John 12:39

12:39 For this reason they could not believe, ¹  because again Isaiah said,

John 12:41

12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s ²  glory, and spoke about him.

John 1:23

1:23 John ³  said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight ⁴  the way for the Lord,’ ⁵  as Isaiah the prophet said.”

John 12:38

12:38 so that the word ⁶  of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, ⁷  “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord ⁸  been revealed?” ⁹ 

[12:39]  ¹ sn The author explicitly states here that Jesus’ Jewish opponents could not believe, and quotes Isa 6:10 to show that God had in fact blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. This OT passage was used elsewhere in the NT to explain Jewish unbelief: Paul’s final words in Acts (28:26-27) are a quotation of this same passage, which he uses to explain why the Jewish people have not accepted the gospel he has preached. A similar passage (Isa 29:10) is quoted in a similar context in Rom 11:8.

[12:41]  ² tn Grk “his”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent supplied here is “Christ” rather than “Jesus” because it involves what Isaiah saw. It is clear that the author presents Isaiah as having seen the preincarnate glory of Christ, which was the very revelation of the Father (see John 1:18; John 14:9).

[1:23]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:23]  ⁴ sn This call to “make straight” is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

[1:23]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

[12:38]  ⁴ tn Or “message.”

[12:38]  ⁵ tn Grk “who said.”

[12:38]  ⁶ tn “The arm of the Lord” is an idiom for “God’s great power” (as exemplified through Jesus’ miraculous signs). This response of unbelief is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa 53:1). The phrase ὁ βραχίων κυρίου (Jo braciwn kuriou) is a figurative reference to God’s activity and power which has been revealed in the sign-miracles which Jesus has performed (compare the previous verse).

[12:38]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.