Discovery BoxJohn 1:14 
Context1:14 Now 1 the Word became flesh 2 and took up residence 3 among us. We 4 saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, 5 full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.
John 1:38-39
Context1:38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” 6 So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), 7 “where are you staying?” 1:39 Jesus 8 answered, 9 “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 10
John 5:6
Context5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized 11 that the man 12 had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?”
John 6:5
Context6:5 Then Jesus, when he looked up 13 and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?”
John 6:14
Context6:14 Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus 14 performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet 15 who is to come into the world.” 16
John 6:26
Context6:26 Jesus replied, 17 “I tell you the solemn truth, 18 you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate all the loaves of bread you wanted. 19
John 11:31-32
Context11:31 Then the people 20 who were with Mary 21 in the house consoling her saw her 22 get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep 23 there.
11:32 Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
John 19:6
Context19:6 When the chief priests and their officers saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify 24 him! Crucify him!” 25 Pilate said, 26 “You take him and crucify him! 27 Certainly 28 I find no reason for an accusation 29 against him!”
John 20:1
Context20:1 Now very early on the first day of the week, 30 while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene 31 came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. 32
John 21:20
Context21:20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. 33 (This was the disciple 34 who had leaned back against Jesus’ 35 chest at the meal and asked, 36 “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”) 37
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.
2 tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.
3 tn Grk “and tabernacled.”
sn The Greek word translated took up residence (σκηνόω, skhnow) alludes to the OT tabernacle, where the Shekinah, the visible glory of God’s presence, resided. The author is suggesting that this glory can now be seen in Jesus (note the following verse). The verb used here may imply that the Shekinah glory that once was found in the tabernacle has taken up residence in the person of Jesus. Cf. also John 2:19-21. The Word became flesh. This verse constitutes the most concise statement of the incarnation in the New Testament. John 1:1 makes it clear that the Logos was fully God, but 1:14 makes it clear that he was also fully human. A Docetic interpretation is completely ruled out. Here for the first time the Logos of 1:1 is identified as Jesus of Nazareth – the two are one and the same. Thus this is the last time the word logos is used in the Fourth Gospel to refer to the second person of the Trinity. From here on it is Jesus of Nazareth who is the focus of John’s Gospel.
4 tn Grk “and we saw.”
5 tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).
6 tn Grk “What are you seeking?”
7 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
8 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “said to them.”
10 tn Grk “about the tenth hour.”
sn About four o’clock in the afternoon. What system of time reckoning is the author using? B. F. Westcott thought John, unlike the synoptic gospels, was using Roman time, which started at midnight (St. John, 282). This would make the time 10 a.m., which would fit here. But later in the Gospel’s Passover account (John 19:42, where the sixth hour is on the “eve of the Passover”) it seems clear the author had to be using Jewish reckoning, which began at 6 a.m. This would make the time here in 1:39 to be 4 p.m. This may be significant: If the hour was late, Andrew and the unnamed disciple probably spent the night in the same house where Jesus was staying, and the events of 1:41-42 took place on the next day. The evidence for Westcott’s view, that the Gospel is using Roman time, is very slim. The Roman reckoning which started at midnight was only used by authorities as legal time (for contracts, official documents, etc.). Otherwise, the Romans too reckoned time from 6 a.m. (e.g., Roman sundials are marked VI, not XII, for noon).
11 tn Or “knew.”
12 tn Grk “he.” The referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “when he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).
14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 sn The Prophet is a reference to the “prophet like Moses” of Deut 18:15, by this time an eschatological figure in popular belief.
16 sn An allusion to Deut 18:15.
17 tn Grk “answered and said to them.”
18 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
19 tn Grk “because you ate of the loaves of bread and were filled.”
20 tn Or “the Judeans”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the friends, acquaintances, and relatives of Lazarus or his sisters who had come to mourn, since the Jewish religious authorities are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the notes on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8 and “the Jewish people of the region” in v. 19.
21 tn Grk “her”; the referent (Mary) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Grk “Mary”; the proper name (Mary) has been replaced with the pronoun (her) in keeping with conventional English style, to avoid repetition.
23 tn Or “to mourn” (referring to the loud wailing or crying typical of public mourning in that culture).
24 sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero (106-43
25 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from context.
26 tn Grk “said to them.” The words “to them” are not translated because they are unnecessary in contemporary English style.
27 sn How are Pilate’s words “You take him and crucify him” to be understood? Was he offering a serious alternative to the priests who wanted Jesus crucified? Was he offering them an exception to the statement in 18:31 that the Jewish authorities did not have the power to carry out a death penalty? Although a few scholars have suggested that the situation was at this point so far out of Pilate’s control that he really was telling the high priests they could go ahead and crucify a man he had found to be innocent, this seems unlikely. It is far more likely that Pilate’s statement should be understood as one of frustration and perhaps sarcasm. This seems to be supported by the context, for the Jewish authorities make no attempt at this point to seize Jesus and crucify him. Rather they continue to pester Pilate to order the crucifixion.
28 tn On this use of γάρ (gar) used in exclamations and strong affirmations, see BDAG 190 s.v. γάρ 3.
29 tn Or “find no basis for an accusation”; Grk “find no cause.”
30 sn The first day of the week would be early Sunday morning. The Sabbath (and in this year the Passover) would have lasted from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. Sunday would thus mark the first day of the following week.
31 sn John does not mention that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by any of the other women who had been among Jesus’ followers. The synoptic accounts all mention other women who accompanied her (although Mary Magdalene is always mentioned first). Why John does not mention the other women is not clear, but Mary probably becomes the focus of the author’s attention because it was she who came and found Peter and the beloved disciple and informed them of the empty tomb (20:2). Mary’s use of the plural in v. 2 indicates there were others present, in indirect agreement with the synoptic accounts.
32 tn Grk “from the tomb.”
33 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.
34 tn The words “This was the disciple” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied for clarity.
35 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 tn Grk “and said.”
37 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
