Yohanes 1:11

1:11 He came to what was his own, ¹  but ²  his own people ³  did not receive him. ⁴ 

Yohanes 3:3

3:3 Jesus replied, ⁵  “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁶  unless a person is born from above, ⁷  he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁸ 

Yohanes 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁹  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ¹⁰  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Yohanes 6:39

6:39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me – that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up ¹¹  at the last day.

Yohanes 7:4

7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself ¹²  does anything in secret. ¹³  If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”

Yohanes 7:33

7:33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer, ¹⁴  and then ¹⁵  I am going to the one who sent me.

Yohanes 8:26

8:26 I have many things to say and to judge ¹⁶  about you, but the Father ¹⁷  who sent me is truthful, ¹⁸  and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” ¹⁹ 

Yohanes 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁰  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ²¹  by the door, ²²  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

Yohanes 11:32

11:32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Yohanes 11:51

11:51 (Now he did not say this on his own, ²³  but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, ²⁴ 

Yohanes 12:24

12:24 I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁵  unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. ²⁶  But if it dies, it produces ²⁷  much grain. ²⁸ 

Yohanes 13:3

13:3 Because Jesus ²⁹  knew that the Father had handed all things over to him, ³⁰  and that he had come from God and was going back to God,

Yohanes 18:39

18:39 But it is your custom that I release one prisoner ³¹  for you at the Passover. ³²  So do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?”

[1:11]  ¹ tn Grk “to his own things.”

[1:11]  ² tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:11]  ³ tn “People” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:11]  ⁴ sn His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the λόγος (logos) came into the world, he came to his own (τὰ ἴδια, ta idia, literally “his own things”) and his own people (οἱ ἴδιοι, Joi idioi), who should have known and received him, but they did not. This time John does not say that “his own” did not know him, but that they did not receive him (παρέλαβον, parelabon). The idea is one not of mere recognition, but of acceptance and welcome.

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:3]  ⁷ tn The word ἄνωθεν (anwqen) has a double meaning, either “again” (in which case it is synonymous with παλίν [palin]) or “from above” (BDAG 92 s.v. ἄνωθεν). This is a favorite technique of the author of the Fourth Gospel, and it is lost in almost all translations at this point. John uses the word 5 times, in 3:3, 7; 3:31; 19:11 and 23. In the latter 3 cases the context makes clear that it means “from above.” Here (3:3, 7) it could mean either, but the primary meaning intended by Jesus is “from above.” Nicodemus apparently understood it the other way, which explains his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? He can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” The author uses the technique of the “misunderstood question” often to bring out a particularly important point: Jesus says something which is misunderstood by the disciples or (as here) someone else, which then gives Jesus the opportunity to explain more fully and in more detail what he really meant.

[3:3]  sn Or born again. The Greek word ἄνωθεν (anwqen) can mean both “again” and “from above,” giving rise to Nicodemus’ misunderstanding about a second physical birth (v. 4).

[3:3]  ⁸ sn What does Jesus’ statement about not being able to see the kingdom of God mean within the framework of John’s Gospel? John uses the word kingdom (βασιλεία, basileia) only 5 times (3:3, 5; 18:36 [3x]). Only here is it qualified with the phrase of God. The fact that John does not stress the concept of the kingdom of God does not mean it is absent from his theology, however. Remember the messianic implications found in John 2, both the wedding and miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the temple. For Nicodemus, the term must surely have brought to mind the messianic kingdom which Messiah was supposed to bring. But Nicodemus had missed precisely this point about who Jesus was. It was the Messiah himself with whom Nicodemus was speaking. Whatever Nicodemus understood, it is clear that the point is this: He misunderstood Jesus’ words. He over-literalized them, and thought Jesus was talking about repeated physical birth, when he was in fact referring to new spiritual birth.

[3:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “born of water and wind” (the same Greek word, πνεύματος [pneumatos], may be translated either “spirit/Spirit” or “wind”).

[3:5]  sn Jesus’ somewhat enigmatic statement points to the necessity of being born “from above,” because water and wind/spirit/Spirit come from above. Isaiah 44:3-5 and Ezek 37:9-10 are pertinent examples of water and wind as life-giving symbols of the Spirit of God in his work among people. Both occur in contexts that deal with the future restoration of Israel as a nation prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It is therefore particularly appropriate that Jesus should introduce them in a conversation about entering the kingdom of God. Note that the Greek word πνεύματος is anarthrous (has no article) in v. 5. This does not mean that spirit in the verse should be read as a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, but that both water and wind are figures (based on passages in the OT, which Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel should have known) that represent the regenerating work of the Spirit in the lives of men and women.

[6:39]  ¹¹ tn Or “resurrect them all,” or “make them all live again”; Grk “raise it up.” The word “all” is supplied to bring out the collective nature of the neuter singular pronoun αὐτό (auto) in Greek. The plural pronoun “them” is used rather than neuter singular “it” because this is clearer in English, which does not use neuter collective singulars in the same way Greek does.

[7:4]  ¹² tn Or “seeks to be well known.”

[7:4]  ¹³ sn No one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret means, in effect: “if you’re going to perform signs to authenticate yourself as Messiah, you should do them at Jerusalem.” (Jerusalem is where mainstream Jewish apocalyptic tradition held that Messiah would appear.)

[7:33]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Yet a little I am with you.”

[7:33]  ¹⁵ tn The word “then” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[8:26]  ¹⁶ tn Or “I have many things to pronounce in judgment about you.” The two Greek infinitives could be understood as a hendiadys, resulting in one phrase.

[8:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (the Father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “true” (in the sense of one who always tells the truth).

[8:26]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and what things I have heard from him, these things I speak to the world.”

[10:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ²¹ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ²² tn Or “entrance.”

[11:51]  ²³ tn Grk “say this from himself.”

[11:51]  ²⁴ tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).

[12:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[12:24]  ²⁶ tn Or “it remains only a single kernel.”

[12:24]  ²⁷ tn Or “bears.”

[12:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “much fruit.”

[13:3]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Because he knew”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:3]  ³⁰ tn Grk “had given all things into his hands.”

[18:39]  ³¹ tn The word “prisoner” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[18:39]  ³² sn Pilate then offered to release Jesus, reminding the Jewish authorities that they had a custom that he release one prisoner for them at the Passover. There is no extra-biblical evidence alluding to the practice. It is, however, mentioned in Matthew and Mark, described either as a practice of Pilate (Mark 15:6) or of the Roman governor (Matt 27:15). These references may explain the lack of extra-biblical attestation: The custom to which Pilate refers here (18:39) is not a permanent one acknowledged by all the Roman governors, but one peculiar to Pilate as a means of appeasement, meant to better relations with his subjects. Such a limited meaning is certainly possible and consistent with the statement here.