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JOHN 
of this world* will be driven out.y 32And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”z 33He said this indicating the kind of death he would die. 34So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever.* Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”a 35Jesus said to them, “The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going.b 36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.”c
Unbelief and Belief Among the Jews. After he had said this, Jesus left and hid from them. 37* d Although he had performed so many signs in their presence they did not believe in him, 38* in order that the word which Isaiah the prophet spoke might be ful lled:
“Lord, who has believed our preaching,
to whom has the might of the Lord been revealed?”e
39For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said:
40“He blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
so that they might not see with their eyes
and understand with their heart and be converted,
and I would heal them.”f
41Isaiah said this because he saw his glory* and spoke about him.g 42Nevertheless, many, even among the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it openly in order not to be expelled from the synagogue.h 43For they preferred human praise to the glory of God.i
Recapitulation. 44Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me,j 45and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.k 46I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.l 47And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.m 48Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day,n 49because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.o 50And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
12:24
Jesus uses the image of the grain of wheat, which must “die” and be buried in the earth, to talk about his own death and resurrection. Only by dying will he be able to rise to new and everlasting life, and this pattern of dying and rising is a path that all his followers must take. “Like the grain of wheat which rises from the earth, putting forth its stalk and then its ear, you could not remain enclosed in the tomb.. You have risen, and have made
a place for our trans gured esh in the very heart of God” (Pope Benedict XVI).
12:27
Jesus struggles with the sacri ce he is about to make yet freely accepts his passion and death, knowing this
is the only way to ful ll his purpose, to meet his “hour.” God con rms Jesus’ free acceptance and anticipates his glori cation. Some hear the words, but to others it
is only “thunder” (12:29): to acknowledge Jesus is not an act of will, but a gift of grace.
12:44
At this turning-point, just before the Passion narrative begins, Jesus summarizes
his mission of mercy: he has come not to condemn but to save, to bring light in place of darkness.
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* [12:31] Ruler of this world: Satan.
* [12:34] There is no passage in the Old Testament that states precisely that the Messiah
remains forever. Perhaps the closest is Ps 89:37.
* [12:37–50] These verses, on unbelief of the Jews, provide an epilogue to the Book of Signs.
* [12:38–41] John gives a historical explanation of the disbelief of the Jewish people, not
a psychological one. The Old Testament had to be ful lled; the disbelief that met Isaiah’s message was a foreshadowing of the disbelief that Jesus encountered. In Jn 12:42 and also in Jn 3:20 we see that there is no negation of freedom.
* [12:41] His glory: Isaiah saw the glory of Yahweh enthroned in the heavenly temple, but in John the antecedent of his is Jesus.
x. [12:30] 11:42.
y. [12:31] 16:11; Lk 10:18; Rev 12:9.
z. [12:32] 3:14; 8:28; Is 52:13.
a. [12:34] Ps 89:5; 110:4; Is 9:7; Dn 7:13–14; Rev 20:1–6. b. [12:35] 9:4; 11:10; Jb 5:14.
c. [12:36] Eph 5:8.
d. [12:37–43] Dt 29:2–4; Mk 4:11–12; Rom 9–11.
e. [12:38] Is 53:1; Rom 10:16.
f. [12:40] Is 6:9–10; Mt 13:13–15; Mk 4:12.
g. [12:41] 5:39; Is 6:1, 4. h. [12:42] 9:22.
i. [12:43] 5:44.
j. [12:44] 13:20; 14:1.
k. [12:45] 14:7–9.
l. [12:46] 1:9; 8:12.
m. [12:47] 3:17.
n. [12:48] Lk 10:16; Heb 4:12.
o. [12:49] 14:10, 31; Dt 18:18–19.