The Meaning of John 12:31 Explained

John 12:31

KJV: Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

YLT: now is a judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast forth;

Darby: Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out:

ASV: Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Now  is  the judgment  of this  world:  now  shall  the prince  of this  world  be cast  out. 

What does John 12:31 Mean?

Study Notes

judgments
The Seven Judgments.
(1) Of Jesus Christ as bearing the believer's sins. The sins of believers have been judged in the person of Jesus Christ "lifted up" on the cross. The result was death for Christ, and justification for the believer, who can never again be put in jeopardy.
John 5:24 ; Romans 5:9 ; Romans 8:1 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21 ; Galatians 3:13 .; Hebrews 9:26-28 ; Hebrews 10:10 ; Hebrews 10:14-17 ; 1 Peter 2:24 ; 1 Peter 3:18 .
See other judgments,
. See Scofield " 2 Corinthians 5:10 ". See Scofield " Matthew 25:32 ". See Scofield " Ezekiel 20:37 ". See Scofield " Judges 1:6 ". See Scofield " Revelation 20:12 ".
world kosmos = world-system. John 14:17 ; John 14:19 ; John 14:22 ; John 14:27 ; John 14:30 ; John 7:7 See note, Revelation 13:3-8
judge
Self-judgment is not so much the believer's moral condemnation of his own ways or habits, or of himself, for allowing such ways. Self-judgment avoids chastisement. If neglected, the Lord judges, and the result is chastisement, but never condemnation 1 Corinthians 11:32 ; 2 Samuel 7:14 ; 2 Samuel 7:15 ; 2 Samuel 12:13 ; 2 Samuel 12:14 ; 1 Corinthians 5:5 ; 1 Timothy 1:20 ; Hebrews 12:7 .
See other judgments:
(See Scofield " John 12:31 ") . See Scofield " 2 Corinthians 5:10 ". See Scofield " Matthew 25:32 ". See Scofield " Ezekiel 20:37 ". See Scofield " Judges 1:6 ". See Scofield " Revelation 20:12 ".
world
Kosmos, Summary: In the sense of the present world-system, the ethically bad sense of the word, refers to the "order," "arrangement," under which Satan has organized the world of unbelieving mankind upon his cosmic principle of force, greed, selfishness, ambition, and pleasure. Matthew 4:8 ; Matthew 4:9 ; John 12:31 ; John 14:30 ; John 18:36 ; Ephesians 2:2 ; Ephesians 6:12 ; 1 John 2:15-17 . This world- system is imposing and powerful with armies and fleets; is often outwardly religious, scientific, cultured, and elegant; but, seething with national and commercial rivalries and ambitions, is upheld in any real crisis only by armed force, and is dominated by Satanic principles.

Context Summary

John 12:30-41 - Belief May Become Impossible
The question of the Greeks led our Lord's thoughts to His death. He saw, too, the baptism of suffering through which His followers must pass. From all this that troubled Him, He fled to the Father, asking only that all should converge to His glory. That request was immediately answered in the affirmative. Thus He was led to give this amazing interpretation of the events which were taking place, as viewed from the standpoint of heaven. The age, not He, was being judged. It was standing before Him for its verdict, not He before it. Caiaphas, Pilate, and the rulers of the age were passing before His judgment seat and being judged as worthless. The prince of the age, Satan, not Christ, was being cast out, though the sentence might take long before fully realized. Little as they recognized it, the day of the Cross was the crisis of the history of earth and hell, of men and demons. Then was settled the question of supremacy between darkness and light, between hate and love, between death and life. Lifted up recalls John 3:14. The Cross is the divine magnet, and our attitude with regard to it shows what we are. Learn from John 12:35-36 the order of transfiguration into the sonship of light: believe in the light, walk in the light, and you will become sons of light. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 12

1  Jesus excuses Mary anointing his feet
9  The people flock to see Lazarus
10  The chief priests consult to kill him
12  Jesus rides into Jerusalem
20  Greeks desire to see Jesus
23  He foretells his death
37  The people are generally blinded;
42  yet many chief rulers believe, but do not confess him;
44  therefore Jesus calls earnestly for confession of faith

Greek Commentary for John 12:31

The judgment [κρισις]
No article, “A judgment.” The next few days will test this world. The prince of this world This phrase here, descriptive of Satan as in possession of the evil world, occurs again in John 14:30; John 16:11. In the temptations Satan claims power over the world and offers to share it with Jesus (Matthew 4:8-10; Luke 4:5-8). Jesus did not deny Satan‘s power then, but here proclaims final victory over him. Shall be cast out Future passive of εκβαλλω — ekballō Note εχω — exō clean out. The Book of Revelation also proclaims final victory over Satan. [source]
The prince of this world [ὁ ἄρχων ροῦ κόσμου τούτου]
The phrase occurs only in the Gospel; here, John 14:30; John 16:11. [source]
Shall be cast out [ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω]
In every case but one where the word ἐκβάλλω occurs in John, it is used of casting out from a holy place or society. See John 2:15; John 9:34, John 9:3; 3 John 1:10; Revelation 12:2. Compare John 10:4. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 12:31

Luke 4:6 For it hath been delivered unto me [οτι εμοι παραδεδοται]
Perfect passive indicative. Satan here claims possession of world power and Jesus does not deny it. It may be due to man‘s sin and by God‘s permission. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11). [source]
Luke 4:6 And the glory of them [και την δοχαν αυτων]
Matthew 4:8 has this in the statement of what the devil did, not what he said.For it hath been delivered unto me (οτι εμοι παραδεδοται — hoti emoi paradedotai). Perfect passive indicative. Satan here claims possession of world power and Jesus does not deny it. It may be due to man‘s sin and by God‘s permission. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11).To whomsoever I will Present subjunctive with αν — an in an indefinite relative sentence. This audacious claim, if allowed, makes one wonder whether some of the world rulers are not, consciously or unconsciously, agents of the devil. In several American cities there has been proven a definite compact between the police and the underworld of crime. But the tone of Satan here is one of superiority to Jesus in world power. He offers him a share in it on one condition. [source]
John 17:15 From the evil [τοῦ πονηροῦ]
Or, the evil one. This rendering is according to John's usage. See 1 John 2:13, 1 John 2:14; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 5:18, 1 John 5:19; and compare John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11. From ( ἐκ ), literally, out of, means out of the hands of. [source]
John 14:30 The prince of the world [ο του κοσμου αρχων]
Satan as in John 12:31 which see. [source]
John 16:11 Because the prince of this world hath been judged [οτι ο αρχων του κοσμου τουτου κεκριται]
Cf. John 12:31; John 14:31 for the title. Perfect passive indicative of κρινω — krinō He stands condemned. The sinful world is in his grip, but he will be cast out (John 12:31). [source]
Acts 17:24 The world [τὸν κόσμον]
Originally, order, and hence the order of the world; the ordered universe. So in classical Greek. In the Septuagint, never the world, but the ordered total of the heavenly bodies; the host of heaven (17:3; Isaiah 24:21; 40:26). Compare, also, Proverbs href="/desk/?q=pr+17:6&sr=1">Proverbs 17:6, and see note on James 3:6. In the apocryphal books, of the universe, and mainly in the relation between God and it arising out of the creation. Thus, the king of the world (2 Maccabees 7:9); the creator or founder of the world (2 Maccabees 12:15). In the New Testament: 1. In the classical and physical sense, the universe (John href="/desk/?q=joh+17:5&sr=1">John 17:5; John 21:25.; Romans 1:20; Ephesians 1:4, etc.). 2. As the order of things of which man is the centre (Matthew 13:38; Mark 16:15; Luke 9:25; John 16:21; Ephesians 2:12; 1 Timothy 6:7). 3. Humanity as it manifests itself in and through this order (Matthew 18:7; 2 Peter 2:5; 2 Peter 3:6; Romans 3:19). Then, as sin has entered and disturbed the order of things, and made a breach between the heavenly and the earthly order, which are one in the divine ideal - 4. The order of things which is alienated from God, as manifested in and by the human race: humanity as alienated from God, and acting in opposition to him (John 1:10; John 12:31; John 15:18, John 15:19; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 2:15, etc.). The word is used here in the classical sense of the visible creation, which would appeal to the Athenians. Stanley, speaking of the name by which the Deity is known in the patriarchal age, the plural Elohim, notes that Abraham, in perceiving that all the Elohim worshipped by the numerous clans of his race meant one God, anticipated the declaration of Paul in this passage (“Jewish Church,” i., 25). Paul's statement strikes at the belief of the Epicureans, that the world was made by “a fortuitous concourse of atoms,” and of the Stoics, who denied the creation of the world by God, holding either that God animated the world, or that the world itself was God. [source]
1 Corinthians 8:5 Gods - lords []
Superhuman beings to whom these titles are given, as Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31; John 14:30. [source]
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this world [ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου]
The phrase occurs only here. Compare Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12; John 12:31; John 14:30. Satan is called god in the rabbinical writings. “The first God is the true God; but the second god is Samael.” “The matron said, 'Our god is greater than thy God; for when thy God appeared to Moses in the bush, he hid his face; when, however, he saw the serpent, which is my god, he fled.”' [source]
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this world [ο τεος του αιωνος τουτου]
“Age,” more exactly, as in 1 Corinthians 1:20. Satan is “the god of this age,” a phrase nowhere else in the N.T., but Jesus uses the same idea in John 12:31; John 14:30 and Paul in Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12 and John in 1 John 5:19. Satan claimed the rule over the world in the temptations with Jesus. [source]
1 John 4:18 Casteth out [ἔξω βάλλει]
A strong expression: turneth out of doors. Fear is cast out of the sphere of the fellowship of love. See the phrase in John 6:37; John 9:34, John 9:35; John 12:31; John 15:6. [source]
1 John 2:13 The evil one [τὸν πονηρόν]
See on wickedness, Mark 7:22; see on evils, Luke 3:19; see on evil spirits, Luke 7:21. The prince of darkness is styled by John ὁ διάβολος thefalse accuser (John 8:44; John 13:2; 1 John 3:8, 1 John 3:10. See on Matthew 4:1): ὁ Σατανᾶς Satanthe adversary (John 13:27; compare ὁ κατήγωρ theaccuser, properly, in court, Revelation 12:10): ὁ πονηρός theevil one (John 17:15; 1 John 2:13, 1 John 2:14; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 5:18, 1 John 5:19): ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου theruler of this world (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11). Note the abrupt introduction of the word here, as indicating something familiar. [source]
1 John 4:4 Because [οτι]
The reason for the victory lies in God, who abides in them (1 John 3:20, 1 John 3:24; John 14:20; John 15:4.). God is greater than Satan, “he that is in the world” (ο εν τωι κοσμωι — ho en tōi kosmōi), the prince of this world (John 12:31; John 14:30), the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), powerful as he seems. [source]
1 John 4:18 Perfect love [η τελεια αγαπη]
There is such a thing, perfect because it has been perfected (1 John 4:12, 1 John 4:17). Cf. James 1:4.Casteth out fear (εχω βαλλει τον ποβον — exō ballei ton phobon). “Drives fear out” so that it does not exist in real love. See εκβαλλω εχω — ekballō exō in John 6:37; John 9:34.; John 12:31; John 15:6 to turn out-of-doors, a powerful metaphor. Perfect love harbours no suspicion and no dread (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).Hath punishment Old word, in N.T. only here and Matthew 25:46. Τιμωρια — Timōria has only the idea of penalty, κολασις — kolasis has also that of discipline, while παιδεια — paideia has that of chastisement (Hebrews 12:7). The one who still dreads Bengel graphically describes different types of men: “sine timore et amore; cum timore sine amore; cum timore et amore; sine timore cum amore ” [source]
1 John 4:18 Casteth out fear [εχω βαλλει τον ποβον]
“Drives fear out” so that it does not exist in real love. See εκβαλλω εχω — ekballō exō in John 6:37; John 9:34.; John 12:31; John 15:6 to turn out-of-doors, a powerful metaphor. Perfect love harbours no suspicion and no dread (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). [source]
Revelation 12:10 Is cast down [κατεβλήθη]
The aorist tense. Once and for all. Compare John 12:31; John 16:8, John 16:11. [source]
Revelation 12:7 There was war in heaven [εγενετο πολεμος εν τωι ουρανωι]
“There came to be war in heaven” “Another ταβλεαυ — tableau not a σημειον — sēmeion (Revelation 12:1, Revelation 12:3), but consequent upon the two σημεια — sēmeia which precede it. The birth and rapture of the Woman‘s Son issue in a war which invades the επουρανια — epourania ” (Swete). The reference is not to the original rebellion of Satan, as Andreas held. As the coming of Christ brought on fresh manifestations of diabolic power (Mark 1:13; Luke 22:3, Luke 22:31; John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11), just so Christ‘s return to heaven is pictured as being the occasion of renewed attacks there. We are not to visualize it too literally, but certainly modern airplanes help us to grasp the notion of battles in the sky even more than the phalanxes of storm-clouds (Swete). John even describes this last conflict as in heaven itself. Cf. Luke 10:18; 1 Kings 22:1.; Job 1; Job 2:1-13; Zechariah 3:1. [source]
Revelation 12:9 Was cast down [εβλητη]
Effective first aorist passive indicative of βαλλω — ballō cast down for good and all, a glorious consummation. This vision of final victory over Satan is given by Jesus in Luke 10:18; John 12:31. It has not come yet, but it is coming, and the hope of it should be a spur to missionary activity and zeal. The word megas (great) occurs here with δρακων — drakōn as in Revelation 12:3, and the whole picture is repeated in Revelation 20:2. The dragon in both places is identified with the old serpent (Genesis 3:1.) and called αρχαιος — archaios (from αρχη — archē beginning), as Jesus said that the devil was a murderer “from the beginning” (John 8:44). Both διαβολος — diabolos (slanderer) and Satan This is his aim and his occupation, pictured here by the nominative articular present active participle of πλαναω — planaō to lead astray. For “the inhabited world” see Luke 2:1; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 16:14. Satan can almost “lead astray” the very elect of God (Matthew 24:24), so artful is he in his beguilings as he teaches us how to deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8). [source]
Revelation 13:2 As the feet of a bear [αρκτος]
Old word, also spelled ως στομα λεοντος — arktos here only in N.T. From Daniel 7:4. No word in the Greek for “feet” before “bear.”As the mouth of a lion (εδωκεν αυτωι ο δρακων — hōs stoma leontos). From Daniel 7:4. This beast combines features of the first three beasts in Daniel 7:2. The strength and brutality of the Babylonian, Median, and Persian empires appeared in the Roman Empire. The catlike vigilance of the leopard, the slow and crushing power of the bear, and the roar of the lion were all familiar features to the shepherds in Palestine (Swete).The dragon gave him First aorist active indicative of αυτωι — didōmi (to give) and dative case autōi (the beast). The dragon works through this beast. The beast is simply Satan‘s agent. Satan claimed this power to Christ (Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:6) and Christ called Satan the prince of this world (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11). So the war is on. [source]
Revelation 13:2 The dragon gave him [διδωμι]
First aorist active indicative of αυτωι — didōmi (to give) and dative case autōi (the beast). The dragon works through this beast. The beast is simply Satan‘s agent. Satan claimed this power to Christ (Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:6) and Christ called Satan the prince of this world (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11). So the war is on. [source]

What do the individual words in John 12:31 mean?

Now [the] judgment is the world of this the prince of the this will be cast out
νῦν κρίσις ἐστὶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἄρχων τοῦ τούτου ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω

νῦν  Now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: νῦν  
Sense: at this time, the present, now.
κρίσις  [the]  judgment 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: κρίσις  
Sense: a separating, sundering, separation.
κόσμου  world 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: κόσμος  
Sense: an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government.
τούτου  of  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ἄρχων  prince 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄρχων  
Sense: a ruler, commander, chief, leader.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
τούτου  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ἐκβληθήσεται  will  be  cast 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐκβάλλω  
Sense: to cast out, drive out, to send out.
ἔξω  out 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἔξω  
Sense: without, out of doors.