John 12:26

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
If	Ἐὰν Ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
any man	τις tis	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — nominative singular masculine
serve	διακονῇ, diakonēa	G1247	to be an attendant · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
me	ἐμοί emoí	G1698	to me
let him follow	ἀκολουθείτω· akoloutheitō	G190	properly · verb — present active imperative, 3rd person singular
me	ἐμοί emoí	G1698	to me
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
where	ὅπου hopou	G3699	what(-ever) where · conjunction
I	ἐμοί emoi	G1473	I · personal pronoun — 1st person dative singular
am	εἰμὶ eimi	G1510	I exist (used only when emphatic) · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
there	ἐκεῖ ekei	G1563	there · adverb
shall	ἔσομαι ésomai	G2071	will be
also	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
my	ἐμός emós	G1699	my
servant	διάκονος diakonos	G1249	an attendant · noun — nominative singular masculine
be	ἔσομαι ésomai	G2071	will be
if	ἐάν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
any man	τις tis	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — nominative singular masculine
serve	διακονῇ, diakonēa	G1247	to be an attendant · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
me	ἐμοί emoí	G1698	to me
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
will	τιμήσει timēsei	G5091	to prize · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
Father	πατήρ.¶ patēr	G3962	a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
honour	τιμάω timáō	G5091	to prize

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now t…
Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for…
Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Psalms 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:20-26

Honour is here paid to Christ by certain Greeks that enquired or him with respect. We are not told what day of Christ's last week this was, probably not the same day he rode into Jerusalem (for that day was taken up in public work), but a day or two after. I. We are told who they were that paid this honour to our Lord Jesus: Certain Greeks among the people who came up to worship at the feast, Joh 12:20. Some think they were Jews of the dispersion, some of the twelve tribes that were scattered among the Gentiles, and were called Greeks, Hellenist Jews; but others think they were Gentiles, those whom they called proselytes of the gate, such as the eunuch and Cornelius. Pure natural religion me…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:26

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: If any man serve me, him will my Father honour--Jesus here claims the same absolute subjection to Himself, as the law of men's exaltation to honor, as He yielded to the Father.

Adam Clarke on John 12:26

If any man serve me - Christ is a master in a twofold sense: 1. To instruct men. 2. To employ and appoint them their work. He who wishes to serve Christ must become: 1. His disciple or scholar, that he may be taught: 2. His servant, that he may be employed by and obey his master. To such a person a twofold promise is given: 1. He shall be with Christ, in eternal fellowship with him; and 2. He shall be honored by the Lord: he shall have an abundant recompense in glory; but how great, eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. How similar to this is the saying of Creeshna (an incarnation of the supreme God, according to the Hindoo theology) to his disc…

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John Gill on John 12:26

If any man serve, me,.... Or is willing to be a servant of Christ, and to be esteemed as such; let him follow me; as in the exercise of the graces of love, humility, patience, self-denial, and resignation of will to the will of God, and in the discharge of every duty, walking as he walked, so in a way of suffering; for as the master, so the servants, as the head, so the members, through many tribulations, must enter the kingdom; to which he encourages by the following things: and where I am; in heaven, as he now was, as the Son of God; or "where I shall be", as the Syriac and Persic versions render it, even as man, in the human nature, when raised from the dead: there shall also my servan…

The Church Fathers

"Where I am, there is My servant also." But where is Christ? In heaven. Let us therefore even before the Resurrection remove thither in soul and mind.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 67

And again He said unto His disciples, "Arise, let us go hence," and by this speech He shewed that this world was not the country either of Himself or of His disciples. Whither shall we go, O Lord? "Where I am there also shall My servant be." If Jesus crieth unto us, "Arise, let us go hence," what fool would be persuaded to dwell with corpses in the graves, or to become a sojourner with the dead?
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 9 -- Second Discourse on Poverty

And since the Author of our salvation travelled not by the path of glory and luxury, but by that of dishonour and hardships; so also we must do and not complain, in order to reach the same place and share the Divine glory. And of what honour shall we be worthy, if we refuse to endure sufferings like those of our Master?... We must note therefore that he that does things pleasing to God serves Christ, but he that follows his own wishes, is a follower rather of himself and not of God...
— Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 8

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Deacon · and is — and is
Heaven · 3:12;5:3,8,12,20;6:20;8:11;13:30,43,49;18:10;19:21;22:30;25:34,46; — 3:12;5:3,8,12,20;6:20;8:11;13:30,43,49;18:10;19:21;22:30;25:34,46;
Reward Of Saints, The · Described as: Being with Christ — Described as: Being with Christ

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

John 12:26

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:20-26

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:26

Adam Clarke on John 12:26

John Gill on John 12:26

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 12:26

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:20-26

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:26

Adam Clarke on John 12:26

John Gill on John 12:26

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 12:20-26

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 12:25