Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death.
51. Verily, verily, I say to you. Christ unquestionably knew that some persons in that multitude were curable, and that others of them were not opposed to his doctrine. For this reason, he intended to terrify the wicked whose malice was desperate, but to do so in such a manner as to leave ground of consolation for the good, or to draw to him those who were not yet ruined.
Observe here, 1. The blessed fruit and effect of observing our Saviour's doctrine: He that keeps my sayings shall never see death; that is, shall be secured from eternal misery, and enjoy eternal life. Observe, 2. How the Jews misunderstood our Saviour's words.
Amid the blazing golden lamps of the treasury at tabernacles, when all Jerusalem danced in joy, Christ proclaims in the most absolute sense: I am the Light of the World. The Baptist was a burning lamp sent to witness to that Light; but He alone is the true Light that lightens every man coming into the world, the Messiah promised of old.
AI summary
Commenting on John 8:12-59