Discovery BoxJohn 7:35 
Context7:35 Then the Jewish leaders 1 said to one another, “Where is he 2 going to go that we cannot find him? 3 He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed 4 among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? 5
John 9:22
Context9:22 (His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. 6 For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus 7 to be the Christ 8 would be put out 9 of the synagogue. 10
John 2:6
Context2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, 11 each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 12
John 2:18
Context2:18 So then the Jewish leaders 13 responded, 14 “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 15
John 3:1
Context3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee 16 named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, 17
John 5:15
Context5:15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders 18 that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
John 7:1
Context7:1 After this 19 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. 20 He 21 stayed out of Judea 22 because the Jewish leaders 23 wanted 24 to kill him.
John 11:52
Context11:52 and not for the Jewish nation 25 only, 26 but to gather together 27 into one the children of God who are scattered.) 28
John 12:11
Context12:11 for on account of him many of the Jewish people from Jerusalem 29 were going away and believing in Jesus.
John 19:42
Context19:42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation 30 and the tomb was nearby, 31 they placed Jesus’ body there.
1 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase is understood to refer to the Jewish authorities or leaders, since the Jewish leaders are mentioned in this context both before and after the present verse (7:32, 45).
2 tn Grk “this one.”
3 tn Grk “will not find him.”
4 sn The Jewish people dispersed (Grk “He is not going to the Diaspora”). The Greek term diaspora (“dispersion”) originally meant those Jews not living in Palestine, but dispersed or scattered among the Gentiles.
5 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “is he?”).
sn Note the Jewish opponents’ misunderstanding of Jesus’ words, as made clear in vv. 35-36. They didn’t realize he spoke of his departure out of the world. This is another example of the author’s use of misunderstanding as a literary device to emphasize a point.
6 tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” Twice in this verse the phrase refers to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. The second occurrence is shortened to “the Jewish leaders” for stylistic reasons. See the note on the phrase “the Jewish religious leaders” in v. 18.
7 tn Grk “confessed him.”
8 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.
9 tn Or “would be expelled from.”
10 sn This reference to excommunication from the Jewish synagogue for those who had made some sort of confession about Jesus being the Messiah is dismissed as anachronistic by some (e.g., Barrett) and nonhistorical by others. In later Jewish practice there were at least two forms of excommunication: a temporary ban for thirty days, and a permanent ban. But whether these applied in NT times is far from certain. There is no substantial evidence for a formal ban on Christians until later than this Gospel could possibly have been written. This may be a reference to some form of excommunication adopted as a contingency to deal with those who were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. If so, there is no other record of the procedure than here. It was probably local, limited to the area around Jerusalem. See also the note on synagogue in 6:59.
11 tn Grk “for the purification of the Jews.”
12 tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrhtai). A μετρητῆς (metrhths) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).
sn Significantly, these jars held water for Jewish ceremonial washing (purification rituals). The water of Jewish ritual purification has become the wine of the new messianic age. The wine may also be, after the fashion of Johannine double meanings, a reference to the wine of the Lord’s Supper. A number have suggested this, but there does not seem to be anything in the immediate context which compels this; it seems more related to how frequently a given interpreter sees references to the sacraments in John’s Gospel as a whole.
13 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)
14 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
15 sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).
16 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
17 tn Grk “a ruler of the Jews” (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).
18 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” See the note on the phrase “Jewish leaders” in v. 10.
19 sn Again, the transition is indicated by the imprecise temporal indicator After this. Clearly, though, the author has left out much of the events of Jesus’ ministry, because chap. 6 took place near the Passover (6:4). This would have been the Passover between winter/spring of
20 tn Grk “Jesus was traveling around in Galilee.”
21 tn Grk “For he.” Here γάρ (gar, “for”) has not been translated.
22 tn Grk “he did not want to travel around in Judea.”
23 tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase should be restricted to the Jewish authorities or leaders who were Jesus’ primary opponents.
24 tn Grk “were seeking.”
25 tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.
26 sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.
27 tn Grk “that he might gather together.”
28 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
29 tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem who had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus and as a result were embracing Jesus as Messiah. See also the note on the phrase “Judeans” in v. 9.
map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
30 sn The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath when everything had to be prepared for it, as no work could be done on the Sabbath.
31 sn The tomb was nearby. The Passover and the Sabbath would begin at 6 p.m., so those who had come to prepare and bury the body could not afford to waste time.
