John 6:50

6:50 This ¹  is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person ²  may eat from it and not die.

John 11:50

11:50 You do not realize ³  that it is more to your advantage to have one man ⁴  die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” ⁵ 

John 18:14

18:14 (Now it was Caiaphas who had advised ⁶  the Jewish leaders ⁷  that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.) ⁸ 

John 18:32

18:32 (This happened ⁹  to fulfill the word Jesus had spoken when he indicated ¹⁰  what kind of death he was going to die. ¹¹ )

John 19:7

19:7 The Jewish leaders ¹²  replied, ¹³  “We have a law, ¹⁴  and according to our law he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God!” ¹⁵ 

---

¹ tn Or “Here.”

² tn Grk “someone” (τις, tis).

³ tn Or “you are not considering.”

⁴ tn Although it is possible to argue that ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") should be translated “person” here since it is not necessarily masculinity that is in view in Caiaphas’ statement, “man” was retained in the translation because in 11:47 “this man” (οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, outo" Jo anqrwpo") has as its referent a specific individual, Jesus, and it was felt this connection should be maintained.

⁵ sn In his own mind Caiaphas was no doubt giving voice to a common-sense statement of political expediency. Yet he was unconsciously echoing a saying of Jesus himself (cf. Mark 10:45). Caiaphas was right; the death of Jesus would save the nation from destruction. Yet Caiaphas could not suspect that Jesus would die, not in place of the political nation Israel, but on behalf of the true people of God; and he would save them, not from physical destruction, but from eternal destruction (cf. 3:16-17). The understanding of Caiaphas’ words in a sense that Caiaphas could not possibly have imagined at the time he uttered them serves as a clear example of the way in which the author understood that words and actions could be invested retrospectively with a meaning not consciously intended or understood by those present at the time.

⁶ tn Or “counseled.”

⁷ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, specifically members of the Sanhedrin (see John 11:49-50). See also the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12.

⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

⁹ tn The words “This happened” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

¹⁰ tn Or “making clear.”

¹¹ sn A reference to John 12:32.

¹² tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin, and their servants (mentioned specifically as “the chief priests and their servants” in John 19:6).

¹³ tn Grk “answered him.”

¹⁴ sn This law is not the entire Pentateuch, but Lev 24:16.

¹⁵ tn Grk “because he made himself out to be the Son of God.”