Another Bible Commentary: John

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because they share a perspective. The Gospel of John is different. It is too-often dismissed as a spiritualized supplement to other works like Matthew, but its description of Jesus’ three year ministry before the Crucifixion along with the accompanying details about holidays, etc., make John’s timeline more plausible. A supplement wouldn’t need to repeat miracles like the Feeding of the Five Thousand; John’s gospel is an inspired standalone book. The Twelve had trouble remembering that Jesus was going to die and rise from the dead, but after years under the influence of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), John was able to recall things others left out (for example, the “I AM” statements that Jesus made about His divine nature and mission).

John was the last of the Twelve to die. Everyone else was martyred (horribly), and it is said that John was boiled in oil but it didn’t kill him. He was exiled to the island of Patmos for a while, but lived to about 93 years old in 100 AD in Ephesus. He lived long enough to proofread the gospel with his name on it. John might be Jesus’ cousin (John 19:25 note). He had been with Jesus since the ministry of John the Baptist. He was in Jesus’ inner circle, the Three. He was “the disciple whom Jesus loved” as we’ll see a little later. He witnessed the Transfiguration (without almost worshiping Moses and Elijah like certain other disciples; this sort of joke about John being the best of the bunch happens a few times in his writing), and was in the Garden of Gethsemane, too; John was there for Jesus’ highs and lows. He was trusted to take care of Jesus’ mother instead of any of Joseph’s sons. Since he died last, John had the Holy Spirit at work within him longer than any of the other apostles. I just gave him that much of an introduction, like if Steve Harvey were bringing him to the stage, to emphasize that this book (which is the only gospel stated to be for the purpose of evangelism in John 20:31) that says clearly that we are saved by faith in Christ alone comes from the author with the best resumé.

Believers had already been ejected from the synagogues by the time this book was circulating, so there is less content of first century Jewish interest (no Olivet Discourse for example, but part of Revelation may fill that role for John, etc.) Repentance from sin is not a big theme. People complain about the lack of ethics and behavior instructions in the Johannine literature, so let’s look for them: The new commandments we were given as Christians (as seen in this gospel and in John’s letters) are to Believe in Christ and to Love. To “believe” in Christ is to trust, adhere to, rely on, etc. Christ-denying unbelief is condemned. “Love” in a Hebrew context is hesed or faithful actions; refrain from cheating people and remember to wash a proverbial foot now and then (He didn’t get every foot every day). Other things regarding people that were still under the Old Covenant: There is some commanded mat-carrying on the Sabbath with accompanying justification for religious and medical work on that day, followed by a request to stop that is possibly more about preventing a stoning than following a commandment. Regarding actual realized caught-in-the-act adultery, He told a woman to stop (possibly from the I-won’t-be-around-to-stop-the-stoning-next-time perspective). Murder and lies were said to be evil things from the devil (and they’re unloving). Helping the poor per Deuteronomy 15:7-11 was mentioned in a “you’ll always have them” sense compared to the vigorous exhortations in Matthew 25.

Please allow some historical context before we begin: The Stoic philosophers spoke of the Logos, or the Word, the principle of reason through which all things were made and are sustained, like in Job 34:14-15. Philo was a Jewish philosopher who credited the true things that Greek philosophers had found to God. He identified the Logos as the Angel of the LORD whom the Jews sometimes refer to as Metatron. Orthodox Christians see Jesus in the Old Testament appearances of the Angel of the LORD; we’ve looked at a few of those along our way in this book. For the first century inhabitants of Judea, the personification of Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22, Sirach 24, Wisdom of Solomon 7:21-30) had become united with the Logos in what we can think of as the Judeo-Platonist worldview.

1:1 Notice that the Son and the Father are both God.

1:2 The Son has always existed; His “begotten-ness” is part of His role/nature.

1:3 Compare the ideas in this section with Colossians 1:15-23.

1:4-5 like Isaiah 42:6-7, Isaiah 49:6, and Daniel 2:22.

1:6-8 See Isaiah 9:2. This refers to John the Baptist rather than John the Apostle.

1:12-13 “Natural descent” would be like if all Hebrews were automatically saved due to having Abraham as an ancestor. “Human decision” is in reference to adoption (as if we were adopted just as we are, and then left unchanged in our human nastiness forever), and is not a way for predestination proponents to walk back salvation for “all” who receive and “all” who believe. God doesn’t just claim us, but He remakes us, too. The promised rebirth under the New Covenant is for all who believe in Jesus. See Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:25-27. Many people that were fans of the Exodus 4:22 status weren’t expecting it to become available for “all”, especially for belief instead of right actions. See Galatians 4:4-7 and all of Ephesians 2. The idea that Jesus is the only way to Heaven is offensive to human pride and our sensibilities about what and who are “good”; Christians are called exclusionary (basically, we’re “grace-ists”). The country I’m writing this in has historically had “Judeo-Christian” Freemasonry-inspired values and the prevailing view has been dubbed “moralistic therapeutic deism”; it is thought that good people go up and bad people go down, and that God is a sort of clockmaker who set the world in motion. There are plenty of people here who practice what I call “moral exhibitionism”; they say and do the “right” things to shine their Good Guy badge while drawing as much attention to themselves as possible in the process. This all adds up to a vague notion among unbelievers that God or Science made everything and mostly stays out of our lives, that being nice and fair to each other is the point of the world’s religions (which are interchangeable per their view), that God grades on a curve if there are any consequences at all, and that people should feel good about themselves, especially if they’ve advertised their praiseworthy thoughts and actions on social media. Actual grace is scandalous. The vilest offender who believes in Christ enough to ask Him for salvation instantly becomes as righteous as Jesus Christ and therefore better than the best unbeliever, no matter what they think they’ve earned or achieved morally. The grace expands (Romans 5:20); you cannot out-sin it. Stop trying to out-sin it; give up and become the good person that God re-made you to be (John 10:10, Ephesians 2:10). Resistance is futile (Philippians 2:13, Titus 2:12-14).

1:14 John’s opponents were proto-Gnostics that denied that Jesus is a flesh-and-blood human. Anything in the text about Him touching people or things, eating food, etc., restates the truth of this verse. God being gracious (Exodus 34:6) and living among us (Ezekiel 37:27) are familiar concepts by now. We saw God’s Glory (Ezekiel 1:26-28) moving away from the Temple in Ezekiel 11:22-23.

1:15 John the Baptist is the speaker in this verse rather than John the Apostle. Adoptionists were heretics that missed the “before” and thought Jesus became God’s Son at His baptism, Arians were heretics that thought the Son was a created being that was begotten after the beginning (verse 2), etc. I’m not going to list all of the heresies out there, nor do I have to. Stick to the truth of the text and any error is obvious, even new ones.

1:16 The grace even gets bigger (Romans 5:20).

1:17 Grace is “unmerited favor”. Truth is on the side of grace rather than law in this verse.

1:18 The Son was the only one who had truly comprehended God as Father. The pre-Incarnate Christ is plausibly featured in God’s appearances in Eden, Exodus 24:9-10, Exodus 33:20, etc.

1:21 See Malachi 4:5 and Deuteronomy 18:15.

1:23 See Isaiah 40:3, then see the rest of Isaiah 40 for what the arrival of God ruling openly means for the world and for the bad shepherds. John the Baptist’s role as the forerunner was to identify Christ and to provide a shadow/preview of the cleansing that was coming (verse 29) and the new birth. John the Baptist baptized people with water to symbolize moist newborns, but today Jesus baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit as a part of being new creations under the New Covenant.

1:26-27 “I baptize with water…but…” See Leviticus 14:8, Isaiah 1:16, Zechariah 13:1, and Ezekiel 36:25. Also, see the Leviticus 15 notes. The prophets performed many symbolic actions. John the Baptist offered a baptism/immersion of repentance analogous to the Essenes’ which was a public declaration of a commitment to follow God’s rules. Jesus hadn’t died on the Cross yet (Hebrews 9:15-22), so we’re still talking about the Old Covenant. Jesus also preached Law to those under the Law; see Galatians 4:4-7. New priests got washed (Exodus 29:4, Leviticus 8:6), and so an attempt to reboot Israel as a priestly nation (Exodus 19:6) involved a symbol of new birth (moist as a womb evictee). Jesus required no repentance, but “fulfilled all righteousness” by undergoing John’s baptism to be consecrated as our High Priest and washed as our sacrifice. That “but” in verse 26 signifies an important distinction. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (John 1:33). The Holy Spirit is received by believing what you heard about Jesus’ death and resurrection (John 17:20-23; Romans 10:9; Galatians 3:2,5). Believers are placed into Christ by virtue of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23. The spiritual “dunk” is the one that matters, regardless of what method, outfit, location, age (the old Christening/Confirmation two-step), etc., a person was moistened (1 Corinthians 12:13 like Colossians 2:11). Gentiles in Acts 10:44-48 received the Holy Spirit and therefore salvation (Ephesians 4:30) while still dry. “Do you have Jesus Christ living in you?” is the test (2 Corinthians 13:5, Romans 8:16).

1:29 The name John is the same as Jonah, which means “Dove”. A dove flying over water told Noah that the wrath was over; the Spirit says the same thing in this story. Notice that for us, sin isn’t just covered up, atoned for, etc., but it is taken away entirely as if it never happened. John also didn’t say Jesus “will take” or “took” but He “takes” on an ongoing basis. Knowing your next sin is already forgiven too doesn’t make you want to go sin more, it makes you love Him more (Luke 7:41-43).

1:31 See Isaiah 43:16-21. Is it any wonder that a religious movement calling itself The Way (verse 19) was into getting in the water in the wilderness? Also, if your cousin’s hometown took about four days to walk to when you lived there and you had moved to the wilderness an undetermined number of years or decades ago, would you necessarily recognize them on sight as an adult even if your mother had told you they were the Messiah (based on Luke 1)?

1:32 See Isaiah 11:2.

1:33-34 “will baptize with the Holy Spirit” as discussed in the John 1:26-27 note; that’s the baptism that matters for us. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like in Isaiah 42:1.

1:35 In this gospel, Andrew and John (the author) are the first two. This book de-emphasizes Peter a few times.

1:36 “Lamb of God” See Genesis 22:8 and Isaiah 53:7.

1:37 When a church primarily grows by attracting members from other churches instead of bringing new people to belief in Christ, we refer to that as “sheep shifting”. That’s not what was happening here. John the Baptist’s job was to point to Jesus (verse 31), and he did it.

1:39 John the Apostle was an eyewitness to basically the entire earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

1:41 Andrew, Peter’s brother, beat him to declaring Jesus the Messiah and was the one who brought Peter into the movement in this gospel.

1:42 Peter grew into his new identity (“Rock”) later, and so do we.

1:45 See Deuteronomy 18:15.

1:47 “Israelite…no deceit” based on Jacob’s well-known character as a liar.

1:49 like Psalm 2:7 and Zephaniah 3:15.

1:51 Like Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28:12), the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13) is our way up.

2:1-2 A wedding is the end of an old life and the beginning of a new life together; the Church is the Bride of Christ, and we are one with Him (John 17:20-23). In a wedding, two families become one family like the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesians 2. Perhaps it was the marriage of a relative, since Mary seemed to be in the role of a hostess.

2:3 It wasn’t a party for them without alcohol (Psalm 104:15).

2:4 “Woman…” This isn’t as disrespectful as it sounds in English; “My hour…” At His death, He offered life to those who are out of resources. At this point in the story, He just wasn’t doing miracles yet.

2:5 These are Mary’s last recorded words in the Bible.

2:6 This is the water for washing hands and vessels for ritual reasons like in Mark 7. Jesus provided at least 120 gallons of wine…

2:10 …to people that had “too much to drink” and were already what moderners would deem “drunk”. Drunk driving is a matter of obeying the government (Romans 13), but the ancients did not define drunkenness as the inability to pilot a four thousand pound weapon safely. When you see biblical warnings against drunkenness (Romans 13:13, 1 Corinthians 6:10, Ephesians 5:18, etc.), remember Matthew 11:19 and Jesus’ first miracle. Then, remember that problem drinking consists of things like Lot fathering his own grandchildren or the oppressive leaders overtaxing their people to stay hammered in Isaiah 5:11,22-25, etc. Jesus outdid the water purification miracles in Exodus 15:23-25 and 2 Kings 2:19-22. He provided a preview of Joel 3:18 and Amos 9:13. Human purification through rituals like the Pharisees used is out and divine celebration is in. Like grace, the wine is a surprisingly superabundant good that cannot rightly be appreciated.

Since the Gospel of John (which also became popular in Rome, even without including material about tax collectors) was written to Jews and Gentiles in Turkey, its contents are meaningful to both Jews and pagans. In Genesis 18, the LORD walked on this world as a man that ate food. Therefore, the Incarnation was neither unprecedented nor as impossible as the proto-Gnostics John had to deal with (as seen in the Epistles in 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John) thought it was. Those from a pagan background had a greater familiarity with humanlike gods with flesh. Gentiles had dying/rising gods and demigods with one human parent, but Jesus is the best dying/rising product of a human mother and the Supreme Being they’d ever read about; way better than, for example, Dionysus. Remember when God stepped on the domains of all the gods of Egypt, and Elijah and Elisha outdid Baal? Jesus’ first miracle, water into wine, would have been seen as Him winning an away game against Dionysus/Bacchus by Gentiles who didn’t know the related Old Testament verses. If the Old Covenant was about water turning into blood and sinners drowning in the Red Sea, the New Covenant is about wet-as-a-newborn new life and old purification jars of water becoming wine for celebrating.

2:11 This rules out the miracles shown in the non-biblical “infancy gospels” unless you choose to read “revealed” as regarding publicly performed miracles. I’ll save you the trouble of reading these non-credible sources: these included lengthening a board that Joseph cut by mistake, turning birds made of clay into real birds to avoid getting into trouble for playing on the Sabbath, and killing/resurrecting people that were rude to Him.

2:13-14 See Zechariah 14:21. The family of (Sadducee) High Priests Annas and Caiphas owned this operation. The “money changers” exchanged the approved sanctuary shekel (Numbers 3:47) for currency with faces of emperors on it. After all, those guys claimed to be gods so the coins were considered graven images. There was a hefty mark-up for this service, as well as for fulfilling Deuteronomy 14:24-26. Doves were the approved offering for the poor (Leviticus 5:7), and that was a source of profit as well. Remember how the minor prophets partly attributed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple to ripping off the poor? The events of 70 AD rhymed with the events of 586 BC. Right sacrifices and a desire to avoid the trappings of idolatry were fine, but exploiting people, blocking the Gentile court, etc., were not.

2:15 I see the cords knitting themselves together into a whip in His hand rapidly, extending like a lightsaber, but imagine this as you like. My version of this fits with the miraculous content of “signs” in verse 23.

2:17 in Psalm 69:9.

2:18 like Exodus 4:29-31.

2:22 See Psalm 16:10; it was three days because the Jews believed that proper decay happened after that (John 11:39).

2:24-25 See 1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Chronicles 28:9, and Psalm 139.

3:1-2 Nicodemus came to Jesus in secret. Using the title “Rabbi” was especially respectful, given Nicodemus’ status in the Sanhedrin and Jesus being a layman (John 7:15).

3:3 Jesus knew Nicodemus’ real question (John 2:24-25) and that he needed new life (Ezekiel 37:1-14). This is the first of two conversations mentioning the Kingdom of God in the Gospel of John as opposed to how frequently it came up in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The other mention is in John 18:36, and the Kingdom is explicitly not of this world. “Born again” can also be translated as “born from above”. Rebirth is also found in Hosea 13:13-14.

3:5-6 Remember all those times in the Old Testament (Creation story, Noah and the flood, etc.) when water and wind (or a bird flying over it) signified a new beginning? However, notice that here in John 3:5-6 flesh and water refer to the same method of birth. If I said that “her water just broke”, then most of you would know that refers to physical birth. This isn’t about water baptism. The cleansing of Ezekiel 36:25 is a leprosy metaphor for a deeper reality. The spiritual dunk into Christ achieved through belief in Him per His request in John 17:20-26 is the essential thing for new birth. As the text says, the Spirit gives birth to spirit, and any religious celebration held in, say, a youth pastor’s swimming pool is a physical commemoration of an already-accomplished spiritual reality. This is very similar to how Communion celebrates what He already accomplished.

3:8 Jesus referenced Ecclesiastes 11:5. Look at Ezekiel 37:1-14 again, especially verse 9.

3:13 See Proverbs 30:4 and Isaiah 52:13. Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) and Enoch (Genesis 5:24) were taken, but only Jesus has ascended by His own power. There are no followers of Christ except for us following Him to our co-crucifixion. He did it. We can’t. Grace is free or it’s not grace. We are one with Him, and He dwells in us; we go where He goes.

3:14 See Numbers 21:4-9. Look to Him and live.

3:15 Everyone who believes has eternal life “in/within/united with” Him. The “may” in this verse signifies the purpose of John 3:14’s lifting; it does not mean there is uncertainty. I opened this file so that I might write today. Did I? Yes, I did. Did Jesus accomplish what He set out to do with the Cross and the Resurrection? Of course He did.

3:16-17 Read these two verses over and over until you actually believe them, you can quote them, and they come to mind frequently. See Genesis 22:12, Romans 5:8, and Acts 13:39. Why, of all things, does faith save? Humanity’s first sin (which brought Sin into the world) amounted to doubting God’s goodness. It seems to me that questioning whether He had our best interests at heart and deciding to rely on Him having our best interests at heart are narrative bookends. If that isn’t right, at least believe in Jesus because of what He does (John 10:38).

3:18 See John 6:28-29. Instead of one sin to get wrong in the Garden of Eden, picking Christ is the one thing to get right. The sin the Holy Spirit is primarily concerned with is unbelief in Christ (John 16:8-11).

3:19 like in Job 24:13-17.

3:20-21 He is the Light (John 8:12) and the Truth (John 14:6) which we live by (Colossians 3:4). The world won’t admit it is evil, but we took the plea bargain; now He provides the fruit He seeks (Philippians 2:13, Romans 14:4). Worried that your behavior doesn’t match this (James 3:2)? He already took your sins away (John 1:29); the ledger is missing (Colossians 2:13-14). The only thing left to see in you is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), aka evidence that Christ lives in you (Galatians 2:20).

3:22 This is still before the Cross, so this is still the Old Covenant behavior that we discussed in the John 1:26-27 note.

3:27-29 See Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 62:5, Jeremiah 2:2, and Hosea 2:16-20.

3:30 This is about John the Baptist’s ministry after successfully identifying the Messiah. This is not about you getting rid of yourself to make room for Jesus. Your old self already died, and the new self is done with death. He is united with you in your entirety, not a future whittled-away version of you.

3:33 Not picking Jesus is calling God a liar.

3:35 The Father loves the Son, and the Father loves us so much that He gave His Son.

3:36 “has eternal life” See, I told you. We have eternal life right now, life without beginning or end. If you could lose it, it would not be eternal (Hebrews 10:14). We are the beneficiaries of “same God; different covenant”. For the rejectors of Christ, the Olivet Discourse and Revelation fit right in with the Old Covenant prophets of doom. Paul was a notorious enemy of the faith before conversion. Peter came back after repeatedly denying Jesus. This verse is about an entire life rather than some regrettable seasons.

Some manuscripts place chapters 4 through 7 in the sequence 4, 6, 5, 7, whatever that’s worth to you.

4:4 See 2 Kings 17:29-39.

4:5 in Genesis 48:21-22. It is debated whether Sychar is Shechem or is near Shechem. Either way works for us. Shechem is the setting for many Bible stories. The promise to Abe was renewed here (Genesis 12:6-7). Jacob’s Well (Genesis 33:18-20) revered by the Samaritan woman of John 4, the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34), Joseph’s tomb (Joshua 24:32), Joshua’s “as for me and my house” speech (Joshua 24), several burials of idols as recommitment to God (Genesis 35:4 for starters), and the idolatry at the end of Gideon’s rule (Judges 8:27) and immediately afterward were all in or near Shechem. It became the first capital of Judah-less Israel (1 Kings 12:25). It sits between the mountains of blessing and cursing from Deuteronomy 27:12-13. Also, the Samaritans built their Temple on nearby Mt. Gerizim.

4:6 “Jacob’s well” may have been at the site of Genesis 33:18-20; “tired” Jesus is human.

4:7 This is like the Old Testament stories about meeting women at wells.

4:10-11 See 1 Corinthians 10:4, Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 17:13, Zechariah 13:1, Isaiah 12:3, Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 55:1-3, and Isaiah 58:11. The expression “living water” means “water that God moves” like a spring or a waterfall. It’s a handy symbol for provision, cleansing, the Holy Spirit, etc.

4:13-14 See Joel 3:18.

4:18 As there were five husbands, this suggests serial widowhood as in Luke 20:29-33; otherwise, there would have been a husband and several adulterers per Jesus’ teachings about the Old Covenant. Notice that Jesus didn’t choose to admonish her about shacking up at this time, either. There were many things Paul could have said to the wild Corinthians when he first met them, but he stuck with Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Offering new life to the Samaritans was the mission here. For those keeping score, in the Old Testament Hosea’s wife Gomer the whore was a prophetic symbol of the region. Samaria is also personified as a woman in Ezekiel 16:46,53.

4:21 The proper worship site is spelled out in the Law, but the Old Covenant is set aside.

4:22 Samaria, Sodom, and their associated smaller cities were prophesied to be under the authority of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16:60-63, which also promised the New Covenant and that God Himself would atone for our sins. Some of the touchy “second blessing” teachings about the Holy Spirit are derived from passages in the Book of Acts that need this context for understanding. We’ll come back to that later.

4:23-24 Those who “worship in the Spirit” are those who trust Jesus Christ instead of our own performance (Philippians 3:3). We are adopted into God’s family through the Spirit (Romans 8:15). Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and we are in Him (John 17:20-23, 2 Corinthians 5:17). The Old Covenant believers went to the Tabernacle or the Temple to worship the God lurking in the inaccessible Holy of Holies, but thanks to what Jesus did for us, we are God’s dwelling place now (1 Corinthians 3:16). A church building is a fine place to fellowship, learn, worship together, and the like, but don’t forget that we are the church, all the time, wherever we are.

4:26 “I AM” like Exodus 3:14.

4:28 See verse 14.

4:29 See verse 18.

4:32 This foreshadows the feeding of the five thousand in John 6. See Deuteronomy 8:3; He’s the Word (John 1), therefore He is the Bread (John 6:35).

4:34 Jesus got it done. If you think you have something to atone for, or make right, or feel guilty about, you’re disagreeing with God (1 John 2:2, Hebrews 10:14). Of course, you’re forgiven for that too.

4:37 like Job 31:8.

4:38 In other words, “go reap (evangelize) Samaria to fulfill Amos 9:11-15.”

4:39 See verse 18.

4:40 Thus becoming ceremonially unclean, but that never bothered Jesus.

4:48 This is directed to the unbelievers (verse 44), not the boy’s father. See John 6:26 and 1 Corinthians 1:22 for similar sentiments.

4:50 Jesus outdid the resurrection in 1 Kings 17. Take Jesus at His word; trust Him to save you.

5:2 I am told that this pool with five colonnades was found. It was apparently once devoted to Asclepius, the alleged god of healing. Asclepius’ symbol was a snake on a stick, like the Caduceus, the Nehushtan (Numbers 21:9), or how Jesus became Sin and was nailed to a Cross to save us (2 Corinthians 5:21). People familiar with the Old Testament expected healings for pious people, but Jesus even had something for the Hellenized.

5:5 The man had not walked for as long as the Israelites had wandered in Deuteronomy 2:14.

5:8 Marching around Jericho on the Sabbath (Joshua 6) was not a problem either because doing His work was never a problem.

5:10 They saw themselves as averting national ruin; see Jeremiah 17:24-27.

5:14 Since doing as He said to do wasn’t a problem, this seems like “You can cut that out now. Don’t get stoned to death by those dudes over there.”

5:17 God’s also our Dad, so we’re under no obligation to do or not do anything special because of what day it is.

5:20 The Greeks have several words for love. Much is made of the word choices later in this gospel (spoiler: true friendship and Christian love are very similar), but note that the love in this verse is a variant of “philo”, which is usually taught as the love of friendship, rather than something usually taught as stronger like “agape”, selfless God-like love. That’s the three syllable pronunciation; sitting there with your mouth agape (two syllables) is something that might happen when you start to realize how big God’s love for you is.

5:22-23 Jesus said that the Father judges no one and lets the Son judge for the purpose that the Son may be honored. See also John 8:15-16, in which Jesus passes judgment on no one but if He does, He stands with the Father. Therefore, rejecting the Son seems to be the remaining criterion for judgment.

5:24 From this verse, as a believer you can know that you already have eternal life that you cannot lose and that you will never be judged. There are plenty of teachings to the contrary out there, and we will discuss why their proponents’ interpretations of the verses they use are flawed. Jesus said and meant John 5:24, and anything anyone tries to teach you has to allow for that.

5:25-29 See Ezekiel 37 and Daniel 12:2.

5:27 Kings judge (1 Kings 7:7).

5:31 This is about the “two witnesses” principle (Deuteronomy 19:15). He was about to list several.

5:33 in John 1:29.

5:46 in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand is in all four of our gospels: Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6. The risen Christ was recognized in Luke 24 by the way He gave thanks, broke bread, and gave it to them. Isaiah 25:6 shows us how great a host He will be for us later.

6:4 Passover attracted many pilgrims, increasing the size of the crowds in verse 2.

6:9 specifies that this was one boy’s lunch: some rolls and dried fish. The price of a combo meal is a fine donation when offered to Him in faith. See 2 Corinthians 8 through 2 Corinthians 9 to read about how Christians are free to give what they want to as led by the Spirit. The feeding of the five thousand is another installment in the continuing story of Jesus is Better Than the Earlier Prophets. See 1 Kings 17:8-16 and 2 Kings 4:42-44.

6:10 “grass” See Psalm 23 and Isaiah 49:9.

6:11 Jesus’ prayer of thanks may have resembled the traditional “Blessed art Thou, Lord God, King of the Universe, Who brings bread forth from the earth.”

6:12-13 God is a more-than-enough God.

6:15 See verse 26 for why He refused to take the throne by acclamation at this point.

Whatever similarities to Luke commentators notice, John made sure to include Jesus walking on water as in Matthew 14 and Mark 6 in this standalone gospel.

6:19 An ax head floated in 2 Kings 6; Jesus took it up a notch. See Genesis 1:2 and Job 9:8. The “vast chasm” of Luke 16:26 suggests that “ghosts” are demons playing tricks.

6:20 “It is I” sure sounds like “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). “Don’t be afraid” of Jesus; there is no punishment waiting for believers (1 John 4:18).

6:21 See Psalm 107:30. Notice that when they were willing to take him in, they “immediately” got where they were going. Salvation works just like that.

6:26 They would have crowned anyone who could give them free stuff.

6:27 “give you” Grace is free or it’s not grace.

6:28-29 They asked what their part of the works God requires was. Jesus corrected their grammar. The sole, singular, one and only work is to believe in Jesus Christ as was foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. See Acts 13:39. Fiction says, “This is your story, and you are the main character. Believe in yourself. You can do anything.” It’s not, and you’re not. Don’t. You can’t. This is His story, and thank God for that.

6:30-31 They wanted proof like Exodus 4:29-31; they wanted more food (Exodus 16:4).

6:32-33 See Deuteronomy 8:3; He’s the Word (John 1), therefore He is the Bread (John 6:35). He gives life (Ephesians 2:4-5).

6:34 They basically asked for Matthew 6:11. In Sirach 24:21, Wisdom says that those who eat and drink of Wisdom will hunger for more. See Exodus 16:35, Isaiah 12:3, Isaiah 33:16, Isaiah 41:17-18, and Jeremiah 23:4.

6:35 Jesus doesn’t give you bread little by little; He is the Bread. If you have Him, you’re good. The New Covenant is one-stop shopping. The Bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:30, Leviticus 24:5-7) was symbolically always present; it looked back to the fellowship of Exodus 24:11 and forward to Jesus, with us always (Mathew 28:20), feeding multitudes in Mark 6 and Mark 8 with a total of twelve loaves.

6:37 He said He will never drive away anyone who comes to Him. Do you think you can sin enough or greatly enough to make Him go back on His word? See Isaiah 28:16.

6:39-40 Jesus said that God’s will, the thing God wants, what God tasked Jesus with, was to save us and keep us secure. There were hints earlier; see Numbers 31:49 and Isaiah 40:26.

Some people get angry when they hear talk of “eternal security” or “once saved, always saved”. Verses like John 3:16-17, John 10:28, John 17:12, John 18:9, Hebrews 7:25, Hebrews 10:14, 1 John 4:17-18, and many more would involve a lot of explaining, backpedaling, and double-talk if those people were right. Don’t be afraid. Jesus has this handled.

6:44 See John 12:32; no one gets in without an invitation, but everyone’s invited (Ephesians 2:8-9). The dead in sin aren’t looking for God. The Good Shepherd finds sheep. People either answer Him or harden their hearts.

6:47-51 Again, if you believe, you already have His life which has no beginning and no end. This is not manna to eat daily. He died once (Hebrews 9:26-28). The first sin was eating, so of course salvation is described in terms of eating Him.

6:52-54 See Exodus 12:8, Isaiah 53, Leviticus 17:10-12, and 1 Corinthians 5:7. See that 1 Corinthians 11:26 is a visible celebration of Romans 10:9. If your life is sustained by the fact that Jesus died physically for your sins, you have eaten Him.

6:55-57 or “the” true food and “the” true drink. It is the reliance we spoke of in the John 6:52-54 note that gives and preserves life, not our performance.

6:58 This verse ruins so many unbiblical sermons about how Christians could allegedly fail to make it to the Promised Land like the slaves who left Egypt.

6:63 “the flesh counts for nothing” (NIV) or “the flesh is useless” (NRSV) Human effort accomplishes nothing with regard to salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).

6:64 Judas was damned for unbelief, not betrayal (like Peter) or suicide (like everyone who ever chose to be martyred). This verse also applies to the religious and political leadership of that time and place (John 19:11).

6:65-6:66 See Paul’s argument about their partial hardening for the purpose of bringing the Gentiles to salvation in Romans 9 through Romans 11.

7:1 It wasn’t His time yet. Discretion is okay.

7:2 See Leviticus 23 if you need a refresher about the Festival of Tabernacles, as it is the background for the next few chapters of John. It included a water offering (verse 37) and lighting lamps (John 8:12). The festival commemorated when the Israelites lived in temporary shelters when God lived among them as they wandered. This looks ahead to Zechariah 14:16 and Revelation 21:3-4. The lulav (Leviticus 23:40) involved palm branches (Psalm 118:25-27) (which may have been a symbol among the Zealots even in the off season, depending on whom you read). Shaking it sounded like rain, and rain is precious in the desert (hence the water offering).

7:5 like 1 Samuel 17:28, Matthew 13:55, and Mark 6:3.

7:8 Some manuscripts read “not yet”.

7:10 Sneaky, like 1 Samuel 16:2-4.

7:19 People that tried to compete and win in the Holiness Olympics still couldn’t get it done under the Law.

7:20 Despite popular ideas, demons are mentioned in John here and in John 8:44, John 13:27, etc. Jesus’ exorcisms were skipped in this gospel (John 20:30, John 21:25), presumably to point to John 8:44 and John 19:11.

7:22 Moses’ writings about Abe (who was righteous in Genesis 15 for faith even prior to his Genesis 17 circumcision) which they started obeying in Joshua 5.

7:23 Jesus used a legal “lesser to greater” argument that was a familiar approach to His audience when weighing commandments. If you could “perfect” the tip of a penis on the Sabbath, you could heal a person.

7:27 Descending from Heaven is the plan for when He comes back (Acts 1:11).

7:31 See Deuteronomy 34:12. Expecting a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15) meant expecting miracles.

7:32 Some of the Pharisees were allowed some power by the occupying Romans. The religious police in some countries at the time of this writing come to mind.

7:37-39 This talk of water was in the context of the Festival of Tabernacles. See Jeremiah 17:13, Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 28:11, Ezekiel 47 (remembering that ultimately Christians are the New Temple), Zechariah 14:8-18, Joel 2:23-29 (which especially connects this prophetic water and the Spirit), and Joel 3:18.

7:41-42 See Micah 5:2; being descended from David was enough to satisfy this.

7:48 Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus secretly believed in Him.

7:52 See Isaiah 9:1-2. This statement from the allegedly expert Pharisees is comedy: Galileans include Elijah (1 Kings 17:1), Jonah (2 Kings 14:25), maybe Hosea, Micah (Micah 1:1), and Nahum (Nahum 1:1).

There are those who say that John 7:53 through John 8:11 does not belong in the Bible, and there are those who look to John 21:25 to suggest that there are many more stories we do not know.

8:1-6 Remember in Ezekiel 23:43-49 when God got fed up with Samaria and Jerusalem cheating on Him with other gods and spoke of their impending destruction through the image of stoning adulteresses? Jesus is a righteous Judge (Ezekiel 23:45-46), but they forgot His heart. Even under the Old Covenant, God was at least a 1000:4 ratio merciful vs. wrathful (Exodus 34:6-7). If Jesus said to stone her, there would have been trouble with Rome (John 18:31) who had taken the right of the Jews to impose the death penalty themselves. If He said not to stone her, they would have called Him an unjust judge and a Torah breaker. However, Leviticus 20:10 required the execution of both parties caught in adultery, so only stoning her wouldn’t have been the letter of the Law either. He upheld the Law and somehow found a way to save her anyway. He is good at that. Jesus knew they wouldn’t change their trap and tell Him to admit to sinning or to start throwing rocks, and He rubbed their failure to do so in their faces in John 8:46. Regarding writing on the ground with His finger, Jeremiah 17:13 says that those who forsake God would be “written in the dust”. The Old Testament prophets frequently used adultery as a symbol of the Hebrews’ failures in their relationship with God. There is more…

8:7 The witnesses were supposed to throw the first stones (Deuteronomy 17:6-7). Again, notice that only the woman was brought forth. See Romans 2:22; some people who know about another’s sins know because they are involved. Also, an illegal mob (John 18:31) is not the legitimate exercise of Romans 13:4 nor is it consistent with the play-nice-under-occupation spirit of Jeremiah 29; they would have to become lawbreakers deserving death if they were to execute her. We all need grace. The Law’s purpose wasn’t to get rid of her so everyone else could live as judgmental Pharisees, but to condemn us all so we realize the truth of Romans 3:19-20.

8:8 “Again” Notice that He wrote twice, like when He wrote the Ten Commandments twice (Exodus 31:18, Exodus 34:1).

8:9-11 They tried to make Him embody Ezekiel 23:45-46, but they got Hosea 4:14 instead. Notice that she hadn’t even asked for forgiveness. The admonition to quit sinning doesn’t sound judgmental in John’s book, but more like a warning that after the Cross the guys with the rocks would still be in her neighborhood like when Jesus told that man to carry a mat and then stop (John 5:14). On a national level for those still trying to live under the Old Covenant, instead of taking Ezekiel 23:48 to heart and listening to Him, they essentially experienced 586 BC again in 70 AD. For the Christian, sin is discouraged but solved (1 John 2:1-2, Hebrews 7:25). You don’t have to do what Sin wants you to do (Romans 6), and living under Law Of Moses is not the path to victory nor is it the way to define sin under the New Covenant (Romans 7). Grace teaches us to say no to Sin (Titus 2:12).

8:12 Israel was supposed to introduce the rest of the world to God (Exodus 19:6, Matthew 5:14). Jesus succeeded where they failed. Add 2 Samuel 21:17 about David’s role to 2 Samuel 22:29 and Daniel 2:22 about the true identity of Light to see the Messiah (Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 60, Isaiah 42:6, and Isaiah 49:6).

8:13 The principle of two witnesses again (John 8:17).

8:14 See John 3:8.

8:15 “I pass judgment on no one” Remember this, especially among fellow Christians. See Luke 6:40 and 1 John 5:1.

8:16 The Father leaves judging to the Son (John 5:22), and He is Grace. God did this so the Son would be honored (John 5:23), so rejecting the Son is the fast lane to judgment (John 3:36).

8:17 “your own Law” He didn’t say “our”. See Deuteronomy 19:15.

8:24 “believe that I AM He” See Exodus 3:14.

8:25 How could God say “Let there be light” without the Word (Genesis 1:3, John 1:1)?

8:28 “lifted up” as in exalted, and as in nailed up as well.

8:29 “He has not left Me” Jesus kept the Old Covenant perfectly, so the Holy Spirit never had a reason to leave.

8:31 “hold to my teaching” This was addressed to those “who had believed” the truth of John 8:24. Keep trusting Him about the rock-solid promises of John 3:16, John 6, John 10:28-29, John 14:19-20, John 17, etc. This is not an invitation to panic and look back to the Sermon on the Mount at what you’re not doing right. Gospels were regional. Most of the believers in what is now Turkey that had the Gospel of John also had access to the Septuagint and an additional Epistle or two at most. Believers “really” are His “disciples” or followers because He prayed for us to be united with Him in John 17:20-23. See Colossians 3:4 and 1 Corinthians 6:17. It’s really easy to follow Someone you’re attached to that is powerful enough to drag you along (Philippians 1:6). In Him, we have been to our death at the Cross (Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 2:20), risen from the grave, and ascended to rule with Him in Heaven already (Ephesians 2:1-9).

8:32 Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6).

8:33 “never been slaves” This is more comedy. Each generation of Jews was expected to identify with Deuteronomy 6:20-25. God repeatedly told them to “remember that you were slaves…” in Deuteronomy 15:15, Deuteronomy 16:12, Deuteronomy 24:18, etc. They were identified as God’s slaves in Leviticus 25:55.

8:34 See Romans 6:16.

8:35 See Genesis 21, Exodus 21, and Galatians 4.

8:36 He did this for you already (Romans 8:1-2).

8:37-38 “kill…heard from your father” See John 8:44.

8:39 See Jeremiah 9:25-26, Romans 2:28-29, Romans 9:7, and Galatians 4:21-31.

8:40 See 1 John 5:1.

8:41 See John 8:44. They relied on Exodus 4:22 and Isaiah 64:8. See also Hosea 2:4.

8:42 See 1 John 5:1.

8:44 Lying about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused death itself. See Matthew 13:38 in the context of Isaiah 60:21. The Accuser also loves made-up laws to get around God (Mark 7:13) and is a big fan of human philosophies/morality/ethics that try to get us to police ourselves with egotism, shame, and praise from humans instead of relying on Jesus. The first sin was people who had been pronounced “very good” (Genesis 1:26,31) trying to be more like God so they could improve on His work (Genesis 3:5).

Demons are mentioned in John, but exorcisms aren’t featured as they are in the Synoptics. Jesus does many things (John 21:25), so any biography will offer only a glimpse. I think John chose to de-emphasize exorcisms to highlight Jesus’ human opponents as the offspring of the devil.

8:46 See 1 Samuel 25:28 and Isaiah 53:9. This also proves that His table-turning fury at the Temple did not go outside what He preached in the Sermon on the Mount/Plain as seen with the cultural/historical context we looked at back in Matthew 5.

8:47 Few people get authentic auditory instructions from God. See Philippians 2:13. Under the New Covenant with your new heart, new spirit, and the Holy Spirit always in you, listening to God feels like doing what you want to do as a born-again child of God.

8:48-49 He denied being possessed by a demon, and He denied being a Samaritan by referring to the Jewish God (John 8:54) as His Father (Exodus 4:22, Isaiah 64:8).

8:50 We’re back to the Father in the role of Judge, and John 8:54 reminds us that His objective is that the Son is to be honored. Therefore, John 6:28-29 is the main thing to get right in this world.

8:51 “obeys My word” or “keeps My word” means believing the truth of John 8:24 like we saw in John 8:31.

8:52 Believers are done with dying (Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 7:25, Hebrews 9:27, Luke 20:36). We can “sleep” in the world’s eyes, but if we are absent from the body we are present with our Lord (Philippians 1:23).

8:56 See Genesis 15:6 and Genesis 22:8.

8:58 “I AM” See Exodus 3:14.

8:59 It’s okay to avoid martyrdom if it’s not your time.

9:1-2 Disease and death as personal consequences for sin was a familiar concept for them (Deuteronomy 28 through Deuteronomy 30, Ezekiel 18, etc.), but don’t forget that we live in a fallen world. Humanity wanted to know both good and evil, so evil entered God’s good world; that’s explanation enough for things like this. No one’s righteous unless it’s a gift from Jesus, and not all harm is laser-guided karma (Luke 13:4). The righteous have problems, too (John 16:33, Psalm 34:19).

9:3 “works of God” This isn’t vision being restored. This is vision being given by the Maker of eyes to someone who never had it (Exodus 4:11, 2 Kings 6:17-18, Psalm 146:8). This is another Messiah proof (Isaiah 35:5).

9:4 “we” refers to the Father and the Son. He just mentioned the “works of God”.

9:5 See Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 42:6-7. The readers/listeners from a pagan background in John’s original audience would have seen Jesus as a greater light than Apollo.

9:6 like Mark 8:23. He made us from dirt (Genesis 2), and He renovated this guy with original building materials.

9:7 like 2 Kings 5:10-14.

9:24 “Give glory…” They referenced Joshua 7:19 without the context of finding the “sinner” with God’s help. If someone can preach to you for thirty minutes and only mention one out-of-context Bible verse, they may have read their own agenda into it.

9:25 Honestly saying “I don’t know, but I know this:_____” and getting back to what Jesus did for you personally can be a great witnessing tool for those attacked by people picking at your Bible knowledge or their concept of the book’s internal consistency.

9:29 “we don’t even know where He comes from” Another joke; see John 7:27. They used what could have been a Messiah clue for them as a way to ignore Jesus as Messiah.

9:30-31 See Psalm 34:15-17, Psalm 91:14-15, Proverbs 15:29, and Zechariah 7:13. “His will” for you is John 6:28-29. Since God listens to the righteous, you can be sure that Jesus’ prayer in John 17 for believers to be united with Him and to go where He goes got answered.

9:32-33 Miracles are rare. The things Jesus did in the gospels are meant to be signs that He is the Messiah. Miracles happen and prayers get answered, but the answer to Paul’s three prayers about the thorn in his flesh was that God’s grace was sufficient for him as it is for us (2 Corinthians 12). When Timothy’s stomach was bothering him, Paul told him to drink some wine (1 Timothy 5:23) rather than telling him to declare victory or believe harder. In the story about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), God helped the righteous man after his earthly body died. God will set things right eventually, so don’t get discouraged.

9:34 See Psalm 51:5 and John 9:2-3. They focused on the man’s original condition to ignore the sign that Jesus is the Messiah.

9:35-38 The Pharisees were the blind ones. See Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah 35:5, and Isaiah 42:7. The formerly blind man saw, but more importantly, he saw Jesus.

9:39 He came to save the world (John 3:16-17, John 12:47). See Isaiah 42:18-20 and Paul’s argument in Romans 9 through Romans 11 that the partial hardening of the hearts of Abraham’s physical descendants was for the benefit of the Gentiles.

9:40-41 See Isaiah 50:11 and John 3:36.

John 10 – See 2 Samuel 5:2, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Isaiah 40:10-11, and Ezekiel 34.

10:3-4 He led them right out of the old Temple system (and eventually its synagogues), and now He leads us out of this fallen world.

10:5 He is the Word, after all (John 1).

10:6 He was still addressing Pharisees that didn’t see Him as Messiah (John 9:40).

10:7 See Psalm 118:20. The readers/listeners from a pagan background in John’s original audience would have seen Jesus as the Gate being greater than Janus.

10:8 The bad shepherds (Jeremiah 50:6 and Ezekiel 34:2-4). Other false messiahs would fare no better (Acts 5:36-37 and Acts 21:38).

10:9 See Isaiah 49:8-26.

10:10 God is not taking from you, killing you, or destroying things in your life. You’re in a fallen world, there are misguided other people doing the best they know to do, there is demonic opposition, etc. The proverbial video game plays to its ending; bad stuff may come at you, but God works in you. Christ came to give you His life (Colossians 3:4).

10:11 See Genesis 49:24, Psalm 23, and Ezekiel 34. He is the Good Shepherd; way, way better than Pan, for instance.

10:12-13 See Isaiah 56:10-12 and Zechariah 11:17.

10:16 “other sheep” See Isaiah 56:8. Think of Samaria and the Gentiles. See also Ezekiel 37:15-24.

10:18 The Son and the Father are God (John 1:1, John 5:18, John 10:30), but the Son naturally obeys the Father in their respective roles in their relationship. Plus, as a part of His mission before the Resurrection, Jesus temporarily denied Himself the full exercise of His divinity on our behalf (Philippians 2:6-11).

10:20 See Mark 3:20-35.

10:21 See Exodus 4:11 and Psalm 146:8.

10:22-23 Jesus celebrated Hanukkah. Hanukkah commemorates the cleansing of the Temple after deliverance from the rule of Antiochus IV “Epiphanes”, a man who had claimed divinity and tried to stop Jews from obeying the Mosaic Law.

10:28-29 Eternal life is not temporary life. It is Jesus’ own life, without beginning or end. It is not a set of keys that can be misplaced. If the Savior has you, you have Him. “Rescuing” you from a shipwreck only to pitch you overboard on the way back to shore for messing up is not really rescuing you. Ominous statements about no one being able to save God’s targets from His hand (Deuteronomy 32:39) cut both ways; no one is powerful enough to snatch you from His grasp (Deuteronomy 33:3, Isaiah 43:13, and Isaiah 51:16). Paul put the Arminian notion that you can choose to walk out of His hand to rest in Romans 8:38-39. He listed a few things that can’t get us out of God’s grasp and added “nor anything else in all creation”, and that includes us, fellow created beings. There’s a popular pastor that talks about a guy that he used to go to church with that he calls “Rick”. “Rick” used to attend all the time, but stopped coming there and is now living with four women, as if this somehow refutes our security. First of all, “Rick” may just have a better handle on the real rules like King David (2 Samuel 12:8), Eleazar (Numbers 31:41), Jacob/Israel, etc., and found a different ministry that fits. Second, not everyone who attends a church believes in Jesus (1 John 2:19), but if you have believed enough to ask Him to save you, He has.

10:30 It gets even better when we get to join them in John 17.

10:33 God seemed very much like a human in Genesis 18.

10:34-36 Again, interestingly He said “your” Law. Whether the “gods” were humans or angels (Galatians 3:19) misses the bigger point about Uppercase God in comparison to lesser beings. As long as you know who God really is as the only focus of your worship, you are free to watch/read all the mythical junk you want to (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). See the Exodus 23:13 note for more about that if you wish. As to what Jesus referenced, Isaiah 61:1-3 is one good example of a passage about being anointed (aka set apart) and sent.

10:37-38 The central issue is belief in Jesus Christ. Even if they didn’t trust what He was telling them, they were given many impressive miracles/signs to convince them.

11:1 The name “Lazarus” means “whom God helps”; it’s a variant of the name Eleazar/Eliezar. Mary and Martha were (probably) in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus had known them all for a while (John 1:28).

11:2 Way to spoil chapter 12, John.

11:3 “You love” Jesus loved the whole family in verse 5, John the Apostle (John 13:23, John 21:7, John 21:20-24), etc. Jesus loves you.

11:4 “will not end in death” He didn’t say Lazarus wouldn’t die, just that the story wouldn’t be over yet.

11:6 It’s about a day’s walk from Bethany in John 11:1 to the historians’ non-touristy setting of John’s baptismal site in John 10:40. Arriving on day 4 in John 11:17 means that even with the two day wait before starting, Lazarus died while the messenger was on the way to Jesus. Jesus didn’t wait for him to die. He waited to make bringing him back to life more impressive.

11:8 Going there for Lazarus got Him killed just like coming to Earth for us did. A Life was given for a life (and for our lives). In the Synoptics, flipping over tables owned by corrupt Sadducees seems to have put a target on Him, too.

11:9-10 Jesus knew that His Father protected His mission (John 9:4-5) and that He had “plot armor”, so to speak, until it was completed.

11:13 There was a cultural belief that the soul still recognized the body for three days after death before proper decay set in. Some of Jesus’ miracles have been better versions of things we’ve seen associated with Elijah and Elisha, so bringing someone back from the four-days-rotten-stinky dead exceeded the resurrections associated with their ministries.

11:16 Remember that the disciples were the ages of modern junior high and high school students. Thomas is remembered for doubting, but his loyalty here is often forgotten. Believers in Christ have already followed Him to our place of execution and died with Him (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6). Also, the name “Thomas” of Aramaic origin or “Didymus” of Greek origin means “twin”. Much has been made of who Thomas’ twin was or who he looked like, but names aren’t always meaningful once they enter common usage. Not everyone with the first name “Harrison” is literally the son of a man named Harry, for example.

11:21 For every “Where is God?” scenario, He knows, He’s sad, He will fix everything eventually, and we’re mayflies. The entirety of human history on this planet is just the first sentence of our story in eternity.

11:22 “even now” Learn from this faith that believes even when the wrong things are happening.

11:24 in Daniel 12:2.

11:25-26 See Deuteronomy 30:20, Galatians 2:20, and Colossians 3:4. Jesus beats Asclepius hands down.

11:27 Martha is saved (John 6:29). It’s that simple.

11:34 He knew. He asked so our Bibles would have exposition.

11:35 See Psalm 116:15.

11:39 We’ve seen people brought back from the dead in Mark 5, Luke 7, etc. Those were similar to resurrections like in 1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:32-37, 2 Kings 13:20-21, etc. Four days dead, however, was considered by the audience to be deader than dead.

11:40-42 Fancy voices from Heaven are rare signs. Like Jesus, know/trust/have faith that you are heard and trust/listen to the new heart you got at salvation. God lives in you, so prayer is a local call.

11:43 Lazarus is like a one man sermon about Ezekiel 37:12.

11:44 The grave clothes or mummy wrappings or whatever you want to call them are a lot like the remaining fleshly attitudes that hinder living the new life in Christ. Jesus left his wrappings behind in His tomb because He’ll never die again, and He has no more use for them. All Christians are saints who sin sometimes; the friends helping Lazarus with the wrappings are like fellow believers helping each other as our minds are renewed (Romans 12:2).

11:46 “some of them” See Luke 16:30-31.

11:48 See John 19:12.

11:49 “that year” Romans favored appointing the high priest as a political entity, but the people still believed it was a lifetime job, so Annas and Caiaphas were both honored at that time. The high priests then all came from the same few wealthy and powerful Sadducee families anyway.

11:51 See Matthew 7:21-23 note if you’ve forgotten that miracles can accompany unbelievers, too.

11:52 “one” Bringing Samaria and the Jews that were scattered abroad home had been a hope throughout most of the Old Testament, but this goes even deeper. Bringing the Gentiles in to worship God as well is another long-running story element, but this goes even deeper. See John 17:20-23 and 1 Corinthians 6:17. We are one with Him.

11:53 Looking at how Jerusalem descended into factional civil war in the months leading up to the end, this probably wasn’t the first time that the wealthy and powerful religious people met secretly to get stuff done like a criminal organization, and it probably wasn’t the last time, either.

11:55 The Cross and the Resurrection had maximum visibility since Passover brought so many pilgrims to Jerusalem.

12:3 Anointing a guest with oil was thought to counteract the effects of the sun, and it was scented to smell nice in a hot land of long journeys on foot and infrequent bathing. The Messiah or the Christ means The Anointed One. Rulers smelled royal and rich (Psalm 45:7-8). The holy anointing oil was used for new beginnings like commissioning a prophet (1 Kings 19:16), priest (Leviticus 4:3), or king (1 Samuel 10:1, 1 Samuel 16:13). David was recorded as anointed three times (as future king in 1 Samuel 16:13, King of Judah in 2 Samuel 2:4, and King of all Israel in 2 Samuel 5:3). Likewise, Jesus was anointed three times; there is no need to reconcile these accounts into one event. Jesus’ head (Matthew, Mark) or feet (Luke, John) were anointed by an unknown sinful woman up in Galilee (Luke 7) at a Pharisee’s house, another sinful woman in Bethany at Simon the leper’s house (Matthew 26, Mark 14), and Mary (John 12) at Lazarus’ house. Also, these were literal feet, not euphemistic “feet”; see the John 13:4-5 note.

12:5-6 The Zealots adopted a Robin Hood mentality in their struggle with Roman occupiers, Roman collaborators, Roman tolerators, and eventually anyone who had anything of value when the city became a playground for warring factions (and was then besieged by the Romans). One theory about the name “Iscariot” is that it references the sicarii, the dagger men of the Zealots. Whether that’s true or not, Judas had experienced Jesus’ power through his participation in the healings and the exorcisms with the rest of the Twelve. Judas must have thought he would be sitting on one of twelve thrones in his near future and that it would all pay off monetarily.

12:8 This is a quote of Deuteronomy 15:11 rather than callous disregard for their plight. You can help them because you want to (2 Corinthians 9:7). Rather than be embittered against my spendthrift wife (Colossians 3:19) for wasting our limited resources, which could be better used for helping the poor, getting treasure in Heaven, etc., I focus on God’s calling for His children to live in peace (1 Corinthians 7:15) and the lofty calling of loving a wife extravagantly (Ephesians 5:25-33) as a symbol of Christ’s love for us. Ergo, since I have stayed married for Him, I have bought Jesus thousands of collectible plushies and delayed retiring for years. Without generalizing that “a woman’s gonna woman”, I can’t be mad at my specific wife for how she’s wired. It’s not about what I do, but what Jesus did. My works don’t matter, He multiplies my gifts for the poor, I stand to co-inherit the universe (rather than the “rewards” some obsess over) with Him, etc. Rather than think like Judas (John 12:5), I now see our hoard as an alabaster jar for Him.

12:9-11 The Sadducees are portrayed like organized criminals again here. This explains why various other people were told not to talk about what Jesus had done for them. Our enemies want us dead because Christ resurrected us, too.

12:12 Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem was about the same time Pilate entered from his palace to the West on a warhorse. The Romans put on a show because they didn’t want the locals that were celebrating a holiday commemorating their freedom from oppressive rulers with a meal that involved four cups of wine to think about a revolution.

12:13 The palm branches were fruitless, for those looking for a fig tree around here based on our time in the Synoptic Gospels. Palms were used for Sukkot lulav, but they fit the song they were singing (Psalm 118:25-26). Depending on whom you read, the palm may have been a Zealot symbol – displaying them like this may have been an offense punishable by crucifixion.

12:14-15 from Zechariah 9:9. The crowd saw this and expected to see the judgment of their enemies from the rest of Zechariah 9. See also 1 Kings 1:38.

12:16 The Holy Spirit later helped these commercial fishermen, etc., understand things that the religious leaders of the day could not (John 16:13).

12:21 See Isaiah 49:6. “Light to the Gentiles” got marked on the Bingo card. Philip is a Hellenized name. God likes to use you where you are to reach people; retreating from the world in a holy huddle isn’t the point.

12:23-24 His life is in us now, too.

12:25 Entropy, the gradual decline of everything into disorder, is a law in a fallen world. Remember the slow march to the grave and increasing debilitation showcased in Ecclesiastes 12? There are people that seem to skip that. There are people that the world thinks have life figured out. It looks good until they die, but everybody dies. If you try to save your own life (if you try to be your own savior), you will fail. Jesus’ life is eternal; eternal life has no beginning and no end. You need His life (Colossians 3:4, John 14:6, John 11:25-26), and that involves dying with Him (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6).

12:26 If you are a believer, you have already completed this step. We followed Him to our death with Him. We admitted that He is God and that we need his help like the criminal in Luke 23:41. Therefore, we’re present with the Lord. He lives in us (Galatians 2:20), and we are already seated in Heaven with Him (Ephesians 2:6). For the Christian, discipleship is exercising the same faith in Him and dependence on Him in our daily lives as we did at salvation. Paul explained this in Colossians 2:6-7.

12:27-28 John summarized the “Thy will be done” praying in Gethsemane.

12:30 Faith knows, and faith trusts. If you could always see or hear God and what He’s up to, that wouldn’t be faith.

12:31 “prince of this world” The devil. See Ephesians 2:2, the Genesis 1:6 note, and 2 Corinthians 4:4.

12:32 Everyone’s invited, whether Jew or Gentile. See Ephesians 1:10.

12:34 They thought of 2 Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 9:6-7, etc.

12:36 “Believe…so that you…become” See John 1:12-13. Again, the “may” in there signifies the purpose and does not mean there is any uncertainty. I opened a Bible so that I might read from it today. Did I? Yes, I did. Is John 3:16 trustworthy? Yes, it is. Regarding “hid Himself”, so far we haven’t had to resort to theories about Him traveling to learn Buddhism that are spread by people that don’t get His Old Testament references, but learning to be a ninja is another matter…I’m just kidding; see Isaiah 45:15.

12:38 in Isaiah 53:1. See Romans 11:7,11,25.

12:40 in Isaiah 6:10. The Righteous King fixes this in Isaiah 32:15. There was no full national acceptance of the Messiah before the Crucifixion, so the full crop of Gentile believers will come first (the last will be first). God wants to save everyone (1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:9). Also, the side effects of a heart hardened against God are enumerated in Romans 1:24-32.

12:44-45 “believes…believe” Remember this as the context for the next verses. Jesus is God.

12:47-48 Specifically, His words about His identity and why you should believe in Him (John 12:44-45, John 6:28-29). He came to save us (Hosea 11:9). See John 3:36. People try to overcomplicate this with checklists of cherry-picked Matthew verses, but He’s talking about faith.

12:50 “His command” See John 6:28-29.

13:1 John says their last night with Jesus before He died was before Passover, making this an erev Pesach: they had a meal on yeast-removal day. Sometimes, the entire Festival of Unleavened Bread week and Passover are just called Passover (Numbers 28:16-24). This is how Jesus and His disciples ate this meal together, and yet Jesus died as the Passover lambs were being slain (John 19:14) and the Jewish leaders were anxious about being able to eat the Passover (John 18:28). The truth that the Lord’s Supper illustrates was covered in John 6:52-58. John chose to highlight different aspects of Jesus’ last night with His disciples before He was crucified.

13:2 And yet, Jesus still washed his feet.

13:3 Jesus left Heaven to come here to help us, and then He returned to Heaven. The costume changes, etc. in verses 4 through 12 illustrate this.

13:4-5 Having someone wash the dusty feet of guests was customary, but it was a lowly task suitable for a Gentile slave. The highest ranking person in the room doing that for everyone else was highly unusual. This is not one of those instances where feet is a euphemism for genitalia, either.

13:8 He was teaching service and self-sacrificial love by example, as will become clear in the next verses. Compared to the Temple Establishment, this was a leadership training session for the Twelve. See Matthew 10:26-27. There’s also an atmosphere of preparing them for ministry like Exodus 30:19, Exodus 40:31, etc. The later Seder observance includes a hand washing ritual, urchatz.

13:10-11 The disciples believed in Jesus and were clean in the eternal sense, except for Judas the unbeliever (John 6:64). The washing isn’t about keeping short accounts with God for sins for which the Cross is thought to be somehow ineffective. “Progressive sanctification” is made-up; you’re already sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews 10:10). You are perfectly clean forever (Hebrews 10:14).

13:12 See the note for verse 3.

13:13-17 No servant is greater than their Master; He served us, and we serve. Jesus met a present practical need. Not every foot was washed by Him every day. He didn’t go looking for feet, either. Not every tool in the box gets used every day or for every task, but we all have something to offer each other. We receive from Him first. We forgive because we are already forgiven (Colossians 3, Ephesians 4), etc. “Blessed” is happy; God has the market cornered on fulfillment. Your new heart will really enjoy helping, and any presents from Heaven are a bonus. See Ephesians 2:10. (With a few notable exceptions, the currencies of the developed world are very strong in nations where Christians are openly persecuted at the time of this writing, so a little from you might be a month’s supply of food for someone elsewhere. Remember the boy with the loaves and fishes and offer aid with faith that He multiples gifts.)

13:18 is from Psalm 41:9.

13:19 is like: “I’m predicting the future so you will believe that I’m God. See Exodus 3:14 for my reference.”

13:20 Whom to offer hospitality as a Christian is a theme from John’s letters (2 John, 3 John). See Matthew 25:40.

13:21 See John 13:2, John 6:64, and John 12:6.

13:23 “disciple whom Jesus loved” John the Apostle (the proof is in John 21:20-24) got an agape for the word “love” in this verse. We saw back in John 11:3 that Jesus is a loving person. The Apostle John, longtime follower and likely cousin, was eventually trusted to care for Jesus’ mother. If the homosexual subtext some people see here was actually present between Jesus and John, the Pharisees would have used it against Him (John 8:46).

13:24-25 In this gospel, Peter is sitting farther away than John is. John trusted that Jesus is God, so he didn’t try to stop Judas. Have you ever relaxed on the living room floor eating pizza propped up on one elbow while watching a movie? Ancient tables called tricliniums worked like that. Thirteen guys on a budget having a dinner party would have meant close quarters and bumping into the person next to (and therefore behind) them.

13:27 Believers don’t have to worry about getting possessed (John 6:64, 1 John 5:18).

13:34 “A new command” Christians are dead to the Law of Moses, so we’re not expected to pull Love God and Love Your Neighbor forward from the Old Covenant. I have said that the behavior expectations for New Covenant Christians are generally summarized as believe in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ to get saved (John 3:16, John 6:28-29, Acts 13:39, Romans 10:9, etc.) and love one another from this shiny new commandment right here (and 1 John 5:1, 1 John 3:11,23, etc.). The Holy Spirit won’t lead you to act like the ancient Canaanites, so there are New Testament behavior instructions against practices even rulers of pagan nations knew not to do back in Genesis, and we’ll get to those in Acts and the Epistles. Love in Hebrew or hesed is less about fuzzy feelings than loyal actions like helping each other just as Jesus demonstrated in John 13 (and not cheating each other, not speaking ill of each other, etc.). Notice that Jesus said to love “as I have loved you” before the Crucifixion right after His foot washing demonstration. He hadn’t died for them yet. He mostly taught them. Meeting a pressing practical need when the opportunity presents itself is still the focus. Receiving the supernatural love of Jesus and transmitting it to others is a great way to think about life, but it doesn’t have to be as grandiose or martyr-like as some make it to be.

13:35 “disciples” See Colossians 2:6-7. As you received Him, so walk in Him, which is to say by faith. You weren’t saved for your awesome law-keeping or your zeal for helping others. Believe, receive, and do what comes naturally with regard to helping others. The fruit of the Spirit is real.

14:2-3 Jesus is a carpenter. He builds additions onto his ancestral home like ancient grooms did for their brides.

14:6 See Isaiah 35:8-10. Modern Judaizers speak dismissively of being unsatisfied with “Sunday School Jesus” (He really is the Way to Heaven, His burden is easy, and His yoke is light) and try to walk John the Baptist’s way instead. Paul contended with a similar worldview in his letters.

14:7–9 Idolatry is very erroneous because living humans were made in God’s Image; you would have to make a live human instead of a statue to even begin to represent Him. Jesus Christ is our physical experience of God (Hebrews 1:3).

14:10 “living in” Much is said about our need to “abide in” Christ. The same word menon is used here for “living in” as for “remain in” or “abide in” in John 15:5. To “abide in” is to “live in”. I abide on Planet Earth. I don’t have to expend additional effort to remain where I am. Believers have been moved from “in Adam” to “in Christ” at salvation (1 Corinthians 15:22, Galatians 3:27). You’re not having to keep in step with Him; you are united with Him, and He is bringing you with Him (Philippians 1:6)

14:11 Pretty much just believe in Jesus Christ, for whatever reason works for you.

14:12 The Body of Christ is one with Him (John 17:21) in works and suffering. After He ascended, we received the Holy Spirit, so He is working through believers all around the world at once. For the same works Jesus did being done by us (it’s a group project, we’re one – we get His resumé and what the Holy Spirit does through us all), Peter in Acts 9 healed a paralytic and brought a woman back from the dead. For us now, helping someone be born again with Christ’s life inside them is way better than merely bringing their human body back from the dead only to expire again later. Plus, Paul speaks of the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 13, and love is considered greater than all manner of miraculous things in God’s eyes. For those who want to see tangibly “greater” works, Peter converting three thousand people in Acts 2 was a good day at the office. Peter healing many people merely by casting his shadow on them as he walked by in Acts 5:15-16 is up there, too.

14:13-14 If it’s His will, of course (1 John 5:14). In one sense, to ask in someone’s name is to ask for it based on their merit instead of your own. There’s a good example in Genesis 24:12 where a servant asked in Abraham’s name based on God’s promises to Abraham. It’s also like when the disciples commandeered a donkey by saying that the Lord needed it (Luke 19:34). Our prayers for salvation were answered because Jesus is so good, not because we were deserving of anything (Ephesians 2:8-9). Another way of asking in someone’s name is to do so as their representative. Think of an ambassador of a country speaking on behalf of their country. If the country’s leader gave them a list of objectives for the meeting, but they went off-script and asked for a bunch of other stuff instead, they would no longer be asking in their leader’s name in good faith. Prayers for things like the spread of the Gospel, more understanding and maturity in the faith, bearing much fruit, etc., are reliable. God does do amazing things, and someone might get a jet ski, for example, now and then. However, the name-it-claim-it-gab-it-and-grab-it stuff can lead to disappointment with the faith. The things Paul prayed for in his letters are a good place to start. Pray for everyone (to receive the Gospel), everyone’s leaders (that it may go well for us), Christians (that we all mature), Church leaders (that they be effective), our enemies/persecutors, the sick, the broken-hearted, yourself, etc.

14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” This is a promise, not a threat. See Romans 14:4, Hebrews 13:20-21, Jude 24, Philippians 1:6, and Philippians 2:13. It is said that we contribute nothing to our salvation but the sin that made it necessary. This will make more sense in the next chapter when Jesus teaches about the relationship between the Vine and the branches.

14:16 See Isaiah 59:21 and Ezekiel 36:27. Jesus’ promise was fulfilled in Acts 2. In the Old Testament, sin made the Holy Spirit leave people, resulting in much begging in Psalms to keep or regain His presence (Psalm 51:11-12). Even then, they only had the Spirit on them for a time for a specific task like Joseph (Genesis 41:38), the Tabernacle craftsmen (Exodus 31:3), Joshua (Numbers 27:18), Othniel (Judges 3:10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), Jephthah (Judges 11:29), Samson (Judges 14:6, Judges 14:19, Judges 15:14), Saul (1 Samuel 10:9-10), and David (1 Samuel 16:13). Jesus took all our sin away, and God remembers it no more, so we have the Holy Spirit always per Jesus’ request (John 14:16).

14:17 “will be in you” This has been true for Christians since Pentecost (Acts 2).

14:18 He will never leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5). What could make Him? Sin? Jesus did a great job of taking that away from us.

14:19 You are safe as long as Jesus lives, which is forever (Hebrews 7:25). Your salvation depends on His indestructible life, not anything you have control over apart from choosing Him.

14:20 This is reiterated in verse 23. You are never alone; you are always showing up to any situation at least four deep because wherever you go, the Trinity goes.

14:21 “commands” Here’s another verse that makes believers freak out and start reaching for Matthew and amputation post-care recommendations, but let’s think this through. Part of the promise of this verse is that Jesus will love the person. Therefore, the “disciple that Jesus loved” is an excellent role model. John said that Jesus’ New Testament commands are Believe and Love, as we’ve alluded to several times. John also clearly states this in the Epistles in 1 John 3:23. Plus, whenever you keep His command to love Christians, you love Him through them.

14:22 Judas wanted the truth of Daniel 7:9-14 and the accompanying world domination to come on his own timetable.

14:23 “obey My teaching” is also “keep My word” or believe what He said. Jesus already said the Holy Spirit would move in (verse 17), and here the Father and the Son are pleased to make their abode within you. We’ll cover this in Jesus’ prayer in John 17. You are holier than the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament Tabernacle/Temple, because God lives in you and has no occasion to leave you.

14:24 “Whoever does not love Me…” But those who do, will, and that’s a promise instead of a threat (Philippians 2:13).

14:25-26 John’s longevity with the Holy Spirit working on him explains why his book is so different from Matthew’s, Mark’s, and Luke’s books.

14:27 “Peace” Jesus is Jewish, so His peace is shalom. Shalom has completeness, safety, a sound body, adequate wealth, adequate health, peace, prosperity, tranquility, and contentment all included. You’ve got a reserved seat in Heaven that you’re already sitting in (time and eternity make this seem complicated), as seen in Ephesians 2:6, so there’s nothing to worry about or fear.

14:30-31 See John 12:31 note if you forgot “the prince of this world”. The possessed Judas and other sons of the devil were coming to arrest Jesus.

John 15 – See Jeremiah 12:14-17. See Jeremiah 5, particularly the hints about branches (Jeremiah 5:10) and fire (Jeremiah 5:14). The events of 586 BC and of 70 AD rhymed. See also 1 John 4:12-18 to be assured of your safety. Especially, see how breaking off unfaithful branches led to the Gentiles being grafted into the tree in Romans 11.

15:1 “I am the true vine” as opposed to the Israelites in Isaiah 5. This illustration is also wordplay for Jesus being the Branch of David’s descent. For more on this common prophetic theme, see Isaiah 4:2, Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15, Zechariah 3:8, and Zechariah 6:12. Additionally, since the Hebrew for “branch” amounts to the consonants “nzr”, Jesus growing up in Nazareth was not random.

15:2 “cuts off” The Greek word “airei” used here is also used frequently in the Bible to mean “lifts up”. I can sense people wanting examples, so it’s translated this way for the same author in John 11:41 (eyes toward Heaven) and Revelation 10:5 (right hand to Heaven). Other examples include Matthew 4:6 (by angels), Mark 16:18 (snakes), Luke 5:24 (mat), Luke 9:17 (food), Luke 9:23 (cross), Luke 17:13 (their voices), Acts 4:24 (their voices), etc. God produces the fruit He wants from you (Philippians 2:13). Fruitless branches get lifted up into the sunlight so they can grow (Ephesians 2:10). Regarding “prunes” or “cleans”, don’t worry, because this is accomplished through His words (as seen in verse 3). He’s not done with us yet (Romans 12:2), and that’s a good thing.

15:3 See 2 Timothy 3:16-17. While God can use adverse circumstances (that He didn’t send) to teach you, studying the Bible and listening to the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, John 16:13) is more efficient.

15:4 Abide/Live in Christ by believing in Him for salvation. If you have done so, your location has changed. You have packed up and moved from Adam to Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22). He is your life now (Colossians 3:4) in the midst of what you are doing. Jesus prayed for this unity with us in John 17:20-26.

15:5 This is an evangelistic appeal, as is this gospel in total (John 20:31).

15:6 “you” The evangelistic appeal continues, as believers live in Christ (John 17:20-23), and unbelievers do not. There was an unbeliever present (John 6:64). See Malachi 4:1, Psalm 80:16, Isaiah 27:11, Jeremiah 11:16, and Ezekiel 15:6.

15:7 See 1 John 5:14. Heaven will be great, whatever your circumstances look like now.

15:8 This sure seems like verse 7 about answered prayers is in regard to bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 2:10, John 10:10).

15:9 If you aren’t feeling loving at the moment, remember that you live in His love. It was put into your heart for you (Romans 5:5). Be consciously aware of receiving His love and transmit it to others (1 John 4:19). It’s like the “be being filled” by the Holy Spirit of Ephesians 5:18; you’re not running out and filling up again, but your vessel grows. The size of your comprehension of His love for you and through you for others in any given moment increases as you gain maturity in the faith.

15:10 “remain in” or “live in” See 1 John 3:23 and John 17:20-23. See also Jeremiah 17:7-8. There’s the word “commands” again. Don’t you wish authors would be specific? I’m kidding; don’t flip back to Moses, see verse 12.

15:11 Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

15:12 “My command is this” Notice He narrowed down “commands” to “command”. See the John 13:34 note.

15:13 This means that Christ’s love is the greatest love of all, so go dispense that to people. You don’t have to speak eloquently or write hundreds of pages, but seeing how you live is the only Bible many people will ever read.

15:14-15 It’s nice to be a friend instead of an employee. A friend of the King is an official role (1 Maccabees 2:18). The ancient Greek ideal of friendship involved sharing like a family. Abraham is God’s friend (Isaiah 41:8). Abe did try to sacrifice his own son when asked (Genesis 22), but he was declared righteous for faith in Genesis 15:6.

15:16 We’ll discuss what predestination means and doesn’t mean when we get into Paul’s letters. The Twelve were selected for ministry, but He wants to save everyone (1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:9).

15:17 This is in case you forgot verse 12 already. You would have to expend effort to avoid loving each other (1 John 5:1), as the Holy Spirit is cranking out God’s love in your new heart (Romans 5:5).

15:18 “the world” was shorthand for unbelievers (Isaiah 66:5) and their bad shepherds like fallen angels, corrupt Sadducees, and eventually Christian-killing pagan Romans. A gospel is the good news of a new King and a new Kingdom. See 1 Samuel 22:23. God loves the world full of people (John 3:16).

15:19-20 Nobody’s perfect apart from Jesus, and they nailed Him to a piece of wood. See Psalm 34:19. Don’t assume the ride won’t have some bumps in it. Don’t interpret adversity as a lack of faith on your part or punishment for sin. As new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) with Heaven-ready insides, we are aliens in this world like Jesus.

15:25 Again, “their Law” is not our law. Jesus referenced Psalm 35:19 and/or Psalm 69:4.

15:26 Roman Catholicism (referred to by some people as the Italian Orthodox Church) split from the Orthodox churches in the East in part over a disagreement over whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from only the Father or the Father and the Son. If that topic is of interest to you, this verse, John 16:7, and John 20:22 will be too. See also Genesis 1:2. Both of those positions about the “filioque” can veer toward thinking of the Holy Spirit like an “it” rather than as a distinct Person in the Trinity.

15:27 The Twelve had all been around since early in Jesus’ earthly ministry. This requirement was used to decide who would get to fill Judas’ vacancy in Acts.

16:1 “fall away” This is not about loss of salvation, but abandoning their posts as apostles. John 15:27 is the verse right before this one.

16:2-3 People hesitant to lose their ancestral ties with Judaism were the audience of the Book of Hebrews.

16:6 If they had asked (verse 5), they would have learned about how great Heaven is.

16:7 See Isaiah 32:14-20, Ezekiel 37:9-14, Ezekiel 11:19-20, Ezekiel 36:25-27, and Joel 2:28-32.

16:8-11 The Holy Spirit does not convict believers of sin. The Holy Spirit proves the unbelieving world wrong about sin because they do not believe in the only Savior available. The Holy Spirit convinces believers of the righteousness they have in Jesus Christ (“Sin is beneath you now that He has cleansed you; you are better than that now” etc.). See Hebrews 10:14-18.

16:12 See 1 Corinthians 2:14; Pentecost hadn’t come yet.

16:13-15 The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. These restrictions on what the Holy Spirit says prevent a scenario in which people might try to worship the Holy Spirit but deny the Father or the Son.

16:22 No one will take away the joy that you have coming.

16:23 Here, Jesus just said He would be absent bodily as their Rabbi. Again, requests have to be in His name, in line with His mission, God’s will (1 John 5:14) for you right now, etc. Some teachers use this verse to be dogmatic about praying only to the Father through the Holy Spirit and tacking “in Jesus’ name” on the end. Based on John 14:14, Acts 7:59-60, 1 Corinthians 1:1-2, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, etc., each Person in the Trinity accepts prayers, praise, worship, etc., The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are God.

16:26-27 Jesus is our Advocate in the eternal sense (Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1-2); His work is done, and it stands forever. Things between us and God are fine now. He is quite fond of you.

16:28 Think about John 1:1 and see Isaiah 55:11.

16:29 John hints at the parables he elected not to include.

16:30 This is in response to the speech He just gave based on His intuition in verse 19.

16:32 You’re not alone.

16:33 It all ends well.

17:1 “this” Jesus and the disciples’ conversation extends to here from John 13:31 after Judas left. Let’s talk about this time Jesus prayed. I know that out-of-context model Jewish prayer for Jesus’ Torah students in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere is popularly known as “The Lord’s Prayer”, but I would nominate this one for that spot. He started out with a hallowed-be-Thy-Name-through-Me of sorts.

17:2 See Matthew 28:18. Jesus rules for the purpose of giving us eternal life (John 3:16-17).

17:3 like John 6:28-29.

17:4 Jesus finished His work, and we’re safe. If you believe in Him, He saved you and did a fine job of it. You’re not getting forgiven little by little as you jump through the right hoops, you are forgiven (Hebrews 10:14).

17:5 This got answered. He ascended. Apart from wanting a cup-passing plan B in the Synoptics in the Garden of Gethsemane (while really asking for the Father’s will to be done, which He got), Jesus gets what He prays for. Remember that, because you’re about to read other things Jesus asked for that He got, and they’re about and for you.

17:6 Based on this verse along with verse 20, we are a gift from the Father to Jesus. See Romans 11:29.

17:7-9 Salvation is for believers. Support evangelism. Universalism, or salvation for everyone, is not guaranteed. However, God wants to save everyone (1 Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 18:23, and 2 Peter 3:9), He answers prayers in line with His will (1 John 5:14), He listens to the righteous (Psalm 34:15), He made us righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He has a track record of listening to intercessory prayer. Therefore, let’s get in agreement with Him and pray that He saves everyone anyway. I’m writing and you’re reading, so we’re together on this page.

Father, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of David, please have mercy. All things are possible for you. We believe; please help our unbelief. Please save everyone; Your will be done. Amen.  

17:10 And, you are a co-heir with Christ (Galatians 4:7) and share ownership of the universe with Him (Romans 8:32), whether it feels like that yet or not.

17:11 This bit smells like the intent of “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”. More about our unity is coming in verses 22-23.

17:12 See Jeremiah 23:4 and Isaiah 40:26. Much has been made of the phrase “son of perdition” in older translations. It means “worthy of perishing”; it’s a similar turn of phrase to 2 Samuel 12:5’s “son of death” in those translations, or Isaiah 57:4’s “children of transgression”, 2 Thessalonians 2:3’s “man of of lawlessness”, and John 8:44’s sons of the devil. Acts 4:36 provides a positive example.

17:13 Jesus prayed this within earshot of the disciples so we’d know how good we have it. It’s a lesson as well as a prayer, like the more-well-known “Lord’s Prayer”. He already outdone and worked around concepts like daily bread (John 6:35) and forgiveness (John 3:16-17).

17:14,16 After the new birth, you are as much an alien in this world on the inside as Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

17:15 Here’s some more deliverance from evil. We are in the world and not of the world; we don’t have to be separated from the world by weird communes, clothes, robes, buildings, or behaviors other than faith, love, and some specifics that get spelled out in the Epistles (that happen to look like the Noahide Laws).

17:16-17 Jesus, the Word (John 1:1), is the Truth (John 14:6), and we have already been sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews 10:10) or set apart.

17:18-19 Jesus gave Himself (with us attached) to God, so we belong to God. He left this world (He is set apart from it) so the Holy Spirit would come according to plan (John 16:7).

17:20 Here we are. Jesus prayed for us specifically.

17:21 Those who believe are united with (and are in) the Son and the Father (Colossians 3:3) because Jesus prayed for it. This means that real baptism, immersion into Christ, is belief.

17:22 See Isaiah 55:5. He gave us the glory of God. It’s false humility to refuse to believe this, because the text says what it says; we gon’ get the big head if we keep readin’ stuff like this.

17:23 “complete unity” We share His spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17); “loved them even as You have loved Me” Jesus prayed for you to be able to insert yourself into Matthew 3:17. You are beloved (Ephesians 1:6). God is pleased with you, and not just some future cleaned-up version of you, either. Our behavior is a work in progress (James 3:2, Romans 12:2), but you as a person are ready for Heaven thanks to Jesus.

17:24 “be with Me where I am” United with Him (Isaiah 62:4-5), we are sitting on our thrones in Heaven even now in eternity while life plays out as we experience time (Ephesians 2:6). We are the beneficiaries of the most epic version of “Daddy! I found a puppy! Can we keep it?”

17:25-26 If what you experience in the world ever makes you question God’s love, it’s inside you (Romans 5:5). Living among His people was Old Covenant stuff (Exodus 29:46, Deuteronomy 7:21), God lives in us as His New Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). You don’t have to be strong enough to handle what life throws at you, because Jesus lives through you (Galatians 2:20).

18:2 Judas was possessed (John 13:27, John 14:30).

18:3 Judas’ backup were sons of the devil (John 8:44).

18:4-5 This mirrors using a demon’s name in a Jewish exorcism. In this scenario, a herd of demons was trying to get rid of Jesus. Jesus (“I AM He” – Exodus 3:14) still had all the power. Jesus’ exorcisms were skipped in this gospel (John 20:30, John 21:25), presumably to point to John 8:44 and John 19:11.

18:6 like Ezekiel 1:28 and Daniel 8:18.

18:7-8 Sin, death, and any relationship with the Law of Moses must let you go at His command.

18:10 Luke records that Jesus healed Malchus’ ear (Luke 22:49-51). Even after being knocked to the ground by divine declarations, getting maimed, and experiencing a miraculous healing, Malchus still arrested Jesus. Perhaps he won “Employee of the Month”.

18:11 “cup” Again, like Isaiah 51:17-23.

18:15 “another disciple” Possibilities that have been suggested include but are not limited to John, Judas, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea.

18:20 He taught openly, whether He was understood or not (John 16:25,29). See Isaiah 45:19 and Isaiah 48:16.

18:21 He said this in the spirit of John 5:31.

18:28 See the John 13:1 note.

18:31 Josephus confirms that the Romans took the locals’ right to execute people. Stephen’s stoning in Acts was performed by an illegal mob.

18:32 The standard Jewish response to the blasphemy they accused Jesus of was stoning (Leviticus 24:16), but Jesus’ prophecy (John 3:14-15) called for crucifixion.

18:33 See Luke 23:1-3.

18:36 This is the other mention of the Kingdom of Heaven in John, and it’s not of this fallen world.

18:37-38 By acknowledging Jesus as King of the Jews and asserting His innocence, Pilate unwittingly mirrored Luke 23:41-42.

19:2 See Luke 23:11 for the likely origin of the robe. Jesus ended up having five trials: Annas (John 18:19), Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:57), Pilate (Luke 23:1), Herod (Luke 23:7), and Pilate again (John 18:28).

19:6 Pilate repeatedly found no legal reason to crucify Him. Our Lamb is flawless (John 1:29, Deuteronomy 15:21).

19:8 Pagans were used to tales of demigods, human rulers claiming divinity, etc. See also Matthew 27:19.

19:9 See Isaiah 53:7.

19:14 If John used the Roman civil timekeeping system dies civilis (plausible throughout, especially given his intended mixed Jew/Gentile audience in Asia Minor), what you may see translated as “noon” in the text is “the sixth hour”, which would be six in the morning for this trial. The timeline would agree with the Synoptic Gospels, with His crucifixion being carried out beginning at nine in the morning (lining up with the morning Temple sacrifice), darkness from noon to three, and Jesus’ death at three in the afternoon (lining up with the afternoon Temple sacrifice and when the Passover lambs were slaughtered).

19:15 They yelled this on a day for celebrating being free from Pharaoh.

19:17 See the Mark 15:21 note if who carried what where is of interest.

19:18 It was always going to be crucifixion (Zechariah 12:10).

19:19 If you’ve ever seen the inscription “INRI” in a church or a museum before, it’s an abbreviation for the Latin “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeaorum”. Iesus is Latin for Jesus; Jesus is Greek for Joshua.

19:20 The three languages can account for differences in what the sign said across the gospels.

19:24 This is from Psalm 22. The resurrected Messiah rules the world by the end of Psalm 22.

19:25 Comparing this with Mark 15:40 and Matthew 27:56,it looks like John the Apostle is Jesus’ cousin. You may remember Clopas from Luke 24.

19:26-27 Jesus was thinking of others even while being tortured to death. Jesus’ brothers (the sons of Joseph) were not believers until He rose from the dead. See Mark 3:21,31-35. As a family member, close associate, and believer, John was chosen to care for Mary.

19:28 Blood loss makes you thirsty. It was finished because He knew He had bled enough to die (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22).

19:29 See Psalm 69:21.

19:30 “It is finished.” See Ecclesiastes 3:14 and Hebrews 10:11-14. His work is complete, and we cannot add to it. You don’t make up for things with apologies, punishments, or good deeds. Human attempts to atone basically say that Jesus didn’t do a good enough job on the Cross.

See Hebrews 9:16-28. The same word was used for “will”, “testament, and “covenant”. The Old Covenant began with animal sacrifices and sprinkling blood on the people. The New Covenant began at Jesus’ death. The fancy mostly-blank piece of paper saying “The New Testament” belongs at this point in the story in all four gospels.

19:31 “a special Sabbath” This sounds like the special extra Sabbaths associated with Passover (Numbers 28:16-24) that aren’t tied to a specific day of the week. For example, details like when the spices and/or the linens were likely obtained have convinced some people that He was crucified on a Wednesday in 31 AD and spent three whole sunset-to-sunset Hebrew days buried before rising again to meet people on Sunday morning. I have made it a point to be inclusive of various viewpoints on debatable matters like prophecy and historical details; Hosea 6:2 covers every proposed timeline I’ve seen so far. He did the work and got back up on time, whether it started on a Friday in 27 AD or not. Let’s all get along.

19:32 It is commonly said that crucifixion makes it difficult to breathe, and that victims had to lift themselves up with tied/nailed hands and feet in a full-body exertion to do so. Modern medical experiments haven’t replicated this finding, but volunteers don’t stay on crosses long enough to truly say for sure. Leaving people up long enough to die from thirst while birds peck their eyes was not uncommon in the ancient world; this method of execution could take days. The Romans were skilled at crucifying people, so there may be body positioning tricks that are lost to history. Other theories of ordinary crucifixion death involve hypovolemia, hypoperfusion, acidosis, heart failure, etc. Compound leg fractures from hammer blows may have just made victims bleed out faster, caused emboli, etc.

19:33,36 See Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, and Psalm 34:20.

19:34 Symptoms suggest cardiac tamponade. Jesus’ actual cause of death is in John 10:18; He chose to die for us and to rise again.

19:35 “so that you also may believe” Rather than a historical document for use within the church, the Gospel of John is explicitly evangelistic.

19:37 See Zechariah 12:10.

19:39-40 That’s enough for a King (2 Chronicles 16:14).

19:41 The story of Sin began and ended in gardens.

20:1 Jesus can appear in locked rooms (John 20:26), so rolling the stone away was so the women and the disciples could see that He was not there.

20:2 Jesus’ love for John in this verse is “philo”.

20:4 John made sure to tell us that he outran his old fishing buddy Peter.

20:5 He paused because of a lifetime of Torah instruction about the uncleanliness of graves.

20:6-9 Pete either entered the grave with an abundance of faith that it was empty (but not that He had risen – verse 9), went in with Jesus’ lack of concern for ritual cleanliness, or just ran in without thinking. The I-got there-first vs. I-went-in-first argument fits well with the disciples’ other bickering about rank in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus left his wrappings because He has no further use of them. He is done dying, and as a believer, that is true of you as well (Hebrews 7:25, Hebrews 9:27, Luke 20:36).

20:14 When we are resurrected, our new bodies’ default appearance doesn’t seem to be something covered with eyes from an Ezekiel vision.

20:15 Paul likens Jesus to a new Adam, so it’s fitting that He looks like a gardener (Genesis 2:15).

20:17 “Do not hold on to Me” People make a big deal about Jesus remaining clean for His High Priestly duties in Heaven (Leviticus 21:1-4) and speculate about Mary Magdalene’s cycle. Jesus has no problem touching people after the Resurrection (John 20:20,25-27). He was the only dead person out there so tomb contact isn’t the reason, either. May I humbly suggest that He said “do not hold on to Me” to say “don’t cling to Me” because He knew He was leaving for Heaven after forty days. “I’m back, but I’m not staying.” Also, despite saying “My God” (which is natural given His role as the Son), Jesus is still God (John 1:1, John 14:9).

20:19 See Isaiah 26:20. The only disciple not in attendance seems to be Thomas.

20:20 God can point to us as an example of His mercy forever (Ephesians 2:7), so Jesus’ wounds are like a badge of honor. He chooses to keep them.

20:21-23 This doesn’t say that the Eleven or anyone in the present day claiming intellectual descent from them have special powers to amend John 3:16 to require their say-so. These verses are a unit. Since salvation comes from evangelism (Acts 4:12, John 8:24, John 16:8-9, John 20:31, Isaiah 22:22, Revelation 3:7), He told them to get busy. This is John’s handling of the Great Commission. The wrath remains on those who don’t choose Jesus (John 3:36), so it was up to them to make forgiveness possible by preaching Him. He handed the keys to the new under-Shepherds. See Jeremiah 23:4, Matthew 16:19, Luke 11:52, and Matthew 23:13. They had the authority to say that believers are totally forgiven people. Notice He breathed (Genesis 2:7) the Holy Spirit “on” them for one last Old Testament-style for-a-time-for-a-task anointing to tide them over until Pentecost (Acts 2:33). They went on to extend invitations to be in Christ to the Samaritans and the Gentiles (Luke 24:47).

20:24-25 As we saw when we studied the other gospels, all the non-Judas disciples swore not to run away, all of them did, and all were reconciled. Thomas was not an exceptional doubter; he just asked for the same experience that his co-workers got in verse 20. Peter’s extra reconciliation (in the next chapter) motivated by his denials seems like a bonus ending to some people.

20:27 The physicality of the risen Jesus still having a palpable body was highlighted to oppose the proto-Gnostics that said Jesus was entirely a spirit (2 John 7).

20:28 The Roman emperor Domitian liked this title applied to himself.

20:29 Here we are again.

20:30-31 See Psalm 40:5. This seems like a logical ending for this book. It explains that the purpose was to make you believe in Jesus, and His signs are greater miracles than they saw under Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). The disciples have been given their mission and help from the Holy Spirit.

John might be placed before Luke’s sequel Acts because it explains why Peter was still treated like a church leader despite publicly disavowing his Sage/Rabbi repeatedly. And now, for a pro-Peter epilogue:

21:1-3 It seems that instead of carrying out the Great Commission with help from the Holy Spirit, the apostles (disciples are students; apostles are sent out) went back to their day jobs like another alternative after the short ending of Mark.

21:7 Jesus’ love for John in this verse is “agape”.

21:11 See Ezekiel 47:8-10.

21:15 The word Jesus used for “love” here is “agape”. The word Peter used for “love” here is “philo”. When Jesus said to feed His lambs, He told Peter to take over the sheep feeding from the bad shepherds (Ezekiel 34) on behalf of the Good Shepherd (John 10). He was to seek the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7). Peter fed the Bread of Life (John 6:35, John 6:53-58) to three thousand Jews shortly thereafter in Acts 2. Peter was also the first to offer Jesus to the most “other” of the “other sheep” (John 10:16), the Gentiles (Acts 10). Whether the question was if Peter loved Jesus more than the other disciples loved Jesus, if Peter loved Jesus more than catching a bunch of fish, etc., this story let him recover from his denials and put him back on track for the Great Commission. Peter is our brother in Christ, and no believer today is especially privileged for sharing furniture with him.

21:16 Again, “agape” and “philo”.

21:17 A third affirmation was requested for a third denial. The word Jesus used for “love” here is “philo”. The word Peter used for “love” here is “philo”. Some say this was Jesus poignantly asking Peter if they were even friends. However, Jesus’ love for John throughout this gospel has used “agape” and “philo” interchangeably. The distinction doesn’t seem to be a big deal. Christian love and true friendship are similar.

21:18-19 This was a prophecy of Peter’s death by crucifixion. He was crucified upside down because he felt unworthy of dying the same way the Lord did. All the people wearing the upside-down crosses look like big fans of Peter to me. The first recorded words of Jesus to Peter reading the Bible front-to-back included “Follow me” (Matthew 4:18-19), and it is fitting to end his story arc in the gospels with them.

21:20 John got another “agape” here.

21:21-24 John was the last of the original disciples to die. He lived long enough to proofread the Gospel of John. If it’s the book from “the disciple that Jesus loved” and it circulated widely with John’s name on it with no big recorded objections from the period, then we can be pretty sure that John is the disciple that Jesus loved. The “disciple that Jesus loved” could easily mean “the guy that didn’t get martyred”. The recorder speaks in the third person at the end of verse 24 because John had access to the good scribes in Ephesus. (We will see several more scribal hints in the Epistles.) What if John didn’t die like the rest of the apostles in the 60s AD because he had another mission to complete? He had to take care of Mary. John was the obvious choice for this, as believers are family (Luke 8:21), plus John was likely Jesus’ cousin. Redefining the relationship between John and Mary in John 19:26-27 seems to make John the beneficiary of any life extension available in Exodus 20:12.

21:25 See Psalm 40:5. This sounds like John 20:30 again. This seems like a bonus scene after the credits have rolled.

Now seems to be a good time for a bit of summary and a preview of what’s to come: God made humans in His Image, He gave us this world, and He pronounced His work good. We didn’t trust His judgment on that; we opted to experience both good and evil. Left to our own devices, we worked for and earned the drowning of the world. Noah was mercifully spared. When it was about time for another near-extinction, God instead chose Abraham to begin bringing us back by grace through faith. Slavery under the Egyptians was replaced by slavery to the Law; it was all one lesson. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but there isn't enough livestock to sacrifice in the world to cover how far humanity is from God’s perfection (Leviticus 19:2, Matthew 5:48, James 2:10, James 3:2). The Old Covenant even had the possibility of turning over a new leaf as a way to clear the slate (Ezekiel 18), but no one turns from sin well enough (James 2:10, James 3:2). Turn-or-burn is part of the Old news, and therefore it is not the Good News; the Good News is the New Covenant. Turn to Jesus; no one can do what He did or add to what He did. There are well-meaning people that say that Paul telling us that we are not “under the Law” for salvation only means that we Gentiles don’t have to become Jewish to be saved. Why would Paul then say that the Law inflames our desire to sin and increases sinning (Romans 5:20, Romans 7:8), or that trying to obey part of the Law is cursed in Galatians 3:10 (as it is an all-or-nothing proposition), or that apart from the Law sin is dead (Romans 7:8), or that we are dead to the Law (Romans 7:4) if we were to still look to the 613 regulations of the Law of Moses to define sin as Christians? As for what’s left for us to review: Acts is a history book showing us the early days of the Church. It irons out a few more distinctions between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Revelation is a fitting ending for the Bible. In between Acts and Revelation, the Epistles are letters about issues in the early Church; they are primary sources from Paul, Peter, John, etc., that clearly explain the ocean of grace we’re swimming in on this side of the Cross and the Resurrection.

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