John 12:42

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Nevertheless	ὅμως homōs	G3676	at the same time · preposition
among	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
rulers	ἀρχόντων archontōn	G758	a first (in rank or power) · noun — genitive plural masculine
also	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
many	πολλοὶ polloi	G4183	(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — nominative plural masculine
believed	ἐπίστευσαν episteusan	G4100	to have faith (in · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
on	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
him	αὐτόν, auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
but	ἀλλὰ alla	G235	properly · conjunction
because	διὰ dia	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
Pharisees	Φαρισαίους Pharisaious	G5330	a separatist · noun — accusative plural masculine, a title
did	ὡμολόγουν, hōmologoun	G3670	to assent · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
not	οὐχ ouch	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
confess	ὁμολογέω homologéō	G3670	to assent
lest	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
be	γένωνται. genōntai	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent subjunctive, 3rd person plural
synagogue	ἀποσυνάγωγοι aposunagōgoi	G656	excommunicated · adjective — nominative plural masculine

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

Isaiah 51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of t…
John 7:13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.
John 9:22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ…
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LO…
John 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away t…
John 9:34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:42-43

Some honour was done to Christ by these rulers: for they believed on him, were convinced that he was sent of God, and received his doctrine as divine; but they did not do him honour enough, for they had not courage to own their faith in him. Many professed more kindness for Christ than really they had; these had more kindness for him than they were willing to profess. See here what a struggle was in these rulers between their convictions and their corruptions. I. See the power of the word in the convictions that many of them were under, who did not wilfully shut their eyes against the light. They believed on him as Nicodemus, received him as a teacher come from God. Note, The truth of the go…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:42

among the chief rulers also--rather, "even of the rulers"; such as Nicodemus and Joseph. because of the Pharisees--that is, the leaders of the sects; for they were of it themselves. put out of the synagogue--See Joh 9:22, Joh 9:34.

Adam Clarke on John 12:42

Among the chief rulers - many believed on him - We only know the names of two of them, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea. But - they did not confess him - Or it: they were as yet weak in the faith, and could not bear the reproach of the cross of Christ. Besides, the principal rulers had determined to excommunicate every person who acknowledged Christ for the Messiah; see Joh 9:22.

John Gill on John 12:42

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also,.... These were the members of the Jewish sanhedrim, as Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and others: many believed on him; that he was the Messiah, though they did not believe in him in a spiritual and saving manner, as their Redeemer and Saviour, only in their minds, being convicted by his miracles, gave an assent unto him, as the promised Messiah. The two persons just mentioned may be thought truly to have believed in Christ; but the many here spoken of seem to have had only an historical faith in him, as appears by what follows: but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him; as they ought to have done, and as they would have done, if their…

The Church Fathers

Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. The praise of God is publicly to confess Christ: the praise of men is to glory in earthly things.
— Alcuin of York ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Now, however, when constrained by the signs to believe and no longer daring to gainsay the Lord, they fail of eternal life through the persistence of their own abominable perversity in esteeming their position in the eyes of men higher than their relationship to God, and in being slaves of a temporal glory, deeming it an intolerable loss to fail of honour at the hands of the Pharisees. Forasmuch therefore as this was what hindered them from believing, hear what the Christ says...
— Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 8 (Fragments)

Then the Evangelist said that many among the authorities who believed in him hid their opinion about him because of the Pharisees, because they feared they might lose their privileges and because they valued the glory of people more than the glory of God. What did our Lord say? While some believed, others did not even accept the accomplished miracles, others only came to know the truth through the miracles but hid their opinion because of their fear of the Pharisees as they pursued human glory.
— Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON JOHN 5.12.44

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

Confessing Christ · The fear of man prevents — The fear of man prevents
Indecision · .Rulers, who believed in Jesus — .Rulers, who believed in Jesus
Opinion, Public · .Rulers, who believed in Jesus, but feared the Pharisees — .Rulers, who believed in Jesus, but feared the Pharisees
Persecution · OF THE RIGHTEOUS — OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Synagogue · .Of religious courts — .Of religious courts
Synagogues · Offenders were often: Expelled from — Offenders were often: Expelled from

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 12:42

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:42-43

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:42

Adam Clarke on John 12:42

John Gill on John 12:42

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 12:42

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:42-43

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:42

Adam Clarke on John 12:42

John Gill on John 12:42

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 12:42-46

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 12:42-43