Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 12:28
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying,] I have both glorified [it,] and will glorify [it] again.
28. Then came there ] Better, There came therefore, i.e. in answer to Christ’s prayer. There can be no doubt what S. John wishes us to understand; that a voice was heard speaking articulate words, that some could distinguish the words, others could not, while some mistook the sounds for thunder. To make the thunder the reality, and the voice and the words mere imagination, is to substitute an arbitrary explanation for the Evangelist’s plain meaning. For similar voices comp. that heard by Elijah (1Ki 19:12-13); by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4:31); at Christ’s Baptism (Mar 1:11) and Transfiguration (Mar 9:7); and at S. Paul’s Conversion (Act 9:4; Act 9:7; Act 22:9), where it would seem that S. Paul alone could distinguish the words, while his companions merely heard a sound (see on Act 9:4). One of the conditions on which power to distinguish what is said depends is sympathy with the speaker.
have glorified it ] in all God’s works from the Creation onwards, especially in the life of Christ.
will glorify it ] in the death of Christ and its results.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Glorify thy name – The meaning of this expression in this connection is this: I am willing to bear any trials; I will not shrink from any sufferings. Let thy name be honored. Let thy character, wisdom, goodness, and plans of mercy be manifested and promoted, whatever sufferings it may cost me. Thus Jesus showed us that Gods glory is to be the great end of our conduct, and that we are to seek that, whatever sufferings it may cost us.
I have both glorified it – The word it is not here in the original, but it is not improperly supplied by the translators. There can be no doubt that when God says here that he had glorified his name, he refers to what had been done by Christ, and that this was to be understood as an attestation that he attended him and approved his work. See Joh 12:30. He had honored his name, or had glorified him, by the pure instructions which he had given to man through him; by the power displayed in his miracles; by proclaiming his mercy through him; by appointing him to be the Messiah, etc.
Will glorify it again – By the death, the resurrection, and ascension of his Son, and by extending the blessings of the gospel among all nations. It was thus that he sustained his Son in view of approaching trials; and we may learn:
1.That God will minister grace to us in the prospect of suffering.
2.That the fact that God will be honored by our afflictions should make us willing to hear them.
3.That whatever was done by Christ tended to honor the name of God. This was what he had in view. He lived and suffered, not for himself, but to glorify God in the salvation of men.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 12:28-30
Father, glorify Thy name
The glorified name
1.
One important aspect of Christian life is the imitation of Christ. But this is not necessarily doing the same things that Christ did, but involves the discovery of the principles by which His life was ruled, and the imitation of ways of expressing character after we have gained Christs principles.
2. A mans ruling principle can best be discovered in his prayers, particularly in those which are forced on by sudden calamity or pressure. Then all the guards and formalities around a man are broken down, and the man reveals himself in his heart cry to God. The circumstances of the text present such an occasion, and that we may know what was our Lords ruling principle, let us study this revealing prayer.
I. THE PRAYER THAT EMBODIES THE PRINCIPLE OF THE NOBLE CHRISTLY LIFE. Observe
1. The apprehension of God that is in it. The character of our prayer depends on the name we are able to use for God. Our Lord could only employ the richest and dearest–Father. This apprehension includes some apprehension of the mystery of life and suffering, and a comforting recognition of the Divine purpose. His is a fatherhood of many sons whom He is training for glory.
2. The attitude of soul it indicates.
(1) Perfect trust in the goodness of all the Fathers arrangements and doings.
(2) Simple and unquestioning obedience.
(3) Intense love making complete self-sacrifice possible.
3. What is involved in the petition–living out to the end such a perfect sonship that men, throughout the ages, thinking of the life of Jesus, should fill the name of Father with highest, tenderest, and holiest meanings. To live for self is ignoble; to live for God in His character of Father, the noble life indeed.
II. THE DIVINE RESPONSE TO SUCH A PRAYER.
1. A side of tender comforting–I have glorified it; that has been the meaning of all your lifes toil and pain. This voice may be heard to cheer all true-hearted sons of God. Their life has not been lived in vain.
2. A sign of assurance for the future–I will, etc. Therefore our Lord may calmly go on to new scenes of toil and suffering. (R. Tuck, B. A.)
The glory of God interpreted in Christ
The true glory of God must be interpreted in Christ Jesus; and when you understand what it is that God makes to be His glory; when you understand that the glory of God is not self-laudation, nor enriching His own power, nor multiplying His own treasures, but that it is supremely to make others happy; when you understand that the glory of God means loving other people and not oneself, mercy and not selfishness, the distribution of His bounty and not the hoarding it up; when you understand that God sits with all the infinite stores of redemptive love only to shed them abroad upon men forever and forever, then you form a different conception of what it is for God to reign for His own glory. If love is His glory; if generosity is His glory; if giving is His glory; if thinking of the poor is His glory; if strengthening the weak is His glory; if standing as the defender of the wronged is His glory; if loving and watching over every being that He has created forever and forever is His glory, then, blessed be that teaching which represents that God does reign for His own glory. That is a glory which is worthy of the Divine regality. It will bring out blossoms of joy and gladness in heaven and on earth. (H. W. Beecher.)
The glory of God in Christ crucified
Here shine spotless justice, incomprehensible wisdom, and infinite love, all at once; none of them darkens or eclipses the other; every one of them gives a lustre to the rest; they mingle their beams, and shine with united, eternal, splendour. The just Judge, the merciful Father, the wise Governor–no other object gives such a display of all these perfections; yea, all the objects we know give not such a display as any one of them. Nowhere does justice appear so terribly awful, mercy so sweetly amiable, or wisdom so unfathomably profound. The glories that are found separately in the other works of God, are found united here. The joys of heaven glorify Gods goodness; the pains of hell glorify His justice; the cross of Christ glorifies both of them in a more remarkable way than heaven or hell glorifies any of them. The justice of God is more awfully displayed in the sufferings of Christ, as the substitute of sinners, than in the torments of devils; and His mercy is far more brightly manifested in these sufferings, than in the joys of angels. (J. McLaurin.)
The glory of God the object of grace
Whenever God has blessed the Church, He has secured Himself the glory of the blessing, though we have had the profit of it. Sometimes He has been pleased to redeem His people by might; but then He had so used the power that all the glory hath come to Him, and His head alone hath worn the crown. Did He smite Egypt, and lead forth His people with a strong hand and an outstretched arm? the glory was not to the rod of Moses, but to the Almighty power which made the rod so potent. Did He lead His people through the wilderness and defend them from their enemies? Still, did He, by teaching the people their dependence upon Him, preserve to Himself all the glory. So that not Moses or Aaron amongst the priests or prophets could share the honour with Him. And tell me, if ye will, of slaughtered Anak, and the destruction of the tribes of Canaan; tell me of Israels possessing the promised land; tell me of Philistines routed, and laid heaps on heaps; of Midianites made to fall on each other; tell me of kings and princes who fled apace and fell, until the ground was white, like the snow in Salmon. I will say of every one of these triumphs, Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; and I will say at the end of every victory, Crown Him, crown Him, for He hath done it; and let His name be exalted and extolled, world without end. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Human glory, what it comes to
A moment before he uttered his last sigh he called the herald who had carried his banner before him in all his battles, and commanded him to fasten to the top of a lance the shroud in which the dying prince was soon to be buried. Go, said he, carry the lance, unfurl this banner; and while you lift up this standard, proclaim, This, this is all that remains to Saladin the Great (the conqueror and the king of the empire) of all his glory. Christians, I perform today the office of this herald. I fasten to the staff of a spear sensual and intellectual pleasures, worldly riches, and human honours. All these I reduce to the piece of crape in which you will shortly be buried. This standard of death I lift up in your sight, and I cry, This, this is all that will remain to you of the possessions for which you exchanged your souls. (J. Saurin.)
Voices from the excellent glory
(Text and Mat_3:16-17; Mat_17:5)
I. THE THREE TESTIMONIES.
1. When the voices were heard
(1) In relation to Christs personal ministry.
(a) The first at the commencement of His public ministry.
(b) The second some little time after its central point.
(c) The last just before its close. How cheering at the beginning of a great enterprise to have Gods testimony that He has sent you; how encouraging when the labour is heavy and the spirit faint to receive another affirming word; but best of all to have it when we are about to depart.
(2) In relation to His life and enterprise.
(a) The first celestial witness was given after He had lived for thirty years in obscurity. It was meet when He first appeared that there should be some token that He was what He professed to be. It came also before the temptation, for which there could not be a better forearming. So with us: before temptation, spiritual sustenance.
(b) The second was when our Lord (according to Luke) was about to send out other seventy disciples. Before extending His agencies of mercy He received a token for good. When the Lord calls us to wider service; let us go up into the mountain to pray, and there too we may expect to enjoy the comforting and strengthening witness of the Spirit.
(c) The third came just before His sufferings and death. It was meet that the Sufferer who must tread the winepress alone should receive a word meeting the point about which His soul was most concerned, viz., Gods glory.
(3) In relation to His habits.
(a) The first came when He was in the attitude of obedience–fulfilling all righteousness. When you are in the path of filial obedience you may expect the Spirit to bear witness with yours that you are born of God.
(b) The second came when He was in devout retirement. He had gone up into the mountain alone, and when you are there you may expect to receive Divine testimonies.
(c) The third came when about Isis work, preaching in the Temple. If you are called to any form of service, under no pretext neglect it, or you may lose the inward witness.
2. To whom the attestations were given.
(1) To an increasing number of persons. The first to John alone; the second to five; the last to many. Gods testimony to Christ is an ever growing one.
(2) It was given in this wise.
(a) The first to the greatest of men, yet the voice revealed a greater than he.
(b) The second to the best of men, but the voice bear witness to a better.
(c) The third in the holiest place, and there it testified to a holier. Jesus is everywhere magnified beyond all others.
3. To what God bore testimony.
(1) The first was to Christs miraculous origin: This is My beloved Son.
(2) The second sealed His appointment as the Great Prophet–Hear Him.
(3) The third bore witness to the success of His work–I have glorified it, etc. Some have thought that the three voices attested our Lord in His threefold office.
(a) John came proclaiming the kingdom, and Jesus was in His baptism proclaimed the chief of the new kingdom.
(b) On the second occasion, Hear Him, ordained Him the Prophet of the people.
(c) In the third He was owned as Priest. Is this threefold witness received in your hearts the testimony of God, who cannot lie. Behold Christ well pleasing to the Father; let Him be well pleasing to you. Hear Him proclaimed as Gods beloved; let Him be the beloved of your hearts. Hear the testimony that He has glorified God, and remember that His further glorifying God depends in some measure on you.
4. How were these testimonies given?
(1) On the first occasion the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended. What if this proclaims to us that by His obedience our Lord procured the opening of heaven for us that our prayers might go up and our blessings come down!
(2) Heaven was not beheld as opened the second time–the overshadowing cloud represented the Mediatorship of Christ veiling the excessive brightness of the Godhead.
(3) In the third our mind rests neither upon the opening of heaven nor on the cloud, but on the voice. The opening of heaven and the interposition of a Mediator are but means to the great end of glorifying God. Let this one great object absorb all our souls.
5. What was it that was spoken?
(1) The first time the heavenly voice preached the gospel, This is My beloved Son, etc. The gospel is tidings concerning a blessed person, and His acceptableness as the chosen of God, and of the Divine pleasure with those who are in Him.
(2) The second time the voice uttered the great command, Hear Him. Salvation does not come by seeing, as Romanists have it. Faith cometh by hearing, and not the doctrines of men, even such as Moses and Elias, but Him.
(3) On the third occasion testimony was given to the gospels result. It is through the gospel that God is glorified.
II. INSTRUCTIVE CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH THESE TESTIMONIES.
1. On each occasion Jesus was in prayer. Learn that if any would have God speak comfortably to him, he must speak to God in prayer.
2. Each time His sufferings were prominently before Him. John, at the waters of Jordan, said, Behold the Lamb, etc. On Tabor Moses and Elias spoke of His decease. In the Temple His soul was troubled at the prospect of His death. Learn, then, if you desire to see the glory of Christ, as attested of the Father, you must dwell much on His death.
3. Each time He was honouring the Father. In His baptism by obedience, on the mountain by devotion, in the Temple His very words were, Glorify Thy name. If you would see Gods glory and hear His voice you must honour Him. Conclusion: Receive these testimonies.
1. With assured conviction.
2. With profound reverence.
3. With unconditional obedience.
4. With joyful confidence. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The best prayer ever offered
I. ITS OBJECT.
1. It is unselfish. Personal apprehension is swallowed up in the craving for Divine glory. Compare this with Mat 6:9. Prayer is often too selfish.
2. It seeks the revealing of Gods glory. God is changeless and cannot grow more glorious in Himself. But His name is glorified when the beauty of His character is revealed. The mountains are not changed when the mists lift; but they are glorified in being unveiled.
3. The particular form is the glory of the Fatherhood of God. His creative glory of wisdom and might had been revealed in nature; His regal glory of justice and government in providence; His highest glory of goodness awaited its full manifestation when His Fatherhood would be seen in personal self-sacrificing love to His children.
II. ITS MOTIVES.
1. The name of God as our Father deserves to be glorified.
2. Christ found His own greatest encouragement in the vision of the glory of God. So did Moses (Exo 33:18-19). We are most strengthened when we forget self in God.
3. Christs work is accomplished when the name of God as our Father is glorified. This name had been dishonoured till Christ raised it to honour among His disciples. The Christian is glorified only as he reflects the glory of God, and this can only be as God is first revealed to him (2Co 3:18).
III. ITS ANSWER.
1. Gods Fatherhood had been revealed
(1) In creation, providence, and Old Testament revelation, but dimly and partially.
(2) In the incarnation, life, character, words, and works of Christ, but still not perfectly.
2. It was destined to be revealed more fully.
(1) In the passion of Christ, by the love of God shown in sustaining His Son, by His holiness and goodness in the suffering Saviour, and by the great act of redemption then accomplished.
(2) In the resurrection, and the proof this gave of Gods redeeming goodness.
(3) In the fruits of the redemption seen in the history of the Church.
(4) Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in helping the Church to read aright the mystery of the Cross, which, after Pentecost, became the central theme of the Churchs praises. (W. F. Adeney, M. A.)
The changed prayer
A man once complained to his minister that he had prayed for a whole year that he might enjoy the comforts of religion, but found no answer to his prayers. The minister replied, Go home now, and pray, Father, glorify Thy name.
The truest and deepest view of life
I. A MAN TAKING THE TRUEST AND DEEPEST VIEW OF LIFE. A sentence is often a revelation. This is unique, suggestive. If we were to put our deepest desires into words would they be this? The worldly mans life is limited to the self sphere; the very point of this is that Christ had no self sphere. The former is the shallow, the latter the ennobling view. Observe our Lords
1. Cherished life thought. This inspiring thought for Christ and us starts the question, Will not a cherished sense of our independence do more for us than the sense of dependence, and so of responsibility? Let Christs life be the answer. The independent view–I am my own–may be fascinating; but it is untrue and deteriorating, and sooner or later is found to be such. What is the condition of the parasite when the tree on which it feeds is dead? or that of the ivy cut below and made independent of its secret rootings? What good is an independent vine branch?
2. Ruling life-force–obedience inspired by affection for His Father. Here we see how all the seeming hardness of dependence is lost in the atmosphere of love. The wife never finds it hard to obey when she loves.
Mere obedience is, for man, very hard; but obedience out of love is the highest joy; and this deep joy we find in Christ.
3. Prevailing life-attitude–the activity of submission; for true submission is not mere bearing, but bearing in doing. This is fully illustrated in the life of Christ.
II. GODS RESPONSE TO THE MAN WHO TAKES THIS VIEW OF LIFE.
1. That the deepest wish of His heart has been already realized and He may read His past in the light of it. All depends on the light in which we read our past. Read Christs in the light thrown by this response and see how it had been a glorifying of the Father-name of God in
(1) His own Sonship.
(2) His teachings about the Father.
(3) His brotherhood with men.
2. That the deepest wish of his heart shall yet be realized, and he may go calmly on into darkness with the assurance that even his Cross shall glorify the Father. Death shall do even more than life. The forsaking was a final triumph of obedience. The will of God was so beautiful that He could even suffer and die for it. Conclusion: We say, God is our Father. Do we say, Father, glorify Thy name. Is this our inspiring life secret? In life labour, relationships, sufferings, bereavements, death, do I honour myself or my Father? (R. Tuck, B. A.)
The people said that it thundered.–The whole multitude heard a noise; but the meaning of the voice was only perceived by each in proportion to his spiritual intelligence. Thus the wild beast perceives only a sound in the human voice; the trained animal discovers a meaning, a command, e.g., which it immediately obeys; man alone discerns a thought. (F. Godet, D. D.)
The voice from heaven
I. THE VOICE.
1. Grossly misunderstood by the bystanders
(1) As a natural phenomenon, as thunder.
(2) As a supernatural utterance, the speech of an angel–a significant proof of mans incapacity to understand the words of God (1Co 2:14).
2. Lovingly by Jesus; as an old and familiar voice, the voice of His Father, which twice previously had addressed Him out of heaven. It needs a childs heart to recognize a fathers voice.
3. Rightly interpreted again by Jesus–perhaps also by John and his co-apostles–to whom it spoke in the language of
(1) Approbation, I have glorified it.
(2) Consolation, Will glorify it again.
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE VOICE.
1. Not for His sake; since He knew His Father always heard Him (chap. 11:42).
2. But for theirs–to assure them that He was the Fathers Son, the heaven-sent Messiah.
Learn
1. The superiority of faith to unbelief in the understanding of Divine revelations.
2. The condescension of Christ in considering mans weakness and infirmity. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 28. Father, glorify thy name.] By the name of God is to be understood himself, in all his attributes: his wisdom, truth, mercy, justice, holiness, c., which were all more abundantly glorified by Christ’s death and resurrection, (i.e. shown forth in their own excellence,) than they had ever been before. Christ teaches here a lesson of submission to the Divine will. Do with me what thou wilt, so that glory may redound to thy name. Some MSS. read, Father, glorify my name: others, glorify thy Son.
Then came there a voice from heaven, c.] The following is a literal translation of Calmet’s note on this passage, which he has taken from Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, and others: “I have accomplished my eternal designs on thee. I have sent thee into the world to make an atonement for the sin of the world, and to satisfy my offended justice. I will finish my work. Thou shalt shed thy blood upon the cross. My glory is interested in the consummation of thy sacrifice. But, in procuring my own glory, I shall procure thine. Thy life and thy death glorify me: I have glorified thee by the miracles which have accompanied thy mission and I will continue to glorify thee at thy death, by unexampled prodigies, and thy resurrection shall be the completion of thy glory and of thy elevation.”
Christ was glorified:
1st. By the prodigies which happened at his death.
2. In his resurrection.
3. In his ascension, and sitting at the right hand of God.
4. In the descent of the Holy Ghost on the apostles. and
5. In the astonishing success with which the Gospel was accompanied, and by which the kingdom of Christ has been established in the world. 2Co 2:14.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Father, glorify thy name; that is, make thy name glorious, make it to be known and famous over all the earth. A general petition, but such a one as all our particular requests must be reduced to, if they be according to the will of God. It is as much as, Father, do thine own will: for God is then glorified when his will is done. But it here signifies more: Not my will, but thy will be done. My flesh indeed saith save me from this hour; but, Father, do thy own will, let that be done concerning me which will most tend to make thy name renowned. Such a prayer never goes without an answer.
Then came there a voice from heaven, &c.; the Lord caused a voice as from heaven to be heard. I have glorified it; I have by thee caused my glory to be published and proclaimed in the world, by thy preaching, by thy miracles; and I will perfect that which I have begun, I will glorify it again; thou shalt further glorify me by thy death, by thy resurrection from the dead, by the preaching of the gospel, and carrying it to the ends of the earth.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. Father, glorify thy namebya present testimony.
I have both glorifieditreferring specially to the voice from heaven at His baptism,and again at His transfiguration.
and will glorify itagainthat is, in the yet future scenes of His still deepernecessity; although this promise was a present and sublime testimony,which would irradiate the clouded spirit of the Son of man.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Father, glorify thy name,…. The perfections of his nature, particularly his justice and holiness, meaning in himself; by his sufferings and death; intimating hereby, that his Father’s glory was what he had in view, and that the securing of that would give him an infinite pleasure amidst all his sorrows. The Arabic version, and Nonnus, read “glorify thy Son”, as in Joh 17:1, and the Ethiopic version takes in both, “glorify thy name, and thy Son”: and indeed, what glorifies the one, glorifies the other; see
Joh 13:31.
Then came there a voice from heaven; as at his baptism and transfiguration, and which came from the Father, and was an articulate one, and what the Jews call “Bath Kol”, or “the daughter of the voice”:
[saying], I have both, glorified [it]; meaning in the incarnation, ministry, obedience and miracles of Christ; and particularly in that late one in raising Lazarus from the dead:
and will glorify [it] again; by supporting him under, and carrying him through his sufferings and death, and by raising him from the dead, and setting him at his own right hand.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Father, glorify thy name (, ). First aorist (note of urgency) active imperative of and in the sense of his death already in verses John 12:16; John 12:23 and again in John 13:31; John 17:5. This is the prayer of the (or ) as opposed to that of the (flesh) in verse 27. The “name” () of God expresses the character of God (John 1:12; John 5:43; John 17:11). Cf. Mt 6:9.
A voice out of heaven ( ). This was the Father’s answer to the prayer of Jesus for help. See already the Father’s voice at the baptism of Jesus (Mr 1:11) and at the transfiguration (Mr 9:7). The rabbis called the audible voice of God bath-qol (the daughter of a voice).
I have both glorified it and will glorify it again ( ). This definite assurance from the Father will nerve the soul of Jesus for the coming ordeal. Cf. 11:40 for and John 13:31; John 17:5 for .
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Glorify [] . (Wyc., clarify, as the Vulgate clarifca.) Name. See on Matthew : 19.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1 ) “Father, glorify thy name.” (pater doksason sou to onoma) “Father, glorify your name,” or cause your name to be magnified and praised, through what I am to endure for the redemption of your property, the world, and all that is in it, Joh 3:16; Joh 10:18. Luk 22:42; Joh 5:30.
2) “Then came there a voice from heaven,” (elthen oun phone ek tou ouranou) “Then a voice carne out of the heaven above,” audibly, much as that voice that spoke from heaven at His baptism and transfiguration, Mat 3:17; Mat 17:4-5.
3) ”Saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again,” (kai edoksasa kai palin doksaso) ”I have both glorified it and again I will glorify it,” in the resurrection, and in the ascension. For the Father first raised Him from the dead, assuring our resurrection as His servants, and second, He dispatched heavenly messengers to leave a message of where He had gone, and assurance that He would return, Rom 8:11; Act 1:8-11. The voice of the Father assured the Son that He was not throwing His life away or giving it up in vain.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
28. Father, glorify thy name. By these words he testifies, that he prefers the glory of the Father to all things else, and even neglects and disregards his own life. And the true regulation of all our desires is, to seek the glory of God in such a manner that all other things shall give way to it; for it ought to be reckoned by us an abundant recompense, leading us to endure patiently all that is vexatious or irksome.
I have both glorified it. It is as if he had said, I will finish what I have begun; for God never leaveth the work of his hands imperfect as it is said, Psa 138:8. But as it is the purpose of God to prevent the offense of the cross, he not only promises that the death of Christ will be glorious, but also mentions with commendation the numerous ornaments with which he had already adorned it.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(28) Father, glorify thy name.The pronoun Thy is emphatic. The Sons will is one with that of the Father; the Sons glory is in the glorifying the Fathers name. Comp. the opening clause of the Lords Prayer (Note on Mat. 6:9 et seq.) and in this context Note on Joh. 12:23.
Then came there a voice from heaven.The words mean, not that a sound came from heaven, but that there was heard an articulate voice (comp. Note on Joh. 3:8); and that St. John intended his readers to understand this cannot be questioned. He records here a fact parallel to those recorded by the other Evangelists at the Baptism (Mat. 3:17; Mar. 1:11; Luk. 4:22), and at the Transfiguration (Mat. 17:5; Mar. 9:7; Luk. 9:35), and parallel to that to which St. Luke and St. Paul have testified (Act. 9:4; Act. 22:9; Act. 26:14).
I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.The words are without limit, extending to the whole past and to the whole future of Gods revelation of Himself to man. The only limit in the context is that this revelation is thought of as in the person of Christ. His words, His works. His life revealing the mercy and love and majesty of the Father, had to many hearts glorified the Fathers name. The wider future is at hand. The death and resurrection are to reveal Gods character, and therefore glorify the Fathers name to all the world. (Comp. Exo. 33:18-19; Exo. 34:5-7.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
28. Father, glorify thy name His spirit now rises, in the greatness of its victory, into glorious sympathy with the Father, and the voice of the Father answers. The voice declares that as the Father has glorified him in the past, so will he glorify him in the future. Not only in the past eternity of the Son with the Father, and in his past life of human suffering, has there been a true glorification, but there shall be no cessation here on the brink of death. On the cross, through the valley of death, through the resurrection even, the shame shall be glory, and all shall redound to a glory eternal.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Then a voice came from Heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again”.’
The very coming of Jesus, and His powerful ministry, have glorified the Father’s name. We beheld His glory, glory as of the only son of the Father, full of grace and truth (Joh 1:14). His signs and wonders have revealed the Father’s glory (Joh 11:4). But what was to come would bring, if possible, even greater glory, for it would be glory achieved through suffering. So Jesus need not be over-concerned about whether it will glorify God’s Name (i.e. God Himself), for God assures Him that He has already glorified it through His presence on earth, and that through what is to come the glory of God would be accomplished in even greater measure.
The Gospels record three instances of God responding with a voice from Heaven. The other two were at Jesus’ baptism (Mat 3:17; Mar 1:11; Luk 3:21-22) and at the transfiguration (Mat 17:5; Mar 9:7; Luk 9:35), thus a voice from Heaven came at the commencement of the revelation of His glory, at its fullest manifestation, and here as a divine seal on the revelation of His glory in death and resurrection.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying , I have both glorified it , and will glorify it again.
Ver. 28. Then came there a voice from heaven ] God sometimes gives a sensible answer to the prayers of his people, as they are praying, or immediately after, as Dan 9:21 ; Act 4:31 . And Luther, praying for the good success of God’s cause in Germany, came leaping out of his study, with Vicimus, vicimus, we counquer, we conquer, in his mouth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
28. ] The glorifying the Name of the Father can only take place by the glorification of the Son; and this latter only by His death: so that this is the “ardor obedienti” triumphant.
] This ‘voice’ can no otherwise be understood, than as a plain articulate sound, miraculously spoken, heard by all, and variously interpreted. So all the ancients, and the best of the modern expositors, Meyer, Stier, Luthardt, &c. On the saying of the crowd ( Joh 12:29 ) has been built the erroneous and unworthy notion, that it was only thunder, but understood by the Lord and the disciples to mean as here stated. The Jewish Bath Kol has no applicability here.
] In the manifestation hitherto made of the Son of God, imperfect as it was (see Mat 16:16-17 ); in all O.T. type and prophecy; in creation; and indeed (Aug [168] in Joan. Tract. Lev 4 ) “antequam facerem mundum.”
[168] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo , 395 430
is here no mere repetition, but an intensification of the , a yet once more [: and this time fully and finally].
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 12:28 . Therefore He prays: . “Father, glorify Thy name.” Complete that manifestation of Thy holiness and love which through me Thou art making; complete it even at the cost of my agony. . “There came, therefore, a voice out of heaven: I have both glorified it and will again glorify it.” However Jesus might seem in the coming days to be tossed on the sea of human passions, the Father was steadily guiding all to the highest end. The assurance that His death would glorify God was, of course, that which nerved Jesus for its endurance. He was not throwing His life away.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
heaven (singular) See note on Mat 6:9, Mat 6:10.
I have, &c. The Father’s name was glorified in the wilderness by the Son’s victory over the “tempter”. It was about to be glorified again by the final victory over Satan, in the contest beginning in Gethsemane and ending at the empty tomb.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
28.] The glorifying the Name of the Father can only take place by the glorification of the Son; and this latter only by His death: so that this is the ardor obedienti triumphant.
] This voice can no otherwise be understood, than as a plain articulate sound, miraculously spoken, heard by all, and variously interpreted. So all the ancients, and the best of the modern expositors, Meyer, Stier, Luthardt, &c. On the saying of the crowd (Joh 12:29) has been built the erroneous and unworthy notion, that it was only thunder, but understood by the Lord and the disciples to mean as here stated. The Jewish Bath Kol has no applicability here.
] In the manifestation hitherto made of the Son of God, imperfect as it was (see Mat 16:16-17); in all O.T. type and prophecy; in creation; and indeed (Aug[168] in Joan. Tract. lii. 4) antequam facerem mundum.
[168] Augustine, Bp. of Hippo, 395-430
is here no mere repetition, but an intensification of the , a yet once more [: and this time fully and finally].
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 12:28. , Father) This appellation, lovingly repeated, agrees with the change in the subject of address to Him.-) glorify, at any cost whatever to Me. The Father presently after accepts this petition; , I will glorify it. Already the , troubling, Joh 12:27, is past.- ) Thy name of Father, which is in Me, as being Thy only-begotten Son: Exo 23:21, My name is in Him: with which comp. Mat 3:17. [At His baptism] This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, Joh 17:5, [At the transfiguration, the same testimony of the Father]. Therefore the voice from heaven thrice proclaimed the Son of God.- , I both have glorified) My name. See ch. Joh 17:5.- , I will again glorify it) See the same passage, ch. Joh 17:5; Joh 17:1. By the verb, I have glorified, the entrance of Christ upon that hour is accepted [as also His entrance into the world, His sojourn in it being simultaneously implied.-V. g.]; by the verb, I will glorify, there is promised the glorification of the Fathers name through the glorification of Christ owing to His passion [suffering]. To the twofold speech of Jesus the twofold reply of the Father corresponds.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 12:28
Joh 12:28
Father, glorify thy name.-Instead of praying for deliverance from that hour, he prayed that God would do that which would promote his glory regardless of the suffering of himself. This was equivalent to the prayer, Not my will, but thine be done. (Luk 22:42). [The struggle is over. This is the victors cry. Glorify thy name! No matter what it costs me, no matter through what pathway it leads me, no matter what self-denial or self-sacrifice it requires, yet glorify thy name through me!]
There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it,-[Jesus had ever ascribed his mighty works to God, and, as the Father thus heard and answered his prayer, as so recently in the case of Lazarus, he glorified his own name in these displays of power.]
and will glorify it again.-God glorified himself in sending Jesus into the world to die for sinners. He would glorify it again in glorifying Jesus at his right hand as Lord of lords and King of kings. [This was to be accomplished in that wondrous series of events, culminating in the resurrection and ascension, upon whose threshold they now stood.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Father: Joh 18:11, Mat 26:42, Mar 14:36
Then: Mat 3:17, Mat 17:5, 2Pe 1:17
I have: Joh 9:3, Joh 11:4, Joh 11:40-44
and will: Joh 13:31, Joh 13:32, Isa 49:3-7, Eph 2:7, Eph 3:10, Eph 3:21, Phi 1:6-11, Rev 5:9-14
Reciprocal: Lev 10:3 – before Deu 4:12 – only ye heard a voice Jos 7:9 – what wilt thou 2Sa 7:26 – let thy 1Ch 17:24 – that thy name Psa 68:33 – his voice Pro 8:30 – I was daily Eze 10:5 – the voice Dan 4:31 – fell Mat 26:39 – not Mar 1:11 – there Luk 3:21 – and praying Luk 12:50 – and Luk 22:42 – Father Joh 5:32 – is another Joh 5:43 – come Joh 7:18 – seeketh his glory Joh 8:49 – but Joh 11:41 – And Jesus Joh 11:42 – I knew Joh 17:1 – the hour Joh 17:4 – glorified Joh 17:6 – have manifested Joh 21:18 – thou wouldest not Rom 15:3 – Christ Phi 1:20 – whether Phi 2:8 – the death Heb 5:7 – in that he feared Heb 12:2 – endured 1Jo 5:7 – The Father
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
The original word for glorify as used here is defined by Thayer as follows: “To make renowned, render illustrious, i. e., to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged.” God answered the prayer of Jesus in an audible voice but in words the people did not understand. This made the third time God spoke with words that could be heard; at the baptism of Jesus (Mat 3:17), and at the transfiguration (Mat 17:5), being the other two. That voice was not heard in audible form again that we have any account of, but the Almighty demonstrated his majesty on behalf of his Son more than once afterward, particularly when he raised him from the dead.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying; I have both glorified it; and will glorify it again.
[I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.] This petition of our Saviour’s, “Father, glorify thy name,” was of no light consequence, when it had such an answer from heaven by an audible voice: and what it did indeed mean we must guess by the context. Christ, upon the Greeks’ desire to see him, takes that occasion to discourse about his death, and to exhort his followers, that from his example they would not love their life, but by losing it preserve it to life eternal. Now by how much the deeper he proceeds in the discourse and thoughts of his approaching death, by so much the more is his mind disturbed, as himself acknowledgeth, Joh 12:27.
But whence comes this disturbance? It was from the apprehended rage and assault of the devil. Whether our Lord Christ, in his agony and passion, had to grapple with an angry God, I question: but I am certain he had to do with an angry devil. When he stood, and stood firmly, in the highest and most eminent point and degree of obedience, as he did in his sufferings, it doth not seem agreeable that he should then be groaning under the pressures of divine wrath; but it is most agreeable he should under the rage and fury of the devil. For,
I. The fight was now to begin between the serpent and the seed of the woman, mentioned Gen 3:15; about the glory of God and the salvation of man. In which strife and contest we need not doubt but the devil would exert all his malice and force to the very uttermost.
II. God loosed all the reins, and suffered the devil without any kind of restraint upon him to exercise his power and strength to the utmost of what he either could or would, because he knew his champion Christ was strong enough, not only to bear his assaults, but to overcome them.
III. He was to overcome, not by his divine power, for how easy a matter were it for an omnipotent God to conquer the most potent created being; but his victory must be obtained by his obedience, his righteousness, his holiness.
IV. Here then was the rise of that trouble and agony of Christ’s soul, that he was presently to grapple with the utmost rage of the devil; the divine power in the mean time suspending its activity, and leaving him to manage the conflict with those weapons of obedience and righteousness only.
It was about this, therefore, that that petition of our Saviour and the answer from heaven was concerned: which may be gathered from what follows, Joh 12:31, “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
“Now is my soul troubled (saith he), and what shall i say? It is not convenient for me to desire to be saved from this hour; for this very purpose did I come: that therefore which I would beg of thee, O Father, is, that thou wouldst glorify thy name, thy promise, thy decree, against the devil, lest he should boast and insult.”
The answer from heaven to this prayer is, “I have already glorified my name in that victory thou formerly obtaindest over his temptations in the wilderness; and I will glorify my name again in the victory thou shalt have in this combat also.”
Luk 4:13; “When the devil had ended all the temptations, he departed from him for a season.” He went away baffled then: but now he returns more insolent, and much more to be conquered.
And thus now, the third time, by a witness and voice from heaven, was the Messiah honoured according to his kingly office; as he had been according to his priestly office when he entered upon his ministry at his baptism, Mat 3:17; and according to his prophetic office when he was declared to be he that was to be heard, Mat 17:5; compared with Deu 18:15.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 12:28. Father, glorify thy name. Let Thy glory shine forth in Thy name, in Thy character, as Father and in all that is involved in establishing Thy fatherly relation to men.
There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The answer is a voice from heaven which is supposed (Joh 12:29) by some to be thunder, by others to be that of an angel. Both these suppositions disclose the character of the voice. It was loud and terrible, a voice of awe and majesty. Such is always the meaning of thunder both in the Old Testament and the New (Exo 19:16; Job 26:14; Psa 104:7; Rev 4:5; Rev 8:5; Rev 11:19; Rev 14:2; Rev 19:6). Such also is the voice of an angel (Mat 24:31; 1Th 4:16; Rev 5:2). The mixed thunderings and voices, too, of the Apocalypse are an instructive comment on this voice, while the connection that it has with judgment is clearly indicated by our Lord Himself in Joh 12:30-31. If this was the manner of the voice, its contents must correspond, and it seems therefore altogether inappropriate to refer the first part of the words to the ministry of Jesus in Israel now drawing to its close, the second part to the approaching proclamation of salvation to the Gentiles. In reality these two things are one, and both of them are already ideally complete. The words rather express the unchangeableness of the purpose of Him which is and which was and is to come, and intimate that the great work whereby Gods name was to be especially glorified would certainly, as resolved on in eternity, be accomplished.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Joh 12:28-30. Father, glorify thy name Whatever I suffer. For this may be considered as a further expression of his resignation, importing that he was willing to submit to whatever the Father should judge necessary for the manifestation of his perfections: as if he had said, Dispose of me and all my concerns in such a way as may most effectually promote thy glory. The answer, however, that was now given to this part of Christs prayer, rather suggests another meaning, namely, that he entreated God to demonstrate, perhaps by an immediate interposition, the truth of his mission, a full proof thereof being altogether necessary for vindicating the honour of God. Accordingly, the words were no sooner spoken, than a voice from heaven was heard, answering distinctly to this sense of them: saying, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again I have glorified it by the miracles which thou hast already performed, and will continue to glorify it by other miracles yet to be performed. Accordingly, by the miraculous circumstances which accompanied our Lords crucifixion, but especially by his resurrection from the dead, by his ascension into heaven, and by the effusion of the Holy Ghost upon his apostles, the truth of Christs mission was demonstrated, and the glory of God greatly advanced. The people, therefore, that stood by, and heard it That is, heard a sound, but not the distinct words; said it thundered The voice being probably strong and loud as thunder, and evidently preternatural. Others said, An angel spake to him By this it appears, that it was an articulate voice: none of them, however, took it for a human voice, it being entirely different from any thing they had ever heard. Jesus answered, This voice came not because of me Nor did I pray for it on my own account; but for your sakes Not to assure me of the love of my Father, but to confirm you in the belief of my mission, that you may not be offended at the treatment I shall meet with, or quit your hope in me on account of the sufferings which are coming upon me.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 28b, 29. Whereupon there came a voice from heaven, I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again.29. The multitude therefore that stood by and heard it, said that it thundered; others said, An angel has spoken to him.
Each time that the Son performs a great act of self-humiliation and personal consecration, the Father answers by a sensible manifestation of approval. What had happened at the baptism and the transfiguration is now renewed. At this hour which is the closing of Jesus’ ministry, and in which He devoted Himself to death, is the timeor neverfor the Father publicly to set the seal of His satisfaction upon His person and His work.
Lucke, de Wette, Hengstenberg, Weiss, regard this voice from heaven as a simple thunder-clap. By reason of the coincidence of this external phenomenon with His prayer, Jesus, in their view, interpreted it freely in the sense indicated by the evangelist. Is not thunder often called in the Old Testament, the voice of the Lord? The Rabbis gave a name to these prophetic voices, these mysterious inspirations which a word accidentally heard calls up in the hearts of believers, namely, Bath-Kol (daughter of the voice). But the text does not favor this interpretation of the phenomenon here related. According to John, it is not a clap of thunder taken to be a voice from heaven; it is, on the contrary, a voice from heaven which a part of the multitude regard as a clap of thunder; comp. Meyer.
How could Jesus say: this voice (Joh 12:30)? How could this voice be translated by Him or by John into a definite expression in words? Whence would arise in these words the contrast between the past (I have glorified) and the future (I will glorify), a contrast which has no connection with anything in the prayer of Jesus? How, finally, could one part of the multitude itself discern in this sound an articulate language which they attribute to an angel? The text permits us to think only of a divine phenomenon. As to the Rabbinical superstition called Bath-Kol, it cannot be cited here, since one would infer from such signs only a human voice. The past I have glorified refers to the ministry of the Lord in Israel, which is close upon its end; the future I will glorify, to the approaching action of Jesus on the whole world, when from the midst of His glory He will enlighten the heathen. Between these two great works which the Father accomplishes through the Son, is placed precisely the hour of suffering and death which is the necessary transition from the one to the other. There is no ground therefore to draw back before this hour. It is, moreover, well surrounded. Before,the name of God glorified in Israel; after,the name of God glorified in the whole world. Here indeed is the most consoling response for the filial heart of Jesus (Joh 17:1-2; Joh 17:4-5). The two , and, and, bring out the close connection between the work done and the work to be done: I who have accomplished the one, will also accomplish the other.
The whole multitude hear a sound; but the meaning of the voice is perceived by each one only in proportion to his spiritual intelligence. Thus, in human speech the wild beast perceives only a sound, the trained animal discovers in it a meaning, a command, for example, which it immediately obeys; man only discerns in it a thought. : the greater number; : others in smaller numbers; comp. Act 9:7 with Act 22:9; Act 26:13-14, where an analogous phenomenon occurs at the time of the appearance of Jesus to Paul. In order to understand a vision, there must be an internal organ and this organ may be more or less favorably disposed. At Pentecost, where some see only the effects of drunkenness, others discern a revelation of the glorious things of God (Act 2:11-13). The perfect, instead of the aorist, signifies that to their view Jesus is for the future a person in possession of this heavenly sign.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
12:28 Father, {d} glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying], I have both glorified [it], and will glorify [it] again.
(d) So then the Father’s glory is Christ’s glory.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
More than deliverance from the hour of the Cross Jesus wanted God’s glory (cf. Joh 7:18; Joh 8:29; Joh 8:50; Mat 26:39).
"The whole of his life’s dedication is concentrated in this statement." [Note: Tenney, "John," p. 130.]
"In the hour of suffering and surrender, there are only two prayers we can pray, either ’Father, save me!’ or ’Father, glorify Thy name!’" [Note: Wiersbe, 1:342.]
The Father answered Jesus’ petition from heaven audibly. The Gospels record three instances of God doing this. The other two were at Jesus’ baptism (Mat 3:17; Mar 1:11; Luk 3:21-22) and transfiguration (Mat 17:5; Mar 9:7; Luk 9:35). The Synoptics record those events, and only John recorded this one. In all cases the purpose of the voice was to authenticate Jesus as God’s Son in a dramatic way. However it was a veiled revelation, as were all of God’s revelations about Jesus. The people present could not understand the words clearly, though Jesus could (cf. Act 9:7; Act 22:9). God had already glorified Himself through the Incarnation and Jesus’ ministry. He would glorify Himself through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.