Discovery BoxJohn 3:2 
Context3:2 came to Jesus 1 at night 2 and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs 3 that you do unless God is with him.”
John 5:18
Context5:18 For this reason the Jewish leaders 4 were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.
John 8:42
Context8:42 Jesus replied, 5 “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. 6 I 7 have not come on my own initiative, 8 but he 9 sent me.
John 11:4
Context11:4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, 10 but to God’s glory, 11 so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 12
John 20:17
Context20:17 Jesus replied, 13 “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
1 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “during the night.”
sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.
3 sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.
4 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
5 tn Grk “Jesus said to them.”
6 tn Or “I came from God and have arrived.”
7 tn Grk “For I.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
8 tn Grk “from myself.”
9 tn Grk “that one” (referring to God).
10 tn Grk “This sickness is not to death.”
sn Jesus plainly stated the purpose of Lazarus’ sickness in the plan of God: The end of the matter would not be death, but the glorification of the Son. Johannine double-meanings abound here: Even though death would not be the end of the matter, Lazarus is going to die; and ultimately his death and resurrection would lead to the death and resurrection of the Son of God (11:45-53). Furthermore, the glorification of the Son is not praise that comes to him for the miracle, but his death, resurrection, and return to the Father which the miracle precipitates (note the response of the Jewish authorities in 11:47-53).
11 tn Or “to God’s praise.”
12 sn So that the Son of God may be glorified through it. These statements are highly ironic: For Lazarus, the sickness did not end in his death, because he was restored to life. But for Jesus himself, the miraculous sign he performed led to his own death, because it confirmed the authorities in their plan to kill Jesus (11:47-53). In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ death is consistently portrayed as his ‘glorification’ through which he accomplishes his return to the Father.
13 tn Grk “Jesus said to her.”
