9:20-21. His parents answered by rehearsing the basic facts. He was their son, and he was born blind. But they avoided giving an answer (v. 21) to how he was healed and who healed him. Their suggestion was to ask their son since he was surely old enough to give a responsible answer. He is of age suggests the son could be as early as thirteen and need not be older than his late teens or early twenties.

9:22-23. The parents eluded answering (cf. v. 21) because the Jews [i.e., the Pharisees] had already agreed that if anyone confessed Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. (For “Christ,” see comment on 1:20.) To be expelled from the synagogue (v. 22; 12:42; 16:2) would have resulted in serious social and economic consequences. Although there is no extrabiblical evidence that an official Jewish ban against those confessing Christ was established at this time, the severe persecution of Christians in the rest of the NT (e.g., the book of Acts) supports the apostle’s interpretive remark.

9:24-25. The Pharisees interrogated the former blind man a second time, calling on him to give glory to God. This OT idiom means, “as God is your witness, tell the truth” (Jos 7:19; 1Sm 6:5). With the words we know that this man is a sinner the Pharisees attempted to coerce him to change his testimony. Instead (v. 25), he boldly confessed the one thing he did know, that though he was blind, now he could see.

9:26-27. The Pharisees had finally come to believe that the blind man was healed (cf. v. 18). But they still held that anyone who broke the Sabbath was a sinner (v. 24). The former blind man became irritated, having to reply to questions that had already been answered. Sarcastically he asked (v. 27), Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?

9:28-29. The healed man had confronted the Pharisees’ resistance to truth. So the Jews resorted to ridicule. You are His disciple, they contended. As would happen with Caiaphas (11:49-52), the Pharisees unknowingly foretold what the healed man would become (v. 38). On their part, they claimed to be disciples of Moses and to lack knowledge of Jesus’ earthly identity. Misunderstanding His earthly identity (cf. 7:41-42; Mt 2:5-6; Lk 2:15) made them ignorant of His heavenly origin as well.

9:30-33. The Jewish leadership should have marveled at Jesus’ healing of the blind man. Instead, the blind man marveled at the Pharisees’ ignorance of the Healer’s origin. He reasoned with sound OT theology. God does not hear the prayers of sinners (v. 31). He only hears God-fearing people who do His will (Pss 66:18; 145:19; Pr 28:9). He also reasoned from OT history that no one ever opened the eyes of a person born blind (v. 32). No known biblical or extrabiblical Jewish sources record the healing of a blind man. This was a power associated only with the coming Messiah (Is 29:18; 35:5; 42:7, 18; 61:1). The healed man concluded (v. 33) that Jesus could do nothing on His own initiative—the very affirmation Jesus Himself made (Jn 5:19, 30; 8:28).

9:34. You were born entirely in sins picks up and intensifies the prejudicial Jewish perspective that Jesus refuted (vv. 2-3). In light of v. 22, they put him out refers to expulsion from the synagogue.

9:35-36. Jesus sought out the healed man (cf. the Good Shepherd described in 10:1-16) and asked, Do you believe in the Son of Man? For “Son of Man” as a messianic title, see comment on 1:51; cf. also 12:34 and Dn 7:13-14. Since the man was blind when he left Jesus to wash in Siloam, he had not yet seen Christ. He was willing to believe in Messiah (v. 36) if he only knew who He was (cf. 4:10).

9:37-38. You have … seen Him pointed to Jesus as the One who healed the man’s blindness. For the second time in John, Jesus revealed His messianic identity to an individual (cf. the Samaritan woman, 4:26): He is the one who is talking with you. The man’s knowledge of Jesus progressed from a man (v. 11), a prophet (v. 17), one from God (v. 33), and finally the Son of Man to be believed (v. 38) and worshiped like God Himself (cf. 4:21-24).

9:39-41. The judgment that Jesus brought into this world was the condemnation of sin that would lead people to faith. This judgment was so that those who do not see may see, i.e., the spiritually blind may believe and gain spiritual sight. The antithesis is that those who see may become blind, i.e., the self-righteous who “see” may become hardened (cf. 12:39-40). Jesus conceded that the Pharisees did “see” to a degree (vv. 40-41) since He had clearly revealed Himself as Messiah to them. If they were totally blind, they would have no sin of rejecting Him. But they insisted, We see. Therefore, Jesus declared that their sin of rejecting Christ remained. The Jewish leaders had greater accountability because of their privileged position as the leaders of the chosen people, to whom God’s revelation had been entrusted (Rm 3:1).

5. The Good Shepherd Message (10:1-21)

Although the events of chap. 10 occurred almost three months after chap. 9 (cf. 7:2, 37, associated with the Feast of Booths in the fall; the Feast of Dedication in 10:22 was held in December), John joined the narratives of the chapters without a break (cf. the reference to the blind man in 10:21). Chapter 10 comprises an extended metaphor comparing Jesus and His followers to a shepherd and his sheep.

10:1. For truly, truly, see comments on 1:51. The Pharisees (cf. 9:40) are the false shepherds (leaders) of Israel (cf. Ezk 34:1-10; Jr 23:1-4). A Jewish family could have several flocks in one sheepfold and assign a gatekeeper for nighttime to guard the single opening. The shepherd would enter by the door into the fold of the sheep to get his particular flock out for grazing. A thief needed to sneak over the stonewall enclosure to steal sheep.

10:2-3. In the OT, a shepherd was an image of an ideal leader and king. God was the supreme Shepherd (Ps 80:1; Is 40:10-11) and the Messiah was a King-Shepherd (Ezk 34:23-24; 37:24; Jr 23:1-5; Mt 2:6). Jesus, as Shepherd, enters by the door, i.e., He is the legitimate shepherd, and He fulfills messianic prophecy. Just as the best man stands with the bridegroom (Jn 3:29), so the words, To him the doorkeeper opens (v. 3), may depict John the Baptist’s role as forerunner to Jesus (1:6-8). But most interpreters hold that the “doorkeeper” should not be given any symbolic significance. The sheepfold represents Israel (cf. v. 16). The sheep, those who have believed in the One true God of Israel, recognize the voice of Jesus to be the true Messiah (cf. 5:37-38, 46-47; 8:47). The “leading out” means, within the metaphor, that the shepherd takes them out to find food and water. On the spiritual side of the metaphor, it means Jesus provides spiritual sustenance for His sheep.

10:4-6. Shepherds in Israel would lead their sheep (he goes ahead of them) rather than drive them. The sheep responded only to the voice of their shepherd. They would not follow a stranger’s voice (v. 5), much as the blind man refused to be convinced against Jesus by the Pharisees. Jesus spoke this figure of speech to the Pharisees (v. 6), but they did not understand because of their blindness (9:40-41). They thought that they were the true sheep of God.

10:7-8. Since the Pharisees did not understand Jesus’ parable (v. 6), He changed the imagery slightly (vv. 7-10). In vv. 1-6, Jesus was the Shepherd. Here Jesus claimed, I am the door or gate of the sheep. (See “Jesus’ Seven ‘I Am’ Claims” at 6:35.) The sheepfold represents all who have eternal life. Jesus is the only means (“door”) by which one can enter the sheepfold, i.e., have eternal life (vv. 9-10; 14:6). There were many true prophets in the OT. So all who came before Me are thieves and robbers refers to those false leaders (including the Pharisees) and messiahs who claimed to be the way to God. God’s sheep (true OT believers) did not hear them.

10:9-10. The words if anyone establish that faith in Jesus is available to all. In the simile, he will be saved means delivered from thieves and wild animals, but pictures eternal life (cf. v. 10). Will go in and out (a merism) together with find pasture describes complete provision and security in all of life (cf. 4:14; 6:35). Contrary to the thief, Christ came that believers may have eternal life, both now and in the world to come. Eternal life is not a static quality. Once received, it can be enriched through obedience so that it may be experienced abundantly (cf. 2Pt 1:11). The thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy is not Satan, as commonly thought, but refers to the false teachers who predated Jesus and who led Israel at this time (v. 8).

10:11-13. I am the good shepherd begins a third illustration (the fourth of the seven “I am” statements). Jesus is the good shepherd because He lays down His life voluntarily for the sheep (vv. 15, 17-18; 15:13). While the thief is devious in his concern only for himself (not the sheep), the hired hand (v. 12) is disinterested and self-preserving since he is not the owner of the sheep. “Owner” hints at the purchase Christ will make with His blood to redeem the sheep (1Co 6:20; 7:23). The hireling is driven by fear and is not concerned about the sheep (v. 13); the Shepherd is compelled by love for them.

10:14-15. As the good shepherd, Jesus enters into a reciprocal, intimate relationship with His sheep (I know My own and My own know Me). Amazingly, this relationship is as personal and intimate as the relationship shared by the Father and Son (v. 15). The Shepherd’s death for the sheep is a substitutionary death, one life for another (2Co 5:21; 1Pt 2:24; 3:18). This is supported by the Greek word “for” (hyper), which carries the notion in this context that the death of Jesus was “for our sakes” as well as “in our place.”

10:16-17. Other sheep, which are not of this fold (Israel) refers to Gentiles who will come to faith in Christ and form one new flock with one shepherd (Gl 3:28; Col 3:11). The universal outlook of John (1:9, 29; 3:16-17; 4:42; 6:33, 51; 8:12; 9:5; 12:47) supports this interpretation. This passage directly states that the Father loves the Son (v. 17). Just as the Father’s love for the Son results in the Father’s “giving” to the Son (3:35; 17:24), so the Son’s love for the world results in His “giving” to the world (3:16; Gl 2:20; Eph 5:2).

10:18. I lay My life down on My own initiative (v. 18) repeats vv. 11, 15, 17. Since Jesus was without sin (8:46; 14:30; 2Co 5:21), if Jesus had not voluntarily chosen to die, He would have never died at all. He also declared He had the authority to take His life up again by initiating His own resurrection according to the command of the Father. According to this verse, Jesus had the authority to resurrect Himself from the dead, something that would be impossible for a mere human. The Father (Ac 2:32; 4:10; Rm 10:9) and the Son (Jn 2:19) were both active in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

10:19-21. On two other occasions (7:43; 9:16), a division took place over Christ’s teachings. And on two other occasions (7:20; 8:48, 52), the Jews said He had a demon (v. 20). Those who were favorably disposed to Jesus reasoned that even a demon in a possessed person could not open the eyes of the blind (the blind man of 9:1-41). To “have a demon” (v. 20; also 7:20; 8:48-49, 52) is synonymous with being “demon-possessed” (v. 21).

6. Events at the Feast of Dedication (10:22-42)

10:22-23. The Feast of the Dedication (modern “Chanukah,” Hb. for “dedication”) was an eight-day festival held on Kislev 25 on the Hebrew calendar—the month of Kislev is comparable to December in the western calendar. It celebrated the restoration of the temple (165 BC) after its desecration by the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Symbolically, Jesus is the One who restores the true temple of God and is true Leader (Shepherd) over Israel. The date was probably December 18, AD 32, roughly three-and-a-half months before Jesus’ crucifixion. The portico of Solomon ran along the eastern wall of the temple complex.

10:24. The words gathered around Him literally mean “surrounded” Him (NET, NKV, HCSB). The question of the Jewish leaders, If You are the Christ, tell us plainly, veiled their real attempt to gain further evidence of blasphemy against Jesus (cf. 8:25). For “Christ,” see comment on 1:20.

10:25-26. I told you, and you do not believe shows that Jesus had not hidden from them His true identity. The root problem was an unwillingness to believe. The works or sign-miracles gave clear evidence that He was the Messiah. You do not believe because you are not of My sheep (v. 26) may refer to Jesus’ rejection of them as not among the elect. More likely, Jesus was speaking of their present condition (cf. His later appeal to them to believe, vv. 37-38; cf. 8:47).

10:27-28. These rulers should not think they sincerely want to believe in the Messiah. Those who wanted to believe in the Messiah were sheep who hear the true Messiah’s voice (Jesus) and follow Him (i.e., believe). He gives His sheep eternal life (v. 28) because of their faith. Christ’s sheep will never perish (emphatic in Gk.). The Good Shepherd does not lose any of His sheep. No one will snatch them out of My hand underscores the power of the Shepherd apart from any conduct of the sheep.

10:29-30. For My Father, who has given them to Me, see comment on 6:37. No one is able to snatch (harpazo, the same word in v. 12) the sheep out of the Son’s (v. 28) or the Father’s hand. This united security points to a unity between the Father and the Son: I and the Father are one (v. 30). The word “one” is neuter, not masculine, confirming that the Father and Son are one in nature and purpose, not one in identity. In other words, Jesus is fully divine, but He is a divine Person distinct from God the Father.

10:31-32. The Jewish authorities argued that Jesus was vague about His identity (v. 24). But now they picked up stones again (cf. 8:59) to stone Him for blasphemy, as the law instructed (Lv 24:16). Jesus questioned His opponents about their charges. Of all the wonderful miracles He had shown them, for which of them were they stoning Him? This sarcasm was designed to shake them from their evil prejudgment.

10:33. This is the first time in John the Jews charged Jesus directly with blasphemy. They accused Him of being a man who made Himself out to be God. Ironically, Jesus was claiming that He was the second member of the Godhead who became a man (1:14; Gl 4:4; Php 2:6-7; 1Tm 3:16).

10:34-36. In His defense, Jesus quoted from Ps 82:6, written in the Law. Here “Law” refers to the entire OT (cf. Jn 1:45; 12:34; 15:25; Mt 7:12; Rm 3:21). Jesus’ argument is as follows. In Ps 82:6, even sinful Israelite leaders were given the title gods since they had the divine responsibility to speak the word of God and carry out justice under God. There is no error in Scripture (Scripture cannot be broken). Therefore, how much more should the Christ, sanctified and sent into the world (v. 36) on a divine mission to speak the word of God as the incarnate Word of God (1:1, 14) and to carry out justice (5:22, 27, 30), be rightly called the divine (sinless) “Son of God?”

10:37-38. Jesus set before the Jewish leaders His works or miracles as proof of His unity with the Father (v. 30). He challenged them, saying, If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me. But if He did do them (v. 38), even though they stumbled over His claims, they were obligated to believe the works were from God. Then faith in Christ might follow faith in the miracles (cf. Nicodemus, 3:2).

10:39-42. They were seeking again to seize Him repeats a familiar theme of Jewish opposition that began early in Christ’s ministry (5:18; 7:1, 19, 25, 30; 8:37, 40; 11:8). Behind the words He eluded their grasp is God’s sovereign timing of Jesus’ death. But the apostle may also imply an unspecified miracle (cf. 6:21; 8:59; 21:6). Jesus (v. 40) went away (cf. 11:54; 12:36) beyond the Jordan (see comment on 1:28) to Perea (the east side of the Jordan river) to finalize His public ministry in the location He first began (where John was first baptizing). The location prompted people to recall the forerunner’s testimony of Christ (v. 41), and many believed in Him there. Like the book of Acts, the success of Christ’s message took place as He moved away from Jerusalem.

7. Events at the Final Passover (11:1–12:50)

a. Raising of Lazarus (11:1-54)

The events of chap. 11 occur sometime between the Feast of Dedication (December) and the crucifixion (April). Although Jesus raised others to life (a widow’s son, Lk 7:11-17; Jairus’s daughter, Mt 9:18, 23-25), the raising of Lazarus became the last and most dramatic sign-miracle Jesus performed before His own death and resurrection.

11:1-2. Lazarus, not to be confused with the Lazarus in the story of Lk 16:19-26, is mentioned only in John. Bethany (not the Bethany of 1:28) was two miles east of Jerusalem (v. 18) and near the Mt. of Olives (Mk 11:1). The parenthetical remark (v. 2) may anticipate 12:1-8 or may assume that the readers were familiar through early Christian teaching with the Mary who anointed Jesus’ feet (e.g., Mk 14:3-9; cf. Lk 10:38-42).

11:3-4. The sisters knew of the Lord’s love for Lazarus, so they sent word to Him of their brother’s sickness. Those who carried the message are not identified. Jesus responded (v. 4), This sickness is not to end in death. Instead, the situation was so that the Son of God may be glorified by it (cf. 9:3). Ironically, Jesus would not only be honored in this miraculous healing (v. 40). He would also be glorified by His crucifixion that resulted in part from raising Lazarus (cf. 11:47-53) whereby He aroused the paranoia of the religious leaders.

11:5-6. In the narrative, Jesus’ love for Lazarus is highlighted (vv. 3, 5, 36), but is also expressed for his sisters. Martha is given prominence, probably because she was the oldest or because she speaks first in vv. 20ff. On hearing about Lazarus’s sickness (v. 6), Jesus purposefully stayed two days longer in the place where He was, a response that must have seemed uncompassionate. This was not to bring on Lazarus’s death. Lazarus died by the time word reached Jesus of his sickness (vv. 11, 14).

11:7-8. Two days after receiving the message of Lazarus’s sickness (v. 6), Jesus decided to return to Bethany in Judea, a more dangerous area than Perea (see comment on 10:40). Jesus’ delay did not lead to Lazarus’ death; He knew already that Lazarus was dead (v. 14). By delaying two days, the miracle was all the more undeniable. In light of 10:31, 39, the disciples’ reaction is humanly realistic. They said (v. 8), Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You (cf. 5:18; 7:1, 19, 25, 30; 8:37, 40; 10:39). So they wondered why He intended to go there again.

11:9-10. There was only a limited time to accomplish the Father’s will (cf. 9:4). Work was done in the 12 hours of daylight, and when it became dark the work stopped. But it was unwise to cease labor while it was still light. The “daylight” during which Jesus ministered had not yet run out, and it would be wrong for Him to stop prematurely. Hence His determination to continue ministering, in this case to Lazarus and his family, in spite of the risks. Verse 10 is difficult, but Jesus appears to have meant that eventually His time for ministry will run out and He will face “the night” of His betrayal and crucifixion, a time of great distress for Him that parallels when one walks around at night without light available to him (the sense of the light is not in him). Jesus comforted His disciples by asserting that His ministry was not yet over, but reaffirmed that it would be some day.

11:11-13. Proceeding to Judea presented potential dangers (v. 8). The words our friend Lazarus added incentive for the disciples to join Jesus in the trip. But when Jesus referred to Lazarus as having fallen asleep, the disciples again misunderstood Jesus (v. 12). “Sleep” was a common enough metaphor for death in the OT (1Kg 2:10; 11:43; Dn 12:2). Nevertheless, the disciples thought that He was speaking of literal sleep (v. 13), and this was a good sign of Lazarus’s recovery.

11:14-16. The confusion of the disciples called for a forthright reply: Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there (vv. 14-15). Why was Christ glad? Eleven disciples had already believed that Jesus was the Christ (2:11; 6:69). Now that Lazarus was dead, the Lord was able to resurrect him and strengthen the disciples’ faith that He is the “resurrection and life” (v. 25). In the NT, only John mentioned Thomas (v. 16) as also Didymus (meaning “twin,” 20:24; 21:2) and gave him a significant role. Thomas’s pronouncement Let us also go, so that we may die with Him is ironic in that ultimately the disciples and every believer must die with Christ spiritually (Rm 6:6, 8; Col 2:20; 2Tm 2:11).

11:17-19. When Jesus arrived outside the village, He heard what He already knew (vv. 11-14)—that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. It is possible that John noted the four days to emphasize that in Israel’s climate decomposition would have already begun. Even the most petty, resistant fault finder would be challenged by Jesus, the resurrection and the life, who could raise a dead person to new life even after his body had begun to decay in the grave. This may explain why Jesus waited two more days in Perea (v. 6). There would then be no question that Lazarus was dead. For his readers outside Palestine, John mentioned (v. 18) that Bethany was only about two miles away from Jerusalem. Therefore, many of the Jews (v. 19) could make the trip from Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, and they came to comfort Martha and Mary in their loss. These probably consisted of friends and relatives of the family who helped bury Lazarus (v. 34).

11:20-22. Luke’s portrayal of Martha and Mary (10:38-42) agrees with the picture John gives. Martha was a woman of action. So when she heard that Jesus was near Bethany, she went to meet Him. Mary was more patient. She stayed at the house and waited for Christ to come. Martha believed Jesus would have healed His friend Lazarus if He had been in Bethany (v. 21). In v. 22, she also expressed a confidence that Jesus could resurrect her brother if He asked the Father for it (Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You); cf. vv. 41-42.

11:23-24. Martha’s expressed confidence (v. 22) was an indirect request, and Jesus answered it. Your brother will rise again. To this promise, Martha responded with a marvelous statement of her faith. I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Martha knew assuredly that her brother would be resurrected to life, according to OT teaching (Jb 19:25-27; Ps 17:15; Is 26:19; Dn 12:2). We too can have this assurance about the resurrection of other believers.

11:25-27. Jesus did not merely have the power to resurrect. His claim I am the resurrection and the life makes Him the very source of resurrection and all life. (See “Jesus’ Seven ‘I Am’ Claims” at 6:35.) Everyone who lives (v. 26) refers to one’s physical life since it is followed by and believes in Me. Only in this life does one have the chance to believe in Christ (Heb 9:27). Believe this parallels “believes in Me” (vv. 25, 26). Believing the NT truths about Christ should not be distinguished from “believing (or trusting) in” the person of Christ. Martha’s confession (v. 27) You are the Christ, the Son of God anticipates John’s purpose statement (20:31). Taken together, to believe that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God” means to believe that He is my resurrection and eternal life.

11:28-29. At the close of their conversation, Jesus asked Martha to go and tell Mary her sister to come to Him. Since Martha spoke to her sister secretly, she probably understood that Jesus wanted a private conversation with Mary. The Teacher was a title used for Jesus as a Jewish rabbi (cf. 1:38; 3:2; 20:16), but is not used of Him outside the Gospels. The role of the Teacher after Pentecost is taken up by the Spirit (14:26; 15:26). That Mary got up quickly (v. 29) and came to Jesus demonstrates her respect and faith.

11:30-31. Probably to avoid the crowds, Jesus remained outside of Bethany. So that Mary would know where to find Him, He stayed in the place where Martha met Him. The comforters (v. 31) who had come to console Mary and Martha followed Mary as she went to meet Jesus. These Jewish friends thought Mary was going to the tomb to weep there. Jewish mourners commonly grieved at the tomb of their dead.

11:32-35. Mary was regularly found at the feet of Jesus (11:2; 12:3; Lk 10:39). Martha primarily needed teaching (cf. “Teacher,” v. 28), but Mary needed compassion. Mary repeated the same words spoken earlier by Martha (v. 21), implying the sisters discussed the situation. But unlike with Martha, emotions had overtaken Mary (see the different Greek words for weeping in vv. 33 and 35). When Jesus saw Mary and the others crying (klaio, “to wail”; v. 33), He was deeply moved in spirit [embrimaomai, “be indignant, angered”] and was troubled.

The question arises, “At whom or what was Jesus angered?” The best clues are found in the reference to “the Jews” (probably prominent Jewish leaders) in v. 19 who came to console Mary and Martha, and who appeared to have deep unbelief in God’s power, even in the presence of Jesus, as expressed by their mourning (vv. 30-32). Unbelief is seen in v. 37 as well, and to this Jesus had a similar reaction as v. 33. This situation also angered Him in v. 38, where the same word is used as in v. 32 (“deeply moved,” embrimaomai). Jesus’ anger appears to be directed at their lack of faith in what God could do, especially through Jesus. This so moved the Lord that He wept at their unbelief. Note that two significant examples of Jesus weeping (this and Lk 19:41) were in response to the unbelief of the Jewish people.

11:36-37. Jesus’ show of emotion was cause for division among the mourners (cf. 7:43-44; 9:16; 10:19-21). Some took it as evidence of how much He loved Lazarus. But others (v. 37) questioned Jesus’ power or willingness to heal. They reasoned that if He healed a blind man, He should have been able to prevent Lazarus also from dying (a less difficult miracle in their estimation). This doubt led to pronounced unbelief in vv. 45-46.

11:38-40. Jesus was again … deeply moved within (lit., “angered”; the same Greek verb in v. 33), this time because of the unbelief of the crowd. Tombs were commonly hewn vertically or horizontally out of rock, making a cave. A large, round stone covered the entrance. The command to remove the stone called for faith (v. 39). Martha objected that there would be a stench now that Lazarus was dead four days (cf. v. 17) and decomposition had set in. Jesus answered Martha, but spoke to all (v. 40): Did I not say to you [pl.] that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? Jesus previously spoke these words to His disciples and the messengers sent from the two sisters (vv. 3-4). These words would have been communicated to Mary and Martha on the messengers’ return.

11:41-42. Jesus then prayed publicly to the Father. I thank You recalls Jesus’ habit of gratitude in prayer (cf. 6:11, 23). Christ offered a previous (unspoken or unrecorded) petition to the Father to raise Lazarus, evident in the words You have heard Me. Also, You always hear Me (v. 42) shows that by His inviolate union with the Father, every prayer He prayed was answered, though not always affirmatively (as in Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane). Before it happened, Christ expressed absolute certainty that He would raise Lazarus.

11:43-44. Jesus cried out with a loud voice, audibly illustrating divine power (cf. Rv 1:15; 14:2). Like the Good Shepherd who calls His own sheep by name (10:3), Christ called for Lazarus personally to come forth. Part of the miracle may have been that Lazarus was able to walk despite being bound hand and foot with wrappings (v. 44). Jesus commanded the people, unbind him, and let him go.

11:45-46. As a result of Jesus’ miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, many of the Jews … believed in Him and gained eternal life. John’s positive use of “Jews” in this verse demonstrates he was not anti-Semitic. For this group of Jews who are separate from the religious leaders (v. 46), see vv. 18-19, 32-33, 35-36. Before Lazarus’s resurrection, some doubted Jesus’ ability to do miracles (v. 37). Now in contrast to those who believed (v. 46), some of them (apparently those who did not believe) went to the Pharisees, who were known to be seeking to kill Jesus (5:18; 7:19, 25; 8:37, 40).

11:47-48. Some of the chief priests and the Pharisees were members of the Jerusalem council called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was composed of 71 men and exercised authority over all religious practices in Israel. The members of the council did not deny that Jesus was performing many signs. But they felt that if He were allowed to continue unabated (v. 48) the Romans would consider the masses who came to believe in Him as an insurrection. Then the Romans would respond by destroying their place (the temple or their own positions of prominence) and their nation.

11:49-50. Caiaphas ruled as high priest in AD 18–36 (for more on Caiaphas, see the comments on Mt 26:3-5). He was irritated by the indecision of the council and recommended (v. 50) that one man, Jesus, die in place of the people, rather than all the Jewish people dying at the hands of the Romans. Although Caiaphas’s design was political prudence, he unwittingly expressed the very intent of God’s sacrifice of His Son: the substitution of the life of one man, Jesus, for the sins of all people. Ironically, even though the Jews crucified Christ to prevent the nation’s demise, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70.

11:51-53. It was not merely on his own initiative that Caiaphas made his pronouncement. Caiaphas unwittingly prophesied because he was high priest that year. Caiaphas’s prophecy did not make him a prophet nor is it ever recorded that he prophesied again. In his governing authority as high priest (cf. Rm 13:1), he was unconsciously and providentially used by God. “That year” refers to the year of Christ’s death. But where Caiaphas thought of Christ’s death as only for His own people, God’s purpose was not for the Jewish nation only but for Gentiles as well (cf. Jn 10:16). In God’s plan, Jews and Gentiles who will believe will be gathered together into one group or body (cf. Eph 2:11-22) because they are all children of God by faith alone (cf. Jn 1:12). At this meeting, weeks before the crucifixion, the Jewish leaders had already planned together to kill Jesus.

11:54. Once again, Jesus took precautions against an early death by refraining to walk publicly among the Jews (cf. 10:40; 12:36). Instead, He stayed out in the country near the wilderness, which would have provided some protection. Ephraim is usually identified with a town located 12 to 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem.

11:55-57. This was the final Passover in the life of Christ, during which He would be crucified. Many who lived at a distance took the trip to Jerusalem early to purify themselves (cf. 2:6; 18:28). On various occasions in the OT, the LORD gave instructions to consecrate oneself for worship (Gn 35:2; Ex 19:10, 11), and this was applied to the Passover (2Ch 30:16-20). But instead of consecration (v. 56), the people were caught up in conversation and curiosity. The decision of the council led to a warrant for Jesus’ arrest. Word was spread throughout the crowds (v. 57) so that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it. But the actual arrest would not come until a week or more later.

b. Anointing of Jesus’ Feet (12:1-11)

Chapter 12 begins the final week of Jesus’ life and climaxes His public ministry. Mary’s anointing of Jesus is also recorded in Mt 26:6-13 and Mk 14:3-9 (see the comments there). The story in Luke 7:36-50 is not the same event.

12:1-3. It was just six days before the Passover (i.e., Saturday), presumably in the evening after the Sabbath was over. For Bethany, see comment on 11:1. True to her character (v. 2; see comment on 11:20) Martha was serving (diakoneo). The same Greek word will be used shortly of “serving” Christ by following Him (v. 26). Lazarus was reclining at the table with Jesus. The custom was to lie on one’s side on a low couch or on the floor with the head at a low table and feet pointing away (see comment on 13:23). Mary (v. 3) poured a large amount (Gk., litra, a Roman pound, about 12 ounces) of very costly perfume over Jesus’ feet and in a supremely humble act wiped His feet with her hair. In ordinary burials, ointment masked the odor of decomposition. So anointing Jesus’ feet prophesied Jesus’ coming death. Since wiping off the ointment would never be done at an ordinary burial, this act may prophesy His rising incorrupt (note both the anointing and wiping in 11:2).

12:4-5. Mary’s supreme act of devotion is set in contrast to Judas Iscariot, the one who was consciously intending to betray Jesus. Although debated, this contrast may imply Mary consciously anointed Jesus for His coming death. Judas asked (v. 5) why the perfume was not sold for three hundred denarii, the equivalent of about an average year’s wages, and given to poor people. In the Synoptics, other disciples joined in Judas’s indignation at the expensive waste of perfume (Mt 26:8; Mk 14:4).

12:6. Judas disguised his thievery by implying that he was concerned about the poor. The Eleven trusted Judas with the money box containing the financial contributions of those who gave to Jesus’ ministry (Mt 27:55; Lk 8:3). If the perfume had been sold and entrusted to Judas, he would have had more money from which to pilfer.

12:7-8. Verse 7 could read, “Leave her alone. She has kept it [not so that she may keep it] for the day of my burial” (NET). This act of anointing perfume as burial preparation indicates that Mary was probably one of only a few who realized Christ was soon to die (cf. Mt 26:12; Mk 14:8). Jesus’ words (v. 8) You [pl.] always have the poor with you have been true for 2,000 years. Charitable opportunities will never cease until Christ returns. But you do not always have Me referred to His death just six days away.

12:9. Jesus’ fame could not prevent curiosity seekers. The large crowd of the Jews (in this case the general populace, not the rulers) who came to Jerusalem for the Passover (11:55) also came to Bethany to see Jesus. But they wanted to see the resurrected Lazarus too.

12:10-11. One sin leads to another. Not only did the chief priests plot to kill Jesus, they now planned to put Lazarus to death also. Lazarus stood as a living testimony of Christ’s messianic power, and He had to be eliminated also. Too many Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. “Going away” could mean the Jews were “deserting” the Jewish leaders (HCSB) or that the Jewish people were “going over to” Jesus (NIV).

c. Presentation of the Messiah-King (12:12-19)

The event described in 12:12-19 is traditionally known as the triumphant entry (Palm Sunday in Christian history) and is found in all four Gospels (Mt 21:1-11; Mk 11:1-10; Lk 19:28-40; see the comments there). The attention aroused by the resurrection of Lazarus (chap. 11) intensified the celebration.

12:12-13. On the next day identifies the day as the Sunday before the Passover feast and Jesus’ death. The palm branches the crowd waved to greet Jesus entering Jerusalem symbolized the victory or triumph of the Messiah-King. Hosanna! is a Hebrew term meaning “Save [us] now!” but came to be used as an expression of praise. The people cried out words from Ps 118, a psalm sung at the Passover meal. Their shouts that Jesus was the King of Israel (cf. 1:49) showed that they understood the psalm to speak of the Messiah.

12:14-15. Unfortunately, many in the crowd thought of Jesus only as a political deliverer and not a spiritual Savior. Instead of riding in on a horse like a warrior, Jesus chose a donkey—a burden-bearing animal. OT prophecy had identified the Messiah-King (Zch 9:9; see the comments there) as coming to the DAUGHTER OF ZION (v. 15; a common OT idiom for the people of Jerusalem) SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT. The donkey was also a symbol of peace and humility (2Sm 19:26).

12:16. Although well taught by Jesus, the disciples still did not fully understand the OT prophecies about the Messiah. After the resurrection, when Jesus was glorified (cf. 7:39), the resurrected Lord taught them the messianic significance of the Hebrew Scriptures (see Lk 24:25-27, 44-46). Moreover, afterward the Holy Spirit assisted them to recall the details of Jesus’ life and to match them with the OT prophecies that were written of Him (Jn 16:13-14).

12:17-18. The people who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb are distinguished from the crowd in v. 18. Most of the former group witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus and continued to testify about Jesus and this miracle. The people who went and met Him had not witnessed the miracle but went to meet Jesus because they heard how Jesus had resurrected Lazarus.

12:19. Jesus’ popularity provoked the Pharisees to criticize each other. You … are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him. Though they meant a multitude of Jews were turning to Jesus, John saw an ironic “fulfillment” in the Greeks (likely Gentile God-fearers in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast) who came to see Jesus (v. 20).

d. Gentile Openness and Israel’s Blindness (12:20-50)

The coming of the Greeks (i.e., Gentiles) to Jesus marks the climax of Jesus’ ministry to the Jews, and closes the first major section of the Fourth Gospel (1:19-12:50), which dealt primarily with Jesus’ public ministry of performing miracles and teaching the people. John shortly would concentrate on Jesus’ private ministry to the disciples in the upper room (chaps. 13–17).

12:20-22. Along with the Jews traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem were some Greeks—Gentiles who abandoned paganism in favor of believing in the God of Israel (“God-fearers”). It is unlikely that they submitted to circumcision (as proselytes) because they would then have been fully accepted as Jews and not called Greeks. These Greeks came first to Philip, probably because he had a Greek name and because he was from Bethsaida of Galilee. They may have come from the Gentile territory of the Decapolis, named for its ten Gentile cities, which lay east and south of Galilee. These Greeks wanted to see Jesus. For John, “seeing” Jesus often pictured faith (1:39, 46; 4:29; 8:56; 9:39). Philip told Andrew, and together they came to Jesus. Philip and Andrew were known to bring people to Jesus (cf. 1:41, 45).

12:23-24. Up to this point in the Fourth Gospel, Jesus’ “hour” was said to be future. Now the “hour” is said to have arrived. At the height of Jewish rejection of Jesus, Gentiles were seeking Him. The coming of the Greeks was a sign that the hour of Jesus’ death had now come (cf. 7:33-35)—possibly because finally, at this point, the door was cracked open a bit for the inclusion of the Gentiles, something not seen clearly in John’s gospel prior to this. For “hour,” see comments on 2:4 and 4:21. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus would be glorified. For truly, truly (v. 24), see comments on 1:51. Jesus likened His death to the paradox that a grain of wheat is unable to produce life unless it first dies (i.e., is buried in the ground as if it had no life). When it “dies,” a great harvest comes from its “death.”

12:25-26. Jesus applied to His followers the principle of dying to self. Anyone who lived life for himself (loves his life) destroyed the potential of his earthly life for eternal reward (cf. Mt 16:24-27; Mk 8:34-38; Lk 9:23-26). But if he hates his life in this world, i.e., rejects self-centered choices, his life will be rewarded in eternity. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me (v. 26) shows that following Christ includes service. Moreover, to serve the Lord Jesus, the disciple must walk closely and attend to Him, so that wherever Jesus leads, there His servant will be also. The rewards God’s servants will receive include commendation and honor from the Father (Mt 25:21, 23), resulting in leadership responsibilities in the world to come (Lk 12:44; 19:17; Rv 2:26, 27).

12:27-28. Much like during His later agony in the garden (Mt 26:38; Mk 14:34), Jesus’ heart became troubled as He contemplated taking on the sin of humanity at the cross. Jesus could have prayed for the Father to save Him from the hour of His death. But that would be contrary to His whole mission in the world. So He prayed instead (v. 28) for the Father to be glorified. This is the last of three occasions in the life of Christ that a voice came out of heaven (Mt 3:17; 17:5) through which the Father expressed His satisfaction with the Son.

12:29-30. Some in the crowd were unprepared to receive revelation and thought only that it had thundered. Others thought of some spiritual reality behind the voice, supposing that an angel had spoken something to Christ. But as Jesus explained, the voice did not come for His sake, but for the sake of the people. He needed no proof that the Father would glorify Him (v. 28). But the Father graciously provided to the crowd further confirmation of Jesus’ authority and Sonship. Yet they missed its significance.

12:31. Beside forgiveness, the cross (implied in the word now) accomplished the judgment of the world and the defeat of Satan, the ruler of this world (cf. 14:30; 16:11; Eph 2:2; 2Co 4:4). Satan was cast out at the cross. This was not spatial, as if the Devil were driven out of heaven (cf. Rv 12:10). Instead, his power was permanently broken and his destiny was fixed. His complete destruction awaits Christ’s return (Rv 20:10).

12:32-33. The thought that Christ will draw all men to Himself could mean He will draw all groups of people (not necessarily every single person), as opposed to only Jewish people. The reference to the Greeks (v. 20) may support this. But to the contrary, John has shown a universal perspective throughout his book (1:29; 3:16, 17; 4:42; 6:33, 51) and “all [people]” is usually all-inclusive (1:7, 9; 2:24; 5:23, 28; 10:29; 17:2). Everyone who hears the message of the cross will be “drawn” to, or brought closer to, the Savior by that message. But this is no promise of a universal salvation. John and Jesus have made it clear that one must believe (cf. 3:16). Lifted up (v. 32; cf. 3:14; 8:28) refers to the method of Jesus’ death (i.e., crucifixion), as is confirmed by the words He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. “Lifted up” also depicts the glory that would come to Christ by His death (12:23; 13:31-32; 17:1).

12:34. The crowd understood the Law to say that when the Messiah came, He was to remain alive forever as their King. The “Law” here probably means the entire OT as in 10:34. Many OT passages indicated that the Messiah’s reign would be forever (2Sm 7:13; Ps 89:35-37; Is 9:7; Dn 7:13-14).

12:35-36. Jesus indirectly answered their question (v. 34) by referring to Himself as the Light that is among them a little while longer. The Jewish people needed to walk while they had the Light so that darkness (spiritual blindness) would not overtake them. Verse 36 defines “walk in the light” as believe in the Light and the sons of Light as believers. That Jesus went away and hid Himself from them (cf. 10:40; 11:54) anticipates symbolically the blindness that is about to come on Israel for their unbelief (vv. 37-40).

12:37-38. Jesus had performed so many signs, but the majority did not find the miracles convincing. As a result, the people were not believing in Jesus. John cited (v. 38) a well-known messianic passage about God’s Suffering Servant (Is 53:1) as now fulfilled in Christ. The ARM OF THE LORD is a figure of speech for God’s power, displayed in Jesus’ sign-miracles (v. 37). The rhetorical questions of the OT prophecy suggest that only a remnant in Israel would believe the message of the Messiah.

12:39-40. Israel’s refusal to believe (v. 37) finally led to hardening (they could not believe any longer; but see v. 42). Corporately, Israel became BLINDED (v. 40) by God as a judgment for their unbelief (see the comments on Rm 11:11-24), even as all people are blinded by unbelief (1Co 2:14; 2Co 4:4). As with Isaiah’s ministry (Is 6:9-11), Jesus’ teaching resulted in desensitizing the Jewish people rather than leading them to faith. These are hard verses and will challenge one’s theology: in v. 36, Jesus commanded the Jewish people to believe. They were thus morally responsible for believing. Verses 37-38 say they did not believe, committing the sin of unbelief. Verses 39-40 say why they do not believe—because God HARDENED THEIR HEART (see the comments on Rm 9:14-18) so that Israel might not BE CONVERTED from sin and unbelief and God HEAL THEM. The interchange between divine sovereignty over sin (in this case unbelief) and human responsibility is mystifying, but one does not cancel out the other. Both doctrines are equally true, and one passage may well emphasize one over the other. Here John emphasized God’s sovereignty over their unbelief, but in other places their moral responsibility is foremost. For the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human sin, see the comments on Rm 9:22-23, and the comments introducing Rm 9:30.

12:41. When Isaiah saw His glory, and he spoke of Him, the prophet was referring to Yahweh, the God of the OT (Is 6:3). But John revealed that the glory of Yahweh was also the glory of the preincarnate Christ (cf. 1:1, 14; 8:58; 10:30; 20:28). This is confirmed by the personal pronoun in v. 42, “many … believed in Him” (italics added).

12:42-43. Nevertheless, despite the blindness that came on Israel, many even of the rulers (not just of the crowd) believed in Him. The “rulers” were members of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are two of the rulers identified in John as believing in Jesus as the Messiah (3:1; 19:38-39). In this early stage of their new faith, these rulers were not confessing Christ publicly for fear of being excluded from the synagogue (cf. 9:22). Their love for human approval (v. 43) subverted their witness. For the theme of the “secret disciple,” see 19:38-40.

12:44-46. In the following verses, Jesus gave the final teaching of His public ministry. Although it is not clear when or where Jesus delivered these words, they are placed here as the culmination of Jesus’ proclamation to Israel. Afterward, the book will shift to the private ministry of the Messiah to His disciples (Jn 13–17). Jesus cried out shows the importance of these teachings. He who believes … does not believe in Me means “does not believe only in Me.” The unity of the Son and the Father is repeated three times in these verses. The second is expressed in v. 45: He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. Jesus is the perfect revelation and expression of God (1:18; 14:9). Jesus (v. 46) as the Light of the world (1:4-9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 12:35) and the need to believe in Him are themes John accentuated elsewhere in the book (see Introduction: Purpose and Theme).

12:47-48. Judgment (3:17-19; 5:22-30; 16:8, 11) and the words of Jesus (4:41, 50; 5:24; 6:63, 68; 14:23; 15:7) are also major themes in John. All future judgment has been given to Jesus (5:22, 27). But Jesus’ purpose in coming to the world was not to judge it at that time, but instead to save the world (3:17; 8:15). Final judgment is self-imposed and fixed in this life by a person’s response to the gospel message (3:18; 5:24; 12:48). Therefore, if anyone (v. 48) does not receive Jesus’ sayings, His word will judge him at the last day (the final judgment; cf. 6:39-40). Jesus’ “words” tie into His identity as the Word (1:1, 14).

12:49-50. Jesus made it clear repeatedly that He did not speak by His own authority or initiative (5:30; 8:28, 42; 12:49; 14:10). So his message about eternal life is the Father’s message as well. His commandment is eternal life (v. 50) means that God commands everyone to believe, and believing leads to eternal life. It is thoroughly appropriate that Jesus’ public ministry in the Fourth Gospel ended with a comment about the need for faith in the Messiah.

III.  Private Ministry: Farewell Instructions to Jesus’ Disciples (13:1–17:26)

The farewell remarks of Jesus comprise the second major unit in John. These private instructions to His disciples began in an upper room. But at 14:31, Jesus and the eleven remaining disciples left the upper room and wandered through the streets of Jerusalem where Jesus continued to instruct them and to pray. Finally, at 17:26, they left Jerusalem and crossed the Kidron Valley.

A. Washing the Disciples’ Feet (13:1-20)

13:1. Of the three Passovers cited in John, this Feast of the Passover is the only one recorded in the Synoptics. Jesus was fully aware that the time of His death had come (cf. 12:23). His disciples were not. He loved His disciples, even Judas, to the end (telos)—to the cross where He cried, “It is finished” (teleo, 19:30). Up to this point in John, it was said that his hour had not yet come (2:4; 7:30; 8:20). Now it is said that His hour had come, i.e., the time of His death, resurrection, and ascension as described in the words, to depart out of this world to the Father.

13:2-5. The idea of betraying Jesus was not an original thought of Judas; the devil had already put the notion into his faithless heart (cf. 6:71; 12:4). Once again (cf. v. 1), Jesus had a complete self-awareness of His universal authority (cf. Mt 28:18), His origin, and His destiny (v. 3). That He had come forth from God was symbolized as He laid aside His garments to take the role of a servant (v. 4). In Israel, one’s feet became dirty as one walked from place to place. Washing the feet of a guest was a common courtesy provided by a host but performed by a household servant, and never by the head of the home. Jesus became His disciples’ servant, breaching social customs. Instead of saying that Jesus “took off” and then “put on,” John said He laid aside (tithemi, v. 4) and “took up” (lambano, 13:12) His garments—words used earlier for His death (10:17-18).

13:6-8. Some of the disciples submitted as Jesus washed their feet. But when Jesus came to Simon Peter, he questioned the Lord’s lowly act. Jesus knew Peter’s limited understanding (you do not realize now, v. 7). The meaning of the foot washing would become clear hereafter, i.e., after the upper room teachings and/or after the resurrection. Peter still resisted (v. 8), using a strong negative in Greek: Never shall You wash my feet! Jesus replied that if Peter refused to have his feet washed by Him, then he could have no part with the Messiah. Ongoing partnership or fellowship with Jesus is conditioned on the recurrent cleansing of the believer as he confesses his sins (1Jn 1:9).

13:9-11. In Peter’s enthusiasm to be in companionship with his Lord, he asked Jesus to wash his whole body. Jesus’ instructions to Peter about two distinct cleansings must not be overlooked. He who has bathed [louo] needs only to wash [nipto] his feet, because he is completely clean (v. 10). The bath represents the complete, unrepeatable cleansing of new birth; the washing of the feet pictures the repeated cleansing needed for intimacy with Christ after salvation (cf. 15:14). This intimacy requires walking in the light and confessing sins (see 1Jn 1:6-9). The apostle interpreted Jesus’ words (v. 11), you are clean, but not all of you, to single out Judas. Since Judas had not believed, he was not clean, i.e., regenerated.

13:12-15. For Jesus to have taken up His garments again forecasted His glorification at the resurrection. After a rhetorical question to gain their attention, Christ reasoned that He was rightfully above them. They themselves called Him Teacher and Lord (v. 13), terms relevant for ongoing discipleship. Since a servant is not above his master (Mt 10:24), the disciples needed to humble themselves like their Teacher and serve others. To wash one another’s feet (v. 14) included laying down their lives for their brothers or sisters (10:11, 14, 17; 15:13; 1Jn 3:16). Foot washing is not set down as an ordinance but as an example (v. 15) of all forms of humble service modeled by the Lord’s foot washing (cf. 1Tm 5:10).

13:16-17. Since a slave is never more privileged than the master who owns him, and an ambassador is never more important than the one who sent him, so logic must compel the disciples to humble themselves in lowly service as their Master had done in washing their feet. The “one who is sent” (apostolos, lit., “apostle”) hints at the apostolic mission of the Eleven. The disciples must know these things (v. 17) Jesus had spoken before they could obey them. Knowledge is a prerequisite to obedience. But being blessed or spiritually happy is conditioned on obeying Christ’s call to servanthood.

13:18. I do not speak of all of you refers to Judas. Jesus knew all about the ones He had chosen, including Judas. He was not caught by surprise at Judas’s betrayal. “Chosen” does not refer here to election for salvation, but to the choosing of His twelve disciples (cf. 6:70). The selection of the disciples resulted in Ps 41:9 being fulfilled. In the psalm, David’s close friend Ahithophel (HE WHO EATS MY BREAD) betrayed David (LIFTED UP HIS HEEL is a cultural sign for contempt). Later Ahithophel hung himself (2Sm 16:20-22; 17:23), foreshadowing how Judas would betray the Greater David (Messiah) and later hang himself (Mt 27:5; Ac 1:18).

13:19-20. Jesus declared that the prophecy about Judas was designed to increase the faith of the disciples in Jesus’ divine status, sovereignty, and omniscience once it was fulfilled. For believe that I am He, see comments on 4:26 and 8:28. Taking the gospel to the world was in the Lord’s heart. The disciples must be sent to carry out the task. But the one who is sent is nothing (whomever I send, v. 20). The authority rests in the Lord who sends them. Therefore, anyone who receives a person sent by Christ receives Christ Himself (cf. 1:12) and the Father as well.

B. Identifying His Betrayer (13:21-30)

13:21-22. For the third time, the sinless Jesus was troubled in spirit (cf. 11:33; 12:27). Although Christ had previously hinted that He would be betrayed (6:64, 71; 13:11), He now directly testified that the betrayer would be one of the Twelve. By pointing out that the disciples were at a loss to know of which one He was speaking (v. 22), John again underlined the ignorance of the disciples. Judas must have insincerely joined in the interchange that followed (cf. Mt 26:22; Mk 14:19; Lk 22:23).

13:23-25. The beloved disciple, presumably John (see Introduction: Author), was reclining on Jesus’ bosom, or chest, not only because of the cultural style of eating (see comment on 12:2) but also because this was a Passover meal where reclining to the left was part of the ceremony. This is the first of five times the author identified himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). Each reference occurred within the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus was flanked by Judas and John (both honored positions), but John was between Jesus and Peter (v. 24). So Peter prompted John to ask Jesus for the identity of the traitor. In this reclined position, leaning back thus (v. 25), John could speak to Jesus.

13:26-27. Jesus revealed the identity of the traitor to John alone (see comment on 21:20). For a person to dip a morsel and give it to another was a sign of friendship and honor. Judas’s heinous character was his own responsibility. Calling him the son of Simon Iscariot showed that he was an ordinary human person. But after Judas ate the morsel, Satan then entered into him (v. 27). As the bread entered Judas, so did the Devil. Jesus, in full control of the moment, precipitated the betrayal Himself by releasing Judas to do quickly his dastardly deed.

13:28-30. Surprisingly, no one understood for what purpose Jesus told Judas to carry out his activities quickly. Judas had been entrusted with the funds given to the disciples for their traveling ministry or for the needy they encountered (cf. 12:6). So the disciples thought (v. 29) Judas was sent out to buy some things needed for the Passover feast, or to give something to the poor. Nighttime almsgivings were part of Passover. After Judas went out (v. 30), the author remarked climactically, it was night—darkness had descended both literally and symbolically. Though John did not record it, sometime after Judas left Jesus introduced the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:15-20).

C. Revealing His Departure (13:31–14:31)

13:31-32. Again Jesus’ knowledge of the precise time of His death is revealed: Now is the Son of Man glorified. This is the first of 23 uses of the verb, “glorify” (doxazo) in the Fourth Gospel (14 uses in the Synoptics). Sometimes it refers to building one’s own status (8:54; cf. 5:41, 42; 8:50); the enhancement of God’s reputation by Jesus (12:28; 14:13) or the believer (15:8; 21:19); or the enhancement of Jesus’ reputation by accomplishing God’s work (11:4; 17:4; cf. 2:11). Here it refers to Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension by which He will receive an exalted status from God (11:4; 12:16, 23; 13:31, 32; 17:5). Jesus’ miracles manifested His glory (2:11). But it was in supreme weakness—His death on the cross—that His glory was most displayed. God was glorified in Jesus (v. 32), and reciprocally God will also glorify Jesus in Himself. Since Christ’s death was within hours from that moment, the crucifixion would glorify Jesus immediately.

13:33. A Jewish teacher called his disciples little children. This is the only time Christ used this address in all the Gospels. John later adopted the term (1Jn 2:1, 12, 28). Jesus told the Jewish authorities (Jn 7:34; 8:21), Where I am going [the cross, the ascension] you cannot come. Now He was telling His disciples the same (but see 14:3).

13:34-35. Love for others was commanded in the OT (Lv 19:18, 34; Dt 10:19). The love Jesus commanded was new since it called His followers not merely to love but to love sacrificially even as Jesus loved them. Paul referred to this one aspect of the law as the law of Christ (1Co 9:21; Gl 6:2). Since love is one of the primary marks of discipleship, others will know (identify) Jesus’ disciples by their love for one another.

13:36-38. When Peter questioned where Jesus was going, Christ promised Peter you cannot [ou dynasai, lit., “are not able to”] follow Me now [to the cross] but you will follow later, i.e., to his own death. Peter impetuously boasted that he would willingly lay down his life for the Lord. According to Mk 14:31, all the disciples made the same claim. Ironically, it would be Jesus who would die for Peter. Then Peter would follow Jesus (but not right now) to his death (Jn 21:18-19). A strutting, crowing rooster fits Peter’s boastful claim and forms a prophetic rebuke. Peter gave no response to the prediction and did not speak again in the narrative until his denial (18:17).

14:1. The thought of Jesus’ betrayal and departure (13:21-38) would have greatly disheartened the disciples. To console them, Jesus instructed, Do not let your [pl.] heart be troubled. The disciples could calm their hearts by faith [believe in God and believe also in Me]. The two occurrences of the verb “believe” are spelled the same (pisteuete in both), but that spelling could make either or both verbs a statement of fact (an indicative mood verb, “You do believe”), or a command (an imperative mood verb, “Believe!”), or a combination of the two (one could be a statement and the other a command). The first phrase could also be a question (“Do you believe in God?”). It is a complicated issue. The NET Bible (p. 2073 n. 8) is most likely correct in its reasoning: “[Jesus] is about to undergo rejection by his own people as their Messiah. The disciples’ faith in him as Messiah and Lord would be cast into extreme doubt by these events, which the author makes clear were not at this time foreseen by the disciples. After the resurrection it is this identification between Jesus and the Father that needs to be reaffirmed (cf. Jn 20:24-29). Thus it seems best to take the first pisteuete [transliteration added] as indicative and the second as imperative, producing the translation “You believe in God; believe also in me.”

14:2-4. Jesus’ teaching about His Father’s house with many dwelling places evokes the image of a first-century wealthy home with beautiful additions. Jesus would not go to prepare a place for His disciples unless He would also come again and receive them to Himself (v. 3). This “coming” is the pretribulation rapture (see the comments on Mt 24:36-44; 1Th 4:13-17) rather than the second coming since at the latter Jesus returns to stay on earth (Zch 14:3-4; Mt 24:29-31; Rv 19:11-21). This is Jesus’ second revelation about the rapture (Mt 24:36-44 was a few days earlier, probably on Tuesday of Passion Week). Jesus deeply desires us to be with Him where He is (cf. 1Th 4:17). The disciples know the way (v. 4) Jesus will take to the Father’s house. He has told them repeatedly of the cross.

14:5-6. Thomas questioned Jesus’ logic. Lord … how do we know the way? Jesus affirmed (v. 6) their faith with the sixth I am claim in John. He is not one way but the way to God. He is not only true. He is the truth. Truth is embodied in Christ, and so is eternal life (1:4). No one comes to the Father for eternal life or for Christian living except first by way of faith in Christ.

14:7. Although born again (2:11; 14:10-11), the Eleven had not begun true intimacy with Christ. They lacked a more complete understanding of who He was. That He was the only way or access to the Father (v. 6) escaped their thinking so far. If they (you is pl. in Gk.) had known Christ intimately (cf. Php 3:10), they would have known the Father intimately as well. But they had not (v. 9). From now on references that moment forward. Through the farewell instructions (chaps. 13–17), they could gain an intimate knowledge (know) and full spiritual vision (have seen) of the Father.

14:8-9. Philip, in his request show us the Father, demonstrated the very unfamiliarity with the Father Jesus had just mentioned. Jesus had spent three years with the disciples (v. 9) and yet they had not come to know Him fully (v. 9). To “know” or “see” Christ (He who has seen Me) is to recognize God Himself fully (has seen the Father). God the Father is completely revealed in Jesus the Son, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is distinct from God the Father in terms of their respective personhood. For this important point, see the comments on 1:1, 18. This claim of Jesus is nothing less than a stupendous declaration of deity, leading to the NT teaching of the Trinity.

14:10-11. Jesus is in the Father, and the Father is in Jesus—a holy, eternal fellowship and unity in the Godhead. The words that Jesus speak[s] are never on His own initiative, independent of the Father. The Father abiding in Christ does His works. The mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son stresses inseparability, yet maintains a distinction within the Trinity. If the disciples believe because of Jesus’ works themselves, they would see the truth of this abiding relationship between the Father and the Son.

14:12. What are the greater works Jesus says believers will do? These greater works were made possible because Jesus went to the Father, i.e., after His ascension when the Holy Spirit was given. The “greater works” took place at Pentecost and ever since when people are brought to faith in Christ.

14:13-14. The promise that the disciples will do greater works than Jesus was now directly linked to their prayers in His Name. Whatever you ask (aiteo, a request from an inferior to a superior) begins the subject of prayer for the first time in the upper room teaching (15:7, 16; 16:23-24, 26). It also instructs Christians for the first time that prayer is to be made through Christ (in My name) to the Father (15:16; 16:23-24, 26). Prayer in Jesus’ name suggests that the one who offers it understands that Jesus is the sole mediator between the one who prays and the Father (v. 6). The prayer is made for Jesus’ sake, not primarily for personal benefit (cf. Ps 25:11). So we can ask in prayer as if Jesus were asking it. This implies that our prayers must be designed according to His will, character, and purpose (1Jn 5:14-15). But if you ask Me (v. 14) authorizes prayers also made to the Son of God (cf. Ac 7:59; 2Co 12:8). The promise I will do it must be harmonized with other conditions for prayer (e.g., Ps 66:18; Jms 4:3; 1Pt 3:7; 1Jn 5:14-15).

14:15-17. To keep Jesus’ commandments is a test of devotion to Him. The coming of another Helper (parakletos; v. 16), i.e., the Spirit at Pentecost, implies that Jesus Himself is a parakletos. This Greek word is used five times in the NT, all by John (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1Jn 2:1). The various functions of the parakletos in these contexts make it difficult to translate with a single term. The word often means “one who helps, by consoling, encouraging, or mediating on behalf of” another (L&N, 1:141). Most translations capture something of its meaning (cf. “Helper,” ESV, NKJV; “Counselor” NIV, HCSB; “Advocate,” NET, NRSV; “Companion,” CEB; though in its use in 1Jn 2:1 it means “advocate” in a legal sense). The Spirit is with the believer forever, securing his salvation. Just as Christ embodies the truth (14:6), the Spirit is the Spirit who promotes and spreads truth. Like Christ (1:10-11), the world cannot receive the Spirit either. By saying that the Spirit abides with you, Jesus depicted the relationship of the Spirit in the OT with OT saints, i.e., the Spirit was “with” them. But at that time the Spirit did not reside within them as He does following Pentecost (when He will be in them).

14:18-19. Christ would not leave His disciples permanently as orphans, i.e., helpless. He promised to come to them during the 40 days after His resurrection (16:16-24), and later through the coming Holy Spirit. After His death, the world would no longer see Christ (v. 19), but the Eleven, and other disciples, would. The resurrection appearances were only to believers (cf. 1Co 15:6). His resurrection (because I live) is the guarantee of our resurrection (you will live also).

14:20-21. The words you in Me, and I in you speak of the believer’s ongoing intimacy with Christ, maintained by obedience (v. 21; cf. 15:1-11). Verse 21 returns to the love-theme of v. 15 and connects it to the mutual indwelling of Jesus and the believer in v. 20. It is not merely the one who has the commandments, but the one who also keeps them who is identified as the one who loves Me (cf. v. 15). “The one who loves Me” is broader than just the Eleven. Jesus promised to disclose more and more of His heart to each believer who loves Him by his obedience (see the comment on 2:23).

14:22-23. This is the only time that Judas (but not the betrayer, Judas Iscariot), one of the Twelve, speaks in the Gospels. He may be Thaddaeus of the Synoptics (Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18). Judas asked why the Lord was going to disclose Himself to the disciples and not to the world. Judas thought of the Messiah setting up His earthly kingdom publicly. To Judas’s question, Jesus restated His previous teaching (v. 23) that the full experience of His and His Father’s love required obedience to His word. Then the Son and the Father would make their abode (their home) in the obedient follower. Jesus’ self-disclosure would come through the gift of the Spirit and the abiding or friendship relationship explained further in chap. 15.

14:24. The Lord then declared the reverse of v. 23: He who does not love Me does not keep My words. The reference to Jesus’ “words” (pl.) recalls His commandments (v. 21), and is now identified as the word [sg.] which you hear. One cannot claim obedience to Christ’s word without keeping all of His individual commands and teachings, especially the instructions to love one another (13:34, 35).

14:25-26. These things I have spoken to you (14:25; 15:11; 16:1, 4, 25, 33) refers to the teachings Jesus gave while abiding with the apostles in the upper room. Jesus also promised (v. 26) that the Holy Spirit would teach the apostles (including Paul) all things (the rest of the NT). “Helper” (Gk. masculine) and “He” (Gk. masculine) suggest the Spirit is a person. The Spirit would guide the memory (bring to your remembrance all that I said) of the apostles as they wrote down the teachings of Christ (cf. 2:17-22; 12:16; 20:9). “I have spoken to you” and “bring to remembrance all that I said” limit the specific promise of this verse to the apostles. The result is the completeness and inerrancy of the NT record of Jesus.

14:27-28. Jesus pledged to give the disciples His peace, far superior to the deficient and fleeting peace the world gives. The disciples are again informed of the Lord’s departure and promised return (v. 28). The disciples should have rejoiced because Jesus was going to the Father, instead of selfishly desiring that He stay. In their essence and nature, Christ and the Father are equal (10:30) while also being distinct Persons. But in Christ’s incarnation and humanity, the Father is greater than the Son in function, not in possessing a superior essence. Both the Father and the Son are equally divine, though distinct in their personhood. But the Father is greater than the Son from the standpoint that Jesus submitted to and obeyed the Father, and came to do His will. In this Christ submitted fully to Him.

14:29-31. Christ had predicted His death and resurrection (13:31-32) so that when it happened, the disciples would believe. Fulfilled prophecy builds faith. Satan, the ruler of the world, holds control over the minds and hearts of the unbelievers (8:44; cf. Lk 4:6; Eph 2:2; 6:11-12; 1Jn 5:19). Although believers have divine protection (Jn 17:15), they are tempted by Satan (2Co 2:11; Eph 4:7; 1Pt 5:8). But the Devil was defeated at the cross and will ultimately be destroyed (see the comment on 12:31). Jesus said he was soon coming (cf. 12:31; 16:11), i.e., in Judas (cf. 13:27), in the garden to betray Him. As the sinless Messiah (8:46; Heb 4:15; 1Jn 3:5), Jesus could declare he [Satan] has nothing in Me (i.e., no sin through which to gain control). To the end that the world may know that Christ loves the Father, He did all things exactly as the Father commanded Him, including the crucifixion and all the events leading to it. With the command let us go from here, the disciples left the upper room. At 18:1, they would leave the city.

D. Abiding in the Vine (15:1-17)

15:1-2. Israel was God’s unfaithful vine (Is 5:1-7; Ezk 17:5-10; Mt 21:33-41). But Jesus is the true and faithful vine and the Father is the vinedresser. See “Jesus’ Seven ‘I Am’ Claims” at 6:35. Two views predominate the identification of the various elements of the extended metaphor.

First, both the fruitless branch and the fruitful branch refer to true believers. This view is supported by the phrase every branch in Me, which refers to genuine believers. Elsewhere in the NT, nonbelievers are never said to be “in Me (Christ)” in any sense of the term. “In Me” in John denotes ongoing fellowship and is not identical with “in Christ” in Paul’s epistles. The verb translated takes away can just as easily be translated “lifts up,” denoting the Vinedresser’s action in stimulating growth in a fruitless branch (God helping a fruitless believer to produce fruit). In the viticulture of Israel, late fall was the season for removing dead branches (v. 6). The springtime (the time of the upper room message and Jesus’ death) was the season to “lift up” fruitless branches from the ground to encourage productivity. The fruitful branch (i.e., a fruitful believer) receives pruning (divine discipline) so that it might be even more fruitful.

A second approach understands the metaphors this way. There are two different kinds of branches here, one that is fruitless, is taken away (airo is used frequently with this sense in John’s gospel; cf. 2:16; 11:39, 41; 17:5; 20:1, 2, 13, 15), is thrown away, dries up, and is burned (v. 6). The fruitless branch represents one who, like Judas, is associated with Jesus (in Me), but who had no true connection with Him and thus no fruit. The other category is one that bears fruit, receives pruning, abides, and bears more fruit (vv. 2, 4-5), and represents the true believer. This view is supported by the common meaning of airo, and the contrast between the two kinds of branches. Under the first view, the two branches receive the same treatment, namely nurturing so that fruitfulness might result. But Jesus seems to intend a contrast between them, punctuated by the discarding and burning of the fruitless branch. Finally, in v. 16, Jesus chose the disciples to bear fruit, suggesting that if there is no fruit, then they were not chosen (in a salvific, elective sense) by Him, and thus would face judgment (burning).

The majority of scholars favor the second view, but both views share the common concern of the need to maintain intimacy with Christ (to abide in Him) and to produce fruit in keeping with that relationship.

15:3-5. “Clean” (katharos) is a related Greek word to “prune” (kathairo) in v. 2. Because of the word which Jesus had spoken to them that night, the eleven disciples were “cleansed” or “pruned” for sacrificial service (13:12-17). Abide in Me (v. 4) sets the necessary condition for fruit-bearing and the vital union in which Christ lives dynamically in the believer (cf. Eph 3:17). Just as a branch cannot bear fruit in and of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can believers bear fruit unless they abide in (remain intimate with) Christ.

15:5-6. Christ is the vine, the life source, and believers are the branches, the place where fruit is produced. Before Christ abides in the believer, the believer must abide in Christ. Followers of Jesus are not commanded to bear fruit but to abide. The believer who does not abide is thrown away as a branch and dries up (v. 6). According to the first view mentioned above under 15:1-2, the passage is parabolic, involving symbolism (cf. “as a branch”). So fire and burned are not references to hell. They symbolize (1) the uselessness of these branches (Mt 5:13); and/or (2) divine discipline now and reproof at the future evaluation of believers (1Co 3:13-15; 1Jn 2:28). According to the second view, the fruitless branches represent unbelievers who never abided in Christ, never produced fruit, and who are taken away from the vine and burned (i.e., will face God’s eternal judgment in hell). But this second view is unlikely since in the analogy, there is no such thing as a branch that has never been joined to the vine. “Branches” that have never had life in the vine are non-existent and can never be “burned.”

15:7-8. If … My words abide in you adds another qualification for abiding: the need to internalize Christ’s teachings (cf. Col 3:16). Then believers can ask whatever they wish, and their prayer is answered because they will be praying according to God’s will. Some believers lack fruit (vv. 2, 6) and are not “disciples” in the fullest sense (see comment on 8:31). When believers bear much fruit (v. 8), they prove to others that they are His disciples. Love is this proof (13:34-35; 15:12-13, 17).

15:9. Just as the Father has loved Me remarkably parallels the Son’s love for the disciples with the Father’s love for the Son. “Abiding in Me” is now defined as abiding in My love (cf. Jd 21; Rv 2:4). “Abiding” is a love relationship with Jesus.

15:10-11. The construction of this particular conditional statement (a third class condition using ean, “if,” plus an aorist subjunctive verb, “keep”) projects the action as hypothetical, as something to consider, without actually making a statement about the reality or degree of likelihood of its fulfillment. The idea is, “When people keep my commandments, they abide in My love.” My commandments refers to the new teachings of Christ in the NT, especially the command to love sacrificially (cf. Mt 5:21-48; see comment on 13:34). Believers cannot have Christ abiding in them without having His joy abiding in them as well (v. 11). As they abide, their joy may be made full. But as abiding can be lost, so can joy.

15:12-13. The command to love requires a supernatural component to fulfill, requires faith, and is more a choice than an emotion (for a definition of “love,” see the comments on 1Co 13:1-3). The priority for believers is to love one another first, since every believer is part of the family of God. Love may involve reproof (Gl 6:1-2). No love will ever be greater than when someone lay[s] down his life for his friends. Jesus was applying this principle foremost to His own death, but secondarily to all His followers (cf. 1Jn 3:16).

15:14-15. You are My friends parallels abiding in Christ since both result in intimacy (friendship). This friendship is conditioned on obedience as is demonstrated in the words if you do what I command you. Here the conditional statement indicates that if one is obedient to Jesus’ commands, it is correct to infer that such a person is Jesus’ friend. James informed us that Abraham’s works (not merely his faith), flowing out of his righteous standing before God by faith, made him a friend of God (Jms 2:22-23). No longer marks a dispensational change from the OT where the believer was treated like a servant (cf. Gl 4:1-5). New revelation (all things that I have heard from My Father) disclosed in Christ’s farewell teachings have now been made known to His disciples. See comments on 2:23 and 14:21.

15:16-17. I chose you does refer both to election to salvation for the eleven disciples and to Jesus’ choice of them to be His apostles (Lk 6:13; Ac 1:2) and carry out the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20). They were appointed to go and bear fruit—a love (cf. v. 17) that brings others to Christ (cf. Ac 2:41-47; 4:32-35). This fruit would remain because salvation is a permanent gift. Whatever you ask may specify asking for all that is necessary to win people to Christ. For ask of the Father in my name, see the comment on 14:13.

E. Ministering in the World (15:18–16:33)

15:18-19. Since the disciples are chosen to “go and bear fruit” (v. 17) in the world, they must be warned of the opposition they will face. The world, the evil spiritual order controlled by Satan (12:31; 14:30; 16:11), hates believers because they are identified with Jesus and it has hated Him before it hated any disciple of Christ. In saying this, Jesus called all believers to persecution with Him. The Eleven (and by application, all believers) have been chosen out of the world for a mission as Christ’s apostles (v. 16; 6:70; 13:18; Lk 16:13; Ac 1:2, 24). The world’s hatred is to be expected.

15:20-21. Jesus called the apostles to remember the word He had said to them about a slave not being greater than his master (13:16). The disciple will be treated like his master. Negatively, if they persecuted the Master, they will also persecute the disciple. Positively, if they kept the master’s word, they will keep the disciple’s word also, since the disciple will teach exactly what his master taught. Rejection of Christ’s followers (v. 21) reveals that such people do not know the One who sent the Messiah.

15:22-23. If the Messiah had not come to the Jewish people and spoken to them, revealing the nature of God, they could have continued unchallenged to claim their faith in God. But with the appearance of Jesus, it became evident that they were guilty of the sin of rejecting God because they rejected Jesus. They now had no excuse for their sin of rejecting their Messiah. He who rejects and therefore hates Jesus (v. 23) unconsciously rejects and hates God the Father also.

15:24-25. If Jesus had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin. The latter phrase means the Jewish people would not have the specific sin of rejecting their Messiah. Because of Jesus’ words (v. 22) and works, the nation’s abandonment of their Messiah was inexcusable. The miracles of Jesus, which no one else did, were unmatched by even the prophets (cf. 7:31; 9:32). For written in their Law as the whole OT, see comment on 10:34. Jesus cited Ps 69 as messianically fulfilled (cf. 2:17). David, who is hated for no sin of his own, represents the sinless Messiah who is hated WITHOUT A CAUSE.

15:26-27. As the disciples went into the world to testify, the world would respond with hatred, not friendship (vv. 18-25). Jesus was now promising the assistance of the Spirit in their testimony. For Helper, see comment on 14:16. Jesus said that He will send the Spirit from the Father. The Spirit of truth (see comment on 14:17) is essential for witness. Jesus promised the Eleven (v. 27), you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. A condition for apostolic witness was having been with Jesus from the time when John the Baptist was still free and active in his ministry, a time that overlapped with Jesus briefly (Ac 1:21-22). In Acts, Christ continued His ministry through the presence of the Spirit’s testimony in the Church.

16:1. These things I have spoken to you (see comment on 14:25) picks up the forewarnings about persecution (15:18-21). Without Christ’s warnings, the disciples may not have been kept from stumbling (skandalizo, a failure of faith causing one to discontinue being a disciple; cf. 6:61).

16:2-3. Two kinds of persecution are predicted: being expelled from the synagogue (cf. 9:22; 12:42) and being martyred. Perpetrators will reach the height of deception when they kill Christ’s disciples and think that they are offering service to God (cf. Ac 7:58-60). Such persecutions (These things, v. 3) arise from an ignorance of both the Father and the Son.

16:4-5. The coming time of persecution (v. 2) is now called their [the persecutors’] hour. The term implies the illusion of victory the persecutors will have over the disciples and is set in irony to Jesus’ “hour” (see comments on 2:4 and 4:21), the ultimate victory of the cross. At the beginning of His ministry, the Lord was personally with His disciples and received the brunt of maltreatment. After His death and resurrection, Jesus was going to the Father (v. 5) and would no longer be on earth to help. None of you asks Me forms an apparent contradiction with 13:36 and 14:5, but there the questions of Peter and Thomas were superficial and not pursued.

16:6-7. Sorrow had filled the heart of Jesus’ disciples over His departure. But His departure would be to their advantage (v. 7). The advantage may include: (1) without His departure, there is no death of Christ to cover sin; (2) the omnipresent ministry of the Spirit will be greater than the bodily presence of Christ; or (3) Christ’s departure will usher in the ministries of the Spirit (worldwide mission, baptism of the Spirit, etc.) and result in a fully spiritual experience (cf. 7:37-39).

16:8-11. When the Spirit comes He will reside in believers. His ministry to convict [expose and prove wrong] the world will be mediated through them (Mt 5:13-14) and the NT Scriptures. The Spirit proves the world wrong concerning: (1) sin (v. 9). The Spirit will expose the world’s guilt both for putting Jesus to death and for sin in general. This is necessary because they do not believe in Me. Unbelief is the primary sin of the world, and leads to all other sin; (2) righteousness (v. 10). The death and resurrection of Christ (because I go to the Father) proves the Savior’s righteousness and establishes the world’s false “religious” righteousness; (3) judgment (v. 11). On the cross the ruler of this world has been judged (see comment on 12:31). If the world’s ruler has been judged, the world is also implicated in judgment.

16:12-13. Although Jesus desired to say many more things to the disciples, He refrained from revealing truths they could not bear or understand before the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit is subordinate to the Son as the Son is to the Father. So the Spirit will not speak on His own initiative. He speaks only what He hears from Christ (v. 13). The Spirit will disclose to the apostles what is to come. This could refer to prophecy (e.g., Christ reveals the book of Revelation; Rv 1:1) or to all NT truth.

16:14-15. The Spirit will always glorify the Son, not Himself. Ministries that overemphasize the Spirit more than Christ are inappropriate. The Spirit will also take the truth that belongs to Jesus and disclose it to the disciples. The three persons of the Trinity share truth equally. So, all things that the Father has belong to Christ (v. 15), and the Spirit takes from Christ and imparts truth to us through the apostles’ writings (cf. 17:10).

16:16. In vv. 7-15, He taught that the Spirit would be their Advocate during His absence. Now in vv. 16-24, Jesus returned to the subject of the sorrow the disciples would have when He was gone (vv. 5-6). It was within hours (a little while; 13:33; 14:19) that Christ would die and the apostles would no longer see Him. Then again a little while, and they would see Jesus—a reference to the resurrection, not the second coming.

16:17-18. Some of His disciples were confused about His remark (v. 16) that in a little while they would not see Him, but then again a little while they would see Him. They were also puzzled about His earlier statement that He was soon to go to the Father (v. 10; cf. 14:2-3, 28). So they were saying (v. 18) suggests a private discussion ensued and that Jesus’ teachings on that night were not an uninterrupted sermon.

16:19-20. Jesus knew hints at the Lord’s supernatural knowledge (2:24-25; 13:1, 11; 19:28) as is implied in the rhetorical question that follows, Are you deliberating together about this … ? In v. 20, Jesus answered His own question. Truly, truly (see comment on 1:51) introduced a seriousness in Jesus’ announcement. In drastic contrast to the disciples’ coming sorrow over Jesus’ upcoming crucifixion (v. 20), the world will rejoice with a sinful joy. This corrupt joy reveals the depravity of the human heart. But the grief of the Eleven will be short-lived and will be turned into long-lasting joy by the resurrection.

16:21-22. A short parable that the Lord gave illustrated the emotional changes that would come to the disciples. The OT pictured the age that leads to the Messiah (both first and second coming) as the pain of a woman who is in labor. The words her hour has come parallel Jesus’ statements about His “hour” (2:4; 13:1). Like a woman’s joy when her child has been born, the disciples’ heart[s] will rejoice at Messiah’s resurrection (v. 22). That no one will take your joy away points to the indisputable evidence that will confirm the Lord’s resurrection.

16:23-24. In that day you will not question Me looks to the time after the resurrection when Jesus’ death will be understood. For ask the Father for anything in My name, see the comment on 14:13. Until now (v. 24) designates the NT era when believers pray in Jesus’ name. Prayer is not restricted to praise or thanksgiving. Jesus repeatedly taught that believers can ask and they will receive (cf. Mt 7:7-8). Answered prayer results in joy being made full.

16:25-28. Coherent prayers could not be offered in Jesus’ name (v. 24) if the disciples lacked understanding. Jesus had been speaking in figurative language (e.g., the woman in labor, v. 22; the vine and branches, 15:1-8). However, after the resurrection (an hour is coming), He would tell them plainly of the Father (cf. Lk 24:27; Ac 1:3). For the sixth time that evening (v. 26), Jesus taught the disciples to ask in My name (Jn 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26; see the comment on 14:13). Jesus did not need to request of the Father on the disciples’ behalf. The Father was already well disposed toward them (v. 26; the Father Himself loves you). God loves everyone (3:16). But here the Father’s love is dependent on the believer’s love for Him (because you have loved Me). This expresses the deeper intimacy that the Father has with obedient believers (see comment on 14:21-22). Just as our love for our enemies (Mt 5:44) will differ from our love for an obedient child, so the Father has a special love for the believer. Jesus summarized His entire mission (v. 28) by describing His divine origin (I came forth from the Father), His incarnation (and have come into the world), His death and resurrection (I am leaving the world again), and His ascension (and going to the Father).

16:29-30. Jesus spoke of a future day when His words would become clear (v. 25). How little the disciples truly understood will be exposed in the coming hours when they would all fall away (v. 31; Mk 14:27, 50). Yet they claimed, Lo [behold, look], now you are speaking plainly … Now we know … we believe that You came from God (v. 30). The disciples thought the time for clear understanding had just begun, and they confessed their “confident” faith in Jesus’ heavenly origin. But their faith was soon to be shaken. Jesus needed to confront their overconfidence.

16:31-33. Christ recognized the disciples’ self-assurance in His question Do you now believe? Instead of their acting in faith (v. 32), He predicted that they would all be scattered in fear (cf. Zch 13:7; Mt 26:31) and would leave Him alone to be arrested and crucified without human support. Only the Father would be with Him. Jesus’ words that evening (in Me you may have peace, v. 33) would lead the disciples to peace when they returned to abiding in Him (Jn 15:1-11). This peace will be possible despite future tribulation. Christ’s promise I have overcome the world will lead the disciples to take courage. The final words of Jesus to His disciples end on a note of victory (cf. Rm 8:37-38; 1Co 15:54-57).

F. Praying for All Believers (17:1-26)

The verses of chap. 17 comprise the longest prayer of Jesus in Scripture, sometimes called Christ’s High Priestly Prayer. Jesus first prayed for Himself (vv. 1-5), then for his disciples (vv. 6-19), and last for all believers (vv. 20-26).

17:1-3. Jesus began His prayer by lifting up His eyes to heaven, a common Jewish custom suggesting His confidence in the Father (cf. 11:41; Mk 7:34). His first request was for the Father to glorify His Son (see comment on 13:31). This was not self-seeking since its purpose was that the Son may glorify the Father in return. Jesus received delegated authority over all people (v. 2), including authority to give eternal life and to judge (5:27). For all whom You have given Him, see vv. 6, 9, 24 and comments on 6:37, 39. Eternal life is defined as coming (by faith) to know personally both the only true God, and Jesus Christ.

17:4-5. Jesus glorified God in that He accomplished the work (the earthly ministry) God gave Him to do. The verb “glorify” in these verses means “to manifest the splendid greatness of another,” in this case God and Christ. This work was finalized on the cross when Jesus cried, “It is finished” (19:30). The request for the Father to glorify the Son (v. 1) is repeated in v. 5. Since this glory will be equal to the glory that Jesus had with God before the world was created (cf. 1:1-3), Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (exaltation) are included in the “work.” “Glory” and “glorify” in vv. 1-5 carry slightly different nuances. (1) The Son is to be glorified in His “hour,” i.e., the cross and resurrection (v. 1). (2) The cross/resurrection would glorify the Father in that it would complete the Son’s authority to give eternal life to all who believe (v. 2). (3) The Son has glorified the Father on earth by His works (v. 4). (4) The Son will be glorified in heaven together with the Father in the ascension and eternity future (v. 17:5a). (5) The future glory of the Son will equal the glory He had with the Father in eternity past (17:5b).

17:6-8. To manifest God’s name means to reveal His character and attributes. The disciples (and all believers) are given as a gift from the Father to the Son (cf. v. 2) and spiritually taken out of the world. This expresses the divine side of salvation. The disciples also responded by faith (they have kept Your word), the human side. Their faith included the understanding that everything the Father had given the Son (v. 7) originally belonged to the Father. Jesus’ additional words underscored the disciples’ faith (v. 8): they received … and truly understood … and they believed.

17:9-11. In vv. 9-11, Jesus prayed for His disciples. I ask on their behalf points primarily to the Eleven (cf. vv. 6, 8). What belonged to the Father is now in the omnipotent care of the Son (those whom You have given Me; cf. v. 2). The shared divine status of the Father and the Son is conveyed in the statement all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine (v. 10). After Jesus’ departure, the unity of the apostles would be under attack. So Jesus prayed, keep them in Your name (v. 11). A person’s name represented his character. For the Father to “keep” the apostles in His name meant that He would maintain among them the whole truth His Son had revealed about the Father (cf. v. 6). The outcome would be a complete unity among the Eleven (that they may be one). This unity among the apostles is modeled on the impeccable unity of the Father and the Son (even as We are), and evidences itself in the harmony of NT Scriptures.

17:12-13. Your name which You have given Me is another of Christ’s astounding claims. The name given to Jesus is “I AM” (see comment on 8:24, 58). By identifying Himself as “I AM,” Jesus revealed Himself with the Father’s own name. Like the term “sons of light” (12:36), son of perdition means “belonging to” destruction, not predestined to hell. That the Scripture would be fulfilled alludes to Ps 41:9 (cf. Jn 13:18). Judas fulfilled at least three OT prophecies (Ps 69:25; 109:8; cf. Ac 1:20). In v. 12, Jesus had spoken of the time He “was with them” on earth. But now I come to You (v. 13) is set in contrast to v. 12. The statement is not a reference to Jesus’ coming to the Father in prayer but to His future ascension (vv. 11, 12).

17:14-16. The communication to the disciples is now complete (I have given them Your word). Jesus reminded the Father that the world has hated His disciples because of their identity with their Savior. But instead of asking the Father to take them out of the world (v. 15), Christ asked Him to keep them from the evil one (vv. 11, 15). This phrase could be translated, “keep them from evil.” But Johannine usage strongly favors “evil one,” i.e., Satan (1Jn 2:13, 14; 3:12; 5:18, 19). Paul also mentioned this protection (1Co 10:13; 2Co 12:9). Verse 16 repeats v. 14b, showing that our new relationship to Christ is the foundation for His request for our protection. For more on v. 15a and its implications for Rv 3:10, see the comment on Rv 3:10.

17:17. Sanctify means to “set apart” for God’s use which, according to v. 18, is the mission to the world. All sin involves being deceived in some regard. Sanctification or growth in holiness (Rm 6:22; 1Th 4:3) includes the process of replacing lies with truth. God’s word is the source of this truth. Scripture is not just “true,” as if there were another standard to which the Bible rightly conforms. All Scripture is “God-breathed” (see comment on 2Tm 3:16) and therefore is the source of truth, just as Jesus is truth (14:6).

17:18-19. Sanctification (v. 17) is not isolation from but mission to the world. Just as the Father sent Christ into the world, so too Christ has sent His disciples into the world (cf. 15:6; Mt 28:18-20). Jesus prayed, For their sakes I sanctify Myself, signifying how He has set apart Himself to the Father’s will (i.e., to go to the cross in fulfillment of Jesus’ mission). There is nothing commanded of the Christian, even being sanctified in truth, that Christ has not first modeled.

17:20-21. Christ prayed for those also who would believe in Him through the disciples’ word—their preaching and writing of Scripture. His prayer was specifically for the unity of all believers (that they may all be one; v. 21; cf. v. 11). The prayer is answered foremost through Spirit baptism in which every believer is placed into the one body of Christ (cf. 10:16; 1Co 12:13; Rm 12:5; Gl 3:28; Eph 4:4). Elsewhere believers are commanded to live out this integral unity (13:34-35; Rm 12:16; 1Co 1:10).

17:22-23. Jesus prayed for a unity parallel to that between the Father and the Son (that they may be one, just as We are one). The full answer to Jesus’ prayer will not come until heaven, when all believers are perfected in unity (v. 23). But to maintain that His prayer has not been answered is to suggest that He has failed in His mission or that His prayer was not in accordance with the Father’s sovereign will. It is better to argue that there is fundamental unity among all believers in the key points of the Christian faith (for example, the authority of Scripture; salvation by grace through faith; the deity of Christ; the triunity of God; the resurrection of Christ, and the second coming), while the details are clearly disputed. The problem arises, however, when believers become divisive about the secondary issues. In order to reach the world, Christians are to practice their positional unity in Christ (see comments on vv. 11, 21). There is no more shocking truth about believers than that God has loved them even as He has loved His own Son.

17:24. For the fifth time, Jesus addressed God as Father. For they … whom You have given Me (cf. v. 2). As a direct result of Jesus’ prayer, every believer will be with Christ in heaven where He will be (cf. 14:2-3).

17:25-26. Despite knowing the unjust treatment ahead, Jesus called God loving (v. 24) and righteous. This came about only because Jesus had known the Father. That Jesus will make [future tense] the Father known (v. 26) points to the role of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost (14:26; 16:13-14). The result will be that love will dominate the lives of the disciples (the love with which You loved Me may be in them) and Christ will abide in them (cf. 15:1-11).

IV.  Passion Ministry: Sacrificial Nature of Jesus’ Death (18:1–20:31)

So as not to distract from his presentation of Jesus’ matchless resolve as the Son of God to go to the cross, John left out details of Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane (for which see the comments on Mt 26:30-46; Mk 14:26-42; Lk 22:39-46). He also included more detail concerning the trial before Pilate. For example, Jesus and Pilate dialog in John (Jn 18:33-38; 19:9-11), but in the Synoptics Jesus is portrayed as silent (Mt 27:14; Mk 15:5; Lk 23:9). John also cited the fulfillment of several messianic prophecies (Jn 19:24, 28, 36, 37).

A. Betrayal and Arrest (18:1-11)

18:1. John’s words He went forth with His disciples are best understood as their departure from Jerusalem, not from the upper room (cf. 14:31). They proceeded across the ravine of the Kidron on the east side of Jerusalem, and to a garden or grove of olive trees called Gethsemane (cf. the comments on Mt 26:36; Mk 14:32), which means “olive press,” at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The preincarnate Christ entered the garden of Eden to fellowship with people (Gn 3:8). Now he entered a garden leading to His death and resurrection (Jn 19:41; 20:15) so as to restore this lost fellowship.

18:2-3. Judas easily found the garden because he knew the place. In fact, Jesus had often met there with His disciples, perhaps for prayer. The Gentile Roman cohort (v. 3) was a detachment of 600 men, but the full number may not have been deployed. Contrary to religious custom, Jewish officers willingly joined the Gentile soldiers (see also Mt 26:51). The lanterns and torches were for the nighttime search, and the weapons were in anticipation of serious resistance.

18:4-6. Jesus, even though He knew all the things that were coming upon Him, did not retreat from the impending dangers. Instead, He went forth to meet His enemies. By asking Whom do you seek? and gaining the reply Jesus the Nazarene (v. 5), Christ effectively prepared for His disciples’ release. His reply I am He (“He” is not in the Gk.) recalls Jesus’ use of the same term to claim deity (see comments on 4:26; 6:35; 8:58). Precisely when He said to them, I am He (v. 6), His opponents fell to the ground. The collapse of the soldiers came in reaction to a small taste of the divine power of Jesus. If He had chosen to do so, He could have exercised this divine power sufficiently to escape His arrest and crucifixion. But he withheld this power and thereby demonstrated that He was going to the cross willingly (10:17-18).

18:7-9. A second time, Jesus asked, Whom do you seek? leading to the second I am He testimony from Jesus (vv. 5, 8) and a third by John (v. 6). With these words, Jesus both interceded for His disciples (cf. His prayer in chap. 17) and acted as their substitute (cf. His death in chap. 19). Since they sought only “Jesus the Nazarene,” He could request, So if you seek Me, let these go their way (v. 8). Verse 8 indicates that it was Jesus’ wish that the disciples not stay with Him throughout His ordeal, so that their abandonment of Him was not the moral or spiritual failure it is sometimes made out to be. The denial of Peter, however, was inappropriate. The phrase to fulfill the word (v. 9) is used by the author elsewhere of OT Scripture (12:38; 13:18; 15:25; 19:24, 36). But here Jesus’ words spoken earlier (17:12) are given a fulfillment, placing Jesus’ words on a level with Scripture.

18:10-11. True to his character revealed elsewhere (13:8, 37; 21:7; Mt 16:22), Peter impulsively drew his short sword (machaira), probably hidden under his clothes, and struck the high priest’s slave, cutting off his right ear. These details, including John’s knowledge that the slave’s name was Malchus, suggest John personally knew the high priest and his slave (cf. v. 15). Contrary to Peter’s misunderstanding (v. 11), Jesus must drink the cup which the Father had given Him (a metaphor for His crucifixion).

B. Interrogation and Trial (18:12–19:16)

18:12-14. The first phase of the six-phase trial of Jesus took place at night. Jesus was bound and led to Annas first (v. 13). Except for Peter and John, the disciples had all scattered (16:32; Mt 25:56). Annas reigned as high priest from AD 6–15. But he continued to influence the subsequent high priests. Caiaphas, his son-in-law, was high priest from AD 18–36. That year refers to the prophesied year of Christ’s death (Dn 9:24-26). Since Caiaphas foresaw the prudence of one man dying on behalf of the people (v. 14; cf. 11:49-52), God sovereignly placed him in the position of high priest (cf. Rm 13:1) during the year foreordained for Christ’s death.

18:15-16. In the trial narrative, only two disciples are mentioned: Peter and another disciple—probably John. He was known to the high priest (mentioned twice; vv. 15, 16), Annas. John’s father, Zebedee, seemed to have been affluent (e.g., he had servants, Mk 1:20). This may have brought John into contact with Annas and Caiaphas since they were also wealthy. So John freely entered with Jesus into the court of Annas, but had to negotiate for Peter’s admittance (v. 16).

18:17-18. Peter’s first temptation to deny Christ came through the least likely source—a slave-girl. She asked if Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples. Her question anticipated a negative answer (You are not … are you?) and tempted Peter all the more to deny it. Peter feared being identified as a disciple of Jesus in front of the slaves and the officers there (v. 18). John’s comment that it was cold marks out both the physical and the spiritual climate.

18:19-21. The interrogation before the high priest, Annas, was an unofficial pretrial. In hopes of finding blame, Annas questioned Jesus about His disciples to discern if there were sufficient numbers for a charge of insurrection. He also questioned Him about His teaching in hopes of finding grounds for blasphemy. Jesus replied that He had no secret plans or hidden teachings. With the words I spoke nothing in secret (v. 20), Jesus identified Himself with the God of the OT (Is 45:19; 48:16). Additionally (v. 21), the information about His teachings that Annas sought was readily available from those who had heard what Jesus taught.

18:22-24. Besides the illegal nature of the preliminary investigation, one of the officers standing nearby Annas unjustly struck Jesus. The officer’s actions and his question Is that the way You answer the high priest? show his obsequious respect for the high priest. Jesus responded by calling for witnesses as the law required (8:17; Dt 17:6; 19:15) to testify of the wrong He had allegedly done. With this point, John wrote (v. 24) that Annas sent Jesus still bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Both Annas and Caiaphas are called high priest in John (vv. 13, 15, 16, 22, 24, 26; cf. Lk 3:2) even though Annas no longer had legal authority (see vv. 13-14).

18:25-27. Annas was fearful of the threat posed by the disciples, while ironically Peter was nearby denying Christ. According to the Synoptics, they said to him included the servant girl who kept the door (v. 17; Mk 14:69), another servant girl (Mt 26:71), and another unidentified person (Lk 22:58). Others may have joined in the question You are not also one of His disciples, are you? For a second time, Peter denied Christ. When a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off was sure he saw Peter in the garden with Jesus, Peter then denied it a third time. Just then a rooster crowed, fulfilling Jesus’ earlier prophecy (Jn 13:38). Jesus would have six phases in His trial and would be faithful in each; Peter had three tests and failed in each.

18:28-29. The Jewish leaders led Jesus to the Praetorium (the governor’s palace) early in the morning. They themselves went into the courtyard but not into the palace so that they would not be ceremonially defiled. While their bodies were not defiled, their hearts were. The Passover meal itself was now ended (13:1-2). The words eat the Passover do not refer to the actual Passover meal itself, which Jesus and all the Jewish people had already consumed. “Passover” can include not only the memorial meal, but also the week of celebration that followed it called “the Feast of Unleavened Bread” (see Nm 28:16-19; Lk 22:1). The religious leaders would not enter Pilate’s residence so as to avoid making themselves ritually unclean. By keeping themselves ritually clean they could celebrate and serve during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which followed the Passover celebration. Some maintain that Jesus had a meal before the Passover meal, but that is not the case. Pilate, governor of Judea in AD 26–36, went out to the Jewish leaders to receive their charges against Christ. For more on Pilate, see the comments on Mt 27:1-2.

18:30-32. Since the Jewish leaders hated Pilate for his cruelty, they responded contemptuously, evading a direct answer to Pilate’s request for official charges against Christ. If the Jewish leaders charged Jesus with blasphemy (cf. 10:33, 36), Pilate would be unconcerned. His reply showed this to be true (v. 31): judge Him yourself according to your law. But the Sanhedrin had no power to put Jesus to death without official Roman approval. If the Jewish leadership put Him to death themselves, He would be stoned to death according to the law of Moses (Lv 24:16). This act would be considered mob action and would be illegal under Roman law. But in order to fulfill Jesus’ own prophecy (v. 32; cf. 3:14; 8:28; 12:32, 33) signifying by what kind of death He was about to die, Jesus had to be crucified under Roman jurisprudence.

18:33-34. Pilate likely had been informed that Jesus claimed to be the King of Jews. If this were political, the emperor would hold Pilate responsible. So he reentered the Praetorium, and asked Jesus directly, Are You the King of the Jews? If Pilate’s question of “king” was from his own political vantage point (Are you saying this on your own initiative …?, v. 34), Jesus’ answer would be “No.” But if the Jews were the source of the question, Jesus indeed was the King of the Jews.

18:35-37. Ultimately, Pilate was uninterested in Jewish debates about their “king.” The chief priests had delivered Jesus to him. So it was necessary for him to ask Jesus what He had done to receive these charges. This afforded Christ the opportunity to define His kingdom (v. 36). Its origin and principles were not of this evil world system (kosmos). Otherwise, His servants would be leading an insurrection. Pilate replied (v. 37), So You are a king? The governor was looking for the truth and Jesus confirmed it—He was a king. The reason He came to earth was to testify to the truth. All those under the influence of truth would respond to Jesus’ teaching.

18:38-40. Overlooking Jesus, the Truth (14:6), Pilate asked sarcastically, What is truth? and went out again to the Jews. What is truth? is typically viewed as a profound theological or philosophical question, but Pilate was simply asking a rhetorical question about the truth related to the case against Jesus, and could be translated, “What is the truth?” Although he now told them, I find no guilt in Him (the first of three times; cf. 19:4, 6), he would soon sidestep the truth about Christ’s innocence. For a Roman governor’s role in such a case, see the comments on Mt 27:11-14. Pilate is sometimes accused of being indecisive because he went back and forth between Jesus and the religious leaders several times. That is not the case. He was simply doing his job of gathering facts to help him render a verdict. There is yet no clear extrabiblical evidence for the custom of pardon at the Passover (v. 39; but see m. Pesach 8:6, and the comments on Mt 27:15-23). But the Synoptics support that this was Pilate’s practice (Mt 27:15; Mk 15:6). Barabbas (v. 40) was a known insurrectionist and murderer (Mk 15:7; Lk 23:19). The word for robber can also mean “revolutionary” (NET, HCSB). Barabbas, Aramaic for “son of abbey (father),” was released while Jesus, the true Son of the Father, was crucified.

19:1-3. In hopes of gaining the crowd’s sympathy and Jesus’ release, Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged, unknowingly fulfilling messianic prophecy (cf. Is 50:6; 53:5). A Roman whip was made by attaching pieces of metal to three leather straps. Scourging could repeatedly rip the victim’s flesh, causing death. A crown of thorns (v. 2) was placed on Jesus’ head, and a purple robe was thrown on Him, mocking His claim to be the King of the Jews. With the injurious thorns and the slaps in the face (v. 3), Jesus’ face would have been bloody and disfigured (cf. Is 52:14; 53:2, 3).

19:4-5. For the second time (cf. 18:38), Pilate announced that he had found no guilt in Christ. Bringing Jesus out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe (v. 5) was Pilate’s desperate plan to humiliate Jesus and, he hoped, to change the crowd’s intentions. Pilate’s proclamation Behold, the Man! mocked Jesus as a pathetic representation of mankind. But in recording this statement, John hoped that all readers would look carefully at (behold) the One who has taken on human flesh (1:9, 14) and has represented mankind in His sacrificial death.

19:6-7. Undeterred, the Jewish authorities callously cried out, Crucify Him, crucify Him! For the third time (cf. 18:38; 19:4) Pilate insisted, I find no guilt in Him. Pilate’s third reiteration of Jesus’ innocence indicates one of the Fourth Gospel’s emphases—that Jesus was innocent of the charges levied against Him. The Romans permitted its conquered provinces to exercise their own religious laws. So the Jewish leaders (v. 7) insisted on Jesus’ death because He violated their law against blasphemy (Lv 24:16) by making Himself out to be the Son of God in equality with God (cf. 5:18), and Pilate crucified Jesus because he wanted to get out from under the pressure of the Jewish leaders and to save his own position. Yet it was Pilate’s responsibility to ensure justice in this case, and his opinion that he found no guilt in Him (v. 6) obligated him to release Jesus (see also the comments on 19:14-16).

19:8-9. Driven by pagan Roman beliefs (cf. Ac 14:11), Pilate became even more afraid when he heard that Jesus might be a god come to earth. His wife’s fearful dream added to his worries (cf. Mt 27:19). He again took Jesus into the Praetorium (v. 9; the Fortress of Antonia at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount) and asked him privately, Where are You from? The governor knew his earthly origin was Galilee (Lk 23:6-7). Was He a god come from heaven? Jesus gave him no answer, fulfilling messianic prophecy (Is 53:7).

19:10-12. Aggravated by Jesus’ silence, Pilate boastfully threatened, Do You not know that … I have authority to crucify You? But Pilate (v. 11) had no earthly authority to sentence Jesus to crucifixion unless it had been given to him from above (cf. Pr 8:15; Rm 13:1). Pilate wished to release Jesus. For this reason, his guilt was less than the one who delivered Jesus to Pilate. The reference is to the powerful high priest, Caiaphas, who sent Jesus to Pilate to be condemned (Jn 18:30, 35). Therefore, the high priest had the greater sin because the greater the knowledge, the greater the culpability. Nevertheless, greater sin indicates lesser sin. It is incorrect to exonerate Pilate and not include him among those guilty for the death of Jesus (cf. Ac 4:27-28). Finally, the crowd confronted Pilate’s inclination to release Jesus because he saw no guilt in Him (v. 12). If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar.

19:13. To make the proceedings official, Pilate sat down on the judgment seat, a raised platform for rendering judicial decisions. The platform was located at The Stone Pavement (cf. ESV, NIV). Now at the “Stone Pathway,” many will stumble over the Messiah, the “stone of stumbling” (Is 8:14; Rm 9:33; 1Pt 2:8).

19:14-16. The day of preparation for the Passover means the day before the Sabbath (Friday) of Passover week (cf. 19:31), and the Sabbath started at sundown. Fridays were called “preparation day,” for the Jewish people would use Friday before sundown to prepare for the Sabbath. John noted that it was now about the sixth hour (noon). At the time the Lamb of God (cf. 1:29) was about to be sacrificed, Jewish tradition suggests the priests began to slaughter the Passover lambs in the temple. During the time of Jesus’ ministry, Jewish people calculated Nissan 14, the date of the Passover (Lv 23:5), in two different ways. Jesus, His disciples, and the Pharisees followed the Galileans method in which the day was from sunrise to sunrise.

In the year of Jesus’ crucifixion, Nissan 14 began for them on Thursday morning, and they celebrated the Passover meal early Thursday evening. The Sadducees calculated the day from sunset to sunset. Nissan 14 began at Thursday’s sunset, and the Passover lamb was sacrificed Friday afternoon. Their Passover meal was eaten before the sunset that evening. The Synoptics are written with the first method in view; John was written from the viewpoint of the second method. This explains why Jesus celebrated the Passover on Thursday evening (Jn 13:1-2), but He was crucified Friday while the Passover lamb was being slain in the temple in anticipation of the Passover meal.

To Pilate’s announcement Behold, your King! John recorded three stark replies to take Christ away and crucify Him (v. 15). Pilate mocked them in return. Shall I crucify your King? The same Jews who accused Jesus of blasphemy, now themselves blasphemed, claiming Caesar to be their only king. Pilate succumbed to the Jewish leaders’ demand (v. 16) and the crucifixion began. Pilate’s action was completely irresponsible. It was his job as governor to ensure that justice prevailed, but he abdicated his duty and allowed the Roman soldiers under his authority to crucify Jesus (see v. 23) to appease the Jewish leaders.

C. Crucifixion and Burial (19:17-42)

19:17-18. As was traditional for Roman crucifixions, Jesus carried His own cross (i.e., the crossbeam). The Synoptics record that Simon of Cyrene (a city in northeastern Africa) was soon conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross for Him (Mt 27:32; Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26). The destination was called the Place of a Skull. “Calvary” derives from the Latin word calvaria for skull. Today, the pristine garden called Gordon’s Calvary (also known as the “Garden Tomb”) outside the old city of Jerusalem is often identified as the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and tomb. But there is considerable historical and archeological evidence for locating Calvary at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and virtually none for the Garden Tomb. To add to the insult against Jesus, two other men (v. 18), both criminals (Lk 23:33), were crucified on either side of Jesus. One of them came to faith (Lk 23:39-43).

19:19-22. Pilate also wrote an inscription that was intended to ridicule the Jewish people and Jesus but inadvertently publicized the truth: JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Numerous Jews (v. 20) passing by read this inscription. This was possible because the place where Jesus was crucified was on a public roadway near the city. This testimony of Jesus’ identity was far-reaching since it was written in the three principal languages (Hebrew or Aramaic, Latin, and Greek) read by Jews and Romans (Gentiles). The Jewish leadership (v. 21) vehemently objected to Pilate’s wording, insisting that he write only that He said, I am King of the Jews. This protest aroused Pilate’s obstinacy. His response (v. 22), What I have written I have written, means in modern terms “Take it or leave it!”

19:23-25a. The soldiers who had crucified Jesus divided His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier. Apparently four soldiers carried out the crucifixion—a detail John alone recorded. The tunic or undergarment, however, was seamless, woven in one piece. Since the OT high priest may have worn a seamless garment (Josephus, Ant. 3.161-62), some have seen this as symbolic of Christ’s high priestly ministry on the cross. The soldiers chose to divide Jesus’ clothing and keep the seamless garment as one piece and cast lots for it instead (v. 24). As such, they unwittingly fulfilled two statements in Ps 22:18, THEY DIVIDED … THEY CAST LOTS.

19:25b-27. Four women, not three, were standing by the cross. It is unlikely that His mother’s sister is to be identified with Mary the wife of Clopas, making Mary the name of both the mother of Jesus and her sister. For Mary Magdalene, see comments on 20:1; Lk 8:2. The sister of Jesus’ mother may be the same as “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” in Mt 27:56, making Jesus’ mother John’s aunt. If so, it is quite natural for Jesus to instruct John, the disciple whom He loved (v. 26; see Introduction: Author), to care for His mother. For Woman as a polite address, see 2:4. John obeyed the Lord’s instructions immediately (from that hour, v. 27).

19:28-30. Only John recorded that to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus cried, I am thirsty. He was physically thirsty (Pss 22:15; 69:21). Profuse bleeding, like profuse perspiration, dehydrates the body and causes intense thirst. Hyssop (v. 29) was used in the Passover (Ex 12:22) to spread the blood of the lambs on the doorposts, and may underscore Jesus as the true Passover Lamb. Jesus had earlier refused a pain-killing wine-myrrh mixture (cf. Mk 15:23; but see also the comments on Mt 27:33-37), but now took the simple sour wine (v. 30). His final announcement in John, It is finished! confirmed that the atonement had now been completed. Since He Himself gave up His spirit, Christ fulfilled His prophecy that no one would take His life from Him (Jn 10:11, 15, 17, 18).

19:31. For the day of preparation, see comment on 19:14. Crucifixion was often prolonged for days as the crucified person excruciatingly pushed upward on his nailed feet to relieve his outstretched arms and prevent asphyxiation. Breaking the legs of the victim hastened death.

19:32-34. That the soldiers broke the legs of the two men who were crucified along with Jesus sets in contrast Christ’s unique death. The soldiers observed (v. 33) that Christ was already dead, and therefore did not need to break His legs to hasten His death. To be absolutely sure, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear (v. 34). The blood and water that came out indicated that Jesus’ heart no longer functioned. John may have included these details for symbolic purposes too. The water flowing from Christ’s side symbolized the promise of the Spirit prophesied in 7:37-39, and the blood recalled the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. According to later rabbinic tradition (see m. Pesahim 5:3, 5), blood from a sacrificed animal was required to run freely from its body at the time of death. Another tradition required the priest to pierce the heart of the animal and thereby cause it to bleed to death (see m. Tamid 4:2; for these references, see NET note on Jn 19:34). It is possible that what John recorded here reflects an early form of these traditions.

19:35-37. At the climax of the death of Christ, John interjected a personal testimony to the truth of his report (cf. 20:31-32). The readers are addressed with the words so that you [emphatic in Greek] also may believe. As further proof of the truth of Christ’s death, John cited the fulfillment of two messianic prophecies (v. 36). First, Scripture predicted that the Messiah’s bones would not be BROKEN (Ps 34:20), as typified in the Passover lamb (Ex 12:46; Nm 9:12). Second (v. 37), Israel will one day call for the Messiah to return to them and they will see Him as the One who was pierced. Thus, Zch 12:10 indicates that the Messiah, at His first coming, would be pierced. But at His second coming, THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM in faith WHOM THEY PIERCED (cf. the quote of Zch 12:10 in Rv 1:7, and the comments on Zch 12:10).

19:38-40. Joseph of Arimathea, mentioned in all four Gospels (Mt 27:57; Mk 15:43; Lk 23:50-51) was a secret disciple (see comments on Jn 3:9; 7:47-51; 12:42-43). Fear of the Jewish leadership had previously prevented him from boldly confessing his faith, though he did not stay that way for long. Joseph began to conquer this fear (“he gathered up courage,” Mk 14:43) when he asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. The association of Nicodemus (v. 39) with Joseph implies that Nicodemus was also a secret disciple—but now took a bold, open stand before Pilate. The reminder that Nicodemus was the one who had first come to Jesus by night underscores the hidden nature of his faith. His faith did, however, lead him now to act openly with Joseph against the sentiment of his fellow Sanhedrin members. Nicodemus brought myrrh for simple embalming and aloes for perfume. The hundred pounds (litra) is better translated “seventy-five pounds” (ESV, NIV), as a Roman litra was about 12 oz, not 16.

19:41-42. Joseph of Arimathea was the wealthy owner (Mt 27:57, 60) of a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. This demonstrates that after the resurrection, Jesus’ body could not be mistaken for another lying in the same tomb. Christ’s burial fulfilled prophecy: “They intended to bury him [the Messiah] with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb” (NET, Is 53:9). For the day of preparation (v. 42), see comment on v. 14.

D. Resurrection and Appearances (20:1-29)

John’s account of the resurrection is the most extensive of the four Gospels, with specific details of the empty tomb. First, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John confirmed Jesus’ resurrection (vv. 1-18). Then Jesus appeared to the disciples (except Thomas) in a closed room (vv. 19-23). Finally, Jesus appeared again to the disciples and affirmed to Thomas evidence of His resurrection (vv. 24-29).

20:1. Mary Magdalene was first introduced as one who looked on at the crucifixion (19:25). Jesus had delivered her from severe demon possession, and she followed Jesus, serving and supporting His ministry (Mt 27:55; Lk 8:1-3). On arrival at the tomb, Mary unexpectedly found the large round stone at the tomb’s entrance had been rolled away.

20:2-3. Mary ran to find Peter and John, the other disciple whom Jesus loved (see Introduction: Author; cf. 18:15-16; 19:26; 21:7, 20). The explanation of her flight is that she saw an angel inside the tomb (Mk 16:5) and that she suspected the Jewish authorities (they) had taken Jesus’ body away. Mary’s wording, we do not know, shows John’s awareness of the other women with Mary (cf. Mt 28:1; Mk 16:1; Lk 24:10). Based on Mary’s word, Peter and the other disciple (v. 3) proceeded to the empty tomb.

20:4-5. As Peter and John ran to the tomb, John (the other disciple; cf. v. 2) ran ahead faster and was the first to arrive. He stooped down (the opening of a rock tomb was usually low) and looked inside (v. 5). When he saw the linen wrappings lying there, something prevented him from entering—perhaps respect or fear of ceremonial defilement associated with contacting a corpse. But Peter did not share this hesitancy.

20:6-7. Since John waited for Peter’s arrival before entering the grave, Peter could be assured that when he saw the linen wrappings lying there, they were not repositioned by John. John’s delay provided for two authentic witnesses to the wrappings of the empty tomb. In contrast to the grave wrappings that bound Lazarus (11:44), Jesus’ face-cloth which had been on His head (v. 7) was lying separately, rolled up in a place by itself. Though it is impossible to say with any certainty, Jesus may have passed through the wrappings and left them right where He had lain. This orderly arrangement is evidence of resurrection, not robbery, and the separate face cloth makes it difficult to believe that a shroud that supposedly survived from Jesus’ burial is genuine.

20:8-10. John, the other disciple (cf. v. 2), entered the tomb after Peter—then saw and believed Jesus had risen from the dead. The eleven disciples (they) had failed until now to understand the [OT] Scripture, that the Messiah must rise again from the dead (v. 9). Later, Peter preached that Ps 16:10 had prophesied the resurrection (Ac 2:24-28). Since Peter and John went away again to their own homes (v. 10), John would have announced Christ’s resurrection to Jesus’ mother, Mary, who was now staying at his home (Jn 19:27). Since all the disciples except Judas Iscariot were from Galilee, the disciples’ homes in Jerusalem may have been temporary lodgings with family or friends for the Passover.

20:11-13. Jesus’ first resurrection appearance was to a woman, Mary Magdalene. This (1) confirms the historicity of the resurrection (no first-century writer would have created a narrative with a woman in such a critical role unless it actually transpired this way), and (2) highlights the importance of women in Jesus’ ministry. Mary (see v. 1) returned but remained outside the tomb weeping (klaio, lit., “wailing”). Still crying, she looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white. The presence of angels alone should have alerted Mary that Jesus’ body was not stolen and something supernatural had taken place. That the angels were seated where the body of Jesus had been lying also testified to His resurrection. The angels did not explain to Mary that Jesus was raised (v. 13). They simply asked, Woman, why are you weeping? as if to suggest that there was really no reason for sorrow. Mary answered the angels, explaining her theory that the body was stolen. Mary’s sorrow, soon turned to joy, would fulfill the promise Jesus gave the disciples in 16:20-22.

20:14-16. When Mary turned around, she did not recognize the One standing behind her. For Woman (v. 15), see comment on 2:4. Jesus repeated the question spoken by the angels (v. 13) but added Whom are you seeking? Mary thought the voice was that of the gardener. Perhaps he had placed the body elsewhere. But when Jesus affectionately called her by name (v. 16), she knew it was Jesus. Although she had often called Him Lord (vv. 2, 13, 18), she addressed Him as Rabboni (only elsewhere in Mk 10:51), which means Teacher. “Teacher” is the most common form of address for Jesus in the Gospels, but is never used of Him after the ascension (cf. 11:28).

20:17-18. Mary was clinging to Jesus, holding on to her earthly relationship with Christ. Some see in v. 17 a mystical demand that Mary not touch Christ because of His alleged descent to hell and that He had not yet been in His Father’s presence. The simpler and more likely explanation is that Mary was fervently clinging to Jesus. Therefore, Jesus encouraged her to let go of Him because He was not leaving just yet (Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father). He would be with them for a while longer, 40 more days before His ascension, and there would be more time for meaningful interaction later. Then through the Spirit after His ascension, He would be with them forever. Instead of clinging to Him, Jesus wanted Mary to go to the disciples and tell them what she saw and what He said. Mary was instructed to tell the disciples, I will soon ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. The first phrase focused on Jesus’ own unique relationship with the Father (My Father … My God). At the same time, the second phrase (your Father … your God) drew the disciples into a similar closeness to the Father that Jesus Himself had. This is also marked out by Jesus’ reference to His disciples as My brethren.

20:19-20. It was Sunday evening of resurrection day. The disciples were still in fear of the Jewish authorities and made sure the doors were shut (NIV, ESV, “locked”) where they gathered. For fear of the Jews, see 7:13; 12:42-43; 19:38. Miraculously, Jesus came and stood in their midst. Jesus’ address, Peace be with you, was a normal Hebrew greeting. At the sight of His imprinted hands and His scarred side, the disciples rejoiced (v. 20), fulfilling Jesus’ promise given in the upper room (16:20-22).

20:21-23. With a second pronouncement of peace (cf. 14:27; 16:33), Jesus commissioned His disciples as His witnesses (4:38; 13:20; Lk 24:46-49; Mt 28:18-20): as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. When Jesus breathed on His disciples (v. 22), He symbolized the coming gift of the Spirit received at Pentecost. When Jesus breathed (“on” is not included in the sense of the word) and said Receive the Holy Spirit He was probably acting in a symbolic way. It is unlikely that He gave, and the disciples received, the Spirit at this time. Jesus said earlier that the Spirit would not come to them until He left them (Jn 7:39; 16:7), and even immediately prior to His ascension He instructed them to wait for the Spirit’s coming (Ac 1:4, 5, 8).

Before Jesus died, the bread and the cup shared at the Passover-Communion celebration was done in anticipation of the actual giving of His body and blood. Likewise the act of Jesus breathing coupled with the command to receive the Spirit anticipated the Spirit coming at Pentecost. “Breath” and “Spirit” are the same word in Greek (pneuma), and Jesus’ breath probably symbolized His future sending of the Spirit following His ascension. It is unlikely that the disciples “received” or were “indwelt” by the Spirit at this time and then “baptized” in the Spirit as an experience subsequent to that at Pentecost. With this anticipatory commissioning came the authority of the apostles (and any believer) to announce to one who believes that their sins have been forgiven (v. 23) or to the one who does not believe that their sins have been retained (unforgiven).

20:24-25. Thomas was not with the twelve (now eleven since Judas Iscariot committed suicide; Mt 27:5). Didymus (mentioned three times, only by John, 11:16; 20:24; 21:2) means “the twin.” Perhaps John personally knew Thomas’s twin. Thomas’s unbelief was inexorable. He rejected the testimony of the women and all the other disciples who had seen the Lord (v. 25). Thomas insisted that he would not believe unless he personally put his finger into the place of the nails, and put his hand into Jesus’ side.

20:26-27. After eight days, i.e., the Sunday a week after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and Thomas. The circumstances duplicated His previous appearance (vv. 19-23) when the doors had been shut. The disciples still lacked the boldness they would receive at Pentecost. Thomas must have been shocked to hear Jesus tell him the same words (v. 27; cf. 25) he had told the other disciples about handling His hands and His side.

20:28-29. John’s writing reaches a climax with Thomas’s confession My Lord and my God! No greater affirmation of faith can be found than this announcement on the lips of Thomas. With it, John reiterated the theme of the deity of Christ provided in his introduction (1:1, 14, 18). Because you have seen Me, have you believed? (v. 29) is better expressed as a statement (“because you have seen Me, you have believed”; NKJV, NIV). Jesus affirmed Thomas’s designation that He is fully divine, just as God the Father is, and called blessed those future believers who will not see the resurrected Lord but will yet believe.

E. Purpose Statement (20:30-31)

20:30-31. The apostle’s purpose for his book is evangelistic. Since many other signs (for “sign,” see comment on 2:11) were done by Christ yet were not written in this book, John carefully selected his content for evangelism, especially among the Jewish people. To believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (these titles indicate His humanity, royalty, and deity, see also comments on 1:20, 34) means to be fully convinced that Jesus alone provides eternal life and resurrection (cf. comment on 11:25-27). Locating the purpose statement here rather than at the end of the book highlights Jesus’ blessing on those who believe in His death/resurrection apart from physical sight (v. 30). It also demonstrates that the resurrection is the greatest sign of the book.

V.  Epilogue (21:1-25)

In the Epilogue, the author challenged his readers who have believed to join in the mission of Christ to the world.

A. The Great Catch of Fish (21:1-14)

21:1-3. After these things is indefinite chronologically (cf. 20:26). An angel had told the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee (Mt 28:7). Their fishing expedition recalls the only other events in John’s gospel that took place at the Sea of Tiberias, namely the feeding of the 5,000 (Jn 6:10-14). On that occasion, Jesus taught that no one could come to Him unless the Father draws (helko) him (6:44; cf. 12:32). In 21:6 and 11, helko is used of the disciples drawing in their fishing net. The fishing expedition illustrates how Jesus will draw people to Himself through the mission of His followers. Early Christian readers would have detected in this story parallels with Lk 5:1-11. The sons of Zebedee are James and John (Mt 4:21), fishing partners with Peter (Lk 5:10).

21:4-5. Jesus appeared as the day was now breaking. Jesus manifested Himself (vv. 1, 14) in light to the disciples by His word. First, He spoke to them, addressing them as Children. Jesus had entered with them into a discipleship relationship in which He was their “father” (cf. 1Jn 2:18). His question (v. 5) you do not have any fish, do you? implied He had divine foreknowledge of the answer (cf. v. 17).

21:6-7. The supernatural catch is the only recorded miracle of Jesus after His resurrection. His promise you will find a catch was sufficient for the disciples to obey. Their obedience was rewarded with so many fish that they were not able to haul the net in. Like Thomas (20:28), John identified Jesus as Lord. Peter, after his denial of the Lord, reverted to his occupation prior to being called as a fisher of men. This miracle was designed to remind the disciples of their initial call to be fishers of men, a call associated with another enormous catch of fish in Lk 5:1-10. This miracle reiterated that call. The phrase he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), (the words for work are not in Greek) could be translated, “he tucked in his outer garment (for he had nothing on underneath it)” (NET). It is improbable that one who worked so frequently around water would put on his outer garment to dive into the sea and swim to shore. “Put on” (Gk., diazonnumi) can mean “tying up one’s clothing around oneself,” and “stripped” (Gk., gymnos) could mean “to wear nothing else underneath one’s outer garment.”

21:8-11. The charcoal fire (v. 9; a word only used elsewhere in 18:18) recalls Peter’s denial of Christ, which took place at a similar fire in the courtyard of the high priest. Perhaps the impending restoration of Peter at this charcoal fire was designed to impress upon him the seriousness of his denial at the earlier fire, and of the depth of Jesus’ forgiveness. Peter’s leadership was evident in that he drew the net to land. The number a hundred and fifty-three is unusual. John provided no indication that the number is a symbol. However, such an exact number verifies the eyewitness character of the author John (a fisherman by trade).

21:12-14. For the disciples to eat with Jesus was a strong verification of His resurrection (Ac 10:41). Jesus also took the bread and gave it to them along with the fish, reminding them of the Bread of Life message and the feeding of the multitude (Jn 6:11). This too confirmed their certainty of who He was. The author designated this as the third time that Jesus was manifested. In accord with the Jewish law that two or three witnesses establish the truth (cf. 8:17), John presented three accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances. But later many different appearances took place (1Co 15:5-8).

B. Future Roles of Peter and John (21:15-23)

21:15-17. The following threefold exchange between Christ and Peter paralleled the apostle’s threefold denial of Christ (18:17, 25, 27). Twice Christ asked Peter if he loved Him (agapao). Twice Peter affirmed his love using another Greek word (phileo; see the discussion on the two words at 5:20-21). In the last significant conversation between Peter and Jesus before the crucifixion, Jesus nuanced agapao as “laying down one’s life” (13:15-23). He also called on his followers to love (agapao) one another “even as I have loved you” (13:34; cf. 15:13, 12, 17), referring to the love by which He would lay down His life. Phileo and agapao probably do not differ in meaning in this context (i.e., phileo does not refer to some “superficial, inferior love” since the word is used for the Father’s love for the Son in 5:20-21, and agapao can be used for frivolously craving the acclaim of people in 12:43). In John’s gospel they both mean “love.” They may, however, have slightly different references, agapao referring to an aspect of love that includes sacrifice, an aspect not associated with phileo in John’s gospel. In other words, John may have noted Jesus’ use of agapao to elicit from Peter a commitment to the kind of self-sacrificing love Jesus modeled and demanded from his disciples as seen in the previous uses of agapao.

The question, “Do you love Me more than these disciples love Me?” corresponds to Peter’s boastful promise to love Jesus so much he would lay down his life for Him, even if the other disciples do not (13:37; Mk 14:29). Jesus was asking Peter if he would still claim what he did previously—that He would lay down his life for His Lord. Remembering his denials in the courtyard, Peter was hesitant to make that promise again. Tend My lambs and Shepherd My sheep (v. 16) evoke Jesus’ teaching on laying down His life for the sheep (Jn 10:15, 17) and dovetail with the sacrificial nuance of agape. Peter replied in ignorance with phileo and not agapao because he had still not understood the sacrificial emphasis of agape love as Jesus had delineated it in the upper room. For the third time (v. 17), Jesus asked, Do you love Me? now using Peter’s own word for love (phileo) in hopes that Peter would be shaken from his misunderstanding and recall Jesus’ original call to self-sacrificial agape. Instead, Peter was grieved because Jesus had questioned him three times.

The threefold pattern of questions and answers recalls Peter’s three denials predicted by the Lord in 13:38 and fulfilled in 18:15-27. It is impossible to be certain, but Peter’s distress may have been due to his awareness of the parallel between Jesus’ third question and Peter’s three denials. Jesus’ use of phileo in this third question may also include probing Peter for his affection for Jesus when none was evident during his denials. So perhaps agapao in the first two questions asked by Jesus is to explore Peter’s willingness to sacrifice himself for Jesus and His people, while the use of phileo in His third question was designed to compel Peter to reflect on his lack of affection for Jesus evident during the denials. It was this third interrogation by the Lord that so pained Peter. But it is impossible to be certain of this.

21:18-19. Jesus now predicted that Peter would lay down his life just as Christ did. Peter will stretch out his hands, a term that suggests crucifixion. Signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God parallels other statements that speak of Christ’s crucifixion (12:33; 18:32). Others would gird Peter (NET, HCSB, “tie you up”) for his death. Despite the prospect of suffering, Christ commanded Peter, Follow Me! (cf. 1:43; 12:26).

21:20-22. In turning around to see the disciple whom Jesus loved, Peter physically and spiritually took his eyes off Christ. John, however, was following Jesus (them is not in the Greek). Would Peter? Peter’s question Lord, and what about this man? revealed Peter’s struggle with Christ’s will for his life. When other believers appear more prosperous in ministry or life, the Lord’s disciple must keep a focus on Christ’s command, Follow Me!

21:23. A misinterpretation of Jesus’ words was spread among the brethren that John would not die (cf. Mt 28:11-15). By quoting the exact words of Jesus again (cf. v. 22), John stressed the imminence of the Lord’s return. While Jesus prophesied His any-moment return in rapture (see comment on 14:3; see also the comments on Mt 24:36-41), this could not take place until after certain prophesied events such as His own death and resurrection, the giving of the Spirit (Ac 2), the first widespread preaching of the gospel (Ac 1:8), and Peter’s death in old age (Jn 21:18-19). By the time the Fourth Gospel was written (late AD 60s or 80s; see Introduction: Date), these had been accomplished so that Jesus could come in rapture before or after John died.

C. Final Attestation to Truth (21:24-25)

21:24-25. In his final words, the author maintained that he wrote these things as a testimony that is true. When John said we know, he probably referred to himself (as suggested by I suppose). There is no fully exhaustive account of Jesus’ life. If such a “Bible” were written in detail, then the world itself could not contain all the books that would be written—clearly a hyperbole. But in his book the Evangelist set out to prove that Jesus was the Redeemer who would grant forgiveness to those who believed in Him, and he included abundant evidence that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blum, Edwin A. “John.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, edited by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, 267–348. Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1983.

Beasley-Murray, George R. John. Word Biblical Commentary. Edited by David A. Hubbard. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1987.

Bruce, F. F. Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983, 1994.

Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003.

Köestenberger, Andreas J. John. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004.

Laney, J. Carl. John. Moody Gospel Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1992.

Lincoln, Andrew T. The Gospel According to Saint John. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel of John. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995.

Michaels, J. Ramsey. John. New International Bible Commentary. Edited by W. Ward Gasque. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988–1999.

Neyrey, Jerome H. The Gospel of John. New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Tenney, Merrill C. “John.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1981.