John 2:23

Jesus at the Passover Feast

2:23 Now while Jesus ¹  was in Jerusalem ²  at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. ³ 

John 4:39

The Samaritans Respond

4:39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, ⁴  “He told me everything I ever did.”

John 6:9

6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good ⁵  are these for so many people?”

John 7:31

7:31 Yet many of the crowd ⁶  believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ ⁷  comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?” ⁸ 

John 10:20

10:20 Many of them were saying, “He is possessed by a demon and has lost his mind! ⁹  Why do you listen to him?”

John 10:32

10:32 Jesus said to them, ¹⁰  “I have shown you many good deeds ¹¹  from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?”

John 10:41

10:41 Many ¹²  came to him and began to say, “John ¹³  performed ¹⁴  no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man ¹⁵  was true!”

John 11:19

11:19 so many of the Jewish people of the region ¹⁶  had come to Martha and Mary to console them ¹⁷  over the loss of their brother.) ¹⁸ 

John 11:47

11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees ¹⁹  called the council ²⁰  together and said, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs.

John 11:55

11:55 Now the Jewish feast of Passover ²¹  was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem ²²  from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually. ²³ 

John 18:2

18:2 (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, knew the place too, because Jesus had met there many times ²⁴  with his disciples.) ²⁵ 

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¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

³ sn Because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. The issue here is not whether their faith was genuine or not, but what its object was. These individuals, after seeing the miracles, believed Jesus to be the Messiah. They most likely saw in him a political-eschatological figure of some sort. That does not, however, mean that their concept of “Messiah” was the same as Jesus’ own, or the author’s.

⁴ tn Grk “when she testified.”

⁵ tn Grk “but what are these”; the word “good” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

⁶ tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).

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

sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

⁸ 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?”).

⁹ tn Or “is insane.” To translate simply “he is mad” (so KJV, ASV, RSV; “raving mad” NIV) could give the impression that Jesus was angry, while the actual charge was madness or insanity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “Jesus answered them.”

¹¹ tn Or “good works.”

¹² tn Grk “And many.” 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.

¹³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

¹⁴ tn Grk “did.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

¹⁶ tn Or “many of the Judeans” (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e); Grk “many of the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in general (those who had been friends or relatives of Lazarus or his sisters would mainly be in view) since the Jewish religious authorities (“the chief priests and the Pharisees”) are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8.

¹⁷ tn Or “to comfort them” or “to offer them sympathy.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “to comfort them concerning their brother”; the words “loss of” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

¹⁹ tn The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.

²⁰ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). The συνέδριον (sunedrion) which they gathered was probably an informal meeting rather than the official Sanhedrin. This is the only occurrence of the word συνέδριον in the Gospel of John, and the only anarthrous singular use in the NT. There are other plural anarthrous uses which have the general meaning “councils.” The fact that Caiaphas in 11:49 is referred to as “one of them” supports the unofficial nature of the meeting; in the official Sanhedrin he, being high priest that year, would have presided over the assembly. Thus it appears that an informal council was called to discuss what to do about Jesus and his activities.

²¹ tn Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is the final Passover of Jesus’ ministry. The author is now on the eve of the week of the Passion. Some time prior to the feast itself, Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims from the surrounding districts (ἐκ τῆς χώρας, ek th" cwra") who had come to purify themselves ceremonially before the feast.

²² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²³ tn Or “to purify themselves” (to undergo or carry out ceremonial cleansing before participating in the Passover celebration).

²⁴ tn Or “often.”

²⁵ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.