John 12:33

• In John’s Gospel, judgment does not happen only on the final Judgment Day. It began when Jesus came into the world as the light (3:19; 5:24; 9:39).

• Satan is the prince of this world. Satan promotes darkness, leads people into sin, and spreads death. Although Satan’s final defeat is still future, his power was broken through the work of Jesus (see Luke 10:17–18; Mark 3:27).

  Now Christ reigns as king in heaven (Acts 7:55–56; Ephesians 1:19–22).

when I am lifted up from the earth (see 3:14; 8:28): The crowd did not understand what Jesus meant. The Greek verb can also mean "be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). Or, it can refer to honor (Luke 10:15). In John's Gospel, the cross was not a place of shame for Jesus, but where his true glory was shown.

• In this part of John’s Gospel, two stories move forward at the same time.

  First, more and more people begin to praise Jesus. Their excitement reaches a high point when crowds welcome him into Jerusalem with shouts of joy (12:12–13).

  Second, the religious authorities become more determined to arrest Jesus and put him to death. As public support grows, their opposition grows as well.

• John's Gospel describes three events that happened only days before Passover (12:1–11, 12–19, 20–36). Then he explains why most of the people refused to believe and describes the final public message spoken by Jesus (12:37–50).