12:40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart, 7
so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their heart, 8
and turn to me, 9 and I would heal them.” 10
13:12 So when Jesus 11 had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table 12 again and said to them, “Do you understand 13 what I have done for you?
1 tn Or “works.”
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.
2 tn Or “so that you may learn.”
3 tn Or “did not understand these things at first”; Grk “formerly.”
4 sn When Jesus was glorified, that is, glorified through his resurrection, exaltation, and return to the Father. Jesus’ glorification is consistently portrayed this way in the Gospel of John.
5 tn Grk “and that they had done these things,” though the referent is probably indefinite and not referring to the disciples; as such, the best rendering is as a passive (see ExSyn 402-3; R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:458).
6 sn The comment His disciples did not understand these things when they first happened (a parenthetical note by the author) informs the reader that Jesus’ disciples did not at first associate the prophecy from Zechariah with the events as they happened. This came with the later (postresurrection) insight which the Holy Spirit would provide after Jesus’ resurrection and return to the Father. Note the similarity with John 2:22, which follows another allusion to a prophecy in Zechariah (14:21).
7 tn Or “closed their mind.”
8 tn Or “their mind.”
9 tn One could also translate στραφῶσιν (strafwsin) as “repent” or “change their ways,” but both of these terms would be subject to misinterpretation by the modern English reader. The idea is one of turning back to God, however. The words “to me” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
10 sn A quotation from Isa 6:10.
11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Grk “he reclined at the table.” The phrase reflects the normal 1st century Near Eastern practice of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position.
13 tn Grk “Do you know.”
14 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.
15 tn Or “does not know.”
16 tn Grk “all things.”
17 tn Or “learned.”
18 tn Grk And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
19 tn Or “received.”
20 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
21 tn Or “truly.”
22 tn Or have come to know.”