God” of him who is the Word of God?

[1:1]  ⁵ sn In the beginning. The search for the basic “stuff” out of which things are made was the earliest one in Greek philosophy. It was attended by the related question of “What is the process by which the secondary things came out of the primary one (or ones)?,” or in Aristotelian terminology, “What is the ‘beginning’ (same Greek word as beginning, John 1:1) and what is the origin of the things that are made?” In the New Testament the word usually has a temporal sense, but even BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 3 lists a major category of meaning as “the first cause.” For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis – “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical. (In spite of the common understanding of John’s “spiritual” emphasis, the “physical” re-creation should not be overlooked; this occurs in John 2 with the changing of water into wine, in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus, and the emphasis of John 20-21 on the aftermath of Jesus’ own resurrection.)

[1:1]  ⁶ tn The preposition πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). See also Mark 6:3, Matt 13:56, Mark 9:19, Gal 1:18, 2 John 12.

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Or “and what God was the Word was.” Colwell’s Rule is often invoked to support the translation of θεός (qeos) as definite (“God”) rather than indefinite (“a god”) here. However, Colwell’s Rule merely permits, but does not demand, that a predicate nominative ahead of an equative verb be translated as definite rather than indefinite. Furthermore, Colwell’s Rule did not deal with a third possibility, that the anarthrous predicate noun may have more of a qualitative nuance when placed ahead of the verb. A definite meaning for the term is reflected in the traditional rendering “the word was God.” From a technical standpoint, though, it is preferable to see a qualitative aspect to anarthrous θεός in John 1:1c (ExSyn 266-69). Translations like the NEB, REB, and Moffatt are helpful in capturing the sense in John 1:1c, that the Word was fully deity in essence (just as much God as God the Father). However, in contemporary English “the Word was divine” (Moffatt) does not quite catch the meaning since “divine” as a descriptive term is not used in contemporary English exclusively of God. The translation “what God was the Word was” is perhaps the most nuanced rendering, conveying that everything God was in essence, the Word was too. This points to unity of essence between the Father and the Son without equating the persons. However, in surveying a number of native speakers of English, some of whom had formal theological training and some of whom did not, the editors concluded that the fine distinctions indicated by “what God was the Word was” would not be understood by many contemporary readers. Thus the translation “the Word was fully God” was chosen because it is more likely to convey the meaning to the average English reader that the Logos (which “became flesh and took up residence among us” in John 1:14 and is thereafter identified in the Fourth Gospel as Jesus) is one in essence with God the Father. The previous phrase, “the Word was with God,” shows that the Logos is distinct in person from God the Father.

[1:1]  sn And the Word was fully God. John’s theology consistently drives toward the conclusion that Jesus, the incarnate Word, is just as much God as God the Father. This can be seen, for example, in texts like John 10:30 (“The Father and I are one”), 17:11 (“so that they may be one just as we are one”), and 8:58 (“before Abraham came into existence, I am”). The construction in John 1:1c does not equate the Word with the person of God (this is ruled out by 1:1b, “the Word was with God”); rather it affirms that the Word and God are one in essence.

[17:17]  ⁸ 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).

[8:47]  ⁹ tn Grk “who is of.”

[8:47]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ¹¹ tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ¹² tn Grk “you are not of God.”

[3:34]  ¹³ tn That is, Christ.

[3:34]  ¹⁴ 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.

[14:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “does not keep.”

[14:24]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the message.”

[17:8]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “received.”

[17:8]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “truly.”

[17:8]  ²¹ tn Or have come to know.”

[15:3]  ²² sn The phrase you are clean already occurs elsewhere in the Gospel of John only at the washing of the disciples’ feet in 13:10, where Jesus had used it of the disciples being cleansed from sin. This further confirms the proposed understanding of John 15:2 and 15:6 since Judas was specifically excluded from this statement (but not all of you).

[1:2]  ²³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:14]  ²⁴ tn Or “your message.”

[17:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “because they are not of the world.”

[17:14]  ²⁶ tn Grk “just as I am not of the world.”

[8:55]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[8:55]  ²⁸ tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”

[8:55]  ²⁹ tn Grk “I keep.”

[8:55]  ³⁰ tn Grk “his word.”

[17:6]  ³¹ tn Or “made known,” “disclosed.”

[17:6]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Grk “Yours they were.”

[17:6]  ³⁴ tn Or “have kept.”

[12:38]  ³⁵ tn Or “message.”

[12:38]  ³⁶ tn Grk “who said.”

[12:38]  ³⁷ tn “The arm of the Lord” is an idiom for “God’s great power” (as exemplified through Jesus’ miraculous signs). This response of unbelief is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa 53:1). The phrase ὁ βραχίων κυρίου (Jo braciwn kuriou) is a figurative reference to God’s activity and power which has been revealed in the sign-miracles which Jesus has performed (compare the previous verse).

[12:38]  ³⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.

[12:48]  ³⁹ tn Or “does not receive.”

[12:48]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “has one who judges him.”

[12:48]  ⁴¹ tn Or “message.”

[1:14]  ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:14]  ⁴³ tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.

[1:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and tabernacled.”

[1:14]  sn The Greek word translated took up residence (σκηνόω, skhnow) alludes to the OT tabernacle, where the Shekinah, the visible glory of God’s presence, resided. The author is suggesting that this glory can now be seen in Jesus (note the following verse). The verb used here may imply that the Shekinah glory that once was found in the tabernacle has taken up residence in the person of Jesus. Cf. also John 2:19-21. The Word became flesh. This verse constitutes the most concise statement of the incarnation in the New Testament. John 1:1 makes it clear that the Logos was fully God, but 1:14 makes it clear that he was also fully human. A Docetic interpretation is completely ruled out. Here for the first time the Logos of 1:1 is identified as Jesus of Nazareth – the two are one and the same. Thus this is the last time the word logos is used in the Fourth Gospel to refer to the second person of the Trinity. From here on it is Jesus of Nazareth who is the focus of John’s Gospel.

[1:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and we saw.”

[1:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[1:4]  ⁴⁷ tn John uses ζωή (zwh) 37 times: 17 times it occurs with αἰώνιος (aiwnios), and in the remaining occurrences outside the prologue it is clear from context that “eternal” life is meant. The two uses in 1:4, if they do not refer to “eternal” life, would be the only exceptions. (Also 1 John uses ζωή 13 times, always of “eternal” life.)

[1:4]  sn An allusion to Ps 36:9, which gives significant OT background: “For with you is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.” In later Judaism, Bar 4:2 expresses a similar idea. Life, especially eternal life, will become one of the major themes of John’s Gospel.

[1:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “humanity”; Grk “of men” (but ἄνθρωπος [anqrwpo"] is used in a generic sense here, not restricted to males only, thus “mankind,” “humanity”).

[1:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “for from his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” The meaning of the phrase χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος (carin anti carito") could be: (1) love (grace) under the New Covenant in place of love (grace) under the Sinai Covenant, thus replacement; (2) grace “on top of” grace, thus accumulation; (3) grace corresponding to grace, thus correspondence. The most commonly held view is (2) in one sense or another, and this is probably the best explanation. This sense is supported by a fairly well-known use in Philo, Posterity 43 (145). Morna D. Hooker suggested that Exod 33:13 provides the background for this expression: “Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found χάρις (LXX) in your sight, let me know your ways, that I may know you, so that I may find χάρις (LXX) in your sight.” Hooker proposed that it is this idea of favor given to one who has already received favor which lies behind 1:16, and this seems very probable as a good explanation of the meaning of the phrase (“The Johannine Prologue and the Messianic Secret,” NTS 21 [1974/75]: 53).

[1:16]  sn Earlier commentators (including Origen and Luther) took the words For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another to be John the Baptist’s. Most modern commentators take them as the words of the author.

[6:45]  ⁵⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.

[6:45]  ⁵¹ tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”

[12:50]  ⁵² tn Or “his commandment results in eternal life.”

[12:50]  ⁵³ tn Grk “The things I speak, just as the Father has spoken to me, thus I speak.”

[14:23]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[18:9]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “He said this” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. There is an ellipsis in the Greek text that must be supplied for the modern English reader at this point.

[18:9]  ⁵⁸ sn This expression is similar to John 6:39 and John 17:12.

[18:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “Of the ones whom you gave me, I did not lose one of them.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style.

[18:9]  sn This action of Jesus on behalf of his disciples is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of Jesus’ own words: “I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me.” Here it is Jesus’ own words, rather than the OT scriptures, which are quoted. This same formula will be used by the author again of Jesus’ words in 18:32, but the verb is used elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel to describe the NT fulfillment of OT passages (12:38, 13:18, 15:25, 17:12, 19:24, and 19:36). It is a bit difficult to determine the exact referent, since the words of Jesus quoted in this verse are not an exact reproduction of a saying of Jesus elsewhere in John’s Gospel. Although some have identified the saying with John 6:39, the closest parallel is in 17:12, where the betrayer, Judas, is specifically excluded. The words quoted here in 18:9 appear to be a free rendition of 17:12.

[1:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “made”; Grk “came into existence.”

[1:3]  ⁶¹ tn Or “made”; Grk “nothing came into existence.”

[1:3]  ⁶² tc There is a major punctuation problem here: Should this relative clause go with v. 3 or v. 4? The earliest mss have no punctuation (Ì^66,75* א* A B Δ al). Many of the later mss which do have punctuation place it before the phrase, thus putting it with v. 4 (Ì^75c C D L W^s 050* pc). NA²⁵ placed the phrase in v. 3; NA²⁶ moved the words to the beginning of v. 4. In a detailed article K. Aland defended the change (“Eine Untersuchung zu Johannes 1, 3-4. Über die Bedeutung eines Punktes,” ZNW 59 [1968]: 174-209). He sought to prove that the attribution of ὃ γέγονεν (}o gegonen) to v. 3 began to be carried out in the 4th century in the Greek church. This came out of the Arian controversy, and was intended as a safeguard for doctrine. The change was unknown in the West. Aland is probably correct in affirming that the phrase was attached to v. 4 by the Gnostics and the Eastern Church; only when the Arians began to use the phrase was it attached to v. 3. But this does not rule out the possibility that, by moving the words from v. 4 to v. 3, one is restoring the original reading. Understanding the words as part of v. 3 is natural and adds to the emphasis which is built up there, while it also gives a terse, forceful statement in v. 4. On the other hand, taking the phrase ὃ γέγονεν with v. 4 gives a complicated expression: C. K. Barrett says that both ways of understanding v. 4 with ὃ γέγονεν included “are almost impossibly clumsy” (St. John, 157): “That which came into being – in it the Word was life”; “That which came into being – in the Word was its life.” The following stylistic points should be noted in the solution of this problem: (1) John frequently starts sentences with ἐν (en); (2) he repeats frequently (“nothing was created that has been created”); (3) 5:26 and 6:53 both give a sense similar to v. 4 if it is understood without the phrase; (4) it makes far better Johannine sense to say that in the Word was life than to say that the created universe (what was made, ὃ γέγονεν) was life in him. In conclusion, the phrase is best taken with v. 3. Schnackenburg, Barrett, Carson, Haenchen, Morris, KJV, and NIV concur (against Brown, Beasley-Murray, and NEB). The arguments of R. Schnackenburg, St. John, 1:239-40, are particularly persuasive.

[1:3]  tn Or “made”; Grk “that has come into existence.”

[1:10]  ⁶³ tn Or “was made”; Grk “came into existence.”

[1:10]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:10]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “know.”

[3:33]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “is true.”

[8:43]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “you cannot hear,” but this is not a reference to deafness, but rather hearing in the sense of listening to something and responding to it.

[8:43]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:51]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:51]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:51]  ⁷¹ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:51]  ⁷² tn Grk “he will never see death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[8:51]  sn Those who keep Jesus’ words will not see death because they have already passed from death to life (cf. 5:24). In Johannine theology eternal life begins in the present rather than in the world to come.

[15:25]  ⁷³ tn The words “this happened” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to complete an ellipsis.

[15:25]  ⁷⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 35:19 and Ps 69:4. As a technical term law (νόμος, nomos) is usually restricted to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT), but here it must have a broader reference, since the quotation is from Ps 35:19 or Ps 69:4. The latter is the more likely source for the quoted words, since it is cited elsewhere in John’s Gospel (2:17 and 19:29, in both instances in contexts associated with Jesus’ suffering and death).

[18:32]  ⁷⁵ tn The words “This happened” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[18:32]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “making clear.”

[18:32]  ⁷⁷ sn A reference to John 12:32.

[8:31]  ⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “truly.”

[8:37]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “seed” (an idiom).

[8:37]  ⁸² tn Grk “you are seeking.”

[8:37]  ⁸³ tn Grk “my word.”

[8:37]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “finds no place in you.” The basic idea seems to be something (in this case Jesus’ teaching) making headway or progress where resistance is involved. See BDAG 1094 s.v. χωρέω 2.

[12:47]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[12:47]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”

[12:47]  ⁸⁷ sn Cf. John 3:17.

[12:49]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “I have not spoken from myself.”

[12:49]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “has given me commandment.”

[14:31]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “may learn.”

[14:31]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “But so that the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, thus I do.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to conform to contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ⁹² sn Some have understood Jesus’ statement Get up, let us go from here to mean that at this point Jesus and the disciples got up and left the room where the meal was served and began the journey to the garden of Gethsemane. If so, the rest of the Farewell Discourse took place en route. Others have pointed to this statement as one of the “seams” in the discourse, indicating that the author used preexisting sources. Both explanations are possible, but not really necessary. Jesus could simply have stood up at this point (the disciples may or may not have stood with him) to finish the discourse before finally departing (in 18:1). In any case it may be argued that Jesus refers not to a literal departure at this point, but to preparing to meet the enemy who is on the way already in the person of Judas and the soldiers with him.

[15:7]  ⁹³ tn Or “reside.”

[15:7]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “reside.”

[15:7]  ⁹⁵ sn Once again Jesus promises the disciples ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. This recalls 14:13-14, where the disciples were promised that if they asked anything in Jesus’ name it would be done for them. The two thoughts are really quite similar, since here it is conditioned on the disciples’ remaining in Jesus and his words remaining in them. The first phrase relates to the genuineness of their relationship with Jesus. The second phrase relates to their obedience. When both of these qualifications are met, the disciples would in fact be asking in Jesus’ name and therefore according to his will.

[8:52]  ⁹⁶ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (Ì⁶⁶ א B C W Θ 579 it) lack the conjunction here, while other witnesses read οὖν (oun, “therefore”; Ì⁷⁵ D L Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). This conjunction occurs in John some 200 times, far more than in any other NT book. Even though the most important Johannine papyrus (Ì⁷⁵) has the conjunction, the combination of Ì⁶⁶ א B for the omission is even stronger. Further, the reading seems to be a predictable scribal emendation. In particular, οὖν is frequently used with the plural of εἶπον (eipon, “they said”) in John (in this chapter alone, note vv. 13, 39, 48, 57, and possibly 41). On balance, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic, even though “Then” is virtually required in translation for English stylistic reasons. NA²⁷ has the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:52]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “the Jews.” See the note on this term in v. 31. Here, as in vv. 31 and 48, the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem (“Judeans”; cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e) who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts (8:20) and had initially believed his claim to be the Messiah (cf. 8:31).

[8:52]  ⁹⁸ tn Grk “said to him.”

[8:52]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “you have a demon.”

[8:52]  ¹⁰⁰ tn “Yet” has been supplied to show the contrastive element present in the context.

[8:52]  ¹⁰¹ tn Grk “If anyone keeps.”

[8:52]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “my word.”

[8:52]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “will never taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[8:52]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Grk “he will never taste of death forever.” The Greek negative here is emphatic.

[15:20]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Grk “Remember the word that I said to you.”

[15:20]  ¹⁰⁶ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[15:20]  ¹⁰⁷ sn A slave is not greater than his master. Jesus now recalled a statement he had made to the disciples before, in John 13:16. As the master has been treated, so will the slaves be treated also. If the world had persecuted Jesus, then it would also persecute the disciples. If the world had kept Jesus’ word, it would likewise keep the word of the disciples. In this statement there is the implication that the disciples would carry on the ministry of Jesus after his departure; they would in their preaching and teaching continue to spread the message which Jesus himself had taught while he was with them. And they would meet with the same response, by and large, that he encountered.

[15:20]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “if they kept.”

[15:20]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Or “they will keep.”