Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
IMPORTANT: All Scripture text has context and background. Scripture should never be read literally or in isolation. Always seek clarification from religious scholars and teachers. In general, Scripture adheres to four principles: (1) Literal Meaning - What the Scripture says (2) Historical Setting - The story events; how the Scripture was understood in its time (3) Grammar - The surrounding sentence and paragraph; textual context (4) Synthesis - A comparison with similar Scripture to give a better contextual understanding
In Exodus 3:14, John 6:20, John 8:24, John 8:58, Mark 6:50, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8, Matthew 14:27 and Acts 26:29 Jesus claims I AM (Ego Eimi) God - John Schoenheit (BiblicalUnitarian)
In Genesis 28:12, Jacob visioned a ladder from Man to God. John wrote Jesus was 'that ladder'. Most of John's characters are mystical and Literary, not Historical persons - John Spong
From Isaiah 60:3, Matthew copies the Christmas Story. Baby Jesus born to Joseph, a fatherly figure invented to reconcile warring Jewish tribes - John Spong
John's Gospel parallels Gnostic-Pagan-Hermetic ideas (dualism, oneness/son of God, trinity, Father etc.) to promote his Jewish-Christianity - Kegan Chandler