Yohanes 5:34

5:34 (I do not accept ¹  human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.)

Yohanes 4:22

4:22 You people ²  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ³ 

Yohanes 10:9

10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ⁴  and find pasture. ⁵ 

Yohanes 12:27

12:27 “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me ⁶  from this hour’? ⁷  No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. ⁸ 

Yohanes 4:42

4:42 They said to the woman, “No longer do we believe because of your words, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one ⁹  really is the Savior of the world.” ¹⁰ 

Yohanes 3:17

3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, ¹¹  but that the world should be saved through him.

Yohanes 12:47

12:47 If anyone ¹²  hears my words and does not obey them, ¹³  I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ¹⁴ 

Yohanes 12:13

12:13 So they took branches of palm trees ¹⁵  and went out to meet him. They began to shout, ¹⁶  “Hosanna! ¹⁷  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁸  Blessed is ¹⁹  the king of Israel!”

Yohanes 20:29

20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people ²⁰  who have not seen and yet have believed.” ²¹ 

Yohanes 1:41

1:41 He first ²²  found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” ²³  (which is translated Christ). ²⁴ 

Yohanes 4:29

4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ²⁵  can he?” ²⁶ 

Yohanes 1:25

1:25 So they asked John, ²⁷  “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, ²⁸  nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Yohanes 11:12

11:12 Then the disciples replied, ²⁹  “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

Yohanes 11:27

11:27 She replied, ³⁰  “Yes, Lord, I believe ³¹  that you are the Christ, ³²  the Son of God who comes into the world.” ³³ 

Yohanes 4:25

4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); ³⁴  “whenever he ³⁵  comes, he will tell ³⁶  us everything.” ³⁷ 

Yohanes 7:42

7:42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant ³⁸  of David ³⁹  and comes from Bethlehem, ⁴⁰  the village where David lived?” ⁴¹ 

Yohanes 3:36

3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects ⁴²  the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath ⁴³  remains ⁴⁴  on him.

Yohanes 10:24

10:24 The Jewish leaders ⁴⁵  surrounded him and asked, ⁴⁶  “How long will you keep us in suspense? ⁴⁷  If you are the Christ, ⁴⁸  tell us plainly.” ⁴⁹ 

Yohanes 7:31

7:31 Yet many of the crowd ⁵⁰  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ⁵¹  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ⁵² 

Yohanes 3:18

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. ⁵³  The one who does not believe has been condemned ⁵⁴  already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only ⁵⁵  Son of God.

Yohanes 7:26

7:26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly, ⁵⁶  and they are saying nothing to him. ⁵⁷  Do the rulers really know that this man ⁵⁸  is the Christ? ⁵⁹ 

Yohanes 11:9

11:9 Jesus replied, ⁶⁰  “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, ⁶¹  because he sees the light of this world. ⁶² 

Yohanes 1:11

1:11 He came to what was his own, ⁶³  but ⁶⁴  his own people ⁶⁵  did not receive him. ⁶⁶ 

Yohanes 9:22

9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ⁶⁷  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ⁶⁸  to be the Christ ⁶⁹  would be put out ⁷⁰  of the synagogue. ⁷¹ 

Yohanes 12:34

12:34 Then the crowd responded, ⁷²  “We have heard from the law that the Christ ⁷³  will remain forever. ⁷⁴  How ⁷⁵  can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Yohanes 4:21

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ⁷⁶  a time ⁷⁷  is coming when you will worship ⁷⁸  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

Yohanes 3:28

3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ ⁷⁹  but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’

Yohanes 20:31

20:31 But these ⁸⁰  are recorded ⁸¹  so that you may believe ⁸²  that Jesus is the Christ, ⁸³  the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ⁸⁴ 

Yohanes 17:12

17:12 When I was with them I kept them safe ⁸⁵  and watched over them ⁸⁶  in your name ⁸⁷  that you have given me. Not one ⁸⁸  of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, ⁸⁹  so that the scripture could be fulfilled. ⁹⁰ 

Yohanes 13:17

13:17 If you understand ⁹¹  these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Yohanes 1:20

1:20 He confessed – he did not deny but confessed – “I am not the Christ!” ⁹² 

Yohanes 7:41

7:41 Others said, “This is the Christ!” ⁹³  But still others said, “No, ⁹⁴  for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁹⁵ 

Yohanes 7:27

7:27 But we know where this man ⁹⁶  comes from. ⁹⁷  Whenever the Christ ⁹⁸  comes, no one will know where he comes from.” ⁹⁹ 

[5:34]  ¹ tn Or “I do not receive.”

[4:22]  ² tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ³ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[10:9]  ⁴ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ⁵ sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

[12:27]  ⁶ tn Or “save me.”

[12:27]  ⁷ tn Or “this occasion.”

[12:27]  sn Father, deliver me from this hour. It is now clear that Jesus’ hour has come – the hour of his return to the Father through crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension (see 12:23). This will be reiterated in 13:1 and 17:1. Jesus states (employing words similar to those of Ps 6:4) that his soul is troubled. What shall his response to his imminent death be? A prayer to the Father to deliver him from that hour? No, because it is on account of this very hour that Jesus has come. His sacrificial death has always remained the primary purpose of his mission into the world. Now, faced with the completion of that mission, shall he ask the Father to spare him from it? The expected answer is no.

[12:27]  ⁸ tn Or “this occasion.”

[4:42]  ⁹ tn Or “this.” The Greek pronoun can mean either “this one” or “this” (BDAG 740 s.v. οὗτος 1).

[4:42]  ¹⁰ sn There is irony in the Samaritans’ declaration that Jesus was really the Savior of the world, an irony foreshadowed in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (1:11): “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Yet the Samaritans welcomed Jesus and proclaimed him to be not the Jewish Messiah only, but the Savior of the world.

[3:17]  ¹¹ sn That is, “to judge the world to be guilty and liable to punishment.”

[12:47]  ¹² tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[12:47]  ¹³ tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”

[12:47]  ¹⁴ sn Cf. John 3:17.

[12:13]  ¹⁵ sn The Mosaic law stated (Lev 23:40) that branches of palm trees were to be used to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. Later on they came to be used to celebrate other feasts as well (1 Macc. 13:51, 2 Macc. 10:7).

[12:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And they were shouting.” An ingressive force for the imperfect tense (“they began to shout” or “they started shouting”) is natural in this sequence of events. The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) is left untranslated to improve the English style.

[12:13]  ¹⁷ tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” As in Mark 11:9 the introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.

[12:13]  sn Hosanna is an Aramaic expression that literally means, “help, I pray,” or “save, I pray.” By Jesus’ time it had become a strictly liturgical formula of praise, however, and was used as an exclamation of praise to God.

[12:13]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[12:13]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” The words “Blessed is” are not repeated in the Greek text, but are repeated in the translation to avoid the awkwardness in English of the ascensive καί (kai).

[20:29]  ²⁰ tn Grk “are those.”

[20:29]  ²¹ tn Some translations treat πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") as a gnomic aorist (timeless statement) and thus equivalent to an English present tense: “and yet believe” (RSV). This may create an effective application of the passage to the modern reader, but the author is probably thinking of those people who had already believed without the benefit of seeing the risen Jesus, on the basis of reports by others or because of circumstantial evidence (see John 20:8).

[1:41]  ²² tc Most witnesses (א* L W^s Ï) read πρῶτος (prwtos) here instead of πρῶτον (prwton). The former reading would be a predicate adjective and suggest that Andrew “was the first” person to proselytize another regarding Jesus. The reading preferred, however, is the neuter πρῶτον, used as an adverb (BDAG 893 s.v. πρῶτος 1.a.β.), and it suggests that the first thing that Andrew did was to proselytize Peter. The evidence for this reading is early and weighty: Ì^66,75 א² A B Θ Ψ 083 Ë^1,13 892 al lat.

[1:41]  ²³ sn Naturally part of Andrew’s concept of the Messiah would have been learned from John the Baptist (v. 40). However, there were a number of different messianic expectations in 1st century Palestine (see the note on “Who are you?” in v. 19), and it would be wrong to assume that what Andrew meant here is the same thing the author means in the purpose statement at the end of the Fourth Gospel, 20:31. The issue here is not whether the disciples’ initial faith in Jesus as Messiah was genuine or not, but whether their concept of who Jesus was grew and developed progressively as they spent time following him, until finally after his resurrection it is affirmed in the climactic statement of John’s Gospel, the affirmation of Thomas in 20:28.

[1:41]  ²⁴ tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”

[1:41]  sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[4:29]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

[4:29]  ²⁶ tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

[1:25]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And they asked him, and said to him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the phrase has been simplified in the translation to “So they asked John.”

[1:25]  ²⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[1:25]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[11:12]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Then the disciples said to him.”

[11:27]  ³⁰ tn Grk “She said to him.”

[11:27]  ³¹ tn The perfect tense in Greek is often used to emphasize the results or present state of a past action. Such is the case here. To emphasize this nuance the perfect tense verb πεπίστευκα (pepisteuka) has been translated as a present tense. This is in keeping with the present context, where Jesus asks of her present state of belief in v. 26, and the theology of the Gospel as a whole, which emphasizes the continuing effects and present reality of faith. For discussion on this use of the perfect tense, see ExSyn 574-76 and B. M. Fanning, Verbal Aspect, 291-97.

[11:27]  ³² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[11:27]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[11:27]  ³³ tn Or “the Son of God, the one who comes into the world.”

[4:25]  ³⁴ tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”

[4:25]  sn The one called Christ. This is a parenthetical statement by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[4:25]  ³⁵ tn Grk “that one.”

[4:25]  ³⁶ tn Or “he will announce to us.”

[4:25]  ³⁷ tn Grk “all things.”

[7:42]  ³⁸ tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).

[7:42]  ³⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.

[7:42]  ⁴⁰ sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.

[7:42]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[7:42]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “the village where David was.”

[3:36]  ⁴² tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”

[3:36]  ⁴³ tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”

[3:36]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “resides.”

[10:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.

[10:24]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.

[10:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”

[10:24]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[10:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[10:24]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “publicly.”

[7:31]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

[7:31]  ⁵¹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:31]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:31]  ⁵² tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “will he?”).

[3:18]  ⁵³ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “judged.”

[3:18]  ⁵⁵ tn See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

[7:26]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “speaking openly.”

[7:26]  ⁵⁷ sn They are saying nothing to him. Some people who had heard Jesus were so impressed with his teaching that they began to infer from the inactivity of the opposing Jewish leaders a tacit acknowledgment of Jesus’ claims.

[7:26]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:26]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:26]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[11:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[11:9]  ⁶¹ tn Or “he does not trip.”

[11:9]  ⁶² sn What is the light of this world? On one level, of course, it refers to the sun, but the reader of John’s Gospel would recall 8:12 and understand Jesus’ symbolic reference to himself as the light of the world. There is only a limited time left (Are there not twelve hours in a day?) until the Light will be withdrawn (until Jesus returns to the Father) and the one who walks around in the dark will trip and fall (compare the departure of Judas by night in 13:30).

[1:11]  ⁶³ tn Grk “to his own things.”

[1:11]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “and,” but in context this is an adversative use of καί (kai) and is thus translated “but.”

[1:11]  ⁶⁵ tn “People” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[1:11]  ⁶⁶ sn His own people did not receive him. There is a subtle irony here: When the λόγος (logos) came into the world, he came to his own (τὰ ἴδια, ta idia, literally “his own things”) and his own people (οἱ ἴδιοι, Joi idioi), who should have known and received him, but they did not. This time John does not say that “his own” did not know him, but that they did not receive him (παρέλαβον, parelabon). The idea is one not of mere recognition, but of acceptance and welcome.

[9:22]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Twice in this verse the phrase refers to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. The second occurrence is shortened to “the Jewish leaders” for stylistic reasons. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish religious leaders” in v. 18.

[9:22]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “confessed him.”

[9:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[9:22]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[9:22]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “would be expelled from.”

[9:22]  ⁷¹ sn This reference to excommunication from the Jewish synagogue for those who had made some sort of confession about Jesus being the Messiah is dismissed as anachronistic by some (e.g., Barrett) and nonhistorical by others. In later Jewish practice there were at least two forms of excommunication: a temporary ban for thirty days, and a permanent ban. But whether these applied in NT times is far from certain. There is no substantial evidence for a formal ban on Christians until later than this Gospel could possibly have been written. This may be a reference to some form of excommunication adopted as a contingency to deal with those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. If so, there is no other record of the procedure than here. It was probably local, limited to the area around Jerusalem. See also the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[12:34]  ⁷² tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”

[12:34]  ⁷³ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[12:34]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[12:34]  ⁷⁴ tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).

[12:34]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[4:21]  ⁷⁶ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ⁷⁸ tn The verb is plural.

[3:28]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[3:28]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[20:31]  ⁸⁰ tn Grk “these things.”

[20:31]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “are written.”

[20:31]  ⁸² tc ‡ A difficult textual variant is present at this point in the Greek text. Some mss (Ì^66vid א* B Θ 0250 pc) read the present subjunctive πιστεύητε (pisteuhte) after ἵνα (Jina; thus NEB text, “that you may hold the faith”) while others (א² A C D L W Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï) read the aorist subjunctive πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) after ἵνα (cf. NEB margin, “that you may come to believe”). As reflected by the renderings of the NEB text and margin, it is often assumed that the present tense would suggest ongoing belief (i.e., the Fourth Gospel primarily addressed those who already believed, and was intended to strengthen their faith), while the aorist tense would speak of coming to faith (i.e., John’s Gospel was primarily evangelistic in nature). Both textual variants enjoy significant ms support, although the present subjunctive has somewhat superior witnesses on its behalf. On internal grounds it is hard to decide which is more likely the original. Many resolve this issue on the basis of a reconstruction of the overall purpose of the Gospel, viz., whether it is addressed to unbelievers or believers. However, since elsewhere in the Gospel of John (1) the present tense can refer to both initial faith and continuation in the faith and (2) the aorist tense simply refrains from commenting on the issue, it is highly unlikely that the distinction here would be determinative for the purpose of the Fourth Gospel. The question of purpose cannot be resolved by choosing one textual variant over the other in 20:31, but must be decided on other factors. Nevertheless, if a choice has to be made, the present subjunctive is the preferred reading. NA²⁷ puts the aorist’s sigma in brackets, thus representing both readings virtually equally (so TCGNT 220).

[20:31]  ⁸³ tn Or “Jesus is the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[20:31]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[20:31]  ⁸⁴ sn John 20:31. A major question concerning this verse, the purpose statement of the Gospel of John, is whether the author is writing primarily for an audience of unbelievers, with purely evangelistic emphasis, or whether he envisions an audience of believers, whom he wants to strengthen in their faith. Several points are important in this discussion: (1) in the immediate context (20:30), the other signs spoken of by the author were performed in the presence of disciples; (2) in the case of the first of the signs, at Cana, the author makes a point of the effect the miracle had on the disciples (2:11); (3) if the primary thrust of the Gospel is toward unbelievers, it is difficult to see why so much material in chaps. 13-17 (the last meal and Farewell Discourse, concluding with Jesus’ prayer for the disciples), which deals almost exclusively with the disciples, is included; (4) the disciples themselves were repeatedly said to have believed in Jesus throughout the Gospel, beginning with 2:11, yet they still needed to believe after the resurrection (if Thomas’ experience in 20:27-28 is any indication); and (5) the Gospel appears to be written with the assumption that the readers are familiar with the basic story (or perhaps with one or more of the synoptic gospel accounts, although this is less clear). Thus no account of the birth of Jesus is given at all, and although he is identified as being from Nazareth, the words of the Pharisees and chief priests to Nicodemus (7:52) are almost certainly to be taken as ironic, assuming the reader knows where Jesus was really from. Likewise, when Mary is identified in 11:2 as the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil, it is apparently assumed that the readers are familiar with the story, since the incident involved is not mentioned in the Fourth Gospel until 12:3. These observations must be set over against the clear statement of purpose in the present verse, 20:31, which seems to have significant evangelistic emphasis. In addition to this there is the repeated emphasis on witness throughout the Fourth Gospel (cf. the witness of John the Baptist in 1:7, 8, 15, 32, and 34, along with 5:33; the Samaritan woman in 4:39; Jesus’ own witness, along with that of the Father who sent him, in 8:14, 18, and 18:37; the disciples themselves in 15:27; and finally the testimony of the author himself in 19:35 and 21:24). In light of all this evidence it seems best to say that the author wrote with a dual purpose: (1) to witness to unbelievers concerning Jesus, in order that they come to believe in him and have eternal life; and (2) to strengthen the faith of believers, by deepening and expanding their understanding of who Jesus is.

[17:12]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “I protected them”; Grk “I kept them.”

[17:12]  ⁸⁶ tn Grk “and guarded them.”

[17:12]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “by your name.”

[17:12]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk And not one.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[17:12]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “the son of destruction” (a Semitic idiom for one appointed for destruction; here it is a reference to Judas).

[17:12]  sn The one destined to destruction refers to Judas. Clearly in John’s Gospel Judas is portrayed as a tool of Satan. He is described as “the devil” in 6:70. In 13:2 Satan put into Judas’ heart the idea of betraying Jesus, and 13:27 Satan himself entered Judas. Immediately after this Judas left the company of Jesus and the other disciples and went out into the realm of darkness (13:30). Cf. 2 Thess 2:3, where this same Greek phrase (“the son of destruction”; see tn above) is used to describe the man through whom Satan acts to rebel against God in the last days.

[17:12]  ⁹⁰ sn A possible allusion to Ps 41:9 or Prov 24:22 LXX. The exact passage is not specified here, but in John 13:18, Ps 41:9 is explicitly quoted by Jesus with reference to the traitor, suggesting that this is the passage to which Jesus refers here. The previous mention of Ps 41:9 in John 13:18 probably explains why the author felt no need for an explanatory parenthetical note here. It is also possible that the passage referred to here is Prov 24:22 LXX, where in the Greek text the phrase “son of destruction” appears.

[13:17]  ⁹¹ tn Grk “If you know.”

[1:20]  ⁹² tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[1:20]  sn “I am not the Christ.” A 3rd century work, the pseudo-Clementine Recognitions (1.54 and 1.60 in the Latin text; the statement is not as clear in the Syriac version) records that John’s followers proclaimed him to be the Messiah. There is no clear evidence that they did so in the 1st century, however – but Luke 3:15 indicates some wondered. Concerning the Christ, the term χριστός (cristos) was originally an adjective (“anointed”), developing in LXX into a substantive (“an anointed one”), then developing still further into a technical generic term (“the anointed one”). In the intertestamental period it developed further into a technical term referring to the hoped-for anointed one, that is, a specific individual. In the NT the development starts there (technical-specific), is so used in the gospels, and then develops in Paul to mean virtually Jesus’ last name.

[7:41]  ⁹³ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:41]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:41]  ⁹⁴ tn An initial negative reply (“No”) is suggested by the causal or explanatory γάρ (gar) which begins the clause.

[7:41]  ⁹⁵ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “does he?”).

[7:27]  ⁹⁶ tn Grk “this one.”

[7:27]  ⁹⁷ sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.

[7:27]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[7:27]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[7:27]  ⁹⁹ sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.