1. The timing of the events of the final week of the life of Christ is a source of some confusion and consternation among interpreters of Scripture.
2. The problems are largely confined to conflicts between the synoptics and the Gospel of John.
3. Some take John to be correct and the synoptic parallels as incorrect, while some assume the opposite.
4. With the view that Scripture is inerrant (free from error or mistake), the adjusted interpreter must seek to harmonize what are often apparently contradictory statements or events.
5. The real issue that arises is that if historical events, such as times, dates and places, are not correct, how can one rest their faith on documents that are full of errors and inconsistencies.
6. The fact is that one cannot be reasonably expected to trust the Bible on matters such as the destiny of the soul, if other more simple and historical matters are unbelievable.
7. The problems that exist center on the day of the week that Jesus was crucified and an accounting of 3 days and nights before His resurrection on Sunday. Mat.12:40
8. Obviously the dating of His crucifixion impacts the days in view of John 12 to include His arrival to Bethany (vs.1), His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (vss.12ff), as well as later in the gospel on the immediate day of crucifixion called the day of preparation (19:14,31,42).
9. The 3 distinct views proposed for His crucifixion are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
10. What all views hold in common is that Christ was resurrected Sunday (the beginning of the Jewish week), and that typology points to the fact that He was to be crucified on Nisan 14^th and the triumphal entry occurred Nisan 10^th. Exo.12:2-3 cp. vs.6-8
11. The Wednesday view is the weakest of all views to include:

1. Its primary foundation of argument is based only on the one verse of Mat.12:40.
2. This argument presumes that Christ must have been in the tomb exactly 72 hours.
3. They also argue that too many events occurred from the time of Jesus’ death until burial to fall within a strict 3-hour time frame from 3PM to 6PM. Scroggie lists 20
4. This view disregards the aspect of Jesus possibly speaking in idiomatic terms and ignores the fact that Jews counted any part of a day as a whole day and night.
5. That many events did occur between Christ’s death and burial is easily explained by allowing the aspect of various situations involving more than one person being accomplished during the same time frame.
6. This view places Christ’s resurrection occurring on the 4^th day after crucifixion (crucified Wed. – resurrected Sun.).
7. This view places the triumphal entry on Saturday or the Sabbath producing actual violations of the Law, such as working an animal (Jesus riding the donkey). Cp. Deu.5:14

1. The Thursday view is more tangible but still with its problems:

1. It too demands that a literal 72 hours be in view in Mat.12:40.
2. They cite that the typology is OK with the triumphal entry on Sunday, Nisan 10, and the lamb slain on Thursday, Nisan 14.
3. However, this is equally true for a Friday crucifixion and Monday triumphal entry.
4. They say that two Sabbaths occurred, Passover (Friday) and the regular Sabbath (Saturday), based on the plural use of the term Sabbath in Mat.28:1.
5. However, the term Sabbath is frequently used (1/3 of all NT usage’s) in the plural when only one day is in view. Cp. Mat.12:1 (pl. use), 2 (sing. use), 5 (both pl. and sing. use), 10 (pl. use), and all have basically one day in view.
6. It rejects the argument that this particular Passover landed on a weekly Sabbath and thus called a "high Sabbath" by John. Joh.19:31

1. The Friday view:

1. When one reads the gospels it gives the distinct impression that Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb on the day of preparation before the Sabbath. Mat.27:62; Mar.15:42; Luk.23:54; Joh.19:31
2. The women went home and rested according to the Sabbath command. Luk.23:56
3. They returned early on the first day of the week, Sunday, and went to the tomb, which was empty. Mat.28:1; Mar.16:2; Luk.24:1; Joh.20:1
4. The same day He arose from the grave, Jesus walked and talked with some disciples on the Emmaus road, and they told Him that it is the third day since the crucifixion. Luk.24:13-21
5. This view fulfills OT typology without any complications.
6. This view has been the common consensus of the Church fathers and is the predominate view accepted by most Biblical scholars today.
7. This view recognizes that the most frequent references to Jesus’ resurrection is that it occurred on the 3^rd day, not the 4^th. Mat.16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Luk.9:22; 18:33; 24:7,21,46; Joh.2:19-22; Act.10:40; 1Cor.15:4
8. This view accounts for literary freedom of the authors to express views with their own literary style or from their perspective, such as statements that Jesus was raised "after 3 days" (Mat.27:63; Mar.8:31), "3 days later" (Mar.9:31:10:34) and "on the 3^rd day" (Mat.16:21; 17:23; 20:19), which all phrases are equivalent meaning "extending to the 3^rd day".
9. This acknowledgment of literary style also acknowledges that the Jews considered any portion of a day could be considered and referred to as a "full day and night". Gen.42:17 cp. vs.18; 1Kgs.20:29; 2Chr.10:5 cp. vs.12; Esther 4:16 cp. 5:1 Rabbinic literature also agrees with this concept. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah c.100AD, 10^th of direct descent from Ezra, stated, "A day and night are an onah (a portion of time) and the portion of an onah is as the whole of it".
10. That 3 days is the maximum amount of time that Jesus could have remained in the tomb is made clear in Mat.27:63-64 when the Pharisees only request security at the tomb for 3 days.
11. Hence, Jesus’ statement of "3 days and 3 nights" of Mat.12:40 is idiomatic and considers the portion of Friday and Sunday as 2 of the 3 days.

1. The remaining problem between the Synoptics and John is the chronological recording of the Last Supper.
2. While all the Gospels state that Jesus ate the Last Supper the day before His crucifixion (Mat.26:20; Mar.14:17; Luk.22:14; Joh.13:2), the Synoptics say that the Supper occurred "on the 1^st day of Unleavened Bread", denoting that the meal that evening, after they sacrificed the Paschal Lamb, was considered Passover. Mat.26:17; Mar.14:12; Luk.22:7-8
3. However, John states that the Jews that took Jesus to the Praetorium did not enter it "in order that they might not be defiled but might eat the Passover" (Joh.18:28) and that the trial and crucifixion was on the "day of preparation for the Passover" (Joh.19:14), implying the 1^st day of Unleavened Bread had yet to occur.
4. Hence, while the Synoptics infer that the Last Supper was on the actual day of Passover (Nisan 14^th), John infers that it was on the day before (Nisan 13^th ).
5. This seeming contradiction is resolved by noting the following:

1. We reckon the beginning and ending of a day as being from midnight to midnight.
2. The Roman system reckoned a day from sunrise to sunrise, or approximately 6AM to 6AM.
3. It is know in Jewish history that they were free to reckon a day as being from sunset to sunset or approximately 6PM to 6PM. Exo.12:18

1. The conflict is resolved when one realizes that the some of the Northern Jews (Galileans) adhered to Roman time in the observances, while the Southern Jews (Judeans), adhered to the Jewish tradition of evening to evening.
2. The Passover Lamb was slain between 3-5 PM (Nisan 14^th) and eaten the evening of Passover, and the next day began the Feast of Unleavened Bread, celebrated for 7 days. Exo.12:15ff; Lev.23:5-8; Num.28:16-17
3. Hence, Nisan 14^th and Passover could have began at sunrise Thursday or sunset Thursday, depending on which system one adhered to.
4. Jesus could have legitimately observed the Passover meal Thursday evening according to the observance of time per the Galileans and be crucified Friday under Judean time, and still be in total compliance with the Law in ritual and reality.
5. It is obvious that the Sadducees did not consider Nisan 14^th to begin until 6PM Thursday and waited until the following afternoon and evening to prepare their meal and observe the feast, and this is John’s frame of reference.
6. Though the sacrifice of the lamb would have occurred on Nisan 14^th, the Passover meal under Judean time, did not begin until the Sabbath, the first day of Holy convocation and hence the "High Sabbath" referred to by John.
7. The Synoptics relate the crucifixion and Passover under Roman time and considered Thursday as the day of Nisan 14^th, and hence the Last Supper that evening would be considered as occurring on the 1^st day of unleavened bread, with Friday beginning the 1^st day of the actual Feast of Unleavened Bread.
8. The apparently contradictory passages are thus resolved. Mat.26:17-19; Mar.14:12-16; Luk.22:7-15; Joh.13:1; 18:28; 19:14
9. Highlights of the chronology of the final week are outlined as followed: (Following Harold Hoehner’s "Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ")

1. The non-deviating dates demanded by the typology of Scripture is that Passover occurred on Nisan 14^th/Apr.3^rd and the triumphal entry occurred on Nisan 10^th/Mar.30^th.
2. Following John’s accounting that Passover fell on Friday, the six days before the Passover of Joh.12:1 occurred the previous Saturday, Nisan 8^th/Mar.28^th.
3. It was that Saturday evening that Jesus enjoyed a private supper with Lazarus, family and disciples at Simon the Leper’s house and was anointed by Mary. Joh.12:1-8; Mat.26:6-13; Mar.12:1-8
4. News was spread of this gathering and a great multitude came to see Jesus and Lazarus. Joh.12:9-11
5. The next conflict of timing is John’s statement "On the next day" in Joh.12:12, which obviously is the day of the Triumphal entry. Joh.12:12-19 cp. Mat.21:1-9; Mar.11:1-10; Luk.19:28-40
6. Some commentaries conclude that John is precise here and that the entry into Jerusalem occurred on the very next day or Sunday.
7. However, this conflicts with the typology requiring the Triumphal entry to fall on Nisan 10^th , which would be that Monday.
8. John does not attempt to establish a day by day chronology of the final week in the remainder of the Gospel (this is the final use of the phrase "On the next day" in John).
9. Rather than being chronologically precise denoting a day by day account, he is simply advancing the narrative contextually emphasizing the importance of the day in view, i.e., that being the Triumphal entry.
10. This rendering leaves logical time for a multitude of people to find out that Jesus was at Bethany and therefore the gathering of the multitude and events of Joh.12:9-11 occurred Sunday, the day after the supper at Simon’s house.
11. John’s entry of chronology at hand focuses on three distinct days in a quick orientation for the reader simply to fill in the gap of the final week of Jesus’ ministry:

1. Orientation to the beginning of the final week six days before crucifixion. Joh.12:1
2. The Triumphal entry. Joh.12:12
3. The conclusion of Jesus final approximately 24 hours of life beginning immediately before Passover Friday and during the course of the Last Supper. Joh.13:1-2

1. On Monday of the Triumphal entry, certain Greeks sought audience with Jesus and the Father provides an audible witness on behalf of Christ (Joh.12:20-36); Jesus visits the temple (Mar.11:11) and then returns to Bethany.
2. On Tuesday, on the way back to Jerusalem Jesus cursed the fig tree (Mat.21:18-19; Mar.11:12-14), re-cleansed the temple (Mat.21:12-13; Mar.11:15-17; Luk.19:45-46) and presumably returned back to Bethany, since He is seen again on His way to Jerusalem on Wednesday.
3. On Wednesday, the disciples saw the withered fig tree on the road into Jerusalem (Mat.21:20-22; Mar.11:20-26), Jesus had a day of controversy with the religious leaders (Mat.21:23-23:39; Mar.11:26-12:44; Luk.20:1-21:4) and delivered the Olivet discourse (Mat.24:1-25:46; Mar.13:1-37; Luk.21:5-36). Two additional things occurred on this day:

1. Jesus predicted that in two days He would be crucified at the time of the Passover. Mat.26:1-5; Mar.14:1-2; Luk.22:1-2
2. Judas planned the betrayal of Christ with the religious leaders. Mat.26:14-16; Mar.14:10-11; Luk.22:3-6

1. Thursday Jesus had His disciples prepare the Passover lamb and ate the Last Supper (Mat.26:17-30; Mar.14:12-26; Luk.22:7-30), He went to the Garden of Gethsemane (Mat.26:36-46; Mar.14:32-42; Luk.22:39-46; Joh.18:1), late that night Jesus was betrayed and arrested (Mat.26:47-56; Mark.14:43-52: Luk.22:47-53; Joh.18:2-12), and tried by Annas and Caiaphas (Mat.26:57-75; Mar.14:53-72; Luk.22:54-65; Joh.18:13-27).
2. Early Friday morning, Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod Antipas, and Pilate again (Mat.27:1-30; Mar.15:1-19; Luk.22:66-23:25; Joh.18:28-19:16) and led to the cross, crucified and buried later that day (Mat27:31-60; Mar.15:20-46; Luk.23:26-54; Joh.19:16-42).
3. Saturday Jesus remained in the tomb and the Pharisees secured Roman guards to keep watch of the tomb. Mat.27-61-66; Mar.15:47; Luk.23:55-56
4. Christ was resurrected early Sunday morning. Mat.28:1-15; Mar.16:1-13; Luk.24:1-35
5. The narrative of Joh.12:37-50 has no specific placement of any given day and rather evolves around a concluding analysis by John regarding the –V of the Jews as substantiated by Jesus’ teaching during the remaining course of the week.
6. Again, Joh.13:1ff advances John’s chronology from the triumphal entry of Monday of 12:12ff to the Passover meal Thursday.

GNT John 12:1 ~O ou=n VIhsou/j pro. e]x h`merw/n tou/ pa,sca h=lqen eivj Bhqani,an( o[pou h=n La,zaroj( o]n h;geiren evk nekrw/n VIhsou/jÅ

NAS John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany ~O VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) e[x (card. adj./Ablf-p; "six") h`merw/n h`me,ra (n-Ablf-p) pro, (pAbl; "before") tou/ to, pa,sca (d.a. + n-gn-s; "the Passover") h=lqen e;rcomai (viaa--3s) eivj (pa) Bhqani,an( Bhqani,a (n-af-s) where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. o[pou (conj. intro. relative clause; "where/in which place") La,zaroj( (n-nm-s) h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s) o]n o[j (rel. pro./am-s; ref. Lazarus) VIhsou/jÅ (n-nm-s) h;geiren evgei,rw (viaa--3s; "caused to be awaked/raised back to life") evk (pAbl) nekrw/n nekro,j (ap-Ablm-p)

GNT John 12:2 evpoi,hsan ou=n auvtw/| dei/pnon evkei/( kai. h` Ma,rqa dihko,nei( o` de. La,zaroj ei-j h=n evk tw/n avnakeime,nwn su.n auvtw/|Å

NAS John 12:2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; ou=n (infer. conj.) evpoi,hsan poie,w (viaa--3p) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) dei/pnon (n-an-s; "a supper/dinner/main evening meal"; used 16x) evkei/( (adv.; "there/in that place") kai, (cc) h` Ma,rqa (d.a. + n-nf-s) dihko,nei( diakone,w (viIPFa--3s; "was serving/ to act as a servant/attending to/hostessing/waiting upon"; used 37x; this word comes to be applied to the function and office of deacons, cp. Act.6:2; 1Tim.3:10,13) but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. de, (cc; "now/but") o` La,zaroj (d.a. + n-nm-s) h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s) ei-j (card. adj./nm-s; "one") evk (pAbl) tw/n o` avnakeime,nwn avna,keimai (adj. ptc./p/d/Ablm-p; "those reclining/seated in a prone posture, esp. at a table"; used 14x) "at the table" supplied su,n (pI) auvtw/|Å auvto,j (npIm3s)

GNT John 12:3 h` ou=n Maria.m labou/sa li,tran mu,rou na,rdou pistikh/j poluti,mou h;leiyen tou.j po,daj tou/ VIhsou/ kai. evxe,maxen tai/j qrixi.n auvth/j tou.j po,daj auvtou/\ h` de. oivki,a evplhrw,qh evk th/j ovsmh/j tou/ mu,rouÅ

NAS John 12:3 Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, h` Maria.m Mari,a (d.a. + n-nf-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) labou/sa lamba,nw (circ. ptc./a/a/nf-s; "after having taken") li,tran li,tra (n-af-s; "a Roman pound"; 12 ounces or approx. 325 grams; used 2x) poluti,mou polu,timoj (a--gf-s; "verycostly/ very valuable"; used 3x) mu,rou mu,ron (n-gn-s; "perfume/ointment"; same as 11:2) pistikh/j pistiko,j (a--gf-s; "pure/genuine/ trustworthy/unadulterated/uncut"; used 2x) na,rdou na,rdoj (n-gf-s; "nard/spikenard"; a plant native to India in which from its roots is extracted this very fragrant and pungent oil/juice; used 2x) and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; h;leiyen avlei,fw (viaa--3s; "had anointed/rubbed or smeared"; same as 11:2) tou.j o` po,daj pou,j (d.a. + n-am-p) tou/ o` VIhsou/ VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-gm-s) kai, (cc) evxe,maxen evkma,ssw (viaa--3s; "wiped off or dry"; used 5x) auvtou/\ auvto,j (npgm3s) tou.j o` po,daj pou,j (d.a. + n-am-p) auvth/j auvto,j (npgf3s) tai/j h` qrixi.n qri,x (d.a. + n-If-p; "with the hair"; used 15x or human or animal hair, depending on context) and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. de, (cc; "now/and") h` oivki,a (d.a. + n-nf-s; "the house") evplhrw,qh plhro,w (viap--3s; "was filled completely/pervaded/permeated") evk (pAbl; "with/from") th/j h` ovsmh/j ovsmh, (d.a. + n-gf-s; "the fragrance/aroma/odor/smell"; used for good or bad smells depending on context; used 6x) tou/ to, mu,rouÅ mu,ron (d.a. + n-gn-s; "the perfume/ointment")

1. John again advances the narrative to Saturday, March 28^th, 33AD, six days before the Passover.
2. Chapter 12 contains the final public acts of Jesus and encompasses the remaining period of His final week up to the Last Supper.
3. This chapter is broke down into five primary sections denoting the following:

1. Christ’s anointing at Bethany. Vss.1-11
2. The Triumphal entry. Vss.12-19
3. The visit of the Greeks and ensuing teaching to the multitude. Vss.20-36
4. A synopsis by John corroborating via prophesy by Isaiah the issue as to why the Jews corporately were –V. Vss.37-43
5. An impassioned call from Jesus Himself to faith in His person. Vss.44-50

1. Chapters 13-17 deal with the private teaching of Jesus to the disciples in the upper room on the eve of His death.
2. Chapters 18-19 deal with the betrayal and the events surrounding the passion.
3. Chapters 20-21 deal with the events concerning the resurrection and those that chose to follow it.
4. In the first event of Jesus’ anointing by Mary, He therefore came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
5. The inferential conjunction "therefore" harks back to the preceding events of Chpt.11, of the events surrounding the miracle of Lazarus’ resuscitation.
6. As will be seen, there is a stark contrast to the spiritual bleakness pictured regarding the events and characters surrounding the miracle itself, especially of the two sisters, Martha and Mary.
7. John skips the intervening 3-4 months of Jesus’ ministry, returning the reader back to Bethany where the miracle had occurred.
8. He does so to conclude the contextual lesson of faith-rest in chpt.11, with an example of the desired results that tests coupled with the revealed evidence of God’s power in deliverance from them, has upon +V believers.
9. A common misconception about this passage is that many assume that this event takes place in the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, but that is not the case.
10. An anointing of Jesus is found in all four of the Gospels. Mat.26:6-13; Mar.14:3-9; Luk.7:36-39; Joh.12:1ff
11. The account in Luke is a separate incident and occurred earlier in Jesus’ ministry.
12. Luke’s account evolves around an invitation from a Pharisee named Simon (Cp. Luk.7:39,40ff) for Jesus to dine with him and an unnamed woman called a "sinner" is involved in that application of anointing.
13. The other two Synoptics are certainly recording an event that happened during the final week of Jesus’ life, though not in strict chronological order as with John, contrasting their account with the betrayal of Judas.
14. It is in Matthew and Mark’s accounts that we find that the scene at hand is actually in the home of one Simon the leper. Mat.26:6; Mar.14:3
15. What is not stated but obviously implied, due to the custom and the Law concerning the ostracizing and separation from lepers, is that Simon is no longer a leper, possibly having been healed previously by Jesus.
16. His descriptive title is simply for the purpose of differentiating him from Simon Peter (Mat.10:2), Simon the Zealot (Mat.10:4), Jesus’ half brother Simon (Mat.13:55), Simon of Cyrene (Mat.27:32) and Simon the Pharisee of the Luk.7:36ff passage.
17. That Lazarus is present indicates that he is still very much alive as well as confirming that this indeed is the very Bethany of Chpt.11.
18. It is obvious that Simon invited Jesus and company to his home with Jesus as the guest of honor and Lazarus occupying a prominent position as the distinguished friend of Jesus.
19. So, in application of honor, they made Him/Jesus a supper there, a common means of gratitude shown to others, even today.
20. John notes the activity of the two sisters first with his inclusion of Martha and the observance of her customary place and form, as she was serving.
21. In contrast to the previous occasion in Luk.10:38ff, Martha is now doing what she does as we would say, "in fellowship", with the right MA and for the right reasons.
22. Rather than applying with a sense of "look at the efforts of my actions" and whining that her applications are unappreciated and she is the only one applying (Luk.10:40), John’s matter of fact statement now simply projects an application of straightforward servitude.
23. Martha has advanced spiritually to the degree that now she understands that Divine love requires an action of service to others without any strings attached and looking to God for the recognition and any return blessings, rather than others.
24. And what better lesson on application of Divine love could one receive than being a direct participant of God’s grace manifested towards her even in a time of doubt and failure, as she reflected at the miracle.
25. It becomes obvious that one area of her lack of faith rest was in the form of relying upon God to provide in time as well as in eternity and acclimating to her niche.
26. That she is now dealing with her STA in this capacity is subtly brought out by John as he contrasts her serving with the mild adversative "de,/but" regarding Lazarus’ position of prominence, which was one of those reclining at the table with Jesus.
27. In contrast to her STA reactions towards Mary in Luke, she now reveals that she is oriented and adjusted to keeping her eyes off of others and on the importance of the needed applications required from herself.
28. The adjustment she has made in her lack of faith rest is the removal of doubt that God is limited in providing only spiritual blessings and promises, but also is totally involved and sensitized to her daily functions and applications in life, no matter what others may be doing.
29. Her near sightedness that others must be physically privy to her applications in order for God to recognize them has been removed.
30. Her spiritual priorities have been adjusted in this area and now intact.
31. That Lazarus is coupled with Jesus in a place of prominence re-emphasizes the spiritual reality of the previous miracle i.e., Jesus is the source of all life.
32. It is this reality that sets the stage for Mary’s application as she therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
33. Mary’s application stands out here as especially noteworthy, so much so that Jesus Himself commends it and points out that it will be remembered in history. Mat.26:13; Mar.14:9
34. It is the Synoptic accounts that again fill in the details and helps the student of God’s word to extract the details of importance that John wishes to emphasize.
35. It is clear that Mary has completely recovered from her spiritual aberration/departure and engages in an act conveying her thankfulness and humility before the Lord.
36. She goes and gets a vial of very expensive perfumed oil, such as was used on special occasions to anoint honored guests.
37. The oil in view was a Roman pound in weight (12 ounces), and was an overabundant amount needed for the anointing of a single person.
38. This is made clear by the synoptic accounts in which the disciples consider the entire use of the vial as a waste. Mat.26:8; Mar.14:4
39. Mary takes all of it demonstrating her mastery of the details of life and her grace generosity to the one that had taught her all good things. Cp. term "Teacher", Joh.11:28 cp. Gal.6:6
40. John expressly points out the great cost implying the personal sacrifice involved, as he details the quality of the ointment.
41. Nard was often diluted during those times and pure nard points out that it was of the absolute uncut best quality.
42. As the parallel accounts record, even the container was of the valuable alabaster stone. Mat.26:7; Mar.14:3
43. While the synoptics (who leave Mary unnamed) record that she anointed Jesus’ head (Mat.26:7; Mar.14:3), John records that she smeared it on his feet.
44. Both were normal places to anoint an honored guest and obviously she anointed both His head and feet.
45. John’s primary purpose for bringing out this aspect of the anointing is to emphasize the humility of Mary’s spiritual demeanor.
46. She assumes a position of humility at His feet and begins to wipe off the ointment with her hair.
47. This particular act was not customary and in fact, a Jewish woman was considered to be of low moral standards if she unbound her hair in public. Cp. the ritual of potential infidelity of the wife in Num.5:1-31 esp. vs.18.
48. The use of her hair as a towel indicates both humility and acquiescence to Christ’s authority in judgment of any spiritual defilement’s/STA activity of her person.
49. It is an act of total submission (1Cor.11:7-9,15) to the Sovereign authority of God and recognition that it is through the Person of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross that all sins will be accounted and paid for.
50. In fact, the synoptics give all indication that Mary is one of the few believers recorded in the Gospels that has fully GAP’d the doctrine of Passion and has accepted the necessity of Christ’s work on the cross. Mat.26:12; Mar.14:8
51. As Martha has learned to get her eyes off of others, Mary has advanced her faith rest of placing her entire trust into Christ with regard to forgiveness of sins.
52. We do not see one that arrogantly has her eyes on self and running under her emotions any longer, but rather a believer that under total humility recognizes her weaknesses and STA activities.
53. She now turns to Christ in complete tribute of thanksgiving for the reality His Person and future work on the cross and the provision of forgiveness of sins in that regard.
54. She reflects an adjusted +V believer that has undergone a gross failure of doubt and sin, but is convinced thoroughly that grace and mercy is available on her behalf through the work of Christ on the cross.
55. Mary does not stop to consider any public reaction to her gift and actions, but unabashedly expresses the gratitude in her soul for her so great Savior and salvation.
56. She in total contrast to her previous "eyes on self" STA actions at the miracle, reflects one with the deepest of appreciation for and total confidence in the Person of Christ for forgiveness for her sins and making spiritual life possible.
57. Her F-R advancement is removal of any doubt that her sins have been covered and mere acknowledgment before God for those sins is all that is necessary. 1Joh.1:9
58. As an eyewitness, John records a fact that one would know if they were present i.e., the fact that the odor permeated the entire house.
59. This is symbolic of the fact that her action and its symbolism would come to be known throughout the world as the gospel was disseminated. Mat.26:13
60. This also demonstrates the way God views spiritual sacrifices that stem from proper orientation and motivation of God’s plan. Eph.5:2; Phi.4:18

GNT John 12:4 le,gei de. VIou,daj o` VIskariw,thj ei-j tw/n maqhtw/n auvtou/( o` me,llwn auvto.n paradido,nai(

NAS John 12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, de, (ch) VIou,daj (n-nm-s; "Judah/Judas") o` VIskariw,thj VIskariw,q (d.a. + n-nm-s; "Iscariot"; ref. from his place of origin, "from Kerioth", a town in southern Judea; the son of Simon from Kerioth cp. Joh.6:71) ei-j (card. adj./nm-s "one") auvtou/( auvto,j (npgm3s) tw/n o` maqhtw/n maqhth,j (d.a. + n-gm-p) o` me,llwn me,llw (d.a. + adj. ptc./p/a/nm-s; "who was intending/ the one about to") paradido,nai( paradi,dwmi (complim. inf./pa-; "to betray/to hand or deliver over into the hands of another") auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s; ref. Jesus) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s)

GNT John 12:5 Dia. ti, tou/to to. mu,ron ouvk evpra,qh triakosi,wn dhnari,wn kai. evdo,qh ptwcoi/jÈ

NAS John 12:5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?" Dia. dia, (pa+) ti, ti,j (+ interr. pro./an-s; "On account of what/Why?") tou/to ou-toj (near dem. pro./nn-s; "this thing"; points to the perfume in view being that of vs.3) to, mu,ron (d.a. + n-nn-s; "perfume/ointment/unguent") ouvk ouv (neg. +) evpra,qh pipra,skw (viap--3s; "sold"; used 9x) triakosi,wn triako,sioi (card. adj./gn-p; "three hundred") dhnari,wn dhna,rion (n-gn-p; "denarii"; Roman silver coin equivalent to a workman's daily wage; same as 6:7) kai, (cc) evdo,qh di,dwmi (viap--3s) ptwcoi/jÈ ptwco,j (ap-dm-p; "poor/destitute/those in real need"; used 34x)

GNT John 12:6 ei=pen de. tou/to ouvc o[ti peri. tw/n ptwcw/n e;melen auvtw/|( avllV o[ti kle,pthj h=n kai. to. glwsso,komon e;cwn ta. ballo,mena evba,stazenÅ

NAS John 12:6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, de, (cs) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) tou/to ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-s) ouvc ouv (neg. +) o[ti (causal conj.) auvtw/|( auvto,j (npdm3s) e;melen me,lei (viIPFa--3s; "was concerned/was caring/was regarding/was worried about"; used 10x) peri, (pg; "concerning") tw/n o` ptwcw/n ptwco,j (d.a. + ap-gm-p; "the poor") avllV avlla, (strong adver.) o[ti (causal conj.) h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s; IPF denotes an ongoing state) kle,pthj (n-nm-s; "a sneak thief") and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. kai, (cc) e;cwn e;cw (circ. ptc. of cause/p/a/nm-s; "because he had") to, glwsso,komon (d.a. + n-an-s; originally used as a case to carry the mouth pieces of wind instruments in and later denotes a case used for other purposes; here used as "the money box"; used 2x) evba,stazenÅ basta,zw (viIPFa--3s; "to lift up/bear or carry/ to take up"; contextually "to pilfer") ta. o` (danp; "the things"; ref. the money +) ballo,mena ba,llw (circ. ptc./p/p/an-p; "being cast/ thrown"; supply "into it")

1. In contrast to the gracious application of Mary in her anointing of Jesus, John now records a reaction antithesis to grace.
2. Along with the disapproval towards Mary recorded here, both Matthew and Mark also make mention of objection in this regard. Mat.26:8-9; Mar.14:4-5
3. The synoptics record that the disciples in general were involved in this verbal remonstrate/protest, but John only records the actions of one Judas Iscariot.
4. His name means "Judah from Kerioth" and evidently is the only one of the disciples that was not a Galilean.
5. John’s purpose for singling out Judas is to imply that he was the first voice of the disciples to make an accusation against Mary’s extravagance.
6. He is identified by three forms in vs.4:

1. Judas Iscariot.
2. One of His disciples.
3. One who was intending to betray Him.

1. John does not include any tirade/denunciation against Judas, by now at the time of writing, knowing that Jesus had selected him and that his presence and actions were used by God to advance His plan.
2. John certainly knows that Judas died an unbeliever, is in hell (Cp. Joh.17:12; "perdition/destruction/avpwleia" is used for "hell", cp. Mat.7:13; Rom.9:22; of the Antichrist 2The.2:3), and any additional defamatory description serves no purpose.
3. The only way he does point out the gravity of his actions is to set side by side the fact that he was one of Jesus’ disciples and he was about to betray Him.
4. A more singular comparison regarding this man would not modify his reputation as any less than noting that he was someone that turned against One that never wronged him and in fact laid His life down for him.
5. And this sacrifice of unconditional Divine love (unlimited atonement) was accomplished even after the fact of his betrayal. Cp. Rom.5:10; 1Joh.4:9-10
6. After the betrayal, the writers of Scripture remember his actions in light of what finally occurred.
7. Hence, he is generally alluded to as the betrayer and his actions are to be viewed in light of this fact.
8. It is Judas, being the primary instigator behind the condemnation, that sets the premise of reasoning for the rebuke as he said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?"
9. The monetary value he places on the ointment is seen to be considered a minimum as Mark states that it might have been sold for over three hundred denarii. Mar.14:5
10. At any case, there is no disagreement among those there that the cost was considered to be exorbitant. Mat.26:9
11. In the parable of the laborers, a denarius is fixed as the amount that was considered fair for a common laborer’s day’s wage. Mat.20:2
12. For a common Jew working 6 days a week, the cost of the perfume would be equivalent to about 11 months salary and in today’s market we are looking probably in excess of $10,000.
13. Judas in his argument presents what most would consider being a totally legitimate alternative for the potential money the perfume could have brought.
14. And that is living grace support for the destitute of society.
15. It is pretty obvious that these initial comments were spoken in low tones to the disciples around him and appealing to their altruistic/philanthropic/charitable bent vacuums them in to his way of thinking.
16. The disciples then get under anger and felt compelled to voice their objections to this apparent waste as they single out and verbally chastise Mary.
17. Their viewpoint is not uncommon as many have a legalistic and human good streak.
18. Such people are especially critical as to how others spend their money and are always judging others spending habits.
19. A close scrutiny of these types will reveal their inconsistencies and own selfishness in spending on those things they deem important such as entertainment, acquiring details in life, hobbies, vacations, giving to satisfy some emotional guilt/trends, etc.
20. People of this sort cannot appreciate sanctified extravagance since they always project how the money could be better spent on some utilitarian/functional or altruistic object.
21. These types will never enter into this level of Divine good.
22. Though we are to apply Divine good to all men, we are first and foremost to direct our applications to those within our own immediate periphery and household of the faith. Gal.6:10; 1Tim.5:8
23. Many, as with the disciples, would consider this excessive application as being bad stewards with that which God has provided.
24. However, as Jesus will make clear, God has no condemnation and honors legitimate applications that go over and beyond the actual need at hand.
25. This is a rebuke to any thinking of believers that our applications are to be strictly limited to the need of another and that giving extravagant gifts to the right objects and under the right circumstances are a waste.
26. This scenario points to the fact that an individual’s giving is to be a private and confidential application and that we are to keep our noses out of other’s financial applications and spending habits in this regard.
27. John then reveals that Judas’ foundation of argument was not due to altruism, but due to a monetary lust bent in vs.6 as he records, "Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it".
28. John reveals that his premise of argument is only a facade and that his real motive and MA in stirring others up was for the purpose of lining his own pockets with money from the sale of the perfume.
29. Throughout this verse, the imperfect tense is used regarding his actions of pilfering denoting that this STA activity was an ongoing part of Judas’ life and not isolated incidents that are "being picked on".
30. He is characterized as a thief/kle,pthj, with the nuance of being a sneak thief.
31. The participle of "he had", with regard to the money box, also denotes that he was the treasurer of the finances for Jesus’ ministry.
32. Since he was the one that was the treasurer for the group, he was the one that had control of the intake and disbursement of all the funds.
33. In essence, Judas is exposed as being an embezzler, feeding on the trust of others.
34. This in no way characterizes the others, though they are certainly out of line at this point.
35. It is the hypocrisy of Judas’ approach that stands out as especially noteworthy for consideration.
36. It is this very mentality of altruism and human viewpoint approach to giving that the disciples reflect that has been the source for swindling of many by unscrupulous STA’s such as Judas’.
37. They prey on those whose lack of understanding and prioritized discernment in giving making them a stooge for their own ill-gotten gain.
38. This mentality, such as "feed the poor" movements, play on peoples emotions and ignorance, while all the time you can be rest assured that those heading successful ventures such as these are living the "good life".
39. You can almost guarantee that in all cases of organizations under the guise of Christianity and other religiosity/humanism such as United Way, Feed the World, Salvation Army, etc., that those that run these entities make sure they have what they want first before any truly needy person every sees a penny of that given.
40. Approaches to giving such as presented are in reality only a form of socialism; the idea that the redistribution of wealth will solve all the problems of poverty in the world.
41. But the reality remains that this approach has never been successful nor ever eliminated poverty at any time in history and only serves to make the richer, richer, and the powerful, more powerful.
42. The reality is that Mary’s gift, or any other, would not have eliminated poverty in Israel, or even probably Bethany.
43. Only those adjusted believers that have their spiritual priorities intact and focused on BD will truly make all applications of their giving honorable before God and be protected from this human good approach.
44. Review Doctrine of Grace Giving.

GNT John 12:7 ei=pen ou=n o` VIhsou/j( :Afej auvth,n( i[na eivj th.n h`me,ran tou/ evntafiasmou/ mou thrh,sh| auvto,\

NAS John 12:7 Jesus therefore said, "Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial. o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) :Afej avfi,hmi (vImp.aa--2s; "to leave/depart/hence: to let alone") auvth,n( auvto,j (npaf3s; ref. Mary) i[na (conj. of purpose) thrh,sh| thre,w (vsaa--3s; "she may keep in view/guard/ observe"; here the sense is to maintain the observance/protect the spiritual implication of her application) auvto,\ auvto,j (npan3s; neuter ref. to the ointment/perfume/to, mu,ron-neuter, singular) eivj (pa; "for/lit. into") th.n h` h`me,ran h`me,ra (d.a. + n-af-s) mou evgw, (npg-1s; ref. Jesus) tou/ o` evntafiasmou/ evntafiasmo,j (d.a. + n-gm-s; "the preparation for burial"; used 2x cp. Mar.14:8)

GNT John 12:8 tou.j ptwcou.j ga.r pa,ntote e;cete meqV e`autw/n( evme. de. ouv pa,ntote e;ceteÅ

NAS John 12:8 "For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me." ga,r (explan. conj.; "For") tou.j o` ptwcou.j ptwco,j (d.a. + ap-am-p; "the poor/destitute") pa,ntote (adv.; "always/at all times") e;cete e;cw (vipa--2p) meqV meta, (pg) e`autw/n( e`autou/ (reflex. pro./gm2p; "yourselves" ) de, (ch) ouv (neg. +) pa,ntote (adv.) e;ceteÅ e;cw (vipa--2p) evme. evgw, (npa-1s; ref. Christ; in the emphatic position in the Grk.)

1. Jesus immediately comes to Mary’s defense and therefore said, "Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial".
2. He in no uncertain terms tells all of those that are carping/sarcastic nagging at her to "Back off".
3. As previously noted, the disciple’s view of her action, while launched by Judas’ quick condemnation was that the use of all of the perfume on Jesus was a waste.
4. Judas was simply greedy, they respond out of misplaced altruism due to their own maladjustment and deranged spiritual priorities.
5. It is quite appropriate for Jesus, as the spiritual authority, to defend those that are attempting to apply doctrine.
6. John’s record of Jesus’ response is the briefest of the parallels that record this incident.
7. Apart from harmonizing with the synoptics, interpretative problems stem from the purpose behind Jesus’ rebuke i.e., "that she may keep it" with the pronoun "it" referring to the vial of perfume.
8. Some have suggested that Mary did not use all of the perfume and Jesus is telling these malcontents to keep their grubby hands off of the remainder of the vial so that she can utilize the rest of it in the preparation of His burial.
9. However, the parallels both make clear that the act of Mary’s anointing for His burial was considered to be beforehand, on this occasion, six days before crucifixion. Mat.26:12; Mar.14:8
10. The synoptics indicate that Mary utilized this entire vial of perfume as she might have in preparation for actual burial.
11. Some also have suggested that she had bought the perfume for the purpose of His burial and out of gratitude for the raising of her brother decides to anoint Jesus now.
12. While this may or may not be true, it in no way detracts from the real emphasis behind her application and it is clear that Mary utilized the entire bottle of perfume now and understands the full spiritual ramifications of her application.
13. And it is the spiritual significance of her pre-burial anointing that is the key as to Jesus comments in our verse.
14. The subjunctive verb, "may keep" denotes the potential objective of "guarding/closely observing", as it relates to the spiritual value of her application with the spikenard.
15. While the others are focused only on the physical value behind what she was doing and its presumable waste of money, Jesus reflects upon the spiritual significance behind Mary’s application.
16. That Mary was anointing Jesus before His burial proclaims with a definite action that she fully understood the necessity of Christ’s work on the cross and His impending death.
17. That she utilized the entire vial of perfume denotes her recognition that there is no cost or value of any material thing that can recompense for the spiritual value as related to Christ’s total selfless and life-giving act of receiving the judgment for the sins of mankind.
18. It is the spiritual value of understanding and accepting this very doctrine that the disciples themselves continue to reject, that Jesus proclaims to be the potential antidote for when the reality of the events of the cross do occur.
19. By passionately guarding her understanding of this doctrine, Mary will not only have a full appreciation for what is occurring, but will reap the true value of acceptance of this doctrine in terms of comfort, encouragement and faith rest, in the face of His crucifixion..
20. In contrast to the disciples that reject this doctrine and run under STA fear and confusion when the time comes (Mat.26:56), because Mary understands its true value, she has the potential to reflect a totally different witness of the life than what previously occurred at her brother’s death.
21. In contrast to the masses of Jesus’ followers and even His disciples, Mary portrays an exception to the spiritual disorientation of these, as one of a handful (?) of believers recorded in the Gospels that has fully GAP’d the necessity of the cross, during Jesus’ ministry.
22. This reflects a summary of Mary’s advancement of faith-rest resulting from the miracle of Lazarus’ resuscitation.
23. Some question as to whether or not Mary did indeed fully grasp the reality of what she had done or whether this festive anointing was only explained by Jesus and put into its proper perspective.
24. However, to think she lacked in understanding in this regard diminishes the honor and accolade Jesus’ placed "in memory of her" as the anointing is remembered in view of the gospel. Mat.26:13; Mar.14:9
25. It is of no question that those that exercise faith in the gospel for salvation do so in recognition of their need for deliverance from their sins. Joh.16:8
26. This in no way is to imply that Mary was not a believer long before, only that as a believer, her appreciation for Christ’s work on the cross has been magnified through the grace deliverance provided at the miracle, in spite of her gross failure at that time.
27. This points to the fact that all believers fail under the STA’s (Ecc.7:20; Jam.3:2), but the adjusted +V believer recognizes their failures and that the continued grace deliverance’s God provides on his/her behalf are designed to increase their grace orientation, appreciation and confidence in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
28. All 3 of the accounts contain Jesus’ statement of vs.8, "For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me". Cp. Mat.26:11; Mar.14:7
29. Jesus has encouraged application toward the poor on any number of occasions, so to impute a lack of concern for them to Him would be to miss His point. Mat.5:3; Mar.10:21; Luk.4:18; 14:13, 21; 16:22
30. It is Mark’s expanded account that gives the true sense of what Jesus is speaking of as he includes the words regarding the poor, "and whenever you wish, you can do them good".
31. The point Jesus is making is that there are certain opportunities for application that are consistently available and in front of us at all times.
32. However, these opportunities are not to preempt opportunities for higher applications towards those that God has provided to be the greater source of benefit to us spiritually.
33. In Mat. and Mar., her action that they call a waste, is identified by Jesus as a "good deed". Mat.26:10; Mar.14:6
34. This extravagance that is being criticized and condemned by others is declared by Christ Himself as an application of Divine good production towards His very Person.
35. In other words, Jesus recognized that the time was right for Him to be the recipient of this extravagant gift and that it was the Father’s will for Him to be blessed through Mary in this regard.
36. Mary on the other hand is seen to be a believer that is now totally adjusted to Jesus’ ministry and is applying with correct understanding, motivation and grace orientation.
37. She recognizes that time is limited and that opportunity to show her appreciation for all that Christ means to her doctrinally is an exceptional occasion of Divine good production to be seized in the moment.
38. Mary is the only believer (that I know of) of whom it is recorded that made any sort of application to this degree towards the Lord during His ministry.
39. She is a perfect example of a believer that has a true appreciation for the realities of BD imparted to her and honoring the One that has taught her these things. Gal.6:6
40. She recognizes that to have the means and special opportunity to apply to her spiritual authority (and obviously her Savior) is a unique door opened for her by God and she does not hesitate to take advantage of it.
41. Furthermore, it cannot be overlooked as to the humility and grace of Jesus as He allowed this application towards Himself.
42. In many cases, it takes as much or more grace to be the recipient of grace giving as it does to provide grace gifts.
43. That Mary’s offering smacks of absolutely no strings attached, is done in FHS and according to the doctrine in her soul, His acceptance is resolute/earnest and without hesitancy.
44. If the will of God is for the believer to be the recipient of some fantastic gift (or any gift) from another or other adjusted believer(s), as appreciation for the doctrinal support/fellowship one has provided, so be it; we are to relax and enjoy what God provides and not run off under some misplaced guilt, even if chastised by other ignorant believers around us.
45. If you related a parallel account of this scenario of giving, in terms of a common day application, removed any inclination that Jesus was the recipient of the gift, it can be guaranteed that there would be those believers that would conclude that the recipient in view is selfish/self-serving and a stumbling block to others that think it would be better to spend the money in another direction.
46. One of the higher applications that believers will make to others, will be those applications of liberality on their part, to other +V that has truly had an impact in one’s own Christian walk. Gal.6:10
47. Jesus’ words that "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done shall also be spoken of in memory of her", has once again been fulfilled in Cleveland, Ohio, 2000AD, some 1967 years later.

GNT John 12:9 :Egnw ou=n o` o;cloj polu.j evk tw/n VIoudai,wn o[ti evkei/ evstin kai. h=lqon ouv dia. to.n VIhsou/n mo,non( avllV i[na kai. to.n La,zaron i;dwsin o]n h;geiren evk nekrw/nÅ

NAS John 12:9 The great multitude therefore of the Jews learned that He was there; o` o;cloj (d.a. + n-nm-s; "multitude/crowd") polu,j (pred.adj--nm-s; "many/ great in number"; the predicate makes a statement. The same construction is seen in 12:12; what John is doing is emphasizing that the mass of people in view are not the usual hostile Jews in view as seen in recent context, but rather sympathizers and supporters to some degree. Cp. 12:11) ou=n (infer. conj.) evk (pAbl) tw/n o` VIoudai,wn VIoudai/oj (d.a. + ap-Ablm-p) :Egnw ginw,skw (viaa--3s; "learned/figured out"; first word in the Greek sentence; denotes that the knowledge that came to them was based on Jesus presence with Lazarus at Simon's house) o[ti (conj.; intro. content of what they learned) evstin eivmi, (vipa--3s; historical present; denotes that the context in view is advanced forward in time) evkei/ (adv.; "there/ in that place"; ref. Bethany) and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. kai, (ch) h=lqon e;rcomai (viaa--3p) ouv (neg. +) dia, (pa; "for/because of") to.n o` VIhsou/n VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-am-s) "sake" supplied mo,non( mo,noj (a--am-s; "only/alone") avllV avlla, (strong adv.) i[na (conj. of purpose; "in order that") kai, (adjunc.; "also") i;dwsin o`ra,w (vsaa--3p; "they might see") to.n o` La,zaron La,zaroj (d.a. + n-am-s) o]n o[j (rel. pro./am-s; "whom") h;geiren evgei,rw (viaa--3s; "He raised up"; ref. Jesus) evk (pAbl) nekrw/nÅ nekro,j (ap-Ablm-p)

GNT John 12:10 evbouleu,santo de. oi` avrcierei/j i[na kai. to.n La,zaron avpoktei,nwsin(

NAS John 12:10 But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also; de, (ch; "But/Now") oi` o` avrcierei/j avrciereu,j (d.a. + n-nm-p; "the chief priests") evbouleu,santo bouleu,omai (viad--3p; "took counsel/deliberated/ resolved after discussion"; same as 11:53) i[na (conj. purpose) avpoktei,nwsin( avpoktei,nw (vsaa--3p; "might put to death/murder") to.n o` La,zaron La,zaroj (d.a. + n-am-s) kai, (adjunc.; "also"; in emphatic position in the Greek to denote the attachment of this plan to the previous plan to kill Jesus back in 11:53)

GNT John 12:11 o[ti polloi. diV auvto.n u`ph/gon tw/n VIoudai,wn kai. evpi,steuon eivj to.n VIhsou/nÅ

NAS John 12:11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away, and were believing in Jesus. o[ti (causal conj.; intro. reason for plotting the tandem hit) diV dia, (pa; "on account of"; intro. source of the cause) auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s; ref. Lazarus) polloi. polu,j (ap-nm-p; "many") tw/n o` VIoudai,wn VIoudai/oj (d.a. + ap-gm-p) u`ph/gon u`pa,gw (viIPFa--3p; "were going away/departing/leaving"; used of those abandoning some teacher or party; cp. Joh.6:67) kai, (cc) evpi,steuon pisteu,w (viIPFa--3p) eivj (pa) to.n o` VIhsou/nÅ VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-am-s)

1. That the supper and events previously recorded occurred in the evening on the Sabbath, the events now recorded logically is concluded to have occurred into the next day Sunday, as they demand some passing of time to be fulfilled.
2. It is not natural to think that the large mass of people in view now, all heard of Jesus’ presence at the supper, all at one time, and then all in mass just showed up later that night.
3. And then to think that on top of it all, the chief priests convened a meeting to establish the agenda of vss.10-11 even later on, deep into the night and early morning.
4. Rather, a more natural perception is that news was spread throughout the evening and into the next day and that over the period of the day, the number that had accumulated was indeed large.
5. During the period of the day, news regarding a large conversion of the crowds to Jesus’ cause reached the ears of the religious leaders at which time they took action.
6. The raising of Lazarus that had occurred approximately 3 months earlier, did not allow people apart from those at the miracle, time to come and see Jesus.
7. He withdrew immediately into the wilderness and spent some time with His disciples, before making a circuitous route and ending up in Bethany six days before the Passover. Joh.11:54 cp. 12:1
8. However, it is obvious that word of this miracle had in the mean time spread by word of mouth and incited the curiosity and attention of many people.
9. Upon Jesus return to Bethany, it is of no surprise therefore that news immediately was communicated of His presence and, as John states it, "The great multitude" of the Jews learned that He was there.
10. John’s use of the predicate adjective for "great/many" is designed to make a statement regarding this crowd and could be translated, "The multitude was great".
11. His purpose for so doing is to underplay the attributive number of the people and rather emphasize their disposition and attitude regarding Jesus.
12. In contrast to the hostility of the Jews that were dominant in Chpts.7-10, this crowd that was indeed large, are viewed as at least neutral towards Jesus, if not sympathetic or truly interested in Him and His ministry.
13. This is corroborated in the fact that this same construction is used of the Jews at the feast that participated in the fanfare and accolades placed upon Him in the triumphal entry in vss.12ff.
14. This does not mean that they were all +V or all believers by any stretch of the imagination, only that they represent an admixture of "friendly’s" that resided in and around Jerusalem.
15. While some were or became believers (Joh.11:45; 12:11), we do not ignore other perceptions some Jews had, such as considering Him to be a political Messiah or the Prophet (Joh.7:40-41 cp. 6:15).
16. That the motives of the crowd overall is not initially seen to be purely spiritual in interest, but to a great degree stemmed from curiosity is seen as John states, "and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead".
17. There can be little doubt that the presence of both Jesus and Lazarus together in one area would excite no little interest among the masses.
18. What other event would peak the interest of so many people than to actually see someone who had been raised from the dead and the Person that was reported to have made it happen.
19. It is interesting to note, that while Lazarus had obviously been alive these past 3 months, there is no indication that he engaged in any "world wide evangelistic tour" of Jerusalem or Israel to promote himself or the event of the miracle.
20. The fact that not until now that throngs of people actually congregated to see him, implies that obviously he has remained low key, though his reputation of celebrity-ship has preceded him.
21. This is in stark contrast as to how a lot of Christians today would utilize such a miracle in their own lives and endeavor to use it as a vehicle to gain public attention through appearances, the media, etc., under the guise of evangelism.
22. This does not mean that Lazarus was not a witness or refrained from witnessing when the opportunity was made available, only that any notion of "forcing" any specific or separate ministry to capture any evangelistic benefits from the miracle, outside his own day to day normal niche, is at least implied absent.
23. While Lazarus is now seen as getting to enjoy the blessings of His association with Jesus and the celebrity-ship that has naturally occurred in God’s perfect timing, a sinister note is reported in vs.10, "But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also".
24. The circle of chief priests instrumental in the political plot to have Jesus killed in 11:47-53, now determine it necessary to declare Lazarus as national enemy #2.
25. It is obvious that they conclude that while Lazarus was alive, the rumors and reports of Jesus’ power would continue, even if they killed Jesus.
26. Now it was not sufficient for one man to die (11:50), but now it has become necessary to murder another innocent man in order to accomplish their objectives.
27. The reality of evil is that it will grow and fester and these men will kill any number that they deem necessary to ensure their position and prosperity under Rome.
28. They observe correctly that Lazarus was indisputable evidence for many of the veracity of Jesus’ claims and because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away, and were believing in Jesus.
29. As the masses of people were seeing with their own eyes the evidence of the news that had been generated over time, news quickly reaches the religious leaders that many conversions were taking place.
30. The normal construction for faith in Christ is used and this cannot be softened to mean anything less than salvation.
31. The phrase "were going away" indicates that their faith was of such type that actual applications of departure from traditional Judaism was being reported and allegiance by these believers to the cause of Christ was being espoused.
32. The situation at hand is not a case producing "secret agent" believers (12:42), but is of such impact that it motivated believers to openly repent of their previous religious reversionism.
33. For the chief priests, Lazarus represented a double embarrassment to their religious positions and Sadducean beliefs; not only was he an agent in their losing numbers to the cause of Christ, his very presence was a condemnation of their doctrine that there is no resurrection. Act.4:1-2
34. It is of no wonder then, that Lazarus has been put on the top of their hit list, next only to Jesus Himself.
35. Though many of the Jews did become believers and actually separate from current Judaism, it must be kept in mind that there was not sufficient +V in Israel to sustain them as a nation and escape the catastrophe of 70AD.
36. While the zeal and enthusiasm reflected will be perpetuated into the day of the triumphal entry (12:12ff), it is short lived and by the time of the events of the cross arrive, whatever support for Jesus we may see now, will be virtually dissipated and non-existent.
37. As the remainder of the NT reveals, any future revival of the Jews that reveals a zeal for the "faith", though while inclusive of many, they are yet of the extreme minority of the overall populace of Israel. Act.13:44-46; Rom.10:1-3

GNT John 12:12 Th/| evpau,rion o` o;cloj polu.j o` evlqw.n eivj th.n e`orth,n( avkou,santej o[ti e;rcetai o` VIhsou/j eivj ~Ieroso,luma

NAS John 12:12 On the next day the great multitude who had come to the feast, Th/| h` evpau,rion (d.a./Lfs + adv. used substantively; "On the morrow/next day"; the day in view is in consideration that 2 days have passed since 12:1; John marks this day chronologically in sequence of importance of the days in view in the final week as it applies to Passover in 12:1 cp.'d to 13:1; his intent is not to chronologically mark each day of this final week, but simply to maintain a flow of context advancing into the week; when John uses this phrase, he always establishes the preceding day before via context; the chronology of the preceding context starting with the six days before Passover of 12:1, is advanced in vs.9 with the inferential conjunction "therefore" that looks back to the preceding event of the supper and anointing and by force advances the narrative forward in time) o` o;cloj (d.a. + n-nm-s +) polu,j (pred. adj--nm-s; "the great multitude"; same predicate construction as 12:9) o` evlqw.n e;rcomai (adj. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "who had come") eivj (pa) th.n h` e`orth,n( e`orth, (d.a. + n-af-s; "the feast/festival") when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, avkou,santej avkou,w (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-p; "when/after they heard/having heard") o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) e;rcetai e;rcomai (vipd--3s; historical present) eivj (pa) ~Ieroso,luma (n-an-p)

GNT John 12:13 e;labon ta. bai<a tw/n foini,kwn kai. evxh/lqon eivj u`pa,nthsin auvtw/| kai. evkrau,gazon( ~Wsanna,\ euvloghme,noj o` evrco,menoj evn ovno,mati kuri,ou( kai. o` basileu.j tou/ VIsrah,lÅ

NAS John 12:13 took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, e;labon lamba,nw (viaa--3p) ta. to, bai<a ba,i?on (d.a. + n-an-p; "the palm branches"; hapax) tw/n o` foini,kwn foi/nix (d.a. + n-gm-p; "of the palm trees"; used 3x; Rev.7:9; the word Phoenix cp. Act.27:12) kai, (cc) evxh/lqon evxe,rcomai (viaa--3p) eivj (pa) u`pa,nthsin u`pa,nthsij (n-af-s; the act of going out to meet someone, face to face; used 3x; Mat.8:34; 25:1) auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s; ref. Christ) and began to cry out, "Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel." kai, (cc) evkrau,gazon( krauga,zw (viIPFa--3p; "were crying out/to cry out with a loud voice"; same as 11:43 of Jesus' command to Lazarus to come out of the tomb) ~Wsanna,\ w`sanna, (exclamatory part.; used 6x; transliteration from the Hebrew h['yviwOh , which means "Save us", cp. Psa.118:25; when used in the liturgy/form of praise, it is synonomous with the meaning of "Blessed/Give honour" cp. Luke's recording in Luk.19:38 only using [euvloge,w], leaving out "Hosanna", a word not of significance to Hellenistic readers; for the Jew it has significance as it relates to Messianic expectations) euvloghme,noj euvloge,w (circ. ptc./PF/p/nm-s; "Blessed is/having been blessed"; used 41x) o` evrco,menoj e;rcomai (subs. ptc./p/d/nm-s; "He Who comes") evn (pL) ovno,mati o;noma (n-Ln-s; "name") kuri,ou( ku,rioj (n-gm-s) kai, (ascensive; "even") o` basileu,j (d.a. + n-nm-s; "the King/Monarch"; same as 1:49; 6:15 ) tou/ o` VIsrah,lÅ VIsrah,l (d.a. + n-gm-s)

1. John advances the narrative to the event that is commonly called the triumphal entry and devotes vss.12-19 to a brief synopsis of the occasion.
2. Again, as with the anointing by Mary, John’s account is the shortest in review compared to the parallel recordings in the Synoptic’s. Mat.21:1-11; Mar.11:1-11; Luk.19:29-44
3. John highlights the importance of this particular day in the opening phase of vs.12, "On the next day".
4. The error many interpreters have made regarding the chronology of this day is to insist that the day in view must be the immediate day after the 6^th day/Sabbath/ Saturday recorded in Joh.12:1.
5. Based on this view is the Christian tradition of referring to the Sunday before the resurrection (Easter) as Palm Sunday.
6. However, the presumption in this regard denies the typology that Nisan 10^th represents Christ presenting Himself to Israel as the Passover lamb i.e., the triumphal entry (see introductory notes to John 12), which date must have occurred on that Monday, with Friday being Nisan 14^th as John records.
7. In addition, in the previous 4 uses by John of "th/| evpau,rion/on the next day", the day before the next day in view is not determined by a specific reference chronologically (such as a particular feast day, etc.,), and the phrase is simply to denote a consecutive extension of event(s). Cp. Joh.1:29,35,43; 6:22
8. In other words, his use of this phrase is not used technically to determine chronology, but used simply to extend time as determined by context.
9. And as noted in the analysis of 12:.9-11, the natural flow of events advancing in time indicates the need for a least a sizable portion of another day to have occurred.
10. Some have tried to circumvent the obvious and justify the typology of a Nisan 10^th date by suggesting that Christ’s actual entry into Jerusalem did not occur until the evening (6PM or sunset) on Sunday, beginning the day of Nisan 10^th under the Judean reckoning of days.
11. However, this is speculative as well as unnatural, as it again tries to cram into one evening:

1. This parade of celebration.
2. The Greeks seeking audience with Christ and His resultant teaching to the multitude of vs.12,17,18, cp. vss.20-36, esp. vss.29,34.
3. There is absolutely no reason exegetically or contextually to consider the multitudes mentioned in vss.20ff as different or separate from the multitudes mentioned in vss.12-19.
4. Chapter 12 is the final reference to any multitudes/o;cloj recorded in John and denotes:

1. The events and multitudes at hand comprise the final public audience granted by Jesus in the final week of His ministry, as recorded by John.
2. His use of the term "multitude" in chapter 12 is key to recognizing a unity of events that occurred in the presence of the same people "On the next day".
3. It is John’s individual references to "the multitude/o` o;cloj" in vss.17,18,29,34 that points out specific nuances, characteristics and viewpoints in the makeup of "the great multitude" of vs.12.

1. Jesus’ strategic withdrawal from the multitude. vs.36b
2. His entry into the temple and departing with the twelve (Mar.11:11) that denotes that by this time He is essentially alone, it is indeed late and returned to Bethany.

1. As the events of Monday unfold, John first focuses on the great multitude corporately who had come to the feast.
2. This multitude refers to the throngs of pilgrims that were not from Jerusalem and are differentiated from "the great multitude" of vs.9, though in the overall context obviously becoming inclusive of them.
3. Again, John’s use of the predicate adjective "great" states that the multitude in view are sympathetic and supportive of Jesus’ ministry.
4. This is the contextual common denominator between both multitudes in view.
5. The great multitude of vs.12 would be the rural Jewish populace, predominately the Galileans, that are making the required pilgrimage feast.
6. These people were well informed regarding Jesus, since most of His ministry occurred in the northern part of Israel.
7. John’s purpose for their introduction contextually is to emphasize the predominate view of those Jews that regarded Jesus as the Messiah potentially and otherwise and were zealous supporters of Him.
8. That is, they saw Him as a political Messiah and their potential King that would release them from Roman bondage.
9. Only here (vss.9,12) and in Joh.6:2,5 does John attach the descriptive title of "great/many" to the 19 references he makes to any multitude recorded in his Gospel.
10. And it is the John 6 account that establishes the real intentions behind Jesus’ avid supporters to make Him king upon the first opportunity seized. Joh.6:15
11. It is this fact alone that sets the stage of contrast and irony behind the events and teachings of Chapter 12.
12. While many of His supporters were even believers, the vast majority was negative to the necessity of His work and death on the cross, to include His disciples.
13. Again, why Mary’s anointing of Christ that pictures the Doctrine of Passion is established as a memory to her name. Mat.26:13; Mar.14:9
14. While these Jew’s earlier attempts to make Jesus a king was thwarted, their belief that He was the promised Messiah in this regard has not diminished.
15. And now, opportunity is potentially seen to fulfill their human viewpoint agenda when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
16. It becomes apparent that Jesus has informed those around Him of His intentions to go to Jerusalem and the news is spread like wildfire.
17. The Synoptic accounts relate that Jesus sent two of His disciples ahead to obtain the mount of a donkey’s colt, which John records as a matter of circumstance in vss.14-15. Mat.21:1-7; Mar.11:1-7; Luk.19:29
18. As a symbol of homage, those with Jesus laid their garments upon the animals for Him to sit upon.
19. That His trip is made in this fashion, it is no wonder that the fervor of the crowds congregating become peaked in their expectation of what they perceived to be happening.
20. To this point, Jesus had refused all their presumptuous accolades and monarchal promotions and did all that was necessary to downplay any encouragement for this type of thinking.
21. Now, He is allowing Himself to be publicly exalted and in their minds He is finally stepping forward to accept the role as Israel’s vindicator and deliverer to shuck off the yoke of Roman rule and establish a sovereign Israel bringing in the Messianic blessings of the OT.
22. This is the reason that they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him.
23. Palms are not only an emblem of victory (Rev.7:9), but from the time of the Maccabees, had been employed as a symbol of national Israel.
24. They had been used during the procession celebrating the rededication of the temple in 164 BC (2Macc.10:7), and again after winning of full political independence under Simon Maccabeus in 141 BC (1Macc.13:51).
25. In fact, the use of palms to denote national Israel was so common that the Romans used it on their coins to celebrate the crushing of Jewish revolts.
26. The palm, Phoenix dactylifera (Natural Order Palmeae), Arabic nakhl, is a tree, which from the earliest times has been associated with the Jews and was found in abundance in the Mount of Olives (Neh.8:14) between Bethany and Jerusalem.
27. The palm branches are used in Isa.9:14; 19:15 to signify the "head", the highest of the people, as contrasted with the rush, the "tail", or humblest of the people.
28. The "Branch" is obviously representative of Messiahship. Isa.11:1; Jer.23:5-6; Zec.3:8
29. There can be no question with the representation behind their acts of obeisance that they consider Jesus as the Promised One and that their political liberation is imminent.
30. This is further observed in what they said and began to cry out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel".
31. The etymology of the word "Hosanna" is found in the root meaning "to save" and is used literally as a prayer for immediate salvation or deliverance.
32. When used in liturgy, it takes on the nuance of "Hail!" or "Praise!"
33. The term "Blessed" indicates that they have set Jesus apart as the One whom they consider as having been given the honor by God, as being the Messiah.
34. Their words are taken from Psa.118:25-26, a song of thanksgiving to God for deliverance of national Israel (Cp. vss.10-14).
35. Their prayer and accolades are for deliverance and they welcome Jesus with strong passion, since they view Him as the fulfillment of God’s promise to deliver His people.
36. As John notes, they call Him the King of Israel, truly emphasizing their political frame of reference.
37. Although their understanding was not correct in terms of Jesus and His mission at the 1^st advent, nevertheless they rightly proclaim Him to be the coming One, the Messiah, the King of Israel.
38. That the great multitude in view are privy to the fact that Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead (vs.17-18), they rationalize that if He could perform such a miracle, there could be no better candidate to dominate the Roman Empire.
39. Because of their skewered theological views regarding Messiah, they are totally remiss in the spiritual realities of His Person and only have eyes on what He will do for them physically and politically.
40. Their praise and accolades are misguided in their intent and essentially are promoting a satanic cause for Jesus to bypass the cross and establish His kingdom now!
41. The irony is that even though they adhere to and correctly understand the political role of their Messiah, they are void of the spiritual requirements necessary for Him to attain this end.
42. The great multitude is representative of those that have a zeal for the aspects of God’s plan that they consider as premium to their own agendas in life.
43. Yet, because they reject the spiritual realities and other pertinent principles of doctrine applicable to the doctrines they adhere too, are seen to be off balance and lopsided and reflect "a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge".
44. This smorgasbord mentality of religiosity is rampant in Christiandom today.
45. This in no way however diminishes the aspect of truth that they do adhere too, as truth is truth, and Jesus points this out in Luk.19:39-40.
46. And that these Jews are indeed blind to the spiritual realities of their Messiah and that their eyes are only on "political peace", is also confirmed by Jesus lament over Jerusalem, as part of the triumphal entry scenario in Luk.19:41-44.
47. However, Jesus never looses sight of the humility He is under and the goal at the first advent to establish peace between men and God, as His means of transportation relates and as John records in vss.14-15.

GNT John 12:14 eu`rw.n de. o` VIhsou/j ovna,rion evka,qisen evpV auvto,( kaqw,j evstin gegramme,non(

NAS John 12:14 And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, de, (cc) o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) eu`rw.n eu`ri,skw (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "having found/after finding") ovna,rion (n-an-s; "a young donkey/foal/colt"; hapax; diminutive of o;noj - an ass/donkey) evka,qisen kaqi,zw (viaa--3s "sat/to place") evpV evpi, (pa; "on/upon") auvto,( auvto,j (npan3s; "it"; ref. to the donkey) kaqw,j (conj. of comparison; "just as/in like manner") evstin eivmi, (vipa--3s; periphrastic +) gegramme,non( gra,fw (+ circ. ptc./PF/p/nn-s; "it stands having been written")

GNT John 12:15 Mh. fobou/( quga,thr Siw,n\ ivdou. o` basileu,j sou e;rcetai( kaqh,menoj evpi. pw/lon o;nouÅ

NAS John 12:15 "FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY'S COLT." Mh. mh, (neg. +) fobou/( fobe,omai (vImp./p/d--2s; "Fear not/stop being afraid") quga,thr (n-vf-s; case of address; "daughter"; used 28x; used here poetically; when used in relation to cities, towns, nations, etc., it emphasizes the inhabitants or citizens of that place) Siw,n\ (n-gf-s; "Zion"; used 7x; originally referred to Mount Zion, the highest point upon which Jerusalem was built; it came to be used for the entire city itself; its earliest mentions equate it with the fortress and stronghold of David, 2Sam.5:7) ivdou, (exclam. part.; "Behold/Look!") sou su, (npg-2s) o` basileu,j (d.a. + n-nm-s; "the King") e;rcetai( e;rcomai (vipd--3s) kaqh,menoj ka,qhmai (circ. ptc.p/d/nm-s; "while seated") evpi, (pa) pw/lon pw/loj (n-am-s; "colt/foal/the young of a donkey or horse; used 12x; here of a donkey +) o;nouÅ o;noj (n-gf-s; "domesticated donkey or ass"; used 5x)

GNT John 12:16 tau/ta ouvk e;gnwsan auvtou/ oi` maqhtai. to. prw/ton( avllV o[te evdoxa,sqh VIhsou/j to,te evmnh,sqhsan o[ti tau/ta h=n evpV auvtw/| gegramme,na kai. tau/ta evpoi,hsan auvtw/|Å

NAS John 12:16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; tau/ta ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-p) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. Jesus') oi` o` maqhtai. maqhth,j (d.a. + n-nm-p; ref. the 11) ouvk ouv (neg. + qn) e;gnwsan ginw,skw (viaa--3p; "understand/recognize/figure out") to, prw/ton( prw/toj (ord. adj./an-s; "at the first in time/at that time") but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. avllV avlla, (strong advers.) o[te (temporal conj.; "when/in which time") VIhsou/j (n-nm-s) evdoxa,sqh doxa,zw (viap--3s; "had been glorified"; ref. to His resurrection and session) to,te (adv. of subsequent time; "then") evmnh,sqhsan mimnh,|skomai (viad--3p; "they remembered/recollected/called to mind") o[ti (cc; intro. content of their recalled memory) tau/ta ou-toj (near. dem. pro./nn-p) h=n eivmi, (viIPFa--3s; periphrastic +) gegramme,na gra,fw (+ circ. ptc./PF/p/nn-p; "had been written") evpV evpi, (pL; "concerning/about") auvtw/| auvto,j (npLm3s) kai, (cc) "that" supplied evpoi,hsan poie,w (viaa--3p) tau/ta ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-p) auvtw/|Å auvto,j (npdm3s)

1. John now inserts a key element of the triumphal entry that is designed also through representation, to articulate the real purpose and spiritual realities behind this event and states, "And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written".
2. As the synoptic parallels make clear, this occurred outside of Jerusalem and before the actual procession with the attending multitude actually took the form presented in vs.13. Mat.21:1-11; Mar.11:1-11; Luk.19:29-44
3. One of the first questions that arises out of John’s statement is, in what sense does he mean behind the word "finding" as it relates to Jesus’ acquisition of the young donkey?
4. Again, as the parallel accounts reveal, Jesus did not physically search for the animal in view, but gave very explicit instructions to two of his disciples as to where they would find this beast of burden and what they were to say if questioned regarding their removal of it. Mat.21:1-3; Mar.11:1-3; Luk.19:29-31
5. In addition, Jesus knew that both a donkey and her colt would be together there and that no one had yet to ride the colt.
6. As they were untying both the donkey and the colt (Mat.21:2,7), some people that were nearby, who were actually the owners of the animals, asked them what they were doing and exactly as Jesus said would happen, gave them permission of use. Mar.11-4-6; cp. Luk.19:33-34
7. Upon return with the animals, they placed their garments upon them (Mat.21:7) and utilized the garments on the colt as a saddle. Mar.11:7; Luk.19:35
8. We are not told how or by what means all of this information was made privy to Jesus.
9. However, Matthew specifically tells us and as noted in our verses, that Jesus performed this action to fulfill prophecy from Zec.9:9. Mat.5:4-5
10. This is the sense and emphasis of John’s use of the term "eu`ri,skw/finding" regarding the young donkey.
11. And that is, in the sense of fulfillment of God’s word regarding the triumphal entry, all was provided for and "found" just as it is written.
12. In other words, Christ was aware of all the doctrine concerning His Person and mission at the 1^st advent to include His mission of Passion. Joh.3:17, et al.
13. And the circumstantial evidence (circumstantial ptc. of finding) that His mission was one of passion and peace as applied to His formal presentation to Israel, would culminate in the finding of the very animal(s) in accordance with prophecy and with precise and perfect timing, denoting this spiritual reality.
14. Though the object that Jesus "found" is physical, the word eu`ri,skw/heurisko can denote a searching for and finding of a specific thing that has direct spiritual ramifications, to include fulfillment of Scripture. Joh.1:41,45; 7:34 cp. Joh.10:9 where the finding is spiritual food.
15. What Jesus was ultimately looking for and found was prophecy fulfilled regarding His Person in connection with the triumphal entry and that validation came in God’s provision of the means of transportation needed, as it is written.
16. Christ never looked to men for validation of His Person or ministry, but always looked to the Scriptures and God.
17. In contrast to the multitude’s maladjustment to His advent and the pressure they put upon Him, Christ maintained fidelity to His office by keeping His focus upon BD and its directives for His Person.
18. What better encouragement for Him at this time than to see this very prophecy fulfilled before His very eyes?
19. And what better standard for faith rest will you find than the confidence exuded from Jesus that the disciples would find exactly what was needed, when it was needed and even how it would happen, as it pertained to the fulfillment of this prophecy.
20. In vs.15, John provides an abbreviated excerpt of the entire prophetic vs. of Zec.9:9, and records, "Fear not, Daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt".
21. Though it is not word for word, it gives an accurate and excellent summary interpretation of the spiritual reality and intent of the prophecy as it is applied to our current context.
22. The phrase, "Fear not/Stop being afraid", is the prerequisite application necessary for the multitude too truly "Rejoice greatly" as stipulated in Zec.9:9a.
23. To not be afraid demands the isolation of the STA and to get one’s eyes off of the immediate physical danger surrounding them.
24. The prescription for fear is to focus in on the spiritual realities to God’s plan. Heb.11:23,27; 13:6; 1Joh.4:18
25. John applies the prophecy to the current multitude and is saying that until they get their eyes off of the physical, to include their current oppression of Roman dominion, and the fear this produces, true "rejoicing" regarding Messiah is empty.
26. The phrase, "Daughter of Zion" is a Hebraism and poetically denotes the inhabitants or citizens of Jerusalem.
27. This points to the reality of the mainline Judaistic thinking embraced by all the Jews (exceptions noted), as perpetuated though the teaching from their religious capital that the mission of Messiah was only for political purposes.
28. The Gospels make it extremely clear that this is a predominate distortion of BD that was taught and adhered to throughout Israel.
29. The particle "Behold" has as it’s root meaning the verb "o`ra,w/to see" and has a nuance of spiritual perception accompanying a physical perception.
30. This particle carries with it the force of an imperative and could be rendered, "See the spiritual realities of that which you are looking at physically!" or "See with your soul that which you see with your eyes!".
31. The final clause, "your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt" denotes the spiritual reality behind the physical aspects of the prophecy.
32. While the Jews are to look upon their Messiah as their political deliverer and King, they cannot bypass His posture of arrival on their behalf, seated on a donkey’s colt.
33. As the prophecy makes clear, the disposition of Messiah in His initial appearance to Jerusalem (1^st advent) was to be one of humility and passion, as represented by His means of transportation. Zec.9:9c; cp. Matthew’s interpretation of "humble" as "gentile" in Mat.21:5c
34. The fact that it is a "beast of burden" (Mat.21:5d) indicates the work of Christ on the cross and the pressures/weight of sin bearing. Mat.26:39,42
35. The essence of the final clause as applied to the multitude in view is "See with your physical eyes that your King is arriving, but not as a conquering Warrior on a war horse, but rather, in all humility to establish peace between man and God by removal of the sin barrier".
36. Not until the Jews/multitude remove their spiritual "blinders", getting their eyes off of the physical and onto the spiritual, and make the adjustment to the advents of their Messiah, will they truly picture Zion rejoicing.
37. It is interesting to note that none of the Gospels quote the entire verse of Zec.9:9, and all references to salvation are omitted.
38. This again points to the fact that the crowds did not truly consider the issue of Ph₁ salvation and the spiritual ramifications of their Messiah, but were far more interested in a political Messiah providing physical deliverance.
39. Truly, Israel’s political security is tied to their King via the covenants, but not without the spiritual realities intact.
40. In vs.16, John provides an aside to inform us that these things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
41. John relates even the ignorance of those closest to Jesus as it pertained to the Doctrine of Passion during Christ’s ministry
42. His inclusion of this gross failure, even of the 11, smacks of the integrity of God’s word.
43. Where else, but God’s word do you find author’s seeking to promote a cause that will point out all failures of the very supporters and players of the cause, and not seek to always put a positive spin on everything and make everyone look as good as possible.
44. The Bible in this regard screams with intellectual honesty and truth.
45. Though the 11 were believers and were clear that Jesus was the God-man Messiah, they too totally lacked understanding of His mission at the 1^st advent.
46. Because of this, they obviously lacked understanding of the very details of prophecy that was being fulfilled before their very eyes.
47. The bottom line cause of their failure to understand is based on the fact that they were –V to the rejection of Jesus by the nation, -V to the doctrine of His betrayal, and –V to the doctrine of the necessity of His death, resurrection and ascension.
48. Just as a lot of lukewarm Christians today, they too had their eyes on the physical rather than spiritual and were always trying to "put the cart before the donkey".
49. The spiritual realities of the POG must precede and take preeminence over all physical realities or the POG just becomes another form of cosmic system of thinking.
50. True reality exists in the spiritual revelation of Divine viewpoint and all other views are only a figment of STA imagination and an attempt to escape reality.
51. That their spiritual priorities were skewered in these things, this obviously promoted other bad decisions and thinking in their CWL.
52. They refused to embrace all of the doctrines Jesus had clearly articulated and now they too are caught up in the fervor of the moment and miss the boat of the reality at hand.
53. It is of no doubt that they were quite pleased with this reception for Jesus, and while constantly being lead under their STA’s and with human viewpoint, heralded with the others what they considered the beginning of Jesus reign in Israel.
54. A reign in which they would have an integral part!! Cp. Mat.20:20-28
55. Their understanding and locking in on the doctrine at hand would not come until after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
56. In terms of His glorification, all of the above phases were necessary and cannot be separated from one another.
57. Not until Jesus was glorified could He fulfill the role of Israel’s eternal King.
58. And not until the 11 accepted the facts and need of glorification, would they recall all of the particulars of this event and put two and two together with the Scripture and see that all that Jesus had taught in this regard was true.
59. Their failure to grasp these things was due to failure under GAP and Jesus rebuked this type of –V and mentality. Luk.25-26

GNT John 12:17 evmartu,rei ou=n o` o;cloj o` w'n metV auvtou/ o[te to.n La,zaron evfw,nhsen evk tou/ mnhmei,ou kai. h;geiren auvto.n evk nekrw/nÅ

NAS John 12:17 And so the multitude who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, ou=n (infer. conj.) o` o;cloj (d.a. + n-nm-s) o` w'n eivmi, (d.a. + adj. ptc./p/a/nm-s) metV meta, (pg) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. Jesus) o[te (temporal conj.; "when") evfw,nhsen fwne,w (viaa--3s; "He called") to.n o` La,zaron La,zaroj (d.a. + n-am-s) evk (pAbl) tou/ o` mnhmei,ou mnhmei/on (d.a. + n-Abln-s; "the tomb"; same as 11:17,31,38) and raised him from the dead, were bearing Him witness. kai, (cc) h;geiren evgei,rw (viaa--3s; "caused to raise up") auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s; ref. Lazarus) evk (pAbl) nekrw/nÅ nekro,j (ap-Ablm-p; "death/the dead") evmartu,rei marture,w (viIPFa--3s; "were bearing witness/testifying"; 1st word in the Greek sentence and understands Jesus as the object)

GNT John 12:18 dia. tou/to kai. u`ph,nthsen auvtw/| o` o;cloj( o[ti h;kousan tou/to auvto.n pepoihke,nai to. shmei/onÅ

NAS John 12:18 For this cause also the multitude went and met Him, dia, (pa +) tou/to ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-s; "For this cause/because of this thing") kai, (adjunctive) o` o;cloj( (d.a. + n-nm-s; the crowds coming from Jerusalem, not the crowd of vs.17; this denotes that the masses of people involved in the triumphal entry were coming both from Bethany as well as Jerusalem) u`ph,nthsen u`panta,w (viaa--3s; "met/to meet face to face") auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s; ref. Jesus) because they heard that He had performed this sign. o[ti (causal conj.) h;kousan avkou,w (viaa--3p) auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s; accusative of general reference; "as or with reference to Him"; ref. Jesus; and functions as the subject of the infinitive) pepoihke,nai poie,w (inf./PF/a-; "had performed") tou/to ou-toj (near. dem. pro./an-s) to, shmei/onÅ (d.a. + n-an-s; "sign")

GNT John 12:19 oi` ou=n Farisai/oi ei=pan pro.j e`autou,j( Qewrei/te o[ti ouvk wvfelei/te ouvde,n\ i;de o` ko,smoj ovpi,sw auvtou/ avph/lqenÅ

NAS John 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; oi` o` Farisai/oi Farisai/oj (d.a. + n-nm-p) ou=n (infer. conj.) ei=pan le,gw (viaa--3p) pro,j (pa) e`autou,j( e`autou/ (reflex. pro./am3p; "to themselves/ to one another") Qewrei/te qewre,w (vipa--2p; "to learn by observing/ You see") o[ti (intro. indir. disc.) ouvk ouv (neg. +) wvfelei/te wvfele,w (vipa--2p; "you are of no benefit/of no assistance/no help or profit"; same as 6:63) ouvde,n\ ouvdei,j (apcan-s; "not even one thing"; hence, you are useless and "not doing any good") look, the world has gone after Him." i;de (particle of interjection; "look") o` ko,smoj (d.a. + n-nm-s) avph/lqenÅ avpe,rcomai (viaa--3s; "has departed/to follow as in to join up with") ovpi,sw (pg; "after/behind"; indicates that something or someone else is leading in close relationship) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. Jesus)

1. John thus far in chapter 12 has introduced 3 distinct groups of people involved in a mass congregation around Christ:

1. The great multitude that came to Bethany on Sunday. vs.9
2. The great multitude that came from rural Israel to Jerusalem and went to meet Jesus en route of the triumphal entry. vs.12
3. Jesus’ own disciples. vs.16

1. Again, the cohesive attribute between all in view as being emphasized by John is that all are avid supporters of Jesus in one form or another.
2. And as brought out, the predominate motivation behind their support at the triumphal entry is the mentality to make Him their king.
3. John now becomes generic in his reference to the masses and in the remainder of the chapter he will simply refer to them as the multitude.
4. His transition in this regard denotes:

1. That the 3 distinct groups are all related too and a part of the triumphal entry.

1. As Matthew and Mark declare, the multitudes were both in front of and following Jesus in the procession. Mat.21:9; Mar.11:9
2. This indicates that there were not only those of vs.12 that came to meet Him (vs.13,18), but others that came from Bethany with Him.
3. Though it is possible that the crowd coming from Jerusalem simply surrounded Him during the procession, it seems more natural that many were already with Him when the Jerusalem crowd arrived.
4. Hence, an immediate and intense atmosphere of celebration occurred upon their arrival, as John’s record tends to indicate (vs.13).
5. That the Jerusalem crowd was cutting down palm branches on their way out to meet Jesus (vs.13), paving the road ahead of Him, also indicates this type of scenario.
6. Some have suggested that of the crowds on Sunday (vs.9), many remained in Bethany that night or returned early Monday in anticipation of Jesus’ trip in, which makes sense, since news was obviously traveling back and forth from Bethany to Jerusalem concerning Jesus intentions.

1. John now wants to change the emphasis of the reader’s view of the crowd from the masses involved and their mainline viewpoint of interest in Messiah to highlight different aspects of particular influence, thinking, irony and contrast mixed in with the overall picture.
2. In other words, John now wants us to look at the "parts" of the "whole" being presented and provided this transition by specifically noting the disciples as a part of the overall mix in vs.16.

6. John continues his dissection of the overall masses and now introduces a group specifically involved in the generation of the masses of vs.12, in vs.17, "And so the multitude who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, were bearing Him witness".
7. His purpose for doing so is to introduce an additional cause behind the zeal of the Jews of vs.12 going out to meet Jesus, as vs.18a designates, "For this cause also the multitude went and met Him".
8. It now becomes more obvious that the Jews present at the miracle have been busy over these past 3 months bearing witness to the events of which they were eyewitnesses.
9. And as we know, many of these became believers. Joh.11:45
10. For the pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem from the surrounding countryside, this news was not lost upon them.
11. From the time of their arrival, though rumors may have already existed concerning the miracle, it is obvious that the Jews residing in Jerusalem that were eyewitnesses to the miracle were quickly spreading and validating the good news (the imperfect of "bearing witness").
12. The term "bear witness" is the first word in the Greek sentence to emphasize the extreme impact that this particular multitude of people had upon the masses of pilgrims.
13. John now is providing the "spark" that lit the "match" of their Messianic theology.
14. With their predisposition of thinking that Jesus was their political deliverer, the impact of hearing of this great miracle on a first hand account, was all that was necessary to intensify their beliefs and push their motivation over the edge to embrace and hail Him as their king.
15. What more would these people need that already are predisposed to make Him king, than to hear from eyewitnesses that Jesus has power over life and death.
16. In the face of the public hostility that the religious leaders have advertised concerning Jesus, what other motivation would give these generally fearful Jews a sense of invincibility and open display of this sort.
17. Some want to take these verses and make them into a Ph₁ evangelistic message.
18. While converts obviously did occur from the witness of this multitude of eyewitnesses (vs.11), that is not the real issue John is now emphasizing.
19. He is simply maintaining the flow of context and reasoning behind the mass support that has now surfaced on behalf of Jesus, which is the force of vs.18b, "because they heard that He had performed this sign".
20. John’s expression in vs.18 of double cause, "For this cause" and "because" as it relates to the Jews of vs.12, leaves no doubt that the miracle of Lazarus and its eyewitness confirmation was the root cause behind their open and public subscription to the cause of Christ.
21. The impact of this one miracle was sufficient to generate the courage necessary for these Jews to risk potential ostracizing by heralding Jesus’ greatness. Cp. Joh.11:57
22. And it was Jesus’ manifestation of power over life and death being witnessed too that provides the irony surrounding the event of the triumphal entry.
23. In light of the Jews distorted thinking regarding their Messiah and mission only as a political savior, it was this very miracle that taught the very premise of the 1^st advent.
24. And that is death must be conquered before life can be given.
25. And only One that has power over spiritual death is free to give life and thus conquer physical death with eternal life both positionally and experientially.
26. John is pointing out that even the basic understanding of the Jews in the necessity of the glorification of Christ was lost upon them, believer and unbeliever alike.
27. That believers are part of the mix of people surrounding the triumphal entry, points out that just because one is a Christian doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that they have their spiritual act together. (Refutation to Calvin’s perseverance of the saints and that all believers will pan out spiritually.)
28. The triumphal entry also demonstrates that believers can participate in an otherwise correct doctrinal application, but be totally out to lunch spiritually in their thinking and motivations.
29. This points to the fact, that one’s actions cannot be judged based on surface appearance, but must be evaluated according to the applicable doctrine at hand. Joh.7:24
30. That this great mass of people supporting Jesus this day are presented in this light provides a stark contrast numerically and spiritually to the only person recorded in this chapter as truly understanding Jesus’ ministry, Mary.
31. This points to the extent of reversionism and spiritual blindness that Israel was truly under at the time of the 1^st advent, believers and unbelievers alike.
32. This contrast sets the stage contextually for the remainder of this chapter i.e. that –V and reversionism is beyond doubt the spiritual condition of Israel corporately.
33. As an aside, we note John’s recording of the witness regarding the miracle and that he states that Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb in direct connection with raising him from the dead.
34. Both the terms "called and raised" are an aorist tense denoting a point of action in the past and denotes that essentially it was upon the command of Jesus’ voice that Lazarus was simultaneously resuscitated, as presented in our analysis of 11:43-44 cf. point 35, page 55.
35. That the Messianic fervor is now at fever pitch cannot be denied.
36. The size of this procession obviously attracted the attention of all of Jerusalem, the religious leaders included, as John now states in vs.19, "The Pharisees therefore said to one another, ‘You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him’".
37. As Luke’s account records, the Pharisees had mingled into the multitudes on the way into Jerusalem and at one point sought to put a stop to all of this. Luk.19:39-40
38. As Jesus makes clear, nothing would stop the POG and the fulfillment of prophecy.
39. That the Pharisees were unsuccessful in this regard adds substance to their concern and pessimistic statement as recorded in John and obviously after the fact of Luke’s account.
40. The fact that they cannot enforce control either over Jesus or the crowds is a direct blow to their authority as spiritual leaders.
41. It is the issue once again of "authority and power" that is behind their concerns.
42. That they are condemning one another as not able to accomplish one thing to discourage this situation is tantamount to reflecting their individual inability to exercise their authority.
43. Their exaggeration that the world has gone after Him is designed to elevate any lack of concern some may have regarding their positions of authority.
44. However, their final concern truly does anticipate that Jesus’ popularity will not be confined to Israel in the future, though they are obviously blind to those realities.
45. Nevertheless, their main and only concern still centers on their authoritative positions in Israel and the potential affect that this grassroots movement can have on Israel’s status in the world.
46. And their attitude and thinking is the irony and purpose for John’s introducing the Pharisees contextually at this point.
47. The irony is, Jesus has no intention of doing what they fear i.e., arousing the masses to revolt against Rome and endanger their position. Cp. Joh.11:48
48. John’s purpose of relating to the Pharisees contextually, is to point out that they are the dominate religious sect of mainline Judaism, whose teaching has influenced Israel overall concerning Messiah.
49. While the Sadducees are mentioned 9x in the Gospels, the Pharisees are mentioned 91x.
50. That the Pharisaic teaching is a gospel of works for salvation, they deny any necessity of faith in Messiah for salvation and hence, are only looking for a political savior as it pertains to Messiah.
51. The Pharisees are constantly seen to be in the synagogues throughout Israel and were pervasive in all the towns to include the area of Galilee. Luk.5:17
52. As John has dissected the reasoning of the crowds of pilgrims for their support of Jesus and the causes for their support, he now reveals the bottom line cause for their distorted Messianic views, FALSE TEACHING.
53. Accepting the nature of –V and individual responsibility, John is now underscoring the real influence behind the religious reversionism of the multitudes and behind the modus operandi of the multitudes and religious leaders alike, false shepherds. Jer.23:1ff
54. Again an irony: The very thing the Pharisees fear is due to themselves/one another, to begin with.

GNT John 12:20 +Hsan de. {Ellhne,j tinej evk tw/n avnabaino,ntwn i[na proskunh,swsin evn th/| e`orth/|\

NAS John 12:20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; de, (cc) +Hsan eivmi, (viIPFa--3p) tinej ti.j (indef. pro./nm-p; "certain/some") {Ellhne,j {Ellhn (n-nm-p; "Greek/Hellenistic Gentile"; Gentiles of Greek culture and nationality; non-Jewish participants; same as 7:35) evk (pAbl; "among/out from the source of") tw/n o` avnabaino,ntwn avnabai,nw (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/Ablm-p; "those who were going up/ascending"; the present aspect of the participle denotes action contingent with current context) i[na (conj. purpose; not translated; "in order that") proskunh,swsin proskune,w (vsaa--3p; "they might worship/pay obeisance to/to show honor by accepting what the object of worship represents" ) evn (pL) th/| h` e`orth/|\ e`orth, (d.a. + n-df-s; "the feast"; ref. Passover)

GNT John 12:21 ou-toi ou=n prosh/lqon Fili,ppw| tw/| avpo. Bhqsai?da. th/j Galilai,aj( kai. hvrw,twn auvto.n le,gontej( Ku,rie( qe,lomen to.n VIhsou/n ivdei/nÅ

NAS John 12:21 these therefore came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." ou-toi ou-toj (near dem. pro./nm-p; ref. the Greeks) ou=n (infer. conj.; looks back in context) prosh/lqon prose,rcomai (viaa--3p; "came to/approached face to face") Fili,ppw| Fi,lippoj (n-dm-s) tw/| o` (ddms; "who/the one") avpo, (pAbl; "from/in association with") Bhqsai?da, (n-Ablf-s) th/j h` Galilai,aj( Galilai,a (d.a. + n-gf-s) kai, (cc) hvrw,twn evrwta,w (viIPFa--3p; "they were asking/entreating") auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s; ref. Philip) le,gontej( le,gw (circ. ptc./p/a/nm-p) Ku,rie( ku,rioj (n-vm-s; "Sir") qe,lomen qe,lw (vipa--1p; "we wish/desire"; historical present) ivdei/nÅ o`ra,w (compl. inf./aa-; "to see") to.n o` VIhsou/n VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-am-s)

GNT John 12:22 e;rcetai o` Fi,lippoj kai. le,gei tw/| VAndre,a|( e;rcetai VAndre,aj kai. Fi,lippoj kai. le,gousin tw/| VIhsou/Å

NAS John 12:22 Philip *came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came, and they * told Jesus. o` Fi,lippoj (d.a. + n-nm-s) e;rcetai e;rcomai (vipd--3s) kai, (cc) le,gei le,gw (vipa--3s) tw/| o` VAndre,a|( VAndre,aj (d.a. + n-dm-s) VAndre,aj (n-nm-s) kai, (cc) Fi,lippoj (n-nm-s) e;rcetai e;rcomai (vipd--3s) kai, (cc) le,gousin le,gw (vipa--3p) tw/| o` VIhsou/Å VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-dm-s)

GNT John 12:23 o` de. VIhsou/j avpokri,netai auvtoi/j le,gwn( VElh,luqen h` w[ra i[na doxasqh/| o` ui`o.j tou/ avnqrw,pouÅ

NAS John 12:23 And Jesus *answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. de, (ch) o` VIhsou/j (d.a. + n-nm-s) avpokri,netai avpokri,nomai (vipd--3s) auvtoi/j auvto,j (npdm3p) le,gwn( le,gw (circ. ptc./p/a/nm-s; again, note John's use of the present ptc. to maintain a continuum of context) h` w[ra (d.a. + n-nf-s) VElh,luqen e;rcomai (viPFa--3s) i[na (conj. purpose; "for/in order that") o` ui`o,j (d.a. + n-nm-s) tou/ o` avnqrw,pouÅ a;nqrwpoj (d.a. + n-gm-s) doxasqh/| doxa,zw (vsap--3s; "might be glorified"; subjunctive denotes potential and passive denotes an outside agent)

1. John now introduces another group of people into the overall mix contextually as he states that there were certain Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast.
2. This incident is peculiar to John.
3. There are several views promoted as to why John includes this particular event that seems randomly out of place contextually.
4. About the only common denominator of like-mindedness as to John’s purpose here is that it must be of importance (why else would John include it) and that it has something to do with the Gentiles and Christ’s mission to the Church.
5. While both premises are accurate, the real essence of purpose and understanding by most commentaries as to what John is emphasizing is void.
6. Because of the seemingly disjointed nature of these verses, interpreters tend to disassociate them chronologically from the triumphal entry and thus break the contextual flow that has been established by John.
7. This is due to the fact that while interpreters point out particular principles of the context, they fail in establishing and maintaining a flow of primary context doctrinally, and central theme of Chapter 12.
8. Commentaries tend to approach this chapter as chronologically with some continuity to begin with, and then approach the remainder of the chapter as simply snippets of information to fill in the remainder of the 5 days before 13:1.
9. Once one realizes that the purpose of chapter 12 is to establish a particular or central theme to introduce Jesus’ final 24 hours of ministry in 13:1 and that the chronology maintains a continuity of sequential flow, the puzzle as to John’s inclusion of vss.20-21 is unraveled.
10. A close scrutiny of vss.20 through 24 reveals exactly the intent and purpose of John’s introduction of the Gentiles and answers seemingly unanswerable questions.
11. The imperfect of "there were" denotes ongoing action in the past.
12. This verb ties the state of being of those in view to the other members of the party assembled for the triumphal entry.
13. The term "Greeks" denotes a people of gentile origin with a Hellenistic background and culture.
14. Their specific region of origin is not stated and is moot for the purpose of what John in now seeking to communicate.
15. These particular Gentiles are not Hellenistic Jews, but represent certain Greeks known as "God-fearing Greeks", such as pictured in Act.17:4.
16. In that passage, those Gentiles became converts to Christianity under Paul and Silas’ ministry to Thessalonica. Act.17:1
17. These particular Gentiles recanted of the Hellenistic polytheism of their culture attaching themselves to the monotheism of Judaism, hence "God-fearers".
18. Though it appears they maintained their cultural, racial and geographical autonomy, they became to some degree proselytes of the Jewish religion.
19. Whether those in view now are believers or non-believers is not stated, another point moot in John’s purpose of theme.
20. John notes that these particular Greeks were literally, "out from the source of/evk" those who were going up to worship at the feast.
21. The present participle in view of the past tense of "there were" indicts these people as part of "the great multitude" of pilgrims in vs.12.
22. This points out two things:

1. They were privy too and a part of the procession of the triumphal entry.
2. Their theology was influenced by these predominately Galilean Jews.

1. These Greeks itinerary for being in Jerusalem was the same as the Jews and that was to observe Passover.
2. Such people were allowed to come to the outer court, the court of the Gentiles to worship.
3. That a place of worship in the temple was established to include non-Jews, points to the responsibility of custodialship of the POG by Israel, in the evangelizing of the nations through what they taught and represented. Eze.42:14 of the millennial temple cp. the impact of restored Israel and their functioning purpose to the nations in Eze.39:27.
4. As with the temple, every aspect of function of the priests, to include their garments, are considered as "holy" and represented the Person and work of Jesus Christ as it pertains to the POG. Cp. garments of the Aaronic priesthood (Exo.28:2-4).
5. In the Eze.42:14 verse, God makes it clear that the priests are to remove their priestly garments before they minister to those in the outer court.
6. This in part teaches that those responsible to communicate God’s plan in Israel are not to approach evangelism in any shape, form or way that detracts from the reality that salvation is of Christ and not based on any works or systems of men.
7. This is another hint of irony regarding all of the attendees and that is that the very feast that they were there to observe taught the necessity of Christ’s death as the Passover Lamb with regard to salvation.
8. Yet as we know, based on the distorted theology of mainline Judaism at the time, salvation was through works of men.
9. And because of this false teaching, the inhabitants of Israel en masse insist on a political Messiah, even believers that have exercised faith in Him for salvation.
10. In other words, whatever role the Jewish believers thought that Christ in His humanity would play regarding their sins, they did not consider His mission and purpose at the 1^st advent to include the necessity of His death on a cross.
11. While they have identified Jesus as God in the flesh and their Messiah, they continue to perpetuate the thinking that their salvation will somehow be effected through the establishment of His eternal kingdom at the very time of His first visitation.
12. They too, continue to be misguided based on their previous embracing of this false Christology regarding the advents of Messiah.
13. And it is the Galileans that have been shown to support Jesus and are heavily influenced and convinced of this teaching. Joh.6:15
14. It is safe to say that the bulk of support for Christ, as well as believers, came from this area.
15. And it is the theological influence of the Galileans that these Greeks have come under.
16. That the Galileans are indeed their prominent influence is seen in the irony of whom these Gentiles approach as therefore, they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and were asking him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus".
17. One must wonder why John once again reports both the town and region of Philip’s residence when he has already revealed it back in Joh.1:43-44.
18. The answer is, for emphasis.
19. It becomes obvious that in the Greek’s seeking of audience with Jesus, that they are directed towards Philip by other pilgrim Jews of that area that would know him or possibly they had been in Bethsaida in the past and knew of his association with Christ in that way.
20. It is no secret in the Gospels that Jesus frequented Bethsaida in His Galilean ministry and thus other Galileans would be acquainted with it and its inhabitants. Mar.6:45; 8:22; Luk.9:10
21. While the means of Philip’s choosing is not known, what is known is that these Greeks turned to someone that other Galileans would be acquainted with or someone they considered attached with them and of a similar likeness in thinking that they thought would be an avenue to Jesus to suit their purpose.
22. It is Philip that has been seen to represent the 12 in their spiritual dullness indicating that their eyes are on the physical concerning Christ, not truly the spiritual. Joh.6:5-7
23. And it is Philip that we will continue to see as being dull regarding the spiritual aspects of Christ. Joh.14:8-9
24. Upon approaching Philip, they express a very strong desire to have audience with Jesus.
25. This is brought out by the imperfect tense of the verb of "were asking/entreating/ evrwta,w", which denotes a bombardment of request.
26. Whatever they’re reasoning for wanting to see Jesus, they were very adamant and persistent in their petition.
27. Now another seeming gaping hole that John leaves in these verses; he doesn’t say why or for what reason that these Greeks want to see Jesus.
28. John again purposely maintains silence in this regard to force the reader to look to the response and actions of the disciples in view and Jesus response for answers and not to only dwell upon the Gentiles per say.
29. In so doing, the answer why is implicitly revealed.
30. The first hint as to their intent and why is seen in the infinitive "to see/o`ra,w" that we have seen previously that denotes a spiritual perception adjoined to an experiential reality. Joh.3:3
31. Their reasoning centers on some spiritual/theological truth that they regard as pertinent to or fulfilled in Jesus’ Person experientially.
32. Upon their initial request to Philip, John then records that Philip came and told Andrew and that ultimately Andrew and Philip came, and they told Jesus.
33. The historical presents of the verbs "came" and "told" in vs.22 indicates the continuous sequential events that transpired.
34. It becomes obvious that after the Greek’s initial request was made to Philip that he was unsure of the appropriate action to take and sought a second opinion from Andrew, also of Bethsaida. Joh.1:44
35. Upon Andrew’s hearing of what Philip had to say, Andrew determines that this issue should be taken directly to Jesus and with Philip they go to inform Him of the request.
36. It is clear that both Philip and Andrew are very reticent to grant these Greeks approval without a direct approval from Christ Himself.
37. In other words, neither disciple concluded that they had the authority or knowledge necessary to grant the audience requested without direct authorization from Christ.
38. It is vs.23 that implicitly indicates why the disciples acted in such a way and therefore explains why the Greeks were seeking audience with Jesus, and He answered them saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified".
39. Again, John leaves moot any indication of Jesus ever granting the request or giving specific audience to the Greeks.
40. This again tells the student of Scripture that in the overall scheme of record, these things are not the real issues being emphasized.
41. The phrase, "The hour has come" indicates the immediate time frame of history in view.
42. His use of title, "the Son of Man" emphasizes His humanity as Messiah in relation to time.
43. The subjunctive verb, "might be glorified" indicates the potential goal for His humanity as it relates to time.
44. The real crux of Jesus’ response is to relate an experiential truth regarding His humanity at the 1^st advent.
45. It could be rendered, "The time that has approached is for only one purpose regarding My humanity and that is to fulfill the necessary requirements for glorification via death, burial and resurrection".
46. Jesus’ response literally indicts those in view contextually as to a gross failure in their thinking and theology regarding their Messiah.
47. That His response is presented in such an allusive fashion as to the listeners involved, excepting the disciples explicitly indicated, implicates all of the supporters around him.
48. Starting with the great multitude of Galilean pilgrims, any Gentiles whom they have influenced, all the way up to even those of Jesus inner circle that would have the greatest influence theologically, are guilty of rejecting the necessity of the cross and the spiritual realties evolving around the advents.
49. The purpose of the Greek’s request to see Jesus was based on a formal request of audience to see the King of Israel.
50. This is why the disciples consternate over their request and due to political formality, seek Jesus’ permission first.
51. Because of the theological influence of the supporters of Jesus, predominate in Northern Israel and supported by Jesus’ own disciples, these Gentiles want to attach themselves to the cause of the Christ in establishing His kingdom.
52. Jesus’ response is designed as an implied rebuke in explanation to all involved, and especially the disciples, that His Kingship is not His mission at the 1^st advent.
53. That He presents His true mission in a straightforward and positive way is designed to not negate the fact that He is the King of Israel, but to emphasize that His glorification must precede in time first.
54. A recap of the intent and purpose of John’s inclusion of vss.20-23:

1. As context has established, a mass support of sympathetic Jews to the cause of Christ has been consolidated into a public manifestation at the triumphal entry.
2. The common Biblical denominator as reasoning for support is that all consider Jesus as the King of Israel.
3. Their common denominator of doctrinal fallacy in this regard is that they think His presence at the 1^st advent is to fulfill that role and thereby reject the necessity of His death and resurrection.
4. This is in contrast to all that the triumphal entry represented regarding His visitation as fulfilled through prophecy. Cp. Dan.9:24-27 esp. vs.26a
5. The mass numbers involved also are in contrast to only one (Mary) as accepting the spiritual realities and necessary Passion of Christ.
6. That many of these supporters are believers indicts Israel corporately (believers and unbelievers alike) as being negative to the mission of their Messiah at the 1^st advent.
7. The root cause for the explosion of this consolidated support at the time of the triumphal entry stemmed from the validation of Christ’s power over death.
8. Another irony to the real purpose behind the 1^st advent in contrast to Jewish thinking.
9. The root cause for the maladjustment in their theology was due to the false teaching of Judaistic Pharisaism and the supporters continued adherence to it.
10. Since mainline Judaism taught works for salvation, any reference to Messiah as taught by the Pharisees would be that only of a political King that would reign forever. Cf. 12:34
11. The impact of these false shepherds reached to the very outskirts of Israel to include those of the most northern region of Galilee.
12. It is in this region that we first see the impact of their false teaching as it applied en masse to Jesus’ supporters. Joh.6:15
13. These pilgrims are representative of the damage the false teachers have caused to Israel en masse.
14. The affect of their leaven is to the degree that even those closest to Jesus have been sucked into their evil. 12:16
15. All combined demonstrates the –V of Israel at the 1^st advent and their religious reversionism, which influenced believers and unbelievers alike.
16. It is this theme that effectuates the purpose behind vss.20-23.
17. The Greeks in view are representative of the Gentiles that otherwise would be concluded as seekers of truth and potentially +V.
18. That they are a part of the pilgrimage for the Passover also emphasizes that fact.
19. That they are affiliated with the other pilgrims reflects the basis for their own theological influence.
20. That the Jews that they are associated with reject the necessity of the cross and believe that Messiah is their political King, it only makes sense that their thinking is also influenced in this way.
21. Their purpose for seeking audience with Jesus is to pay homage to the new King.
22. That whether they are believers or not, or why they want to pay homage is moot to the theme and thus disregarded by John.
23. The only issue at hand is that this is how the Greeks regarded Jesus’ Person theologically and that they are potential seekers for evangelization.
24. John’s emphasis is to point out the ramifications of false teaching, coupled with –V in religious reversionism, and the impact this had upon the custodial responsibilities of Israel in representing God’s plan to the world as a priest nation.
25. That they came to two of the disciples that have previously represented the spiritual dullness of the disciples overall points out that not only were believers guilty of reversionism, but just how infiltrated and bad the reversionism was.
26. That Philip and Andrew had direct geographical ties with the pilgrims denotes even the disciple’s failure to counter this leaven and indeed are just as responsible for its perpetuation.

1. That they have fallen in step with this distorted view of their Messiah is why the hesitant reaction in vs.22.
2. They too consider Jesus’ actions at the triumphal entry as a public proclamation and out-coming to receive coronation of the crown in accordance with public desire/wish/qevlw (vs.21).
3. And no one should be allowed audience with the King without His direct consent.
4. John’s allusiveness as to whether or not Jesus ever spoke to the Greeks directly or not is intentional, implying that Jesus in no way catered to the false ideology presented and separated Himself in that regard.
5. That His response definitely is directed to the disciples indicates what the disciples should have told the Greeks themselves.
6. It indicates the culpability and responsibility of the disciples in their roles to others around them regarding the communication of truth regarding Messiah and again reflects their failure in that regard.
7. Ideologically it points to the responsibility and culpability placed upon communicators that have received the good deposit in their articulation of God’s plan to others and the resultant natural fallout if they don’t. 2Tim.2:2
8. The picture of religious reversionism of Israel is now established with a revelation of its consequences and impact of its influence from the center out.
9. The passage concerning the Greeks denotes the failure of custodialship of Israel in their responsibility of evangelizing the world around them.
10. It is this reason why the Gentiles are introduced and points to why Israel has been laid aside as the representatives of God’s plan and that custodialship is now in the hands of the Gentiles.

1. With the conclusion of these verses, the groundwork has been established by John for the reader of His gospel to have a full appreciation of how it came about that the Jews very Messiah ended up abandoned at the cross and why Israel was subsequently abandoned by God.
2. Because of their perversion and rejection of sound BD regarding Messiah, even those closest to Him have not the spiritual resource to provide any defense on His behalf and when the heat is on, any support envisioned now is hollow and forsaken
3. Hence, John has pooled together the results of Jesus’ 3+ year ministry under the event of the triumphal entry, which denotes that even those who were sympathetic to Christ and projected an inclination to follow Him, to include believers, were at best lukewarm and rejecting BD. Cp. Rev.3:16 as the same principle applies to the Church.
4. It reveals the depth of religious reversionism the entire nation had sunk into and gross failure to fulfill their priest nation responsibilities as a witness to the world, which lead to a change of custodialship to the Church and ultimate national destruction.
5. While the 11 and many others will eventually get their spiritual act together, the prophetic stage has been set and Israel is held responsible corporately for the death of their Messiah. Act.2:22-23; 3:13-15 cp. vs.12 to note Peter is addressing the Jews.
6. While the witness of others were sufficient for many to come to saving faith, essentially any further sound doctrine stopped there.
7. This fact caps just how negative Israel was at the 1^st advent. Cp. 12:37-43
8. John essentially uses these events now as a form of a fortiori argument to emphasize that if believers and supporters of Christ were this –V, then how much more so were unbelieving –V.
9. After the death of John the Baptist and apart from Christ’s own teaching and manifestation of His glory, any mass evangelism dependent upon verbally articulating sound doctrine would have been void during this time of Jewish history.
10. The central theme of chapter 12 is that Israel corporately was in religious reversionism, believer and unbeliever alike, which is the cause that brings about the events of Jesus’ betrayal, death of crucifixion and resurrection, which events comprises the remainder of John’s Gospel in 13:1ff.

GNT John 12:24 avmh.n avmh.n le,gw u`mi/n( eva.n mh. o` ko,kkoj tou/ si,tou pesw.n eivj th.n gh/n avpoqa,nh|( auvto.j mo,noj me,nei\ eva.n de. avpoqa,nh|( polu.n karpo.n fe,reiÅ

NAS John 12:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, avmh,n avmh,n (part. + part.; "Pay attention now") le,gw (vipa--1s; "I keep on saying") u`mi/n( su, (npd-2p; "to you all"; addresses those to whom hold the distorted Messianic viewpoint) eva,n (conj. +) mh, (neg.; "unless/except") o` ko,kkoj (d.a. + n-nm-s; "grain/seed/kernel"; used 7x) tou/ o` si,tou si/toj (d.a. + n-gm-s; "wheat/barley"; an agrigultural plant from which meal is made; used 14x) pesw.n pi,ptw (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "after having fallen") eivj (pa) th.n h` gh/n gh/ (d.a. + n-af-s; "the ground/earth/soil") avpoqa,nh|( avpoqnh,|skw (vsaa--3s; "might die"; apart from the potential of this fact, then what follows is true) it remains by itself alone; auvto,j (npnm3s; "it"; ref. the grain of wheat") me,nei\ me,nw (vipa--3s; "remains/abides/stands") mo,noj (a--nm-s; "alone/by itself") but if it dies, it bears much fruit. de, (ch) eva,n (conj. intro. the positive of the 3rd class condition) avpoqa,nh|( avpoqnh,|skw (vsaa--3s; "it might die") fe,reiÅ fe,rw (vipa--3s; "it keeps on bearing/producing") polu.n polu,j (a--am-s; "much") karpo.n karpo,j (n-am-s; "fruit")

GNT John 12:25 o` filw/n th.n yuch.n auvtou/ avpollu,ei auvth,n( kai. o` misw/n th.n yuch.n auvtou/ evn tw/| ko,smw| tou,tw| eivj zwh.n aivw,nion fula,xei auvth,nÅ

NAS John 12:25 "He who loves his life loses it; o` filw/n file,w (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s; "He who loves/has affection for/has regard for"; this is love based on the attributes of the object of love and is discriminatory in application cp. to Divine love that is based on the attributes of the one applying love and hence indiscriminate towards the object) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s) th.n h` yuch.n yuch, (d.a. + n-af-s; "soul life"; same as 10:11,15,17,24) avpollu,ei avpo,llumi (vipa--3s; "keeps on destroying/ruining/loosing"; to cease to exist for its intended purpose) auvth,n( auvto,j (npaf3s; ref. the soul) and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. kai, (cc) o` misw/n mise,w (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s; "hates"; denotes an act of ostracizing/rejecting/ separating out as a target for MA, verbal or overt intense dislike/to hold in contempt; same as 3:20; 7:7) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s) th.n h` yuch.n yuch, (d.a. + n-af-s) evn (pL) tou,tw| ou-toj (near dem. pro./Lm-s) tw/| o` ko,smw| ko,smoj (d.a. + n-dm-s) fula,xei fula,ssw (vifa--3s; "will keep/guard/defend/protecting through observation in order to preserve; used 31x) auvth,nÅ auvto,j (npaf3s) eivj (pa) zwh.n zwh, (n-af-s; "life in the fullest sense") aivw,nion aivw,nioj (a--af-s; "eternal/everlasting")

GNT John 12:26 eva.n evmoi, tij diakonh/|( evmoi. avkolouqei,tw( kai. o[pou eivmi. evgw. evkei/ kai. o` dia,konoj o` evmo.j e;stai\ eva,n tij evmoi. diakonh/| timh,sei auvto.n o` path,rÅ

NAS John 12:26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; eva,n (conj. intro. 3rd class cond.) ti.j (indef. pro./nm-s) diakonh/|( diakone,w (vspa--3s; "might serve/to wait upon in order to serve/ to minister"; same word used for deacons; used 37x) evmoi, evgw, (npd-1s; ref. Christ) avkolouqei,tw( avkolouqe,w (vImp.pa--3s; "let him follow/adjoin oneself to another party) evmoi. evgw, (npd-1s; ref. Christ; both uses of the pronoun are forward in the Greek word order for emphasis, "If Me....then Me") and where I am, there shall My servant also be; kai, (cs) o[pou (cs; "where/wherever/in what place") evgw, (npn-1s +) eivmi, (vipa--1s; "I Myself am") evkei/ (adv.; "there/in that place") o` evmo,j (d.a. + a--nm1s; "My/what is mine/what one possesses") o` dia,konoj (d.a. + n-nm-s; "servant") kai, (adjunctive; "also") e;stai\ eivmi, (vifm--3s; "himself will be") if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. eva,n (conj. intro. 3rd class) ti.j (indef. pro./nm-s) diakonh/| diakone,w (vspa--3s; "might serve") evmoi. evgw, (npd-1s) o` path,rÅ (d.a. + n-nm-s; "God the Father") timh,sei tima,w (vifa--3s; "will honor/exalt/give respect") auvto.n auvto,j(npam3s)

1. After Jesus clears the air of the misguided intentions and thinking of those around Him, He now expands upon the spiritual principles surrounding the priority and necessity of His glorification.
2. While the Greeks and the previous situation emphasize the corruptness in evangelizing by the Jews, it also brings to the forefront the necessity of worldwide salvation.
3. Until Jesus’ followers get their doctrinal priorities straight regarding Christ and truly understand the spiritual principles at stake, any evangelizing to the Gentiles will suffer in that regard.
4. His teaching in vss.24-26 relates directly to His glorification as the potential and ultimate goal that He has declared to be His mission at the 1^st advent.
5. In addition, it sets forth the real issues and purpose behind the salvation He is there to provide.
6. This in turn addresses the issues of service that the Greek’s intentions obviously centered on in their request to pay homage to the King of Israel.
7. It has direct impact upon the distortion of doctrine that these continue to adhere too.
8. That His glorification is passive (passive voice of "doxa,zw/to be glorified" in vs.23) denotes the outside force of the Father, whom Jesus recognized was the only true source of glory. Joh.17:1,4,5,10
9. The reason for the Father’s willingness to glorify His son stems from the perfect obedience that the Son demonstrated at all times.
10. Jesus volitionally in His humanity revealed a perfect and total willingness to do the will of the Father. Joh.4:34; 5:19,30; 7:18, 8:29
11. And it is through Jesus’ willingness to endure spiritual death on the cross at the Father’s will that results in His glory.
12. It is His fulfillment of service as the Sacrificial Lamb of God that the entirety of God’s kingdom rests upon.
13. Jesus makes clear 3 primary issues necessary for glory to occur as it relates to Himself and is applicable to all men:

1. Vs.24 denotes the end result and effects of dying as it relates to Divine good production.
2. It is Divine good production that is the directive will of the Father for those that wish to serve in His kingdom. Joh.9:4
3. Vs.25 emphasizes the means justifying the end under the concepts of love and hate as applied to life.
4. It is Divine good production that has a direct impact on life eternal.
5. Vs.26 emphasizes the evidence of the means as it relates to the service provided.

1. Jesus begins with the emphatic double amen, "Truly, truly" to underscore the serious nature of what He is about to say, which demands His listeners to pay close attention.
2. The phrase, "I keep on saying to you" indicates that the teaching at hand is a repetitive principle that His listeners have previously been taught by Jesus.
3. He then uses an agricultural analogy that all present could relate too that explains the necessity of His impending death and resurrection as He states, "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit".
4. That His listeners have their eyes on the physical concerning His Messiahship, it is apropos that He once again uses the physical to teach spiritual realities.
5. Jesus likens Himself to a grain of wheat that was and is a common staple of life support food.
6. He states that it must first fall into the earth and die before a new plant is born, a scientific fact regarding all plant seeds in their reproduction process.
7. The plant seed must first decompose and die before it is able to germinate new life.
8. If the seed is kept out of the ground and does not undergo this germination process, then it essentially remains by itself and is worthless for any reproduction process.
9. This germination process created by God teaches the necessity of why Jesus first must die before life both spiritually and physically can transcend beyond its temporal state and any eternal kingdom established. Cp. 12:34
10. It is Jesus that possesses eternal life through His spiritual life and +R and unless He is willing to sacrifice His life and +R in payment for the penalty of sins, the eternal life He has to offer remains useless for its intended purpose to begin new life.
11. Once the seed undergoes the necessary death and sprouts forth, the final result is a plant that will bear much fruit.
12. Similarly, once Jesus undergoes the pressures of death on the cross, the great harvest of +V producing eternal life becomes a reality.
13. It is only through Jesus’ work on the cross that the issue of sin that produces death is put to death, and the potential for new life to participate in the kingdom of God is produced.
14. Only then can there be subjects for the kingdom of God.
15. While the analogy is emphasizing the necessity for Messiah to die at the 1^st advent, it is obvious that it has direct impact upon the fruit that He bears.
16. And that is the problem of the STA and the death it causes has been removed.
17. Through a simple act of faith, the unbeliever cancels out spiritual death (Rom.5:12,15) and through simple confession the believer cancels out temporal death (Rom.6:5-8; 8:13).
18. And only then can service in the kingdom of God be a reality.
19. It is the believer that denies self and the STA, walking in FHS and pursuing the plan of God no matter the personal cost, which bears much fruit and effectively serves God in His kingdom with eternal results.
20. For Jesus, the fruit that He produces is salvation in its fullest sense for believers, who are a part of His SG₃. Isa.53:10-12 cp. Joh.10:29
21. For us, fruit involves our Divine good production that is translated into SG₂ and SG₃. Psa.1:1-3 cp. Joh.4:36
22. In vs.25 Jesus now provides the mechanics necessary to produce Divine good and therefore the means that validates its result.
23. Jesus does so by introducing a paradox contrasting temporal life with eternal life under the concepts of love and hate.
24. The mechanics centers on one’s soulish life, as brought out by the term for "life/h` yuch,/the soul".
25. That the soul is in view denotes the eternal makeup of man that will exist forever and is the ultimate determiner/volition whether or not man will be a part of God’s kingdom and have effectual service.
26. Incongruous/opposite of how men think regarding life, Jesus proclaims that He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
27. The two categories that man is broke down into are those that are –V and those that are +V.
28. The expressions of "loves and hates" as used here are to be understood in their most defined base meaning of "interest or regard" versus "indifference or disregard".
29. The term "loves/o` file,w" indicates a strong regard for the object of love based on who or what that object is.
30. The one who loves his soul is the individual that is –V and volitionally operates according to their own volitional disposition and attributes of their physical life as flesh.
31. It is the person that refuses to subject himself or herself to the will of God and opts for their own, self-chosen course.
32. The extreme of one that loves his soul is the unbeliever that places his own life above any command of God, refuses to believe and loses his soul for eternity.
33. The word "loses/avpo,llumi" means to destroy and for the unbeliever it is their eternal destruction in hell/Lake of Fire.
34. The parsing is present tense, indicating that he is not merely making a decision that will affect him at some point in the future, he is actively destroying his life in the present.
35. For the believer that is –V, their loss reflects their destruction of works at the Bema seat.
36. While the unbeliever is not even in the POG and bears absolutely no fruit, –V believers all categorically fall short of producing maximum Divine good production, the very purpose behind why Christ went to the cross.
37. These believers too are actively working to ruin the very life they have secured.
38. Another aspect of the word "loses" indicates a ceasing to exist for an intended purpose.
39. God has designed His plan for each person for the particular purpose to enjoy fellowship with Him in time and eternity inclusive of the blessings of Heaven and SG₃.
40. While the unbeliever is the negative example of this in the extreme, believers fall into the same trap and suffer loss in time and eternity due to their preoccupation with their own life.
41. The pitiful attempts to form one’s own plan for life and execute that plan in disregard of BD renders that person a failure in terms of what God had for them in time and eternity.
42. They reject the necessary credentials to serve in God’s kingdom.
43. The believer that will not orient to the straight and narrow of BD by pursuing relationships, jobs, pleasures, self-gratification, etc., under their own agendas are doing active damage to the life God intends for them to enjoy.
44. The alternative, as set forth by Jesus, indicates those that are +V and follow the means necessary to bear much fruit, as He continues, "and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal".
45. The phrase, "life in this world" is contrasted to "life eternal"
46. This establishes the two means of choice available to men regarding life i.e., human viewpoint promoted by the cosmos and Divine viewpoint promoted by the Heavenly kingdom.
47. For the person that is +V, they will not allow personal ideas, goals, plans, as promoted by cosmic thinking, to influence them regarding the will of God in a matter.
48. They will adamantly adhere too and guard the POG in their souls and shall keep it to life eternal.
49. They recognize that God’s kingdom is not of this world (Joh.8:23; 18:36) and continually seek to keep their eyes on the spiritual realities of BD.
50. They reveal a soulish disposition of disregard and separation from the world and by so doing reflect that they are true supporters and servants of the kingdom. Jam.4:4
51. They establish the priorities of BD, believe them, execute them and reject this world’s wisdom with regard to how they ought to run their lives.
52. They pursue BD first and do not fall into the pursuit of education, career, money, relationships, and other details of life that would disqualify them in terms of application and Divine good production.
53. They look beyond what this life has to offer and the physical realities, economically, politically and otherwise and look to the spiritual realities that is able to transcend our temporal states.
54. For those that are +V and place BD as premium, they will appear to others around them that they disregard their own welfare of life in this world.
55. In vs.26, Jesus now gives the overt evidence and validation of one that hates his life.
56. The 3^rd class condition of, "If anyone serves Me" points back to the volitional choices of loving or hating his life in vs.25.
57. The real sense of this phrase could be rendered, "If anyone says they want to serve Me", then let him follow Me.
58. It is here that Jesus specifically addresses the desires of service expressed by the Greeks.
59. His command centers on the necessity of Divine good production for service to be rendered before God.
60. Hence, the command to follow Jesus demands that 1^st they realize the necessity of the cross in order for Divine good production to become a reality.
61. The verb "serves/diakone,w" indicates a domestic rendering of service, such as to wait tables.
62. It demands therefore, that those rendering service place themselves under the appropriate authority and work according to instructions.
63. For those that say they want to serve Jesus in His kingdom, it is of necessity then that they approach life as He approaches it. Mat.4:19; 8:22; 16:24; 19:21
64. As the ultimate purpose of the necessity of His work on the cross has been established, then those that follow Him must of necessity understand and avail themselves of His work.
65. To follow is to apply BD through faith in Christ and maintain FHS with Him with R_B in all future applications of putting His word first in their lives.
66. If one is consistent in this, he will have fellowship with the Lord and the blessing of remaining in His presence as He states, "and where I am there shall My servant also be".
67. Jesus makes it clear to those around Him that for true audience to be granted by their eternal King, one must first adhere to what He represents spiritually.
68. In so doing they will enjoy His presence both spiritually as He is seating in Session and physically in resurrection, when He does come to establish His kingdom.
69. This is the force and evidence of those that truly do serve Him as He says, "if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him".
70. Jesus introduces the ultimate authority of God’s kingdom, God the Father.
71. He denotes once again that there is one higher than Himself that is in charge of all things, the Planner of the Plan of God.
72. In contrast to the approbation that those are seeking from Him, He proclaims where the true accolades of honor come from.
73. And this is the evidence and validation of anyone that adheres properly to the RCOC and serves Christ, and that is honor and blessing from God Himself.
74. While the multitudes have their eyes on the physical and political problems around them, Jesus makes it clear that His political fulfillment as King is totally dependent upon first meeting all spiritual requirements as set forth in God’s plan for Messiah.
75. Their priorities are not His priorities and if they truly want to serve Him, then they must make the adjustments.
76. Jesus in vs.26 has summarized the CWL as it pertains to serving the King of Israel:

1. A life of choice, "if anyone serves Me".
2. A life of spiritual growth, "let Him follow Me".
3. A life filled with confidence building promises and fellowship with Christ for time and eternity, "and where I am, there shall My servant also be".
4. A life with the greatest potential for rewards and blessing in time and eternity, "the Father will honor him".

1. While the palm Monday supporters are chanting "Rah! Rah! Rah! We want to serve the King", Jesus is decreeing, "You must first serve God the Father and hence, the POG!"

GNT John 12:27 Nu/n h` yuch, mou teta,raktai( kai. ti, ei;pwÈ Pa,ter( sw/so,n me evk th/j w[raj tau,thjÈ avlla. dia. tou/to h=lqon eivj th.n w[ran tau,thnÅ

NAS John 12:27 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Nu/n (adv.; "Now/Presently/At the present time as opposed to past") mou evgw, (npg-1s; ref. Jesus) h` yuch, (d.a. + n-nf-s; "soul") teta,raktai( tara,ssw (viPFp--3s; "has become troubled/agitated/stirred up"; same as 5:7; 11:33; PF denotes action in the immediate past contextually having existing results; passive denotes an outside force or pressure that has caused this soulish response) kai, (cc) ti, ti,j (interr. adj./an-s; "What?") ei;pwÈ le,gw (vsaa--1s; "might I say"; denotes a potential expression of His soul) 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Pa,ter( (n-vm-s) sw/so,n sw,|zw (vImp/aa--2s; "save/deliver") me evgw, (npa-1s) evk (pAbl; "from out of") tau,thjÈ ou-toj (near dem. pro./Ablf-s) th/j h` w[raj w[ra (d.a. + n-Ablf-s; "the hour"; looks towards the cross) avlla, (strong adver.; "But in stark contrast") dia, (pa +) tou/to ou-toj (+ near dem. pro./an-s; "for this purpose/because of this thing") h=lqon e;rcomai (viaa--1s) eivj (pa) tau,thnÅ ou-toj (near dem. pro./af-s) th.n h` w[ran w[ra (d.a. + n-af-s)

GNT John 12:28 pa,ter( do,xaso,n sou to. o;nomaÅ h=lqen ou=n fwnh. evk tou/ ouvranou/( Kai. evdo,xasa kai. pa,lin doxa,swÅ

NAS John 12:28 "Father, glorify Your name." There came therefore a voice out of heaven: pa,ter( path,r (n-vm-s) do,xaso,n doxa,zw (vImp./aa--2s; "glorify/exalt/ make obvious one's essence of value") sou su, (npg-2s) to, o;nomaÅ (d.a. + n-an-s; "name"; looks at one's reputation and identification) h=lqen e;rcomai (viaa--3s) ou=n (infer. conj.; looks back to Jesus' prayer) fwnh, (n-nf-s; "an audible voice or sound") evk (pAbl) tou/ o` ouvranou/( ouvrano,j (d.a. + n-gm-s; "heaven") "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." kai, (cc + ; "both"; kai,.....kai, = both....and) evdo,xasa doxa,zw (viaa--1s; "I have glorified it") kai, (cc; "and") doxa,swÅ doxa,zw(vifa--1s; "will glorify it") pa,lin (adv.; "again")

GNT John 12:29 o` ou=n o;cloj o` e`stw.j kai. avkou,saj e;legen bronth.n gegone,nai( a;lloi e;legon( :Aggeloj auvtw/| lela,lhkenÅ

NAS John 12:29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, were saying that it had thundered; o` o;cloj (d.a. + n-nm-s; "the multitude") ou=n (infer. conj.) o` (dnms; governs both participles) e`stw.j i[sthmi (d.a. + adj. ptc./PF/a/nm-s; "who stood by") kai, (cc) avkou,saj avkou,w (d.a. + adj. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "having heard"; "it" supplied for sense) e;legen le,gw (viIPFa--3s) gegone,nai( gi,nomai (misc. inf./PF/a; "that it had become/to occur") bronth.n bronth, (n-af-s; "thunder"; lit., "thunder has come to pass"; used 12x; thunder is often equated to a loud voice, cp. Rev.6:1; 10:3,4; 14:2; 19:6) others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." a;lloi a;lloj (adj./nm-p; "others of the same kind") e;legon( le,gw (viIPFa--3p) :Aggeloj (n-nm-s) lela,lhkenÅ lale,w (viPFa--3s; "has spoken/communicated") auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s)

GNT John 12:30 avpekri,qh VIhsou/j kai. ei=pen( Ouv diV evme. h` fwnh. au[th ge,gonen avlla. diV u`ma/jÅ

NAS John 12:30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. VIhsou/j (n-nm-s) avpekri,qh avpokri,nomai (viad--3s) kai, (cc) ei=pen( le,gw (viaa--3s) au[th ou-toj (near dem. pr./nf-s) h` fwnh, (d.a. + n-nf-s) ge,gonen gi,nomai (viPFa--3s; "has not come/did not occur") Ouv (neg. +) diV dia, (pa+) evme. evgw, (npa-1s; "not because of or on account of Me/for My sake") avlla, (strong advers.) diV dia, (pa +) u`ma/jÅ su, (npa-2p; "for your sakes")

1. These verses too are often subjectively interpreted as pertaining strictly to the pressure of the rigors of the cross as the total emphasis in view.
2. However, by maintaining the continuity of context and teaching, again we will see the true nature and reason for the troubled soul of Jesus’ humanity.
3. While Jesus is indeed looking forward to the cross and the pressures of the agony and distasteful nature of it that are real and intact, that is not the only pressure that He faced on the glory road.
4. Those interpreters that hold to the premise that Jesus is now consternating strictly over the 6 hours of the cross fail to recognize the following:

1. His continued discourse is in light of addressing those most adamant followers of Him that are rejecting the necessity of the cross.
2. His statement, "Father, save Me from this hour?" is rhetorical in nature rather than a prayer for help.
3. God the Father’s response to His actual prayer of vs.28a is not for His benefit, but for the benefit of the masses.

1. The impact of the concentrated volume of support during the triumphal entry has obvious ramifications towards the humanity of Christ.
2. While John in His Gospel sets forth the purpose of proving the Deity of Christ, he does not loose sight of His true nature of humanity, as here.
3. That Jesus is true flesh assumes His soulish attribute of will/volition. Joh.5:30
4. And it is the reality of choice inherent in His volition that now comes to the forefront of His thinking as He declares to those around Him that "My soul has become troubled".
5. The adverb "Now" looks at Jesus’ present state of thinking that has been produced as a result of the events surrounding the triumphal entry.
6. After articulating God’s plan and necessity of death for Messiah as paramount to God’s kingdom, in retort to the distorted doctrine personified in the Greeks, He now expresses the conflict of soul He is experiencing due the overt pressure that the masses have placed upon Him.
7. Due to their distorted theology and misguided intentions, as sincere as they may be, the reality is, is that the masses have become a real test to Jesus and a potential stumbling block to Him.
8. That they are so driven as to make Him their king now has provided a present and real alternative for His humanity to bypass the cross in lieu of God’s plan.
9. This is why there is a conflict in His soul.
10. The triumphal entry serves not only as fulfillment of prophecy and typology, but has become a test to Christ’s humanity to forego the cross and accept the terms and conditions of His supporters to accept His crown now.
11. His statement is designed to implicitly put into focus for those around Him that their good intentions are not really good at all, but only a source of temptation to Him.
12. It points to the fact that their motivations and agenda for Jesus are in total contradiction to what the POG calls for at the 1^st advent.
13. As sincere as these may seem to be, in reality, due to their continued adherence to false doctrine, they are functioning no less than allies of Satan, believers and unbelievers alike. Cp. Mat.4:8-10; 16:21-23
14. It points to the reality that Jesus was tempted in all things, yet without sin. Heb.4:15
15. While all of those around Jesus are engaged in revelry and kingly expectations, the fact is it was a major test put upon His humanity, another irony surrounding the triumphal entry.
16. It was a test of His volition once again in His ministry, whether to succumb to the pressures of the world or continue to apply doctrine and place His full trust in God’s plan.
17. To feel the pressure of a test is not necessarily to be out of fellowship about it.
18. The challenge is to determine that you are going to go on and do the revealed will of God.
19. And that is the logic and force behind the rhetorical question He then proposes to them, "and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’" which solicits a "no" answer.
20. The subjunctive mood of "what might/should I say" points to the alternative to accept the crown in this hour that they are campaigning for.
21. In other words, He is asking them, "should I request from God to deliver Me from the cross because this is what you the people want?"
22. Their view is in direct contrast to what He has just articulated regarding God’s plan as to the necessity of the cross, divine good production and ultimate service to the Father, which is the force of the final clause in vs.27, "But for this purpose I came to this hour".
23. Jesus in no uncertain terms, though implicit, has put all on notice that no matter what overt pressure they may place upon Him, His volitional resolve and determination is to choose to do the will of God.
24. In total contrast to the maladjustment of –V around Him, He states that His orientation and focus on God’s directive will for His Person is not to be broken.
25. Four days before the events of the cross, Jesus’ humanity is now faced with the additional burden and pressure of mass support for Him to bypass the cross.
26. The irony of the triumphal entry is that in the midst of all the gala and kingly expectations exuded by the masses, it becomes the theme of a final and major hurdle for the humanity of Christ to deal with added on to the pressures of the rigor of the cross itself.
27. The perfect tense of the verb "has become troubled" regarding His soul indicates the extenuation of the temptation at hand is a pressure that He will have to deal with up to and including His crucifixion.
28. John has now articulated the primary theme of personal temptation facing Christ’s final approach to the cross i.e., to circumvent its necessity and succumb to the desires of the cosmos.
29. But, due to the total resolve of His ++V, Christ declares that He will fulfill His mission and purpose of the 1^st advent.
30. And as validation to those around Him that the cross indeed is God’s directive will for Him, He prays, "Father, glorify Your name".
31. Rather than opt for the alternative human viewpoint presented by the crowds, He prays a prayer that epitomizes His total acclimation and resolve to submit Himself to the Father’s will.
32. God’s glory reflects the manifestation and fulfillment of His will i.e., the POG.
33. His name reflects His essence, character and reputation in all that He is.
34. To glorify His name is to make Himself known in an exalting fashion validating His very existence and that for which He represents.
35. God possesses and deserves glory based on Who He is, but Who He is, is observed by what He does.
36. That God is invisible, it is only through His creation and communication of His Word/word to men that manifestation of His Person can be ascertained and understood by men.
37. The purpose for God exalting Himself is to provide overt evidence of Himself and cause those that want to recognize Him to treat Him as His nature demands.
38. And it is the cross, the sacrifice of God’s own Son on behalf of His enemies providing potential salvation for all men that reveals a great deal of the character and nature of God to include His sovereignty, +R, +J and love.
39. Christ’s prayer in essence is His view of the cross as an expression of the essence of God, and as such, should bring glory, honor, praise, etc., to His name.
40. An immediate response to Jesus’ prayer is cited and there came therefore a voice out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again".
41. The force of the first glorification of His name is that God had glorified it through the incarnation and public ministry of Jesus inclusive of His miracles, manifesting the glory of the Father. Joh.1:14; 2:11; 11:4,40; 17:22
42. The future glorification to occur will be seen in the events of the cross, resurrection and ascension of the God/man.
43. The voice of the Father is a declaration and confirmation that all evidence of the POG has and will be manifested through the Person and work of Christ.
44. It is overt validation that the volitional choice that Christ has and will make in His humanity concerning the necessity of the cross is in direct accordance with the Father’s directive will.
45. John then records two reactions of the multitude gathered, who stood by and heard it, as therefore they were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him".
46. While the voice of God was perfectly audible to Jesus, it was not the same for the masses.
47. Some thought it was nothing more than the sound of thunder, while others declared it to be the voice of an angel.
48. While the voice of God was intended to confirm and validate all that Jesus is and has been teaching, it becomes obvious that the masses around Him have a hearing problem.
49. While the first group could only relate the sound to strictly a physical phenomenon, the second group at least considered it to be a voice directed to Jesus.
50. In either case, it is the confusion of the crowd that perfectly pictures their spiritual confusion concerning Messiah.
51. Because they only relate to their Messiah on a physical and political level, that which is spoken of Him is interpreted in that fashion, physically.
52. Though the second group does decipher the sound as a voice sent from heaven, they too only relate it as a physical sign directed to Him.
53. But this is totally opposite for the purpose of Jesus’ prayer and the Father’s response as Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes".
54. This points to the fact that even with the best case scenario presented regarding the masses, they were not willing to accept God’s validation for its intent and purpose.
55. The multitude’s reactions, once again points to the –V of those involved in the triumphal entry and their refusal to accept the truth and spiritual realities concerning their Messiah.
56. That they continue to reject Jesus’ teaching of the necessity of His death (12:24 "I keep on saying to you all.."), they remain confused and continue to distort the POG even when the Father speaks it Himself and provides physical evidence otherwise.
57. This points to the fact that rejection of the teaching of truth is tantamount to rejection of God’s own words and spiritual blindness to that reality.
58. –V misconstrues God’s words as being void of any spiritual consequence (thunder) or at best determines them as an indirect representation of God (an angel speaking) and thus categorically dismiss His words of their full intent and impact they are designed to have upon the listener (that they consider the words spoken to Him, and not themselves).
59. –V does not truly hear God speaking to them and will relate His words to some other cause than for that which they truly are designed and intended.
60. Even when supernatural evidence by God is given, -V will distort it to fit within their own frame of reference.
61. Even with God speaking Himself, -V will always interpret it to mean something less than the pure veracity and confirmation of His glory (manifestation of His plan) and Person (revelation of who and what He is).
62. This is the difference between +V that truly hears spiritually with their soul and –V that only hears what they want to hear.
63. While +V pursues God with total intellectual honesty, objectivity and humility (exegesis), -V will always incorporate/insert their own fleshly/physical/cosmic read into what He has to say (eisegesis).
64. To reject the words of the teacher of truth (Christ’s own teaching of the necessity of the cross) equals rejection of God’s words designed to validate the glory of His name.
65. This phenomenon continues to saturate the world today to include Christendom.
66. Even when the truth of God’s word is confirmed through the physical manifestation of His glory through natural disasters, disease, economic and political upheaval, DD, etc., -V will sluff it off as simply a natural part of life or at best unwilling to accept the fact that maybe God is speaking directly to them.
67. In either case, because these types reject doctrine(s), when God does speak to them in life, they distort or reroute His message to avoid facing the reality of His words.
68. Even Jesus’ supporters have no true interest to understand the spiritual realities concerning Messiah as articulated by the Father Himself at this point and time in their history.
69. And it is their rejection of the necessity of the cross that renders them totally ignorant of the true spiritual warfare of the A/C, that Christ proceeds to articulate in vss. 31-33.

GNT John 12:31 nu/n kri,sij evsti.n tou/ ko,smou tou,tou( nu/n o` a;rcwn tou/ ko,smou tou,tou evkblhqh,setai e;xw\

NAS John 12:31 "Now judgment is upon this world; nu/n (adv.; "Now/At the present time") kri,sij (n-nf-s; "a judgment/decision/a rendering of justice"; here God's absolute justice rendered) evsti.n eivmi, (vipa--3s; "keeps on being") tou,tou( ou-toj (near dem. pro./gm-s +) tou/ o` ko,smou ko,smoj (d.a. + n-objective gen./m-s-receives the action of the verb; "upon this world/directed towards this world") now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. nu/n (adv.) o` a;rcwn (d.a. + n-nm-s; "the ruler/chief/authoritative head") tou,tou ou-toj (near dem. pro./gm-s +) tou/ o` ko,smou ko,smoj (d.a. + n-descriptive gen./m-s) evkblhqh,setai evkba,llw(vifp--3s; "shall be cast out) e;xw\ (adv.; "outside")

GNT John 12:32 kavgw. eva.n u`ywqw/ evk th/j gh/j( pa,ntaj e`lku,sw pro.j evmauto,nÅ

NAS John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." kavgw, (cc&npn-1s; "And I Myself") eva,n (cs; intro. 3rd class cond.) u`ywqw/ u`yo,w (vsap--1s; "might be lifted up/raised up high"; same as 3:14; 8:28) evk (pabl) th/j h` gh/j( gh/ (d.a. + n-gf-s) e`lku,sw e[lkw (vifa--1s; "will draw by force"; same as 6:44) pa,ntaj pa/j (ap-am-p; "all men") pro,j (pa; "to/towards"; can indicate a face-to-face encounter) evmauto,nÅ evmautou/ (reflexive pro./am1s)

GNT John 12:33 tou/to de. e;legen shmai,nwn poi,w| qana,tw| h;mellen avpoqnh,|skeinÅ

NAS John 12:33 Now He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. de, (cs; "Now") e;legen le,gw (viIPFa--3s) tou/to ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-s; "this thing") shmai,nwn shmai,nw (circ. ptc. to indicate purpose of "saying"/p/a/nm-s; "to indicate/to signify/to foretell/to give a sign"; used 6x) poi,w| poi/oj (interr. adj./dm-s-denotes one among several of ways or things; "what kind of/what sort of") qana,tw| qa,natoj (n-dm-s) h;mellen me,llw (viIPFa--3s; "by which He was about to/that would certainly take place/come to pass" +) avpoqnh,|skeinÅ avpoqnh,|skw (+ compl. inf./p/a-; "to die")

1. The adverb "now" in vs.31 looks back to Jesus’ volitional determination and resolve to fulfill God’s plan for Him in "this hour" of vs.27.
2. "This hour" denotes the conclusion and purpose of Jesus’ ministry at the 1^st advent focusing on the necessity of His work on the cross.
3. It is His work on the cross that addresses the true spiritual issues of the angelic conflict i.e., the rule of light and darkness/righteousness and evil, etc. 2Cor.10:3-6; Eph.6:12
4. Jesus’ teaching is designed to articulate the true issues of rule and dominion that are spiritually governed, in contrast to the view that the masses have concerning Him and their current situation physically under Roman rule.
5. In other words, that the masses consider Him to be their political deliverer, Jesus now brings forth the spiritual realities necessary for Him to truly fulfill their expectations.
6. He does so by addressing the legal ramifications necessary for God’s eternal kingdom to be established in the world.
7. His declarations presuppose basic rights necessary for a nation or kingdom to exist:

1. The right of citizenship.
2. The right of rulership.
3. The right to geography.
4. The right of law.

1. The first clause, "Now judgment keeps on being upon this world" denotes a present ongoing state of reality of conflict that the cosmos is a target of.
2. It introduces the concept of judging as applied in a legal sense to Jesus’ work on the cross and its ramifications.
3. This world reflects the current state of cosmic existence under which system it is governed, as contrasted to the kingdom of God that is to displace it. Cp. Joh.12:25
4. It denotes the true character and nature of the cosmos, which is fashioned after Satan and his perverted genius. Eph.2:2-3
5. It recognizes claim of rulership by Satan over the world at the fall, when man forfeited his title to the earth and it came under God’s curse. Gen.1:27-31 cp. 3:17-19
6. Via the I/STA manifested at the fall and passed down through Adam’s progeny, Satan gained rule over man through spiritual death and easily perpetuates his darkness through men built on an entire cosmic system of death and lies. Joh.8:44
7. It realizes its corporate temporal and continual state of flux and ultimate destiny for the world to perish due to rejection of God’s will. 1Joh.2:16-17
8. Through the fall of man and the inherent STA of men, all men come into this world as citizens of Satan’s kingdom, under his right of rulership via the STA, under his geographical claim of cursed (Gen.3:14) and under his law of death.
9. Hence, this world keeps on being under judgment and has been every since salvation was provided, denoting a potential division (judgment separates) for man to avail himself of apart from the cosmic system under which he lives.
10. Judgment indicates an act of God’s +J that is decisively rendered with a formal or legally binding verdict.
11. That this judgment is a present reality at any time in history brings into focus an opposing force of conflict perpetually manifested in the cosmos.
12. And the force of conflict centers on those that choose light or choose darkness, those that are +V versus those that are –V. Joh.3:19-21
13. That it is "a judgment" (without the d.a.) in view centers on the embodiment or glorified ideal for rendering of opinion/judging that legally and technically renders grounds to effectuate the separation of those that are +V from those that are –V.
14. In other words, "a judgment" looks to the core value or part of the law that in essence establishes precedence and the basis for the entirety of "the judgment" (the effectuation of the separating verdict to be ultimately concluded with judicial sentencing as applicable) to be fulfilled.
15. That the adverb "now" harks back to Jesus’ volitional resolve to go to the cross, points to His Person and work on the cross that represents the embodiment of God’s law of justice that is fulfilled and applied in His verdict throughout time upon this world. Mat.5:17
16. It is His work on the cross that the guilt/sins of men are judged by God in His body and justifiably fulfills the Law on behalf of all men. 1Pet.2:24 cp. Rom.6:14; 6:10; 1Pet.3:18
17. It is His work on the cross that provides the alternative of life over death. Rom.5:17, 21
18. Hence, Jesus in essence and reality becomes the Law from which all men are judged.
19. That He has accomplished this work and is the Law, the only issue before men regarding salvation is their attitude towards His very Person.
20. And that attitude is determined through faith in Him that justifies mankind before God. Rom.3:28; 4:5; Gal.2:16
21. Jesus views the necessity of His work on the cross as a judgment rendered by God that legally determines and divides mankind into the two categories of +V or –V, those that believe versus those that don’t believe.
22. He denotes that it is His work on the cross that legally determines who will or will not have the right to be citizens in the eternal kingdom.
23. That the requirement for citizenship in God’s kingdom has been legally determined, Jesus now addresses the effects of the cross as it pertains to the legality of acquiring geography and establishing Himself for rulership of the kingdom.
24. This is the force and emphasis behind the clause, "now the ruler of this world shall be cast out".
25. That Satan acquired rights of rulership over the inhabitants of this world; it by default gave him rights to the earth that they occupied. Cp. Gen.1:27-38
26. That the earth was his to give is noted in Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Mat.4:8-9
27. Therefore, to re-gain rights to the land, Jesus must first legally re-gain rights of rulership over its inhabitants.
28. And in order to do that, He must present Himself as a force of law that is greater and more powerful in reality that can dethrone the existing ruler of this world, Satan.
29. The highest, greatest or most powerful principle of law is that principle, to which all applicable cases or other principles of law, of necessity and by force of nature itself, must conform.
30. And again, it is His work on the cross that effectuates the reality to do so.
31. It is the law of death (death being the end result of sin) that is the highest principle by which the ruler of this world reigns.
32. It is Christ’s work and death on the cross that supercedes through termination the law of death and provides eternal life. Joh.3:16; Rom.6:4, 23; 8:2; 2Tim.1:10
33. Christ as the embodiment of Law is life everlasting.
34. Man’s life is only temporal because he enters life under the law of death.
35. But because of Christ’s work on the cross, the law of death has been broken and the reality of a higher law, the law of life, is reinserted in its place.
36. That it is eternal life, a life that death can never again exercise authority over, Jesus is established as the highest, greatest and most powerful principle of law that death must of necessity and by sheer force of nature conform/acquiesce to.
37. The very nature of law (establishment of authoritative principles of rule) and law of nature itself (the natural force/power of law), completely and logically declares Jesus’ right to rule and the conformity of death to its authority and power.
38. It is through His own death on the cross, His sacrifice of His own +R on behalf of all men that He therefore legally (by law) gains and possesses all natural and spiritual claims of rulership over Satan.
39. He as the law of eternal life, both legally and by nature preempts and supercedes Satan’s law of death.
40. That God through the sacrifice of His Son found a way to overpower Satan’s reign and rule of death with eternal life that death can never overpower again, establishes the law of eternal life as the dominant force of rule.
41. And that Jesus is eternal life, by the very nature of the laws of creation and the universe is established as the superior power and force of rule.
42. The reality of the law of death denotes an end to existence, while the reality of eternal life denotes a law of perpetual continuation of existence without end.
43. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which is preeminent and most powerful.
44. In the A/C, God is bound to Himself as the law of life and all that it represents in all that He does and Satan is bound to the law of death and all that it represents.
45. This establishes the governing rules of which the A/C must operate within.
46. In part, a resolution in the A/C is to prove which law, life or death, is the superior governing law causing the alternative to conform to.
47. That Satan rules in death through sin, denotes its force as law.
48. It is Christ’s work and death on the cross that transcends the boundary of death and re-establishes the law of life, as the highest principle of the two laws that death must conform to. 1Cor.15:54d-56
49. This is why He can proclaim with all confidence that the future for Satan holds no more than the termination of his rule and he shall be cast out.
50. The term literally is that Satan "shall be cast out outside" and indicates that he is legally stripped of right of rulership and will be denied any entrance into the established kingdom of God and will be placed into the lake of fire for all eternity (the law of continuous existence rules). Rev.20:10
51. A fate and reality that one who comes to Christ never has to fear. Joh.6:37
52. While the cross was the legal death blow to Satan, his claims, kingdom and law of power over men via spiritual death, etc., the actual enforcing of Jesus’ claims awaits the 2^nd advent and the final battle after the Millennium.
53. Jesus asserts here that the cross is the strategic legal victory that ensures that the tactical and actual victory over Satan in ensured beyond all doubts.
54. And it is that legal victory and right of rulership over Satan that gives Christ all rights of rulership over mankind and hence, geographical rights to the earth that is the force of vs.32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself".
55. The proleptic position "evgw,/I Myself" in the compound "kavgw,/And I" is emphatic and anticipates any doubt cast that another person other than Jesus is in view, is false.
56. The compound use of "And I" ties His Person into being the reality of legal power and force behind vs.31, as well as the reality pictured in vs.32.
57. The phrase, "if I be lifted up from the earth", points directly to His crucifixion, which is the overt evidence that the reality of all of the legal ramifications outlined in vs.31 has come to pass. Gal.3:13
58. That Christ became a curse for us points to the fact that He paid all that was due to God to purchase mankind from Satan’s slave dominion and legally erase the debt of sin.
59. And it is the debt of sin by which Satan holds the power of the law of death over men.
60. The 3^rd class condition points again to the central hub of which all judgment, rulership, legal rights of claim, etc., evolves around i.e., volition.
61. Jesus harks back to the issue of His human soul (vs.27) and reiterates that for the reality of vs.31 to come to pass, is totally dependent upon His maintaining His ++V and complete obedience to God’s will concerning the cross.
62. He then resumes His stated resolve and determination volitionally as He declares an anticipated apodosis/conclusion of future result only accomplished by His completed work i.e., "will draw all men to Myself".
63. This phrase has thrown interpreters into all kinds of explanatory contortions.
64. Interpretations range from:

1. The Calvinistic slant (God/Christ forces men to believe).
2. To - no one dies and goes to hell.
3. To - Jesus is only relating His work on the cross to those that are +V and the term "all men" is only an overview of all believers i.e., it doesn’t really mean every person in history (this premise is otherwise sound theologically).

1. These misfires occur by assuming that Ph₁ salvation is what is in view and taken from John’s previous use of the term "draw" in 6:44 that uses it in a salvation context.
2. However, it is not technical and is used in Joh.18:10; 21:6,11 to denote the drawing of a sword and fish nets, and in Act.16:19; 21:30 it is used of dragging a person by force.
3. In fact it is used in a legal connotation of "dragging" someone into a court of law in Jam.2:6.
4. And that is the sense and force i.e., Jesus’ legal rights of rulership as a result of the cross, which is in view.
5. That Jesus is established as the supreme law of life, He is established as the highest court and judge over all men. Joh.5:22, 26-27
6. As the supreme judge and ruler of the universe, all men will be forced to appear before Christ, face to face, believers and unbelievers alike. Joh.5:28-29 cp. Rom.14:9-12; Phi.2:8-11
7. Christ’s work on the cross gave Him all legal rights as the law of life to enforce power of judgment between +V and –V and pass down any judicial sentencing applicable.
8. That Jesus overrules death, He is the superior law over death and even those under death must submit themselves to His Person for evaluation and sentencing at the Great White Throne judgment. Rev.20:11-15
9. This is the emphasis and why Jesus has the power to cause all men to be drawn to Himself.
10. That Jesus has gained the right of law and rulership over all men, He therefore has all rights of access and possession to the world and geography they occupy.
11. Christ’s work on the cross was necessary, in order to legally give Him all rights necessary for His kingdom to be established.
12. In vs.33, John gives an aside explanation as to the purpose behind His teaching as applied to the multitude both physically and spiritually as he states, "Now He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die".
13. Physically it relates to the crowd for the purpose to indicate what kind of death would occur that serves as an overt sign that all that Jesus has said has come to pass, i.e., a death by crucifixion.
14. Spiritually, it serves to point out that the kind of death He would face was one of a curse placed upon Him.
15. As Paul makes clear in Gal.3:13, for one to be crucified represents a curse of death placed upon them. Cp. Deu.21:22-23
16. And that death came in the form of spiritual death, when Christ was judged in His body for the curse of the sins of mankind. 2Cor.5:21
17. As Christ was literally suspended between the earth and heavens, He became the substitute and intercessory agent given by God to all men, so that the curse of sin as ruled over by Satan and the law of death, would once and for all time be removed. Rom.6:10; 1Pet.3:18
18. And that leaves only one remaining issue for mankind i.e., volition: to choose between the law of life, and the law of death. Deu.30:19
19. It denotes that it was His Person that was the reality and prescription for man to be healed spiritually from the domain of death and be a part of His eternal kingdom. Joh.3:15
20. Vs.33 serves to point out that behind the physical reality of crucifixion as an overt sign that Christ has fulfilled all legal obligations to assume the throne, is the spiritual reality of law in the A/C that of necessity causes the physical realities to occur.
21. Which spiritual realities of understanding that the masses gathered, continue to not grasp, due to their rejection of the very principles Christ is teaching, as vs.34 brings out.

GNT John 12:34 avpekri,qh ou=n auvtw/| o` o;cloj( ~Hmei/j hvkou,samen evk tou/ no,mou o[ti o` Cristo.j me,nei eivj to.n aivw/na( kai. pw/j le,geij su. o[ti dei/ u`ywqh/nai to.n ui`o.n tou/ avnqrw,pouÈ ti,j evstin ou-toj o` ui`o.j tou/ avnqrw,pouÈ

NAS John 12:34 The multitude therefore answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; o` o;cloj( (d.a. + n-nm-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) avpekri,qh avpokri,nomai (viad--3s; "answered/responded") auvtw/| auvto,j (npdm3s) ~Hmei/j evgw, (npn-1p; "We ourselves"; emphatic) hvkou,samen avkou,w (viaa--1p) evk (pAbl) tou/ o` no,mou no,moj (d.a. + n-Ablm-s; "the Law"; ref. OT canon) o[ti (intro. indir. disc.; conj.) o` Cristo,j (d.a. + n-nm-s; "the Christ/the Messiah") me,nei me,nw (vipa--3s; "keeps on remaining/abiding/dwelling") eivj (pa +) to.n o` aivw/na( aivw,n (d.a. + n-am-s; "forever/lit. into the age") and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" kai, (ch) pw/j (interr. adv.; "how can/in what way?") su, (npn-2s; "You Yourself"; ref. Jesus; emphatic) le,geij le,gw (vipa--2s) o[ti (cc; intro. indir. disc.) to.n o` ui`o.n ui`o,j (d.a. + n-am-s) tou/ o` avnqrw,pouÈ a;nqrwpoj (d.a. + n-gm-s; descriptive gen.) dei/ (vipa--3s; "must/has to/it is necessary") u`ywqh/nai u`yo,w (misc. inf./a/p-; "to be lifted up/raised up"; same as 12:32; functions as the subject i.e., "to be lifted up is necessary for the Son of Man") ti,j (interr. pro./nm-s; "Who?") evstin eivmi, (vipa--3s) ou-toj (near dem. pro./Pred.nm-s; emphatic) o` ui`o,j (d.a. + n-Pred.nm-s; used in apposition to houtos) tou/ o` avnqrw,pouÈ a;nqrwpoj (d.a. + n-gm-s)

1. Vss.34-36 contain the last mention of the crowd at hand in this chapter and concludes the last recorded teaching publicly by Jesus, to any specific group, in John’s gospel.
2. Vss.34-36 also provide the conclusion to the day of the triumphal entry and what John has implied throughout this chapter concerning the masses he now explicitly reveals.
3. And that is the masses are negative to the necessity of Christ’s work on the cross and His impending death.
4. It reveals the why of their distortion and confusion regarding Messiah.
5. It becomes clear that in Jesus response to Philip and Andrew’s inquiry on behalf of the Greeks in vss.20-23 that the crowds gathered around Jesus were privy to all Jesus had to say.
6. John’s use of the phrase, "The multitude therefore answered Him," is not to be taken that every single person gathered spoke in unison as a response to Jesus’ teaching.
7. Rather, John is again pointing out another distinct characteristic inherent in the masses overall. (What he has done throughout this chapter.)
8. In other words, the words spoken by those of the crowd in vs.34 are representative of the thinking by all those contextually and conceptually presented as a part of the triumphal entry recorded by John.
9. Their first statement, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever" presents their Scriptural frame of reference, by which all of the distortions, motivations and confusions that they have reflected, arise from.
10. They mention that their teachers have informed them from the Jewish Scriptures that Messiah will abide forever.
11. This harks back to John’s inclusion of the Pharisees ideologically in vs.19.
12. And that is, they are the predominate sect of false teachers promoting the distortion and confusion at hand.
13. It denotes a single doctrinal principle that they promote as the basis to "hang their hats" on Biblically in their perception of Messiah.
14. The personal pronoun, "We" is emphatic and points to the fact that they consider themselves as sufficiently intelligent and informed regarding the Christ/Messiah (Joh.1:41b).
15. It emotionally carries with it a sense of intimidation and frustration in reaction to what they have just heard Jesus teach.
16. It is presented in direct contrast to all that Jesus has taught contrary to their thinking and in essence is an attempt to place their persons as superior in knowledge.
17. It implies the arrogance from which they approach BD and the POG as the underlying root cause for their maladjustment.
18. They appeal to the Law, which is the OT canon in context and not confined to the Pentateuch alone, as the authority by which they draw their conclusion.
19. That their basis of argument is not in and of itself incorrect is validated by such passages as 2Sam.7:12-13,16 that denotes in God’s covenant with David was a promise that one of his descendants would reign forever.
20. Other passages they could easily bring forth are likely those in Psa.89:35-37a; 110:4; Isa.9:7; Dan.7:14
21. Their true confusion is related in the two questions they throw at Jesus in vs.34b, "and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?’"
22. The personal pronoun "You" is emphatic and is designed to elevate the impossibility Jesus’ teaching is perceived to employ, by them.
23. In other words, they perceive Jesus’ teaching as completely incongruous to the teaching of the Law and therefore, irreconcilable.
24. Their use of title, "The Son of Man" harks back to Jesus’ use of it for Himself in vs.23.
25. It is a title Jesus consistently referred to when speaking of His Office as Messiah. 30x in Matthew; 13x in Mark; 26x in Luke; 13x in John
26. There can be no doubt that the crowd understood that Jesus was making reference to Himself when the title was used.
27. It indicates that the crowd understands the physical aspects of what Jesus has taught.
28. This is further corroborated, as it is clear that they understood that He is saying He must die in the phrase, "must be lifted up".
29. However, what is totally lacking is their spiritual understanding of these things.
30. It becomes clear in this verse that the Jews obviously related Jesus’ reference to His glorification in vs.23, as relating only to His exalted position as their King.
31. All of His teaching sandwiched in between was essentially lost upon them or at best only related to on a physical level. Cp. vss.28-30
32. Just as the spiritual representation reflected in Jesus’ disposition of riding in on a donkey, the spiritual realties of raising Lazarus from the dead, the spiritual ramifications all of this has on those outside Israel and the spiritual ramifications of the feast of Passover they were there to observe, was lost upon them.
33. The next thing they clearly grasp is Jesus final reference to the fact that crucifixion/death is the future potential in view for His Person. Vs.32-33
34. That they consider Him as Messiah and their King is undisputed.
35. But what is disputed is, "How can He be their King, who the OT declares to be an eternal King, and yet talk of His Person dying?"
36. To them, this is totally ludicrous and reflects a schism of impossibility for any person, to include Himself.
37. This is the force of their final question, "Who is this one, the Son of Man?"
38. The near demonstrative pronoun, "this one" indicates that they are looking at His Person as the entity in which that He is claiming that death must occur and yet at the same time, in an eternal state of being according to the Law.
39. In other words, their question could be rendered, "Who is this person of Yourself that must die, but yet remains forever?"
40. It relates the incredulity that they perceive Jesus teaching as proclaiming.
41. "How can You be a person both dead and eternal?"
42. And the key to their failure to understand is seen again in their use of the title, "Son of Man" that indicates they are only looking upon Jesus’ Person in the physical, as humanity.
43. This does not negate the fact that the believers present consider Him as God, only that they are so spiritually dull that they do not put the spiritual ramifications behind that fact into application of their thinking regarding His Person. Cp. Joh.14:8-9 "What a coincidence, ‘Philip’! cp. vss.20-21"
44. The mentality of the Jews is clear that based on the doctrine that they know and adhere to, what Jesus is saying is impossible, confusing and totally ridiculous.
45. And that is their problem i.e., the doctrine that they adhere to is only one principle of doctrine communicated in the OT concerning the Messiah.
46. Because of the false teaching inherent in Judaism and their continued rejection of the applicable doctrines that Jesus has been teaching, they are blind to the spiritual realities of the Law.
47. It points to the fact that you cannot understand the POG by embracing the doctrine or principles you want and avoiding all of the other doctrine in the WOG.
48. It points to the sloppy approach to BD that the Jews engaged in, in their studies and teachings.
49. They approached the Law as providing only physical realities to be applied to themselves and God’s plan and in so doing rejected or skirted interpretation of any doctrine that potentially communicated anything contrary to physical realities as they perceived them.
50. It is obvious that in the teaching of BD, passages that related to Messiah that indicated anything that opposed what they considered as a physical reality and possibility, they totally avoided in explanation.
51. For the teachers to address passages and other teachings of Scripture that taught that Messiah would suffer rejection and die and undergo resurrection, would be tantamount to revealing their own spiritual fallacies. Cp. Isa.53; Psa.16:7-11 interpreted by Paul in Act.13:30-37
52. While they were totally immersed in the Law as a means of physical life, due to failure to seek the entire counsel given and harmonizing all that it taught, they were totally void of the spiritual realities of the Law as applied to the A/C, the spiritual warfare of dominion and rule.
53. The realities of which Jesus just articulated in vss.30-32.
54. And the fallacy of the masses gathered this day is that they too have eyes only on the physical of BD and therefore reject anything that Christ may teach that transcends their understanding in this regard.
55. While we may look to the religious leaders as the instigators for the false teaching, the blame and culpability of the crowd cannot be solely placed back on their teachers.
56. And that is because Jesus has been faithful in teaching to them the very spiritual realities concerning His Person and they continue to reject it.
57. And their rejection is due to their own –V, believers and unbelievers alike.
58. The multitude at hand is a hallmark example of –V religious reversionists.
59. They point to the fact that all religious reversionists reject acceptance of the entire council of God’s word and approach Scripture in some fashion, on human/fleshly understanding.
60. Any aspect of BD that is contradictory to their agendas and physical or emotional reasoning is either dismissed or glossed over.
61. And just as these in view, when teaching of BD is articulated that transcends their comprehension on a physical plane, they dismiss the teaching as false and inherently reject it.
62. Though they are correct to accept what they had heard out of the Law, they were wrong in assuming that Jesus’ teaching contradicted the Law.
63. While John is explicitly revealing the –V inherent even in those of closest support to Christ in following of his theme, he is also revealing the necessary approach to the Scriptures for true spiritual understanding.
64. And that is the necessity to seek and proclaim the entire counsel of the WOG (Act.20:27) and apply all aspects of it as the total truth/veracity that it is and harmonize all precepts, principles and ideologies it proclaims.
65. Only by approaching Scripture vs. by vs., maintaining context and continuity of theme and thought, and critiquing and applying everything we interpret it as stating, to all other doctrine, will we gain spiritual insight into the Law.
66. The example we now have before us concerning the crowd and their reaction to Jesus’ teaching is a case and point.
67. Even those that believe Jesus is God, fail to apply the principles of His nature as Deity with His nature as true humanity in the hypostatic union.
68. That they only apply the Person of His humanity in their view that He will remain forever as their political deliverer and King, they are totally blind to the spiritual realities of the true power of essence that He possesses as Deity.
69. That He is both God and man united, He can be dead in humanity and alive in Deity at the same time (just as we can be alive in the flesh and dead in spirit at the same time).
70. That He is God in the flesh, whatever happens to His flesh must of necessity conform to the nature of His Deity as the highest law.
71. This points to the fact that the highest principles of the Law revealed to mankind are spiritual in nature of which all physical creation must adjust too.
72. That He is Deity, He is eternal life, and therefore any act of death placed upon His humanity in and of itself must conform to the law of eternal life (resurrection), since His Deity can never die.
73. This is How Jesus could be crucified, yet remain forever.
74. These people are blind to the Law as it pertains to the angelic conflict.
75. They are blind to the spiritual realities of the angelic warfare that evolve around the laws of life and death.
76. By applying all of the doctrine that we know concerning the Person of Christ, we gain spiritual insight to the realities at hand regarding His teaching.
77. It can be said that anytime the communicator or student of the WOG finds two seeming contradictory principles of BD, by accepting both principles as true and seeking to harmonize them together, the interpreter will gain spiritual insight into the POG.
78. Another primary principle along this line that we can relate to would be the two seeming contradictory principles of faith apart from works for salvation and faith plus works for salvation. Rom.3:28 cp. Jam.2:26
79. By accepting both premises as true and harmonizing them as being two different aspects of salvation in view (eternal/positional deliverance from eternal condemnation Ph₁ (Rom.8:1) and experiential deliverance from loss of reward Ph₂ 1Cor.3:11-15), we gain spiritual insight into the plan of God.
80. John points to the reason and fact of the –V of the multitude of Jesus’ supporters and therefore epitomizes the –V and religious reversionism of Israel at the 1^st advent.
81. At best we find +V to the SAJG, but beyond that any real spiritual understanding and advancement is void.
82. It serves as a warning to all Christians that are prone to approach BD with a physical agenda for understanding and smorgasbord approach to acceptance of BD that they are in the spiritual realm of –V and religious reversionism.

GNT John 12:35 ei=pen ou=n auvtoi/j o` VIhsou/j( :Eti mikro.n cro,non to. fw/j evn u`mi/n evstinÅ peripatei/te w`j to. fw/j e;cete( i[na mh. skoti,a u`ma/j katala,bh|\ kai. o` peripatw/n evn th/| skoti,a| ouvk oi=den pou/ u`pa,geiÅ

NAS John 12:35 Jesus therefore said to them, "For a little while longer the light is among you. o` VIhsou/j( (d.a. + n-nm-s) ou=n (infer. conj.; looks to the spiritual void of the masses with regards to His teaching) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) auvtoi/j auvto,j (npdm3p; ref. the multitude) :Eti (adv. of time; "Yet/Still/longer (NAS)" +) mikro.n mikro,j (a--am-s; "small/little"; in relation to time = little while/short/brief +) cro,non cro,noj (n-am-s; "time"; linear time span; Lit. "For a further brief time period") to, fw/j (d.a. + n-nn-s; "the light") evstinÅ eivmi, (vipa--3s; "is/keeps on being") evn (pL; "among/in the sphere of") u`mi/n su, (npL-2p; "ref. the multitude) Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you; peripatei/te peripate,w (vImp./pa--2p; "Walk") w`j (temp. cs; "while/as long as") e;cete( e;cw (vipa--2p) to, fw/j (d.a. + n-an-s) i[na (cs +) mh, (+ neg.; negative purpose clause; "in order that not/lest") skoti,a (n-nf-s; "darkness") katala,bh|\ katalamba,nw (vsaa--3s; "might overtake/seize/catch/lay hold of") u`ma/j su, (npa-2p) he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. kai, (cs; intensive; "Indeed/In fact"; not translated in NAS) o` peripatw/n peripate,w (subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s; "he who walks") evn (pL) th/| h` skoti,a| skoti,a (d.a. + n-Lf-s) ouvk ouv (neg. +) oi=den oi=da (viPFa--3s; "does not know/discern") pou/ (conj.; "where") u`pa,geiÅ u`pa,gw (vipa--3s; "he goes")

GNT John 12:36 w`j to. fw/j e;cete( pisteu,ete eivj to. fw/j( i[na ui`oi. fwto.j ge,nhsqeÅ Tau/ta evla,lhsen VIhsou/j( kai. avpelqw.n evkru,bh avpV auvtw/nÅ

NAS John 12:36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of light." w`j (cs; "While/As long as") e;cete( e;cw (vipa--2p) to, fw/j (d.a. + n-an-s) pisteu,ete pisteu,w (vImp.pa--2p) eivj (pa) to, fw/j( (d.a. + n-an-s) i[na (cs; purpose) ge,nhsqeÅ gi,nomai (vsad--2p) ui`oi. ui`o,j (n-nm-p) fwto.j fw/j (n-gn-s) These things Jesus spoke, and He departed and (corrected translation) was hidden from them. Tau/ta ou-toj (near. dem. pro./an-p; "These things") VIhsou/j( VIhsou/j (n-nm-s) evla,lhsen lale,w (viaa--3s; "communicated/spoke/articulated in speech") kai, (cc) avpelqw.n avpe,rcomai (circ. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "after having departed") evkru,bh kru,ptw (viap--3s; "was hidden/concealed"; it is a passive voice, not middle as the NAS renders it; passive denotes the force of an outside agency) avpV avpo, (pAbl) auvtw/nÅ auvto,j (npAblm3p; ref. the multitude)

1. The inferential conjunction "therefore" looks back to the preceding response of the Jews in vs.34 that reveals their rejection of the doctrine of the necessity of His work on the cross and impending death.
2. This points to a correlating product of –V, rejection of the truth.
3. He does not "respond/answer" their questions of vs.34 in a direct fashion, but rather changes the emphasis of His teaching.
4. His purpose for evading further discussion regarding His impending death is due to the fact that they have been exposed to the truth and are not willing to accept and act upon the revelation they did possess.
5. If they would but abandon their preconceived notions with regard to Messiah, as well as their arrogance of supposed insight into the WOG, and accept Jesus’ teaching at face value, the answers would be obvious.
6. Jesus knows that any continuation of trying to articulate the spiritual principles as they relate to His Person and the cross and life and death, would be lost upon them due to their –V and failure to apply what they have heard.
7. He therefore shifts His teaching to evolve around the contrasting physical realities of light and darkness that is designed too:

1. Point out the fallacy of their thinking that two contrasting/opposing concepts are necessarily impossible to understand and harmonize, as even the physical realm reveals.
2. To cause them to reconsider His Person on a separate spiritual plane of reality in contrast to their mono-physical approach.
3. To appeal to potential +V in the masses as of yet to express itself.

1. That Jesus makes this adjustment in His teaching serves on one hand to address those believers that are –V to the truth with an exhortation and warning and on the other hand appeal to any unbelievers in the crowd for saving faith.
2. This points to the fact that the communication of BD is designed to put –V on notice of their spiritual deficiencies and in so doing appeal to any +V resident in the listeners to repentance/change of mind.
3. That opposing forces exist from which man must choose, is seen in the fact that from the OT and Jesus’ teaching that the concepts of light and darkness are contrasted to employ spiritual characteristics of that which evolves around +V and –V:

1. Good vs. evil. Isa.5:20 cp. Joh.3:19
2. Well-being vs. calamity. Isa.45:7
3. Truth vs. lies. Psa.43:3
4. Life vs. death. Joh.8:12 cp. Deu.30:19
5. Wisdom vs. stupidity. Ecc.2:13
6. Insight vs. confusion. Job 12:22

1. In our verses, Jesus does not explicitly tell them that He is the light, but His words obviously refer to Himself.
2. What is obvious for us that are +V is not so obvious to those that are –V and reject what Jesus says.
3. The reality of what He speaks here and a reality that still exists today is that those that accept Jesus Christ’s revelation as to Who and What He is in toto, are those that possess real insight into His words.
4. Failure to deal with the reality of His Person destines one for failure in terms of understanding the POG.
5. Just as Jesus is the embodiment of the Law (vss.31-32), He is the embodiment of the light and all that it represents and adheres to.
6. He maintains the continuity of time as it relates to His ministry as He said to them, "For a little while longer the light is among you".
7. The "little while longer" of vs.35 is equivalent to "the hour has come" of vs.23, the "now" and "this hour" of vs.27 and the "now" of vs.31.
8. It points to the short remaining time of no more than 4 days that are critical as applied to His Person and the multitude.
9. This clause serves as a notice to them that even though they may reject the teaching of His impending death that that in no way voids the reality that His is a ministry of pure truth and that ministry in serving them is now short lived.
10. It regards His Person as the true light, which coming into the world illumines every man. Joh.1:9
11. For the past 3-½ years, Israel has had the advantage for the 1^st time ever in history to have the Perfect Light of God incarnate and in their midst explaining and revealing the POG. Joh.1:18
12. It informs them that He will not cater to their –V and rejection of BD and that the truth remains as He has taught concerning His Person.
13. Jesus refuses to waiver from the truth and succumb to a ploy of ignorance of others designed to pressure Him to reconsider His doctrinal stance.
14. In other words, just because others say they fail to grasp His teaching, He in no way lets that pressure cause Him to back down regarding the truth He has taught.
15. Jesus then follows with an exhortation to them, "Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you".
16. His exhortation to the multitude is to take advantage of the time He is declaring they have by listening to Him and orienting to the doctrines that He teaches, in contrast to their current rejection of His teaching.
17. To "walk" is to order one’s life by the dictates of the teachings of Jesus.
18. "Darkness" is personified as something that will actively overtake and overpower the individual that does not orient their life to the light.
19. Another related truth that Jesus had taught before is that there comes a time when men cannot walk due to darkness. Joh.9:4
20. Joh.9:4 deals with the fact that life is fleeting and that the darkness of death brings the period of time that no man can work.
21. Our passage focuses on the fact that revelation of truth is given, and if it is not accepted as presented during that time, the darkness in antithesis to truth, moves back in to overtake the individual.
22. Jesus is pointing to the reality that if they continue to reject His teaching, rather than accepting it, the potential for any spiritual matriculation and insight intrinsic of +V will be replaced by the darkness of –V.
23. It denotes that there is a sense in which the critical time for action is the present, while the truth of light is available.
24. The analogy is that of the sun that rises, burns brightly for some time and then declines, leaving people in darkness.
25. For these people, they have the pure communication of BD there to teach and guide them in their life.
26. And the reality is, if they don’t "start walking" (imperative force) in the truth, applying it in their lives, then the darkness of human viewpoint, etc., that they adhere to, will be the predominate force of their lives.
27. It points to the fact that the longer one continues to reject the truth in the face of truth being taught, the greater the potential that they will let darkness ultimately rule over them.
28. This does not mean that people can’t or don’t pull their "spiritual bacon" out of the fire at the last moment, only that the only alternative to the light of BD is the potential of the darkness of the cosmos.
29. And the pattern of either light or darkness established in life is the habit of modus operandi and vivendi.
30. Not until one is willing to break the habits of –V, the STA, human viewpoint, rejection of BD, etc., and adjust to the truth, will they have protection from the darkness.
31. And the opportunities that one has to break from darkness, is when God provides the truth of light to them.
32. If they don’t avail themselves of the truth when presented, then the force and power of darkness maintains its potential (subjunctive mood of "overtake") to ultimately blind them to the light provided.
33. This is the force of the final clause of vs.35c, for those that don’t adhere to His exhortation, as He warns them that "he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes".
34. The conjunction "kai,", not translated in the English, is emphatic/intensive and points to the reality of darkness in its effect in one’s life.
35. It carries with it a force of warning to the consequences of those that continue to reject the truth concerning Christ and BD.
36. And that is, they are void of spiritual guidance in their arrangement of life.
37. The present participle of "he who continuously walks" points to those that continue to reject the teaching of truth and adhere to their cosmic views.
38. The consequences and penalty of that rejection is stated in terms of ignorance attached to the individual.
39. This is seen in the perfect tense of "does not know", which states that at the point of rejection of the truth, upon presentation/revelation of it, a continuous existing lack of knowledge and discernment to God’s plan remains in full force and effect.
40. This existence of ignorance is maintained for as long as the individual continues to reject BD.
41. The penalty of –V and rejection of light is disorientation in one’s life to the POG.
42. That they continue to reject the truth, they of necessity must rely upon the alternative of human viewpoint in everything that they do.
43. This in turn produces a state of spiritual darkness that magnetizes/polarizes the compass of spiritual light presented to them and hence throws them off of God’s course for life and they do not have any idea where they are going spiritually. (They may think they do, but in reality they don’t.)
44. The disciples are the examples extracted from the multitude that did not closely listen to and orient their lives to the teachings of BD.
45. When the crisis came they were ill-prepared to face the events and bring the appropriate doctrines to bear.
46. The physical picture of darkness overtaking them is seen in the garden of Gethsemane upon the final hours before the crucifixion. Mat.26:40,43,45
47. Because they too rejected the necessity of the cross, they were blind to the real direction Jesus and His ministry was headed.
48. We all will face our crisis in life, and for those that reject BD, they too will be caught in the realm of disorientation and misacclimation to the situation at hand.
49. To reject BD in the face of its revelation is tantamount to –V and reversionism.
50. Whatever form of reversionism the individual is involved in, when tests and situations in life present themselves, they will be blind to God’s plan as it is to be applied.
51. Jesus in His exhortation and warning in essence is calling the multitude to reversion recovery from their –V and rejection of truth.
52. The time is short if they expect to truly be oriented to His Person and ministry at the 1^st advent.
53. It is the theme of –V and reversionism that is central to chapter 12 and Jesus more than adequately paints the cause behind the theme, failure to believe in the Light/light.
54. This is the force behind His final exhortation of vs.36a, "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, in order that you may become sons of light".
55. Jesus in the strongest of terms calls all present to faith into His Person as the truth of God, the antidote for –V that rejects BD and their reversionism.
56. The phrase, "While you have the light" is designed to reinforce the issue of time as it is to be applied for all concerned.
57. It carries a force of urgency that there is no better time and opportunity to make adjustments in life that when the truth is present and in your face.
58. Again, failure to do so only enhances and promotes the potential of darkness of completely enveloping your soul.
59. The phrase, "believe into/eivj the Light" is a distinct call for salvation.
60. It reinforces the premise that the supporters of Christ at the triumphal entry were an admixture of believers and unbelievers.
61. In the realm of reversion recovery, it obviously must start with unbelievers exercising faith in the Person of Christ, as the unique Light as the God/man, for salvation.
62. It is the purpose clause that follows that extends the call to all believers for recovery.
63. The call to salvation Ph₁ is designed for all believers present to reconsider in Whom they exercised faith and that which He represents as light.
64. The term, "sons of light" is a Hebraism and means for one to come to be characterized by the quality in question.
65. To be a "son of light" is to be "a light". Mat.5:14
66. When one believes in the Light, he then becomes a light in the Lord, partaking of the very nature of the One in Whom he has believed. Eph.5:8-9
67. It is the very purpose of being a believer to produce the reality of the nature of Christ that is centered in Divine goodness, righteousness and truth.
68. And until the believer accepts the truth of light, there is no possibility to reflect the Divine Good of +R in one’s life, as light.
69. For our dispensation, the local church that has an adjusted P-T teaching the principles of BD is the source of light articulated for believers and is the primary issue evolving around believers that are –V vs. +V. Joh.3:20-21
70. Each believer must take advantage of every opportunity to assemble and diligently concentrate on the issues at hand in order to assure that they are not overtaken by the habit of darkness. Heb.10:25
71. That Christ is no longer physically present to communicate the truth of BD, its communication and articulation is now presented through men with the appropriate spiritual gifts. Eph.4:10-16
72. That the communication of truth is at the forefront of emphasis contextually is seen in John’s remarks regarding Jesus’ teaching as he records, "These things Jesus spoke".
73. The word spoke is "lale,w", which emphasizes the instructive nature of that which is said.
74. Connected to Jesus’ teaching, John then records a final act of Jesus with the multitude as he records, "and He departed and was hidden from them".
75. Upon completion of His teaching, Jesus then leaves the multitude and was concealed privately in some manner where they could not find Him.
76. John does not tell us whether His concealment on this occasion was supernaturally effected or was executed by others or another on His behalf.
77. John’s purpose here is not to emphasize the aspect of how He was hidden, but to relate the fact that an act of separation was taken by His Person upon which He by some force was then made obscure to the crowds.
78. John’s purpose is to bring to close both the physical and spiritual realities as applied to the Person of Christ in contrast to the multitude gathered on the day of the triumphal entry:

1. That He departed physically denotes that He separated Himself from all that the crowd stood for in making Him their King.
2. It was done to defuse physically any momentum the crowd possessed to force Him into their agenda.
3. That He was hidden physically from them after the fact denotes that He relied upon God’s intervention and help to protect Him in this regard.
4. Mark’s account helps to put in order the event John is now recording.
5. Matthew and Mark both record that Jesus entered into Jerusalem during the procession. Mat.21:10; Mar.11:11
6. Neither Luke nor John records this fact.
7. It must be understood that in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, the recording of Jesus entering into the temple directly following the accounts of the triumphal entry, occurred on the next day, Tuesday, when Christ again cleansed the temple. Mat.21:12-13 cp. Luk.19:45-46
8. Many commentaries confuse Matthew’s account of entering the temple as being on the day of the triumphal entry due to the accolades of praise again bestowed upon Jesus by those witnessing His miracles of healing. Mat.21:14-15
9. That they are reminiscent of the praises during the triumphal entry, commentaries automatically assume it is the same day, rather than an overlapping expression of fervor still possessed by the people from the previous day.
10. Only in Mark’s account are we told that Jesus indeed did enter into the temple on the day of the triumphal entry. Mar.11:11
11. And as we note, it is implied that the temple is vacated, "and after looking all around" and "it was already late" at the time.
12. The scenario as presented by John in our verse thus indicates:

1. At some point in the day, after Jesus spoke these things, He removed Himself from the crowd and was hidden from them diffusing the established momentum of Kingly expectation.
2. After it was obvious that He could not be found, the crowd eventually dispersed, each to their own destination.
3. After the coast was clear, Jesus came to the temple for some private reflection, gathered the disciples and went back to Bethany.

1. That Christ separated Himself in this fashion physically with the accompanying concealment also reflects the spiritual realities of His Person in contrast to the crowds.
2. And that is, because they were –V and rejecting the truth, Christ in essence separated Himself from them and thus spiritually was hidden from their soulish eyes.
3. That outside force that hid Him from them was God in response to their –V.
4. It points to the recalcitrant/rebellious nature of their –V overall and the blindness it produces spiritually. Joh.12:40
5. Furthermore, it points to the veracity of all that He has just taught concerning His Person as the Light in relation to –V, and the fact that upon completion of His ministry and death, resurrection and ascension, those that let darkness overtake them will literally and spiritually not be able to find Him. Joh.7:34

1. John’s conclusion of this day firmly establishes the reality of Israel corporately as being –V, which he himself now personally expounds upon in vss.37-43.

GNT John 12:37 Tosau/ta de. auvtou/ shmei/a pepoihko,toj e;mprosqen auvtw/n ouvk evpi,steuon eivj auvto,n(

NAS John 12:37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, de, (cc; "But/Now") pepoihko,toj poie,w (circ. ptc./PF/a/gm-s; introduces a genitive absolute clause of concession; "although/though He had performed"; stands apart or independent from the main clause; points to the culpability apart from the fact of "not believing" in the main clause; the sense is "although it was granted them"; the PF denotes existing results of the concessive acts) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; subject of the participle; ref. to Christ) Tosau/ta tosou/toj (correlative dem. adj./an-p; at the beginning of the sentence and is emphatic; "so many"; heightens the sense of culpability in view) shmei/a shmei/on (n-an-p; "signs"; ref. to Jesus' miracles and other supernatural phenomenon attached to His Person and ministry) e;mprosqen (pg; "before/in front of") auvtw/n auvto,j (npgm3p) yet they were not believing in Him; "Yet" supplied for grammatical sense in the English; it points to the fact that the signs conceded in effect to their unbelief ouvk ouv (neg. +) evpi,steuon pisteu,w (viIPFa--3p) eivj (pa) auvto,n( auvto,j (npam3s)

GNT John 12:38 i[na o` lo,goj VHsai<ou tou/ profh,tou plhrwqh/| o]n ei=pen( Ku,rie( ti,j evpi,steusen th/| avkoh/| h`mw/nÈ kai. o` braci,wn kuri,ou ti,ni avpekalu,fqhÈ

NAS John 12:38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, i[na (ch; intro purpose emphasizing Divine design; "that/in order that") o` lo,goj (d.a. + n-nm-s) VHsai<ou VHsai<aj (n-gm-s) tou/ o` profh,tou profh,thj (n-gm-s; genitive of apposition; "Isaiah as or is the prophet") plhrwqh/| plhro,w (vsap--3s; "might be fulfilled") o]n o[j (rel. pro./am-s; ref. to "the word") ei=pen( le,gw (viaa--3s; "he spoke/said"; quote of Isa.53:1) "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?" Ku,rie( ku,rioj (n-vm-s) ti,j (interr. pro./nm-s; "who?") evpi,steusen pisteu,w (viaa--3s; "has believed") h`mw/nÈ evgw, (npg-1p) th/| h` avkoh/| avkoh, (d.a. + n-df-s; from avkou,w/to hear; "the hearing/the things heard/news/report"; used 24x) kai, (cc) ti,ni ti,j (interr. pro./dm-s; "to whom") o` braci,wn (d.a. + n-nm-s; "arm"; used 3x; anthropomorphism denoting God's power/omnipotence; cp. Luk.1:51; Act.13:17) kuri,ou ku,rioj (n-gm-s) avpekalu,fqhÈ avpokalu,ptw (viap--3s; to uncover/disclose; "has been revealed")

GNT John 12:39 dia. tou/to ouvk hvdu,nanto pisteu,ein( o[ti pa,lin ei=pen VHsai<aj(

NAS John 12:39 For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, dia, (pa+) tou/to ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-s; "For this cause/Because of this thing") ouvk ouv (neg. +) hvdu,nanto du,namai (viIPFd--3p; "they are not able/could not") pisteu,ein( pisteu,w (compl. inf./p/a-) o[ti (causal conj.; "for") VHsai<aj( (n-nm-s) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) pa,lin (adv.; "again")

GNT John 12:40 Tetu,flwken auvtw/n tou.j ovfqalmou.j kai. evpw,rwsen auvtw/n th.n kardi,an( i[na mh. i;dwsin toi/j ovfqalmoi/j kai. noh,swsin th/| kardi,a| kai. strafw/sin( kai. iva,somai auvtou,jÅ

NAS John 12:40 "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES, AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART; Tetu,flwken tuflo,w (viPFa--3s; "He has caused to make blind"; used 3x; John now quotes Isa.6:10) auvtw/n auvto,j (npgm3p) tou.j o` ovfqalmou.j ovfqalmo,j (d.a. + n-am-p; "the eyes"; spiritual eyes/soul/emphasizes the real you) kai, (cc) evpw,rwsen pwro,w (viaa--3s; "He hardened/petrified/ covered with a callous"; used 5x) auvtw/n auvto,j (npgm3p) th.n h` kardi,an( kardi,a (d.a. + n-af-s; "the heart"; emphasizes the current you; used 156x) LEST THEY SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND I HEAL THEM." i[na (conj. +) mh, (+ neg.; "lest/unless") i;dwsin o`ra,w (vsaa--3p; "might see") toi/j o` ovfqalmoi/j ovfqalmo,j (n-Im-p; "with the eyes") kai, (cc) noh,swsin noe,w (vsaa--3p; "might perceive/comprehend/understand intellectually"; used 14x) th/| h` kardi,a| kardi,a (d.a. + n-If-s; "with the heart") kai, (ch) strafw/sin( stre,fw (vsap--3p; "might be converted/turned around/turn back/change of way"; can be used to point out reversionism cp. Act.7:39; 13:46) kai, (ch) iva,somai iva,omai (vifd--1s; "I will heal"; same as 4:47; 5:13 but used here in a spiritual sense) auvtou,jÅ auvto,j (npam3p)

GNT John 12:41 tau/ta ei=pen VHsai<aj o[ti ei=den th.n do,xan auvtou/( kai. evla,lhsen peri. auvtou/Å

NAS John 12:41 These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. tau/ta ou-toj (near dem. pro./an-p) VHsai<aj (n-nm-s) ei=pen le,gw (viaa--3s) o[ti (conj. used temporally; "when", though it maintains a sense of "cause") ei=den o`ra,w (viaa--3s) auvtou/( auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. to Yahweh/the Lord) th.n h` do,xan do,xa (d.a. + n-af-s) kai, (cc) evla,lhsen lale,w (viaa--3s) peri, (pg; "of/concerning") auvtou/Å auvto,j (npgm3s)

1. After John establishes the reality of –V prevailing even amongst the believers and supporters of Christ, he now establishes the full depth of –V in Israel corporately.
2. It is Jesus’ supporters that represent the pinnacle of any +V that Israel did have corporately during Christ’s ministry and that is seen to be limited to Ph₁ salvation.
3. While the crowds were enthusiastic, and Jesus appeared to be quite popular, the reality as has been presented is that even the believers present were simply caught up in the fervor of the moment and in fallacious anticipation of Jesus’ claim to the throne.
4. And even though the believers were many in number, John now makes it clear that that fact is not to be misinterpreted that most of Israel had come to Ph₁ faith.
5. That any believers that previously were in view in the triumphal entry are now dismissed as the primary focus in the narrative is seen in the fact that John no longer refers to "the multitude", but simply refers to "them" as the subject.
6. While the contextual theme of –V concerning Israel remains applicable even to believers, John now advances the readers scope of the predominate area of –V in Israel, unbelievers.
7. Following his trend of presentation contextually that by design looks at the corporate entity in view with specific characteristics noted, he now looks at all of Israel corporately under their predominate trait of unbelief. Joh.1:11
8. In so doing, he expands the emphasis of his theme of –V by revealing the maximum of –V that was inherent in Israel at the 1^st advent.
9. And just as Jesus has pointed out the culpability of the –V believers in light of His teaching of truth, John now points to the culpability of Israel en masse in unbelief.
10. This is the force of the genitive absolute clause in vs.37a, "But though He had performed so many signs before them".
11. Not even the massive body of miracles that Jesus had done was sufficient to convince those that were –V to believe.
12. And that unbelievers are now indeed in view is seen in the main clause, "Yet they were not believing into Him" that is a clear proclamation of rejecting the SAJG.
13. The form of the perfect participle "had performed" points to the abiding nature of the miracles that Jesus did right in front of/before them.
14. The moment may pass when the miracle itself is done, but the sign itself remains as a witness for posterity.
15. And Israel corporately continually rejected all of the evidence provided, in spite of the stated purpose that these signs were to foster belief in the hearts of those that observed them. Joh.20:30-31
16. The emphatic position of the demonstrative pronoun "so many", at the beginning of the Greek sentence, indicates the overwhelming number of miracles Jesus had performed during His ministry.
17. Just as it has been made clear that there was no excuse for the –V of believers in rejecting the necessity of Christ’s work on the cross, John in the most adamant of terms tells us there was absolutely no excuse for any of the –V residing in Israel.
18. These could not plead ignorance to the numbers and kinds of the miracles executed by Christ Himself and therefore, any rejection as to the manifestation as to Who and What He is, is inexcusable.
19. We are not dealing with a nation that has not seen (nor heard), we are dealing with those of the highest culpability in terms of their exposure to their Messiah, but yet they refused to believe.
20. John clearly, once again in his Gospel, points to the nature of –V.
21. In spite of one’s exposure to the truth of God and even with the physical manifestation of His power in front of one’s very eyes, -V will not be persuaded to accept the facts as presented and believe.
22. This points to the reality that even the power and truth of God concedes/yields to the individual’s right to choose, and emphatically declares free will/volition, as residing in the anthropology of man. (The concessive nature of the genitive absolute.)
23. No matter what God may say or do, the causative nature of His essence in no way forces the volition of men to accept or reject Him in an act of faith.
24. That John expresses the fact that God does not coerce volition to faith, in such an emphatic manner, is designed to establish the doctrine of volition/free will as necessary for a correct interpretation of the OT quotations and his continued comments of vss.38-40.
25. John describes the Jew’s act of expressing –V to the SAJG as serving a purpose in the POG i.e., that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke.
26. John sees in the persistent Jewish unbelief, a fulfillment of the prophetic word and cites Isa.53:1, "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
27. The entirety of Isa.53 is Messianic in nature, and centers on His mission of Passion, rejection by men, work on the cross, death, burial and resurrection.
28. The two questions combined express the astonishment of Isaiah that the very people to whom he himself had been sent were the most adamant in rejecting his message.
29. The first question, "Lord, who has believed our report?" acknowledges that the Jews of his period of history had rejected the combined witness of God as communicated through the prophets, as seen in the phrase, "our report". Rom.10:16
30. That the context is Messianic, it fulfills a dual role of prophecy that relates not only to the unbelief of the Jews during Isaiah’s time, initiating the dispersions of 721 and 586 BC, but also points to their -V during Christ’s actual presence at the 1^st advent.
31. The second question, "And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?", focuses in on the Divine power that omnipotence exerts in deliverance. Exo.6:6; Deu.4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8; Psa.136:12
32. The most frequent usage of the phrase, "arm of the Lord" is in regard to the physical deliverance of the Jews corporately from Egypt, an act that foreshadowed the spiritual deliverance of men in salvation. 1Cor.10:1-4
33. This question clearly indicts Israel as the recipient of God’s power manifested towards them, regarding salvation.
34. The gospel of salvation from eternal condemnation as presented by Christ was validated by the "arm of the Lord", as seen in all of the miracles that saturated His ministry.
35. And Israel corporately disregarded all that Jesus proclaimed regarding His Person and all of the evidence provided, thus rejecting His call to salvation.
36. Vs.39 moves on to a cause of their failure to believe the Divine revelation, as it came through Christ, as John states, "For this cause they could not believe".
37. John now draws from Jesus’ teaching regarding light and darkness and the fact that those who reject the light must of necessity move back to darkness as a natural consequence of their hatred of the light. Joh.3:19-20
38. The phrase, "For this cause" looks back to the citation of Isa.53:1 as the immediate cause for their unbelief.
39. And that is the intentional rejection of the Divine revelation given.
40. It is the doctrine of the blatantly obvious i.e., if you reject light/truth, ipso facto it is impossible to exercise faith in the light/truth.
41. Their volitional choice to reject the truth introduces the first and primary cause behind their –V.
42. John then introduces a second causal phrase, "for Isaiah said again" that points to a further or remote cause for their unbelief, as he cites Isa.6:10, "He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them".
43. Again, John has established clearly the doctrine of volition as the foundational doctrine of understanding for interpretation.
44. To suggest that God arbitrarily chose to make it impossible for some people to believe (and hence of necessity must cause others to believe), contradicts the following clear teachings of Scripture:

1. God is impartial. Deu.10:17; Act.10:34; Rom.2:11
2. God loves all men. Joh.3:16; Rom.5:8; Eph.2:4
3. God desires all men to be saved. 1Tim.2:4; 4:10; 2Pet.3:9
4. Christ died for all men. Joh.3:16; 1Joh.2:2

1. To interpret this verse as meaning that God prohibits some that want to be saved from being saved is a gross distortion of God, His essence, His integrity, and the Word of God in general.
2. The answer as to the causes presented by John is found in the nature of causes of an event.
3. It points to the reality that for every proximate or near cause (the reality for producing an effect or result) their is a remote or distant cause that accompanies it.
4. In other words, everything in creation producing physical effects and results of life has a further cause behind it that is spiritual in nature.
5. For the act of –V producing the effect of rejection of truth, there is the cause of Divine will that also produces an effect upon –V rejecting the truth.
6. John in vs.40 uses the third person singular to refer said actions of "blinding and hardening" to Christ as God incarnate, thus implicating God in the cause.
7. In the Hebrew text of Isaiah, the second person singular is used and Isaiah is commanded to render the hearts, eyes and ears of the people insensible. Cp. Isa.6:8-9
8. The verse is also cited in Mat.13:14-15, which agrees with the LXX, and uses the third person and second person plural and makes the people themselves the ones that perform the actions.
9. There are 3 causes attributed to this prophecy:

1. The present or primary cause of the inability of the people to believe is actually themselves, their own failure to accept the Divine revelation given to them.
2. Another proximate cause that is intermediate is the communicator, such as Isaiah, who by communicating the truth and the doctrines that they reject plays a part in a blinding and hardening process.
3. The most distant cause is God, here manifested in Christ, who continues to provide the truth for and through the teaching and corroborating evidence and ultimately forces them to express their volition and either come around or intensifies their rejection of the light.

1. It is the remote cause that serves the purpose for fulfillment of the prophecy i.e., the judgment by God upon –V that is His reacting cause to their cause of producing -V.
2. The fact that the Jews are –V and hate the light, God blinds their soulish eyes so that the light will not bother them; that they hate the truth, He renders their heart callous so the truth cannot penetrate it.
3. How does He do this? Simply by continuing to make the truth the issue.
4. –V that steadfastly rejects the truth is the primary cause that brings to bear a cause of judgment upon the individual in accordance with God’s sovereign plan,
5. Light rejected becomes darkness, and it must be observed that God’s Word/word, which makes alive, also deadens if it is rejected. Joh.5:24
6. That the soul experiences spiritual insight is confirmed through the humanity of Christ Himself in Isa.53:11a. Cp. Isa.61:10; Mat.22:37; 2Pet.2:8
7. The heart is representative of one’s standards whether good, evil or an admixture and is an expression of the combined volitional choices of our soul.
8. It is used here metaphorically and points to that which is at the center of, the innermost or most essential part of our being. Cp. Exo.15:8 (The heart of the sea); Deu.4:11 (The heart of the heavens) Cp. our terminology, "The heart of the city, the heart of the matter, etc."
9. The soul of the individual houses one’s volition and being our decider in life is referred to as the "real you".
10. The soul, is integrated/interfaced with the higher brain stem and shares the knowledge and experiences with the brain, explaining why we take our knowledge and memories with us into Ph₃. Cp. the rich man in hell – Luk.16:22-31 esp. vss.27-28
11. The heart in the physical realm is the organ that functions as the seat of life maintaining sufficient blood circulation for the brain and body to function.
12. In the spiritual analogy, it too refers to the seat of life, and is shaped by reason, emotion, knowledge, understanding, conscience, experience, memories, environment, etc., and is an expression of all that our volitional choices and patterns reflect. Pro.23:7; 27:19
13. The heart is the "home of the personal life", and hence, a man’s character is designated by his heart.

1. Wise and understanding. 1Kgs.3:9,12
2. Pure. Psa.24:4; Mat.5:8
3. Upright and righteous. Gen.20:5,6; Psa.11:2; 78:72
4. Honest and good. Luk.8:15
5. Undivided. 1Chr.12:33

1. The heart of man also works in conjunction with the STA and is seen as the production of evil.

1. The MA mirrors it. Mat.15:18
2. It produces MA sins. Mat.15:19 "evil thoughts"
3. As well as verbal and overt sins such as murder, adultery, fornication, robbery, lies and vicious verbal attacks. Mat.15:19
4. Stubbornness and refusal to change. Rom.2:5
5. Selfishness and evil ambition. Jam.3:14
6. Greed. 2Pet.2:14

1. It directly correlates with one’s volition. Heb.3:12
2. The heart responds to stimulus and reflects the product of emotions.

1. Sorrow. Joh.16:6; Act.21:13
2. Happiness. Joh.16:22; Act.2:26
3. Envy. Pro.23:17
4. Fear. Jos.14:8
5. Despair (to lose heart). 2Cor.4:16; Eph.3:13

1. The heart is inseparably related to the conscience. Rom.2:15; 1Joh.3:20-21
2. Whereas the soul emphasizes one’s volition, the "kidneys" look to our emotional makeup (Job 16:13), the "belly" refers to our desires/appetites (Psa.17:14), the human spirit is the vessel of pure doctrine and +R (Eph.4:24), the heart can reflect all of these things in toto.
3. The spiritual heart is a compilation of everything that our soul, mind and body has chosen and experienced at any given time in our life and therefore is an expression of the "current you".
4. God recognizes with His omniscience (not causative in nature), all the forces that contribute to who the real you is at any moment and therefore, knows the heart of man perfectly. Gen.20:6; Psa.44:21; Luk.16;15; Act.15:8; Rom.8:27; Heb.4:12
5. The "heart" of the unbelieving soul under –V, reveals the person at any given time in their history as lacking any normal sensation or feeling toward the light and hence does not allow one’s self to be affected by what should affect him/her.
6. And there is a judgment (causative in nature) in time by God upon those that are –V that consists of allowing darkness to rule and reign over their souls and a process of developing a protection from the light so that it does not interfere with their current thinking and actions in time.
7. For the heart to become "hardened" is quite expressive in the Greek.
8. The word "hardened/twro,w" means to cover over with a thick skin, to callous, rendering something resistant or deadened to pain or irritation.
9. The fact that –V turns away from the light, God in turn places a judgment of blindness upon their –V souls.
10. That they are blind in their soul, God in turn places judgment upon their current state of being in life as impervious to any real sensation that the light is designed to produce, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, physically and otherwise.
11. That they reject God’s truth they in turn develop a layer of protective "shell" at any given avenue of their life that God might use to reach them.
12. And the more one rejects the light presented, the more one envelopes themselves under this judgment of reversionism.
13. After sufficient rejection of the truth and denial for truth to appeal to any part of their heart, God does with these people what He always does with everyone, He gives them what their volition desires.
14. The black out of their soul and deadening of their lives spiritually is a direct result of judgment by God, due to their choices to reject God.
15. One example of this state of reversionism would be for someone that has continually rejected the necessity of face-to-face teaching (Heb.10:25) and have rationalized it in their own heart to such a degree that they cannot be appealed to spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, through sense of right and wrong (conscience), etc.
16. The revelation of God through Jesus Christ consistently over the past 3½ years has irritated these –V Jews to such a degree that their hearts have callused over rendering them incapable, in the present state of their current condition, of making a "change of heart", and turning to God for salvation.
17. That there remains a potential for recovery, is observed in the three verbs that follow denoting a reversing of God’s judgment, see, perceive, and be converted.
18. The negative purpose clause in and of itself reflects the judgment by God of their –V.
19. Conversely, it states the reality if they would accept the truth and evidence presented them.
20. While they have placed themselves in this position of judgment via –V and consistent rejection of the truth, the potential for recognition of the truth and conversion is real.
21. This is seen in the subjunctive moods of all three verbs.
22. However, for this to occur would require that they remove the callus of their rationalizations and irrational behavior opening the potential for the souls to choose otherwise.
23. If, and history records that they won’t, they were to seriously reconsider Jesus and His teachings and embrace Him as the Messiah, the fact is that God will heal them.
24. Healing, in this context, refers to the SAJG of those that would believe.
25. The purpose of the suffering servant was to provide this healing through His suffering. Isa.53:5
26. The healing process begins in the soul involving the following:

1. Faith, returning to the Lord. Jer.3:22
2. BD, the source of healing. Psa.107:20; Pro.3:8; 4:22
3. Removal of judgment/discipline. Psa.6:2; 107:20
4. Removal of all scar tissue. Hos.14:4a

1. The future indicative "will heal" points to God’s intention, if the necessary criteria of +V is met.
2. Unfortunately, for Israel corporately, they do not meet this criteria and God exposes their reversionism under judgment, through the evidence of their destruction as a nation in 70AD that has been their discipline for almost 2000 years.
3. Vs.41 also deals with Isa.6:1ff as John states, "These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him".
4. It was in this time frame of Isaiah that the doctrine of Israel’s rejection was communicated in vs.40 and the conjunction "o[ti/because" is better translated temporally as "when", though it maintains a spiritual cause.
5. As John states, and so does Isa.6:1, Isaiah saw the second Person of the Godhead, God the Son.
6. God the son lived in glorious splendor in the 3^rd heaven before the incarnation, and it was His preincarnate glory that Isaiah saw in theophany.
7. The glory was real, and Isaiah was overwhelmed. Isa.6:5
8. It was on this occasion that Isaiah’s +V was explicitly revealed and there is no question of his acceptance of the Lord and the evidence provided.
9. This is seen in the fact that he voluntarily presented himself to be God’s mouthpiece with regard to God’s plan concerning Israel and was chosen by God to do so. Isa.6:8-9a
10. While these types of things were true for Isaiah and his period of history, they were also prophecies with regard to Messiah and the events of the 1^st advent in correlation with Israel.
11. And just as he taught of the coming judgment upon Israel for their –V in his time, he was also prophesying regarding Israel and the events at the 1^st advent.
12. As he spoke of the glory of Christ as God in theophany, he also spoke of the incarnation and hypostatic union when the Son became flesh.
13. He spoke many things about the coming Messiah, including:

1. The manner of His birth. Isa.7:14
2. The lowliness of the incarnation. Isa.53:2-3
3. His message. Isa.61:1-2a
4. His sufferings. Isa.53:4-6
5. His death. Isa.53:7-8
6. His burial. Isa.53:9
7. His resurrection. Isa.52:13
8. His glory. Isa.6:1; 60:1
9. His judgment upon His enemies at the 2^nd advent. Isa.63:1-6
10. His SG₃. Isa.53:12

1. At the very onset of his prophecy, he is made aware of the rejection of Israel and their impending destruction. Isa.6:11-13
2. The fact that he GAP’d this information and related it to the glory of Messiah, he saw the truth regarding the state of Israel, then and in the future.
3. That he "saw His glory" reveals Isaiah’s insight "spiritually" into the POG.
4. That he "spoke/taught of Him" indicates his clear revelation concerning Messiah incarnate and His mission of Passion that would come about due to the –V of Israel corporately and God’s impending judgment upon them.
5. Because Isaiah was +V, oriented to God’s plan and was faithful in communicating it in spite of rejection, he was given prophetic insight into the history of Israel as it pertained to their Messiah.
6. That Isaiah saw the nature of dual fulfillment in his prophecies, the negative volition of Israel corporately indeed fulfilled the word of Isaiah the prophet.
7. These verses show an example of extreme contrast between those that are +V and the spiritual insight and perception they have concerning God’s plan, versus those that are –V.

GNT John 12:42 o[mwj me,ntoi kai. evk tw/n avrco,ntwn polloi. evpi,steusan eivj auvto,n( avlla. dia. tou.j Farisai,ouj ouvc w`molo,goun i[na mh. avposuna,gwgoi ge,nwntai\

NAS John 12:42 Nevertheless (corrected) even from among the rulers many believed in Him, o[mwj (adv.; "Yet/Still/All the same/Notwithstanding" +) me,ntoi (+ ch; "to be sure/however"; adv. + conj. = "Nevertheless") kai, (ascensive conj.; "even/indeed") evk (pAbl; "from out of/from among") tw/n o` avrco,ntwn a;rcwn (d.a. + n-Abl.m-p; "the rulers") polloi. polu,j (ap-nm-p; "many") evpi,steusan pisteu,w (viaa--3p) eivj (pa) auvto,n( auvto,j (npam3s; ref. Jesus) but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; avlla, (strong advers.; "but/in stark contrast to") dia, (pa; "because of") tou.j o` Farisai,ouj Farisai/oj (d.a. + n-am-p) ouvc ouv (neg. +) w`molo,goun o`mologe,w (viIPFa--3p; "were not confessing/naming/citing/acknowledging"; here context denotes a verbal public confession) i[na (cs +) mh, (+ neg.; "lest/unless") ge,nwntai\ gi,nomai (vsad--3p; "they might become") avposuna,gwgoi avposuna,gwgoj (a--nm-p; lit. "away from the synagogue", hence, "they should be put out of (excommunicated) the synagogue"; same as 9:22)

GNT John 12:43 hvga,phsan ga.r th.n do,xan tw/n avnqrw,pwn ma/llon h;per th.n do,xan tou/ qeou/Å

NAS John 12:43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. ga,r (explan. conj.; "for"; explains why they did not admit to faith in Christ) hvga,phsan avgapa,w (viaa--3p; "love based on their own attributes"; focuses on their motivation as being self-serving; obviously in context it is not techincal for Divine love) th.n h` do,xan do,xa (n-af-s; "the glory/approval/manifestation of that which one represents") tw/n o` avnqrw,pwn a;nqrwpoj (d.a. +n-gm-p) ma/llon (comparative adv.; "to a greater degree/more" +) h;per (+ compara. conj; "than/than even"; adv. + conj. "rather than") th.n h` do,xan do,xa (d.a. + n-af-s) tou/ o` qeou/Å qeo,j (d.a. + n-gm-s; "the God")

1. John now points out another fact aside from the corporate unbelief he has just expounded upon.
2. And that fact evolves around believers that hold positions of power in Israel.
3. He does so to "cap" the theme of the –V of Israel corporately in religious reversionism and brings the reader back to those responsible for Israel spiritually and as a nation. Cp. vs.19
4. In so doing, he clearly retains the premise that chapter 12 evolves around both believers and unbelievers and that corporately believers were –V, even in the highest echelon of authority in Israel.
5. In lieu of the corporate unbelief of Israel and their resultant hostility towards Messiah, John does not hesitate to counter the prophecy of Isaiah with the fact that "Nevertheless even from among the rulers many believed in Him".
6. The term "Nevertheless" points to that fact that there were those in positions of power in Israel that could have intervened on Jesus’ behalf.
7. The people he mentions, the rulers, comprised those in the nation with much authority, whether they were leaders in the synagogue (Luk.8:41), judges (Luk.12:58) or Pharisees (Luk.14:1).
8. It is these that appeared to be the most extreme enemies of Jesus and who withstood Him at every turn.
9. In almost every instance these are mentioned, we find them engaged in some level of conflict and hostility towards Jesus, even after they succeeded in killing Him. Luk.23:13,35; 24:20; Joh.7:26,48; Act.3:17; 4:5,8; 13:26; 14:5
10. If it were not for the words of John here, the reader of the gospels would not likely suspect that any among this group had become believers.
11. In fact, those that are in worldly positions of power and influence do not generally accept the gospel. 1Cor.1:26; 2:6-8
12. Two examples of men among this group that believed were Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Joh.3:1ff cp. 19:38-42 cp. Mar.15:43
13. That there were many does not mean that the majority fell into this category, no more than the majority of Israel were believers, but neither is it a number to be disregarded.
14. Some interpreters do not like what is here recorded and attempt to state that these men were not "true believers", but merely possessed some intellectual faith that did not save them.
15. These legalists deny that the sole requirement for salvation is faith in Messiah.
16. They deny the Greek that states they "believed into/eivj Him", which has been the ongoing designation of believers throughout John’s gospel.
17. Faith in Messiah apart from works has been the means for the SAJG since the time of Adam. Gen.3:15 (Christ as the reality for salvation) cp. vs.21 (God provides salvation apart from works of men.)
18. Once one came to believe that Messiah was the Lord God, they were saved and nothing could change that fact.
19. To argue that these types did not believe in Jesus nor embrace any of His teaching is a non sequitur (does not follow the premise or evidence upon which it is based), since similar argument would indict the 11 disciples as non-believers.
20. In stark contrast to the positive news John records regarding these, he records the negative news attached to their belief i.e., "but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue".
21. This demonstrates clearly that salvation Ph₁ does not mean anything necessarily in terms of the Ph₂ adjustment.
22. We recognize and acknowledge that the majority of people that believe in Christ are indeed believers and are going to heaven, but because they will not effectively isolate their STA’s as believers, will not amount to anything spiritually.
23. In short, being a believer is not good enough if one intends to maximize in the POG.
24. While most church going Christians will acknowledge that unbelievers are a stumbling block to +V, what they will not totally accept (as we do) is that negative believers are similarly viewed in a bad light in Scripture.
25. The Exodus generation is the most notable example of believers that failed in time due to failure to stick with sound BD. Psa.78:12-53 esp. vss.22,32; 106:24; Heb.3:7-19
26. Even though many of these rulers became believers, they did not put their trust in God’s deliverance for them out of fear of the consequences.
27. Due to sin fear, they refrained from making any public confessions of open defense for Christ that would mean excommunication from the entire Jewish way of life.
28. While there were believers with political power, such as Joseph of Aramathea, that did not condone the actions of the judicial force of Israel (Luk.23:50-51), they succumbed to fear of peer pressure at a time of crucial import in Christ’s defense. Mar.15:43 Joseph overcame his fear after the fact... "and he gathered up courage.."
29. Of the many from among the rulers that were believers, Scripture only records the actions of two (Joseph and Nicodemus) as exceptions to a prevailing mass cowardice that reigned over these men during Jesus’ course of betrayal and trial and as stated, even they did not overrule their fear until after the fact.
30. This explains why Jesus found absolutely no support in His court proceedings that paved His way to the cross, from any that might have had the power to defend Him.
31. Sin fear is a detrimental hazard that neutralizes the believer in the A/C and is a symptom of maladjustment to BD.
32. It is a MA sin and is manifested, such as here, in failure to appropriately stand for and represent the truth of the POG to others.
33. We are commanded to "stop being afraid" in the WOG. Gen.15:1; Exo.14:13-14; Due.31:8; Mat.14:22-27; Luk.5:10
34. Fear figuratively/spiritually paralyzes believers from make the correct applications of BD.
35. Some things that believers are not to fear include:

1. Living grace provision. Mat.6:25-26
2. Death. Mat.6:27; Psa.23:4
3. Persecution. Mat.10:26-31; Heb.13:6
4. The intimidation of human viewpoint. Gal.2:11-14 (Peter’s and Barnabas’ misapplications and venture into legalism came about due to fear of the Judaizers. On the other hand, Paul attacked the situation head on.)
5. Sudden danger. Pro.3:25-26
6. War, depression, famine, wild beasts, verbal maligning and loss. Job 5:17-24; Luk.21:9; Psa.27:3
7. Evil news. Psa.112 esp. vs.7

1. Faith rest is the prescription for fear. Isa.41:10-13
2. John pulls no punches in revealing even the failing of believers, and now centers on the primary STA activity of fear corporately inherent in all of the believers in Israel, including the religious authorities.
3. And again, it is the Pharisees, the predominate legalistic sect of mainline Judaism that is seen as those responsible for promoting the overt intimidation to solicit fear.
4. They knew that the Pharisees could and would enforce the dictum of excommunication. Cp. Joh.9:22
5. While there is a righteous fear of God and His word that believers are to adhere too (Pro.1:7; 15:33; Psa.112:1); legalism is a force of sin fear placed on man by man.
6. Legalism is a religious system of adding to God’s sovereign word, laws of men that in essence gives men the power to play God over others.
7. This is in total contradiction to how spiritual rulers are to Biblically govern others under their authority as it pertains to their adherence to God’s plan.
8. And that is to allow the truth of BD to be the only source of power to draw men to God (Joh.6:44) and hence the only power by which men are to be evaluated as to their participation in God’s plan (Joh.7:24).
9. It is God and His word that is to be the only source of fear placed upon men in their standings before God.
10. Legalism adds rules of men that transcend God’s sovereign rights of freedom given to men and it is the men and their rules that now produce any fear in those under their system.
11. That the Pharisees have incorporated their own laws into "The Law", and this is now the government of Israel, men must now conform to these man made principles or risk being ostracized from the nation.
12. Just as the Pharisees were responsible for communicating false doctrine, so they were responsible for perpetuating fear amongst all those in their system.
13. Legalists enforce a system of self-righteous standards that others must adhere to or they risk the "danger" of expulsion by men, rather than let God and His word be the only source to declare any act of separation.
14. Legalists promote their power of rule through unrighteous fear.
15. It points to the evil of denominationalism (a form of legalism) of our modern day Church and the type of control over others that their legalism produces.
16. It is not enough that churches have the power of God’s word to enforce judicial proceedings within the church, but they have to incorporate the traditions, agendas and ideas of men to subsidize and enhance their authority and rule. Mar.7:5-23
17. Apart from adhering to their extra-Biblical "handbook" of man made rules, there is no room to exercise authority and participation within the denomination.
18. Legalism is a system of law that replaces the fear of God and His word with the fear of men and their word.
19. The issue in a religious legalistic system is not whether you are okay before God, but okay before men.
20. And that is the emphasis behind their fear as John explains in vs.43, "for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God".
21. The term "loved/avgapa,w" in context emphasizes the innate need of all men in their search for acceptance by others.
22. It points to the fact that God did not create man to be isolated and alone. Gen.2:18
23. However, Scripture makes it clear that the approbation we seek must be properly motivated and within the guidelines of BD. Eph.6:6; Col.3:22
24. And the problem and core of the fear of these "secret agent" believers, were that they were more interested in maintaining their position in the world of Jesus’ enemies, than they were in speaking out for Christ.
25. Their mental attitude motivation had to do with the fact that they placed more emphasis on looking good before men and having their approval than the approval of God. Cp. Joh.5:44
26. What truly neutralized any potential great applications from these men is that they had their eyes on eyes on self and others, rather than God.
27. Their fear laid in the foundation that the world provides and controls our blessings in time rather than the truth that our blessings come from God and the cosmic system is passing away and we are to avoid being entangled with it. 1Joh.2:15-17
28. They represent believers that fail to fully commit themselves to the cause of BD due to the fact that it would cost them relationships with family, friends, popularity, careers, etc.
29. For those believers that are truly adjusted, they will not allow anything to come between them and putting BD first in their lives. Mat.10:37
30. And God promises that those that do indeed put Him first in their lives will face the opprobrium of those that are –V. 1Joh.3:13 cp. 1Pet.4:12-14
31. These men compromised the truth in their silence and in so doing revealed that they did not put God/Christ first of importance in their lives.
32. Pastors are guilty of this in that they refuse to teach a particular doctrine, while catering to their circle of peers.
33. All believers are guilty of this every time they remain silent in a stand for truth/BD, when it is so motivated by fear of reprisal, rejection or less than favorable acceptance by others.
34. Because these men did not put their trust in God, they are forever marked in the WOG, as representing the spiritual cowardice of Israel corporately.
35. They reflect believers and especially P-T’s that have no true confidence in BD and operate under fear because they have their eyes on something/someone other than God.
36. No true soldiers, heroes or martyrs of the cross ever came from this mold of believer.
37. To this degree, these men share in the guilt of those that oppose BD and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
38. The Bible exhorts us to trust God, not men. Psa.37:1-40; 40:4-5; 84:8-12; 118:5-18; 146:3-7; Pro.28:25,26; 29:25,26

GNT John 12:44 VIhsou/j de. e;kraxen kai. ei=pen( ~O pisteu,wn eivj evme. ouv pisteu,ei eivj evme. avlla. eivj to.n pe,myanta, me(

NAS John 12:44 And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me. de, (cc; "And/Now") VIhsou/j (n-nm-s) e;kraxen kra,zw (viaa--3s; "cried out with a loud voice"; same as 1:15; 7:28,37) kai, (cc) ei=pen( le,gw (viaa--3s) ~O pisteu,wn pisteu,w (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s) eivj (pa) evme. evgw, (npa-1s) ouv (neg. +) pisteu,ei pisteu,w (vipa--3s) eivj (pa) evme. evgw, (npa-1s) avlla, (strong advers.) eivj (pa) to.n o` pe,myanta, pe,mpw (d.a. + subs. ptc./a/a/am-s) me( evgw, (npa-1s)

GNT John 12:45 kai. o` qewrw/n evme. qewrei/ to.n pe,myanta, meÅ

NAS John 12:45 "And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me. kai, (cc) o` qewrw/n qewre,w (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s; "he who beholds as a spectator/watches with interest") evme. evgw, (npa-1s) qewrei/ qewre,w (vipa--3s) to.n o` pe,myanta, pe,mpw (d.a. + subs. ptc./a/a/am-s) meÅ evgw, (npa-1s)

GNT John 12:46 evgw. fw/j eivj to.n ko,smon evlh,luqa( i[na pa/j o` pisteu,wn eivj evme. evn th/| skoti,a| mh. mei,nh|Å

NAS John 12:46 "I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. evgw, (npn-1s; emphatic; "I Myself") evlh,luqa( e;rcomai (viPFa--1s; "have come") fw/j (n-nn-s) eivj (pa) to.n o` ko,smon ko,smoj (d.a. + n-am-s; Lit. in the Greek: "I Myself a light into the world have come and am present") i[na (cs; purpose; "in order that") pa/j (a--nm-s; "everyone/all") o` pisteu,wn pisteu,w (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s) eivj (pa) evme. evgw, (npa-1s) mh, (neg. +) mei,nh|Å me,nw (vsaa--3s; "might not remain") evn (pL) th/| h` skoti,a| skoti,a (d.a. + n-Lf-s; "the darkness")

1. John concludes this chapter with an excerpt of Jesus’ teaching that centers on a call for Israel to reversion recovery.
2. It serves as an exhortation and warning to all that fail to comply with the POG.
3. It centers on the primary issue in the POG, the importance and truth of His word.
4. Vss.44-50 comprise Jesus’ last recorded words to the masses at large in John and sums up Israel’s need corporately to come to faith in Him as well as reemphasizing the main concepts of His mission in the world.
5. Like everything else in His ministry, Jesus did not attempt to hide or veil His actions, but boldly, clearly and with authority placed before Israel the POG, as seen in the phrase, "And Jesus cried out and said".
6. In spite of the –V and hostility Jesus consistently faced in His ministry, it in no way diminished His courage to proclaim the POG, in contrast to the silent believing Jewish leaders of vss.42-43.
7. Christ literally was the voice of wisdom/BD, shouting in the streets, attempting to impress on those who hear the particulars of the plan of God. Pro.1:20-33
8. Throughout His ministry and to the end, Jesus asserts that He is not here on His own initiative, but is the chosen and sent emissary of the invisible God.
9. This is the force of His first proclamation, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me".
10. His presence, His teaching, His miracles, in short His every action was the expression of the will of the Father.
11. He declares that faith in His person, Jesus of Nazareth, standing before these people is the same as a declaration of faith in God.
12. God the Father sent Him into the world, a statement true of both His Deity and humanity, and the God/man standing before them is there at the Father’s will.
13. The one that accepts Jesus as Messiah, has accepted the POG as expressed in and by Christ.
14. It is a statement that proclaims saving faith as transcending belief only in His humanity, but a faith exercised into God Himself.
15. Deity commissioned Him and it is Deity they are dealing with.
16. Jesus in His humanity is the spokesman and revealer of God and anyone that sees His Person as such, sees God in Him that equates to seeing the Father Himself.
17. This is the force of His next proclamation in vs.45, "And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me."
18. The term "beholds" is not limited to a physical observance.
19. Though it does apply to those that physically saw Him at the 1^st advent, it also is just applicable to anyone in history.
20. One need not physically see Jesus in order to have eternal life.
21. It refers to one’s spiritual and mental perception in a consideration of His Person and the issues that relate to His Person and work.
22. Those that observe Him through the truth of BD, the recordings of His words, actions, miracles and signs, have a 1^st hand look at who and what Jesus is.
23. And by so doing, the individual also has a 1^st hand look at who and what the Father is.
24. That the one who sees Christ sees the One who sent Him, is nothing less than a claim to Deity.
25. It is a proclamation that apart from observance of Christ, the Father remains obscure.
26. So to behold Christ via the SAJG and GAP is to behold the Father.
27. It is Christ incarnate that is the perfect exegete of the Father. Joh.1:18
28. Jesus expresses this same relationship to the Father in Luk.9:48; 10:16.
29. Jesus returns once again to a primary theme throughout this gospel in vs.46, "I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness".
30. The "light" (without the d.a.) in view is Christ’s Person and doctrine in representation of God.
31. It includes all that Jesus said and did during His ministry as the exegete of God.
32. It centers on all that falls under the concept of light to include life, truth, blessing, righteousness, justice, love, and all other spiritual realities under God’s sovereign plan.
33. The "darkness" (with the d.a.) is the representation of Satan as manifested in the world to include the concepts of death, lies, destruction, unrighteousness, injustice, hate and an escape from spiritual realities under Satan’s own plan.
34. It considers that these two principles are exclusive and know no compromise with one another.
35. The fact that the light comes into the world indicates:

1. The world is not the source of light or spiritual reality.
2. The world is in darkness.

1. The statement of vs.46 in essence is that although the world resides in darkness, none are relegated to that state if they choose to accept Christ as the light He so proclaims.
2. To escape darkness is to adhere to God’s plan starting with the SAJG, and persevering under the R_BAJG and the MAJG and holding to the end.
3. The fact that light is readily and obviously available makes all men totally culpable for their rejection of it.

GNT John 12:47 kai. eva,n ti,j mou avkou,sh| tw/n r`hma,twn kai. mh. fula,xh|( evgw. ouv kri,nw auvto,n ouv ga.r h=lqon i[na kri,nw to.n ko,smon( avllV i[na sw,sw to.n ko,smonÅ

NAS John 12:47 "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; kai, (cc) eva,n (cs; intro. 3rd class cond.) ti,j (indef. pro./nm-s) avkou,sh| avkou,w (vsaa--3s; "might hear") mou evgw, (npg-1s) tw/n o` r`hma,twn r`h/ma (d.a. + n-gn-p; "the sayings/utterances") kai, (cc) mh, (neg. +) fula,xh|( fula,ssw (vsaa--3s; "might not keep/guard/watch over"; of laws it means to observe, maintain, to not violate; same as 12:25) evgw, (npn-1s; "I Myself") ouv (neg. +) kri,nw (vipa--1s) auvto,n auvto,j (npam3s; ref. "anyone") for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ga,r (explan. conj.) ouv (neg. +) h=lqon e;rcomai (viaa--1s) i[na (cs; purpose) kri,nw (vsaa--1s; "I might judge") to.n o` ko,smon( ko,smoj (d.a. + n-am-s) avllV avlla, (strong adv.) i[na (cs; purpose) sw,sw sw,|zw (vsaa--1s; "I might save/deliver") to.n o` ko,smonÅ ko,smoj (d.a. + n-am-s)

GNT John 12:48 o` avqetw/n evme. kai. mh. lamba,nwn ta. r`h,mata, mou e;cei to.n kri,nonta auvto,n\ o` lo,goj o]n evla,lhsa evkei/noj krinei/ auvto.n evn th/| evsca,th| h`me,ra|Å

NAS John 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; o` avqetw/n avqete,w (d.a.; governs both ptc's. + subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s; Lit. to regard as nothing/to set aside/to thwart/frustrate; of persons, "reject/ignore/turn one's back on/disregard/slight/refuse"; legally to annul, declare invalid; used 16x) evme. evgw, (npa-1s) kai, (cc; intensive; "indeed") mh, (neg.) lamba,nwn lamba,nw (subs. ptc./p/a/nm-s) mou evgw, (npg-1s) ta. to, r`h,mata, r`h/ma (n-an-p) e;cei e;cw (vipa--3s; "keeps on having") to.n o` kri,nonta kri,nw (d.a. + subs. ptc./p/a/am-s; "one who judges") auvto,n\ auvto,j (npam3s) the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. o` lo,goj (d.a. + n-nm-s) o]n o[j (rel. pro./am-s; "which" not translated; ref. "the word") evla,lhsa lale,w (viaa--1s; "I spoke/communicated/instructed") evkei/noj (apdnm-s; "that word"; NAS "is what") krinei/ kri,nw (vifa--3s) auvto.n auvto,j (npam3s) evn (pL) th/| h` evsca,th| e;scatoj (d.a. + a--df-s; "the last/final times") h`me,ra|Å h`me,ra (n-df-s)

1. To reject Christ as the light and exegete of the Father is to reject His teachings.
2. You cannot receive Christ and at the same time reject His salvation sayings.
3. Those that try to claim Jesus while side stepping His words do not honor Him or the Father.
4. And will not be honored by God.
5. Failure in this regard leads to judgment, which Jesus now expounds upon.
6. Vs.47 begins with a 3^rd class condition, "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him".
7. The "sayings" He speaks of centers on His teachings and doctrines, especially that teaching related to His unique person and the necessity of faith in Him.
8. He denotes that there are those that do "hear", but yet do not consider what they hear as sufficiently important and willing to act upon it.
9. He has taught this principle in other places such as Mat.7:24-27 cp. Luk.6:47.
10. Hearing the truth is not limited to +V, as many are exposed to the truth of Christ’s teachings and the vast majority does not act on what they have heard. Mat.22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen".
11. However, we are told explicitly that all that are +V will hear and respond. Joh.8:47; 18:37
12. Jesus makes clear that intellectual assimilation of BD alone is non-sufficient and that it requires a follow-up application.
13. The term "keep/guard" contextually means to preserve the truth with an act/ application to sufficiently protect it.
14. For those making the SAJG, this denotes the act of saving faith sufficient in preserving the eternal life given.
15. For believers, it denotes exhale faith with all the applications of BD in FHS that preserves the promises of SG₃.
16. Jesus centers upon those that do not make the required applications and denotes that He does not judge the individual.
17. The present tense of "I am not judging" refers to the current state of affairs as they existed at the 1^st advent.
18. It is a clear proclamation that Jesus taught the truth concerning His 1^st visitation to Israel as one of passion, not condemnation.
19. It is not a statement that He will never judge them, for He has already stated that He will. Joh.5:22,27
20. The judgment in view is the formal act of judicial sentencing that will be applied to all unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment and the judgment of the works of the believers at the corresponding resurrections. Rev.20:11-15 cp. 1Cor.3:12-15
21. This is the force of the final clause in vs.47, "for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world".
22. The world refers to all men and is a clear articulation that salvation both Ph₁ and Ph₂ is applied under the doctrine of unlimited atonement.
23. Jesus then makes clear that those of vs.47 that do not keep His sayings are lumped together as one and the same –V that rejects His Person and BD in vs.48a, "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings".
24. He proclaims that those that are not willing to apply BD, no matter how much they have heard, are in denial of His very Person and refuse to accept His standard of Divine decrees.
25. Christ in all that He taught and spoke articulated the POG perfectly and completely.
26. His Person and teaching was the embodiment of all of BD and not only was prophetic concerning the CA, the new covenant, etc., but explained all of the spiritual teachings of the OT regarding God’s plan for salvation in toto as seen in principles, concepts, ideologies, typology, theophany, ritual, tabernacle, temple, history, etc.
27. Though man may not put together all of Jesus teaching to such a level, Jesus Christ in His Person articulated and fulfilled all the requirements of the Law and the Prophets. Mat.5:17
28. Jesus unabashedly proclaims that one cannot effectively separate the BD of Christ from Christ.
29. You cannot serve Christ without serving BD.
30. To not accept and apply BD is the same as rejecting Christ Himself.
31. These are the strongest verses yet in John that proclaims the doctrine of the Importance of Bible Doctrine.
32. The game that many try to play is to give lip-service to Jesus and all the while, disregarding particular teachings concerning His unique person and the necessity of applying faith (without and with works) in all that He stands for.
33. In lieu of Jesus mission of passion, He makes clear that judgment still exists for all that are –V and disregard His Person and teaching as He states that that individual has one who judges him.
34. The "one who judges" is representative of the POG established by the Father and fulfilled through Christ.
35. That Christ and the Father are "One" (Joh.10:30) denotes that the POG is, has been, and will always be taught through all that Jesus is, as the Teacher of God. Cp. Joh.11:28c
36. That He is the embodiment of BD and that BD is the issue surrounding all judgments that do occur, is made clear in the final part of vs.48 as He states, "the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day".
37. What people fail to realize is that it is the truth of BD, as manifested in the Person of Christ that will be the standard of evaluation for all men when they face Christ for their appropriate judgments.
38. Many commentators regard the judgment in view "at the last day" as referring only to the Great White Throne judgment.
39. However, this phrase in the exact Greek format "evn th|/ evsca,th| h`me,ra|" is used 5x in John and in all four other uses it is in reference to resurrection of believers. Joh.6:39, 40,44; 11:24
40. While this phrase is not technical, it goes without further argument that Jesus’ words contextually are just as applicable to believers as well as unbelievers.
41. Whatever man does with the truth of BD, man will be evaluated by it, exactly and without compromise, whether an unbeliever in failure to accept Christ as the unique God/man that died for one sins as He has taught, or the believer that fails to line up regarding R_B and divine good production via the MAJG.
42. It is BD and one’s attitude towards it that separates –V from +V (Joh.3:19-21) and evaluates what kind of resurrection one will receive (Joh.5:28-29).
43. Christ is the Emissary of God that has articulated God’s plan and every time His word is communicated, it is the contents of His word that will be present to evaluate each and every individual that has existed on this planet, whether to a judgment to eternal condemnation or a judgment of reward.
44. For us, we have the OT and NT canon of Scripture to believe, behold, escape darkness, guard and receive Christ and God the Father, since we have "the mind of Christ". 1Cor.2:16
45. And what we do or do not do with it, will determine our final outcome as it pertains to the judgments of God.

GNT John 12:49 o[ti evgw. evx evmautou/ ouvk evla,lhsa( avllV o` pe,myaj me path.r auvto,j moi evntolh.n de,dwken ti, ei;pw kai. ti, lalh,swÅ

NAS John 12:49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak. o[ti (causal conj.; "Because/For") evgw, (npn-1s) evx evk (pAbl.; "from the source of") evmautou/ (reflex. pro./Ablm1s; "Myself") ouvk ouv (neg. + ) evla,lhsa( lale,w (viaa--1s; "do not speak"; idiomatic "I did not speak on My own initiative") avllV avlla, (strong. adver.) path,r (n-nm-s +) auvto,j (npnm3s; "The Father Himself"; emphatic) o` pe,myaj pe,mpw (adj. ptc./a/a/nm-s; "the One having sent") me evgw, (npa-1s) de,dwken di,dwmi (viPFa--3s; "has given") moi evgw, (npd-1s) evntolh.n evntolh, (n-af-s; "a commandment/charge/ order"; something prescribing how something is to be done) ti, ti,j (interr. pro./an-s; "what thing") ei;pw le,gw (vsaa--1s; "I might say"; emphasizes the words themselves) kai, (cc) ti, ti,j (interr. pro./an-s) lalh,swÅ lale,w (vsaa--1s; "I might speak/communicate"; emphasis on the instructive nature of the words)

GNT John 12:50 kai. oi=da o[ti h` evntolh. auvtou/ zwh. aivw,nio,j evstinÅ a] ou=n evgw. lalw/( kaqw.j ei;rhke,n moi o` path,r( ou[twj lalw/Å

NAS John 12:50 "And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." kai, (cc) oi=da (viPFa--1s) o[ti (ch; indirect disc.) auvtou/ auvto,j (npgm3s; ref. the Father) h` evntolh, (d.a. + n-nf-s; "the commandment") evstinÅ eivmi, (vipa--3s) aivw,nioj (a--nf-s; "eternal/without end") zwh, (n-nf-s) ou=n (infer. conj.) a] o[j (rel. pro./an-p; "what things") evgw, (npn-1s; emphatic) lalw/( lale,w (vipa--1s) lalw/Å lale,w (vipa--1s) kaqw,j (cs; "just as/ according as") o` path,r( (d.a. + n-nm-s) ei;rhke,n le,gw (viPFa--3s) ou[tw (adv.; "in this manner/thus"; not translated in NAS; emphasizes the comparative nature, "just as the Father said to Me, so I speak") moi evgw, (npd-1s)

1. Jesus completes His teaching regarding His Person as the truth of the POG by re-emphasizing that as Messiah, everything He has taught is pure veracity.
2. No matter what men may do with it, the fact is and will always remain that BD in Jesus Christ is the truth and everything else is less than.
3. The phrase, "For I did not speak on My own initiative" refers to the fact that His message was Divine in origin and did not originate from Jesus’ own ideas in His humanity.
4. It denotes the cause behind why Jesus’ teaching of BD is a judgment for evaluation of all men.
5. And that is because BD is the expression of God Himself.
6. The aorist tense of "did not speak" lumps into one ball of wax everything emitted from the mouth of Jesus during His ministry.
7. It is a proclamation of that which constitutes +V being the willingness to submit one’s own volition to the Sovereign will of God.
8. This is not a new message, but something that Jesus taught repeatedly over the course of His public ministry. Joh.3:11; 5:19,30; 7:16; 8:26,28; 14:10,24
9. In stark contrast to any ideas of His own, Jesus states the real source of His words, "but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak".
10. The term "commandment" (without the d.a.) refers to Jesus’ charge as Messiah and His marching orders from God the Father for fulfillment of His commission.
11. He understood the chain of command and in His humanity He willingly chose to submit Himself to the will of the Father at every turn.
12. The commandment in view could be simply stated, "stick with only the veracity of My words".
13. He points out that fidelity to God is fidelity to His word.
14. The different of nuance between the words, "say" and "speak" indicates that in every thing/word He said, He correctly and by design interpreted the directive will of God.
15. Every word that He spoke built the exact sentences, phrases, clauses, etc. that provided the perfect message of God’s directive will.
16. The perfect tense of "has given" denotes that the truth of BD that the Father gave to the Son is still an abiding reality.
17. It was His complete fidelity to the message that the Father gave Him that is His boast and the exact reason that Jesus was the perfect communicator.
18. That He perfectly understood God’s will, He was able to perfectly execute His plan to include the particulars of His niche geographically and in His works.
19. It points to the fact that the faithful communicator of BD teaches only that which has been revealed to him in truth by God the Holy Spirit.
20. The P-T must be faithful to perform the necessary steps in the study-teach routine and not ad-lib.
21. He is to verify the translation by viewing each word in the original languages, in FHS, maintaining context and intent and constantly praying for wisdom to explain the meaning of the particular passage.
22. He must limit himself to the text of Scripture and while other, extra-Biblical materials, may provide isagogic information and shed light on the text, they are not "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". 2Tim.3:16
23. Pastors that engage in speculative theology, not based on the sound principles of hermeneutics and the exegesis of Scripture are not faithful communicators of the truth.
24. This is not to say that they do not communicate the truth at some level, only to say that anything less than pure sound doctrine is not acceptable. 1Tim.4:6; 6:3-5; 2Tim.4:3; Ti.1:9; 2:1,7
25. It is this perfect discernment of sound doctrine resident in Christ that epitomizes the very attribute of God that He was so commissioned to pursue, promote and produce i.e., eternal life.
26. That is the force of vs.50a, "And I know that His commandment is eternal life".
27. The term "commandment" in this verse is with the definite article and points to the one charge of law given to Christ that reflects the sum total of all the commandments of God.
28. It is the result of eternal life that BD effectuates for all concerned.
29. Christ had full discernment that the knowledge of BD and application of it would fulfill God’s plan under the premier law of the universe, eternal life.
30. Whether salvation Ph₁ or Ph₂ is the content, it is BD that effectuates the ramifications of one’s eternal niche.
31. Only by re-establishing eternal life as the premier law in the world could Jesus conquer the law of death under which all men enter into in this world.
32. And Jesus could only do so by perfectly representing the Word of God that He knew was the "key" to this victory.
33. This is why therefore, He proclaims the extreme importance and magnitude of following God’s word as Messiah and states, "the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me".
34. Apart from following God’s word exactly as revealed, eternal life in any category of salvation is void.
35. John uses Jesus’ teaching in these closing versus to point to the bottom line issue of why Israel is deemed –V corporately, unbeliever and believer alike, and that is rejection of the truth of BD.
36. Again, in the strongest of terms we see the gravity of failure to GAP the doctrine of the Importance of Bible Doctrine.
37. Jesus clearly understood the import God placed upon His word as indeed being above His very name. Psa.138:2
38. He does not consider it to be a burden, but the blessing of eternal life.
39. For those that are +V and pursue BD, they can expect the full blessings under the umbrella of eternal life to include:

1. The Divine viewpoint of life. 2Cor.10:5
2. Identification of STA activity (Rom.7:7), isolation of and victory over it (Joh.15:4-7; Rom.6:12-18) that leads to Divine good production (Mat.6:1-8).
3. Discernment. Pro.2:5,9
4. Legitimate prosperity. Pro.3:16-18 cp. Mar.10:29-31
5. Confidence in the POG. Heb.10:35; 2Tim.1:7; Pro.3:24-26
6. Inner happiness/+H. Pro.3:13-18; 1Joh.1:4
7. Inner peace. Psa.119:165; Pro.3:2,17; Phi.4:7
8. Divine guidance. Rom.12:2
9. Ph₂ deliverance. 1Tim.4:16 cp. Phi.2:12-13
10. True fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. Joh.14:21
11. True capacity for and acclimation to life. Job 1:22; 2:9,10
12. Eternal reward. 1Cor.3:12-14; Col.1:3-5

1. The principle is, is that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Heb.11:6
2. And as Christ has taught, the faith we exercise in our seeking cannot separate God from Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ from the Word of God.
3. We are commanded as believers living in the Laodicean period/Rapture generation to intensify our intake of Bible doctrine. Heb.10:25