Yohanes 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ¹  at night ²  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ³  that you do unless God is with him.”

Yohanes 5:36

5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds ⁴  that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds ⁵  I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me.

Yohanes 6:14

6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus ⁶  performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet ⁷  who is to come into the world.” ⁸ 

Yohanes 6:27

6:27 Do not work for the food that disappears, ⁹  but for the food that remains to eternal life – the food ¹⁰  which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.” ¹¹ 

[3:2]  ¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ² tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.

[3:2]  ³ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.

[5:36]  ⁴ tn Or “works.”

[5:36]  ⁵ tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.

[6:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ⁷ sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.

[6:14]  ⁸ sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.

[6:27]  ⁹ tn Or “perishes” (this might refer to spoiling, but is more focused on the temporary nature of this kind of food).

[6:27]  sn Do not work for the food that disappears. Note the wordplay on “work” here. This does not imply “working” for salvation, since the “work” is later explained (in John 6:29) as “to believe in the one whom he (the Father) sent.”

[6:27]  ¹⁰ tn The referent (the food) has been specified for clarity by repeating the word “food” from the previous clause.

[6:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “on this one.”