The Gospel According to John
Joh 1:11a In 1 John 1:1; cf. Col. 1:17; Gen. 1:1
In the beginning means in eternity past. As the introduction to this Gospel, this chapter begins in eternity past with God, who had divinity but not humanity (v. 1); it then passes through His creation of all things (v. 3), His incarnation (v. 14), His becoming the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (v. 29), and His being the Spirit who causes the believers to be transformed into living stones for His building (vv. 32, 42), and continues all the way to eternity future, in which the Son of Man, who has both divinity and humanity, is the center for the communication between heaven and earth and for the union of God and man in eternity. After this, ch. 2 shows that the principle of the Triune God as life is to change death into life (2:1-11) and that the purpose of life is to build the house, the temple, of God (2:13-22). In chs. 3—11, nine cases are given to illustrate how God as life meets the different needs of different kinds of people. As a result, in the beginning of ch. 12 a miniature of the church is produced (12:1-11). From 12:12 to the end of ch. 17 an explanation is given concerning how the church is produced through the multiplication and increase of the incarnated God-man by means of His death and resurrection. Chapters 18—20 show the accomplishing of the multiplication and increase, which causes Him to have many brothers (20:17) and enables Him to enter into them (20:22) to be their life and everything that they may be constituted His Body as His increase and expression. Finally, ch. 21 reveals that He will be with them in an invisible way until His coming back (21:22).
Joh 1:12b Word John 1:14; Rev. 19:13; 1 John 1:1
The Word is the definition, explanation, and expression of God; hence, it is God defined, explained, and expressed.
Joh 1:13 with
The Word is not separate from God. It is not that the Word is the Word and God is God, and that they are thus separate from each other. Rather, the two are one; hence, the next clause says that the Word was God.
Joh 1:14 Word
That the Word is God implies that God in His person is not simple; He is triune.
Joh 1:15c God Rom. 9:5; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20
Not God the Son only, but the complete Triune God.
Joh 1:21 He
Or, This One.
Joh 1:22 in
In the beginning, that is, from eternity past, the Word was with God. Contrary to what is supposed by some, it is not that Christ was not with God and was not God from eternity past, and that at a certain time Christ became God and was with God. Christ’s deity is eternal and absolute. From eternity past to eternity future, He is with God and He is God. This is why this Gospel, unlike Matthew (ch. 1) and Luke (ch. 3), has no genealogy of Christ (Heb. 7:3).
Joh 1:41a life John 5:26; 11:25; 14:6; 1 John 1:2; 5:11-12
Since v. 3 refers to the creation in Gen. 1, life here should refer to the life signified by the tree of life in Gen. 2. This is confirmed by the fact that in Rev. 22 John mentions the tree of life. Since life is in Him, He is life (11:25; 14:6), and He came that man might have life (10:10b). The introduction to this Gospel is composed of this entire chapter; it begins with life (v. 4) and ends with building (vv. 42, 51), that is, with the house of God (see notes 421, 512, and 513). Hence, it is an introduction to life and building.
Joh 1:42b light John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46
The light for the old creation was physical light (Gen. 1:3-5, 14-18). The light for the new creation is the light of life mentioned here.
Joh 1:5a light Matt. 4:16; cf. John 3:19
Joh 1:61 sent
The verb has the sense of being sent as an envoy with a special commission.
Joh 1:71 He
Or, This one.
Joh 1:9a true 1 John 2:8
Joh 1:9b enlightens Eph. 1:18; 3:9; Heb. 6:4; 10:32
Joh 1:121a received Col. 2:6
To believe into is to receive.
Joh 1:122 children
For human beings to become children of God is for man to have the divine life and the divine nature.
Joh 1:131 of
Lit., out of.
Joh 1:132 blood
Blood (lit., bloods) here signifies the physical life; will of the flesh denotes the will of fallen man after man became flesh; and will of man refers to the will of the man created by God.
Joh 1:141 Word
For the Word as God to become flesh is for God to have the human life and the human nature.
Joh 1:142a flesh 1 Tim. 3:16
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Joh 1:142 [1] Romans 8:3 indicates that although this flesh was the flesh of sin, it had only the likeness of the flesh of sin and did not have the sin of the flesh. It is the Word who became such flesh, and this Word was God, the complete Triune God (v. 1). That the Word became flesh means that the Triune God became a man of flesh in the likeness of a sinful man. By so doing God entered into sinful man and became one with sinful man. However, He had only the likeness of a sinful man and not the sin of a sinful man. Hence, He was a sinless God-man, the complete God and the perfect man, having two natures, the divine nature and the human nature. Although His two natures were mingled to produce a God-man, the individual characteristics of the two natures remained distinct; the two natures did not intermix to form a third nature. Rather, the divine nature existed in the human nature and was expressed through the human nature, full of grace, which is God enjoyed by man, and reality, which is God obtained by man. In this way the invisible God was expressed so that men can obtain and enjoy Him as their life for the fulfillment of His New Testament economy.
Joh 1:142 [2] God’s becoming flesh was contrary to the teaching of the Gnostics of that time. The Gnostics maintained that since the flesh is an evil substance, God, who is pure, could never be united with the evil flesh. Using the teaching of the Gnostics as a basis, the Docetists denied that Christ had come in the flesh (1 John 4:2). John wrote this Gospel in part to refute the heresy of the Docetists and to prove strongly that Christ, the God-man, is indeed God who became flesh (having only the likeness of the flesh of sin but not the sin of the flesh) that through this flesh, on the one hand, He might destroy the devil (Heb. 2:14) and put away the sins of man (Heb. 9:26), and, on the other hand, God might be united with man and be expressed through humanity for the fulfillment of His glorious purpose, a purpose He planned in eternity past for eternity future.
Joh 1:142 [3] The deep thought of the Gospel of John is that Christ, the incarnate God, came as the embodiment of God, as illustrated by the tabernacle (v. 14) and the temple (2:21), so that man could contact Him and enter into Him to enjoy the riches contained in God. Both the tabernacle and the temple had an outer court, a Holy Place, and a Holy of Holies. Therefore, John points out first that Christ was the Lamb (who took away sin—v. 29) offered on the altar, which signifies the cross, in the outer court of the tabernacle, and then that He was like the bronze serpent (which caused man to have life) lifted up on the pole (3:14), which signifies the cross. This shows how Christ in His redemption was received by His believers that they might be delivered from sin and obtain life and might enter into Him as the embodiment of God, typified by the tabernacle, to enjoy all the riches that are in God. The foot-washing in ch. 13 may be considered the washing in the laver in the outer court of the tabernacle, which washed away the earthly defilement of those who drew near to God, so that their fellowship with God and with one another could be maintained. In ch. 14 those who receive Christ are brought by Him into the Holy Place to experience Him as the bread of life (6:35), signified by the showbread, and as the light of life (8:12; 9:5), signified by the lampstand. Eventually, in ch. 17, through the highest and most mysterious prayer, which is typified by the burning incense on the golden incense altar, those who enjoy Christ as life and as light are brought by Him into the Holy of Holies to enter with Him into the deepest enjoyment of God and to enjoy the glory that God has given Him (17:22-24).
Joh 1:143b tabernacled Exo. 25:8-9; Rev. 21:3
The Word, by being incarnated, not only brought God into humanity but also became a tabernacle to God as God’s habitation on earth among men.
Joh 1:144c we Matt. 17:1-2, 5; Luke 9:32; 2 Pet. 1:16-18
This refers to Christ’s transfiguration on the Mount (Matt. 17:1-2, 5; Luke 9:32; 2 Pet. 1:16-18).
Joh 1:145 from
Gk. para, which means by the side of, implying with; hence, it is, literally, from with. The Son not only is from God but also is with God. On the one hand, He is from God, and on the other hand, He is still with God (8:16b, 29; 16:32b).
Joh 1:146d grace John 1:16-17; Rom. 5:2
Grace is God in the Son as our enjoyment; reality is God realized by us in the Son. The Greek word for reality is the same as that for truth in 5:33; 8:32; and 17:17, 19.
Joh 1:146e reality John 14:6; 8:32
See note 146.
Joh 1:161 of
Lit., out of.
Joh 1:16a fullness Col. 1:19; 2:9
Joh 1:171 law
The law makes demands on man according to what God is; grace supplies man with what God is to meet what God demands. The law, at most, was only a testimony of what God is (Exo. 25:21), but reality is the realization of what God is. No man can partake of God through the law, but grace enables man to enjoy God. Reality is God realized by man, and grace is God enjoyed by man.
Joh 1:171a grace John 1:14
See note 171.
Joh 1:172 came
Lit., became.
Joh 1:181 only
The Father’s only begotten Son declared God by the Word, life, light, grace, and reality. The Word is God expressed, life is God imparted, light is God shining, grace is God enjoyed, and reality is God realized, apprehended. God is fully declared in the Son through these five things.
Joh 1:182 in
Lit., into.
Joh 1:183a declared Heb. 1:3
Or, explained.
Joh 1:21b Prophet Deut. 18:15, 18
Joh 1:26a baptize Matt. 3:11
Joh 1:281 Bethany
Bethany here was a place on the east side of the Jordan and is different from the Bethany in 11:1, which was a village on the west side of the Jordan.
Joh 1:291a Lamb John 1:36; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6; 7:14; 12:11; 14:1; 21:9-10, 22-23; 22:1, 3; cf. Exo. 12:3-4
Based on the Scriptures, the religious people were looking for a great leader (vv. 19-25) such as Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet (Dan. 9:26; Mal. 4:5; Deut. 18:15, 18). But Jesus was introduced to them as a little lamb with a little dove (vv. 29-33). The Lamb takes sin away from man, and the dove brings God as life to man. The Lamb is for redemption, to redeem fallen man back to God, and the dove is for life-giving, for anointing, to anoint man with what God is, to bring God into man and man into God, and for uniting the believers in God. Both the Lamb and the dove are needed for man to participate in God.
Joh 1:29b sin 1 John 2:2; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:3; Isa. 53:10a
Joh 1:292 world
The world here refers to mankind, as in 3:16.
Joh 1:321a dove Matt. 3:16
See note 291.
Joh 1:391 tenth
I.e., 10:00 a.m., Roman time. Roman time is used throughout the book.
Joh 1:411 Messiah
Messiah is a Hebrew word; Christ is the Greek translation. Both mean the anointed. Christ is God’s Anointed, the One appointed by God to accomplish God’s purpose, God’s eternal plan.
Joh 1:421a Peter Matt. 16:18; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:12; Rev. 21:18-20; cf. Gen. 28:18, 22
Meaning a stone. In Matt. 16:18 the Lord mentioned this word when He spoke to Peter about the building of the church. It must have been from this that Peter obtained the concept of living stones for the building of a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5), which is the church. The stone here denotes a work of transformation that brings forth material for God’s building (1 Cor. 3:12).
Joh 1:451 son
The information that Philip passed on to Nathanael in the words son of Joseph and from Nazareth was inaccurate. Jesus was born not of Joseph but of Mary (Matt. 1:16), and not in Nazareth but in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7).
Joh 1:491a King John 12:13; 19:19
The Messiah.
Joh 1:50a greater John 14:12
Joh 1:511 Truly
In Greek, Amen, amen. So throughout the book.
Joh 1:512a heaven Gen. 28:11-22
This is the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream (Gen. 28:11-22). Christ as the Son of Man, with His humanity, is the ladder set up on the earth and leading to heaven, keeping heaven open to earth and joining earth to heaven for the house of God, Bethel. Jacob poured oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the ultimate expression of the Triune God reaching man) upon the stone (a symbol of the transformed man) that it might be the house of God. Here in this chapter are the Spirit (v. 32) and the stone (v. 42) for the house of God with Christ in His humanity. Where this is, there is an open heaven.
Joh 1:513 Son
This chapter, as the introduction to this Gospel, introduces Christ as both the Son of God (vv. 34, 49) and the Son of Man. Nathanael recognized Him as the Son of God and addressed Him as such (v. 49), but Christ said to Nathanael that He was the Son of Man. The Son of God is God; as such, He has the divine nature. The Son of Man is man; as such, He possesses the human nature. For the declaring of God (v. 18) and for the bringing of God to man, He is the only begotten Son of God. But for the building of God’s habitation on earth among men, He is the Son of Man. God’s building needs His humanity. In eternity past Christ was only God, only the Son of God, and had only divinity; but in eternity future Christ, as God and man and as the Son of God and the Son of Man, will have both divinity and humanity forever.
Joh 2:11a third 1 Cor. 15:4; cf. John 1:29, 35, 43
The day of resurrection (1 Cor. 15:4).
Joh 2:12 wedding
Marriage signifies the continuation of human life, and a wedding (feast) signifies the pleasure and enjoyment of human life.
Joh 2:13b Cana John 4:46
Cana means reed, and reeds signify weak and fragile people (Isa. 42:3a; Matt. 12:20a; 11:7).
Joh 2:14c Galilee John 7:52
Galilee was a despised place (John 7:52).
Joh 2:31 wine
Wine, the life juice of the grape, signifies life. Hence, the wine’s running out symbolizes that the human life runs out.
Joh 2:32 ran
Lit., fell short.
Joh 2:33 mother
Here the mother of Jesus symbolizes the natural man, which has nothing to do with life (v. 4) and must be subdued by life (v. 5).
Joh 2:41 Woman
A term of respect and endearment.
Joh 2:42 what
Lit., what is there to Me and to you? (a Hebrew idiom).
Joh 2:4a My John 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20
Joh 2:61 six
The six waterpots signify the created man, for man was created on the sixth day (Gen. 1:27, 31).
Joh 2:62 Jews’
The Jews’ rite of purification with water signifies religion’s attempt to make people clean by certain dead practices. But the Lord changes death into life.
Joh 2:63 two
Two or three measures equal twenty or thirty gallons.
Joh 2:71 water
Water here signifies death, as in Gen. 1:2, 6, Exo. 14:21, and Matt. 3:16.
Joh 2:91a water John 4:46
The changing of water into wine signifies the changing of death into life.
Joh 2:111 beginning
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 2:111 [1] The first mentioning of any matter in the Scriptures sets forth the principle of that matter. Therefore, this first sign sets forth the principle of all the following signs, that is, to change death into life.
Joh 2:111 [2] In the Scriptures, figuratively, the tree of life is the source of life and the tree of knowledge is the source of death, as revealed in Gen. 2:9, 17. The meaning of all the cases recorded in this Gospel corresponds with the principle that the tree of life results in life and the tree of knowledge results in death.
Joh 2:112a signs John 2:23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14, 26, 30; 7:31; 9:16; 10:41; 11:47; 12:18, 37; 20:30; Rev. 1:1
In this book all the miracles done by the Lord are called signs (v. 23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14, 26, 30; 7:31; 9:16; 10:41; 11:47; 12:18, 37; 20:30). They are miracles, but they are used as signs to signify the matter of life.
Joh 2:113 manifested
The Lord’s divinity was manifested here.
Joh 2:13a Passover John 6:4; 11:55
Joh 2:14a He cf. Matt. 21:12
Joh 2:141b temple 1 Kings 6:1; Ezra 5:2
The Greek word refers to the entire precincts of the temple. So in the next verse.
Joh 2:151 having
This case of the cleansing of the temple reveals the purpose of life, i.e., that life is for the building of the house of God.
Joh 2:152 cords
Lit., cords made of rushes.
Joh 2:191 temple
The Greek word refers to the inner temple. So in vv. 20, 21.
Joh 2:192 three
In three days signifies in resurrection.
Joh 2:19a raise Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:63
Joh 2:21a temple cf. 1 Cor. 6:19; 3:16-17; Eph. 2:21-22
Joh 2:22a Scripture Psa. 16:10; Acts 2:30-32
Joh 2:25a He Psa. 139:1-2
Joh 3:11 But
But indicates that this case, concerning Nicodemus, differs from the case in the foregoing verses, 2:23-25. There the people believed into the Lord because they saw the miracles He performed. The Lord could not commit Himself to such people. But the case in this chapter concerns life in regeneration; it reveals that this book is not for miraculous things but is only for life. This is why in this book even the miracles done by the Lord are called signs, signifying that the Lord came for life so that God might be multiplied (12:24), not for miracles so that man might be benefited.
Joh 3:1a Nicodemus John 7:50; 19:39
Joh 3:21 teacher
Nicodemus considered Christ a teacher who had come from God. This indicates that he might have thought that he needed better teachings so that he could improve himself. But the Lord’s answer in the next verse unveiled to him that his need was to be born anew. To be born anew is to be regenerated with the divine life, a life different from the human life received by natural birth. Hence, his real need was not better teachings by which he could improve himself, but the divine life by which he could be remade. He was seeking for teachings, which belong to the tree of knowledge, but the Lord’s answer turned him to his need for life, which belongs to the tree of life (cf. Gen. 2:9, 17).
Joh 3:2b God Acts 10:38
Joh 3:31a born 1 Pet. 1:23
Or, born from above. So in v. 7. To be born anew is to be born from above, from heaven, that is, to be born from God, who is in heaven.
Joh 3:32 see
In spiritual things, to see is to enter into (v. 5).
Joh 3:33b kingdom John 3:5
The kingdom of God is the reign of God. It is a divine realm to be entered into, a realm that requires the divine life. Only the divine life can realize the divine things. Hence, for one to see, or to enter into, the kingdom of God requires that he be regenerated with the divine life.
Joh 3:5a born Titus 3:5; Matt. 3:11
Joh 3:51 of
Lit., out of.
Joh 3:52 water
The words of water and the Spirit should have been plain to Nicodemus, without any need of explanation. In Matt. 3:11 John the Baptist spoke the same words to the Pharisees; hence, they should have been fully understood among the Pharisees. Now Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, was conversing with the Lord, and the Lord spoke these familiar words. “Water” was the central concept of the ministry of John the Baptist, that is, to terminate people of the old creation. “Spirit” is the central concept of the ministry of Jesus, that is, to germinate people in the new creation. These two main concepts together constitute the concept of regeneration. Regeneration is the termination of people of the old creation with all their deeds, and the germination of people in the new creation with the divine life.
Joh 3:61 of
Lit., out of.
Joh 3:62 Spirit
The first Spirit mentioned here is the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, and the second spirit is the human spirit, the regenerated spirit of man. Regeneration is accomplished in the human spirit by the Holy Spirit of God with God’s life, the uncreated eternal life. Thus, to be regenerated is to have the divine, eternal life (in addition to the human, natural life) as the new source and new element of a new person.
Joh 3:71 You
Plural in Greek.
Joh 3:81a wind Eccl. 11:5; Ezek. 37:9
The Greek word for wind is the same as that for spirit. Whether it is rendered wind or spirit depends on the context. This verse refers to something that blows, the sound of which can be heard, indicating that the word should be rendered wind. A regenerated person is like the wind, which can be recognized but which is beyond understanding; even so, it is a fact, a reality.
Joh 3:82 of
Lit., out of.
Joh 3:121 things
Things on earth here does not mean things of an earthly nature but things that take place on earth, including redemption and regeneration. In the same principle things in heaven in this verse does not mean things of a heavenly nature but things that take place in heaven. In the next verse the Lord said that He was the One who descended out of heaven and who was still in heaven. This indicates that He knew the things that took place in heaven, because He was the One who was in heaven all the time.
Joh 3:13a no Rom. 10:6-7; Eph. 4:9
Joh 3:131 who
Some ancient MSS omit, who is in heaven.
Joh 3:14b lifted John 12:32, 34; 8:28
Joh 3:141 serpent
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 3:141 [1] This chapter deals with regeneration. Regeneration, on one hand, brings the divine life with the divine nature into us. On the other hand, regeneration terminates the evil nature of Satan in our flesh. In Gen. 3 Satan, the serpent, injected his nature into man’s flesh. When the children of Israel sinned against God, they were bitten by serpents (Num. 21:4-9). God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on their behalf for God’s judgment, that by looking upon that bronze serpent all might live. That was a type. Here, in this verse, the Lord Jesus applied that type to Himself, indicating that when He was in the flesh, He was in “the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3), which likeness is equal to the form of the bronze serpent. The bronze serpent had the form of the serpent but was without the serpent’s poison. Christ was made in “the likeness of the flesh of sin,” but He did not participate in any way in the sin of the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). When He was lifted up in the flesh on the cross, by His death Satan, the old serpent, was dealt with (12:31-33; Heb. 2:14). This means that the serpentine nature within fallen man has been dealt with. When a man is regenerated with the divine life in Christ, his satanic nature is annulled. Because of this, in this portion of the Word, when the Lord revealed the matter of regeneration to Nicodemus, He specifically mentioned this point.
Joh 3:141 [2] Nicodemus might have considered himself a moral and good man. But the Lord’s word in this verse implied that regardless of how good Nicodemus might have been outwardly, he had the serpentine nature of Satan inwardly. As a descendant of Adam, he had been poisoned by the old serpent, and the serpent’s nature was within him. He needed the Lord not only to be the Lamb of God to take away his sin (1:29) but also to be in the form of the serpent that his serpentine nature might be dealt with on the cross and that he might have eternal life. In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this is the changing of death into life.
Joh 3:151 eternal
This is the divine life, the uncreated life of God, which not only is everlasting with respect to time but also is eternal and divine in nature. So in vv. 16, 36.
Joh 3:16a loved Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:4; Titus 3:4; 1 John 4:10
Joh 3:161 world
The world here refers to sinful, fallen people, who constitute the world. They have not only sin but also the poisonous element of the devil, the ancient serpent; hence, they have become serpents. They need Christ to die for them in the form of a serpent and be judged by God as their Substitute (v. 14); otherwise, they will perish (v. 16). Although men are utterly fallen, God still loves them with His divine love, which is Himself (1 John 4:8, 16), because they are vessels created by God according to His own image to contain Himself (Gen. 1:26; Rom. 9:21a, 23). Moreover, He so loves them that He gave them His only begotten Son, His expression, that they might obtain His eternal life to become His many sons and be His corporate expression for the fulfillment of His eternal New Testament economy. Hence, God first regenerates them by His Spirit (vv. 3-6) that they may have His eternal life (vv. 15-16, 36a). Then He fills them with His unlimited Spirit (v. 34) that they may become the bride of Christ, who is above all and is all-inclusive (vv. 31-35), to be His increase and fullness (vv. 28-30).
Joh 3:16b gave Rom. 8:32; 1 John 4:9
Joh 3:16c only John 1:18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9
Joh 3:162d believes John 3:36; 6:40
Believing into the Lord is not the same as believing Him (6:30). To believe Him is to believe that He is true and real, but to believe into Him is to receive Him and be united with Him as one. The former is to acknowledge a fact objectively; the latter is to receive a life subjectively.
Joh 3:171 condemn
Or, judge.
Joh 3:181 condemned
Or, judged.
Joh 3:191 condemnation
Or, judgment.
Joh 3:201 practices
I.e., does evil habitually. The same word is used in 5:29.
Joh 3:202 reproved
Or, exposed, uncovered.
Joh 3:211 truth
According to the context, truth here denotes uprightness (as opposed to evil—vv. 19-20), which is the reality manifested in a man who lives in God according to what He is, and which corresponds with the divine light, which is God, as the source of the truth, manifested in Christ. See note 66 in 1 John 1.
Joh 3:24a John Matt. 14:3
Joh 3:25a purification John 2:6
Joh 3:26b testified John 1:7, 34
Joh 3:301 increase
The increase in this verse is the bride in v. 29, and the bride there is a living composition of all the regenerated people. This means, in this chapter on regeneration, that regeneration not only brings the divine life into the believers and annuls the satanic nature in their flesh, but it also makes them the corporate bride for Christ’s increase. The last two points, the annulling of the serpentine nature in the believers and the believers’ being made the bride of Christ, are fully developed in John’s Revelation. The book of Revelation reveals mainly how Satan as the old serpent will be fully eliminated (Rev. 20:2, 10) and how Christ’s bride, the New Jerusalem, will be fully produced (Rev. 21:2, 10-27).
Joh 3:311a He John 8:23
Verses 31-36 unveil to us the immeasurableness, the unlimitedness, of Christ. He is such an immeasurable and unlimited One, who comes from above, who is above all, to whom the Father has given all, and who dispenses the Spirit without measure. Such a One needs a universal increase to be His bride to match Him, as revealed in vv. 22-30. He who believes into this immeasurable One has eternal life; he who disobeys this One is under the wrath of God.
Joh 3:312 from
From, of, and out of are the same word in Greek. Since persons, matters, and things on the earth are from the earth, they are of the earth. He who comes from heaven refers to one who is out of heaven; therefore, such a one is of heaven.
Joh 3:341 words
See note 633 in ch. 6.
Joh 3:36a believes John 3:15-16
Joh 4:1a baptizing John 3:22, 26
Joh 4:5a near Gen. 33:18-19; 48:22; Josh. 24:32
Joh 4:61 well
Lit., fountain; as in v. 14.
Joh 4:62 sixth
I.e., 6:00 p.m.
Joh 4:9a For Matt. 10:5; John 8:48; Luke 9:52-53
Joh 4:91 Samaritans
Samaria was the leading region of the northern kingdom of Israel and was the site of its capital (1 Kings 16:24, 29). Around 700 B.C., the Assyrians captured Samaria and brought people from Babylon and other heathen countries to the cities of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6, 24). From that time the Samaritans became a people of mixed heathen and Jewish blood. History tells us that they had the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) and worshipped God according to that part of the Old Testament. But they were never recognized by the Jews as being part of the Jewish people.
Joh 4:10b living John 7:37-39; Rev. 21:6; 22:1, 17
Joh 4:131 drinks
This signifies the enjoyment of material things and the amusement obtained from worldly entertainment. These cannot quench the thirst deep within man. However much he drinks of this material and worldly “water,” he will thirst again. The more he drinks of this “water,” the more his thirst increases.
Joh 4:14a drinks Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:8; Psa. 36:8; John 7:37; 1 Cor. 10:4; 12:13; Rev. 21:6; 22:17
Joh 4:141c eternal John 6:27; 3:16; 5:24
See note 151 in ch. 3.
Joh 4:161 call
This word was intended to touch her conscience by referring to her history of immorality, so that she would repent of her sins.
Joh 4:181 five
The woman tried the first husband, drinking of that “water,” and she was not satisfied. Then she tried the second, third, fourth, and fifth husbands. Since none of these satisfied her, she was trying another. Her changing of husbands fully proved that however much she drank of that “water,” she was still thirsty. “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again.” This word of the Lord’s is true!
Joh 4:201a Our Gen. 33:18-20
The woman’s problem, like the questions in 8:3-5 and 9:2-3, was a matter of yes or no, which belongs to the tree of knowledge; but the Lord turned her to the spirit (vv. 21-24), which belongs to the tree of life (cf. Gen. 2:9, 17).
Joh 4:20b in Deut. 11:29-30; 27:12; Josh. 8:33
Joh 4:20c in Deut. 12:5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26; 16:2, 6, 7, 11, 15, 16
Joh 4:22a You 2 Kings 17:33, 41
Joh 4:241 God
God here is the complete Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Joh 4:242 Spirit
Spirit here refers to the nature of the complete Triune God; it does not refer merely to the Lord Spirit. To worship God, who is Spirit, we must worship with our spirit, which is of the same nature as He is.
Joh 4:243 worship
This word was given to instruct the Samaritan woman regarding her need to exercise her spirit to contact God the Spirit. To contact God the Spirit with the spirit is to drink of the living water, and to drink of the living water is to render real worship to God.
Joh 4:244 spirit
This is our human spirit. According to typology, God should be worshipped (1) in the place chosen by God for His habitation (Deut. 12:5, 11, 13-14, 18), and (2) with the offerings (Lev. 1—6). The place chosen by God for His habitation typifies the human spirit, where God’s habitation is today (Eph. 2:22). The offerings typify Christ; Christ is the fulfillment and reality of all the offerings with which the people worshipped God. Hence, when the Lord instructed the woman to worship God the Spirit in spirit and truthfulness, He meant that she should contact God the Spirit in her spirit instead of in a specific location, and through Christ instead of with the offerings. Since Christ, as the reality that issues in the human virtue of truthfulness, has come (vv. 25-26), all the shadows and types are over.
Joh 4:245 truthfulness
According to the context of this chapter and the entire revelation of John’s Gospel, truthfulness here denotes the divine reality becoming man’s genuineness and sincerity (which are the opposite of the hypocrisy of the immoral Samaritan worshipper—vv. 16-18) for the true worship of God. The divine reality is Christ (who is the reality—14:6) as the reality of all the offerings of the Old Testament for the worship of God (1:29; 3:14) and as the fountain of the living water, the life-giving Spirit (vv. 7-15), partaken of and drunk by His believers to be the reality within them, which eventually becomes their genuineness and sincerity in which they worship God with the worship that He seeks. See note 66 in 1 John 1; Rom. 3:7; and note 82 in Rom. 15.
Joh 4:25a Messiah John 1:41; Luke 3:15; cf. Deut. 18:15, 18
Joh 4:261 I
By this word Jesus led her to believe that He was the Christ, that she might have eternal life (20:31). She believed (v. 29).
Joh 4:281 left
Whoever drinks the living water and is satisfied with it will drop his preoccupations and testify of it. In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this also is the changing of death into life.
Joh 4:291a Is John 7:26, 31
This indicates that the woman believed that Jesus was the Christ. By thus believing, she received the living water and was satisfied.
Joh 4:321 I
The sinner was satisfied by receiving the Savior’s living water, and the Savior was satisfied by doing God’s will in satisfying the sinner. Doing the will of God to satisfy the sinner is the Savior’s food (v. 34).
Joh 4:361 unto
Or, for.
Joh 4:362 eternal
See note 151 in ch. 3.
Joh 4:381 others
Others have labored should mean that some had sown the seed among the Samaritans using the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), which the Samaritans did possess. Here the Lord sent His disciples to reap what the earlier laborers had sown.
Joh 4:42a Savior 1 John 4:14; 1 Tim. 4:10; Luke 2:11
Joh 4:441 no
The Lord went to Galilee to avoid gaining fame, which He had gained in Jerusalem (2:23).
Joh 4:461a Cana John 2:1
See note 13 in ch. 2.
Joh 4:462 Galilee
Galilee, a despised place (7:41, 52), signifies the world, which is in a low and mean condition.
Joh 4:48a signs 1 Cor. 1:22
Joh 4:501 word
The word of life out of the mouth of the Lord gives life to the dying.
Joh 4:521 seventh
I.e., 7:00 p.m.
Joh 4:541a second John 2:11
The first sign in Cana (2:1-11) signifies the changing of death into life, setting forth the principle of life. The second sign here is a continuation, an application of the principle of the changing of death into life. The source of death is the tree of knowledge, and the source of life is the tree of life (cf. Gen. 2:9, 17).
Joh 5:21a Sheep Neh. 3:1
The Sheep Gate signifies the door to the sheepfold of the religion of law keeping (10:1).
Joh 5:22 Bethesda
Bethesda means house of mercy, signifying that the people who practiced law keeping needed the mercy of God because they were impotent, weak, and wretched, as portrayed in Rom. 7:7-24.
Joh 5:23 five
Porticoes signify the shelter of the religion of law keeping, a shelter like that provided by a sheepfold. The number five signifies responsibility.
Joh 5:31 In
This signifies that under the shelter of law keeping, in the sheepfold of religion, there are many who are blind, unable to see; many who are lame, unable to walk; and many who are withered, lacking the life supply.
Joh 5:32 waiting
Some MSS omit this last part of v. 3 and all of v. 4.
Joh 5:41 angel
The angel here signifies the agent through which the law, which could not give life, was given (Gal. 3:19, 21).
Joh 5:42 stirred
The stirring up of the water to make people well signifies the attempt to make people perfect by the practice of law keeping.
Joh 5:43 well
Or, whole, sound. So in v. 6.
Joh 5:51 man
With this sick and impotent man there was no happiness, even on the joyful day of a feast (v. 1), and there was no rest, even on the Sabbath day (v. 10).
Joh 5:61 He
This sign signifies that when the practice of law keeping in the Jewish religion became an impossibility because of the impotence of man (Rom. 8:3), the Son of God came to enliven the dead (v. 25). The law could not give life (Gal. 3:21), but the Son of God gives life to the dead (v. 21). “While we were yet weak” (Rom. 5:6), He came to enliven us.
Joh 5:71 Sir
Or, Lord.
Joh 5:72 I
There was a means for healing in the religion of law keeping, but it did not profit the impotent man, because he had no strength to fulfill the law’s requirements. The law keeping in religion depends on man’s effort, man’s doing, man’s self-cultivation. Since man is impotent, the law keeping in religion becomes ineffective. The holy city, the holy temple, the feast, the Sabbath, the angels, Moses, and the Scriptures are all good things of this religion, but they could do nothing for this impotent man. In the eyes of the Lord he was a dead person (v. 25), in need not only of healing but also of enlivening. With the Lord’s enlivening there is no requirement. The impotent man heard His voice and was enlivened (v. 25).
Joh 5:8a Rise Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:11; Luke 5:24
Joh 5:81 mat
A small mattress or pad; so in vv. 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Joh 5:91 became
According to vv. 24-25, this is to pass out of death into life and to live. In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this is the changing of death into life.
Joh 5:92 took
Formerly, the mat carried the impotent man, but now the enlivened man carried the mat.
Joh 5:101b it Neh. 13:19; Jer. 17:21; John 9:16
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 5:101 [1] Life’s enlivening broke religion’s ritual. Religion was offended by life and began its opposition to life from this point (vv. 16, 18).
Joh 5:101 [2] The Sabbath is for man (Mark 2:27) and should be a rest to man. Religion’s law keeping did not bring rest to this man who had been sick for thirty-eight years, but life’s enlivening did. Yet the religious cared only for their ritual of Sabbath keeping; they had no concern for the sick man’s rest.
Joh 5:141a sin John 8:11
This indicates that the man’s former sickness was due to his sin.
Joh 5:161 and
Some MSS omit, and sought to kill Him.
Joh 5:16a sought John 5:18; 7:1
Joh 5:171 working
God’s work in creation was finished (Gen. 2:1-3), but the Father and the Son were still working for redemption and building.
Joh 5:181 sought
On one hand, the religious people kept the Sabbath, but on the other hand, they sought to kill Jesus. How could they have had rest? Because of their religious concept, they thought that to kill those who would not keep their religious ritual was to offer service to God (16:2). This is Satan’s poisoning of people with religion, causing them to murder, just as he poisons people with sin.
Joh 5:182 equal
Actually, the Son and the Father are one (10:30).
Joh 5:18b God Phil. 2:6; John 10:30, 33; 19:7; 1:1; 20:28; 1 John 5:20; Rom. 9:5
Joh 5:20b greater John 14:12
Joh 5:21a raises Rom. 4:17; 8:11
Joh 5:22a judgment John 5:27; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Rom. 2:16; 2 Tim. 4:1
Joh 5:24a believes John 12:44
Joh 5:241 eternal
See note 151 in ch. 3.
Joh 5:242 judgment
Or, condemnation.
Joh 5:24b passed 1 John 3:14
Joh 5:243 death
The source of death is the tree of knowledge, and the source of life is the tree of life (cf. Gen. 2:9, 17). Hence, to pass out of death into life is to change the source of one’s living.
Joh 5:251a dead Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13
Not those who are dead physically but those who are dead in spirit, in accordance with Eph. 2:1, 5 and Col. 2:13. Hence, in this verse to live means to be alive in spirit. It does not signify resurrection of the physical body, which is mentioned in vv. 28-29.
Joh 5:27a judgment John 5:22; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Rom. 2:16; 2 Tim. 4:1
Joh 5:271 Son
The Lord is the Son of God (v. 25); hence, He can give life (v. 21). He is also the Son of Man; hence, He can execute judgment.
Joh 5:281 all
Referring to those who are dead physically and are buried in a tomb. Hence, their coming forth from the tomb in v. 29 is the resurrection of the physical body.
Joh 5:28a voice cf. 1 Cor. 15:52
Joh 5:29a those Dan. 12:2; Acts 24:15
Joh 5:291b resurrection Rev. 20:4, 6; 1 Cor. 15:23, 52; 1 Thes. 4:16
This is the resurrection of the saved believers, which will take place before the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6; 1 Cor. 15:23, 52; 1 Thes. 4:16). At the Lord Jesus’ coming back, the dead believers will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life. Hence, this resurrection is called the resurrection of life.
Joh 5:292 practiced
See note 201 in ch. 3.
Joh 5:293c resurrection Rev. 20:5, 11-15
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 5:293 [1] This is the resurrection of the unbelievers who have perished; it will take place after the millennium (Rev. 20:5, 12). All the dead unbelievers will be resurrected after the thousand years to be judged at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Hence, this resurrection is called the resurrection of judgment.
Joh 5:293 [2] In this chapter vv. 24-26 speak concerning the enlivening of the spirit; vv. 28-29, concerning the resurrection of the whole being, including the body.
Joh 5:294 judgment
Or, condemnation.
Joh 5:30c will John 4:34; 6:38
Joh 5:331 truth
The same Greek word as for reality in 1:14, 17. The preceding verse says that John testified concerning Christ; this verse says that John testified to the truth. This proves that truth here is Christ (14:6). According to the entire revelation of this Gospel, truth is the divine reality embodied, revealed, and expressed in Christ, the Son of God. See note 66 in 1 John 1.
Joh 5:36a works John 10:25, 38; 14:11; 15:24
Joh 5:361b sent John 3:17
See note 61 in ch. 1; so in v. 38.
Joh 5:371 testified
This refers to the Father’s testimony concerning the Lord, given at the time He was baptized (Matt. 3:17). At that time the Jews heard the Father’s voice and saw the form of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22), although prior to that time they had neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.
Joh 5:391 search
To “search the Scriptures” may be separated from “come to Me” (v. 40). The Jewish religionists searched the Scriptures but were not willing to come to the Lord. These two should go together; because the Scriptures testify concerning the Lord, they should not be separated from the Lord. We may contact the Scriptures, yet not contact the Lord. Only the Lord can give life.
Joh 5:431a in John 10:25
The Son being in the name of the Father is equivalent to the Son being the Father; hence, He is called the Father (Isa. 9:6). This proves that the Son and the Father are one (10:30). See note 262 in ch. 14.
Joh 5:46a he Deut. 18:15, 18-19; Luke 24:27
Joh 5:47a if Luke 16:29, 31
Joh 6:11 Sea
This case is in contrast to the case in ch. 5. There the person was by a pool; here the people are around a sea. The scene of the foregoing case was the holy city with a sacred pool for man’s healing. The scene of this case is the wilderness with a secular sea for man’s livelihood. The person in the previous case was impotent and needed life’s enlivening. The people in this case are hungry and need life’s feeding. In typology the land signifies the earth, which was created by God for man to live on, and the sea signifies the world, which has been corrupted by Satan and in which fallen mankind lives. In this world mankind is hungry and has no satisfaction. In this world mankind is troubled and has no peace, as portrayed in v. 18.
Joh 6:2a signs John 2:11; 4:54
Joh 6:31 mountain
A mountain signifies a transcendent position above the land and the sea. To enjoy Christ’s feeding, people must go with Christ to the mountain.
Joh 6:41a Passover John 2:13; Exo. 12:11, 14
In the Passover, people slay the redeeming lamb, sprinkle its blood, and eat its flesh. This typifies Christ as our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7). He is the redeeming Lamb of God (1:29, 36) slain for us that we may eat His flesh and drink His blood, taking Him in as our life supply that we may live by Him.
Joh 6:5a Jesus vv. 5-13: Matt. 14:14-21; Mark 6:34-44; Luke 9:12-17; cf. Matt. 15:32-37
Joh 6:71 denarii
The denarius was the chief silver coin of the Romans; it was considered good pay for a day’s labor (see Matt. 20:2).
Joh 6:91 five
The number five signifies responsibility, indicating here that Christ bears the responsibility to be our life supply. The number two signifies testimony, testifying here that Christ is our life supply.
Joh 6:92 barley
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Joh 6:92 [1] Loaves are of the vegetable life and signify the generating aspect of Christ’s life. Fish are of the animal life and signify the redeeming aspect of Christ’s life. As the generating life, Christ grows in the land, the God-created earth; as the redeeming life, He lives in the sea, the Satan-corrupted world. In order to regenerate us, He grew on the God-created earth that He might reproduce; in order to redeem us, He lived in the satanic and sinful world. But He is not sinful, not affected by the world, just as fish live in salt water but are not salty.
Joh 6:92 [2] In the Jewish land barley ripens earliest and is the first of the harvest; hence, it typifies the resurrected Christ (Lev. 23:10). The barley loaves represent Christ in resurrection as food to us.
Joh 6:92 [3] Barley loaves and fish are small items, signifying Christ’s smallness, through which He can be the life supply to us. Those who sought miracles considered Him the promised Prophet and would have forced Him to be King (vv. 14-15), but He would not seek to be a giant in religion; rather, He preferred to be small loaves and little fish that people might eat Him.
Joh 6:131 twelve
The twelve handbaskets left over signify the overflow of the riches of Christ’s life supply. The five loaves, which represent this supply, not only fed one thousand times that number, that is, five thousand people, but also provided enough for something to be left over.
Joh 6:14a Prophet Deut. 18:15, 18; John 5:46
Joh 6:151 to
I.e., to make Him the Messiah.
Joh 6:15b withdrew vv. 15b-21: Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-51
Joh 6:181 sea
The churning of the sea signifies the troubles in human life.
Joh 6:191 twenty-five
I.e., about three or four miles.
Joh 6:192 Jesus
This signifies that the Lord can overrule all the troubles of human life. He can walk on the troubling waves of human life, and all the troubles are under His feet.
Joh 6:211 take
We need to take the Lord into our “boat” (our married life, our family, our business, etc.) and enjoy peace with Him on the journey of human life.
Joh 6:271 eternal
See note 151 in ch. 3; so in vv. 40, 47, 54, 68.
Joh 6:281 do
Fallen man’s concept concerning God is that he must do something for God and work for God. This is the principle of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Gen. 2.
Joh 6:291 believe
The Lord’s concept concerning God is that man should believe into Him, that is, receive Him as life and the life supply. This is the principle of the tree of life, which brings in life, as seen in Gen. 2. It is in contrast to the principle of the tree of knowledge, which brings in death.
Joh 6:292 sent
See note 61 in ch. 1; so in v. 57.
Joh 6:30a sign 1 Cor. 1:22
Joh 6:31a ate Exo. 16:15-18, 31; 1 Cor. 10:3
Joh 6:31b He Exo. 16:4; Neh. 9:15; Psa. 78:24; 105:40
Joh 6:331 comes
Through incarnation.
Joh 6:351 bread
The bread of life is the life supply in the form of food. It is like the tree of life (Gen. 2:9), which also is the life supply “good for food.”
Joh 6:352 by
In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this also is the changing of death into life. The source of death is the tree of knowledge, and the source of life is the tree of life.
Joh 6:37a gives John 6:39, 65; 17:2, 24
Joh 6:38a I John 3:13; 6:41, 50, 58
Joh 6:38b not Matt. 26:39
Joh 6:38c will John 4:34; 5:30
Joh 6:39a lose John 17:12; 18:9
Joh 6:41a came John 6:38, 50, 58; 3:13
Joh 6:421 son
See note 451 in ch. 1.
Joh 6:44b draws Jer. 31:3; John 6:65
Joh 6:45a And Isa. 54:13
Joh 6:45b taught 1 Thes. 4:9
Joh 6:461b from John 7:29; 16:27; 17:8
See note 145 in ch. 1.
Joh 6:511 living
Bread of life (v. 35) refers to the nature of the bread, which is life; living bread refers to the condition of the bread, which is living.
Joh 6:512 flesh
At this point the bread becomes the flesh. Bread is of the vegetable life and is only for feeding; flesh is of the animal life and is not only for feeding but also for redeeming. Before the fall of man, the Lord was the tree of life (Gen. 2:9), which is only for feeding man. After man fell into sin, the Lord became the Lamb (1:29), which is not only for feeding man but also for redeeming him (Exo. 12:4, 7-8).
Joh 6:513 for
The Lord gave His body, that is, His flesh, dying for us that we might have life.
Joh 6:531 blood
At this point blood is added, which is necessary for redemption (19:34; Heb. 9:22; Matt. 26:28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rom. 3:25).
Joh 6:541 eats
Lit., masticates; so in vv. 56, 57, 58.
Joh 6:542 flesh
Here flesh and blood are mentioned separately. The separation of blood and flesh indicates death. Here the Lord clearly indicated His death, that is, His being slain. He gave His body and shed His blood for us that we may have eternal life. To eat His flesh is to receive by faith all that He did in giving His body for us; and to drink His blood is to receive by faith all that He accomplished in shedding His blood for us. To eat His flesh and drink His blood is to receive Him, in His redemption, as life and the life supply by believing in what He did for us on the cross. By comparing this verse with v. 47, we see that to eat the Lord’s flesh and drink His blood is to believe in Him, because to believe or to believe into is to receive (1:12).
Joh 6:561 I
This indicates that the Lord had to be resurrected so that He could abide in us as our life and life supply.
Joh 6:571 eats
To eat is to take food into us that it may be assimilated organically into our body. Hence, to eat the Lord Jesus is to receive Him into us that He may be assimilated by the regenerated new man in the way of life. Then we live by Him whom we have received. It is by this that He, the resurrected One, lives in us (14:19-20).
Joh 6:57a live John 14:19; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21
Joh 6:61a stumble Matt. 11:6
Joh 6:621a ascending John 3:13
In v. 56 the Lord’s resurrection is implied. In this verse His ascension, which followed His resurrection, is clearly mentioned. The Lord’s ascension was the proof that His redemptive work had been completed (Heb. 1:3b).
Joh 6:63a It 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:6
Joh 6:631 Spirit
At this point the Spirit who gives life is brought in. After resurrection and through resurrection, the Lord Jesus, who had become flesh (1:14), became the Spirit who gives life, as is clearly mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:45. It is as the life-giving Spirit that He can be life and the life supply to us. When we receive Him as the crucified and resurrected Savior, the Spirit who gives life comes into us to impart eternal life into us. We receive the Lord Jesus, but we get the Spirit who gives life.
Joh 6:632 flesh
Flesh here, according to the context, refers to the meat of the physical body. When the Lord said, “The bread which I will give is My flesh” (v. 51), the Jews thought that He would give them the meat of His physical body to eat (v. 52). They did not understand the Lord’s word rightly. To them it was a hard word (v. 60). Hence, in this verse the Lord explained that what He would give them to eat was not the meat of His physical body; the meat, which is the flesh, profits nothing. What He would give, eventually, was the Spirit who gives life, who is the Lord Himself in resurrection.
Joh 6:633 words
The Greek word for words, here and in v. 68, is rhema, which denotes the instant and present spoken word. It differs from logos (used for Word in 1:1), which denotes the constant word. Here the words follows the Spirit. The Spirit is living and real, yet He is very mysterious, intangible, and difficult for people to apprehend; the words, however, are substantial. First, the Lord indicated that for giving life He would become the Spirit. Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the Spirit of life. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we get the Spirit, who is life.
Joh 6:64b who John 6:71; 13:11
Joh 6:641 betray
Lit., deliver Him up; so throughout the book.
Joh 6:65b given John 6:37, 39; 17:2, 24
Joh 6:68a words John 6:63; 17:8
Joh 6:70a chose John 15:16
Joh 6:70b a John 13:2, 27; 8:44; 17:12
Joh 7:1a seeking John 5:16, 18
Joh 7:11 kill
Although the Lord is God the Creator, He lived on earth as a man and suffered persecution at the hands of His creatures.
Joh 7:21a Feast Lev. 23:34; Deut. 16:16
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Joh 7:21 [1] In the scene of the case in ch. 6 there was the Feast of the Passover. In the scene of this case in ch. 7 there is the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of the Passover is the first of the Jewish annual feasts, and the Feast of Tabernacles is the last (Lev. 23:5, 34). The Feast of the Passover, being the first feast of the year, implies the beginning of man’s life (cf. Exo. 12:2-3, 6), which involves man’s seeking for satisfaction and results in man’s hunger. The Feast of Tabernacles, being the last feast of the year, implies the completion and success of man’s life (cf. Exo. 23:16), which will end and will result in man’s thirst. In the scene of the Feast of the Passover, the Lord presented Himself as the bread of life, which satisfies man’s hunger. In the scene of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Lord promised that He would flow forth the living water, which quenches man’s thirst.
Joh 7:21 [2] After the full harvest of their crops, the Jewish people observed the Feast of Tabernacles to worship God and enjoy what they had reaped (Deut. 16:13-15). Hence, this feast signifies the completion, achievement, and success in man’s career, man’s study, and other matters of human life, including religion, with the joy and enjoyment thereof.
Joh 7:21 [3] God ordained the Feast of Tabernacles so that the children of Israel would remember how their fathers, while wandering in the wilderness, had lived in tents (Lev. 23:39-43), expecting to enter into the rest of the good land. Hence, this feast is a reminder that today people are still in the wilderness and need to enter into the rest of the New Jerusalem, which is the eternal tabernacle (Rev. 21:2-3). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also lived in tents and looked forward to this eternal tabernacle (Heb. 11:9-10), in which there will be a river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb to quench man’s thirst (Rev. 22:1, 17). At the end of such a feast, which had such a background, Christ cried out the promise of the rivers of living water, which will satisfy man’s expectation for eternity (vv. 37-39).
Joh 7:61a time John 7:8, 30; 2:4; cf. Matt. 26:18
Although the Lord is the eternal, infinite, unlimited God, He lived here on earth as a man, being limited even in the matter of time.
Joh 7:7a world John 17:14
Joh 7:101 not
Although He is the Almighty God, as a man under persecution the Lord was limited also in relation to His activity.
Joh 7:11a sought John 7:1; 11:56
Joh 7:12a some John 7:40-43, 47
Joh 7:13a fear John 9:22; 19:38; 20:19
Joh 7:151 without
Although He is the omniscient God, as a lowly man the Lord appeared to be illiterate.
Joh 7:16a My John 8:28; 12:49-50
Joh 7:19b seek John 7:1; 5:16, 18
Joh 7:20a have John 8:48, 52; 10:20
Joh 7:241 appearance
Or, countenance, face, sight.
Joh 7:281a know John 6:42
Inward, subjective understanding. So in the next verse.
Joh 7:29a know John 8:55; 17:25
Joh 7:291b from John 6:46; 16:27; 17:8; cf. 15:26
See note 145 in ch. 1.
Joh 7:292 sent
See note 61 in ch. 1.
Joh 7:30a seize John 10:39
Joh 7:33b I John 16:5, 10, 17, 28
Joh 7:34a You John 8:21; 13:33
Joh 7:371 last
The last day here signifies that all the enjoyment of any success in the human life will end. There is a “last day” to every kind of material thing of the physical life.
Joh 7:37a thirsts Rev. 21:6; 22:17
Joh 7:37b come Rev. 22:17
Joh 7:37c drink John 4:14; 1 Cor. 10:4; Psa. 36:8
Joh 7:381 flow
In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this also is the changing of death into life. The source of death is the tree of knowledge, and the source of life is the tree of life. This book shows us that life is in opposition to death (5:24-25; 8:24; 11:25-26).
Joh 7:382b rivers cf. Rev. 22:1, 17; 21:6; 7:17; Gen. 2:10; Psa. 36:8; Ezek. 47:1, 5; Isa. 58:11
The rivers of living water are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23), originating from the one unique river of water of life (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2).
Joh 7:391a Spirit John 14:16-17; 20:22; Rom. 8:9; Phil. 1:19
The Spirit of God was there from the beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but at the time the Lord spoke this word, the Spirit as the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), was not yet, because the Lord had not yet been glorified. Jesus was glorified when He was resurrected (Luke 24:26). After Jesus’ resurrection, the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ, who was breathed into the disciples by Christ in the evening of the day on which He was resurrected (20:22). The Spirit is now the “another Comforter,” the Spirit of reality promised by Christ before His death (14:16-17). When the Spirit was the Spirit of God, He had only the divine element. After He became the Spirit of Jesus Christ through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, the Spirit had both the divine element and the human element, with all the essence and reality of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Hence, the Spirit is now the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ as the living water for us to receive (vv. 38-39).
Joh 7:39b glorified Luke 24:26; John 12:16, 23; 13:31-32; 17:1, 5
Joh 7:40a Prophet John 6:14; Deut. 18:15, 18
Joh 7:411b Galilee John 7:52; cf. 1:46
The Lord was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7) but was raised in Nazareth of Galilee, a city that was despised by people at that time. He was the seed of David, but He came as a Nazarene (Matt. 2:23). He grew up “like a root out of dry ground,” having “no attracting form nor majesty,” “nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him,” and “was despised and forsaken of men” (Isa. 53:2-3). Hence, we should know Him not according to the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16) but according to the Spirit.
Joh 7:42b Bethlehem Matt. 2:5; Micah 5:2
Joh 7:46a Never Matt. 7:28-29
Joh 7:48a rulers John 12:42
Joh 7:50a Nicodemus John 3:1; 19:39
Joh 7:511 condemn
Or, judge.
Joh 7:531 And
Many ancient MSS omit 7:53—8:11.
Joh 8:31 woman
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Joh 8:31 [1] In this Gospel nine cases have been selected to prove that the Lord Jesus is the life and the life supply to people. The first six cases, in chs. 3—7, form a group of signs signifying that, on the positive side, the Lord is the life and the life supply to us for regenerating, satisfying, healing, enlivening, feeding, and thirst quenching. The last three cases, in chs. 8—11, form a group of signs signifying that, on the negative side, the Lord is life to us to deliver us from the three main negative things: sin, blindness, and death.
Joh 8:31 [2] The case in this chapter reveals all the matters related to the problem of sin: (1) the source of sin—the devil; (2) the three main items of sin—adultery and fornication, murder, and lies (vv. 3, 41, 44); (3) the bondage, or slavery, of sin; (4) the issue, or result, of sin—death; (5) the One who is without sin—the Lord; (6) the One who is qualified to condemn sin—the Lord; (7) the One who is qualified to forgive sin—the Lord; (8) the One who is able to set people free from sin—the Lord. The Lord is the ever-existing God, the great I Am, who became the Son of Man and was lifted up on the cross to bear our sins; hence, He is qualified to forgive our sins. Furthermore, the Lord, being the eternal God, can come into us to be life and light to deliver us from the bondage and darkness of sin.
Joh 8:31 [3] The case in this chapter shows also that the religion (represented by the temple—vv. 2, 20) of law (vv. 5, 17) cannot set people free from sin and death; but the Lord Jesus, the I Am, who became the Son of Man and was lifted up on the cross for the serpent-poisoned people, can do what religion and law cannot do. This chapter shows us that Christ, the great I Am, not only is versus sin and death but also is versus religion and law.
Joh 8:51 What
Their question here, like those in 4:20-25 and 9:2-3, was a matter of yes or no, which belongs to the tree of knowledge, the result of which is death (Gen. 2:17). But the Lord’s answer in v. 7 pointed them to Himself, the One who is the tree of life, which results in life (Gen. 2:9).
Joh 8:6a tempt Matt. 16:1; 19:3; 22:18, 35
Joh 8:61 stooped
The Lord Jesus’ stooping down was a sign done to humble and calm the proud and self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. It might be that He was writing, “Who among you is without sin?”
Joh 8:7a let Deut. 17:7
Joh 8:111 Lord
Or, Sir.
Joh 8:112a Neither John 3:17
The scribes and Pharisees could not condemn the woman, because they were all sinful. Only the Lord Jesus was without sin, and only He was qualified to condemn the woman; but He would not.
Joh 8:12a light John 9:5; 11:9-10; 12:35-36, 46
Joh 8:121b light John 1:4
The light of life (1:4) shines within man by the inner sense of life to deliver man from sin.
Joh 8:13a testifying John 5:31
Joh 8:151 judge
Or, condemn.
Joh 8:161 I
This proves that when the Son was on the earth, the Father was with Him on the earth. The Father can never be separated from the Son, and the Son can never be separated from the Father. When the Son was on the earth, He was still in heaven with the Father (3:13). This proves that when God became flesh (1:14), it was the Son with the Father, the Father with the Son, in the Spirit (that is, the entire God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) who became flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). See also v. 29.
Joh 8:16b and John 8:29; 16:32
Joh 8:21a you John 7:34, 36; 13:33
Joh 8:231 from
From and of are the same word in Greek.
Joh 8:231b of 1 John 4:5
See note 231.
Joh 8:241b I John 8:28, 58; Exo. 3:14
I am (vv. 28, 58) is the meaning of the name Jehovah (Exo. 3:14), and Jehovah is the name of God (Gen. 2:7), the One who is and who was and who is coming, the self-existing and ever-existing One (Rev. 1:4; Exo. 3:14-15). This name is used in speaking of God in His relationship with man. Hence, it indicates that the Lord is the ever-existing God who has a relationship with man. Any man who does not believe that the Lord is this very God will die in his sins.
Joh 8:251 tell
The Lord’s speaking reveals what He is, in particular His eternal divinity, as the I Am spoken of in the foregoing verse. This is the basic element revealed in the Lord’s word.
Joh 8:281a lift John 3:14; 12:32
The phrase lift (or lifted) up is used also in 3:14 and 12:31-34. In 3:14 the Lord as the Son of Man was to be lifted up in the form of the serpent to bear the judgment of God for the serpent-poisoned people. In 12:31-34 the Lord as the Son of Man was to be lifted up for the casting out of the old serpent, Satan, the ruler of the world. Hence, in this chapter the Lord, as the Son of Man lifted up, can deliver the serpent-poisoned people from sin, the serpent’s poison.
Joh 8:28b then Matt. 27:54
Joh 8:28c I John 8:24, 58; Exo. 3:14
Joh 8:31a abide John 15:7; 2 John 9
Joh 8:321a truth John 1:14, 17; 14:6
In Greek the same as reality in 1:14, 17. The truth is not the so-called truth of doctrine but the reality of the divine things, which is the Lord Himself (see note 62 in ch. 14; 1:14, 17). This verse says that “the truth shall set you free,” whereas v. 36 says that “the Son sets you free.” This proves that the Son, the Lord Himself, is the truth. Since the Lord is the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9), He is the reality of what God is. Hence, reality is the very divine element of God realized by us. When the Lord as the great I Am comes into us as life, He shines within us as light, bringing the divine element as reality into us. This reality, which is the divine element imparted into us and realized by us, sets us free from the bondage of sin by the divine life as the light of man. When the Lord as the Word of God became flesh (1:14), He brought God to us as this reality, that God might be the grace for our enjoyment (1:17).
Joh 8:34a slave Rom. 6:16; 2 Pet. 2:19
Joh 8:38b your John 8:44; 1 John 3:10
Joh 8:40a seeking John 8:37; 7:1
Joh 8:41b one Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16
Joh 8:421 sent
See note 61 in ch. 1.
Joh 8:44a You John 8:38, 41; 1 John 3:8, 10
Joh 8:441 father
Because the devil is the father of sinners, sinners are the children of the devil (1 John 3:10). The devil is the old serpent (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), and sinners also are serpents, the generation of vipers (Matt. 23:33; 3:7). Hence, they need the Lord in the form of the serpent to be lifted up for them on the cross (3:14) to save them not only from sin but also from the source of sin, the devil (Heb. 2:14).
Joh 8:44b murderer Gen. 4:8; 1 John 3:15
Joh 8:44c truth 1 John 2:4
Joh 8:442 possessions
The Lord’s word here revealed that in the devil, the father of lies, there is a particular wicked thing that caused him to become the source of sin. This thing is something of his own, his private possession, and it is something that other creatures do not have.
Joh 8:443 father
Or, father of lies. Since the devil is the father of liars, he is the source of sin. The divine element of God, working as life and light within man, sets man free from the slavery of sin. But the evil element of the devil, working as sin through death and darkness within man, enslaves man to sin. The devil’s nature is a lie and brings in death and darkness. With darkness is falsehood, the opposite of the truth.
Joh 8:45a truth John 18:37
Joh 8:471 words
See note 633 in ch. 6.
Joh 8:48a Samaritan John 4:9; Luke 10:33
Joh 8:48b have John 8:52; 7:20; 10:20
Joh 8:51a keeps John 14:23
Joh 8:511b death John 5:24
In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this also is the changing of death into life.
Joh 8:52a have John 8:48; 7:20; 10:20
Joh 8:54b My John 17:1, 5; 13:32
Joh 8:551 known
In this verse two Greek words are used for know: the first denotes the outward, objective knowledge; the second refers to the inward, subjective consciousness. The Lord Jesus told the Pharisees that they had not known God the Father, even in the outward, objective knowledge, but that He knew the Father in the inward, subjective consciousness.
Joh 8:58a Before John 17:5, 24; Col. 1:17
Joh 8:581b I John 8:24, 28; Exo. 3:14
The Lord as the great I Am is the eternal, ever-existing God. Hence, He was before Abraham and is greater than Abraham (v. 53).
Joh 8:59a picked John 10:31; 11:8
Joh 9:11 a
This case is further proof that the religion of law (see note 141) could not in any way help a blind man. But the Lord Jesus, as the light of the world, imparted sight to him in the way of life (10:10b, 28).
Joh 9:12 blind
Blindness, like sin in the previous chapter, is a matter of death. A dead person surely is blind. “The god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers.” Hence, they need “the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ” to shine on them (2 Cor. 4:4) “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). In the principle set forth in ch. 2, this also is the changing of death into life.
Joh 9:21 who
This question, like those in 4:20-25 and 8:3-5, was a matter of yes or no, which belongs to the tree of knowledge, the result of which is death (Gen. 2:17). But the Lord’s answer in v. 3 pointed them to Himself, the One who is the tree of life, which results in life (Gen. 2:9).
Joh 9:5a light John 1:4; 8:12; 11:9-10; 12:35-36, 46
Joh 9:61 spittle
Clay here, as in Rom. 9:21, signifies humanity. Spittle here, as something that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord (Matt. 4:4), signifies the Lord’s words, which are Spirit and are life (6:63). The Lord’s making clay of the spittle signifies the mingling of humanity with the Lord’s living word, which is the Spirit. The word anointed proves this, because the Lord’s Spirit is the anointing Spirit (Luke 4:18; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 1 John 2:27). Here the Lord anointed the blind eyes with the clay made of His spittle, that they might have sight. This signifies that by the anointing of the mingling of the Lord’s word (which is His Spirit) with our humanity, our eyes, which were blinded by Satan, can have sight.
Joh 9:71 wash
Here to wash is to cleanse away the clay. This signifies the washing away of our old humanity, as experienced in baptism (Rom. 6:3-4, 6).
Joh 9:7a Siloam Neh. 3:15; Isa. 8:6
Joh 9:72 Sent
See note 61 in ch. 1.
Joh 9:73 He
His going and washing indicates that he obeyed the life-giving word of the Lord. So he received sight. If he had not gone to wash off the clay after having been anointed with it, the clay would have blinded him even more. Our obedience to the Lord’s anointing cleanses us and brings us sight.
Joh 9:141a Sabbath John 5:9
It seems that the Lord again purposely did a sign on the Sabbath to expose the vanity of religious ritual. In any case, this strengthened religion’s opposition, for He had already done a sign on the Sabbath (5:10, 16).
Joh 9:16a not Matt. 12:2; John 5:10, 16
Joh 9:16b signs John 2:11; 4:54
Joh 9:16c a John 6:52; 7:43; 10:19
Joh 9:22b put John 12:42; 16:2
Joh 9:24a Give Josh. 7:19
Joh 9:31a We Isa. 59:1-2; Psa. 66:18
Joh 9:321 Since
Lit., from the age; i.e., from eternity.
Joh 9:331 from
See note 145 in ch. 1.
Joh 9:341b cast John 9:22, 35
To cast him out was to excommunicate, to ostracize, him from the Jewish synagogue. This was to put him out of the sheepfold, as spoken by the Lord in 10:3-4. Religion’s persecution of the Lord’s called one did nothing but fulfill what the Lord intended for him.
Joh 9:351 Son
Some ancient authorities read, Son of Man.
Joh 9:36a Lord Rom. 10:13-14
Joh 9:38a worshipped Matt. 8:2; Luke 17:15-16
Joh 9:39a judgment John 5:22, 27
Joh 9:39b those Luke 4:18; Matt. 11:5
Joh 9:39c those Matt. 13:13; 15:14
Joh 9:40a blind Rom. 2:19; Rev. 3:17
Joh 9:41a not John 15:22, 24
Joh 10:11a door John 10:7, 9
See note 91; so in the succeeding verses.
Joh 10:12 sheepfold
The sheepfold signifies the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God’s chosen people were kept and guarded in custody until Christ came.
Joh 10:13b thief John 10:8
Thieves and robbers (v. 8) signify those who came into Judaism, but not through Christ.
Joh 10:2b shepherd John 10:11
Joh 10:31 sheep
The blind man who received sight in the previous chapter was such a sheep. He was led by the Lord out of the Judaism-fold. Hence, this chapter is a continuation of ch. 9.
Joh 10:3a hear John 10:4, 16, 27
Joh 10:4a follow John 10:27
Joh 10:4b voice John 10:3, 16, 27
Joh 10:6a parable John 16:25, 29
Joh 10:91a door John 10:7
Christ is the door not only for God’s elect to enter into the custody of the law, as did Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah in the Old Testament time, before Christ came, but also for God’s chosen people, such as Peter, John, James, and Paul, to come out of the fold of the law now that Christ has come. Thus, the Lord indicated here that He is the door not only through which God’s elect may go in but also through which God’s chosen people may go out.
Joh 10:92 pasture
The pasture here signifies Christ as the feeding place for the sheep. When the pasture is not available (e.g., in the wintertime or at night), the sheep must be kept in the fold. When the pasture is ready, there is no further need for the sheep to remain in the fold. To be kept in the fold is transitional and temporary. To be in the pasture enjoying its riches is final and permanent. Before Christ came, the law was a ward, and being under the law was transitional. Now that Christ has come, all God’s chosen people must come out of the law and come into Him to enjoy Him as their pasture (Gal. 3:23-25; 4:3-5). This should be final and permanent. Because they did not have such a revelation, the leaders in Judaism considered the law, on which Judaism was based, as permanent. As a result, they missed Christ and could not participate in Him as their pasture.
Joh 10:10a have John 5:40
Joh 10:101 life
Gk. zoe. This word is used in the New Testament for the eternal, divine life.
Joh 10:11a Shepherd John 10:14; Isa. 40:11; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 7:17
Joh 10:11b lays John 10:15, 17, 18; 1 John 3:16; John 15:13; Isa. 53:12
Joh 10:111 life
Gk. psuche, soul; i.e., soul-life, and so in the succeeding verses. As a man, the Lord has the psuche life, the human life, and as God, He has the zoe life, the divine life. He laid down His soul, His psuche life, His human life, to accomplish redemption for His sheep (vv. 15, 17-18) that they may share His zoe life, His divine life (v. 10b), the eternal life (v. 28), by which they can be formed into one flock under Himself as the one Shepherd. As the good Shepherd, He feeds His sheep with the divine life in this way and for this purpose.
Joh 10:14a Shepherd John 10:11
Joh 10:15a Father Matt. 11:27
Joh 10:15b lay John 10:11, 17, 18
Joh 10:161a other Acts 11:18; Eph. 2:12; 3:6
The other sheep are the Gentile believers (Acts 11:18).
Joh 10:162b one John 17:21; Eph. 2:13-16
The one flock signifies the one church, the one Body of Christ (Eph. 2:14-16; 3:6), brought forth by the Lord’s eternal, divine life, which He imparted into His members through His death (vv. 10-18). The fold is Judaism, which is of letter and regulation, and the flock is the church, which is of life and spirit.
Joh 10:16c Shepherd John 10:11, 14; 1 Pet. 2:25
Joh 10:17a Father John 3:35; 5:20
Joh 10:17b I John 10:11, 15, 18
Joh 10:18a lay John 10:11, 15, 17
Joh 10:18b take John 2:19
Joh 10:20a has John 7:20
Joh 10:20b insane Mark 3:21
Joh 10:21a open John 9:32
Joh 10:221 Feast
From 170 B.C. to 168 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, invaded Jerusalem and looted the temple. Moreover, on December 25, 168 B.C., he sacrificed a sow on the altar and set up an image in the temple, thus defiling and damaging the temple. Three years later, in 165 B.C., Judas Maccabeus, a strong man of Judah, purified and restored the altar and the temple. He set December 25—the day on which the altar and the temple had been defiled—as the beginning of a sacred feast that was to have eight consecutive days of rejoicing to celebrate the great achievement of the purification and restoration of the altar and the temple. This sacred feast is the Feast of the Dedication mentioned here.
Joh 10:23a portico Acts 3:11; 5:12
Joh 10:24a plainly John 16:25, 29
Joh 10:25a works John 5:36; 10:38
Joh 10:251 in
See note 431 in ch. 5.
Joh 10:27a hear John 10:3, 16
Joh 10:27c follow John 10:4
Joh 10:281a eternal John 17:2; 3:15, 16
Eternal life (see note 151 in ch. 3) is for the believers’ living. The Father’s hand, by which He chooses in His love according to His purpose (17:23; 6:38-39), and the Son’s hand, by which He saves by His grace for the fulfillment of the Father’s purpose (1:14; 6:37), both of which have the keeping power, are for the believers’ protection. Eternal life will never run out, and the hands of the Father and the Son will never fail. Hence, the believers are eternally secure and will never perish.
Joh 10:28c snatch John 10:29
Joh 10:29a snatch John 10:28
Joh 10:291 Father’s
See note 281.
Joh 10:301 I
Here the Lord asserted His deity, that is, that He is God (v. 33; 5:18; 1:1; 20:28; 1 John 5:20; Phil. 2:6).
Joh 10:30a one John 17:22
Joh 10:31a took John 8:59; 11:8
Joh 10:33a God John 5:18; 1:1; 20:28; 19:7; 1 John 5:20; Phil. 2:6
Joh 10:34a You Psa. 82:6
Joh 10:36a has John 6:69
Joh 10:361b sent John 3:17; 1 John 4:9
See note 61 in ch. 1.
Joh 10:37a works John 5:36; 10:25
Joh 10:38a believe John 10:25; 14:11
Joh 10:38b Father John 14:10, 20; 17:21, 23
Joh 10:39a seize John 7:30
Joh 10:401 He
At this point the Lord left the temple and went to the very place where John the Baptist had given the New Testament testimony concerning Him. This signifies that He abandoned Judaism and came to the new ground, where many believed into Him.
Joh 10:40a across John 1:28
Joh 10:41a all John 1:27, 29, 30, 34; 3:28-30
Joh 10:42a many John 7:31
Joh 11:11 Bethany
The Lord had left Judaism and had come to a place from which He could proceed to Bethany, which was an early miniature of the church.
Joh 11:2a anointed John 12:3; cf. Luke 7:38
Joh 11:4a glory John 11:40
Joh 11:81 said
In the eight foregoing cases, in chs. 3—10, religion was the main frustration to and opponent of life. Here, outside religion and on the new ground, life was going to raise a dead person. Here life no longer faced religion with its rituals, but it was frustrated by many human opinions: the disciples’ opinions (vv. 8-16), Martha’s opinion (vv. 21-28), Mary’s opinion (vv. 32-33), the Jews’ opinion (vv. 36-38), and, again, Martha’s opinion (vv. 39-40). Opinions, which come from knowledge, belong to the tree of knowledge, but the Lord here was actually the tree of life for people to enjoy.
Joh 11:8a stone John 8:59; 10:31
Joh 11:9b light John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46
Joh 11:11a asleep Matt. 27:52; 1 Thes. 4:13-16
Joh 11:121 recover
Lit., be saved.
Joh 11:141 died
In the Lord’s salvation He does not merely heal the sick; He also gives life to the dead. Hence, He remained two days until the sick one had died (v. 6). The Lord does not reform or regulate people—He regenerates people and raises them out of death. Hence, the first of the nine cases in chs. 3—11 was a case of regeneration, and the last was a case of resurrection, revealing that all the aspects of Christ as life to us, as unveiled in the other seven cases, are in the principle of regeneration and resurrection. This last case was the actual changing of death into life.
Joh 11:161 Didymus
I.e., Twin.
Joh 11:17a four John 11:39
Joh 11:181 fifteen
I.e., about two miles.
Joh 11:24a resurrection Dan. 12:2; Acts 24:15
Joh 11:241 in
The Lord told Martha, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). This meant that the Lord would raise him immediately; but Martha expounded the Lord’s word so as to postpone the present resurrection to the last day. What an exposition of the divine word! Some of the knowledge of fundamental teaching is truly destructive and frustrates people from enjoying the Lord’s present resurrection life.
Joh 11:25a life John 1:4; 5:26
Joh 11:25b live John 6:39
Joh 11:26a no John 6:50, 51; 8:51
Joh 11:271 believed
The Lord said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and asked her, “Do you believe this?” She answered, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Her reply did not answer the Lord’s question. Her old, preoccupying knowledge covered her, preventing her from understanding the Lord’s new word. Man’s old knowledge and old opinions are coverings that keep him from knowing clearly the Lord’s new revelation.
Joh 11:27b comes John 6:14
Joh 11:281 is
This might have been Martha’s opinion and not the Lord’s command.
Joh 11:311 weep
Lit., wail.
Joh 11:331 weeping
Lit., wailing.
Joh 11:33a Jews John 11:19
Joh 11:33b moved John 11:38; Rom. 8:26
Joh 11:33c troubled John 12:27; 13:21
Joh 11:351 wept
This word differs from the word translated weep and weeping in vv. 31 and 33. Here it means to shed tears, to weep silently. This is the only time the word is used in the New Testament.
Joh 11:36a loved John 11:3
Joh 11:37a opened John 9:7, 32
Joh 11:39a fourth John 11:17
Joh 11:40a glory John 11:4
Joh 11:411 took
Their taking the stone away and loosing Lazarus were their submitting to and cooperating with the resurrection life.
Joh 11:41a lifted John 17:1
Joh 11:41b Father Matt. 11:25
Joh 11:42a believe John 17:8, 21
Joh 11:421 sent
See note 61 in ch. 1.
Joh 11:44a bound John 19:40
Joh 11:44b his John 20:7
Joh 11:45a Jews John 11:19
Joh 11:47a signs John 2:11, 23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14
Joh 11:49a high John 11:51; 18:13
Joh 11:51a high John 11:49; 18:13
Joh 11:521 gather
The phrase gather into one the children of God mentioned in this chapter implies that not only the Lord’s death but also the Lord’s resurrection life are for the building up of God’s children. By His death the Lord released His life so that it could be imparted into those who believe into Him. This life is experienced by us in His resurrection. It is in the Lord’s resurrection that we grow together into one by His life to become His Body.
Joh 11:52a one cf. John 10:16
Joh 11:53a took Matt. 26:4
Joh 11:54a walked John 7:1
Joh 11:55a Passover John 2:13; 6:4
Joh 11:55b purify 2 Chron. 30:17-19; John 18:28
Joh 12:1a Passover Lev. 23:5; Exo. 12:3, 6
Joh 12:11b Bethany vv. 1-8: Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9
Bethany means house of affliction. At this point the Lord was outside Judaism. Through His resurrection life He had gained a house in Bethany where He could feast and have rest and satisfaction. This house of feasting was a miniature of the church life and depicted the situation of the church: (1) produced by the resurrection life—Lazarus (11:43-44); (2) composed of cleansed sinners—Simon the leper (Mark 14:3); (3) outwardly afflicted—Bethany; (4) inwardly feasting in and with the presence of the Lord (v. 2); (5) having more sisters than brothers (vv. 2-3); (6) having members with different functions: serving—Martha, testifying—Lazarus, and loving—Mary (vv. 2-3); (7) spotted by the false one—Judas (v. 4); (8) persecuted by religion (v. 10); (9) being a test and exposing people (vv. 6, 10); and (10) bringing in many believers (v. 11).
Joh 12:1c whom John 11:43-44
Joh 12:2a Martha Luke 10:38, 40
Joh 12:31 pound
A unit of weight at that time, about twelve ounces.
Joh 12:32 house
This was the house of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3).
Joh 12:4a Judas John 6:71; 13:21, 26
Joh 12:51 denarii
See note 71 in ch. 6.
Joh 12:6a holding John 13:29
Joh 12:71 Jesus
The Lord Jesus was a test to all those around Him. The chief priests and Pharisees conspired to kill Him (11:47, 53, 57), Simon the leper prepared his house for Him (Matt. 26:6), Martha served Him, Lazarus testified concerning Him, Mary loved Him (vv. 2-3), Judas was about to betray Him (v. 4), and many believed into Him (v. 11). The Lord is the center of God’s economy and is a sign set up by God (Luke 2:34). Anyone who contacts Him will inevitably be tested and exposed.
Joh 12:8a For Deut. 15:11
Joh 12:9a whom John 11:43; 12:1, 17
Joh 12:11a many John 11:45
Joh 12:12a the vv. 12-15: Matt. 21:4-9; Mark 11:7-10
Joh 12:12b feast Deut. 16:16
Joh 12:131 Hosanna
A Hebrew expression meaning do save, we pray (Psa. 118:25).
Joh 12:13a Blessed Psa. 118:26
Joh 12:13b King John 1:49
Joh 12:15a Fear Zech. 9:9
Joh 12:16a glorified John 7:39
Joh 12:16b remembered John 14:26
Joh 12:20a worship Acts 8:27
Joh 12:21a Philip John 1:43-46
Joh 12:23a hour John 2:4; 7:30; 13:1
Joh 12:231b glorified John 13:31-32
For Jesus as the Son of Man to be glorified was for Him to be resurrected, that is, to have His divine element, His divine life, released from within the shell of His humanity to produce many believers in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3), just as a grain of wheat (v. 24) has its life element released when it falls into the ground and grows up out of the ground to bear much fruit, that is, to bring forth many grains. See note 11 in ch. 17.
Joh 12:24a Unless 1 Cor. 15:36
Joh 12:241 falls
At this point, according to the worldly view, Jesus was in His golden time. A great crowd of the Jews esteemed Him highly and welcomed Him warmly because of the resurrection of Lazarus (vv. 12-19), and even the Greeks were seeking after Him (vv. 20-22). But He preferred to fall as a grain of wheat into the ground and die that He might produce many grains for the church.
Joh 12:242b much cf. John 12:32
This “much fruit” became Christ’s increase in resurrection. This increase is the glory into which Christ entered through His death and resurrection (Luke 24:26). The portion from v. 23 of this chapter to the end of ch. 17 is a discourse on the mystery of this glory. Christ had the glory with God (17:5). His incarnation caused His divine glory to be concealed in His flesh. Through His death and resurrection His glory was released, producing many grains, which become His increase as the expression of His glory. What was spoken in vv. 23, 28; 13:31-32; 14:13; 15:8; 16:14; and 17:1, 4, 5, 10, 22, 24 is related to this glory. In the Lord’s last words to the believers in chs. 14—16, there are three concrete, corporate expressions of this glory: the Father’s house (the church) in 14:2, the branches of the vine (the constituents of the Body of Christ) in 15:1-5, and a newborn corporate man (the new man) in 16:21. All three denote the church, showing that the church is the glorious increase produced by the glorious Christ through His death and resurrection. In this glorious increase, Christ, the Son of God, is glorified, causing God the Father also to be glorified in Christ’s glorification, that is, to be fully expressed through the church (Eph. 3:19-21). This expression needs to be maintained in the oneness of the Triune God. Therefore, the Lord prayed in particular for this matter in His concluding prayer in ch. 17 (17:20-23). This glorious increase of Christ is the peak of the mystery revealed in the Gospel of John, and its ultimate consummation is the New Jerusalem in Revelation, also written by John. The new holy city will be the aggregate of Christ’s increase throughout the generations, and in it Christ’s divine glory will be expressed to the uttermost. In the glorifying of God the Son, God the Father also will obtain eternal, matchless glory, which will be His full expression in eternity. Thus His eternal economy will be fulfilled for eternity.
Joh 12:251b soul-life John 10:11, 15, 17, 18
The same Greek word as for life in 10:11, 15, 17. The Lord, as a grain of wheat that fell into the ground, lost His soul-life through death that He might release His eternal life in resurrection to the many grains. As the many grains, we also must lose our soul-life through death that we may enjoy eternal life in resurrection. This is to follow Him that we may serve Him and walk with Him on this way, the way of losing our soul-life and living in His resurrection, as mentioned in v. 26.
Joh 12:25c hates Luke 14:26
Joh 12:252 eternal
See note 151 in ch. 3.
Joh 12:271 soul
As a man, the Lord was troubled in His soul because of the death He was about to suffer. Hence, He prayed, “Father, save Me out of this hour.” However, it must have been that in His spirit He realized that it was for the glorifying of the Father that He had come to that hour.
Joh 12:27b save cf. Matt. 26:39
Joh 12:27c hour John 7:8; 13:1
Joh 12:272 this
This refers to the glorifying of the Father’s name in the next verse.
Joh 12:281a glorify John 13:31, 32; 17:1
To glorify the name of the Father is to cause the Father’s divine element to be expressed. The Father’s divine element, which is the eternal life, was in the incarnated Son. The shell of the Son’s incarnation had to be broken through death that the Father’s divine element, the eternal life, might be released and expressed in resurrection, just as the life element of a grain of wheat is released by the breaking of its shell and is expressed by its blossom. This is the glorification of God the Father in the Son. See note 11 in ch. 17.
Joh 12:28b voice Matt. 3:17; 17:5
Joh 12:301 come
Lit., happened.
Joh 12:311a judgment John 16:11
On the cross the Lord as the Son of Man (v. 23) was lifted up in the form of the serpent (3:14), that is, in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3). Satan as the old serpent (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), the ruler of this world, had injected himself into man’s flesh. Through His death on the cross in the likeness of the flesh of sin, the Lord destroyed Satan, who is in man’s flesh (Heb. 2:14). By judging Satan (16:11) in this way, the Lord also judged the world, which is hanging on Satan. Hence, the Lord’s being lifted up caused the world to be judged and its ruler, Satan, to be cast out.
Joh 12:312 world
The Greek word here means arrangement (see note 152 in 1 John 2). The world is an evil system arranged systematically by Satan. All the things on the earth, especially those related to mankind, and all the things in the air have been systematized by Satan into his kingdom of darkness to occupy people and frustrate them from accomplishing the purpose of God, and to distract them from the enjoyment of God. This evil system, the kingdom of darkness, was judged when its ruler, Satan, was cast out by the Lord’s being crucified in the flesh. See note 311.
Joh 12:31b ruler John 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 2:2
Joh 12:321a lifted John 3:14; 8:28
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 12:321 [1] In one aspect, the Lord’s death was His falling into the ground, as revealed in v. 24; in another aspect, it was His being lifted up on the tree (1 Pet. 2:24). His falling into the ground was to produce the many grains; His being lifted up on the tree was to draw all men to Himself. The many grains produced by His falling into the ground are the “all men” drawn by His being lifted up on the tree.
Joh 12:321 [2] In this chapter the Lord’s death is revealed not as the redeeming death but as the producing, generating death. By this death His incarnation-shell of humanity was broken that He might accomplish His threefold purpose: (1) the producing of many grains, the drawing of all men to Himself (vv. 24, 32); (2) the releasing of the divine element, the eternal life (vv. 23, 28); and (3) the judging of the world and the casting out of its ruler, Satan (v. 31). We must experience the Lord’s death that we may participate in the threefold purpose that He accomplished.
Joh 12:32b draw John 6:44
Joh 12:32c all cf. John 12:24
Joh 12:33a signifying John 18:32
Joh 12:34a Christ Psa. 110:4; Isa. 9:7
Joh 12:35a still John 7:33
Joh 12:35b overcome John 1:5
Joh 12:35c walks John 8:12; 1 John 2:11
Joh 12:36a light John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46
Joh 12:36b sons Eph. 5:8
Joh 12:36c was John 8:59
Joh 12:38a Lord Isa. 53:1
Joh 12:381 arm
The arm of the Lord is the Lord Jesus Himself.
Joh 12:401 blinded
These two, blindness and the hardening of the heart, are related; they are a punishment to the unbelieving ones.
Joh 12:41a saw Isa. 6:1
Joh 12:411 His
His glory here confirms that the Lord Jesus is the very God, Jehovah of hosts, whose glory Isaiah saw (Isa. 6:1, 3). This glory was seen and appreciated by Isaiah but was not loved by the Lord’s weaker believers (vv. 42-43).
Joh 12:42b put John 9:22
Joh 12:43a glory John 5:44
Joh 12:441 cried
This was the Lord’s declaration to the unbelieving religionists. It implied that (1) He was God manifested to man (vv. 44-45); (2) He came as a light into the world so that by believing into Him man would not remain in darkness (vv. 46, 36); and (3) He came to man with the living words; whoever receives His words has eternal life now and forever, and whoever rejects His words will be judged by His words in the last day (vv. 47-50).
Joh 12:44a into John 5:24
Joh 12:45a beholds John 14:9
Joh 12:46a light John 12:36; 1:4; 8:12; 9:5
Joh 12:471 words
See note 633 in ch. 6; so in the next verse.
Joh 12:47a judge John 3:17
Joh 12:48a word Deut. 18:18-19
Joh 12:49a given John 17:8
Joh 12:501 eternal
See note 151 in ch. 3.
Joh 13:11 Now
In this Gospel, the first section, chs. 1—13, describes how the Lord as God Himself, as the Son of God, came through His incarnation to bring God into man that He might be man’s life for the producing of the church. The second section, chs. 14—21, describes how the Lord as the Son of Man went through His death and resurrection to bring man into God that man and God, God and man, might be built together as a mutual abode. This chapter, coming at the end of the first section, is a dividing line and a turning point.
Joh 13:1b hour John 12:23
Joh 13:1c Father John 16:28
Joh 13:2a devil John 6:70-71; 13:27
Joh 13:2b betray John 13:11
Joh 13:3b come John 8:42; 16:27
Joh 13:41 laid
The outer garments here signify the Lord’s virtues and attributes in His expression. Hence, the laying aside of His outer garments signifies the putting off of what He is in His expression.
Joh 13:42 towel
From a Latin word denoting a linen towel.
Joh 13:43 girded
To gird oneself signifies to be bound and restricted with humility (cf. 1 Pet. 5:5).
Joh 13:51 water
Water here signifies the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), the word (Eph. 5:26; John 15:3), and life (19:34).
Joh 13:52 wash
In chs. 1—12 life came and brought forth the church, composed of the regenerated ones. In their spirit the regenerated ones are in God and in the heavenlies, but in their body they are still living in the flesh and walking on the earth. Through their contact with earthly things they often become dirty. This frustrates their fellowship with the Lord and with one another. Hence, there is the need for the washing with the Holy Spirit, the word, and life. This is the washing away of their dirtiness that their fellowship with the Lord and with one another may be maintained; it is not the washing away of their sins by the blood (1 John 1:9). This is why, after ch. 12, there is a need for such a sign in this chapter. Since this Gospel is a book of signs, what is recorded in this chapter should be considered a sign, having spiritual significance. Foot-washing should not be taken merely in a physical sense, but rather in a spiritual sense.
Joh 13:53 feet
In ancient times the Jews wore sandals, and since their roads were dusty, their feet easily became dirty. If, when they came to a feast, they sat at the table and stretched out their feet, the dirt and the smell would certainly frustrate the fellowship. Hence, for the feast to be pleasant they needed foot-washing. The Lord washed His disciples’ feet to show them that He loved them to the uttermost (v. 1), and He charged them to do the same to one another in love (vv. 14, 34). Today the world is dirty, and we, the saints, are easily contaminated. For us to maintain pleasant fellowship with the Lord and with one another, we need spiritual foot-washing—with the washing Holy Spirit, the washing word, and the washing life—carried out both by the Lord in His love and by one another in love. This is absolutely necessary in order for us to live in the fellowship of the divine life, which is revealed in John’s first Epistle, a continuation of the Gospel of John.
Joh 13:71 know
In Greek, know in the first instance denotes the inward, subjective consciousness; in the second it refers to the outward, objective knowledge. See note 551 in ch. 8.
Joh 13:101a bathed Titus 3:5
Bathing here signifies the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5; John 3:5).
Joh 13:10b clean John 15:3
Joh 13:11a knew John 6:64
Joh 13:15a example 1 Pet. 2:21
Joh 13:16a slave Matt. 10:24
Joh 13:161 one
One who is sent is, literally, an apostle.
Joh 13:17a blessed Luke 11:28; James 1:22, 25
Joh 13:18a all John 13:10, 11
Joh 13:18b chosen John 6:70
Joh 13:18c Scripture John 17:12
Joh 13:181 eats
Lit., masticates.
Joh 13:19a telling John 14:29
Joh 13:191b I John 8:24, 28, 58
See note 241 in ch. 8.
Joh 13:21a spirit John 11:33
Joh 13:21b one Matt. 26:21; Mark 14:18; Luke 22:21
Joh 13:23a whom John 19:26
Joh 13:27a Satan Luke 22:3
Joh 13:311a glorified John 12:23; 17:1
See note 231 in ch. 12.
Joh 13:312b glorified John 17:1
See note 281 in ch. 12.
Joh 13:321 If
Some ancient MSS omit the clause, If God has been glorified in Him.
Joh 13:322a glorified John 12:28
See note 281 in ch. 12.
Joh 13:323b glorify John 17:1
See note 231 in ch. 12.
Joh 13:33b you John 7:34, 36; 8:21
Joh 13:33c Where John 13:36
Joh 13:341a commandment 1 John 3:11, 23; John 15:12, 17
The Greek word for commandment here is the same word as in Matt. 5:19 and Rom. 7:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. However, in Matt. 5 and Rom. 7 it refers to the old commandments of the law in the Old Testament; here it refers to the new commandment given to us by the Lord in the New Testament. Also in 14:15, 21; 15:10, 12; 1 John 2:3, 4, 7, 8; 3:22, 23, 24; 4:21; 5:2, 3; 2 John 4, 5, 6, it refers to the new commandment given to us in the New Testament, either by the Lord Jesus or by God. This new commandment is different from the old commandments in the Old Testament.
Joh 13:34b love 1 Thes. 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 4:7
Joh 13:36a Simon vv. 36-38: cf. Matt. 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-34
Joh 13:36b Where John 13:33; 7:34
Joh 13:36c follow John 21:19
Joh 13:371 life
Lit., soul, soul-life; so in the next verse.
Joh 13:38a rooster John 18:27
Joh 14:11 God
Here the Lord showed His disciples that He is the same as God. The disciples were troubled upon hearing of His leaving. By this word He made them realize that as God He is omnipresent and is not limited by time and space.
Joh 14:21a My John 2:16, 21; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; 1 Pet. 2:5; cf. Eph. 2:21-22
According to the interpretation in 2:16, 21, My Father’s house refers to the temple, the body of Christ, as God’s dwelling place. At first the body of Christ was only His individual body. But through Christ’s death and resurrection, the body of Christ has increased to be His corporate Body, which is the church, including all His believers, who have been regenerated through His resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3). In Christ’s resurrection the church is the Body of Christ, which is the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 3:6), God’s habitation (Eph. 2:21-22), God’s temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17).
Joh 14:22 many
The many abodes are the many members of the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5), which is God’s temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17). This is adequately proven by v. 23, which says that the Lord and the Father will make an abode with the one who loves Him.
Joh 14:2b abodes John 14:23
Joh 14:23c go John 14:12, 28; 7:33; 13:3
This book has two main sections. The first section, chs. 1—13, points out how Christ, as the eternal Word, came through incarnation to bring God into man that He might be the life and life supply to man. The second section, chs. 14—21, unveils how Christ, as the man Jesus, went through death and resurrection to bring man into God for the building of God’s habitation, which is the building of the church (Matt. 16:18) and which is related to the building of the New Jerusalem (Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:2). In the entire universe God has only one building, that is, the building of His living habitation with His redeemed people.
Joh 14:31 if
If I go…I am coming proves that the Lord’s going (through His death and resurrection) was His coming (to His disciples—vv. 18, 28). He came in the flesh (1:14) and was among His disciples, but He could not enter into them while He was in the flesh. He had to take the further step of passing through death and resurrection in order to be transfigured from the flesh into the Spirit that He might come into the disciples and dwell in them, as revealed in vv. 17-20. After His resurrection He did come to breathe Himself as the Holy Spirit into the disciples (20:19-22).
Joh 14:32 prepare
The Lord’s intention in this chapter was to bring man into God for the building of His dwelling place. But between man and God there were many obstacles, such as sin, sins, death, the world, the flesh, the self, the old man, and Satan. For the Lord to bring man into God, He had to solve all these problems. Therefore, He had to go to the cross to accomplish redemption that He might open the way and make a standing for man, that man might enter into God. This standing in God, being enlarged, becomes the standing in the Body of Christ. Anyone who does not have a standing, a place, in God does not have a place in the Body of Christ, which is God’s dwelling place. Hence, the Lord’s going in order to accomplish redemption was to prepare a place in His Body for the disciples.
Joh 14:3a am John 14:18, 28
Joh 14:33 receive
In receiving the disciples to Himself, the Lord put them into Himself, as indicated in v. 20 by the words you in Me.
Joh 14:34b where John 14:10, 11, 20; 17:21, 24
The Lord is in the Father (vv. 10-11). He wanted His disciples also to be in the Father, as revealed in 17:21. Through His death and resurrection He brought His disciples into Himself. Since He is in the Father, they are in the Father by being in Him. Hence, where He is, the disciples are also.
Joh 14:61 way
The way for man to enter into God is the Lord Himself. Since the way is a living person, the place to which the Lord brings man must also be a person, God the Father Himself. The Lord Himself is the living way by which man is brought into God the Father, the living place. The way needs the reality, and the reality needs the life. The Lord Himself is the life to us. This life brings us the reality, and the reality becomes the way by which we enter into the enjoyment of God the Father.
Joh 14:62a reality John 1:14, 17; 8:32; 14:17
Christ is the reality of the divine things. This reality came through Him and becomes the realization of God to us. See note 146 in ch. 1 and note 66 in 1 John 1.
Joh 14:6b life John 1:4; 11:25; 1 John 5:12; Col. 3:4
Joh 14:71 If
This chapter unveils the way God dispenses Himself into man. In the dispensing of Himself into us, God is triune. He is one, yet He is three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Son is the embodiment and expression of the Father (vv. 7-11), and the Spirit is the reality and realization of the Son (vv. 17-20). In the Son (the Son is even called the Father—Isa. 9:6) the Father is expressed and seen, and as the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17) the Son is revealed and realized. The Father in the Son is expressed among the believers, and the Son as the Spirit is realized in the believers. God the Father is hidden, God the Son is manifested among men, and God the Spirit enters into man to be his life, his life supply, and his everything. Hence, this Triune God—the Father in the Son and the Son as the Spirit—dispenses Himself into us to be our portion that we may enjoy Him as our everything in His divine trinity.
Joh 14:7b know 1 John 2:13
Joh 14:9a seen John 12:45
Joh 14:10a in John 14:11, 20; 10:38; 17:21
Joh 14:10b Father cf. John 10:30; Isa. 9:6
Joh 14:101c words John 14:24
See note 633 in ch. 6.
Joh 14:10d from John 16:13
Joh 14:11b works John 5:36
Joh 14:12a greater John 5:20
Joh 14:121b going John 14:2, 28; 7:33
The Lord came from the Father to bring God into man through His incarnation. Here, He is going to the Father to bring man into God through His death and resurrection.
Joh 14:13a ask John 14:14; 15:16; 16:23-24
Joh 14:131 in
To be in the Lord’s name, here and in v. 14, means to be one with the Lord, to live by the Lord, and to let the Lord live in us. The Lord came and did things in the Father’s name (5:43; 10:25), meaning that He was one with the Father (10:30), that He lived because of the Father (6:57), and that the Father worked in Him (v. 10). In the Gospels the Lord as the expression of the Father did things in the Father’s name. In the Acts the disciples as the expression of the Lord did even greater things (v. 12) in the Lord’s name.
Joh 14:132 Father
For the Father to be glorified in the Son means that His divine element is expressed from within the Son. Whatever the Son does expresses the Father’s divine element. This is the glorifying of the Father in the Son.
Joh 14:13b glorified John 13:31; 17:1; 12:28
Joh 14:14a ask John 14:13
Joh 14:15a love John 14:21, 23; 16:27
Joh 14:15b commandments John 14:21; 15:10
Joh 14:161a Comforter John 14:26; 15:26; cf. 1 John 2:1
The Greek word here means advocate, one alongside who takes care of our cause, our affairs. The Greek word for Comforter is the same as that for Advocate in 1 John 2:1. Today we have both the Lord Jesus in the heavens and the Spirit (the Comforter) within us as our Advocate, who takes care of our case.
Joh 14:171a Spirit John 7:39; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6; John 20:22; 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17
The Spirit promised here was referred to in 7:39. This Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), and this promise of the Lord’s was fulfilled on the day of the Lord’s resurrection, when the Spirit as the breath of life was breathed into the disciples (20:22). The Lord’s promise here is different from the promise of the Father concerning the Spirit of power in Luke 24:49. That promise was fulfilled fifty days after the Lord’s resurrection, on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit as the mighty wind blew upon the disciples (Acts 2:1-4). In this verse the Spirit of life is called “the Spirit of reality.” This Spirit of reality is Christ (v. 6); hence, the Spirit of reality is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9). This Spirit is also the reality of Christ (1 John 5:6, 20) that Christ may be realized in those who believe into Him, as their life and life supply.
Joh 14:172 He
The very “He” who is the Spirit of reality in this verse becomes the very “I” who is the Lord Himself in v. 18. This means that the Christ who was in the flesh went through death and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit, the pneumatic Christ. First Corinthians 15:45 confirms this. In dealing with the matter of resurrection, that verse says, “The last Adam [Christ in the flesh] became a life-giving Spirit.”
Joh 14:173b in John 14:20; 1 John 2:27; Rom. 8:9, 11
This is the first time that the promise of the Spirit’s indwelling is revealed. It is fulfilled and fully developed in the Epistles. See 1 Cor. 6:19 and Rom. 8:9, 11.
Joh 14:181 I
See note 172.
Joh 14:182a coming John 14:3, 28
This coming was fulfilled on the day of His resurrection (20:19-22). After His resurrection the Lord came back to His disciples to be with them forever, thus not leaving them as orphans.
Joh 14:19a a John 7:33; 12:35; 16:16
Joh 14:191b live Gal. 2:20
It should be after His resurrection that the Lord lives in His disciples and that they live by Him, as mentioned in Gal. 2:20.
Joh 14:19c live Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21; John 6:57
Joh 14:201a day John 16:23, 26; 20:19
This should refer to the day of the Lord’s resurrection (20:19).
Joh 14:20c in John 15:4; 17:21; Rom. 8:1; 1 Cor. 1:30
Joh 14:20d in John 14:17; 17:23; Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27
Joh 14:21a loves John 14:15
Joh 14:21b manifest John 21:1
Joh 14:23a loves John 14:15
Joh 14:23b keep 1 John 2:5
Joh 14:231c abode John 14:2; Rom. 8:9, 11; Eph. 3:17
This is one of the many abodes mentioned in v. 2. It will be a mutual abode, in which the Triune God abides in the believers and the believers abide in Him.
Joh 14:24a word John 14:10
Joh 14:261a Comforter John 14:16
The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was to be sent by the Father in the Son’s name. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and also by the Son. Thus, the Holy Spirit comes not only from the Father but also from the Son, and He is the reality not only of the Father but also of the Son. Hence, when we call on the name of the Son, we get the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).
Joh 14:262 Father
The Father being in the Son’s name is equivalent to the Father being the Son (see note 431 in ch. 5). Therefore, the Father’s sending of the Holy Spirit in the Son’s name is the Son’s sending of the Holy Spirit from the Father (15:26). The Son and the Father are one (10:30). Hence, the Spirit who is sent comes not only out of the Father (15:26) but also out of the Son. Moreover, when the Spirit comes, He comes with the Father and the Son (see note 261 in ch. 15). This proves that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God, the Triune God, who reaches us and is working, that is, dispensing, Himself into us in His divine trinity to be our life and everything.
Joh 14:263 My
In 5:43 we are told that the Son came in the Father’s name, and here that the Father sent the Holy Spirit in the Son’s name. This proves not only that the Son and the Father are one (10:30) but also that the Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit, who is sent by the Father in the Son’s name, is not only the reality that comes from the Father but also the reality that comes from the Son. This is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—who reaches man eventually as the Spirit.
Joh 14:26b teach 1 John 2:20, 27
Joh 14:26c all John 16:13
Joh 14:27a Peace John 16:33; Rom. 16:20; Phil. 4:7
Joh 14:27b troubled John 14:1
Joh 14:28a going John 14:2
Joh 14:281 coming
See note 182.
Joh 14:282 going
See note 121.
Joh 14:28c greater John 10:29
Joh 14:29a before John 13:19
Joh 14:30a ruler John 12:31; 16:11; Eph. 2:2
Joh 14:31a commanded John 10:18; 12:49
Joh 15:11 true
This true vine (the Son) with its branches (the believers in the Son) is the organism of the Triune God in God’s economy. This organism grows with His riches and expresses His divine life.
Joh 15:1a vine Psa. 80:8; cf. Isa. 5:2; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 19:10; 15:2
Joh 15:12 husbandman
The Greek word means cultivator of the soil, land-worker, farmer (2 Tim. 2:6; James 5:7; Matt. 21:33). The Father as the husbandman is the source, the author, the planner, the planter, the life, the substance, the soil, the water, the air, the sunshine, and everything to the vine. The Son as the vine is the center of God’s economy and the embodiment of all the riches of the Father. The Father, by cultivating the Son, works Himself with all His riches into the vine, and eventually the vine expresses the Father in a corporate way through its branches. This is the Father’s economy in the universe.
Joh 15:21 prunes
Lit., cleanses.
Joh 15:3a clean John 17:17; Eph. 5:26
Joh 15:4a Abide John 15:5, 6, 7, 9, 10; 6:56; 1 John 2:24, 28
Joh 15:4b in John 14:17, 20; Rom. 8:9; Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 2:27
Joh 15:41 of
Lit., from.
Joh 15:5a much John 15:16
Joh 15:5b nothing John 5:19, 30; cf. Phil. 4:13
Joh 15:61a cast John 15:2
For a branch to be cast out means that it is cut off from participation in the riches of the life of the vine.
Joh 15:6b fire 1 Cor. 3:15
Joh 15:71a words Col. 3:16
See note 633 in ch. 6.
Joh 15:72 ask
When we abide in the Lord and let His words abide in us, we actually are one with Him, and He works within us. Then, when we ask in prayer for whatever we will, it is not only we who are praying; He too is praying, in our praying. This kind of prayer is related to fruit-bearing (v. 8) and will surely be answered. See note 162.
Joh 15:81a glorified John 12:28; 13:31; 14:13; 17:1, 4
In fruit-bearing the Father’s divine life is expressed; hence, He is glorified.
Joh 15:9a loved John 17:23, 26; 3:35
Joh 15:101 keep
When we abide in the Lord, He speaks His instant words within us. These words are His commandments to us. If we keep those commandments, it shows that we love Him; it is thus that we will abide in His love.
Joh 15:10a commandments John 14:15, 21, 23
Joh 15:111 joy
Being branches of the divine vine and bearing fruit to express the divine life are matters of joy, and they also issue in a joyful life.
Joh 15:11a joy John 16:24
Joh 15:12a commandment John 15:17; 13:34
Joh 15:12b love John 13:35; Rom. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 3:14
Joh 15:13a lay John 10:11
Joh 15:131 life
The Greek word here means soul, soul-life.
Joh 15:14a friends 2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23
Joh 15:16a chose John 6:70; 13:18; 15:19
Joh 15:161 set
We were wild branches, and through faith we have been grafted into Christ. Here the Lord said that He set us. This fits the thought of grafting.
Joh 15:162 go
The Greek word for go forth means to depart, implying to leave for another place; hence, it is rendered go forth. It is the same Greek word as that for go in 14:4 and 16:5. The fruit borne by going forth in this way does not denote the virtues of the fruit-bearer’s character, such as the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s living, mentioned in Gal. 5:22-23, but it denotes the believers produced by the fruit-bearer. This corresponds with the subject of this section, 12:20—17:26, which is Christ’s multiplication. The virtues we possess through our abiding in the Lord cannot be counted as Christ’s multiplication. Only the believers that we produce in the Lord are the tangible multiplication of Christ. The Father’s house in ch. 14, the true vine in this chapter, and the man-child in ch. 16 are all related to the multiplication of Christ.
Joh 15:16b bear John 15:5
Joh 15:163 that
After we go forth to produce believers in the Lord, we need to care for them. The best way is to set up meetings in their homes to cover and protect them that they may be cared for by being nourished and taught, and may become the remaining fruit, living in the branches of the true vine, that is, in the Body of Christ, to be Christ’s increase.
Joh 15:164 remain
The same Greek word used for abide in this chapter.
Joh 15:165c ask John 14:13, 14; 16:24, 26
To ask in the Lord’s name requires us to abide in the Lord and allow Him and His words to abide in us that we may actually be one with Him. Then when we ask, He asks in our asking. This kind of asking is related to fruit-bearing and will surely be answered by the Father. See note 72.
Joh 15:171a love John 15:12
This is to love one another in the Lord’s life, the divine life, in the Lord’s love, and in His commission of fruit-bearing. Life is the source, love is the condition, and fruit-bearing is the goal. If we all live by the Lord’s life as the source, in the Lord’s love as the condition, and for fruit-bearing as the goal, we surely will love one another. Having different sources of life, different conditions, or different goals will separate us and prevent us from loving one another.
Joh 15:18a hates John 17:14; 1 John 3:13
Joh 15:18b hated John 15:23, 24, 25
Joh 15:191 of
Lit., out of.
Joh 15:19a not John 17:14, 16
Joh 15:20a greater John 13:16
Joh 15:20b persecuted John 5:16; cf. Acts 9:4-5
Joh 15:20c persecute Acts 26:10, 11; Gal. 1:13; 2 Tim. 3:12
Joh 15:21a name Acts 5:41; 9:14
Joh 15:21b not John 16:3
Joh 15:22a sin John 15:24; 9:41
Joh 15:23a hates John 15:18
Joh 15:24a works John 5:36; 10:37
Joh 15:24b sin John 15:22
Joh 15:25a They Psa. 35:19; 69:4
Joh 15:26a Comforter John 14:16, 26; 16:7
Joh 15:26b send John 14:26
Joh 15:261c from John 7:29; 17:8
The sense in Greek is from with (see note 145 in ch. 1). The Spirit of reality, who is sent by the Son from the Father, comes not only from the Father but also with the Father. The Father is the source. When this Spirit comes from the source, He does not leave the source but comes with the source. This Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with the Father, testifies concerning the Son. Therefore, His testimony concerning the Son is a matter of the Triune God.
Joh 15:26d Spirit John 14:17; 16:13
Joh 15:26e testify 1 John 5:6
Joh 15:27a you John 19:35; 21:24; Acts 1:8
Joh 16:1a stumbled Matt. 11:6
Joh 16:21b kills Acts 26:10
In this Gospel religion is revealed as the enemy of life. In the Gospels, Judaism opposed and persecuted the Lord Jesus. In the Acts it continued by opposing and persecuting the apostles and the disciples (Acts 4:1-3; 5:17-18, 40; 6:11-14; 7:57-59; 26:9-12). In subsequent history the Catholic Church persecuted the Lord’s followers. All organized religions, of whatever kind, persecute those who seek the Lord in life. All these religions consider their persecuting of the Lord’s seekers a service offered to God.
Joh 16:3a because John 8:19, 55; 15:21
Joh 16:4a when John 14:29
Joh 16:5a going John 16:10, 17, 28; 7:33; 14:12, 28
Joh 16:5b Where John 13:36; 14:5
Joh 16:6a sorrow John 16:20, 21, 22
Joh 16:6b heart John 14:1, 27; 16:22
Joh 16:71b go John 20:17
This “going” was ultimately fulfilled by His ascension in 20:17.
Joh 16:7c send John 15:26
Joh 16:81 convict
To convict means to convince, to condemn, to cause people to rebuke themselves.
Joh 16:82 sin
Sin entered through Adam (Rom. 5:12), righteousness is the resurrected Christ (v. 10; 1 Cor. 1:30), and judgment is for Satan (v. 11), who is the author and source of sin (8:44). In Adam we were born of sin. The only way to be freed from sin is to believe into Christ, the Son of God (v. 9). If we believe into Him, He is righteousness to us, and we are justified in Him (Rom. 3:24; 4:25). If we do not repent of the sin that is in Adam and believe into Christ, the Son of God, we will remain in sin and share the judgment of Satan for eternity (Matt. 25:41). These are the main points of the gospel. The Spirit uses these points to convict the world.
Joh 16:10a righteousness 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9
Joh 16:11a judged John 12:31
Joh 16:13a Spirit John 14:17; 15:26; 1 John 5:6
Joh 16:131 guide
The work of the Spirit is, first, to convict the world. Second, as the Spirit of reality He guides the believers into all the reality; that is, He makes all that the Son is and has real to the believers. All that the Father is and has is embodied in the Son (Col. 2:9), and all that the Son is and has is declared as reality to the believers through the Spirit (vv. 14-15). This declaring is the glorifying of the Son with the Father. Hence, it is a matter of the Triune God being wrought into and mingled with the believers. Third, the Spirit declares the things that are to come, which are revealed mainly in Revelation (Rev. 1:1, 19). The three aspects of the Spirit’s work correspond with the three sections of John’s writings: his Gospel, his Epistles, and his Revelation.
Joh 16:13b reality John 1:14, 17; 8:32; 14:6
Joh 16:13c from John 14:10
Joh 16:13d the Rev. 1:1, 19
Joh 16:14a glorify John 17:5
Joh 16:15a All John 17:10; Col. 2:9
Joh 16:16b see John 20:20
Joh 16:20a weep Mark 16:10
Joh 16:20b joy Matt. 28:8; Luke 24:41
Joh 16:211 brings
The bringing forth here is the begetting in Acts 13:33. The incarnated Christ, including all His believers, was begotten in His resurrection to be the Son of God (1 Pet. 1:3). Thus, He has become the firstborn Son of God, and all His believers have become God’s many sons as His brothers to constitute His church (Rom. 8:29; John 20:17 and note 2; Heb. 2:10-12) as His multiplication (12:24), His increase (3:29-30), and His Body, which is His fullness, His expression (Eph. 1:23).
Joh 16:212 little
In this parable the Lord indicated that the disciples were then like a woman travailing in birth, and that He was the little child to be brought forth in His resurrection (Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; Rom. 1:4).
Joh 16:21a child Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:4; Heb. 1:5
Joh 16:221 see
After being born in resurrection, the Lord came to see the disciples in the evening of the day of His resurrection, and the disciples rejoiced at His presence (20:20).
Joh 16:22a again John 14:3
Joh 16:22b rejoice John 20:20
Joh 16:23a day John 16:26; 14:20; 20:19
Joh 16:231 Whatever
Or, Whatever you ask the Father, He will give to you in My name.
Joh 16:241a asked John 16:26; 14:13, 14; 15:16
See note 165 in ch. 15; so in v. 26.
Joh 16:24b joy John 15:11
Joh 16:26a day John 16:23
Joh 16:26b ask John 16:24; 14:13, 14; 15:16
Joh 16:27a came John 16:28, 30; 8:42; 13:3; 17:8
Joh 16:271b from John 6:46; 7:29; 17:8; cf. John 15:26
See note 145 in ch. 1.
Joh 16:281 came
Some MSS read, came forth from the Father. The word from in these MSS is the same as that in v. 27.
Joh 16:28a out John 8:42
Joh 16:28b going John 16:5, 10, 17; 13:1, 3
Joh 16:30a came John 16:27
Joh 16:301 from
The word from used by the disciples here does not have the sense of from with. It is different from the word used by the Lord in v. 27.
Joh 16:32a scattered Matt. 26:31; Zech. 13:7
Joh 16:32b alone John 8:29
Joh 16:321c with John 8:16, 29
See note 161 in ch. 8.
Joh 16:33a peace John 14:27
Joh 16:33b affliction John 15:20
Joh 16:33c overcome 1 John 5:4-5
Joh 17:1a lifting John 11:41
Joh 17:1b Father Matt. 11:25, 26; John 11:41
Joh 17:11c glorify John 17:5; 7:39; 12:16, 23; 13:31, 32; Acts 3:13; John 16:14; cf. John 11:4; 17:10
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Joh 17:11 [1] This is the subject of the Lord’s prayer in this chapter. He was God incarnated in the flesh, and His flesh was a tabernacle in which God could dwell on earth (1:14). His divine element was confined in His humanity, just as God’s shekinah glory had been concealed within the tabernacle. Once, on the mountain of transfiguration, His divine element was released from within His flesh and expressed in glory, being seen by the three disciples (Matt. 17:1-4; John 1:14). But then it was concealed again in His flesh. Before this prayer He predicted that He would be glorified and that the Father would be glorified in Him (12:23; 13:31-32). Now He was about to pass through death so that the concealing shell of His humanity might be broken and His divine element, His divine life, might be released. Also, He would resurrect that He might uplift His humanity into the divine element and that His divine element might be expressed, with the result that His entire being, His divinity and His humanity, would be glorified (see note 231 in ch. 12). The Father would thus be glorified in Him (see note 281 in ch. 12). Hence, He prayed for this.
Joh 17:11 [2] The Lord’s prayer here concerning the divine mystery is fulfilled in three stages. First, it was fulfilled in His resurrection, in that His divine element, His divine life, was released from within His humanity into His many believers (12:23-24), and His whole being, including His humanity, was brought into glory (Luke 24:26), and in that the Father’s divine element was expressed in His resurrection and glorification. In His resurrection God answered and fulfilled His prayer (Acts 3:13-15). Second, it has been fulfilled in the church, in that as His resurrection life has been expressed through His many members, He has been glorified in them, and the Father has been glorified in Him through the church (Eph. 3:21; 1 Tim. 3:15-16). Third, it will ultimately be fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, in that He will be fully expressed in glory, and God will be glorified in Him through the holy city for eternity (Rev. 21:11, 23-24).
Joh 17:11 [3] In praying in this way, the Lord unveiled His person, His deity; He is the same as the Father in the divine glory.
Joh 17:1d glorify John 12:28; 13:31, 32; 17:5; cf. John 17:4; 14:13; 15:8; 21:19
Joh 17:21 You
This indicates the Lord’s work. The Lord has the Father’s authority over all mankind that He may give eternal life, not to all mankind but only to those whom the Father has given Him—the Father’s chosen ones.
Joh 17:2a authority Matt. 28:18; cf. John 5:27
Joh 17:22 eternal
See note 151 in ch. 3.
Joh 17:2b life John 10:28
Joh 17:2c given John 17:6, 9, 24; 6:37, 65
Joh 17:31 eternal
Eternal life is the divine life with a special function, that is, to know God and Christ (cf. Matt. 11:27). God and Christ are divine. To know the divine person, we need the divine life. Since the believers are born of the divine life, they know God and Christ (Heb. 8:11; Phil. 3:10).
Joh 17:3a know Heb. 8:11; Matt. 11:27
Joh 17:3b true 1 John 5:20
Joh 17:32c sent John 17:8
See note 61 in ch. 1; so in vv. 8, 18, 21, 23, 25.
Joh 17:3d Christ Phil. 3:10
Joh 17:41 glorified
This means that while He was living on earth, the Lord manifested and expressed the Father.
Joh 17:4a work John 4:34; 5:17
Joh 17:51a glorify John 17:1
This word strengthens the indication in v. 1, concerning the deity of the Lord’s person. He had the divine glory along with the Father before the world was, in eternity past; hence, He should be glorified now with that glory along with the Father. The Lord participates in the divine glory not by Himself but along with the Father, for He and the Father are one (10:30).
Joh 17:5b glory John 17:22, 24
Joh 17:5d before John 17:24
Joh 17:61 Your
Your name, here and in v. 26, means the very name Father. The name God and the name Jehovah were adequately revealed to man in the Old Testament, but the name Father was not, though it was mentioned briefly in Isa. 9:6; 63:16; 64:8. The Son came and worked in the Father’s name (5:43; 10:25) to manifest the Father to the men whom the Father gave Him and to make the Father’s name known to them (v. 26). That name reveals the Father as the source of life (5:26) for the propagation and multiplication of life. Many sons would be born of the Father (1:12-13) to express the Father. Hence, the Father’s name is very much related to the divine life.
Joh 17:6a name John 17:11, 12, 26
Joh 17:62 word
The Father’s words are of two kinds: the constant word (v. 6) and the instant words (v. 8). Both are used by the Lord to impart eternal life to the believers who receive both kinds of words.
Joh 17:8b given John 17:14
Joh 17:8c came John 8:42; 16:27, 30
Joh 17:81 from
See note 145 in ch. 1.
Joh 17:8d sent John 17:18, 21, 23, 25
Joh 17:9a ask Luke 22:32
Joh 17:10a Yours John 16:15
Joh 17:101 glorified
Since the disciples expressed the Lord, He was glorified in them.
Joh 17:102 in
I.e., because of them.
Joh 17:11b coming John 17:13
Joh 17:111 Holy
The Son’s believers are still in the world. They need to be kept that they may be one even as the Divine Trinity is one, that is, that they may be one in the Divine Trinity. The Son prayed that the holy Father would so keep them.
Joh 17:11c keep John 17:12, 15
Joh 17:112 in
To be kept in the Father’s name is to be kept by His life, because only those who are born of the Father and have the Father’s life can participate in the Father’s name. The Son has given the Father’s life to those whom the Father has given Him (v. 2); hence, they share the Father’s name by being kept in it, and they are one in it. The first aspect of this oneness, that is, the first aspect of the building up of the believers, is the oneness in the Father’s name and by His divine life. In this aspect of oneness the believers, born of the Father’s life, enjoy the Father’s name, that is, the Father Himself, as the factor of their oneness.
Joh 17:11d name John 17:6
Joh 17:11e one John 17:21, 22, 23
Joh 17:12a kept John 17:11
Joh 17:12b name John 17:6
Joh 17:12c not John 18:9; 6:39
Joh 17:121d perished John 3:16; 10:28
Perished (a verb) and perdition (a noun) are from the same Greek root.
Joh 17:12e son John 6:70, 71; cf. 2 Thes. 2:3
Joh 17:12f Scripture Psa. 41:9
Joh 17:13a coming John 17:11
Joh 17:13b joy John 15:11
Joh 17:14a given John 17:8
Joh 17:141 word
The Lord has given the believers two kinds of words: the constant word (vv. 14, 17) and the instant words (v. 8).
Joh 17:142 world
The world is the system of Satan (12:31). The believers are not of the world (vv. 14, 16) but are separated from the world (v. 19), and are not taken out of the world (v. 15) but are sent into the world (v. 18) for the Lord’s commission. (So in vv. 15, 16.)
Joh 17:14b hated John 15:18; 1 John 3:13
Joh 17:14c not John 17:16
Joh 17:143 of
Lit., out of; so in v. 16.
Joh 17:15a keep John 17:11
Joh 17:151 out
Or, out of the evil.
Joh 17:152b evil Matt. 6:13; 13:38; 1 John 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18-19
The whole world lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19). Hence, the believers need to be kept out of the hands of the evil one, and they need always to be watchful in prayer that they may be delivered from the evil one (Matt. 6:13).
Joh 17:16a not John 17:14
Joh 17:171a Sanctify John 17:19; 1 Thes. 5:23; Eph. 5:26; Heb. 2:11
To be sanctified (Eph. 5:26; 1 Thes. 5:23) is to be separated from the world and its usurpation unto God and His purpose, not only positionally (Matt. 23:17, 19) but also dispositionally (Rom. 6:19, 22). God’s living word works in the believers to separate them from anything worldly. This is to be sanctified in God’s word, which is the truth, the reality.
Joh 17:172 in
Or, in the reality. Reality is the Triune God (1:14, 17; 14:6; 1 John 5:6). Since the Triune God is contained and concealed in His word, His word is reality (see notes 146 in ch. 1 and 66 in 1 John 1). We are sanctified in the reality of this word.
Joh 17:173 word
The Father’s word carries the reality of the Father with it. When God’s word says, “God is light,” it carries God as light in it. Hence, God’s word is reality, the truth, unlike Satan’s word, which is vanity, a lie (8:44).
Joh 17:181a sent John 17:3, 8
The Father sent the Son into the world with Himself as life and everything to the Son. In the same way, the Son sends His believers into the world with Himself as life and everything to the believers. See note 212 in ch. 20.
Joh 17:181b sent John 20:21
See note 181.
Joh 17:191 sanctify
The Son is absolutely holy in Himself. Yet, to set an example of sanctification for His disciples, He still sanctified Himself in His way of living while He was on earth.
Joh 17:19a sanctified John 17:17
Joh 17:20a ask John 17:9
Joh 17:211a one John 17:11
This is the second aspect of the believers’ oneness, the oneness in the Triune God through sanctification, separation from the world by the word of God. In this aspect of oneness the believers, separated from the world unto God, enjoy the Triune God as the factor of their oneness.
Joh 17:21b in John 10:38; 14:10, 11
Joh 17:21d in John 14:20; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 8:1; John 14:3
Joh 17:21e world John 17:23
Joh 17:21f sent John 17:8
Joh 17:221a glory John 17:5, 24; 1:14
The glory that the Father gave to the Son is the sonship with the Father’s life and divine nature (5:26). The sonship was given so that the Son could express the Father in His fullness (1:18; 14:9; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3). The Son has given this glory to His believers that they too may have the sonship with the Father’s life and divine nature (v. 2; 2 Pet. 1:4) to express the Father in the Son in the Son’s fullness (1:16).
Joh 17:222b one John 17:11
This is the third aspect of the believers’ oneness, the oneness in the divine glory for the corporate expression of God. In this aspect of oneness the believers, their self having been fully denied, enjoy the glory of the Father as the factor of their perfected oneness and thus express God in a corporate, built-up way. This is the oneness of the divine commission; it fulfills the Son’s prayer that He be fully expressed, that is, glorified, in the building up of the believers, and that the Father be fully expressed, glorified, in the Son’s glorification. Hence, the ultimate oneness of the believers is (1) in the eternal life of God (in the Father’s name), (2) by the holy word of God, and (3) in the divine glory to express the Triune God for eternity. That the Son might accomplish this oneness, the Father gave Him six things: the authority (v. 2), the believers (vv. 2, 6, 9, 24), the work (v. 4), the words (v. 8), the Father’s name (vv. 11-12), and the Father’s glory (v. 24). That the believers may participate in this oneness, the Son gave them three things: the eternal life (v. 2), the holy word of God (vv. 8, 14), and the divine glory (v. 22). (So also for one in v. 23.)
Joh 17:22c one John 10:30
Joh 17:23a in John 14:20; Rom. 8:9
Joh 17:23c one John 17:11
Joh 17:23d sent John 17:8
Joh 17:231 loved
The Father loved the Son by giving the Son His life, His nature, His fullness, and His glory that the Son might express Him. In the same way, the Father loved the Son’s believers by giving them His life, His nature, His fullness, and His glory that they might express Him in the Son. This is a story of love as well as glory.
Joh 17:23e loved John 17:24, 26
Joh 17:24a given John 17:2
Joh 17:241 be
The Son is in the divine glory of the Father’s expression. Therefore, for the Son’s believers to be with Him where He is means that they are with Him in the divine glory to express the Father. The fulfillment of this matter began with the Son’s resurrection, when He brought His believers into participation in His resurrection life, and will consummate in the New Jerusalem, when His believers will be brought fully into the divine glory for the ultimate corporate expression of the Triune God in eternity.
Joh 17:24b where John 14:3
Joh 17:24c glory John 17:5, 22
Joh 17:24d loved John 17:23, 26
Joh 17:24e before John 17:5
Joh 17:251 Righteous
The world neither knows nor wants the Father, but the Son and the Son’s believers do. Hence, the Father loves the Son and His believers so that He gives His glory to both the Son and His believers. In this matter He is righteous and just. In sanctifying the Son’s believers, the Father is holy (v. 11). In loving the Son and His believers so that He gives the Son and the believers His glory, the Father is righteous.
Joh 17:25a known John 8:55; Matt. 11:27
Joh 17:25b sent John 17:8
Joh 17:26a name John 17:6
Joh 17:261b love John 17:23, 24
The love here is the love of the Father. In this love the Father gave His life and glory to the Son and His believers so that the Son and His believers can express Him. The Son prayed that this love would be in His believers and that they would always have the sense of this love.
Joh 17:26c in John 14:20; Rom. 8:9
Joh 18:1a He vv. 1-11: Matt. 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53
Joh 18:11 went
The Lord delivered Himself of His own accord to the process of death, as He had indicated in 10:17-18. He did it voluntarily and boldly.
Joh 18:1b Kedron 2 Sam. 15:23
Joh 18:2a betraying John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2, 21
Joh 18:5a Nazarene Matt. 2:23; cf. John 1:46
Joh 18:51b I John 18:6, 8; 8:24, 28, 58
I Am is the name of Jehovah (so in vv. 6, 8). See note 241 in ch. 8. When the soldiers heard this name, they drew back and fell to the ground.
Joh 18:81 these
While suffering betrayal at the hands of His false disciple and arrest by the soldiers, the Lord still took good care of His disciples. This reveals that He was at ease in passing through the process of death.
Joh 18:10a sword Luke 22:38
Joh 18:10b cut John 18:26
Joh 18:111 cup
This word, too, shows that the Lord was willing to pass through the process of death.
Joh 18:12a seized vv. 12-27: Matt. 26:57-75; Mark 14:53-72; Luke 22:54-71
Joh 18:131 led
The Lord was the Lamb of God (1:29), and He was killed on the day of the Passover (v. 28). As the passover lamb was examined before it was killed (Exo. 12:3-6), so He was examined by the whole of mankind, represented by the high priest of the Jews and the governor of the Romans, and proved to be without blemish (v. 38b; 19:4, 6). See note 371 in Mark 12.
Joh 18:14a Caiaphas John 11:49-51
Joh 18:211 Why
While judging the Lord, both the high priest of the Jewish religion and the governor of the Roman Empire were judged by Him in His dignity.
Joh 18:22a slapped John 19:3; Matt. 26:67; cf. Matt. 5:39
Joh 18:28a Then vv. 28-40: Matt. 27:1-26a; Mark 15:1-15a; Luke 23:1-25a
Joh 18:281 praetorium
The governor’s official residence.
Joh 18:282 early
A reference to the fourth watch, 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Joh 18:31a law John 19:7; Lev. 24:16
Joh 18:32a word John 12:32-33
Joh 18:321 kind
The Jews’ way to put criminals to death was to stone them (Lev. 24:16). But the Lord Jesus predicted, according to the type in the Old Testament (Num. 21:8-9), that He would be lifted up (3:14; 8:28; 12:32). It was of God’s sovereignty that not long before that time the Roman Empire had made it a law that criminals sentenced to death should be crucified. It was in this way that the Lord was executed. This proves that the Lord’s death was not accidental but was predetermined by God (Acts 2:23).
Joh 18:33a King John 1:49; 12:13, 15; Matt. 2:2
Joh 18:341 Are
See note 211.
Joh 18:36a kingdom 2 Sam. 7:12-13; Dan. 2:44; 7:14; Luke 19:12, 15; Heb. 1:8; Rev. 1:9; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:4, 6
Joh 18:361 of
Lit., out of; so in v. 37.
Joh 18:362 here
The world.
Joh 18:37a born Matt. 2:2
Joh 18:371b truth John 1:14, 17; 8:32; 14:6; 17:17
In view of the entire revelation of this book, truth here denotes the divine reality embodied, revealed, and expressed in Christ as the Son of God. See notes 146 in ch. 1 and 66 in 1 John 1.
Joh 18:38a no John 19:4, 6; Luke 23:4, 14, 22
Joh 19:1a Therefore vv. 1-16: Matt. 27:26b-31; Mark 15:15b-20; Luke 23:25b
Joh 19:31 Rejoice
See note 292 in Matt. 27.
Joh 19:3a slapped John 18:22; Matt. 26:67; cf. Matt. 5:39
Joh 19:4a no John 19:6; 18:38; Luke 23:4, 14, 22
Joh 19:7a law Lev. 24:16; John 18:31
Joh 19:7b made John 5:18; 10:33
Joh 19:91 praetorium
The governor’s official residence.
Joh 19:11a given Rom. 13:1
Joh 19:131 Gabbatha
An Aramaic term from Hebrew, meaning a raised place. This must have been an elevated place, like a raised platform, paved with beautiful stones, as indicated by the Greek word for Pavement, mentioned earlier in the verse.
Joh 19:141 preparation
See note 621 in Matt. 27.
Joh 19:142 sixth
I.e., 6:00 a.m.
Joh 19:161 He
This unjust, joint sentence exposed the blindness of religion and the darkness of politics.
Joh 19:16a took Isa. 53:7b
Joh 19:17a bearing vv. 17-37: Matt. 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:32-49
Joh 19:18a two Isa. 53:12, 9
Joh 19:19a NAZARENE Matt. 2:23
Joh 19:19b KING Matt. 2:2
Joh 19:201 Hebrew
Hebrew here represents the Hebrew religion, Latin represents Roman politics, and Greek represents Greek culture. These three together represent the entire world, all of mankind. This signifies that the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God was killed by and for all mankind.
Joh 19:221 What
What Pilate wrote was not of himself but of God’s sovereignty.
Joh 19:231a took cf. Matt. 5:40
In His crucifixion, the Lord’s right to be clothed (vv. 23-24) and to drink (vv. 28-30) was stripped from Him, along with His life.
Joh 19:232 tunic
A shirt-like undergarment.
Joh 19:24a They Psa. 22:18
Joh 19:241 did
This was not of the soldiers but of God’s sovereignty.
Joh 19:251 sister
Salome (Mark 15:40), the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John (Matt. 27:56).
Joh 19:25a Mary Matt. 27:61; Luke 8:2; John 20:1
Joh 19:26a Woman John 2:4
Joh 19:261 behold
In Luke 23:43 the Lord said to one of the two thieves crucified with Him, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” That word was in regard to salvation, since Luke’s Gospel proves that the Lord is the sinner’s Savior. Here, in vv. 26-27, the Lord said to His mother, “Behold, your son,” and to the disciple whom He loved, “Behold, your mother.” These words indicate a life-union, since this Gospel testifies that the Lord is life imparted into His believers. It is by this life that His beloved disciple could be one with Him and become the son of His mother, and that she could become the mother of His beloved disciple.
Joh 19:271 Behold
See note 261.
Joh 19:281b thirst cf. Luke 16:24; Rev. 21:8; 7:16
Thirst is a taste of death (Luke 16:24; Rev. 21:8). The Lord Jesus suffered this for us on the cross (Heb. 2:9).
Joh 19:301 vinegar
In Matt. 27:34 and Mark 15:23, wine mingled with gall and myrrh was offered to the Lord as a stupefying drink before His crucifixion, but He would not drink it. In this verse vinegar was offered to Him in a mocking way at the end of His crucifixion (Luke 23:36).
Joh 19:302 finished
In His crucifixion the Lord was still working, and through His crucifixion He finished the work of His all-inclusive death, by which He accomplished redemption, terminated the old creation, and released His resurrection life to bring forth the new creation to fulfill God’s purpose. In the process of death He proved to His opposers and His believers, by the way He behaved, that He was life. The dreadful environment of death did not frighten Him in the least; rather, it provided a contrast that proved strongly that He, as life, was versus death and could not be affected by death in any way. Therefore, the work that the Lord finished here included the accomplishing of redemption, the termination of the old creation, the release of His resurrection life, and the displaying of Himself as the life that cannot be affected by death.
Joh 19:31a remain Deut. 21:23
Joh 19:341a blood Exo. 12:7; Heb. 9:14, 22; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Acts 20:28; Rom. 3:25; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 12:11; Zech. 13:1; 1 John 5:6
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 19:341 [1] Two substances came out of the Lord’s pierced side: blood and water. Blood is for redemption, to deal with sins (1:29; Heb. 9:22) for the purchasing of the church (Acts 20:28). Water is for imparting life, to deal with death (12:24; 3:14-15) for the producing of the church (Eph. 5:29-30). The Lord’s death, on the negative side, takes away our sins, and on the positive side, imparts life into us. Hence, it has two aspects: the redemptive aspect and the life-imparting aspect. The redemptive aspect is for the life-imparting aspect. The record of the other three Gospels portrays only the redemptive aspect of the Lord’s death; John’s record portrays not only the redemptive aspect but also the life-imparting aspect. In Matt. 27:45, 51, Mark 15:33, and Luke 23:44-45, darkness, a symbol of sin, appeared, and the veil of the temple, which separated man from God, was rent. These signs are related to the redemptive aspect of the Lord’s death. The words spoken by the Lord on the cross in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them,” and in Matt. 27:46, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (because He bore our sin at that time), also depict the redemptive aspect of His death. But the flowing water and the unbroken bone mentioned by John in vv. 34 and 36 are signs that relate to the life-imparting aspect of the Lord’s death (see note 261). This death that imparts life released the Lord’s divine life from within Him for the producing of the church, which is composed of all His believers, into whom His divine life has been imparted. This life-imparting death of the Lord’s is typified by Adam’s sleep, out from which Eve was produced (Gen. 2:21-23), and is signified by the death of the one grain of wheat that fell into the ground for the bringing forth of many grains (12:24) to make the one bread—the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17). Hence, it is also the life-propagating, life-multiplying death, the generating and reproducing death.
Joh 19:341 [2] The Lord’s pierced side was prefigured by Adam’s opened side, out from which Eve was produced (Gen. 2:21-23). The blood was typified by the blood of the passover lamb (Exo. 12:7, 22; Rev. 12:11), and the water was typified by the water that flowed out of the smitten rock (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4). The blood formed a fountain for the washing away of sin (Zech. 13:1), and the water became the fountain of life (Psa. 36:9; Rev. 21:6).
Joh 19:341b water Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; John 4:10, 14; Rev. 22:1; 21:6; Psa. 36:9; Jer. 2:13
See note 341.
Joh 19:361 these
It was absolutely of God’s sovereignty that these things happened in such a meaningful and wonderful way. This is further proof that the Lord’s death was not accidental but had been planned by God before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:19-20).
Joh 19:36a No Exo. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psa. 34:20
Joh 19:362 bone
In the Scripture the first mention of a bone is in Gen. 2:21-23; there it was a rib taken out of Adam for the producing and building of Eve as a match for Adam. Eve was a type of the church, which is produced and built with the Lord’s resurrection life released out of Him. Hence, the bone is a symbol, a figure, of the Lord’s resurrection life, which nothing can break. The Lord’s side was pierced, but not one of His bones was broken. This signifies that although the Lord’s physical life was terminated, His resurrection life, the very divine life, could not be hurt or damaged by anything. This is the life with which the church is produced and built; it is also the eternal life, which we have obtained by believing into Him (3:36).
Joh 19:37a They Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7
Joh 19:37b pierced Zech. 13:6
Joh 19:381a after vv. 38-42: Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56
After the Lord accomplished His redemptive and life-imparting death, His situation of suffering immediately changed into a situation of honor. Joseph, a rich man (Matt. 27:57), and Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews (3:1), came to take care of His burial, binding His body with myrrh and aloes and burying it in a new tomb with the rich (Isa. 53:9). In human honor of a high standard, the Lord rested on the Sabbath day (Luke 23:55-56), waiting for the time to rise from the dead.
Joh 19:39a Nicodemus John 3:1-2
Joh 19:39b myrrh Exo. 30:23; S.S. 1:13; Psa. 45:8; S.S. 4:14
Joh 19:39c aloes Num. 24:6
Joh 19:391 pounds
See note 31 in ch. 12.
Joh 19:41a tomb Isa. 53:9
Joh 20:1a Now vv. 1-18: Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12
Joh 20:11b first Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10
The first day of the week, or the day after the Sabbath, signifies a new beginning, a new age. In Lev. 23:10-11, 15, a sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest was offered to the Lord as a wave offering on the day after the Sabbath. That sheaf of the firstfruits was a type of Christ as the firstfruits in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). Christ resurrected on precisely the day after the Sabbath. By His all-inclusive death He terminated the old creation, which had been completed in six days, after which was the Sabbath day. In His resurrection He germinated the new creation with the divine life. Hence, the day of His resurrection was the beginning of a new week—a new age. This day of His resurrection was appointed by God (Psa. 118:24), was prophesied as “today” in Psa. 2:7, was predicted by Himself as the third day (Matt. 16:21; John 2:19, 22), and later was called by the early Christians “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10). On this day Christ was born in resurrection as the firstborn Son of God (Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5) and the Firstborn from the dead to be the Head of the Body, the church (Col. 1:18).
Joh 20:1c day Lev. 23:11, 15; Psa. 118:24; 2:7; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; Matt. 16:21; John 2:19, 22; 1 Cor. 15:4
Joh 20:12 came
The Lord’s resurrection had been accomplished, but the discovery of it required the disciples’ seeking in love toward the Lord. It was thus that Mary the Magdalene discovered it and obtained the fresh manifestation of the Lord and the revelation of the issue of His resurrection: that His Father is the Father of those who believe into Him, and that those who believe into Him are His brothers (v. 17; see notes 172 and 173). Peter and John only knew of the discovery; Mary obtained the experience. The brothers were satisfied with having faith in the fact of the Lord’s resurrection, but the sister went further and sought the resurrected Lord Himself, i.e., the personal experience of the Lord. The Lord was there all the time, but He was not manifested until v. 16.
Joh 20:51 linen
All the things that were cast off from the Lord’s resurrected body and left in His tomb signify the old creation, which He wore into the tomb. He was crucified with the old creation and buried with it. But He rose from within it, leaving it in the tomb and becoming the firstfruits of the new creation. All the things left in the tomb were a testimony to the Lord’s resurrection. If these things had not been left there in good order, it would have been difficult for Peter and John to believe (v. 8) that the Lord had not been taken away by someone but had risen by Himself. These things had been offered to the Lord and wrapped around Him by His two disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus (19:38-42). What they had done toward the Lord in their love to Him became very useful in the Lord’s testimony. (So for linen cloths in v. 6.)
Joh 20:71 handkerchief
See note 51.
Joh 20:9a Scripture Psa. 16:10; Acts 2:25-31; Psa. 2:7; Acts 13:33-37
Joh 20:91b rise 1 Cor. 15:4, 20, 23; Rom. 1:4; Acts 13:33
The Lord is not only life but also resurrection (11:25). Hence, death cannot hold Him (Acts 2:24). He went into death of His own accord to accomplish His work. When He finished His mission, He came out of death and rose up from it.
Joh 20:111 weeping
Lit., wailing; so in vv. 13, 15.
Joh 20:171 ascended
On the day of His resurrection the Lord ascended to the Father. This was a secret ascension, the ultimate fulfillment of the going predicted in 16:7. It occurred forty days prior to His public ascension, which took place before the eyes of the disciples (Acts 1:9-11). On the day of resurrection, early in the morning He ascended to satisfy the Father, and late in the evening He returned to the disciples (v. 19). The freshness of His resurrection must be first for the Father’s enjoyment, as in the type the firstfruits of the harvest were brought first to God.
Joh 20:172a brothers Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10-12
Previously, the most intimate term the Lord had used in reference to His disciples was “friends” (15:14-15). But after His resurrection He began to call them “brothers,” for through His resurrection His disciples were regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3) with the divine life, which had been released by His life-imparting death, as indicated in 12:24. He was the one grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died and grew up to bring forth many grains for the producing of the one bread, which is His Body (1 Cor. 10:17). He was the Father’s only Son, the Father’s individual expression. Through His death and resurrection the Father’s only begotten became the Firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). His many brothers are the many sons of God and are the church (Heb. 2:10-12), a corporate expression of God the Father in the Son. This is God’s ultimate intention. The many brothers are the propagation of the Father’s life and the multiplication of the Son in the divine life. Hence, in the Lord’s resurrection God’s eternal purpose is fulfilled.
Joh 20:17b ascend John 16:7
Joh 20:173 Father
Through His life-imparting death and resurrection, the Lord made His disciples one with Him. Therefore, His Father is the Father of His disciples, and His God is the God of His disciples. In His resurrection they have the Father’s life and God’s divine nature, just as He has. In making them His brothers, He has imparted the Father’s life and God’s divine nature into them. By making His Father and His God theirs, He has brought them into His position—the position of the Son—before the Father and God. Thus, in life and nature inwardly and in position outwardly they are the same as the Lord, with whom they have been united.
Joh 20:19a When vv. 19-23: Luke 24:36-49
Joh 20:191 disciples
The gathering of the disciples here may be considered the first meeting of the church before Pentecost. This meeting took place to fulfill Psa. 22:22, according to Heb. 2:10-12, so that the Son could declare the Father’s name to His brothers and praise the Father in the church, which is composed of His brothers.
Joh 20:192 came
Though the doors were shut, the Lord came with His resurrected body (Luke 24:37-40; 1 Cor. 15:44) into the room where the disciples were. How could He have entered, having bones and flesh? Our limited mind cannot comprehend it, but it is a fact! We must receive it according to the divine revelation. This was a fulfillment of His promise in 16:16, 19, 22.
Joh 20:19b Peace John 20:21, 26; 14:27; 16:33
Joh 20:201a rejoiced John 16:22
This was a fulfillment of the Lord’s promise in 16:22. Now they rejoiced because they saw the newborn child (16:21), who was the resurrected Lord, born in His resurrection as the Son of God (Acts 13:33). The Lord fulfilled His promise and came back to His disciples, bringing them five blessings: (1) His presence, (2) His peace, (3) His sending, His commission (v. 21), (4) the Holy Spirit (v. 22), and (5) His authority, with which they could represent Him (v. 23).
Joh 20:20b seeing John 14:19; 16:16, 19
Joh 20:21a Peace John 20:19
Joh 20:211 sent
See note 61 in ch. 1.
Joh 20:212b send John 17:18
The Lord sent His disciples with Himself as life and everything to them. (See note 181 in ch. 17.) This is why, immediately after He said, “I also send you,” He breathed the Holy Spirit into them. By His breathing into them He entered as the Spirit into the disciples to abide in them forever (14:16-17). Hence, wherever His disciples were sent, He was always with them. He was one with them.
Joh 20:22a breathed cf. Gen. 2:7; Ezek. 37:5, 9
Joh 20:22b Receive John 7:39
Joh 20:221c Spirit John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13
[ par. 1 2 3 4 ]
Joh 20:221 [1] This was the Spirit expected in 7:39 and promised in 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; and 16:7-8, 13. Hence, the Lord’s breathing of the Holy Spirit into the disciples was the fulfillment of His promise of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. This fulfillment differs from the one in Acts 2:1-4, which was the fulfillment of the Father’s promise in Luke 24:49. (See note 171 in ch. 14.) In Acts 2 the Spirit as a rushing, violent wind came as power upon the disciples for their work (Acts 1:8). Here the Spirit as breath was breathed as life into the disciples for their life. By breathing the Spirit into the disciples, the Lord imparted Himself into them as life and everything. Thus, all that He had spoken in chs. 14—16 could be fulfilled.
Joh 20:221 [2] As falling into the ground to die and growing out of the ground transform the grain of wheat into another form, one that is new and living, so the death and resurrection of the Lord transfigured Him from the flesh into the Spirit. As the last Adam in the flesh, through the process of death and resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). As He is the embodiment of the Father, so the Spirit is the realization, the reality, of Him. It is as the Spirit that He was breathed into the disciples. It is as the Spirit that He is received into His believers and flows out of them as rivers of living water (7:38-39). It is as the Spirit that through His death and resurrection He came back to the disciples, entered into them as their Comforter, and began to abide in them (14:16-17). It is as the Spirit that He can live in the disciples and enable them to live by and with Him (14:19). It is as the Spirit that He can abide in the disciples and enable them to abide in Him (14:20; 15:4-5). It is as the Spirit that He can come with the Father to His lover and make an abode with him (14:23). It is as the Spirit that He can cause all that He is and has to be fully realized by the disciples (16:13-16). It is as the Spirit that He came to meet with His brothers as the church to declare the Father’s name to them and to praise the Father in their midst (Heb. 2:11-12). It is as the Spirit that He can send His disciples for His commission, with Himself as life and everything to them, in the same way that the Father sent Him (v. 21). They are thus qualified to represent Him with His authority in the fellowship of His Body (v. 23) for the carrying out of His commission.
Joh 20:221 [3] The Lord was the Word, and the Word is the eternal God (1:1). For the accomplishing of God’s eternal purpose, He took two steps. First, He took the step of incarnation to become a man in the flesh (1:14), to be the Lamb of God to accomplish redemption for man (1:29), to declare God to man (1:18), and to manifest the Father to His believers (14:9-11). Second, He took the step of death and resurrection to be transfigured into the Spirit that He might impart Himself into His believers as their life and their everything, and that He might bring forth many sons of God, His many brothers, for the building of His Body, the church, the habitation of God, to express the Triune God for eternity. Hence, originally He was the eternal Word; then, through His incarnation He became flesh to accomplish God’s redemption, and through His death and resurrection He became the Spirit to be everything and do everything for the completion of God’s building.
Joh 20:221 [4] This Gospel testifies that the Lord is (1) God (1:1-2; 5:17-18; 10:30-33; 14:9-11; 20:28), (2) the life (1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6), and (3) the resurrection (11:25). Chapters 1—17 prove that He is God among men. Men are in contrast to Him as God. Chapters 18—19 prove that He is life in the environment of death. Death, or the environment of death, is in contrast to Him as life. Chapters 20—21 prove that He is the resurrection in the midst of the old creation, the natural life. The old creation, the natural life, is in contrast to Him as the resurrection, of which the Spirit is the reality. As the resurrection, He can be realized only in the Spirit. Hence, eventually He is the Spirit in resurrection. He is God among men (chs. 1—17), He is life in death (chs. 18—19), and He is the Spirit in resurrection (chs. 20—21).
Joh 20:23a Whose cf. Matt. 18:18
Joh 20:241 Didymus
I.e., Twin.
Joh 20:242 was
After His resurrection the Lord came to meet with His disciples, beginning from the evening of this first day. Thus, in the Lord’s resurrection the matter of meeting with the saints is crucial. Mary the Magdalene met the Lord personally in the morning and obtained the blessing (vv. 16-18), but she still needed to be in the meeting with the saints in the evening to meet the Lord in a corporate way to obtain more and greater blessings (vv. 19-23). Thomas missed the first meeting that the Lord held with His disciples after His resurrection, and he missed all the blessings as well. However, he compensated for it by attending the second meeting (vv. 25-28).
Joh 20:25a Lord John 20:28; 21:7
Joh 20:261 after
This was on the second first day of the week, the second Lord’s Day after the Lord’s resurrection.
Joh 20:26a eight cf. John 20:1, 19
Joh 20:262 disciples
The gathering of the disciples here may be considered the second meeting of the church held with the Lord’s presence before Pentecost.
Joh 20:263 came
After the Lord came in v. 19, eight days before, there is no plain word or hint in John’s record that the Lord left the disciples. Actually, He stayed with them, though they were not conscious of His presence. Hence, His coming in v. 26 was actually His manifestation, His appearing (see note 12 in ch. 21). Before His death the Lord was in the flesh, and His presence was visible. After His resurrection the Lord became the Spirit, and His presence was invisible. His manifestations, or appearings, after His resurrection were to train the disciples to realize, to enjoy, and to practice His invisible presence, which is more available, prevailing, precious, rich, and real than His visible presence. In His resurrection this dear presence of His was just the Spirit, whom He had breathed into them and who would be with them all the time.
Joh 20:26b Peace John 20:19
Joh 20:28a Lord John 20:25; Acts 2:36; 10:36; Rom. 14:9; 10:12-13; 1 Cor. 12:3; 2 Cor. 4:5; Phil. 2:11
Joh 20:281b God John 1:1; 5:18; 10:33; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:6; 1 John 5:20
This Gospel proves strongly and purposely that the man Jesus is the very God (1:1-2; 5:17-18; 10:30-33; 14:9-11).
Joh 20:30a many John 21:25
Joh 20:311a Christ John 1:41; 4:25, 29; 7:41-42; Matt. 16:16; Luke 2:11
The Christ is the title of the Lord according to His office, His mission. The Son of God is His title according to His person. His person is a matter of God’s life, and His mission is a matter of God’s work. He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God. He works for God by the life of God that man, by believing in Him, may have God’s life to become God’s many sons and work by God’s life to build the corporate Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), thus fulfilling God’s purpose concerning His eternal building.
Joh 20:31b Son John 1:34, 49; 9:35; 10:36; Matt. 16:16; Luke 1:35
Joh 20:31c believing John 3:15, 16, 36
Joh 21:11 After
By the end of ch. 20 the Lord had come back as the Spirit, as the pneumatic Christ, to be with the disciples as everything to them. Therefore, this Gospel might be considered closed there (20:30-31). But how could the disciples make a living? What should they do to carry out His commission? How should they follow Him after His resurrection? What would be their future? This additional chapter is needed that these problems might be dealt with.
Joh 21:12a manifested John 21:14; 14:21; cf. Mark 16:12
This proves that His coming to the disciples in 20:26 was actually a manifestation, for here it is said that He manifested Himself again to the disciples. He was again training them to practice His invisible presence. It was a matter not of His coming but of His manifestation. Whether or not they were conscious of His presence, He was with them all the time. Because of their weakness He sometimes manifested His presence in order to strengthen their faith in Him.
Joh 21:2a Thomas John 11:16
Joh 21:21 Didymus
I.e., Twin.
Joh 21:2c sons Matt. 4:21
Joh 21:31 going
It must have been because of the trial related to their need to make a living that Peter returned to his old occupation, thus backsliding from the Lord’s call (Matt. 4:19-20; Luke 5:3-11).
Joh 21:3a fishing Matt. 4:18
Joh 21:3b got vv. 3-10: cf. Luke 5:3-11
Joh 21:32 nothing
Peter and the sons of Zebedee (John and James) were professional fishermen, the Sea of Tiberias was large and full of fish, and night was the right time for fishing; still, through the entire night they caught nothing. This was a miracle! It must have been that the Lord bade all the fish to stay away from their net.
Joh 21:4a not John 20:14; Luke 24:16
Joh 21:5a Little 1 John 2:13, 18
Joh 21:51b fish Luke 24:41, 42
Fish is not in the Greek text; however, because the Greek word here refers to something prepared for eating, fish is implied.
Joh 21:52 No
When the disciples were in the right position, as in Luke 24:41-43, they had—even in the house—more fish than they needed, so they offered a piece to the Lord. But here they were in a backslidden condition; thus, after fishing the whole night, they had—even on the sea—no fish, not even one piece!
Joh 21:61 abundance
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 21:61 [1] Morning (v. 4) was not the right time for fishing, but when they obeyed the Lord’s word and cast the net, they caught an abundance of fish. This surely was a miracle! It must have been that the Lord bade the fish to come into their net.
Joh 21:61 [2] In Luke 5:3-11 the Lord called Peter by a miracle in fishing. Here He recovered him to His call by another miracle in fishing. He is consistent in His purpose.
Joh 21:7a disciple John 21:20; 13:23
Joh 21:71 was
Or, had on his undergarment only.
Joh 21:81 two
I.e., a little over one hundred yards.
Joh 21:91a fish John 6:9
Here the Lord trained Peter to have faith in Him for his living. Peter and those with him had fished the entire night but had caught nothing. Then, according to the Lord’s word they cast the net, and they caught an abundance of fish. But without these fish, and even on land, where there were no fish, the Lord prepared fish and even bread for the disciples. This too was a miracle! By this the Lord trained them to realize that without His leading, even if they should go to the sea, where the fish were, at night, the right time for fishing, they would catch nothing; but if they followed the Lord’s leading, even on land, where there were no fish, the Lord could provide fish for them. Though they caught many fish according to the Lord’s word, the Lord would not use these fish to feed them. This was a real lesson to Peter. For his living he needed to believe in the Lord, who calls things not being as being (Rom. 4:17).
Joh 21:121 Come
This indicates the Lord’s gracious care for the need of His called ones.
Joh 21:13a took Matt. 14:19; Luke 24:30
Joh 21:131 bread
In the Lord’s provision, bread represents the riches of the land, and fish represent the riches of the sea.
Joh 21:14a third John 20:19, 26
Joh 21:14b raised John 2:22; Acts 2:24; Rom. 4:25; 8:11
Joh 21:151 Simon
Here the Lord was restoring Peter’s love toward Him. Peter did have a heart to love the Lord, but he was too confident in his own strength, his natural strength. His love for the Lord was precious, but his natural strength had to be denied and dealt with. The Lord allowed Peter to fail utterly in denying the Lord to His face three times (18:17, 25, 27), so that his natural strength and his self-confidence could be dealt with. Furthermore, Peter had just taken the lead to backslide from the Lord’s call. His natural confidence in his love toward the Lord also must have been dealt with by this failure; yet he might have been somewhat disappointed. The Lord therefore came to restore his love toward Him, to charge him with the shepherding of His church, and to prepare him for his martyrdom so that he would not follow Him with any confidence in his natural strength.
Joh 21:152 love
The Greek word refers to a higher and nobler love. So for the first love in v. 16.
Joh 21:15a more cf. Matt. 26:33; John 13:37
Joh 21:153 love
The Greek word denotes an intimate love. So for the second love in v. 16, and for all occurrences of love in v. 17.
Joh 21:154b Feed John 21:17
The fruit-bearing in ch. 15 is the outflow of the riches of the inner life. Here, to feed the lambs is to nourish them with the riches of the inner life. To feed others, we need to enjoy the riches of the Lord’s divine life. This requires that we love Him. To believe in the Lord is to receive Him; to love the Lord is to enjoy Him. The Lord came as life and the life supply to us. We need to have faith in Him and love toward Him. This Gospel presents these as the two requirements for us to participate in the Lord.
Joh 21:155 lambs
Lit., little lambs.
Joh 21:161a Shepherd Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2
Shepherding is for the flock (10:14, 16), which is the church (Acts 20:28); hence, it is related to God’s building (Matt. 16:18). Later, Peter in his first Epistle indicated this, saying that growth by feeding on the pure milk of the word is for the building of God’s house (1 Pet. 2:2-5) and charging the elders to shepherd the flock of God (1 Pet. 5:1-4).
Joh 21:162 sheep
Some MSS have, little sheep. So in v. 17.
Joh 21:171 third
Perhaps in questioning Peter three times, the Lord was reminding Peter of how he had denied Him three times.
Joh 21:172a know John 2:25
The first know in this verse refers to the inward, subjective consciousness; the second refers to the outward, objective knowledge. See note 551 in ch. 8.
Joh 21:17b all Heb. 4:13
Joh 21:17c Feed John 21:15
Joh 21:181a walked John 21:3
This may refer to his going fishing in v. 3.
Joh 21:19a signifying cf. John 12:33; 18:32
Joh 21:191b kind 2 Pet. 1:14
Later, Peter referred to this (2 Pet. 1:14). What the Lord wanted here was to prepare Peter to follow Him unto death, not by anything of himself or according to his own will.
Joh 21:19c Follow John 21:22; Matt. 4:19; John 13:36; 12:26
Joh 21:20a disciple John 21:7
Joh 21:20b reclined John 13:23, 25
Joh 21:22a remain 1 Thes. 4:15
Joh 21:221b come 1 Cor. 11:26; Rev. 22:12, 20
[ par. 1 2 ]
Joh 21:221 [1] The Lord was there with the disciples. How then could He say “until I come”? Since He was there, He did not need to come. If He meant that He would leave them and later come back to them, how could He say to them, “Follow Me”? How could they follow Him? The answer to all these questions is related to His invisible presence. In His visible presence He would leave and come back later. But in His invisible presence He would be with them all the time. On one hand, He would be with them, and on the other hand, He would be away from them. So, on one hand, they could follow Him, and on the other hand, they would have to wait for His coming back.
Joh 21:221 [2] After His resurrection the Lord remained with the disciples for forty days (Acts 1:3-4) in order to train them to realize, practice, and live by His invisible presence. In v. 23 the Lord indicated that some of His believers would follow Him unto death, and that some would remain, i.e., live until He comes.
Joh 21:221c follow John 21:19
See note 221.
Joh 21:231 come
The span of what is covered in the last two chapters of this Gospel is broad. It begins with the discovery of the Lord’s resurrection and ends with His coming back. Between these two events are all the matters related to the Christian life during the church age: seeking the Lord with love toward Him; seeing the Lord in resurrection; receiving the revelation of the issue of the Lord’s resurrection—that His Father is our Father and we are His brothers—by experiencing His manifestation; meeting with the believers to enjoy the Lord’s presence; having the Lord breathe the Holy Spirit into us, and being sent by the Lord with His commission and authority to represent Him; learning how to live by faith in the Lord and trust in Him for our daily living; loving the Lord, the natural strength having been dealt with; shepherding the flock for the building of the church; practicing the Lord’s invisible presence, with some following the Lord even unto death to glorify God, not by self-will but according to His leading, and some living until He comes back.
Joh 21:24a testifies John 15:27; 1 John 1:2; Rev. 1:2
Joh 21:251a many John 20:30
[ par. 1 2 3 ]
Joh 21:251 [1] This verse, together with 20:30-31, affirms that this Gospel is the record of selected things that serve the purpose of testifying to the matter of life and building.
Joh 21:251 [2] In note 202, par. 2, in Matt. 28 it is pointed out that the Lord’s ascension is not mentioned in John or Matthew. The reason it is not mentioned is that today, after His resurrection, the Lord is still on the earth to be with His believers, and He will be with them until the end of this age, when He will be manifested in His visible glory (1 Pet. 1:7; 2 Thes. 1:7), that is, when He will come back to the earth in His visible presence (Matt. 16:27) to establish His visible kingdom. The Gospel of Matthew unveils and testifies that today, after His resurrection, the Lord, who is the spiritual King of the invisible kingdom of the heavens, is still on the earth in His Spirit of resurrection to be with the people of the kingdom of the heavens in His invisible presence; hence, Matthew does not mention His leaving the earth to ascend to the heavens. The Gospel of John reveals and testifies that as the Triune God, the Lord became flesh (1:14) to be the Lamb of God (1:29) and, after accomplishing His redemptive death for man, was transfigured in resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) and to enter into those who believe into Him to be their life for eternity, never to be separated from them; hence, it would have been inappropriate for John to mention His going away in ascension.
Joh 21:251 [3] Furthermore, the four Gospels are a full revelation of how the Triune God came to complete Christ, that is, to make Christ complete. The record in the Gospel of John is crucial regarding this matter. It shows us that the completing of Christ, who was anointed and commissioned by God to accomplish God’s eternal will, was carried out by the Triune God becoming flesh in order to be united with man. First, through His death in the flesh He accomplished redemption for man, and then through resurrection He was transfigured to become the Spirit that He might enter into the believers (20:22) to be united with them, that they might be united with the Triune God (17:21). Thus He became Christ, the embodiment of God, and is able to take away men’s sins and enter into men to be their life that they may become the sons of God to be His members, constituting His Body as the full expression of the Triune God. Thus, He is in them to be all their reality and to be with them invisibly until their bodies are redeemed and transfigured that they may enter into His visible presence to be completely united with Him and completely like Him, and to become the New Jerusalem, which is about to be completed, as the mutual habitation of the Triune God and His redeemed people for eternity!