Yohanes 8:19

8:19 Then they began asking ¹  him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” ² 

Yohanes 8:54-55

8:54 Jesus replied, ³  “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. ⁴  The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people ⁵  say, ‘He is our God.’ 8:55 Yet ⁶  you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, ⁷  I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey ⁸  his teaching. ⁹ 

Yohanes 16:3

16:3 They ¹⁰  will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. ¹¹ 

Yohanes 17:3

17:3 Now this ¹²  is eternal life ¹³  – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, ¹⁴  whom you sent.

Yohanes 17:25

17:25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men ¹⁵  know that you sent me.

[8:19]  ¹ tn Grk “Then they were saying to him.” The imperfect verb has been translated with ingressive force here because of the introduction of a new line of questioning by the Pharisees. Jesus had just claimed his Father as a second witness; now his opponents want to know who his father is.

[8:19]  ² sn If you knew me you would know my Father too. Jesus’ reply is based on his identity with the Father (see also John 1:18; 14:9).

[8:54]  ³ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[8:54]  ⁴ tn Grk “is nothing.”

[8:54]  ⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in English to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.

[8:55]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

[8:55]  ⁷ tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”

[8:55]  ⁸ tn Grk “I keep.”

[8:55]  ⁹ tn Grk “his word.”

[16:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[16:3]  ¹¹ sn Ignorance of Jesus and ignorance of the Father are also linked in 8:19; to know Jesus would be to know the Father also, but since the world does not know Jesus, neither does it know his Father. The world’s ignorance of the Father is also mentioned in 8:55, 15:21, and 17:25.

[17:3]  ¹² tn Using αὕτη δέ (Jauth de) to introduce an explanation is typical Johannine style; it was used before in John 1:19, 3:19, and 15:12.

[17:3]  ¹³ sn This is eternal life. The author here defines eternal life for the readers, although it is worked into the prayer in such a way that many interpreters do not regard it as another of the author’s parenthetical comments. It is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its quality derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent. Christ (Χριστός, Cristos) is not characteristically attached to Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel; it occurs elsewhere primarily as a title and is used with Jesus’ name only in 1:17. But that is connected to its use here: The statement here in 17:3 enables us to correlate the statement made in 1:18 of the prologue, that Jesus has fully revealed what God is like, with Jesus’ statement in 10:10 that he has come that people might have life, and have it abundantly. These two purposes are really one, according to 17:3, because (abundant) eternal life is defined as knowing (being in relationship with) the Father and the Son. The only way to gain this eternal life, that is, to obtain this knowledge of the Father, is through the Son (cf. 14:6). Although some have pointed to the use of know (γινώσκω, ginwskw) here as evidence of Gnostic influence in the Fourth Gospel, there is a crucial difference: For John this knowledge is not intellectual, but relational. It involves being in relationship.

[17:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and Jesus the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[17:25]  ¹⁵ tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more general term like “people” because the use of the aorist verb ἔγνωσαν (egnwsan) implies that Jesus is referring to the disciples present with him as he spoke these words (presumably all of them men in the historical context), rather than to those who are yet to believe because of their testimony (see John 17:20).