John 10:14

10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I ¹  know my own ²  and my own know me –

John 17:25

17:25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men ³  know that you sent me.

John 8:55

8:55 Yet ⁴  you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, ⁵  I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey ⁶  his teaching. ⁷ 

John 14:4

14:4 And you know the way where I am going.” ⁸ 

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¹ tn Grk “And I.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

² tn The direct object is frequently omitted in Greek and must be supplied from the context. Here it could be “sheep,” but Jesus was ultimately talking about “people.”

³ tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more general term like “people” because the use of the aorist verb ἔγνωσαν (egnwsan) implies that Jesus is referring to the disciples present with him as he spoke these words (presumably all of them men in the historical context), rather than to those who are yet to believe because of their testimony (see John 17:20).

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

⁵ tn Grk “If I say, ‘I do not know him.’”

⁶ tn Grk “I keep.”

⁷ tn Grk “his word.”

⁸ tc Most mss (Ì^66* A C³ D Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy sa) read “You know where I am going, and you know the way” (καὶ ὅπου [ἐγὼ] ὑπάγω οἴδατε καὶ τὴν ὁδόν οἴδατε, kai {opou egw Jupagw oidate kai thn Jodon oidate). The difference between this reading and the wording in NA²⁷ (supported by Ì^66c א B C* L Q W 33 579 pc) is the addition of καί before τὴν ὁδόν and οἴδατε after. Either assertion on the part of Jesus would be understandable: “you know the way where I am going” or “you know where I am going and you know the way,” although the shorter reading is a bit more awkward syntactically. In light of this, and in light of the expansion already at hand in v. 5, the longer reading appears to be a motivated reading. The shorter reading is thus preferred because of its superior external and internal evidence.

sn Where I am going. Jesus had spoken of his destination previously to the disciples, most recently in John 13:33. Where he was going was back to the Father, and they could not follow him there, but later he would return for them and they could join him then. The way he was going was via the cross. This he had also mentioned previously (e.g., 12:32) although his disciples did not understand at the time (cf. 12:33). As Jesus would explain in v. 6, although for him the way back to the Father was via the cross, for his disciples the “way” to where he was going was Jesus himself.