Yohanes 7:37

Teaching About the Spirit

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, ¹  Jesus stood up and shouted out, ²  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and

Yohanes 7:39

7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, ³  because Jesus was not yet glorified.) ⁴ 

Yohanes 9:17

9:17 So again they asked the man who used to be blind, ⁵  “What do you say about him, since he caused you to see?” ⁶  “He is a prophet,” the man replied. ⁷ 

Yohanes 16:25

16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; ⁸  a time ⁹  is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you ¹⁰  plainly ¹¹  about the Father.

Yohanes 18:3

18:3 So Judas obtained a squad of soldiers ¹²  and some officers of the chief priests and Pharisees. ¹³  They came to the orchard ¹⁴  with lanterns ¹⁵  and torches and weapons.

Yohanes 19:15

19:15 Then they ¹⁶  shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! ¹⁷  Crucify ¹⁸  him!” Pilate asked, ¹⁹  “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!”

[7:37]  ¹ sn There is a problem with the identification of this reference to the last day of the feast, the greatest day: It appears from Deut 16:13 that the feast went for seven days. Lev 23:36, however, makes it plain that there was an eighth day, though it was mentioned separately from the seven. It is not completely clear whether the seventh or eighth day was the climax of the feast, called here by the author the “last great day of the feast.” Since according to the Mishnah (m. Sukkah 4.1) the ceremonies with water and lights did not continue after the seventh day, it seems more probable that this is the day the author mentions.

[7:37]  ² tn Grk “Jesus stood up and cried out, saying.”

[7:39]  ³ tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT mss supply the participle δεδομένον (dedomenon), this is followed in the translation to avoid misunderstanding by the modern English reader that prior to this time the Spirit did not exist. John’s phrase is expressed from a human standpoint and has nothing to do with the preexistence of the third Person of the Godhead. The meaning is that the era of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived; the Spirit was not as yet at work in a way he later would be because Jesus had not yet returned to his Father. Cf. also Acts 19:2.

[7:39]  ⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[9:17]  ⁵ tn Grk “the blind man.”

[9:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “since he opened your eyes” (an idiom referring to restoration of sight).

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Grk “And he said, ‘He is a prophet.’”

[9:17]  sn At this point the man, pressed by the Pharisees, admitted there was something special about Jesus. But here, since prophet is anarthrous (is not accompanied by the Greek article) and since in his initial reply in 9:11-12 the man showed no particular insight into the true identity of Jesus, this probably does not refer to the prophet of Deut 18:15, but merely to an unusual person who is capable of working miracles. The Pharisees had put this man on the spot, and he felt compelled to say something about Jesus, but he still didn’t have a clear conception of who Jesus was, so he labeled him a “prophet.”

[16:25]  ⁸ tn Or “in parables”; or “in metaphors.” There is some difficulty in defining παροιμίαις (paroimiai") precisely: A translation like “parables” does not convey accurately the meaning. BDAG 779-80 s.v. παροιμία suggests in general “proverb, saw, maxim,” but for Johannine usage “veiled saying, figure of speech, in which esp. lofty ideas are concealed.” In the preceding context of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus has certainly used obscure language and imagery at times: John 13:8-11; 13:16; 15:1-17; and 16:21 could all be given as examples. In the LXX this word is used to translate the Hebrew mashal which covers a wide range of figurative speech, often containing obscure or enigmatic elements.

[16:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “an hour.”

[16:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “inform you.”

[16:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “openly.”

[18:3]  ¹² tn Grk “a cohort.” The word σπεῖραν (speiran) is a technical term for a Roman cohort, normally a force of 600 men (one tenth of a legion). It was under the command of a χιλίαρχος (ciliarco", v. 12). Because of the improbability of an entire cohort being sent to arrest a single man, some have suggested that σπεῖραν here refers only to a maniple, a force of 200. But the use of the word here does not necessarily mean the entire cohort was present on this mission, but only that it was the cohort which performed the task (for example, saying the fire department put out the fire does not mean that every fireman belonging to the department was on the scene at the time). These Roman soldiers must have been ordered to accompany the servants of the chief priests and Pharisees by Pilate, since they would have been under the direct command of the Roman prefect or procurator. It is not difficult to understand why Pilate would have been willing to assist the Jewish authorities in such a way. With a huge crowd of pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover, the Romans would have been especially nervous about an uprising of some sort. No doubt the chief priests and Pharisees had informed Pilate that this man Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, or in the terms Pilate would understand, king of Israel.

[18:3]  ¹³ tn The phrase “officers of the chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:32, 45; 18:3, 12, 18, 22; 19:6. They are different from the Levites who served as “temple police” according to K. H. Rengstorf (TDNT 8:540). In John 7:32ff. these officers had made an unsuccessful attempt to arrest Jesus, and perhaps this is part of the reason why their leaders had made sure they were accompanied by Roman soldiers this time. No more mistakes were to be tolerated.

[18:3]  sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[18:3]  ¹⁴ tn The words “to the orchard” are not in the Greek text but are repeated from v. 1 for clarity.

[18:3]  ¹⁵ tn These were lamps that had some sort of covering to protect them from wind and rain. In earlier usage the word meant “torch” but by NT times it apparently meant a lamp designed to be used outdoors, so “lantern” is a good contemporary English equivalent.

[18:3]  sn Mention of the lanterns and torches suggests a detail remembered by one who was an eyewitness, but in connection with the light/darkness motif of John’s Gospel, it is a vivid reminder that it is night; the darkness has come at last (cf. 13:30).

[19:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Then these.”

[19:15]  ¹⁷ tn The words “with him” (twice) are not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[19:15]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on Crucify in 19:6.

[19:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Pilate said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because it is clear in English who Pilate is addressing.