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 9:27
Context9:27 He answered, 4 “I told you already and you didn’t listen. 5 Why do you want to hear it 6 again? You people 7 don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”
John 16:32
Context16:32 Look, a time 8 is coming – and has come – when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, 9 and I will be left alone. 10 Yet 11 I am not alone, because my Father 12 is with me.
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 Grk “He answered them.” The indirect object αὐτοῖς (autois) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Grk “you did not hear.”
6 tn “It” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when they were clearly implied in the context.
7 tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify the plural Greek pronoun and verb.
8 tn Grk “an hour.”
9 tn Grk “each one to his own”; the word “home” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The phrase “each one to his own” may be completed in a number of different ways: “each one to his own property”; “each one to his own family”; or “each one to his own home.” The last option seems to fit most easily into the context and so is used in the translation.
10 sn The proof of Jesus’ negative evaluation of the disciples’ faith is now given: Jesus foretells their abandonment of him at his arrest, trials, and crucifixion (I will be left alone). This parallels the synoptic accounts in Matt 26:31 and Mark 14:27 when Jesus, after the last supper and on the way to Gethsemane, foretold the desertion of the disciples as a fulfillment of Zech 13:7: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Yet although the disciples would abandon Jesus, he reaffirmed that he was not alone, because the Father was still with him.
11 tn Grk “And” (but with some contrastive force).
12 tn Grk “the Father.”
