16:19 Jesus could see 1 that they wanted to ask him about these things, 2 so 3 he said to them, “Are you asking 4 each other about this – that I said, ‘In a little while you 5 will not see me; again after a little while, you 6 will see me’?
18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. 12 (Now it was very early morning.) 13 They 14 did not go into the governor’s residence 15 so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.
19:31 Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath 18 (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), 19 the Jewish leaders 20 asked Pilate to have the victims’ legs 21 broken 22 and the bodies taken down. 23
21:7 Then the disciple whom 24 Jesus loved 25 said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, tucked in his outer garment (for he had nothing on underneath it), 26 and plunged 27 into the sea.
1 tn Grk “knew.”
sn Jesus could see. Supernatural knowledge of what the disciples were thinking is not necessarily in view here. Given the disciples’ confused statements in the preceding verses, it was probably obvious to Jesus that they wanted to ask what he meant.
2 tn The words “about these things” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
3 tn Καί (kai) has been translated as “so” here to indicate the following statement is a result of Jesus’ observation in v. 19a.
4 tn Grk “inquiring” or “seeking.”
5 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
6 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
7 tn Grk And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
8 tn The context indicates that this should be translated as an adversative or contrastive conjunction.
9 tn Or “protect them”; Grk “keep them.”
10 tn Or “by your name.”
11 tn The second repetition of “one” is implied, and is supplied here for clarity.
12 tn Grk “to the praetorium.”
sn The permanent residence of the Roman governor of Palestine was in Caesarea (Acts 23:35). The governor had a residence in Jerusalem which he normally occupied only during principal feasts or in times of political unrest. The location of this building in Jerusalem is uncertain, but is probably one of two locations: either (1) the fortress or tower of Antonia, on the east hill north of the temple area, which is the traditional location of the Roman praetorium since the 12th century, or (2) the palace of Herod on the west hill near the present Jaffa Gate. According to Philo (Embassy 38 [299]) Pilate had some golden shields hung there, and according to Josephus (J. W. 2.14.8 [2.301], 2.15.5 [2.328]) the later Roman governor Florus stayed there.
13 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
14 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.
15 tn Grk “into the praetorium.”
16 tn Grk “said to him.”
17 tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”
18 sn The Jewish authorities, because this was the day of preparation for the Sabbath and the Passover (cf. 19:14), requested Pilate to order the legs of the three who had been crucified to be broken. This would hasten their deaths, so that the bodies could be removed before the beginning of the Sabbath at 6 p.m. This was based on the law of Deut 21:22-23 and Josh 8:29 that specified the bodies of executed criminals who had been hanged on a tree should not remain there overnight. According to Josephus this law was interpreted in the 1st century to cover the bodies of those who had been crucified (J. W. 4.5.2 [4.317]). Philo of Alexandria also mentions that on occasion, especially at festivals, the bodies were taken down and given to relatives to bury (Flaccus 10 [83]). The normal Roman practice would have been to leave the bodies on the crosses, to serve as a warning to other would-be offenders.
19 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
20 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 7.
21 tn Grk “asked Pilate that the legs of them might be broken.” The referent of “them” (the three individuals who were crucified, collectively referred to as “the victims”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 sn To have the legs…broken. Breaking the legs of a crucified person was a way of speeding up his death, since the victim could no longer use his legs to push upward in order to be able to draw a breath. This breaking of the legs was called in Latin crurifragium, and was done with a heavy mallet.
23 tn Grk “asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and they might be taken down.” Here because of the numerous ambiguous third person references it is necessary to clarify that it was the crucified men whose legs were to be broken and whose corpses were to be removed from the crosses.
24 tn Grk “the disciple, that one whom.”
25 sn On the disciple whom Jesus loved see 13:23-26.
26 tn Grk “for he was naked.” Peter’s behavior here has been puzzling to many interpreters. It is usually understood that the Greek word γυμνός (gumnos, usually translated “naked”) does not refer to complete nudity (as it could), since this would have been offensive to Jewish sensibilities in this historical context. It is thus commonly understood to mean “stripped for work” here (cf. NASB, NLT), that is, with one’s outer clothing removed, and Peter was wearing either a loincloth or a loose-fitting tunic (a long shirt-like garment worn under a cloak, cf. NAB, “for he was lightly clad”). Believing himself inadequately dressed to greet the Lord, Peter threw his outer garment around himself and dived into the sea. C. K. Barrett (St. John, 580-81) offered the explanation that a greeting was a religious act and thus could not be performed unless one was clothed. This still leaves the improbable picture of a person with much experience around the water putting on his outer garment before diving in. R. E. Brown’s suggestion (John [AB], 2:1072) seems much more probable here: The Greek verb used (διαζώννυμι, diazwnnumi) does not necessarily mean putting clothing on, but rather tying the clothing around oneself (the same verb is used in 13:4-5 of Jesus tying the towel around himself). The statement that Peter was “naked” could just as well mean that he was naked underneath the outer garment, and thus could not take it off before jumping into the water. But he did pause to tuck it up and tie it with the girdle before jumping in, to allow himself more freedom of movement. Thus the clause that states Peter was naked is explanatory (note the use of for), explaining why Peter girded up his outer garment rather than taking it off – he had nothing on underneath it and so could not remove it.
sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
27 tn Grk “threw himself.”
28 tn Grk “went out.”
29 tn Grk “the brothers,” but here the term refers to more than just the immediate disciples of Jesus (as it does in 20:17). Here, as R. E. Brown notes (John [AB], 2:1110), it refers to Christians of the Johannine community (which would include both men and women).
30 tn Grk “to stay” or “to remain”; but since longevity is the issue in the context, “to live” conveys the idea more clearly.
31 tn The word “back” is supplied to clarify the meaning.