Yohanes 2:23

Jesus at the Passover Feast

2:23 Now while Jesus ¹  was in Jerusalem ²  at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. ³ 

Matius 12:38

The Sign of Jonah

12:38 Then some of the experts in the law ⁴  along with some Pharisees ⁵  answered him, ⁶  “Teacher, we want to see a sign ⁷  from you.”

Yohanes 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ⁸  at night ⁹  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 ¹⁰  that you do unless God is with him.”

Yohanes 4:48

4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people ¹¹  see signs and wonders you will never believe!” ¹² 

Yohanes 6:2

6:2 A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick.

Yohanes 6:14

6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus ¹³  performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet ¹⁴  who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ 

Yohanes 6:26

6:26 Jesus replied, ¹⁶  “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁷  you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. ¹⁸ 

Yohanes 6:30

6:30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

[2:23]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:23]  ³ sn Because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. The issue here is not whether their faith was genuine or not, but what its object was. These individuals, after seeing the miracles, believed Jesus to be the Messiah. They most likely saw in him a political-eschatological figure of some sort. That does not, however, mean that their concept of “Messiah” was the same as Jesus’ own, or the author’s.

[12:38]  ⁴ tn Or “Then some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[12:38]  ⁵ tn Grk “and Pharisees.” The word “some” before “Pharisees” has been supplied for clarification.

[12:38]  sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:38]  ⁶ tn Grk “answered him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant, but the syntax of the sentence was changed to conform to English style.

[12:38]  ⁷ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[4:48]  ¹¹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the verb is second person plural (referring to more than the royal official alone).

[4:48]  ¹² tn Or “you never believe.” The verb πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) is aorist subjunctive and may have either nuance.

[6:14]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[6:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[6:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[6:26]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”