His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. The disciples had no idea that someone among them would betray Jesus. Even Judas had asked: “Is it I?” (Mark 14:19; Matt 26:22). Their thought was that they may sometime in the future fall short of being there for …
Author Archives: Tim Conrad
John 13:21
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” “troubled in spirit” is very human (11:33). We can almost feel what Jesus was feeling. If there was not a tear in His eye, He was fighting to keep them …
John 13:20
I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” There is a common saying among the Jews “that the messenger of a man is as himself”. (T Bab. Beracot, fol. 34. 2. Kiddushin, fol. 41. 9. & 42. 1. & 43. 1. …
John 13:19
“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. Even though He knows exactly who the traitor is, what he is going to do, and what the resulting violent action will be, there is not a trace of anger in the voice of …
John 13:18
“I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfil the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’ The scripture is (Psalms 41:9) in which David is referring to Ahithophel, his former advisor who betrayed him to follow Absolom. Note …
John 13:17
Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. It is one thing to know, but another indeed, to do. The Rabbis say that “‘he that learns but not to do’, it would have been better for him, if he had never been created;” and says R. Jochanan, “he that …
John 13:16
I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. See (Luke 22:27). In (Luke 6:40) the contrast is between the pupil and the teacher, but the lesson is the same, and in (Mat 10:24) Jesus uses both pupil and slave to …
John 13:15
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Christ has given us an example (Matt 11:29, Eph 5:2, 1 Peter 2:21). Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your …
John 13:14
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. If Jesus, who is really Lord and Master, has given them a humble service, then they should have no qualms about doing the same for each other. Jesus gave them an example, a living parable. Morris notes …
John 13:13
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’, and rightly so, for that is what I am. “Teacher” (NIV) = “Master” (KJV) = didaskalos = a teacher, one who teaches the things of God. This is the same as “Rabbi” which was the usual Jewish way of respectfully addressing a religious leader. “Lord” = kurios = he …
John 13:12
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. Jesus completed washing their feet. He apparently washed ALL of their feet, including those of Judas. Why didn’t He send Judas out to do his evil before the …
John 13:11
For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. Jesus had known for at least a year that Judas was going to betray Him, and yet He treated him no differently than the others (6:64,70). He didn’t even tell the others who the traitor …
John 13:10
Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” Like today (hopefully), those who would attend the home of another for a meal would first bathe and then make the journey. They did not …
John 13:9
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Peter does nothing halfway, and when he is convinced by the words of Christ, he dives in headfirst, but his answer is “still the product of self-will. Peter is reluctant to let Jesus do what He wants. He …
John 13:8
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Reminiscent of his statement to Jesus when the Lord started telling them that He was going to Jerusalem to be handed over to the chief priest and put to death on a cross (Matt …
John 13:7
Jesus replied, “You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “realize” (NIV) = eido (Greek) = to perceive with the eyes, to know. “understand” (NIV) = ginosko (Greek) = to learn to know, come to know, to know by experience. Maybe a reference to the illumination of the Holy …
John 13:6
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” There is no mention of any comment until Jesus comes to Peter. Either there was dead silence as Jesus washed the first few, or Peter may have been the first. At any rate, Peter does not hesitate to …
John 13:5
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him. Do you know who worked on the street and road cleaning crews in Israel back then? Nobody! The roads in Palestine were unsurfaced and never cleaned. They were made of …
John 13:4
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. Depending upon the timing of the Lukan passage, Jesus may have already rebuked the apostles for trying to get the best seats at the beginning of the meal (Luke 22:24-30) and He now gives them a living parable …
John 13:3
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; “knew” is repeated from verse 13:1, “accenting the full consciousness of Jesus. Jesus is fully conscious of his deity and Messianic dignity when he performs this humble act.” (RWP) Morris sees …
John 13:2
The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Our enemy: his tactics and how to defeat him Luke (Luke 22:3-4) says that Satan entered Judas when he offered to betray Jesus on the previous afternoon. That is why John uses the word “already”. …
John 13:1
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The passover feast began on the 15th of Nisan at sunset. …
John 12:50
I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” “leads to” (NIV) = “is” (KJV) = esti (Greek) is third person singular of the verb “to be”. This is properly translated in KJV and not in the NIV (in the opinion of …
John 12:49
For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. The Father has committed Himself fully in the Son. Whatever the Son speaks is only what the Father has told Him to say (3:35, 4:34). This was prophesied in (Deut …
John 12:48
There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. “rejects” = The Greek word is atheteo which means to reject or despise. This is a very strong word and Barclay translates it as, “He who …
John 12:47
“As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. His primary purpose is to save the world (3:16-17) and not to judge it (8:15). However, Jesus does judge the world (9:39) by bringing …
John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness. “have come” is in the perfect tense meaning a past coming and a remaining. The purpose of His coming was to deliver men from the darkness in which they were. He came to save. Jesus …
John 12:45
When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. “sees” = theoreo = to behold, perceive, or consider. He who steadily considers the Son does so also with the Father (#1:18, 13:20, 14:9). John 1:18 No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, …
John 12:44
Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. These are the last words of Christ to the public and they are His last appeal to believe. John places them here to summarize everything that has gone before, but they …
John 12:43
for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. Perhaps these men believed with their heads instead of with their hearts (Romans 10:10)? Romans 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Barclay is very hard …
John 12:42
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; Once the Pharisees sneeringly asked the officers (7:48): “Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?” And now …
John 12:41
Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Morris speaks of the complexity of Christ’s glory thus, “It points at once to the supreme greatness of Christ and the cross as the supreme illustration of His greatness. Here it included the thought of His rejection, for that, too, is part of …
John 12:40
“He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” The passage referred to is (Isa 6:8-10) and is quoted in all of the other gospels and by Paul in Acts (Mat 13:14-15, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, …
John 12:39
For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “could not believe” does not mean that they had their eyes blinded or their hearts hardened against their wills. They chose to do evil. It was a deliberate choice on their part to reject Jesus and His message and as a result of …
John 12:38
This was to fulfil the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” The quote is from (Isaiah 53:1). Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? The unbelief of the …
John 12:37
Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. John again refers to the miracles of Jesus as “signs” because their purpose was to point men to God; they were not to be mere displays of power. In this case, the signs should have produced …
John 12:36
Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. Jesus brings up both the issue of revelation and of faith. Jesus is the light but men must put their trust in Him. Again, we …
John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Jesus doesn’t directly answer their questions, and He doesn’t really have any need to, for …
John 12:34
The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain for ever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” “We” vs. “you” = the crowd is contrasting itself with Christ. They are saying that the holy scriptures teach …
John 12:33
He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. This is another of John’s side notes explaining why Jesus said what He just said.
John 12:32
But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” “But I” = is emphatic and declares the work can be done by Christ and Christ alone. It is not the message of the cross that draws men; it is Jesus Himself. Jesus mentions three times in the book …
John 12:31
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. “judgment” = krisis = a separating and then a decision. We get the word “crisis” from it and it has much the same meaning except that it also has the idea of final settlement and judicial …
John 12:30
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. The ironic thing is that the voice, which was heard so poorly, was not for the benefit of Jesus, but for those who did not hear what it said. Since the voice was for the benefit of the crowd, why did they not understand it? …
John 12:29
The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. The crowd perceived only a sound and since it came from the sky, it had to be thunder; others, perhaps those who had been following Jesus a little more closely, distinguished incomprehensible words, similar to …
John 12:28
Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” This is the third recorded time that Jesus and those around Him have heard the voice of the Father. The first was at the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:11) and the second at the transfiguration (Mark …
John 12:27
“Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Jesus was fully human and had to deal with all of the things we face. Nobody in their right mind would look forward to death, much less …
John 12:26
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. There is no other way to serve Christ than by following Him, and He died on a cross! Being where Jesus is involves pain and suffering and it means losing our …
John 12:25
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Jesus here expresses a principle that is so critical to the Christian faith that our lives depend upon it. It is not only repeated in all of the other gospels, …
John 12:24
I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. If a grain of wheat remains in the granary, it will be safe and secure, but it will feed nobody and produce no fruit; it …
John 12:23
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Jesus completely ignores the Greeks and speaks, apparently to Philip and Andrew, although the Greeks may have been close enough to hear all that He said. It is obvious that Jesus sees their coming as very significant. His mission has now …
John 12:22
Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Andrew = Andreas = “manly” (also a Greek name). He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee (John 1:44), brother of Simon Peter, a disciple of John the Baptist, and afterwards an apostle of Christ. He is said to have been crucified at …
John 12:21
They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” The name Philip is Greek = Philippos =”lover of horses”. See the notes on John 1:43 for more about Philip. Bethsaida=”house of fish”. Jesus was evidently still in the court of the women, where the …
John 12:20
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. It is now the second day after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and much has happened, though John does not tell of it, for it doesn’t meet his needs and it is told in the other gospels. Upon entering Jerusalem …
John 12:19
So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” The Pharisees, who had mingled with the crowd, turn to one another and take out their frustrations upon one another, but they unwittingly express a prophecy in their ranting exaggeration: the whole world …
John 12:18
Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. There are two crowds, one following Jesus from Bethany and the other coming out to meet Him from Jerusalem (12:13). This crowd is going out to see Him because they want to see for themselves the one …
John 12:17
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. The crowd that was with Jesus when He raised Lazarus from the dead is described in (11:45; 12:1,9-11). John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit …
John 12:16
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realise that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. The disciples did not understand at that time (2:22; 7:39). They needed the revealing of truth by the Holy Spirit to …
John 12:15
“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” The quote is from (Zech 9:9). Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, …
John 12:14
Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, “found” = through the disciples (Mr 11:2 -6; Mt 21:2 -3,6; Lu 19:30). John is not interested in these details; they have nothing to do with his purpose in writing his account. Mark 11:2-6 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead …
John 12:13
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” “the King of Israel” = as Nathanael called him(1:49), a messianic title. Notice that he allows them to greet him this way (Lu 19:38-40), even though …
John 12:12
The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. The account of the triumphal entry is given in all four gospels, thus indicating its importance (Matt 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-44). This happened on the Sunday preceding the Passover. The following may give …
John 12:11
for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him. One of the reasons the Sadducees wanted to kill Lazarus was that he was the cause for many of those who had previously followed them to now leave them and start following Jesus. Lazarus was …
John 12:10
So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, The “as well” here is significant. The Sadducees had already been planning the death of Jesus (#11:53). He was a potential leader of a rebellion and they were scared that because of Jesus, the Romans might remove their privileges, money, and power. Now they …
John 12:9
Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. A large crowd went to Bethany to see Jesus and Lazarus. The large number of people gathered around Jesus was probably the reason that …
John 12:8
You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” The Jews knew that even when Messiah comes, there will still be the poor in the land as noted by the following. “there is no difference between this world (this present time) and the times of the Messiah, but the …
John 12:7
“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. Jesus immediately takes the part of Mary. He would not allow any criticism for what she had done. Anointing was usually a mark of festivity and its omission was an affront to a guest (Luke …
John 12:6
He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “thief” = klepto. “money bag” = glossokomon = a case in which to keep the mouth-pieces of wind instruments. It came …
John 12:5
“Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” “a year’s wages” (NIV) = 300 denarion. A denarius was the principal silver coin of the Roman empire and was worth about a day’s wage (Mt 20:2), so, allowing for the Sabbaths, this would be worth about …