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John 12:31

Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

WHAT DOES JOHN 12:31 MEAN?

What does John 12:31 mean? 

These words come as Jesus is speaking to a group in Jerusalem 

(John 12:20–22

Jesus Predicts His Death

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.). 

The main point of His discussion is His impending death—"this hour" and "this purpose" for which He has come 

(John 12:27

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.). 

During that conversation, an audible voice from heaven spoke words

(John 12:28

Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”). 

Some in the crowd, expressing spiritual stubbornness, dismissed it as noise 

(John 12:29

The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.). 

Jesus, in contrast, explains the voice was meant for their good, as a means to point them towards the truth 

(John 12:30

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.).

In the most direct sense, Jesus is still speaking of His upcoming sacrifice on the cross. That moment is the judgment of sin, and the means by which evil will be forever defeated (

Hebrews 2:14–15

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.). 

However, there is a sense in which His words also apply to the idea He just presented: that each person is presented with Christ and must make a decision. Everyone has access to "enough" proof of God 

(Romans 1:18–20; Psalm 19:1; John 5:39–40

Romans 1:18-20

God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Psalm 19;1

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

John 5:39-40

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.)

Those who do not believe must choose disbelief 

(John 7:17; 1 Corinthians 2:14

John 7:17

Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.

1 Corinthians 2:14

1The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.)

, and take on judgment themselves 

(John 3:16–18

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.)

This double-meaning is supported by the comments Jesus makes in the very next verse: all men are "drawn to" Christ by the proclamation of His sacrificial death. Not all will actually come, of course 

(John 6:44

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.)

But no one has an excuse for rejecting what God offers, which is forgiveness of sin

 (John 6:35

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.) 

After this conversation ends, 

the gospel of John will emphasize 

that people are rejecting God in spite of proof, 

not because there is no proof 

(John 12:37–40)

Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message

    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes

    and hardened their hearts,

so they can neither see with their eyes,

    nor understand with their hearts,

    nor turn—and I would heal them.”

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