A cyclical pattern to notice throughout John is: statement:sign:witness
"The Sign in John XXI" S.S. Smalley, NTS, 20,3 April 1974, p.278
“was with God” Gr. en pros ton theon The preposition pros indicates in the presence of, as “face to face with God” [ATR, 623]. Similar expression also in 1 John 1:2: “which was with the Father”.
“with God” Gr. pros ton theon First of 21 occurrences. Things directed “towards” God include praises, prayer, peace, confidence and faith. Also, turning to God from idols.
Compare Exodus 4:16 where Moses was “with” (Gr. pros in LXX) Aaron as God.
“the word was God” The word “God” lacks the article, placing emphasis on “the word” as the subject of the clause. The two words are not interchangeable, but indicates “the word” has all the qualities of God [ATR, 767].
"the same" Repeating verse 1 establishes the truth declared there.
"all things were made by him”=God. So declared in Genesis 1:1.
"Light"=God "him"=John
"true light"=God.
"his own"=Israel. He came to his own by the revealed Word spoken and
written, and later in Jesus Christ.
John 1:13 "which were"=who was, in Latin texts. Greek texts have the plural. Refers to the "name" of verse 12, Jesus Christ. "born"=conceived "not of blood" - ref. to Heb 2:14. Jesus Christ's existence began when He was conceived by God's creating the soul-life of Jesus in Mary.
"will" Gr. thelema to desire or anticipate but not to determine. Man might desire or
anticipate the Christ, but man could not will, determine, Jesus Christ's
birth.
John 1:14 "was made flesh"=the conception. "dwelt among us"=the birth.
"grace and truth" Only here and 1:17. See Col 1:6 “grace of God in truth”.
John 1:18 "birth" Gr. genesis. From Gr. "origin, creation, generation," from gignesthai "to be born," related to genos "race, birth, descent".
"declared"=made known. Gr. exegeomai
"in the bosom" East. love, comfort and rest. Cp. 2Sa 12:3; Isa 40:11; Luke
16:22; John 13:23.
John 1:21 "Art thous Elias? And he saith, I am not," Omitted in Curetonian Syriac.
John 1:26 "with water" Gr. en hudati="in water".
John 1:29 "Behold the Lamb of God" Only here and 1:36. Called “the Lamb” in 12 occurrences in Revelation. In accordance with the commandment of Moses in Ex 12:5 “a male of the first year”, Jesus’ crucifixion must have followed one year after this baptism.
John 1:40 The first record of a believer winning another in the Gospels.
John 1:41 "Christ" = the anointed one. Acts 10:38.
John 2:4 East. “what have I to do with thee?” = “Gracious mother, what concern of
yours and mine; my turn is not yet come." Wine=grape juice. During the ten day
ceremony, meals three times a day eaten at bride's house. Seating is in order
by age. Men order grape juice and women carry money to pay the bill (women are
not attacked by thieves). [Pillai #706]
John 2:9 “(but the servants which drew the water knew;)” Fig. epitrechon
John 2:15 He sent all out because they were cheating the Lord (compare
Malachi); they should have been using a lamb of the first year with no
blemish; but they were using second-rate lambs. "them" goes with "the sheep
and the oxen", so that "and" should be "both." He drove the animals,
overthrew the tables, and spoke to the sellers. [Pillai #641]
John 2:19 ”I will raise it up again” Fig. heterosis The first person is put for the third person, God, as Acts 3:15 and others state, “whom God hath raised from the dead”.
John 3:3 "born again" Gr. gennao and anothen="from above" Only here and verse 7. Not the same word for "born again" in 1 Peter 1:3,23 Titus 3:5. Compare Isaiah 26:19.
John 3:4 East. “How...?” Jews are not philosophical as the Brahmins are. [Pillai
#720]
John 4:7 East. “there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water” Not indicative of
stealth due to bad status: water drawn at any time of day as needed. Lepers
and prostitutes not permitted to come to town well. These and liquor shops had
to be 3 miles out of town. They had to drink from streams. Shops would not
sell to lepers, prostitutes. [Pillai #715]
John 4:18 East. “thou hast had five husbands” Samaritans practiced "dating" and
courting. [Pillai #715]
John 4:24 "in" The word "in" is the same Greek word translated "by"
Fig. hendidys "in spirit and in truth". "Spirit" is a noun and "truth" is a
noun, the double noun being used to doubly emphasize that it is spiritually
true, or truly spiritual.
John 4:27 East. “marvelled that he talked with the woman” This is not because she
had a bad reputation, but Jesus had conversed with her beyond only asking for
water. [Pillai #715]
John 6:4 The entire verse does not appear MS 472.
John 6:9 East. “five barley loaves” Children selling bread made by relatives were
common at crowds. They carried a feather to fan away flies. [Pillai #716]
John 6:44 Compare with John 12:32 and 2Cor 5:19.
John 6:71 aleph*, theta f13 Syhmg read “from Karioth” Gr. apo Karuotou
John 7:8 "not yet full" Only NT usage. See Gen. 15:16. Compare Acts 2:1 "day of Pentecost was fully come".
John 7:13 “fear of the Jews” Only here, 19:38, 20:19, and Esther 8:17.
John 8:9 East. “convicted by their own conscience” They left because all
understood this judgement was from God. It was not based on witnesses. [Pillai
#705]
John 8:37 "Abraham's seed"- according to the flesh, their physical bloodline.
John 8:38 "never in bondage to any man" - yet at that very time they were in
bondage under the Romans.
John 8:39 "If ye were Abraham's children" Verse 37 refers to the Pharisees
as being of Abraham's bloodline, whereas verse 39 is speaking of Abrahamic
believers.
John 8:41 "We be not born of fornication" These Pharisees believed Jesus was
an illegitimate child.
John 8:44 "murderer" Gr. anthropoktonos Only here and 1Jo 3:15.
John 10:1 East. “sheepfold” Shepherd slept in the opening to the sheepfold, so
that his body was the door.
John 10:30 Jesus and God were one in purpose as shown in the context of this verse as Jesus declared His Father on earth. God and Jesus Christ's unanimity of purpose is poignantly shown in that Jesus Christ always did the Father's will (John 4:34 5:30 6:38) and finished the work for which God had sent Him (John 5:36 17:4 19:30 Heb 12:2).
John 11:4 Punctuate: "This sickness is not unto death. But for the glory of
God..."
John 12:2 8 Nisan, Thursday.
John 12:31 "prince of this world" Gr. archon tou kosmou. Here, 14:30, 16:11. Compare "prince of this age" 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8.
John 12:32 "will draw all men unto me" Both Jesus and the believer involved in the drawing. Compare John 6:44 and 2Corinthians 5:19.
John 13:8 East. Washing feet considered a humiliating task.
John 13:10 “wash his feet” East. sandal-shod feet become dusty in the street regardless of morning bath.
John 14:1 East. The Oriental wedding ceremony. Girls gain much materially in
marriage. Father pays for the entire ceremony, and she gets jewelry from
husband and father. Also, food and supplies for several months is received. If
father is dead, the brother gives.
John 14:2 East. “many mansions”=apartments.
John 14:16 "Comforter" Gr. parakletos First of five occ., four in John (here, 14:26 15:26 16:7) and once in 1Jhn 2:1. The cognate words parakaleo (109 NT occurrences) “to comfort, exhort, beseech” and paraklesis (29 NT occurrences) “encouragement” do not appear in John.
John 16:13 "Spirit of truth ... he will guide" Gr. pneuma ... hodegeo These words together only here in NT. See also Psalm 143.10. The great work of the spirit is to guide the heart.
John 16:20 East. “your sorrow shall be turned into joy” Anguish of mother giving
birth - not only physical, but as to sex of the child. Joy from birth of a
male child. [Pillai #721]
John 17:3 “true God” Gr. alethinon theon Only here and 1John 5:20. With “living” in 1Thess 1:9.
John 17:24 "before [Gr. pro] the foundation of the world." Here and 1Pet 1:20 of Christ, and Eph 1:4 of the “saints”. Contrast with "from the foundation of the world" Gr. apo kataboles kosmou :
Mat 13:35 25:34 Luk 11:50 Heb 4;3 9:26 Rev 13:8 17:8.
John 18:38 “I find in him no fault at all.” Here, Jesus was legally free.
John 19:17 "bearing his cross" The cross Jesus bore was composed of our sins
and our transgressions. In the other Gospels, Simon of Cyrene bore the physical cross.
John 19:18 "midst" Gr. meson Usages of meson in the sense of "among" with a
number: Luk 24:36 Jhn 20:19 Act 1:15 4:7 Rev 1:13. If it had been
two crucified with Jesus, then the word "between" should have appeared,
Gr. metaxu. See: Mat 18:15 23:35 Luk 11:51 16:26 Act 12:6.
John 19:26 East. “Woman, behold thy son” Last words of a dying man always
respected. Here, giving care of his mother to the disciple. [Pillai #743]
John 19:30 "It is finished" Your redemption and mine.
John 19:31 Jesus was crucified the day before a special day, the high day,
which was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Passover, and
not on the day before the regular weekly Sabbath.
John 19:38 East. "Joseph of Arimathea" Jesus should have been buried with criminals, so a
higher authority needed to allow a better burial. [Pillai #743]
John 19:40 "they" ("He" in Aramaic) Not Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus,
but Nicodemus alone, or his helpers. Joseph had already left. This is first
use of the verb "wound" in the record, and the first use of "linen clothes"
Gr. othonion meaning "bandages or wrappings, grave clothes," wound with the
appropriate spices, which Joseph did not do.
John 19:41 To fulfill the Passover rite, Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, had to
be buried sometime between 3 P.M. and sunset, for after sunset began the high
day and no one could do manual labor. Compare Lev 23:7.
John 20:22 Delete italicized "them." "On" is "in." Gr. emphusao (only here). Holy spirit not given at this time. Jesus was instructing the apostles what to do on the day of Pentecost, to breathe in. Ref. Job 29:23.
John 20:24 Eleven were gathered together; only Thomas was missing. Compare
Luk 24:1,29,33,36. Therefore, Judas Iscariot was present at Jesus' first appearance.