Discovery BoxJohn 1:50-51 
Context1:50 Jesus said to him, 1 “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 2 1:51 He continued, 3 “I tell all of you the solemn truth 4 – you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” 5
1 tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This has been simplified in the translation to “said to him.”
2 sn What are the greater things Jesus had in mind? In the narrative this forms an excellent foreshadowing of the miraculous signs which began at Cana of Galilee.
3 tn Grk “and he said to him.”
4 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
5 sn The title Son of Man appears 13 times in John’s Gospel. It is associated especially with the themes of crucifixion (3:14; 8:28), revelation (6:27; 6:53), and eschatological authority (5:27; 9:35). The title as used in John’s Gospel has for its background the son of man figure who appears in Dan 7:13-14 and is granted universal regal authority. Thus for the author, the emphasis in this title is not on Jesus’ humanity, but on his heavenly origin and divine authority.
