The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abides forever: and how say you,
The Son of man must be lifted up?
who is this Son of man?
Read Chapter 12
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
The Jews when they understood that our Lord spoke of His own death, asked how that could be: The people answered Him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abides for ever: and how say you, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Though our Lord did not call Himself the Son of man here, they remembered that He often called Himself so; as He had just before: The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. They remember this, and ask, If Christ abides forever, how will He be lifted up from the earth; i.e. How will He die upon the cross? .
Or they interpreted the word by their own intended act. It was not wisdom imparted, but conscience disturbed, which disclosed its meaning to them.
Yet alittle while is the light with you. Hence it is that you understand that Christ abides forever. Wherefore walk while you have the light, approach, understand the whole, that Christ will both die, and live for ever: do this while you have the light.
i.e. if you so believe i...
Therefore they often sent to us, and asked us to discourse to them concerning Jesus, whether He were the Prophet whom Moses foretold, who is the eternal Christ.
The people answered Him, We have heard out of the Law, that Christ abideth ever, and how sayest Thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up? The Jews understood that Christ spake of His death on the Cross. How then does He say that He would die, when the Law says that He would not die? S. Augustine says, "They understood Him to mean the very thing which they were contemplating. It was not inspired Wisdom of Solomon , but the sting of their conscience which disclosed to them the meaning of these obscure words."
Out of the Law. By the Law is meant the whole of the Old Testament. They understood this from the following passages, Micah , v2; Psalm 110:14, Psalm 90:30, Psalm 90:38, Psalm 72:5; Isaiah 9:7, Isaiah 40:8; Ezekiel 37:27; Daniel 9:26. But these passages speak of the kingdom of Christ after His ascension. This kingdom will be eternal. But Christ elsewhere foretold His death. See Isaiah 53:3; Psalm 22:12, Psalm 22:17; Daniel 9:26; Jeremiah 11:19.
Who is this Son of Man? M...
And this they say, as we have remarked, understanding that being "lifted up" meant being crucified. For it was their wont to signify by more auspicious names things which pointed directly to sore disasters. They essay therefore by means of the Scripture to prove that Christ speaks falsehood. For the Scripture, says [one of them], denies that the Christ is but for a time, when it says concerning Him: Thou art a Priest for ever. How then sayest Thou: "I am the Christ," whereas Thou sayest that Thou wilt die? For, because they understand not, the Jews say that by reason of the Passion He cannot be Christ; and they deny that it was written that the Christ must suffer and rise again and ascend unto the Father, to be Minister of the Sanctuary and High Priest of our souls, when He should return to life, a Conqueror and Incorruptible. Albeit the Scripture foretells expressly, not only that He should come in this common fashion of a Man, but that He should die for the life of all men, and shoul...
How sayest thou the Son of man must be lifted up? By these words of the people, Christ, in this discourse must have called himself the Son of man, though it is not here mentioned by the evangelist. The people also tell him, they had heard that their Messias was to abide for ever: which was true as to his spiritual kingdom of grace, not as to such a glorious temporal kingdom, as they imagined. (Witham)
Hence we see, that they understood many of the things that He spoke in parables. As He had talked about death a little time before, they saw now what was meant by His being lifted up.
And see how maliciously they put the question. They do not say, We have heard out of the law, that Christ cloth not suffer; for in many places of Scripture His passion and resurrection are spoken of together, but, abides forever. And yet His immortality was not inconsistent with the fact of His suffering. They thought this proved however that Hewas not Christ. Then they ask, Who is this Son of man? another malicious question; as if tosay, Do not charge us with putting this question out of hatred to you; for we simply ask for information. Christ shows them in His answer that His passion does not prevent Him from abiding for ever: Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while is the light with you: as if His death were but going away for a time, as the sun’s light only sets to rise again.
He does not mean onl...
1. Deceit is a thing easily detected, and weak, though it be daubed outside with ten thousand colors. For as those who whitewash decayed walls, cannot by the plastering make them sound, so too those who lie are easily found out, as in fact was the case here with the Jews. For when Christ said to them, If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me; We have heard, says one of them, out of the Law, that Christ remains forever; and how do you say, that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Even they then knew that Christ was some Immortal One, and had life without end. And therefore they also knew what He meant; for often in Scripture the Passion and the Resurrection are mentioned in the same place. Thus Isaiah puts them together, saying, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter Isaiah 53:7, and all that follows. David also in the second Psalm, and in many other places, connects these two things. The Patriarch too after saying, He lay down, He couched as a lion, adds, And...
And again, this also was the speech of the Jews, in contradiction against Him, when He taught them of Himself, and announced future things to them, and they said, "We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou that the Son of man must be lifted up? "
