John 12:1a| Passover| Lev. 23:5;| Exo. 12:3, 6
John 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).
John 12:1c| whom| John 11:43-44
John 12:2a| Martha| Luke 10:38, 40
John 12:3a| Mary| John 11:2
John 12:31| pound
| A unit of weight at that time, about twelve ounces.
John 12:32| house
| This was the house of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3).
John 12:4a| Judas| John 6:71;| 13:21, 26
John 12:51| denarii
| See note 71 in ch. 6.
John 12:6a| holding| John 13:29
John 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.
John 12:8a| For| Deut. 15:11
John 12:9a| whom| John 11:43;| 12:1, 17
John 12:11a| many| John 11:45
John 12:12a| the| vv. 12-15: Matt. 21:4-9;| Mark 11:7-10
John 12:12b| feast| Deut. 16:16
John 12:131| Hosanna
| A Hebrew expression meaning do save, we pray (Psa. 118:25).
John 12:13a| Blessed| Psa. 118:26
John 12:13b| King| John 1:49
John 12:15a| Fear| Zech. 9:9
John 12:16a| glorified| John 7:39
John 12:16b| remembered| John 14:26
John 12:20a| worship| Acts 8:27
John 12:21a| Philip| John 1:43-46
John 12:23a| hour| John 2:4;| 7:30;| 13:1
John 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.
John 12:24a| Unless| 1|Cor. 15:36
John 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.
John 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.
John 12:25a| He| Matt. 10:39
John 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.
John 12:25c| hates| Luke 14:26
John 12:252| eternal
| See note 151 in ch. 3.
John 12:27a| My| Matt. 26:38
John 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.
John 12:27b| save| cf. Matt. 26:39
John 12:27c| hour| John 7:8;| 13:1
John 12:272| this
| This refers to the glorifying of the Father’s name in the next verse.
John 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.
John 12:28b| voice| Matt. 3:17;| 17:5
John 12:29a| An| Acts 23:9
John 12:301| come
| Lit., happened.
John 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.
John 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.
John 12:31b| ruler| John 14:30;| 16:11;| Eph. 2:2
John 12:321a| lifted| John 3:14;| 8:28
| [ par. 1 2 ]
John 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.
John 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.
John 12:32b| draw| John 6:44
John 12:32c| all| cf. John 12:24
John 12:33a| signifying| John 18:32
John 12:34a| Christ| Psa. 110:4;| Isa. 9:7
John 12:35a| still| John 7:33
John 12:35b| overcome| John 1:5
John 12:35c| walks| John 8:12;| 1|John 2:11
John 12:36a| light| John 8:12;| 9:5;| 12:46
John 12:36b| sons| Eph. 5:8
John 12:36c| was| John 8:59
John 12:38a| Lord| Isa. 53:1
John 12:381| arm
| The arm of the Lord is the Lord Jesus Himself.
John 12:40a| He| Isa. 6:10
John 12:401| blinded
| These two, blindness and the hardening of the heart, are related; they are a punishment to the unbelieving ones.
John 12:41a| saw| Isa. 6:1
John 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).
John 12:42a| so| John 7:13
John 12:42b| put| John 9:22
John 12:43a| glory| John 5:44
John 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).
John 12:44a| into| John 5:24
John 12:45a| beholds| John 14:9
John 12:46a| light| John 12:36;| 1:4;| 8:12;| 9:5
John 12:471| words
| See note 633 in ch. 6; so in the next verse.
John 12:47a| judge| John 3:17
John 12:48a| word| Deut. 18:18-19
John 12:49a| given| John 17:8
John 12:501| eternal
| See note 151 in ch. 3.
John 12:50a| as| John 8:28