Yohanes 3:5

3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  unless a person is born of water and spirit, ²  he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Yohanes 4:53

4:53 Then the father realized that it was the very time ³  Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household.

Yohanes 7:4

7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself ⁴  does anything in secret. ⁵  If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”

Yohanes 9:7

9:7 and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” ⁶  (which is translated “sent”). ⁷  So the blind man ⁸  went away and washed, and came back seeing.

Yohanes 11:39

11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” ⁹  Martha, the sister of the deceased, ¹⁰  replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, ¹¹  because he has been buried ¹²  four days.” ¹³ 

[3:5]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[3:5]  ² 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.

[4:53]  ³ tn Grk “at that hour.”

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

[7:4]  ⁵ 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.)

[9:7]  ⁶ tn The pool’s name in Hebrew is shiloah from the Hebrew verb “to send.” In Gen 49:10 the somewhat obscure shiloh was interpreted messianically by later Jewish tradition, and some have seen a lexical connection between the two names (although this is somewhat dubious). It is known, however, that it was from the pool of Siloam that the water which was poured out at the altar during the feast of Tabernacles was drawn.

[9:7]  ⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Why does he comment on the meaning of the name of the pool? Here, the significance is that the Father sent the Son, and the Son sent the man born blind. The name of the pool is applicable to the man, but also to Jesus himself, who was sent from heaven.

[9:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “So he”; the referent (the blind man) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:39]  ⁹ tn Or “Remove the stone.”

[11:39]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the sister of the one who had died.”

[11:39]  ¹¹ tn Grk “already he stinks.”

[11:39]  ¹² tn Or “been there” (in the tomb – see John 11:17).

[11:39]  ¹³ sn He has been buried four days. Although all the details of the miracle itself are not given, those details which are mentioned are important. The statement made by Martha is extremely significant for understanding what actually took place. There is no doubt that Lazarus had really died, because the decomposition of his body had already begun to take place, since he had been dead for four days.