The Jewish Annotated New Testament (233 page)

38
: See 18.15–27.

14.1
–16.33: Farewell discourses. 2
:
My father’s house
implies that eternal life pertains to another realm. There may be an allusion here to the Jewish “Hekhalot” (“palaces”) tradition, involving stories in which a seer visits the heavenly realm and explores its different rooms (based on the chariot vision in Ezek 1, and in such works as
1 En
. 17, 18). More immediately, the verse also alludes to the Temple, which Jesus called his Father’s house in 2.16 and to the son/slave contrast in 8.35.

6
:
The way
, a summary of Johannine Christology. Christ-believers called themselves “the Way” (Acts 9.2).
Truth … life
, knowledge of truth is more like a personal relationship, instead of an intellectual experience.
No one … except through me
, the basis for exclusive claims in later Christian history.

7
–11
: To “see” Jesus is not a visual experience but one of personal knowledge; therefore to know Jesus and to understand his life is to understand and know the life of God.

12
–14
:
Works
means not just “signs” but Jesus’ willingness to offer his life (15.13).
In my name
, in accordance with my true character.

15
: Jesus, like Moses, has given commandments, which are now central to the covenantal relationship between the believer and God. (See “The Concept of Neighbor,” p.
540
.)

16
–17
: The community will receive an
Advocate
(Gk “parakletos,” “one who stands beside,” a supporter or comforter), who is the
Spirit of truth
. This passage influenced later Christian thought about the nature and role of the Holy Spirit.

20
: John’s Gospel suggests that Jesus is equivalent to God (10.30) and that Jesus is God’s son and agent (6.38).

22
:
Judas
, apparently two disciples had this name; see Lk 6.16; Acts 1.13.

30
:
The ruler of this world
, Satan (cf. 12.31; 16.11). For John’s Gospel, the Jews, who plotted Jesus’ death, are Satan’s agents (cf. 8.44).

31
: The discourse seems to be at an end, yet Jesus continues to speak for three more chapters. Jesus and his followers do not go out until 18.1, perhaps indicating that two or more sources have been combined into one final speech.

15.1
–6
:
Vine
, a common image for God’s people; see Isa 5.1–10.

w3
:
Cleansed
, or “pruned” (see translators’ note
a
). The image is of the necessary cutting back on a vine so that it will produce fruit.

5
:
Vine … branches
, the branches are part of the vine; the comparison is not “stem” and “branches.”

6
: The wood of the vine cannot be put to any other use if it does not produce fruit. See also Mt 3.10.

12
: The notion of dying for one’s friends is also expressed in Aristotle’s extensive comments on friendship in the
Nicomachean Ethics
9.1169a, which may underlie the Gospel’s entire discussion on friendship and love in the farewell discourses chs 14–16).

16
:
I chose you
, probably not an expression of predestination, but of Jesus’ calling his followers (e.g., 1.43).

18
–25
: Prophecy of persecution perhaps intended to help the Johannine community through a time of difficulty.
The world
is both the opposition to the work of Jesus and the community of his followers, and the area where that work takes place (17.15–18).

22
–24
: Those who knew Jesus and saw his works cannot claim ignorance as an excuse for their opposition to him.

24
: Allusion to 9.39–41, implying that the Jews are agents of persecution.

25
:
Law
, used by extension of the entire Bible, since the quotation is not from the Torah but from Ps 35.19; 69.4. The opponents of Jesus do not understand
their
own
law
.

26
:
Advocate
, see 14.15ff.

27
:
Testify
, presumably in public.

16.1
–4a
: Synagogue expulsion (9.22; 12.42).

2
:
Those who kill you
, a general reference, but in context a suggestion that Jews will kill Jesus’ followers.

4
:
Their hour
could mean either the hour of the opponents’ ascendancy (Lk 22.53) or the hour of seeming defeat that is actually triumph (17.1).

4b
–14
: The Paraclete (see 14.15ff.).

8
–11
:
Sin
is here the failure to believe or trust in Jesus and therefore to separate oneself from God;
righteousness
is Jesus’ reunion with the Father, which the opponents do not acknowledge;
judgment
is the recognition that the power of opposition and evil that organizes this
world
has already been deposed.

12
–14
: These statements about the
Spirit
and the
Father
were important in the later development of Christian doctrine about God as Trinity.

16
:
A little while
, perhaps an indication that the end is near; cf. Hag 2.6.

20
–22
: Apocalyptic imagery prophesying the end times.
Woman … labor
, see Isa 21.3; 42.14.

25
–28
: Jesus speaks plainly of his death and return to the Father, and the state of being he occupied before coming into the world (cf. 1.1–18).

17.1
–26: Jesus’ prayer.
Jesus addresses God on behalf of his followers (Mt 6.9–13; Lk 11.2–4). In Mt and Lk, Jesus teaches his followers how and what to pray; here he prays for himself and on their behalf.

3
:
Eternal life
, defined as faith in Christ.

4
: Glorification refers to the revelation of God’s power and expresses Jesus’ desire to return to the Father.

5
:
Before the world existed
, see 1.1–3; 8.58.

12
:
Destined to be lost
, Judas Iscariot.

15
:
Evil one
, Satan.

17
:
Truth
, see 8.32; 14.6.

24
:
Foundation of the world
, Jesus’ preexistence (1.1–18).

18.1
–19.42: Passion narrative (
Mt 26.30–27.61; Mk 14.26–15.47; Lk 22.39–23.56).

18.1
–40: Arrest and trial. 1
:
Kidron valley
, east of Jerusalem. A
garden
, called Gethsemane in Mt 26.36; Mk 14.32.

3
: Jesus’ arrest was carried out by Roman and Jewish police.
Pharisees
would not have had their own police; perhaps the Pharisees came along with the Temple police.

5
: Double entendre. Jesus identifies himself with the “I am” formula (Ex 3.14; cf. Jn 6.35; 8.58).

6
:
Fell to the ground
, perhaps suggesting a theophany.

9
: Cf. 6.39; 10.28; 17.12. Jesus’ words, thoughout the Gospel, are viewed as prophecies, with the same authority as the scriptures.

10
: Mt 26.51–52; Mk 14.47; Lk 22.50. Only John names perpetrator (
Peter
) and victim (
Malchus
).

11
:
Drink the cup
, see e.g., Isa 51.17; Ps 16.5; Lam 4.21.

13
:
Annas
, high priest 6–15 CE.

14
: Cf. 11.49–52.

15
–27
: Peter’s interrogation by the high priest’s slaves and police is interwoven with Jesus’ interrogation before Annas.

15
:
Known to the high priest
, suggesting a Temple connection, but one that is not specified. Peter’s unwillingness to admit that he is Jesus’ follower fulfills Jesus’ prophecy in 13.38.

20
: See 7.14,37; 8.20n.,59. Such passages demonstrate Jesus’ assertion that he has spoken openly in the Temple and synagogue.

24
: In contrast to Matthew, John depicts no trial before Caiaphas, which, if any of the Gospel trial accounts is historical, is not possible to determine (cf. Mt 26.57–68).

28
:
Avoid ritual defilement
, an ironic statement. “Defilement” could mean touching leaven during Passover or anything associated with a corpse.

31
: Jews were not allowed to impose the death penalty; thus Jesus is crucified, a Roman penalty.

33
:
King of the Jews
, anyone claiming kingship without Roman permission would have been regarded as a potential or actual insurrectionist. The ruler(s) of the Jewish territories owed their primary loyalty to Rome.