Discovery BoxJohn 7:28 
Context7:28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts, 1 cried out, 2 “You both know me and know where I come from! 3 And I have not come on my own initiative, 4 but the one who sent me 5 is true. You do not know him, 6
John 9:16
Context9:16 Then some of the Pharisees began to say, 7 “This man is not from God, because he does not observe 8 the Sabbath.” 9 But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform 10 such miraculous signs?” Thus there was a division 11 among them.
John 14:10
Context14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? 12 The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, 13 but the Father residing in me performs 14 his miraculous deeds. 15
John 18:28
Context18:28 Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor’s residence. 16 (Now it was very early morning.) 17 They 18 did not go into the governor’s residence 19 so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.
John 18:36
Context18:36 Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being 20 handed over 21 to the Jewish authorities. 22 But as it is, 23 my kingdom is not from here.”
1 tn Grk “the temple.”
2 tn Grk “Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying.”
3 sn You both know me and know where I come from! Jesus’ response while teaching in the temple is difficult – it appears to concede too much understanding to his opponents. It is best to take the words as irony: “So you know me and know where I am from, do you?” On the physical, literal level, they did know where he was from: Nazareth of Galilee (at least they thought they knew). But on another deeper (spiritual) level, they did not: He came from heaven, from the Father. Jesus insisted that he has not come on his own initiative (cf. 5:37), but at the bidding of the Father who sent him.
4 tn Grk “And I have not come from myself.”
5 tn The phrase “the one who sent me” refers to God.
6 tn Grk “the one who sent me is true, whom you do not know.”
7 tn As a response to the answers of the man who used to be blind, the use of the imperfect tense in the reply of the Pharisees is best translated as an ingressive imperfect (“began to say” or “started saying”).
8 tn Grk “he does not keep.”
9 sn The Jewish religious leaders considered the work involved in making the mud to be a violation of the Sabbath.
10 tn Grk “do.”
11 tn Or “So there was discord.”
12 tn The mutual interrelationship of the Father and the Son (ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν, egw en tw patri kai Jo pathr en emoi estin) is something that Jesus expected even his opponents to recognize (cf. John 10:38). The question Jesus asks of Philip (οὐ πιστεύεις, ou pisteuei") expects the answer “yes.” Note that the following statement is addressed to all the disciples, however, because the plural pronoun (ὑμῖν, Jumin) is used. Jesus says that his teaching (the words he spoke to them all) did not originate from himself, but the Father, who permanently remains (μένων, menwn) in relationship with Jesus, performs his works. One would have expected “speaks his words” here rather than “performs his works”; many of the church fathers (e.g., Augustine and Chrysostom) identified the two by saying that Jesus’ words were works. But there is an implicit contrast in the next verse between words and works, and v. 12 seems to demand that the works are real works, not just words. It is probably best to see the two terms as related but not identical; there is a progression in the idea here. Both Jesus’ words (recall the Samaritans’ response in John 4:42) and Jesus’ works are revelatory of who he is, but as the next verse indicates, works have greater confirmatory power than words.
13 tn Grk “I do not speak from myself.”
14 tn Or “does.”
15 tn Or “his mighty acts”; Grk “his works.”
sn Miraculous deeds is most likely a reference to the miraculous signs Jesus had performed, which he viewed as a manifestation of the mighty acts of God. Those he performed in the presence of the disciples served as a basis for faith (although a secondary basis to their personal relationship to him; see the following verse).
16 tn Grk “to the praetorium.”
sn The permanent residence of the Roman governor of Palestine was in Caesarea (Acts 23:35). The governor had a residence in Jerusalem which he normally occupied only during principal feasts or in times of political unrest. The location of this building in Jerusalem is uncertain, but is probably one of two locations: either (1) the fortress or tower of Antonia, on the east hill north of the temple area, which is the traditional location of the Roman praetorium since the 12th century, or (2) the palace of Herod on the west hill near the present Jaffa Gate. According to Philo (Embassy 38 [299]) Pilate had some golden shields hung there, and according to Josephus (J. W. 2.14.8 [2.301], 2.15.5 [2.328]) the later Roman governor Florus stayed there.
17 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
18 tn Grk “And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
19 tn Grk “into the praetorium.”
20 tn Grk “so that I may not be.”
21 tn Or “delivered over.”
22 tn Or “the Jewish leaders”; Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, especially members of the Sanhedrin. See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 12. In the translation “authorities” was preferred over “leaders” for stylistic reasons.
23 tn Grk “now.”
