John 14

Translator Notes

1. The verb tarassestho ('be troubled, be agitated') is the same word used of Jesus himself in 11:33 and 13:21. The imperative can be read as either indicative-then-imperative ('you believe in God; believe also in me') or as two imperatives ('believe in God, and believe in me'). The Greek is ambiguous; we follow the more traditional reading that takes the first clause as indicative.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek monai ('dwelling places, rooms') has been famously rendered 'mansions' in the KJV, following the Latin Vulgate's mansiones. The Greek word carries no connotation of grandeur; it simply means 'abiding places' or 'rooms,' from the verb meno ('to remain, abide'), a key Johannine term. The punctuation of this verse is debated: some take 'I go to prepare a place for you' as a statement, others as part of the preceding question. We follow the reading that takes the final clause as part of the rhetorical question.

Translator Notes

1. The verb paralempomai ('take to myself, receive') implies personal accompaniment, not merely granting access. The promise 'where I am, you also may be' is the heart of Johannine eschatology — the goal of salvation is being with Jesus. Whether this refers to his return at death, at the resurrection, or at the parousia has been debated since the earliest centuries.

Translator Notes

1. Some manuscripts read 'you know where I am going, and you know the way,' which the KJV follows. The SBLGNT follows the shorter reading, which is more likely original and sets up Thomas's question in verse 5 more naturally.

Translator Notes

1. Thomas's honest confusion mirrors the recurring Johannine pattern of misunderstanding that leads to deeper revelation. His question provokes one of the Gospel's most important declarations. Thomas appears elsewhere in John as a figure of honest doubt (11:16, 20:24-29).

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. This is the sixth of John's seven great ego eimi ('I am') declarations. The three nouns — hodos ('way'), aletheia ('truth'), zoe ('life') — may be read as three coordinate claims or as a single claim with two appositional qualifiers: 'I am the way, that is, the truth and the life.' The definite articles before each noun are emphatic: not a way but the way. The exclusivity clause ('no one comes to the Father except through me') is absolute in the Greek and we render it without softening.

Translator Notes

1. The textual tradition is divided between a contrary-to-fact condition ('if you had known me, you would have known') and a fulfilled condition ('if you have known me, you will know'). The SBLGNT follows the latter reading, which is more encouraging than rebuking. The claim that they have 'seen' the Father through knowing Jesus anticipates Philip's question in verse 8.

Translator Notes

1. Philip's request echoes Moses's plea in Exodus 33:18 ('Show me your glory'). The verb deiknumi ('show, reveal') implies a visible manifestation. Philip has not yet grasped that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father — the central christological claim of the Fourth Gospel.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] References Exodus 33:18 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

Translator Notes

1. The statement 'whoever has seen me has seen the Father' (ho heorakos eme heoraken ton patera) is one of the highest christological claims in the New Testament. The perfect tense heoraken implies a completed seeing with continuing results. Jesus is not merely a representative of God but the visible manifestation of the invisible Father (cf. Colossians 1:15).

Translator Notes

1. The mutual indwelling formula — 'I in the Father and the Father in me' — is a distinctive Johannine expression of the unity between Father and Son. The verb meno ('dwell, abide, remain') is one of John's most important theological terms. Jesus grounds his claim not in abstract theology but in observable evidence: his words and works are the Father's own activity.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus offers two grounds for faith: his word and his works. The appeal to works as evidence recalls 10:38 and anticipates the theme of signs throughout John. The concessive 'or else' (ei de me) acknowledges that direct trust in his word is the higher form of faith, while trust based on evidence is still valid.

Translator Notes

1. The double amen ('truly, truly') is a distinctive Johannine formula that introduces solemn declarations. The promise of 'greater works' (meizona touton) is striking — greater than Jesus's own miracles. The 'because' clause (hoti) ties the greater works to Jesus's departure: his going to the Father enables the sending of the Spirit, which empowers the disciples' mission.

Translator Notes

1. Asking 'in my name' (en to onomati mou) is not a formula appended to prayers but denotes asking in accord with Jesus's character, mission, and authority. The purpose clause — 'so that the Father may be glorified in the Son' — defines the scope and aim of such prayer.

Translator Notes

1. This verse repeats and reinforces the promise of verse 13. Some manuscripts omit 'me' (me), making the request directed to the Father rather than to Jesus. The SBLGNT includes it, placing Jesus as both the mediator and the one who acts.

Translator Notes

1. The future indicative teresete ('you will keep') is preferable to reading this as an imperative ('keep'). Jesus states a fact about love's nature rather than issuing a command: genuine love for him will naturally express itself in obedience. This connection between love and obedience is a central theme of the Farewell Discourse.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The word Parakletos appears only in John's writings in the New Testament (here, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, and 1 John 2:1). The KJV's 'Comforter' follows the Latin consolator but captures only one dimension. The Greek term has legal overtones ('advocate, one called alongside to help') and relational dimensions ('counselor, helper'). We render it 'Advocate' while acknowledging the broader range. The word allon ('another') implies one of the same kind — the Spirit is another Advocate like Jesus himself.

Translator Notes

1. The 'Spirit of truth' (to pneuma tes aletheias) identifies the Advocate with truth itself — a key Johannine theme (cf. 'I am the truth,' 14:6). The contrast between the world's inability and the disciples' capacity to receive the Spirit is absolute. The shift from 'remains with you' (present tense, menei) to 'will be in you' (future, estai) marks a transition from the Spirit's presence alongside them during Jesus's ministry to the Spirit's indwelling after Pentecost.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek orphanous ('orphans') is more specific than the KJV's 'comfortless.' The metaphor casts the disciples as children who would be fatherless without Jesus's continued presence. The present tense erchomai ('I am coming') conveys certainty and immediacy rather than a distant future event.

Translator Notes

1. The contrast between the world and the disciples regarding 'seeing' Jesus extends beyond physical sight to spiritual perception. The declaration 'because I live, you also will live' compresses the entire Christian hope into a single sentence — the disciples' life depends on and flows from Jesus's resurrection life.

Translator Notes

1. The mutual indwelling now extends beyond the Father-Son relationship (v. 10) to include the disciples: Father in Son, Son in believers, believers in Son. This threefold chain of indwelling is the Johannine vision of salvation — not merely forgiveness but participatory union. 'That day' likely refers to the post-resurrection encounters and the coming of the Spirit.

Translator Notes

1. The chain of love is striking: the believer's love for Jesus expressed through obedience leads to the Father's love for the believer and Jesus's self-revelation. The verb emphaniso ('reveal, manifest, make visible') suggests a personal, experiential disclosure — not merely intellectual knowledge but encounter.

Translator Notes

1. The parenthetical 'not Iscariot' distinguishes this Judas from the betrayer, who has already departed (13:30). This is likely the same as 'Judas son of James' in Luke 6:16. His question reflects the common expectation that the Messiah would manifest himself publicly to the entire world, not privately to a small group.

Translator Notes

1. The word monen ('home, dwelling place') is the singular of the monai ('rooms') in verse 2. There, Jesus goes to prepare rooms in the Father's house for the disciples; here, the Father and Son come to make a dwelling within the believer. The movement is reciprocal: believers dwell in God's house, and God dwells in believers. The first-person plural 'we will come' (eleusometha) unites Father and Son in a single action toward the believer.

Translator Notes

1. The negative counterpart to verse 23: failure to keep Jesus's words reveals the absence of love. The second clause reinforces the unity of Father and Son — rejecting Jesus's words is rejecting the Father's words. The shift from 'words' (logous, plural) to 'word' (logos, singular) may suggest that Jesus's individual sayings constitute a unified message.

Translator Notes

1. The perfect tense lelaleka ('I have spoken') emphasizes the lasting significance of what has been said. The phrase 'while remaining with you' (par hymin menon) uses the key Johannine verb meno and marks the transition from Jesus's physical presence to the Spirit's coming ministry.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Here the Parakletos is explicitly identified as the Holy Spirit (to pneuma to hagion). The Spirit's twofold ministry is teaching and reminding — not introducing new content unrelated to Jesus but illuminating and recalling what Jesus has already taught. The Father sends the Spirit 'in Jesus's name' (en to onomati mou), meaning in Jesus's authority and as his representative.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek eirene corresponds to the Hebrew shalom, which encompasses wholeness, well-being, and right relationship — far more than the absence of conflict. Jesus distinguishes his peace from the world's peace: the world offers temporary, conditional peace; Jesus offers a peace grounded in his relationship with the Father. The repetition of 'do not let your hearts be troubled' forms an inclusio with verse 1, framing the entire chapter. The verb deiliao ('be afraid, be cowardly') appears only here in the New Testament.

Translator Notes

1. The statement 'the Father is greater than I' (ho pater meizon mou estin) has been one of the most debated verses in christological history. In context, Jesus speaks of his incarnate, pre-glorification state — his return to the Father is a return to glory, which should cause the disciples to rejoice. The statement does not necessarily address the ontological relationship between Father and Son but rather the functional relationship during the incarnation.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's foreknowledge serves a pastoral purpose: when the events of the crucifixion unfold, the disciples will remember his predictions and find their faith strengthened rather than destroyed. This pattern of prediction-fulfillment runs throughout John (cf. 13:19, 16:4).

Translator Notes

1. The 'ruler of this world' (ho tou kosmou archon) refers to Satan (cf. 12:31, 16:11). The declaration 'he has nothing in me' (en emoi ouk echei ouden) means Satan has no claim, no foothold, no authority over Jesus. Jesus goes to the cross not as Satan's victim but voluntarily, as the next verse makes clear.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus frames his approaching death as an act of obedient love toward the Father — the supreme demonstration that the world can see. The command 'Rise, let us go from here' (egeiresthe, agomen enteuthen) suggests a physical departure, yet the discourse continues through chapters 15-17. Some scholars propose that chapters 15-17 were originally spoken en route to Gethsemane; others see a literary rather than geographical transition.