The Meaning of John 12:30 Explained

John 12:30

KJV: Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

YLT: Jesus answered and said, 'Not because of me hath this voice come, but because of you;

Darby: Jesus answered and said, Not on my account has this voice come, but on yours.

ASV: Jesus answered and said, This voice hath not come for my sake, but for your sakes.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Jesus  answered  and  said,  This  voice  came  not  because of  me,  but  for  your sakes. 

What does John 12:30 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus explained that the heavenly voice had sounded for the people"s benefit more than for His. In that the voice assured Jesus, who was to die for their sins, it was for their sake. They probably did not appreciate that it was a confirmation of Jesus until after the Resurrection. The more spiritually sensitive among them must have sensed that it signaled something important. Jesus proceeded to explain the implications of what God had said in the next two verses.

Context Summary

John 12:30-41 - Belief May Become Impossible
The question of the Greeks led our Lord's thoughts to His death. He saw, too, the baptism of suffering through which His followers must pass. From all this that troubled Him, He fled to the Father, asking only that all should converge to His glory. That request was immediately answered in the affirmative. Thus He was led to give this amazing interpretation of the events which were taking place, as viewed from the standpoint of heaven. The age, not He, was being judged. It was standing before Him for its verdict, not He before it. Caiaphas, Pilate, and the rulers of the age were passing before His judgment seat and being judged as worthless. The prince of the age, Satan, not Christ, was being cast out, though the sentence might take long before fully realized. Little as they recognized it, the day of the Cross was the crisis of the history of earth and hell, of men and demons. Then was settled the question of supremacy between darkness and light, between hate and love, between death and life. Lifted up recalls John 3:14. The Cross is the divine magnet, and our attitude with regard to it shows what we are. Learn from John 12:35-36 the order of transfiguration into the sonship of light: believe in the light, walk in the light, and you will become sons of light. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 12

1  Jesus excuses Mary anointing his feet
9  The people flock to see Lazarus
10  The chief priests consult to kill him
12  Jesus rides into Jerusalem
20  Greeks desire to see Jesus
23  He foretells his death
37  The people are generally blinded;
42  yet many chief rulers believe, but do not confess him;
44  therefore Jesus calls earnestly for confession of faith

Greek Commentary for John 12:30

Not for my sake, but for your sakes [ου δι εμε αλλα δι υμας]
These words seem to contradict John 12:28, John 12:29. Bernard suggests an interpolation into the words of Jesus. But why not take it to be the figure of exaggerated contrast, “not merely for my sake, but also for yours”? [source]
For my sake []
Emphatic in the Greek order. It is not for my sake that this voice hath come. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 12:30

John 12:44 Cried and said [εκραχεν και ειπεν]
First aorist active indicative of κραζω — krazō to cry aloud, and second aorist active of defective verb ερω — erō to say. This is probably a summary of what Jesus had already said as in John 12:36 John closes the public ministry of Jesus without the Synoptic account of the last day in the temple on our Tuesday (Mark 11:27-12:44; Matt 21:23-23:39; Luke 20:1-21:4). Not on me, but on him “Not on me only, but also on,” another example of exaggerated contrast like that in John 12:30. The idea of Jesus here is a frequent one (believing on Jesus whom the Father has sent) as in John 3:17.; John 5:23, John 5:30, John 5:43; John 7:16; John 8:42; John 13:20; John 14:1; Matthew 10:40; Luke 9:48. [source]

What do the individual words in John 12:30 mean?

Answered Jesus and said Not because of Me the voice this has come but you
Ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν Οὐ δι’ ἐμὲ φωνὴ αὕτη γέγονεν ἀλλὰ ὑμᾶς

Ἀπεκρίθη  Answered 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀποκρίνομαι  
Sense: to give an answer to a question proposed, to answer.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
δι’  because  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: διά  
Sense: through.
ἐμὲ  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
φωνὴ  voice 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: φωνή  
Sense: a sound, a tone.
αὕτη  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
γέγονεν  has  come 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.

What are the major concepts related to John 12:30?

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