John 20:30

John 20:30 is the thirtieth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament. It contains the statement of purpose for the whole gospel.[1]

John 20:30
← 20:29 20:31 →
A Syriac Christian rendition of St. John the Evangelist, from the Rabbula Gospels.
Book	Gospel of John
Christian Bible part	New Testament

Content

The text in Koine Greek, according to the Textus Receptus, reads:[2]

Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐνώπιον τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ·

In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

The modern World English Bible translates the passage as:

Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub John 20:30

Analysis

This verse and the following form a first epilogue of what he calls "this book".[3] The record in this gospel is clearly selective for leading to a specific kind of faith in Jesus.[1] Udo Schnelle notes that "the book" form provides 'the accountability and the dependability of what had happened'[4]

These two verses are linked to what precedes with the particles men oun ("therefore"), such that 'those who have not seen the risen Christ and yet believed are blessed; therefore this book has been composed, to the end that you may believe'.[5] The particle men is then paired with 'de' in verse 31 to frame the idea from the two verses, such that on the one hand many more signs of Jesus could not be reported, but on the other 'these have been committed to writing so that you may believe'.[5]

The word 'sign' becomes the key to understand the risen Christ's appearances and their link with the 'signs' witnessed during Christ's public life.[3] Schnelle notes "if the pre-Easter Jesus was able sēmeia poiein ("to do signs"), so after Easter these deeds can only be proclaimed and experienced as sēmeia gegrammens ("written signs")".[4]

References

1. Guthrie 1994, p. 1064.
2. Greek Text Analysis: John 20:30. Biblehub
3. Kieffer 2007, p. 998.
4. Schnelle, Udo, Johannes, p. 312; apud Bruner 2012, p. 1194
5. Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel According to John. Pillar New Testament commentary (reprint ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 660–661. ISBN 9780851117492.

Sources

• Bruner, Frederick Dale (2012). The Gospel of John: A Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802866356.
• Guthrie, Donald (1994). "John". In Carson, D. A.; France, R. T.; Motyer, J. A.; Wenham, G. J. (eds.). New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (4, illustrated, reprint, revised ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 1021–1065. ISBN 9780851106489.
• Kieffer, René (2007). "60. John". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 960–1000. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.

External links

• Jesus Appears to His Disciples