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Verse-by-Verse Commentary

The Book of John

Chapter 12: If I Be Lifted Up, Will Draw All Men Unto Me

John 12 stands at the threshold of the passion. At Bethany Mary pours out a pound of costly spikenard upon Jesus' feet, and He receives it as done 'against the day of my burying,' while Judas the thief objects. The next day the crowds hail Him into Jerusalem with palms and 'Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel,' the humble King on a donkey's colt. When Greeks come seeking Him, Jesus announces that 'the hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified,' and teaches the law of the cross: 'Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.' His soul is troubled, yet He will not turn back, 'for this cause came I unto this hour,' and a voice from heaven glorifies the Father's name. He foretells His death: 'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' Though He had done many miracles, most believed not, fulfilling Isaiah, yet He cries out that 'he that believeth on me, believeth... on him that sent me,' and 'he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.' The chapter shows us the King who comes to die, the grain that must fall to bear fruit, and the Father made visible in the Son.

About This Commentary

This is a verse-by-verse study of John chapter 12. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Mary anoints Jesus for His burial, the crowds hail Him as King, He teaches the law of the falling grain, foretells His lifting up, and reveals the Father in Himself. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.

Setting the Stage

The Anointing

For My Burying

Mary's costly love pours out on the Saviour before His death.

The King Comes

Hosanna to the King

The humble King enters Jerusalem to shouts of praise.

The Corn of Wheat

If It Die, Much Fruit

The grain must fall and die to bring forth a harvest.

Lifted Up

Will Draw All Men

The cross is the throne from which He draws all to Himself.

The Anointing and the Triumphal Entry

Blessed Is the King of Israel (John 12:1-19)

Mary anoints Jesus for His burial, and the crowds hail Him into Jerusalem as the promised King.

John 12:1-19

Against the Day of My Burying

"Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him."

Word Study

"Hosanna," Greek hosanna (ὡσαννά), from the Hebrew. The word transliterates the Hebrew cry hoshia-na, "save now" or "save, we pray," drawn from Psalm 118:25-26, a psalm sung at the great feasts. Once a plea for salvation, it had become a shout of joyful praise and welcome to the coming Deliverer. As the crowds cry "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord," they hail Jesus with the very words of the messianic psalm, acknowledging Him as the promised King and the bringer of salvation. The cry "save now" was more fitting than they knew, for the King they welcomed with palms was coming to accomplish the greatest salvation, not by casting out Rome but by going to the cross to save His people from their sins.

Explanation

Mary anoints Jesus' feet with costly spikenard and wipes them with her hair, and He defends her lavish love against Judas's false concern: "against the day of my burying hath she kept this." She has understood what the disciples resist -- that He is going to die. The next day He enters Jerusalem as the promised King on a donkey, the crowds crying "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord," stirred by the raising of Lazarus. The Pharisees despair, "the world is gone after him" -- an unwitting prophecy, for the Greeks are about to come seeking Jesus, and the gospel will indeed go to the world.

Gospel Focus

At Bethany, in the home warmed by resurrection joy, a supper is made for Jesus, and Mary does a beautiful thing. She takes "a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly," breaks it open, and anoints the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair, and "the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." It is extravagant, humble worship, a gift worth nearly a year's wages poured out in love, and her loosened hair a mark of lowly devotion. Judas objects with feigned concern for the poor, but John exposes his heart: "he was a thief, and had the bag." Jesus defends her: "Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this." Mary, perhaps better than the apostles, sensed that Jesus was going to die, and lavished her love on Him while she could. Her act stands forever as the pattern of worship that counts nothing too costly for Christ. The next day the crowds, stirred by the raising of Lazarus, meet Jesus with "branches of palm trees" and the cry, "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." Jesus enters deliberately upon "a young ass," fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy of the King coming "sitting on an ass's colt", not a war-horse of conquest but the lowly mount of peace. The disciples did not grasp it then, but after His glorification they remembered that this was written of Him. The multitude who had witnessed Lazarus raised bear witness, and more come to see the One who did such a miracle. The Pharisees, watching their influence crumble, exclaim in frustration, "behold, the world is gone after him." Their words are truer than they mean: the King has come, salvation is at hand, and the world will indeed go after Him, drawn by the cross toward which He now moves. The anointing for burial and the royal welcome stand side by side, for this King reigns from a cross, and He is worthy of our most costly worship.

The Hour, the Grain of Wheat, and the Lifting Up

If I Be Lifted Up, Will Draw All Men (John 12:20-36)

As Greeks seek Him, Jesus announces His hour, teaches the law of the falling grain, and foretells the cross that will draw all men.

John 12:20-36

Except a Corn of Wheat Fall Into the Ground and Die

"And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them."

Word Study

"lifted up," Greek hupsoo (ὑψόω). The word means to lift up, to raise on high, and also to exalt. John uses it with deliberate double meaning: "if I be lifted up from the earth," said "signifying what death he should die," His physical lifting up on the cross. Yet the same word means exaltation, for the cross was also His enthronement and the beginning of His glory. To be lifted up on the wood of Calvary was, paradoxically, to be lifted up to His throne. And from that lifted-up place He would "draw all men," Jew and Gentile alike, of every nation, drawn by the magnetic power of the cross. The crucifixion is not merely the depth of His humiliation but the height from which the Saviour draws a lost world to Himself.

Explanation

When Greeks come seeking Him, Jesus knows "the hour is come" and gives the law of the harvest: "except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." His death is not defeat but the seed from which a world of life will spring. Troubled in soul yet resolute -- "for this cause came I unto this hour" -- He hears the Father's voice from heaven, and declares, "if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me," signifying the cross. The lifting up that looks like His end is the drawing power that will gather the nations.

Gospel Focus

The coming of "certain Greeks" who say, "Sir, we would see Jesus," signals that the hour has arrived, for the gospel is about to reach beyond Israel to the nations. Jesus answers, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified", but His glory will come by way of death. He teaches the profound law of the kingdom in a picture from the field: "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." A seed kept safe remains a single seed; only by being buried and dying does it multiply into a harvest. So Christ, by dying, would bring forth a great harvest of redeemed souls, and so too His disciples: "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." The way of fruitfulness, for the Master and for the servant, is the way of the cross, of dying to self. Then we are given a glimpse into the anguish of the Saviour: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." He feels the full weight of what is coming, yet He will not pray to escape it, for it is the very purpose of His coming. His prayer instead is, "Father, glorify thy name," and heaven answers with an audible voice: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The voice came, He says, "for your sakes." Then Jesus declares the meaning of His approaching death: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." At the cross Satan would be defeated and his hold on the world broken. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me", the cross would become the throne from which He draws people of every nation to Himself, the answer to the Greeks who came seeking Him. The crowd puzzles over how the ever-abiding Christ can be "lifted up," and Jesus urges them to seize the moment: "Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light... believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." The light of the world was among them only a little longer; the call is to believe now, before the darkness falls. The grain must die to bear its harvest, and the King must be lifted up to draw the world.

Unbelief Foretold and the Father Seen in the Son

He That Seeth Me Seeth Him That Sent Me (John 12:37-50)

Though many would not believe, fulfilling Isaiah, Jesus cries out that to see and believe on Him is to see and believe on the Father.

John 12:37-50

I Am Come a Light Into the World

"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak."

Word Study

"seeth," Greek theoreo (θεωρέω). The word means to look at, to behold, to perceive with understanding, more than a passing glance. "He that seeth me seeth him that sent me." To behold Jesus with the eyes of faith is to behold the Father, for the Father is not another divine person visible apart from the Son; He is the invisible God made visible in Christ. As Jesus tells Philip in the next chapters, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." There is no seeing of God the Father except in the face of Jesus Christ, for in Him the one God who is Spirit is manifest in flesh. And John adds a stunning word: Isaiah "saw his glory, and spake of him", the glory Isaiah beheld of the LORD high and lifted up in the temple was the glory of Christ, for Jesus is that same LORD. To see Jesus truly is to see the one God Himself.

Explanation

John closes the public ministry by explaining Israel's unbelief: though Jesus had done so many signs, they believed not, that Isaiah's words might be fulfilled -- and some rulers who believed dared not confess Him, "for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." Then Jesus' final public cry gathers the whole witness of the Gospel: "he that seeth me seeth him that sent me," and "I am come a light into the world." To see the Son is to see the God who sent Him, for the Father dwells in Him. His words will judge those who reject them at the last day, for He speaks nothing of Himself but the Father's own command, which is life everlasting.

Gospel Focus

John pauses to reckon with a painful mystery: despite "so many miracles," most "believed not on him." This unbelief did not defeat God's purpose but fulfilled the Scriptures, for Isaiah had asked, "Lord, who hath believed our report?", and had foretold judicial blinding upon those who persistently reject the light, "He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart." Those who refuse to see are given over to their blindness. Yet John also records that "among the chief rulers also many believed on him," though secretly, "because of the Pharisees... For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." Fear of man and love of human approval kept many from open confession, a sober warning to all who would follow Christ. Then John records Jesus' climactic public cry, gathering up the great truths of the Gospel. "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me." To believe in Jesus is to believe in the Father, and to see Jesus is to see the Father, for the Father is manifest in the Son; there is no other God to be seen or believed apart from Christ. "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness", He is the light, and faith in Him delivers from darkness. His present mission is salvation, not judgment, "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world", yet His word will be the standard of judgment for those who reject it: "the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." And He grounds all His words in perfect union with the Father: "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment." This is not the language of a lesser being taking orders from a greater, but the mystery of the incarnation: the Word made flesh speaks perfectly the mind of God, for the Father dwells in Him, and "his commandment is life everlasting." So the chapter's great section closes with the very heart of Johannine truth and of the Apostolic faith: in Jesus the Father is seen, in Jesus the one God is believed, and His word is the word of eternal life. See Him, believe on Him, walk in His light, and receive the life everlasting He speaks.

Chapter 12 in Review

John 12 gathers the last public scenes before the cross. Mary anoints Jesus with costly spikenard "against the day of my burying," a portrait of extravagant worship, while Judas the thief objects. The crowds hail the humble King into Jerusalem with palms and "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel." When Greeks come seeking Him, Jesus announces His hour and teaches the law of the falling grain: "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Troubled in soul yet resolved, "for this cause came I unto this hour," He hears the Father's voice from heaven and foretells the cross: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Though many believed not, fulfilling Isaiah, He cries out that "he that seeth me seeth him that sent me."

For the Apostolic reader this chapter is rich with the meaning of the cross and the glory of Christ. The King comes to Jerusalem not to conquer Rome but to die, and His death is the falling of the grain that multiplies into a vast harvest of the redeemed; the way of fruitfulness for Him and for us is the way of the cross and of dying to self. His lifting up on the cross is at once His deepest humiliation and His exaltation to the throne from which He draws all men, Jew and Gentile, of every nation, the answer to the Greeks who would see Jesus. And above all the chapter unveils His deity in the language John loves: to believe on Jesus is to believe on the Father who sent Him, to see Jesus is to see the Father, for the Father, the one invisible God, is made visible in the Son; the glory Isaiah beheld of the LORD was the glory of Christ. There is no God to be seen or believed apart from Jesus, in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells. So worship Him without reserve like Mary, welcome Him as your King, take up the cross to bear fruit, be drawn to the lifted- up Saviour, and see in His face the one God, whose word is life everlasting.

Key Takeaways
  • Costly, extravagant worship of Christ is never wasted (12:3, 7).
  • The King comes in humility, to reign from a cross (12:14-15).
  • The grain must fall and die to bring forth much fruit (12:24).
  • The way of fruitfulness is losing one's life for Christ (12:25-26).
  • Lifted up on the cross, Christ draws all men unto Himself (12:32).
  • To see and believe on Jesus is to see and believe on the Father (12:44-45).

Questions for Reflection

  • Do you worship Christ with the costly, unreserved love of Mary?
  • Are you willing to be the grain that falls and dies to bear fruit?
  • Have you been drawn to the lifted-up Saviour on the cross?
  • Do you see the one God, the Father, in the face of Jesus Christ?

References & Sources

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Costly worship and anointing for burial: Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9. The King on the colt and Hosanna: Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:25-26; Luke 19:38. The falling grain and losing one's life: John 12:24-25; Luke 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 15:36. Lifted up to draw all men: John 3:14-15; 8:28; Isaiah 52:13. The Father seen in the Son: John 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6. Isaiah beholding Christ's glory: Isaiah 6:1-10; 53:1. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.

  1. The anointing and the triumphal entry: John 12:1-19; Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:25-26.
  2. The hour, the grain of wheat, and the lifting up: John 12:20-36; John 3:14-15; Isaiah 52:13.
  3. Unbelief foretold and the Father seen in the Son: John 12:37-50; Isaiah 6:1-10; John 14:9.
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