John 11:52

11:52 Christ’s death was not for Israel only, but for all, including people of other cultures scattered around the world (10:16; 12:32).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 11:52. Καἰ οὐχ, and not) John everywhere obviates the possibility of a wrong interpretation: so at ch. Joh 21:23 [where the false construction was put on Jesus’ words, as if the beloved disciple should not die, John counteracts the error by adding, “Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?”] In this passage, his object in adding Joh 11:52 is, lest any should infer from the words of Caiaphas, that Jesus died for the Jews alone. In truth, the apostle of Christ takes a wider range of view than the Jewish high priest.—ἵνα καὶ τὰ τέκνα) Almost all the Latin MSS. omit the particle καὶ, also Augustine, and with them Luther. Let the reader weigh the evidence and decide.—[305] τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ, the children of God) He calls them the children of God in respect to the Divine foreknowledge; and because they were in very deed about to become the children of God, [even though not being the posterity of Abraham, according to the flesh—V. g.]—τὰ διεσκορπισμένα, that had been [were] scattered abroad) The Preterite denotes, not those who are in the dispersion, but those who have come into a state of dispersion. Gen 10:32, “The nations were divided in the earth after the flood;” Joh 11:8, [at Babel] “The Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth.” The words in antithesis are, the people, Joh 11:50, and the scattered abroad [children of God], Joh 11:52. Otherwise the people and the children are synonyms: Rom 9:26, “In the place where it was said, Ye are not My people, there shall they be called the children of the living God.” So then Christ inflicted no detriment on the people [the Jews], in order that He might make a people of those also, who had not been a people [the Gentiles]. Comp. ch. Joh 12:20, etc. [Greeks, by their own desire, are brought to Jesus through Philip: whereupon Jesus saith] “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

[305] ABD Rec. Text and Origen retain καί. abc omit it. Some MSS. of Vulg. have it, but others omit it.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For they were not gathered together in one country, as the Jews were, but to be gathered from all quarters, from the East to the West.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

and not for that nation only, &c.--These are the Evangelist's words, not Caiaphas'.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 52. And not for that nation only, c.] These, and the preceding words in Joh 11:51, are John's explication of what was prophetic in the words of Caiaphas: as if John had said, He is indeed to die for the sins of the Jewish nation, but not for theirs alone, but for the sins of the whole world: see his own words afterwards, 1Jo 2:1-2.

Gather together in one] That he should collect into one body-form one Church out of the Jewish and Gentile believers.

Children of God that were scattered abroad.] Probably John only meant the Jews who were dispersed among all nations since the conquest of Judea by the Romans; and these are called the dispersed, Joh 7:35, and Jas 1:1; and it is because he refers to these only, that he terms them here, the children of God, which was an ancient character of the Jewish people: see De 32:5; Isa 43:6; Isa 45:11; Jer 32:1. Taking his words in this sense, then his meaning is this: that Christ was to die, not only for the then inhabitants of Judea, but for all the Jewish race wheresoever scattered; and that the consequence would be, that they should be all collected from their various dispersions, and made one body. This comports with the predictions of St. Paul: Ro 11:1-32. This probably is the sense of the passage; and though, according to this interpretation, the apostle may seem to confine the benefits of Christ's death to the Jewish people only, yet we find from the passage already quoted from his first epistle, that his views of this subject were afterwards very much extended; and that he saw that Jesus Christ was not only a propitiation for their sins (the Jews) but for the sins of the whole world: see his 1st epistle, chap. 2. ver. 2. 1Jo 2:2 All the truths of the Gospel were not revealed at once, even to the apostles themselves.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

52. And not for that nation only. The Evangelist means that the reconciliation effected by Christ is also extended to the Gentiles. But how comes it that they who, in consequence of being wretchedly scattered and wandering, became the enemies of God, are here called the children of God? I answer, as has been already said, God had in his breast children, who in themselves were wandering and lost sheep, or rather who were the farthest possible from being sheep, but, on the contrary, were wolves and wild beasts. It is therefore by election that he reckons as the children of God, even before they are called, those who at length begin to be manifested by faith both to themselves and to others.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(52) And not for that nation only.—Caiaphas had said “die for the people,” using the word which meant the people of the Jews. St. John said, “die for that nation,” using the wider word which meant the nation as one of the nations of the earth. He now passes to a wider meaning still. He has lived to see a partial fulfilment of the ingathering of the “other sheep” of Joh_10:16, and he thinks of that death as for God’s children in all nations, who shall be one flock under one shepherd.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

52. not for that nation only] S. John purposely uses the word which describes the Jews merely as one of the nations of the earth distinct from the Gentiles. Of course we are not to understand that Caiaphas had any thought of the gracious meaning contained in his infamous advice.

gather together in one] Comp. Joh_17:21 : for ‘in one’ read into one.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And not for that nation only,.... For though Christ, as prophet, was sent to the Jews only, and was the minister of the circumcision, yet as a priest he did not die for them only, but for the Gentiles also; even for the whole mystical Israel of God all the world over, whether among Jews or Gentiles; see Jo1 2:2.

But that also he should gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered abroad; by which may be meant, not only the elect of God among the Jews, who were scattered amidst the nations of the world, for whom Christ died, and to whom the Gospel was in the first place sent, and who were gathered together into a Gospel church state; see Joh 7:35; but rather the elect of God among the Gentiles, called "the children of God", in opposition to a notion of the Jews, who took this character to themselves, on account of their national adoption, and denied it to the Gentiles, reckoning them no other than as dogs; and because they were the children of God by special adoption, in divine, predestination, and in the covenant of grace; and were so considered, when given to Christ, who looked upon them as in this relation, when he assumed their nature, and died in their room and stead; and not merely because they would hereafter appear to be the children of God in regeneration, and by faith in Christ Jesus, and have the witnessings of the Spirit that they were so; and much less because they had a fitness and disposition to be the children of God, since they were by nature as others, children of wrath: and these are said to be "scattered abroad", both from God, as they were by the fall, and by their own transgressions; which separated between God and them, and set them at a distance from him; for in their nature head, and nature state, they are afar off from him, and from one another; which may regard not only distance of place, being scattered about in the several parts of the world, but their disagreement in mind and judgment, in religion and manners; every one pursuing his own way, going astray like lost sheep: now Christ died for them, in order to bring them nigh to God, to the one true and living God; and to gather them together under one head, himself, their common head; by whom they were represented in his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection; and to make them one body, and bring them into one fold, into one church state here, and at last to one place, to heaven, there to be for ever with him; and so the Persic version renders it, "that he might gather them into one place": and in this, the red heifer was a type of Christ; whose blood was sprinkled directly before the tabernacle of the congregation, and without the camp; and which was done, as a Jewish writer says (q),

"to call to mind the design of the heifer, which was to bring "those that were afar off", from the camp of the Shekinah, to be near unto it.''

(q) Abarbinel in Lev. xix. 3, 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

Ver. 52. Gather together in one] In one spiritual body, though in place never so distant one from another, Eph 4:4; "My dove is but one, the daughters saw her and blessed her," Son 6:9. No such oneness, entireness, anywhere else. Other societies may cleave together as the toes of clay in Nebuchadnezzar’s image, but not incorporate.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Should gather together in one - All his chosen among the Jews and Gentiles. See Joh 10:16.

The children of God - This is spoken not of those who were then Christians, but of all whom God should bring to him; all who would be, in the mercy of God, called, chosen, sanctified among all nations, Joh 10:16.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Not for that nation only; not for the Jews only. The words used in Caiaphas’s speech were λαος and εθνος, words not significant of the Jews only, but of other people also: for Christ was to gather into one body all the elect of God, who are here called

the children of God, because they were to be so after their being begotten by the immortal seed of the word, and born again of water and the Spirit), those that at present were

scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth: Christ was to gather together in one all things in heaven and earth, Eph 1:10. The evangelist extendeth the sense of Caiaphas’s prophecy to Gentiles as well as Jews, according to the extent of the death of Christ, declared 1Jo 2:2.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

52. Gather… children of God—John unfolds, as a flower in the bud, the rich meaning contained in the unconscious prophecy of the pontiff.

The children of God—Those who will by faith become the sons of God, whether Jew or Gentile.

Scattered abroad—Diffused among mankind; visible to God alone. Compare note on Joh_10:16.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But that, he might gather into one - Church, all the children of God that were scattered abroad - Through all ages and nations.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

52. οὐχ ὑπὲρ τ. ἔθνους μόνον. S. John purposely uses the word which describes the Jews merely as one of the nations of the earth distinct from the Gentiles. We are not to understand that Caiaphas had any thought of the gracious meaning contained in his infamous advice. Balaam prophesied unwillingly, Caiaphas unconsciously.

συναγ. εἰς ἕν. Gather together into one (Joh 10:16, Joh 17:21). The idea of Jews scattered among Gentiles is here transferred to believers scattered among unbelievers. For ἀλλ’ ἵνα see on Joh 1:8, and for τὰ τέκνα τ. Θεοῦ, 1Jn 3:10. The Gentiles are already such potentially: they have the δύναμις, and will hereafter receive ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γένεσθαι (see on Joh 1:12).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

52. The Death of Jesus was not only on behalf of Jews. This is the teaching of Jn. Cf. 3:16, 10:16, 12:32, 1Jn 2:2, as a few of the passages which make this plain. It is natural that in a Gospel written amid Greek surroundings and primarily for Greek readers, the scope of the Christian message of salvation as extending beyond the borders of Judaism should be explained with special emphasis.

Its larger purpose was “to gather into one the scattered children of God,” ἵνα καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ διεσκορπισμένα συναγάγῃ εἰς ἕν. The phrase looks onward to the future, when those who are potentially God’s children shall have become τέκνα θεοῦ, begotten of God, through faith in Jesus (see on 1:12, 13 for τέκνα θεοῦ in Jn.); and it looks onward also to the more distant future, when all these children of God shall be gathered into one. It should be observed again at this point (see on 1:12) that the ideas of the universal Fatherhood of God, and of the whole human family as His children, are not explicit in Jn. All who will “believe” may become His children; but this faith is presupposed.

τὰ διεσκορπισμένα. These potential children of God are “scattered,” as Jn. writes. They are, to his mind, in every part of the world. The verb διασκορπίζω does not occur again in Jn., but is frequently used in the LXX of the scattering of Israel among the nations, which is a thought foreign to the context here; for the “children of God who are scattered abroad” are not all of Israel. Jn. has σκορπίζω at 10:12, but there the allusion is to the wolf scattering the flock, of which there is no suggestion in the present passage.

There seems to be a reminiscence of this verse in the Didache (ix. 4), where mention is made of the Eucharistic loaf: ὥσπερ ἦν τοῦτο τὸ κλάσμα διεσκορπισμένον ἐπάνω τῶν ὀρέων καὶ συναχθὲν ἐγένετο ἕν, οὕτω συναχθήτω σου ἡ ἐκκλησία ἀπὸ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς εἰς τὴν σὴν βασιλείαν. See on 6:12.

συναγάγῃ εἰς ἕν. Cf. 10:16, δεῖ με ἀγαγεῖν κτλ., where see note. For the nature of this unity, see on 17:21; and cf. Eph 2:14.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Nation [εθνους] . John does not used the word laov, people, which Caiaphas had just employed. The Jews were no longer a people, only one of the nations of the world. He wishes to set the Gentiles over against the Jews, and this distinction was national. Moreover, John points out in this word the fact that the work of Christ was not to be for any people as specially chosen of God, but for all nations.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.