Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

1:19 testimony. See note on 5:31-47. The Jews is an expression used 68 times in the Greek text of John, sometimes in a neutral (2:6) or positive (4:22) sense, but often to refer to hostile Jewish opponents of Jesus among the Jewish leaders and the ordinary people who followed them. The phrase does not usually mean all the Jews, for Jesus and John the Baptist were also Jews, as was the author, John. John wants Jewish readers in his own time to realize that opposition to Jesus by many Jewish leaders goes back to the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, but that did not deter many other Jews from following him anyway. In many places in John, "the Jews" seems to be a shorthand expression for "the Jews who opposed Jesus." Jerusalem. See Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus.

1:20-21 John denies being the Christ (cf. v. 8, 15; 3:28), Elijah, or the Prophet. the Christ. See note on 1:41. Elijah, who never died (2 Kings 2:11), was expected to return in the end times (Mal. 4:5) to "restore all things" (Matt. 17:11; cf. Luke 1:17). Though the Baptist resembled Elijah in his rugged lifestyle (Matt. 3:4; cf. 2 Kings 1:8), he denied that he himself was Elijah (though Jesus, understanding more about this than John, saw John as fulfilling the prophecy about Elijah; cf. Matt. 11:14). The coming of the Prophet was predicted by Moses in Deut. 18:15, 18 (cf. Acts 3:22; 7:37) and was expected in Jesus' day (John 6:14; 7:40). John denied being this Prophet as well (though he was a prophet; see Matt. 11:11-14; John 10:40-41).

1:23 John is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, in keeping with the prophet Isaiah's words (Isa. 40:3; cf. Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4). By preaching a word of repentance and divine judgment, this messenger of God was to prepare the way for the Lord God of the OT (Yahweh himself) to come to his people through the wilderness.

1:24 Pharisees. A relatively small but highly influential group of Jews who emphasized meticulous observance of God's law (as understood both from the OT laws and from their accumulated extrabiblical traditions) as the means by which one attains righteousness before God and retains his favor. Many Pharisees opposed Jesus (see Matt. 23:1-36, where Jesus condemns their hypocrisy), but some followed him (John 3:1-5; 7:50; 19:38-40; cf. Acts 23:6; Phil. 3:5). See note on Matt. 3:7.

1:27 sandal. Leather sandals with ties are pictured in ancient art representing Judeans from various eras. Some archaeological examples of sandals are known from this period (e.g., from the Cave of Letters in the Judean desert).

1:28 John was baptizing. Cf. Luke 3:3. John's baptism was an outward sign of cleansing reflecting inward repentance from sins (see Matt. 3:6; cf. later Christian baptisms at Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:3; 1 Pet. 3:21). The Bethany across the Jordan (cf. John 10:40) is different from the village near Jerusalem where Lazarus was raised (cf. 11:1, 18); this Bethany is designated as "across" (i.e., east of) the Jordan River (cf. 3:26; 10:40).

1:29 Cf. v. 36. Regarding the next day, see note on 2:1. Jesus, by his sacrifice, fulfills the symbolism of the Passover lamb and other OT sacrifices (Lev. 1:1-5:19; 1 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 10:1-14). Deliverance through the blood of a lamb prefigured the coming of Jesus as the Lamb of God to obtain final salvation for God's people through his death, which in turn redeemed them from death, sin, and Satan (Col. 1:13-14; Heb. 2:14-15). See also Isa. 53:7 and other OT passages about sacrifices for sins (Gen. 22:8; Lev. 14:25; 16:15-22). This lamb imagery will later culminate in John's vision of Jesus as the apocalyptic warrior Lamb who will bring judgment and universal victory (Rev. 5:6-13; 7:17; 21:22-23; 22:1-3). Takes away the sin of the world refers to Jesus' sacrificial, substitutionary death and his appeasement of the divine wrath by way of atonement for sin (his propitiation; cf. Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; and notes on 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18).

1:31 I myself did not know him. John probably means that he did not know that Jesus was the Messiah until he saw the sign mentioned in vv. 32-33.

1:32-34 The Spirit did not merely descend on Jesus, he remained on him (cf. 3:34), a sign of Jesus' divine anointing. In the OT, the Spirit came upon people to enable them to accomplish certain God-given tasks. But Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would be full of the Spirit at all times (Isa. 11:2; 61:1; cf. Luke 4:18). Jesus is God himself, the second person of the Trinity, with an eternal relation of sonship to God the Father (cf. John 5:18; 17:5; Gal. 4:4). See note on John 5:31-47.

1:36 Lamb of God. See note on v. 29.

1:38 "Rabbi" (which means Teacher) is one of seven Hebrew/Aramaic terms translated by John for his readers.

1:40 One of the two . . . was Andrew. The name of the other disciple is not stated. Most likely, he was John the son of Zebedee (see Introduction: Author and Title).

1:41 The terms Messiah (Hb.) and Christ (Gk.) both mean "anointed" (usually by God). In the NT and early Judaism, "Messiah" is a summary term that gathers up many strands of OT expectations about a coming "anointed one" who would lead and teach and save God's people, especially the great King and Savior in the line of David whom the OT promised (see, e.g., 2 Sam. 7:5-16; Ps. 110:1-4; Isa. 9:6-7).

1:42 Cephas is an Aramaic word meaning "rock" (cf. Matt. 16:16-18; cf. also note on John 1:38). In Bible times, God frequently changed people's names to indicate their special calling, as was the case with Abram (Abraham) and Jacob (Israel); see Gen. 17:5; 32:28.

1:43 Galilee. See note on Mark 1:9.

1:44 Bethsaida. See note on Luke 9:10.

1:45 Nathanael is also mentioned in 21:2. "Nathanael" may be the personal name of Bartholomew (Bar-Tholomaios, "son of Tholomaios"), who is linked with Philip in all three Synoptic lists of apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). The Law and . . . the prophets commonly referred to the Jewish Scriptures (i.e., the OT) in their entirety (e.g., Matt. 5:17; 7:12).

1:46 Nazareth. Not mentioned in the OT, Nazareth was a small town of no more than 2,000 people in Jesus' day. See note on Luke 1:26.

1:48 I saw you. Jesus here displays supernatural knowledge, thus identifying himself as the Messiah. fig tree. See note on Mark 11:13-14.

1:49 Son of God designates Jesus as the Messiah predicted in the OT (2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 2:7; see note on John 1:14). King of Israel likewise is an OT designation for the Messiah (e.g., Zeph. 3:15). The two terms are also found side by side in Matt. 27:42-43.

1:51 Truly, truly, I say to you is a solemn affirmation stressing the authoritative nature and importance of Jesus' pronouncements. The expression is found 25 times in this Gospel. The two references to "you" here are plural. See heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending recalls the story of Jacob in Genesis 28 (see esp. v. 12). Jesus will be a greater way of access to God than the heavenly ladder on which angels traveled between God and Jacob (Gen. 28:12; cf. Heb. 10:19-20), and wherever Jesus is, that place will become the "New Bethel" where God is revealed. Jesus is not merely "a son of man" (an ordinary male human being), but he repeatedly (over 80 times in the Gospels) calls himself the Son of Man, suggesting the greatest, most notable son of man of all time. "The Son of Man" is thus a messianic title that refers back to the mysterious, human-divine figure of "one like a son of man" in Dan. 7:13-14, one who would be given rule over all the nations of the earth forever (cf. Matt. 26:64). The Son of Man will be "lifted up" by being crucified (see note on John 3:14), will provide divine revelation (6:27), and will act with end-time authority (5:27; 9:39).

2:1 This is the third day--that is, two days after Jesus' encounter with Nathanael (1:43-51). This continues the narration of Jesus' activities spanning an entire week (see the references to "the next day" in 1:29, 35, 43). Cana in Galilee. Archaeological attention has focused on the excavation site of Khirbet Kana, 8.3 miles (13 km) north of Nazareth, as the most likely locale for the Roman town of Cana. Excavation of this site has revealed substantial quantities of Roman potsherds, thus confirming Roman-era occupation; it also features a prime location on the Roman road from Ptolemais to Magdala.

2:3 The wedding party's running out of wine may be seen as symbolizing the spiritual barrenness of first-century Judaism, especially against an OT background that viewed wine (but never drunkenness) as a sign of joy and God's blessing (Ps. 104:15; Prov. 3:10; cf. Matt. 26:29).

2:4 Jesus' address for his mother, Woman, is an expression of polite distance, as is his question to her. My hour has not yet come. In John, Jesus' "hour" is the time of his crucifixion, at which time his saving work is accomplished in his atoning death (see 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1; also note on 7:30). At this point in his ministry, because of people's misconceptions about the coming Messiah, Jesus chooses not to reveal himself openly to Israel (though he does perform numerous messianic "signs"; see note on 2:11). Even this miracle is done quietly. Compared to the other Gospels, John places less emphasis on Jesus' public ministry and more emphasis on his private ministry to specific individuals.

2:6 six stone water jars. Archaeologists have found large goblet-shaped stone storage jars from this period in Jerusalem and elsewhere. The examples were lathe-cut from sizable single blocks of stone.

2:11 signs. Miracles that attest to Jesus' identity as Messiah and Son of God and lead unbelievers to faith. John specifies that after this sign, Jesus' disciples believed in him (cf. v. 23). The statement that this was the first of his signs indicates that Jesus did not do any miracles during his childhood or early manhood (contrary to dozens of apocryphal "gospel stories" outside the NT) but lived as an ordinary man with his divine identity hidden (cf. 7:5). In each of the signs that John includes, the emphasis is on the way in which the "sign" reveals Jesus' messianic character (cf. 12:37-40; 20:30-31) and on the exceptional and striking nature of the feat accomplished by Jesus--such as the large quantity and high quality of wine (2:6, 10), the fact that the official's son is healed a long distance away by the sheer power of Jesus' word (4:47, 49-50), the invalid's recovery from a 38-year-long ordeal (5:5), the large quantity of food produced by Jesus (6:13), the man's recovery from lifelong blindness (9:1-2), and the raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb (11:17, 39). and manifested his glory. This miracle showed the glory of Jesus as the sovereign Creator and ruler of the material universe and also as the merciful God who provides abundantly for his people's needs (cf. 1:14).