Yohanes 11:51-52

11:51 (Now he did not say this on his own, ¹  but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation, ²  11:52 and not for the Jewish nation ³  only, ⁴  but to gather together ⁵  into one the children of God who are scattered.) ⁶ 

Yohanes 12:32-34

12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people ⁷  to myself.” 12:33 (Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.) ⁸ 

12:34 Then the crowd responded, ⁹  “We have heard from the law that the Christ ¹⁰  will remain forever. ¹¹  How ¹²  can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

[11:51]  ¹ tn Grk “say this from himself.”

[11:51]  ² tn The word “Jewish” is not in the Greek text, but is clearly implied by the context (so also NIV; TEV “the Jewish people”).

[11:52]  ³ tn See the note on the word “nation” in the previous verse.

[11:52]  ⁴ sn The author in his comment expands the prophecy to include the Gentiles (not for the Jewish nation only), a confirmation that the Fourth Gospel was directed, at least partly, to a Gentile audience. There are echoes of Pauline concepts here (particularly Eph 2:11-22) in the stress on the unity of Jew and Gentile.

[11:52]  ⁵ tn Grk “that he might gather together.”

[11:52]  ⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).

[12:33]  ⁸ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:34]  ⁹ tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”

[12:34]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).

[12:34]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[12:34]  ¹¹ tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).

[12:34]  ¹² tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.