John 8:51

Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(51) If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.—Better, If a man keep My word. Our version obscures the close connection with the thought of “continuing in His word” in John 8:31; and also that with “He that heareth my word,” in John 5:24. This last passage is the key to the words before us. Here, as there, the thought of judgment and death leads to the opposite thought of coming not into judgment, but passing out of death into life. Here, as there, the believer is thought of as possessing the true spiritual life which cannot see death, but shall pass into the fuller spiritual life hereafter.

Another interpretation of the phrase rendered “He shall never see death,” is “he shall not see death for ever”—i.e., “he shall indeed die, but that death shall only be in this world, it shall not be in the world which is for ever.” This is the thought in the collect in “The Order for the Burial of the Dead “. . . “our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life; in whom whosoever believeth shall live, though he die; and whosoever liveth and believeth in him shall not die eternally.”

The following are the only passages in St. John where exactly the same formula is used, and a comparison of them will make it clear that it means, as does the Hebrew formula on which it is based, that which we express by “never,” or “certainly never.” “by no means ever,” for the negative is in its strongest form (John 4:14, John 8:52 in this John 10:28; John 11:26; John 13:8). The first and last of these passages refer to subjects (“shall never thirst,” “shall never wash my feet”), which do not admit any possibility of doubt. The others are all parallel to the present text, in thought as well as in word. In all there is the fuller meaning that for the believer who now has spiritual life, and continues to live in communion with God, there cannot be death. “He shall never see death.” What we think of as death is but a sleep. (See Note on John 11:11.) Death has been swallowed up of life, and physical death is thought of, in its true sense, as an entering into life.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:48-53 Observe Christ's disregard of the applause of men. those who are dead to the praises of men can bear their contempt. God will seek the honour of all who do not seek their own. In these verses we have the doctrine of the everlasting happiness of believers. We have the character of a believer; he is one that keeps the sayings of the Lord Jesus. And the privilege of a believer; he shall by no means see death for ever. Though now they cannot avoid seeing death, and tasting it also, yet they shall shortly be where it will be no more forever, Ex 14:13.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If a man keep my saying - If he believes on me and obeys my commandments.

He shall never see death - To see death, or to taste of death, is the same as to die, Luke 2:26; Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1. The sense of this passage is, "He shall obtain eternal life, or he shall be raised up to that life where there shall be no death." See John 6:49-50; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 11:25-26.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

51. If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death—Partly thus vindicating His lofty claims as Lord of the kingdom of life everlasting, and, at the same time, holding out even to His revilers the scepter of grace. The word "keep" is in harmony with Joh 8:31, "If ye continue in My word," expressing the permanency, as a living and paramount principle, of that faith to which He referred: "never see death," though virtually uttered before (Joh 5:24; 6:40, 47, 51), is the strongest and most naked statement of a very glorious truth yet given. (In Joh 11:26 it is repeated in nearly identical terms).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

To see death, in this text, signifieth to die, but in an apparently differing sense from what it is taken in Luke 2:26, where it is to be understood of a natural death; of which it cannot be understood here, for the holiest men shall die: the body is dead (that is, in dying) because of sin; or, shall die because of sin, Romans 8:10. It must therefore be understood of death eternal; and in that sense the proposition is certainly true, That a holy man that keepeth the sayings of Christ shall not see death, that is, shall have eternal life; which is no more than what we have often before met with, viz. the promise of life eternal to faith and holiness.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Verily, verily, I say unto you,.... This is truth, and may be depended upon, as coming from the "Amen", and faithful witness:

if a man keep my saying; or doctrine, receives the Gospel in the love of it, obeys it from his heart, and cordially embraces and firmly believes it; and retains and holds it fast, having a spiritual and comfortable experience of the doctrines of Christ, and yielding a cheerful and ready obedience to his commands and ordinances, in faith and love:

he shall never see death; the second death, eternal death, which is an everlasting separation of a man, body and soul, from God: this death shall have no power on such a person, he shall never be hurt by it; and though he dies a corporeal death, that shall not be a curse, a penal evil to him; nor shall he always lie under the power of it, but shall rise again, and live in soul and body, for ever with the Lord: seeing and tasting death, as in John 8:52, are Hebraisms expressive of dying.

Geneva Study Bible

{16} Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never {r} see death.

(16) Only the doctrine of the gospel apprehended by faith is a sure remedy against death.

(r) That is, he will not feel it: for even in the midst of death the faithful see life.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

John 8:51. Therefore the emphasis in the next verse, precisely as in John 8:24 of chap. 5, is on “my word”.—ἐάν τις … αἰῶνα, “if any one keeps my word, he shall never see death”. For τηρεῖν see John 14:15-23, John 15:10-20, John 17:6, 1 John and Rev. passim; it is exactly equivalent to “keep”. θεωρεῖν θάνατον occurs only here. It is probably stronger than the commoner ἰδεῖν θάνατον (Luke 2:26, Hebrews 11:5), “expressing fixed contemplation and full acquaintance” (Plummer); although in John this fuller meaning is sometimes not apparent.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

51. If a man keep my saying] Better, if a man keep My word. This is important, to shew the connexion with John 8:31; John 8:43 and also with John 5:24. In all these the same Greek word is used, logos. The phrase ‘keep My word’ is one of frequent occurrence in this Gospel: John 8:52; John 8:55, John 14:23, John 15:20, John 17:6 : as also the kindred phrase ‘keep My commandments:’ John 14:15; John 14:21, John 15:10 : comp. 1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 3:22; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 5:2-3. ‘Keeping’ means not merely keeping in heart, but obeying and fulfilling. This is the way in which they may escape the judgment just spoken of. So that there is no need to suppose that while John 8:49-50 are addressed to His opponents, John 8:51 is addressed after a pause to a more friendly section, a change of which there is no hint.

shall never see death] Literally, shall certainly not behold death for ever. But ‘for ever’ belongs, like the negative, to the verb, not to ‘death.’ It does not mean ‘he shall see death, but the death shall not be eternal:’ rather ‘he shall certainly never see death,’ i.e. he already has eternal life (John 5:24) and shall never lose it. This is evident from John 4:14, which cannot mean ‘shall thirst, but the thirst shall not be eternal,’ and from John 13:8, which cannot mean ‘shalt wash my feet, but the washing shall not be eternal.’ In all three cases the meaning is the same, ‘shall certainly never.’ Comp. John 10:28, John 11:26.

Bengel's Gnomen

John 8:51. Ἐάν τις, if any [if a man]) Jesus proves from the future effect, wherewith the Father is about to honour Him, that He and His word have nothing in common with the proud and murderous devil.—τηρήσῃ, will keep), as I keep My Father’s word, John 8:55, “I know Him, and keep His saying.” We ought to keep the doctrine of Jesus, by believing in it; His promises, by hoping for them; His injunctions, by obeying them.—θάνατον, death) Jesus hereby shows, that He is not a Samaritan. The Samaritans were Sadducees, opposed to the doctrine of immortality, according to the testimony of Epiphanius. At least the Jews, who speak here, seem to have attributed that error to the Samaritans. Yet I will admit that it was the smaller portion of the latter, who laboured under that error.—οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ, he shall not see) A most effectual argument against the maintainers of soul-annihilation.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 51. - Verily, verily. This impressive recommencement of discourse implies that a new turn is given to the conversation, and that the gravest solemnity and importance is attached to the utterance. It is impossible that the Jews should have listened unmoved to Christ's rejoinder on their rude taunt, or been unimpressed by the self-composed and lofty way in which the honour of our Lord was calmly entrusted by him to the Father. The Jews may say what they please, call him by any opprobrious name they choose; "there is One that seeketh" his glory, and he is content. He has, in earlier portions of this discourse, promised freedom and sonship to those who abide in his word; and now to those who believed on him he says, with extraordinary emphasis, If a man (any one) have kept my word, he shall never behold death. This "keeping" is more than "abiding" in the word. There is the additional notion of intently watching the "keeping," which issues in "fulfilling" and "obeying" (Meyer and Tholuck); see ver. 55; John 14:15, 21, 23; John 15:20; John 17:6. The opposite of τηρεῖν would be "to disregard;" the opposite of φυλάσσειν would be "to let slip" (Westcott). The promise is dazzling: "He shall never behold," i.e. steadily or exhaustively know by experience, what death means and is. He may pass through physical death, he may (γεύσηται) taste of dissolution, he may come before the judgment seat, he may see corruption (ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν); but he will not behold (θεωρεῖν) death. He will never know what death is (cf. here; John 4:14; John 5:24; John 6:51, where the Saviour speaks of the "living water," and "life eternal," and "living bread," which whoso partaketh shall never die.. See also John 11:26). He does not tell his disciples that they shall not see the grave, but that in the deepest sense they shall never die. "Death" and "life" are words that are lifted into a higher connotation. Death is a moral state, not an event in their physical existence. John 8:51

Vincent's Word Studies

Keep (τηρήσῃ)

See on 1 Peter 1:4.

Saying (λόγον)

Better, word, as Rev. See on John 8:43.

He shall not see death (θάνατον οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ)

The phrase θεωρεῖν θάνατον, to see death, occurs only here in the New Testament. The double negative signifies in nowise, by no means. Θεωρήσῃ see, denoting steady, protracted vision, is purposely used, because the promise contemplates the entire course of the believer's life in Christ. It is not, shall not die forever, but shall live eternally. Upon this life, which is essentially the negation and contradiction of death, the believer enters from the moment of his union with Christ, and moves along its entire course, in time no less than in eternity, seeing only life, and with his back turned on death. The reverse of this truth, in connection with the same verb, is painfully suggestive. The question is pertinent why the Revisers have retained see, and have not substituted behold, as in so many instances.