Bible Strands
John 12:33
He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the crowd immediately after declaring He will be lifted up from the earth to draw all people to Himself. The moment occurs just before the crowd questions how the Son of Man can be lifted up if the Christ remains forever.
The words — σημαίνων (sēmainōn) literally means "signifying" or "indicating," and ἤμελλεν (ēmellen) translates as "He was about." These terms function as a narrative marker showing the text's explicit purpose to clarify the specific manner of the impending death.
The thread — The identical explanatory formula appears in John 18:32 regarding Jesus' execution and in John 21:19 regarding Peter's martyrdom. Each citation links a spoken prophecy directly to a predetermined violent outcome.
Why it lands — The text states that the drawing of people to Christ is bound to a specific, foretold mode of death. It requires the reader to accept the method of execution as a necessary component of the promise rather than an obstacle to it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Cross-references
- John 18:32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.
- John 21:19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after He had said this, He told him, “Follow Me.”