Yohanes 7:50

7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus ¹  before and who was one of the rulers, ²  said, ³ 

Yohanes 8:56

8:56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed ⁴  to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.” ⁵ 

[7:50]  ¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ² tn Grk “who was one of them”; the referent (the rulers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:50]  ³ tn Grk “said to them.”

[8:56]  ⁴ tn Or “rejoiced greatly.”

[8:56]  ⁵ tn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the patriarch Abraham “saw” his day and rejoiced? The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred during the patriarch’s lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of the Messiah). More realistically, it is likely that Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus’ words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah (“Binding”), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice – an occasion of certain rejoicing.