Discovery BoxJohn 12:39-50
Context12:39 For this reason they could not believe, 1 because again Isaiah said,
12:40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart, 2
so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their heart, 3
and turn to me, 4 and I would heal them.” 5
12:41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s 6 glory, and spoke about him.
12:42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers 7 many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees 8 they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, 9 so that they would not be put out of 10 the synagogue. 11 12:43 For they loved praise 12 from men more than praise 13 from God.
12:44 But Jesus shouted out, 14 “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, 15 12:45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 16 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. 12:47 If anyone 17 hears my words and does not obey them, 18 I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 19 12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept 20 my words has a judge; 21 the word 22 I have spoken will judge him at the last day. 12:49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, 23 but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me 24 what I should say and what I should speak. 12:50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. 25 Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.” 26
[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.
[12:40] 2 tn Or “closed their mind.”
[12:40] 4 tn One could also translate στραφῶσιν (strafwsin) as “repent” or “change their ways,” but both of these terms would be subject to misinterpretation by the modern English reader. The idea is one of turning back to God, however. The words “to me” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
[12:40] 5 sn A quotation from Isa 6:10.
[12:41] 6 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).
[12:42] 7 sn The term rulers here denotes members of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews. Note the same word (“ruler”) is used to describe Nicodemus in 3:1.
[12:42] 8 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[12:42] 9 tn The words “Jesus to be the Christ” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (see 9:22). As is often the case in Greek, the direct object is omitted for the verb ὡμολόγουν (Jwmologoun). Some translators supply an ambiguous “it,” or derive the implied direct object from the previous clause “believed in him” so that the rulers would not confess “their faith” or “their belief.” However, when one compares John 9:22, which has many verbal parallels to this verse, it seems clear that the content of the confession would have been “Jesus is the Christ (i.e., Messiah).”
[12:42] 10 tn Or “be expelled from.”
[12:42] 11 sn Compare John 9:22. See the note on synagogue in 6:59.
[12:43] 12 tn Grk “the glory.”
[12:43] 13 tn Grk “the glory.”
[12:44] 14 tn Grk “shouted out and said.”
[12:44] 15 sn The one who sent me refers to God.
[12:45] 16 sn Cf. John 1:18 and 14:9.
[12:47] 17 tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
[12:47] 18 tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”
[12:48] 20 tn Or “does not receive.”
[12:48] 21 tn Grk “has one who judges him.”
[12:49] 23 tn Grk “I have not spoken from myself.”
[12:49] 24 tn Grk “has given me commandment.”
[12:50] 25 tn Or “his commandment results in eternal life.”
[12:50] 26 tn Grk “The things I speak, just as the Father has spoken to me, thus I speak.”
