Yohanes 1:29

1:29 On the next day John ¹  saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God ²  who takes away the sin of the world!

Yohanes 6:33

6:33 For the bread of God is the one who ³  comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Yohanes 7:7

7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil.

Yohanes 15:18

The World’s Hatred

15:18 “If the world hates you, be aware ⁴  that it hated me first. ⁵ 

Yohanes 16:8

16:8 And when he ⁶  comes, he will prove the world wrong ⁷  concerning sin and ⁸  righteousness and ⁹  judgment –

Yohanes 20:9

20:9 (For they did not yet understand ¹⁰  the scripture that Jesus ¹¹  must rise from the dead.) ¹² 

[1:29]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:29]  ² sn Gen 22:8 is an important passage in the background of the title Lamb of God as applied to Jesus. In Jewish thought this was held to be a supremely important sacrifice. G. Vermès stated: “For the Palestinian Jew, all lamb sacrifice, and especially the Passover lamb and the Tamid offering, was a memorial of the Akedah with its effects of deliverance, forgiveness of sin and messianic salvation” (Scripture and Tradition in Judaism [StPB], 225).

[6:33]  ³ tn Or “he who.”

[15:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “know.”

[15:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “it hated me before you.”

[16:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “when that one.”

[16:8]  ⁷ tn Or “will convict the world,” or “will expose the world.” The conjunction περί (peri) is used in 16:8-11 in the sense of “concerning” or “with respect to.” But what about the verb ἐλέγχω (elencw)? The basic meanings possible for this word are (1) “to convict or convince someone of something”; (2) “to bring to light or expose something; and (3) “to correct or punish someone.” The third possibility may be ruled out in these verses on contextual grounds since punishment is not implied. The meaning is often understood to be that the Paraclete will “convince” the world of its error, so that some at least will repent. But S. Mowinckel (“Die Vorstellungen des Spätjudentums vom heiligen Geist als Fürsprecher und der johanneische Paraklet,” ZNW 32 [1933]: 97-130) demonstrated that the verb ἐλέγχω did not necessarily imply the conversion or reform of the guilty party. This means it is far more likely that conviction in something of a legal sense is intended here (as in a trial). The only certainty is that the accused party is indeed proven guilty (not that they will acknowledge their guilt). Further confirmation of this interpretation is seen in John 14:17 where the world cannot receive the Paraclete and in John 3:20, where the evildoer deliberately refuses to come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed for what they really are (significantly, the verb in John 3:20 is also ἐλέγχω). However, if one wishes to adopt the meaning “prove guilty” for the use of ἐλέγχω in John 16:8 a difficulty still remains: While this meaning fits the first statement in 16:9 – the world is ‘proven guilty’ concerning its sin of refusing to believe in Jesus – it does not fit so well the second and third assertions in vv. 10-11. Thus R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:705) suggests the more general meaning “prove wrong” which would fit in all three cases. This may be so, but there may also be a developmental aspect to the meaning, which would then shift from v. 9 to v. 10 to v. 11.

[16:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “and concerning.”

[16:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “and concerning.”

[20:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “yet know.”

[20:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:9]  ¹² sn Verse 9 is a parenthetical note by the author. The author does not explicitly mention what OT scripture is involved (neither does Paul in 1 Cor 15:4, for that matter). The resurrection of the Messiah in general terms may have been seen in Isa 53:10-12 and Ps 16:10. Specific references may have been understood in Jonah 1:17 and Hos 6:2 because of the mention of “the third day.” Beyond this it is not possible to be more specific.