Discovery BoxJohn 10:23-26 
Context10:23 It was winter, 1 and Jesus was walking in the temple area 2 in Solomon’s Portico. 3 10:24 The Jewish leaders 4 surrounded him and asked, 5 “How long will you keep us in suspense? 6 If you are the Christ, 7 tell us plainly.” 8 10:25 Jesus replied, 9 “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds 10 I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep.
1 sn It was winter. The feast began on 25 Kislev, in November-December of the modern Gregorian calendar.
2 tn Grk “in the temple.”
3 tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”
sn Solomon’s Portico was a covered walkway formed by rows of columns supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the center of the temple complex.
4 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders. The question they ask Jesus (“Are you the Christ?”) is the same one they sent and asked of John the Baptist in the desert (see John 1:19-34). See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish people” in v. 19.
5 tn Grk “said to him.” This has been translated as “asked” for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Grk “How long will you take away our life?” (an idiom which meant to keep one from coming to a conclusion about something). The use of the phrase τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις (thn yuchn Jhmwn airei") meaning “to keep in suspense” is not well attested, although it certainly fits the context here. In modern Greek the phrase means “to annoy, bother.”
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 Or “publicly.”
9 tn Grk “answered them.”
10 tn Or “the works.”
