John 12 41

John 12:41 kjv

These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

John 12:41 nkjv

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

John 12:41 niv

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

John 12:41 esv

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

John 12:41 nlt

Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah's glory.

John 12 verses

John 12 41 Meaning

John 12:41 asserts that the prophetic vision described in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah saw the "Lord" enthroned in glory, was in fact a vision of Jesus' pre-incarnate divine glory. Consequently, the prophecies uttered by Isaiah regarding the spiritual blindness and hardening of hearts among God's people, cited in the preceding verses, were spoken with knowledge of Christ and were fulfilled through their rejection of Him. This verse serves as a profound theological declaration by John, establishing Jesus' deity and pre-existence, interpreting Old Testament prophecy as centered on Christ.

John 12 41 Context

John 12:41 appears at a pivotal moment in John's Gospel, concluding the narrative of Jesus' public ministry before turning to the Last Supper and passion week. The preceding verses (John 12:37-40) explicitly state that despite Jesus performing many miraculous signs, most people did not believe in Him. John quotes Isaiah 53:1 ("Lord, who has believed our report?") and then Isaiah 6:10 ("He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart..."). This sets the stage for John 12:41, which directly identifies the "Lord" Isaiah saw in his foundational commissioning vision (Isa 6:1) with Jesus. Historically, the audience would understand Isaiah's prophecy as divinely inspired, revealing the words and glory of Yahweh. John’s identification of "his glory" and "him" as referring to Jesus challenges conventional Jewish interpretation by elevating Jesus to the divine status previously reserved for Yahweh in their scriptures. It provides a theological explanation for Jewish unbelief, demonstrating that even this rejection was foreseen and was ultimately rooted in an encounter with the divine glory of Christ Himself.

John 12 41 Word analysis

• These things: This phrase serves as a summary reference to the immediately preceding text, specifically John 12:37-40. It encompasses both the failure of the Jewish people to believe in Jesus despite His many signs and the prophetic fulfillment of their spiritual blindness and hardened hearts, as described by Isaiah. This acts as a clear contextual bridge.
• Isaiah: The prophet Ἠσαΐας (Esaias), one of the most significant Old Testament prophets. John's direct attribution underscores the prophetic authority behind the statements about belief and unbelief. The naming highlights the ancient, sacred origin of the prophecies.
• said (εἶπεν, eipen): Simple past tense verb, emphasizing a declarative statement or utterance. Isaiah directly communicated these truths. It implies direct verbal action.
• when he saw (ὅτε εἶδεν, hote eiden): This points to the moment and nature of Isaiah's encounter. The verb 'saw' (εἶδεν, eiden) implies a visual revelation, not mere conceptual understanding. This directly refers to the prophet's call vision in Isa 6:1, where he states, "I saw the Lord."
• his glory (τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, tēn dox an autou): This is the critical interpretative statement of the verse.
  • Glory (δόξα, doxa): In the Septuagint (Greek OT), "doxa" is often used to translate the Hebrew word kabod, which signifies the visible manifestation of God's presence, majesty, and honor. It's associated with divine radiance (Exo 24:16-17, Psa 29:3). When Isaiah saw "the Lord" in Isa 6:1-5, he saw divine glory.
  • His (αὐτοῦ, autou): The pronoun here unequivocally refers to Jesus, despite the context in Isaiah referring to Yahweh (the Lord of Hosts). John's Gospel explicitly asserts that this divine glory witnessed by Isaiah was the pre-incarnate glory of Jesus. This is a powerful Christological statement.
• and spoke of him (ἐλάλησεν περὶ αὐτοῦ, elalēsen peri autou):
  • Spoke (ἐλάλησεν, elalēsen): Another verb for communication, here used specifically in relation to the prophet's message following his vision.
  • Of him (περὶ αὐτοῦ, peri autou): Again, the pronoun "him" refers to Jesus. This means Isaiah's entire prophetic ministry, particularly his pronouncements regarding the unbelief and hardening of Israel, were spoken concerning Jesus. Not only did Isaiah see Jesus' glory, but his words also pointed to Jesus and His saving work and the human response to it. This connection establishes Jesus as the central subject of Isaiah's prophecies.

• "when he saw his glory and spoke of him": This phrase functions as a tightly linked theological argument. John connects the prophetic vision (seeing the glory) with the resulting prophetic message (speaking of Him). This fusion establishes Jesus as both the object of Isaiah's direct, personal divine revelation and the subject matter of his prophetic proclamation. The visual revelation provided the foundation for the verbal declaration, tying the Old Testament prophetic experience directly to the person of Jesus Christ. This effectively transforms a prophecy about the Lord (Yahweh) into a prophecy about the Lord Jesus, elevating Him to full deity.

John 12 41 Bonus section

The high Christology of John's Gospel is powerfully condensed in this single verse. It is not merely an interpretation but a revelatory declaration. In ancient Jewish thought, particularly in Targumic traditions, "the glory of the Lord" (Shekinah) and "the Word of the Lord" (Memra) were often employed as circumlocutions for God Himself when speaking of His visible manifestations or direct actions. While not directly employing these terms, John’s statement aligns with the conceptual framework where a divine agent could embody or manifest the unseen God's glory. Here, that divine agent is Jesus, definitively equating "the Lord" of Isaiah 6 with the Messiah. This verse presents a robust challenge to any interpretation that limits Jesus to merely a human prophet or an elevated servant, squarely placing Him in the realm of divinity, co-eternal with the Father. The evangelist carefully links Isaiah's initial, overwhelming experience of divine majesty to the specific person of Jesus, showing that all scripture truly testifies of Him.

John 12 41 Commentary

John 12:41 serves as a definitive Johannine Christological statement, concluding the narrative of public unbelief. By stating that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory, John explicitly interprets Isaiah's foundational vision (Isa 6:1) as an encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ, thereby asserting Jesus' full deity and eternal pre-existence. This clarifies why Isaiah's subsequent prophecy (Isa 6:9-10), quoted by John, foretold spiritual blindness: those who later rejected Jesus were doing so in fulfillment of a word originally spoken by a prophet who had encountered Jesus' own divine glory. The verse thus intertwines Jesus' divine identity, the authority of Old Testament prophecy, and the somber reality of Israel's unbelief. It frames the rejection of Jesus not merely as human failure but as the foreordained outcome when finite humanity encounters and recoils from infinite, divine glory.