5:28 “Do not be amazed at this, because a time 5 is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
1 tn On the use of the πιστεύω + εἰς (pisteuw + ei") construction in John: The verb πιστεύω occurs 98 times in John (compared to 11 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark [including the longer ending], and 9 times in Luke). One of the unsolved mysteries is why the corresponding noun form πίστις (pistis) is never used at all. Many have held the noun was in use in some pre-Gnostic sects and this rendered it suspect for John. It might also be that for John, faith was an activity, something that men do (cf. W. Turner, “Believing and Everlasting Life – A Johannine Inquiry,” ExpTim 64 [1952/53]: 50-52). John uses πιστεύω in 4 major ways: (1) of believing facts, reports, etc., 12 times; (2) of believing people (or the scriptures), 19 times; (3) of believing “in” Christ” (πιστεύω + εἰς + acc.), 36 times; (4) used absolutely without any person or object specified, 30 times (the one remaining passage is 2:24, where Jesus refused to “trust” himself to certain individuals). Of these, the most significant is the use of πιστεύω with εἰς + accusative. It is not unlike the Pauline ἐν Χριστῷ (en Cristw) formula. Some have argued that this points to a Hebrew (more likely Aramaic) original behind the Fourth Gospel. But it probably indicates something else, as C. H. Dodd observed: “πιστεύειν with the dative so inevitably connoted simple credence, in the sense of an intellectual judgment, that the moral element of personal trust or reliance inherent in the Hebrew or Aramaic phrase – an element integral to the primitive Christian conception of faith in Christ – needed to be otherwise expressed” (The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, 183).
2 tn Grk “and he said to him.”
3 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
4 sn The title Son of Man appears 13 times in John’s Gospel. It is associated especially with the themes of crucifixion (3:14; 8:28), revelation (6:27; 6:53), and eschatological authority (5:27; 9:35). The title as used in John’s Gospel has for its background the son of man figure who appears in Dan 7:13-14 and is granted universal regal authority. Thus for the author, the emphasis in this title is not on Jesus’ humanity, but on his heavenly origin and divine authority.
5 tn Grk “an hour.”
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.
8 tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”
9 tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.
10 tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
11 tn Grk “because they know.”
12 tn Or “is superior to all.”
13 tn Or “no one can seize.”
14 tn Grk “Because he knew”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “had given all things into his hands.”
16 tn Or “because of.”
17 tn Jesus is referring to God as “the one who sent me.”
18 tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”
19 tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”