The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
Parallel translations
- WEB The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
- KJV The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.
- BSB Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
- NASB So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not accomplishing anything; look, the world has gone after Him!”
- NLT Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The frustrated Pharisees admit the whole world has gone after Jesus. Their words unwittingly point to the gospel's reach.
Overview
The Pharisees lament their failure to stop Jesus, exaggerating that 'the world' follows him. Their complaint ironically anticipates the truth, for Jesus will indeed draw people from all nations. John uses their words to foreshadow the coming of the Greeks in the next verses and the universal scope of salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Acts 17:6When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
- Ps 22:27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
- Acts 4:16–17saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it.
- 1 Jn 2:2And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
- John 17:21that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
- John 3:26They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
- Isa 27:6In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bud. They will fill the surface of the world with fruit.
- Acts 5:27–28When they had brought them, they set them before the council. The high priest questioned them,
- Luke 19:47–48He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
- Matt 21:15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant,
- Ps 49:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
- John 11:47–50The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 12:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.