The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ stays for ever: and how say you, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
the law.
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
John 15:25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Christ.
2 Samuel 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
Psalm 72:7,17-19 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth…
Psalm 89:36,37 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me…
who.
John 3:14-16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: …
John 5:25-27 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live…
John 8:53-58 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? …
“We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever.
The crowd refers to the Law, which in this context includes the entire Hebrew Scriptures, not just the Pentateuch. They likely reference passages such as Psalm 89:36-37 and Daniel 7:14, which speak of an everlasting kingdom. The Jewish expectation was that the Messiah would establish a permanent, earthly reign, which contrasts with Jesus' teachings about His death and resurrection.
So how can You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?
The term "lifted up" is a reference to Jesus' crucifixion, as seen in John 3:14 and John 8:28. The crowd struggles to reconcile the idea of a suffering Messiah with their understanding of a triumphant, eternal ruler. The title "Son of Man" is significant, as it is a messianic title from Daniel 7:13-14, which Jesus frequently used for Himself, emphasizing both His humanity and divine authority.
Who is this Son of Man?”
This question reveals the crowd's confusion and lack of understanding about Jesus' identity. Despite Jesus' teachings and miracles, many struggled to see Him as the fulfillment of messianic prophecies. The question also highlights the tension between Jesus' revelation of Himself and the prevailing messianic expectations. This moment invites readers to consider the true nature of Jesus' mission and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in ways that were unexpected by many of His contemporaries.
The people standing around Jesus have just heard Him predict His death: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32).
• They are not hostile here as much as puzzled. Earlier, others had tried to seize Him (John 7:30), but on this occasion the crowd is sincerely wrestling with a theological dilemma.
• The timing is significant—Jerusalem is crowded for Passover. Expectations of national deliverance are high (John 12:12-13).
• Their response reminds us that God’s revelation often presses believers to rethink settled assumptions (cf. Acts 10:13-17).
The “Law” can stand for the entire Old Testament. The people recall texts that speak of Messiah’s everlasting reign.
• Psalm 89:29, 36: “I will establish his line forever.”
• 2 Samuel 7:13: the promised Son of David will establish a kingdom “forever.”
• Isaiah 9:7: “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.”
• Ezekiel 37:25 and Daniel 7:14 add to the picture of an eternal kingdom.
In light of these passages, the idea that Messiah could suffer or die seems contradictory. The crowd’s expectation is earthly permanence; they overlook prophecies of a suffering Servant (Isaiah 53:5-8; Psalm 22:16-18).
“Lifted up” unmistakably points to crucifixion, as John notes in verse 33.
• Jesus has used this language before: John 3:14 and 8:28.
• Numbers 21:9 foreshadows it—Moses lifts the bronze serpent, a picture of redemption through faith.
• Deuteronomy 21:23 underlines the scandal: “anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse,” showing the depth of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice (Galatians 3:13).
The crowd’s puzzle exposes a crucial truth: Messiah’s path to eternal kingship runs through the cross. The throne and the tree are not rivals; they are stages in one divine plan (Philippians 2:8-11).
The people know the title “Son of Man” from Daniel 7:13-14, where He comes with the clouds and receives an everlasting dominion. Yet Jesus applies it to Himself in a way that includes suffering.
• John 1:51 and 5:27 link the title to both divine authority and redemptive mission.
• Matthew 16:13-17 shows the disciples learning that “the Christ” and “the Son of the living God” are one and the same.
• At His trial Jesus cites Daniel 7: “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power” (Matthew 26:64), blending glory and sacrifice.
Their question, “Who is this Son of Man?” reveals a gap in understanding: they await a conquering ruler but stumble over a crucified Savior (1 Corinthians 1:23).
John 12:34 captures the crowd’s confusion as eternal-kingdom promises collide with Jesus’ prediction of the cross. Scripture truly teaches both: the Christ remains forever, and the Son of Man must be lifted up. The cross is not a detour but the doorway to the everlasting throne. Embracing both truths brings us face-to-face with the full, majestic portrait of our Redeemer—suffering Servant and reigning King.
(34) we have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever.. . . . .--The term "law" refers to the whole of the Old Testament Scripture, as we have seen in John 10:34. (Comp. Note there.) They may have referred to such passages as Psalm 89:36; Psalm 110:4; Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 7:13-14. This remark is an instance of the knowledge of Rabbinic theology which interpreted such passages of a temporal Messianic reign. They had witnessed His triumphal entry into the royal city, and had joined in the acclamations which hailed Him as their King. They expected Him to free them from Roman bondage, and to rule over them in an earthly paradise to which there should be no end. The Christ they thought was to abide for ever.How sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up?--His words have conveyed to them the idea of His death, and we find "lifted up" used not unfrequently in the Rabbinical writings in this sense; but they do not understand more than this. It contradicts all their visions of a Messianic reign. The Son of man to be lifted up! What meant, then, such words as these--"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:14)? They cannot reconcile these things, and they ask Him to explain them. . . .
Verse 34. - The audience of Jesus on this occasion has swollen into a vast group. The few Greeks, with Philip and Andrew, the other disciples, the smaller circle of sympathetic listeners, the disturbed and feverish crowd, are all about him, as he claims by death itself to judge the world, to win all men, and east out the spirit and prince of the world from his usurped throne. The multitude then answered him, We heard - received information by public teaching - out of the Law that the Christ abideth forever. Numerous passages may have been reasonably in their minds - Psalm 110; Isaiah 9; Ezekiel 37:25; Daniel 7:13, 14 - in which the glories of an everlasting kingdom were predicted. In ver. 23 the Lord had in their hearing spoken of himself as "Son of man." Meyer, by giving the dominant sense of glorification to the ὑψώθω, thinks that the people must be contrasting, in pert criticism, the lowly "Son of man" before them with the "Son of man" of Daniel's vision. But it would be far more probable that the people accepted Christ's intimation of the manner of his death, and hence felt the incongruity of such a Son of man - One who dies, and therefore lives again - with the glowing pictures of Daniel or the 'Book of Henoch.' "The Christ abideth forever." And how sayest thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? They did not identify "the Son of man" with the Messiah. They probably supposed two manifestations. They may have doubted, as John the Baptist did, whether Jesus had fulfilled the whole conception of the ἐρχόμενος. It was once more a vague, dull inquiry, "Who art thou?" We are still in doubt who thou art, and how thou canst claim to be the Christ of our prophecies. To be our Christ, and die, is a contradiction in terms.