9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, 1 “This man is not from God, because he does not observe 2 the Sabbath.” 3 But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform 4 such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division 5 among them.
16:17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is the meaning of what he is saying, 6 ‘In a little while you 7 will not see me; again after a little while, you 8 will see me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 9
20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together 16 and locked the doors 17 of the place 18 because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. 19 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
21:7 Then the disciple whom 20 Jesus loved 21 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), 22 and plunged 23 into the sea.
1 tn As a response to the answers of the man who used to be blind, the use of the imperfect tense in the reply of the Pharisees is best translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to say” or “started saying”).
2 tn Grk “he does not keep.”
3 sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.
4 tn Grk “do.”
5 tn Or “So there was discord.”
6 tn Grk “What is this that he is saying to us.”
7 tn Grk “A little while, and you.”
8 tn Grk “and again a little while, and you.”
9 sn These fragmentary quotations of Jesus’ statements are from 16:16 and 16:10, and indicate that the disciples heard only part of what Jesus had to say to them on this occasion.
10 tn Grk “said to him.”
11 tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”
12 tn Grk “but choose by lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throw dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.
13 tn Grk “to see whose it will be.”
14 tn The words “This took place” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
15 tn Grk “cast lots.” See the note on “throw dice” earlier in the verse.
sn A quotation from Ps 22:18.
16 tn Although the words “had gathered together” are omitted in some of the earliest and best
17 tn Grk “the doors were shut”; “locked” conveys a more appropriate idea for the modern English reader.
sn The fact that the disciples locked the doors is a perfectly understandable reaction to the events of the past few days. But what is the significance of the inclusion of this statement by the author? It is often taken to mean that Jesus, when he entered the room, passed through the closed doors. This may well be the case, but it may be assuming too much about our knowledge of the mode in which the resurrected body of Jesus exists. The text does not explicitly state how Jesus got through the closed doors. It is possible to assume that the doors opened of their own accord before him, or that he simply appeared in the middle of the room without passing through the doors at all. The point the author makes here is simply that the closed doors were no obstacle at all to the resurrected Jesus.
18 tn Grk “where they were.”
19 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.
20 tn Grk “the disciple, that one whom.”
21 sn On the disciple whom Jesus loved see 13:23-26.
22 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.
23 tn Grk “threw himself.”