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John 1:41
New English Translation
John 1:41
New English Translation
41 He first[a] found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”[b] (which is translated Christ).[c]
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- John 1:41 tc Most witnesses (א* L Ws M) read πρῶτος (prōtos) here instead of πρῶτον (prōton). The former reading would be a predicate adjective and suggest that Andrew “was the first” person to proselytize another regarding Jesus. The reading preferred, however, is the neuter πρῶτον, used as an adverb (BDAG 893 s.v. πρῶτος 1.a.β.), and it suggests that the first thing that Andrew did was to proselytize Peter. The evidence for this reading is early and weighty: P66,75 א2 A B Θ Ψ 083 ƒ1,13 892 al lat.
- John 1:41 sn Naturally part of Andrew’s concept of the Messiah would have been learned from John the Baptist (v. 40). However, there were a number of different messianic expectations in 1st century Palestine (see the note on “Who are you?” in v. 19), and it would be wrong to assume that what Andrew meant here is the same thing the author means in the purpose statement at the end of the Fourth Gospel, 20:31. The issue here is not whether the disciples’ initial faith in Jesus as Messiah was genuine or not, but whether their concept of who Jesus was grew and developed progressively as they spent time following him, until finally after his resurrection it is affirmed in the climactic statement of John’s Gospel, the affirmation of Thomas in 20:28.
- John 1:41 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.
John 4:25
New English Translation
John 4:25
New English Translation
25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ);[a] “whenever he[b] comes, he will tell[c] us everything.”[d]
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- John 4:25 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”sn The one called Christ. This is a parenthetical statement by the author. See the note on Christ in 1:20.
- John 4:25 tn Grk “that one.”
- John 4:25 tn Or “he will announce to us.”
- John 4:25 tn Grk “all things.”
John 7:27
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John 7:27
New English Translation
27 But we know where this man[a] comes from.[b] Whenever the Christ[c] comes, no one will know where he comes from.”[d]
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- John 7:27 tn Grk “this one.”
- John 7:27 sn We know where this man comes from. The author apparently did not consider this objection worth answering. The true facts about Jesus’ origins were readily available for any reader who didn’t know already. Here is an instance where the author assumes knowledge about Jesus that is independent from the material he records.
- John 7:27 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
- John 7:27 sn The view of these people regarding the Messiah that no one will know where he comes from reflects the idea that the origin of the Messiah is a mystery. In the Talmud (b. Sanhedrin 97a) Rabbi Zera taught: “Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article, and a scorpion.” Apparently OT prophetic passages like Mal 3:1 and Dan 9:25 were interpreted by some as indicating a sudden appearance of Messiah. It appears that this was not a universal view: The scribes summoned by Herod at the coming of the Magi in Matt 2 knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. It is important to remember that Jewish messianic expectations in the early 1st century were not monolithic.
John 7:31
New English Translation
John 7:31
New English Translation
31 Yet many of the crowd[a] believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ[b] comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?”[c]
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- John 7:31 tn Or “The common people” (as opposed to the religious authorities).
- John 7:31 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
- John 7:31 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “will he?”).
John 7:42
New English Translation
John 7:42
New English Translation
42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant[a] of David[b] and comes from Bethlehem,[c] the village where David lived?”[d]
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John 12:34
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John 12:34
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34 Then the crowd responded,[a] “We have heard from the law that the Christ[b] will remain forever.[c] How[d] can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
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- John 12:34 tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”
- John 12:34 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.
- John 12:34 tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Pss 89:36-37; 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5; 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).
- John 12:34 tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
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