Yohanes 1:33

1:33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining – this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

Yohanes 10:38

10:38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, ¹  so that you may come to know ²  and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

Yohanes 14:28

14:28 You heard me say to you, ³  ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad ⁴  that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. ⁵ 

Yohanes 16:21

16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ⁶  because her time ⁷  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ⁸  has been born into the world. ⁹ 

[10:38]  ¹ tn Or “works.”

[10:38]  sn Jesus says that in the final analysis, the deeds he did should indicate whether he was truly from the Father. If the authorities could not believe in him, it would be better to believe in the deeds he did than not to believe at all.

[10:38]  ² tn Or “so that you may learn.”

[14:28]  ³ tn Or “You have heard that I said to you.”

[14:28]  ⁴ tn Or “you would rejoice.”

[14:28]  ⁵ sn Jesus’ statement the Father is greater than I am has caused much christological and trinitarian debate. Although the Arians appealed to this text to justify their subordinationist Christology, it seems evident that by the fact Jesus compares himself to the Father, his divine nature is taken for granted. There have been two orthodox interpretations: (1) The Son is eternally generated while the Father is not: Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Hilary, etc. (2) As man the incarnate Son was less than the Father: Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose, Augustine. In the context of the Fourth Gospel the second explanation seems more plausible. But why should the disciples have rejoiced? Because Jesus was on the way to the Father who would glorify him (cf. 17:4-5); his departure now signifies that the work the Father has given him is completed (cf. 19:30). Now Jesus will be glorified with that glory that he had with the Father before the world was (cf. 17:5). This should be a cause of rejoicing to the disciples because when Jesus is glorified he will glorify his disciples as well (17:22).

[16:21]  ⁶ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ⁷ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ⁹ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.