Jesus was claiming his followers would never see death

JESUS WAS CLAIMING HIS FOLLOWERS
WOULD NEVER SEE DEATH
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 8:51-5251Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys
my word will never see death." 52At this they
exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-
possessed!Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet
you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste
death.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Obedience And Immortality
John 8:51
J.R. Thomson
The phase of our Lord's ministry brought before us in this part of St. John's
Gospelis a combative, a controversial, phase. The Jews were perpetually
opposing Christ, carping and cavilling at every work he performed, and
almost at every word he uttered. Jesus took up the challenge, and met the
objections and the allegations ofhis enemies. He defied them; he turned upon
them with an unanswerable question or a startling paradox. There is not

always apparent even an attempt to conciliate his adversaries - to win them
over. He did not even stop to explain, when he knew perfectly well that
explanation would be unavailing; he left his words to be instructive to the
enlightened, and an enigma to the unspiritual.
I. THE CONDITION HERE PROPOUNDED."If a man keepmy word."
1. This implies upon Christ's part a specialrevelation and authority. By his
"word" doubtless Jesus meant the whole manifestation of his characterand
will; his doctrine relating to the Father and to himself; his precepts relating to
his disciples.
2. It implies upon the part of his followers a reverent, loyal, and affectionate
obedience. Theykeep, i.e. they retain in memory and observe in practice, the
word of their Master. As a faithful servant keeps the word of his lord, as a
diligent scholarkeeps the word of his teacher, as a loyal soldier keeps the
word of his officer, his general, as a reverent son keeps the word of his father,
so the Christian keeps the word of his Saviour.
II. THE PROMISE HERE RECORDED. "He shall never see death."
1. The death from which Christ promises exemption is not the death of the
body, as was understood by the Jews;it is the spiritual death which is the
effectof sin, and which consists in insensibility to everything Divine. This
should be more dreaded than physical death.
2. The way in which Christ fulfils this promise. He died in the body that those
who believe on him may not experience spiritual death. The redemption of our
Saviour is a redemption from death and sin. And Christ communicates the
Spirit of life, who quickens dead souls, imparting to them the newness of life

which is their highestprivilege, and which is the earnestand the beginning of
an immortality of blessedness. -T.
Biblical Illustrator
If any man keepMy saying he shall never see death.I. THE CHARACTER
DESCRIBED.1. The "saying" ofChrist means the whole systemof truth
which He has taught, and includes
John 8:51
Christ's saying and the reward of keeping it
I. Saunders.
I. WHAT IS CHRIST'S SAYING?
1. The law, promulgated in spirit and effect in Paradise, republished at Sinai,
and reinforcedby the Sermon on the Mount. This law was given to create a
sense ofsin and of the necessityof a Saviour, and so prepared the way for —

2. The gospel (Romans 8:2, 3). The law is the storm that drives the traveller to
the shelter, the condemnation that makes the criminal long for and use the
means for securing a reprieve.
II. WHAT IS IT TO KEEP CHRIST'S SAYING?
1. Reading it carefully and constantly.
2. Hearing it, "Faith cometh by hearing."
3. Understanding it. What we thoroughly understand we do not easilyforget.
4. Obeying it. This fixes it in the memory.
III. THE REWARD OF KEEPING CHRIST'S SAYING. He shall never see
—(1) Spiritual death. The word which is spirit and life is the seedof
regeneration.(2)Eternaldeath. Christ's saying is a promise of a blessed
immortality which the keeperthereofby faith has made his own.
(I. Saunders.)
What saying is it to which our Lord refers
J. Morison, D. D., J. Morison, D. D.

? — Our Lord uttered multitudes of sayings while He was upon the earth. He
was a greatspeaker;no man spake like Him. He was the greatestoftalkers;
and hence innumerable sayings dropped from His lips — parables, proverbs,
criticisms, invitations, exhortations, warnings, commandments,
remonstrances, encouragements, andexceeding greatand precious promises.
To which of His sayings, then, is it that He here refers? I would say in reply,
that it is not to any single saying in particular, any detachedor separate
"saying," that our Lord had reference. To hit at random on any one of His
multitudinous sayings would indicate an utter ineptitude for the graspof the
Saviour's ideas, or indeed for the graspof anyone's ideas. What then? The
saying referred to is manifestly that grand multiple messagefrom God to men
which constituted the sum total of our Lord's teaching. Or we might put it
thus: It is the sum total or condensedessenceofall the revelations that were
divinely made by our Lord, in our Lord, and through our Lord. And what is
that? It is evidently the glorious gospelof God's grace, the goodnews and glad
tidings coming from behind the veil of all terrestrial things, and manifesting to
men a living, loving, compassionating,sin-hating, yet sin-forgiving God. It is,
in short, the joyful announcement of free and full salvation for the chief of
sinners. That, that is the "saying," the life-giving "saying," ofChrist Jesus,
which, if a man keeps, he shall never see death. "Whosoeverliveth," said our
Lord to Martha, "and believeth in Me shall never die."
(J. Morison, D. D.)Would you wish to be in the blissful condition depicted in
our Saviour's language? ThenkeepHis saying. Keep His words. Keep His
Word. Keep the truth about Himself; keepHimself, the living Word, the living
gospel. KeepHim in your thoughts, affections, mind, heart. Let everything
slip and pass away from you which you cannotkeepside by side with Him.
(J. Morison, D. D.)
Immunity from death
J. Morison, D. D.

What means the Saviour? Deathis. It is a reality. It exists far and wide over
the length and breadth of this world, in which we are all tenants at will. But in
the profounder and only "awful" acceptationofthe term, "death" will never
come nigh the man who keeps Christ's saying.
1. The grave is dark: Death to the unbeliever is like a sky with neither sun,
nor moon, nor stars overhead, and no prospectof a dawn on the morrow. Is it
not so? Is not that the death that is looming over the impenitent? If it bet
never shall the man who believes in Jesus, and who keeps the saying of Jesus,
never shall he see death, never shall he die. The true believer of Christ's
gospeldwells in true "light"; and lives in it. Contactwith Jesus insures his
illumination; and all the way along life's highways and byways he enjoys the
light.
2. Many regard death as the total and final rupture and cessationof all
further possibilities of sweetcompanionshipand friendship. He who dies
enters inevitably, according to their anticipation, into utter loneliness and
dreariness. He is desertedforever. But, most assuredly, there is no such death
to the believing. Their true life is not cut short at the end, or arrestedmidway,
or otherwise impaired. It has no end and no interruption. It is "life
everlasting." And one of the many true elements that enter into the
blessednessthat is its nature is everlasting companionship with the holy and
the happy in glory.
3. To multitudes death means violent removal from all their carefully
accumulatedtreasures, all their most highly-prized possessions.Deathto the
unbeliever is the loss, not only of all these things, but likewise ofall possibility
of the enjoyment of them, and of the enjoyment of any possessionwhatsoever.
But if so, if all this be death, then the believer in Jesus will never see it; for
that which men call death, in their common parlance with one another, will
only translate the believer into the possessionofthe fulness of life and joy.
Neither things present, nor things to come, neither things below, nor things
above, no depth, no height, no length, no breadth, will be able to separate the

believer from that love of God and of Jesus whichis the never-failing source
and fountain of inextinguishable bliss.
(J. Morison, D. D.)
The unimportance of death to a Christian
R. S. Barrett.
It is a matter of small importance how a man dies. If he is prepared, if he is a
Christian, it matters not how he goes to his crown. There have been some
triumphant deaths, some wonderful deaths, before which the gates ofparadise
seemto swing open and flood them with light, and the superior splendour of
the invisible turned the dying hour into the soul's nuptials. Such were the
deaths of St. and , of Latimer and Paysonand Hervey, and of some known to
you and to me. But such angels'visits to the dying couchare few and far
between. Mostsouls go out in clouds or storms; in unconsciousness orpain.
But what does it matter? The only sinless soul that ever descendedthe valley
of the shadow of death cried from the Stygian darkness and solitude, "My
God, My God, why hast Thou forsakenMe?" Butin that hour He conquered!
He vanquished death and robbed the grave of its victory. What does it matter,
then, if we follow Him through the darkness to the light, through the battle to
the triumph? What does it matter if I tremble? Underneath me are the
everlasting arms. What does it matter if I cannotsee? He is leading me
through the ebon shades. Whatdoes it matter if I seemalone? He goes with
me, as He has gone so often with others before, through what seems the
untrod solitudes of death. The last hour of the labourer's summer day may be
hot and weary, but the restof eventide will be sweet, andthe night will be
cool. The last mile of the homewardjourney may burn the traveller's bleeding
feet, but love and welcome willsoothe the pain and wipe the pilgrim's brow.
As we approachthe land, the winds may be boisterous, and the waves break
loud upon the rockycoast;but the harbour will throw its protecting arms
around the home-bound ship, and we shall be safe.

(R. S. Barrett.)
The antidote of death
H. Gammidge.
I. THE ANTIDOTE ITSELF. The text suggests —
1. The life-giving powerof the Word of Christ. We all know something of the
powerof a word — of an oratoron his audience, of a generalon his army, of a
friend on his tempted or afflicted associate. Hence, we may conceive how a
saying of Christ may have power. He in fact is "the Word," and His "words
are spirit and life." Thus we read that we are born againby it, and that it
must dwell in us richly, which shows that the Word of Christ is the seedcorn
of the soul's life, which sownin the heart germinates into the tree of
righteousness.
2. The reception which the Word of Christ requires. It is necessarythat it
should be listened to, understood and remembered: but all this may be done
without the experience of its life-giving virtue. It must as seedbe hid in the
soul accompaniedby the energy of the Holy Ghost. We do not keepit unless
we live in Christ, walk in Christ, and have our whole being fashioned after
Him. Without this literary knowledge and controversialdefence ofit are
worthless.
3. Here we see —(1) The proof of the consciousDivinity of our Lord. None else
ever dared to say this.(2) The extent of His life-giving power. This wonderful
saying is confined to none.(3) The necessityof a Christian life here. The
antidote must be applied before the mischief has done its last and fatal work.
II. THE OPERATION OF THIS ANTIDOTE.

1. Negatively. Notexemption from the common lot.(1) Constantly occurring
facts forbid this. The righteous man dies as well as the sinner.(2) The
necessitiesandfrailties of our own frame forbid this. We no soonerbegin to
live than we begin to die.(3) Scripture forbids this.
2. Positively. The leading thought is brought out fully in John 5:24.
(1)The penalties of the seconddeath will be avoided.
(2)The terrors of physical death will be mitigated.
(3)The consequencesofphysical death will be overcome.
(4)The soul's highest life will be perfected.Conclusion —
1. See the powerof Christianity. Nothing else can conquer death — no
philosophy, morality, religion.
2. Hence the importance of keeping the saying of Christ — not admiring it
merely.
3. What solace does this truth afford a dying world?

(H. Gammidge.)
The undying
A. F. Muir, M. A.
This is part of Christ's answerto the charge of ver. 48. The latter portion of
the charge was answeredin vers. 49, 50; the former, "Thouart a Samaritan,"
answeredhere. The Samaritans held the Sadducee's doctrine of annihilation.
Christ proves that He is not a Samaritan, but He proves far more.
I. A DUTY OF THE PRESENT. "Ifa man keep," etc.
1. The "Word" of Christ is a comprehensive term for the substance ofHis
teaching:repentance;trust in the saving grace ofGod in Christ; response to
the love of God; the practice of holiness, philanthropy, etc.
2. Keeping His Word implies that it is —
(1)A revelationto be retained in the mind.
(2)A stay and comfortfor the heart.
(3)A rule of conduct for the life.
3. "If a man" makes the statementuniversally applicable. Therefore its
efficacyis essential, notaccidentalor arbitrary.

II. A DOCTRINE OF THE FUTURE. "He shall never," etc. One
interpretation is that certainpersons mortal by nature are to be made
immortal. The meaning to be preferred is that to such the earthly experience
of dying will not be the same as to the unrighteous, that for them there is and
will be the realizationof a deathless life. Look at this —
1. As a revelation. It is of the first magnitude. The Rig Veda — oldestof
Hindoo sacredbooks — does not even hint this. Moses is silent, at least
oracular. There gradually grew up in Judaism a hope of it. In Christ's time
Jewishopinion was divided. Christ speaks clearly, authoritatively. The words
are besttaken simply, and mean that what makes death truly death will be
removed. The sting of death, and consequentseparationfrom God will no
longerexist. As this involves a continuity of experience from the present to the
heavenly state, it is obvious that the believer is conceivedof as at once entering
into eternallife with the first act of faith that unites him to Christ. The life
thus begun and continued is one life, and must signify, therefore, more than
mere duration, viz., a spiritual relation and condition.
2. As a conditional promise. "If a man keep," etc., discovers —(1)The basis of
this life — a "Word," or Christ Himself as the Word, i.e., a spiritual,
intelligible entity (Is not this mortal life built upon and out of ideas?). "My
Words, they are spirit and life." The Divine life of the spirit of man is —
(a)Word created.
(b)Word sustained and continued.
(c)Word enlargedand glorified.(2) That it is a contingent and not an absolute
possession. "Keep."With what earnestnessoughtwe to lay hold on this life,

and so guard and cultivate it that we shall never lose it! He that keeps Christ's
word will be kept by it.
(A. F. Muir, M. A.)
Deathinvisible to the Christian
Rieger.
He who follows the light of life which shines from the words of Jesus, does not
see death, just as one who goes to meet the sun does not see the shadows
behind him.
(Rieger.)
Christians do not taste of death
C. D. Foss.,RobertWilkinson., Edward Perronet.
A daughter of Mrs. Gov. Wright recentlypassedawayamid Tabor splendour.
As she approacheddeath, she said, "I'm going up! I'm going up! You see I'm
going up on the ineffable glory. What a glorious approach!" To her husband
she said, "Oh! if you could only see what I see, you would know why I long to
go." To her pastor, who was reading of the "valley of the shadow of death,"
she said, "There is no valley." The night preceding her death, she abode in the
third heaven of rapture. Being informed that her feetwere in the Jordan, she
said, "Oh, I am so glad!" Her last words were, "Jesus is peace."
(C. D. Foss.)Ohwhathas the Lord discoveredto me this night! Oh the glory of
God! the glory of God and heaven! Oh the lovely beauty, the happiness, of
paradise!God is all love, He is nothing but love. Oh, help me praise Him! Oh,
help me to praise Him! I shall praise Him forever! I shall praise Him forever.

(Robert Wilkinson.)Gloryto God in the height of His Divinity! Glory to God
in the depths of His humanity! Glory to Godin His all-sufficiency. Into His
hands I commend my spirit.
(Edward Perronet.)
Believers never see death
H. Moore.
His (John Wesley's)death scene was one of the most peacefuland triumphant
in the annals of the Church. Prayer, praise, and thankfulness were ever on His
lips. Many goldensentences, worthyto be had in everlasting remembrance,
were uttered during his last hours. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." "He is all!
He is all!" "There is no need for more than what I saidin Bristol;my words
then were — 'I the chief of sinners am, But Jesus died for me!'" "We have
boldness to enter into the holiestby the blood of Jesus." "Thatis the
foundation, the only foundation, and there is no other." "How necessaryit is
for everyone to be on the right foundation!" "The Lord is with us, the God of
Jacobis our refuge." "Nevermind the poor carcase.""The clouds drop
fatness." "He giveth His servants rest." "Be causethHis servants to lie down
in peace." "I'llpraise: I'll praise." "Lord, Thou givest strength to those that
can speak, andto those that cannot. Speak, Lord, to all our hearts, and let
them know that Thou looseththe tongue." "Jesus!Jesus!" His lips are wetted,
and he says his usual grace, "We thank Thee, O Lord, for these and all Thy
mercies. Bless the Church and king; and grant us truth and peace, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, forever and ever." Those who look out of the windows
are darkened, and he sees only the shadow of his friends around his bed:
"Who are these?" "We are come to rejoice with you: you are going to receive
your crown." "It is the Lord's doing," he calmly replies, "and marvellous in
our eyes." "Iwill write," he exclaims, and the materials are placed within his
reach;but the "right hand has forgottenher cunning," and "the pen of the
once ready writer" refuses to move. "Let me write for you, sir," says an

attendant. "What would you say?" Nothing, but that God is with us. Now we
have done all. Let us all go." And now, with all his remaining strength, he
cries out, "The best of all is, God is with us!" And again, lifting up his fleshless
arm in tokenof victory, and raising his failing voice to a pitch of holy
triumph, he repeats the heart-reviving words, "The best of all is, God is with
us!" A few minutes before ten o'clock onthe morning of the 2nd of March,
1791, he slowly and feebly whispered, "Farewell!farewell!" — and, literally,
"without a lingering groan," calmly"fell on sleep, having served his
generationby the will of God."
(H. Moore.)
Happy dying
Religious TractSocietyAnecdotes.
"I am so far from fearing death, which to others is the king of terrors,"
exclaimed Dr. Donne, "that I long for the time of dissolution." When Mr.
Venn inquired of the Rev. W. Grimshaw how he did, "As happy as I can be on
earth, and at sure of glory as if I were in it: I have nothing to do but to step
out of this bed into heaven." The fearof death destroyed: — Fox relates, in his
"Acts and Monuments," that a Dutch martyr, feeling the flames, said, "Ah,
what a small pain is this, comparedwith the glory to come!" The same author
tells us that John Noyes took up a faggotat the fire, and kissing it, said,
"Blessedbe the time that ever I was born, to come to this preferment." When
an ancient martyr was severelythreatenedby his persecutors, he replied,
"There is nothing visible or invisible that I fear. I will stand to my profession
of the name and faith of Christ, come of it what will." Hilary said to his soul,
"Thou hastserved Christ this seventy years, and art thou afraid of death? Go
out, soul, go out!" An old minister remarked, a little before his death, "I
cannot sayI have so lived as that I should not now be afraid to die; but I can
say I have so learned Christ that I am not afraid to die." A friend, surprised
at the serenity and cheerfulness whichthe Rev. EbenezerErskine possessedin
the immediate view of death and eternity, proposedthe question, "Sir, are you
not afraid of your sins?" "Indeed, no," was his answer;"eversince I knew

Christ I have never thought highly of my frames and duties, nor am I slavishly
afraid of my sins."
(Religious TractSocietyAnecdotes.)
Contrasts in death
One of our old Scottishministers, two hundred years ago, lay dying. At his
bedside were severalof his beloved brethren, watching his departure.
Opening his eyes, he spoke to them these singular words: "Fellow passengers
to glory, how far am I from the New Jerusalem?""Notvery far," was the
loving answer;and the goodman departed, to be with Christ. "I'm dying,"
said one of a different stamp, "and I don't know where I'm going." "I'm
dying," said another, "and it's all dark." "I feel," said another, "as if I were
going down, down, down!" "A greatand a terrible God," said another, three
times over; "I dare not meet Him." "Stop that clock!" cried another, whose
eye restedintently on a clock which hung opposite the bed. He knew he was
dying and he was unready. He had the impression that he was to die at
midnight. He heard the ticking of the clock, andit was agonyin his ear. He
saw the hands, minute by minute, approaching the dreaded hour, and he had
no hope. In his blind terror he cried out, "Stop that clock!" Alas! what would
the stopping of the clock do for him? Time would move on all the same.
Eternity would approachall the same. The stopping of the clock would not
prepare him to meet his God.
Realizations ofthe text
Talmage., AmericanMessenger.
"Throw back the shutters and let the sun in," said dying Scoville M'Collum,
one of my Sabbath schoolboys.
(Talmage.)Lightbreaks in! light breaks in! Hallelujah! exclaimed one when
dying. Sargeant, the biographer of Martyn, spoke of "glory, glory," and of
that "bright light"; and when asked, "Whatlight?" answered, his face
kindling into a holy fervour, "The light of the Sun of Righteousness."A blind

Hindoo boy, when dying, said joyfully, "I see I now I have light. I see Him in
His beauty. Tell the missionary that the blind see. I glory in Christ." Thomas
Jewett, referring to the dying expressionofthe English infidel, "I'm going to
take a leap in the dark," said to those at his bedside, "I'm going to take a leap
in the light." While still another dying saint said, "I am not afraid to plunge
into eternity." A wounded soldier, when askedif he were prepared to depart,
said, "Ohyes; my Saviour, in whom I have long trusted, is with me now, and
His smile lights up the dark valley for me." A dying minister said, "It is just
as I said it would be, 'There is no valley,'" emphatically, repeating, "Oh, no
valley. It is clearand bright — a king's highway." The light of an everlasting
life seemedto dawn upon his heart; and touched with its glory, he went,
already crowned, into the New Jerusalem. A Christian woman lay dying.
Visions of heaven came to her. She was askedif she really saw heaven. Her
answerwas, "Iknow I saw heaven;but one thing I did not see, the valley of
the shadow of death. I saw the suburbs." A young man who had but lately
found Jesus was laid upon his dying bed. A friend who stoodover him asked,
"Is it dark?" "I shall never," said he, "forgethis reply. 'No, no,' he exclaimed,
'it is all light! light! light!'" and thus triumphantly passedaway.
(American Messenger.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(51) If a man keepmy saying, he shall never see death.—Better, If a man keep
My word. Our version obscures the close connectionwith 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 lastpassage 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 collectin “The Order for the Burial of the Dead“. . . “our
Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrectionand the life; in whom whosoever
believeth shall live, though he die; and whosoeverliveth 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 comparisonof them will make it clearthat it means, as
does the Hebrew formula on which it is based, that which we express by
“never,” or “certainlynever.” “by no means ever,” for the negative is in its
strongestform (John 4:14, John 8:52 in this John 10:28; John 11:26;John
13:8). The first and last of these passages referto subjects (“shallnever
thirst,” “shall never washmy feet”), which do not admit any possibility of
doubt. The others are all parallel to the present text, in thought as wellas 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 swallowedup of life, and physical
death is thought of, in its true sense, as anentering into life.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
8:48-53 Observe Christ's disregardof the applause of men. those who are
dead to the praises of men canbear 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 characterofa believer; he is

one that keeps the sayings of the Lord Jesus. And the privilege of a believer;
he shall by no means see deathfor 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 keepmy 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 ofthis passageis, "He
shall obtain eternallife, 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-BrownBible Commentary
51. If a man keepmy saying, he shall never see death—Partlythus vindicating
His lofty claims as Lord of the kingdom of life everlasting, and, at the same
time, holding out even to His revilers the scepterof 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 strongestand most naked statementof a very glorious truth yet
given. (In Joh 11:26 it is repeatedin 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 holiestmen shall die: the
body is dead (that is, in dying) because ofsin; or, shall die because ofsin,
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 keepeththe
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 keepmy saying;or doctrine, receives the Gospelin 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 seconddeath, eternaldeath, which is an
everlasting separationof 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 corporealdeath, 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 keepmy saying, he shall never {r}
see death.
(16) Only the doctrine of the gospelapprehended by faith is a sure remedy
againstdeath.
(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, preciselyas in John 8:24
of chap. 5, is on “my word”.—ἐάντις … αἰῶνα, “if any one keeps my word, he
shall never see death”. For τηρεῖν see John14:15-23, John15:10-20, John
17:6, 1 John and Rev. passim; it is exactly equivalent to “keep”.θεωρεῖν
θάνατονoccurs only here. It is probably strongerthan 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 andColleges
51. If a man keepmy saying]Better, if a man keepMy 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 spokenof. So that there is no need to suppose that while John
8:49-50 are addressedto His opponents, John 8:51 is addressedafter 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 cannotmean ‘shall thirst,
but the thirst shall not be eternal,’ and from John 13:8, which cannot mean
‘shalt washmy feet, but the washing shall not be eternal.’In all three casesthe
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 keepMy Father’s word, John 8:55, “I know Him, and keepHis saying.”
We ought to keepthe 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,
opposedto the doctrine of immortality, according to the testimony of
Epiphanius. At leastthe Jews, who speak here, seemto have attributed that
error to the Samaritans. Yet I will admit that it was the smallerportion of the
latter, who laboured under that error.—οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ, he shall not see)A
most effectualargument againstthe maintainers of soul-annihilation.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 51. - Verily, verily. This impressive recommencementof discourse
implies that a new turn is given to the conversation, and that the gravest
solemnity and importance is attachedto 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-composedand lofty way in which the honour
of our Lord was calmly entrusted by him to the Father. The Jews may say
what they please, callhim 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, promisedfreedom 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," whichissues 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 ofthe "living water," and "life eternal," and "living bread," which
whoso partakethshall never die.. See also John 11:26). He does not tell his
disciples that they shall not see the grave, but that in the deepestsense they
shall never die. "Death" and"life" are words that are lifted into a higher
connotation. Deathis a moral state, not an event in their physical existence.
Vincent's Word Studies
Keep (τηρήσῃ)
See on 1 Peter1:4.
Saying (λόγον)
Better, word, as Rev. See on John 8:43.
He shall not see death (θάνατονοὐ 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, protractedvision, 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 essentiallythe
negationand contradictionof 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 connectionwith 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.

STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Shall never see death - As Mosespromiseda long life, with abundance of
temporal blessings, to those who should keephis statutes and ordinances, so
he who keeps my doctrine shall not only have a long life, but shall never see
death - he shall never come under the powerof the death of the soul, but shall
live eternally with me in glory.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 8:51". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-
8.html. 1832.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
If a man keepmy 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 ofthis passageis, “He

shall obtain eternallife, 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.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "Barnes'Notes onthe Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/john-8.html.
1870.
The Biblical Illustrator
John 8:51
If any man keepMy saying he shall never see death.
I. THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED.
1. The “saying” of Christ means the whole systemof truth which He has
taught, and includes
2. To keepthis “saying” implies

II. “Neversee THE PRIVILEGE ATTACHED TO THIS CHARACTER
“Neversee death” means
1. Negatively.
(a) Such a course would have involved a perpetual miracle, and so have
involved a waste of Divine power.
(b) By death Christ’s people become more exactlyconformed to their Head.
(c) Death maintains a constantmemorial of the evil of sin.
(d) The present abolition of death would deprive Christ’s secondadvent of
half its splendour, and render the last judgment practically useless.
2. Positively. Christ’s faithful people shall not see death
Christ’s saying and the reward of keeping it
I. WHAT IS CHRIST’S SAYING?

1. The law, promulgated in spirit and effect in Paradise, republished at Sinai,
and reinforcedby the Sermon on the Mount. This law was given to create a
sense ofsin and of the necessityof a Saviour, and so prepared the way for
2. The gospel(Romans 8:2-3). The law is the storm that drives the traveller to
the shelter, the condemnation that makes the criminal long for and use the
means for securing a reprieve.
II. WHAT IS IT TO KEEP CHRIST’S SAYING?
1. Reading it carefully and constantly.
2. Hearing it, “Faith cometh by hearing.”
3. Understanding it. What we thoroughly understand we do not easilyforget.
4. Obeying it. This fixes it in the memory.
III. THE REWARD OF KEEPING CHRIST’S SAYING. He shall never see
What saying is it to which our Lord refers?

Our Lord uttered multitudes of sayings while He was upon the earth. He was
a greatspeaker;no man spake like Him. He was the greatestoftalkers;and
hence innumerable sayings dropped from His lips--parables, proverbs,
criticisms, invitations, exhortations, warnings, commandments,
remonstrances, encouragements, andexceeding greatand precious promises.
To which of His sayings, then, is it that He here refers? I would say in reply,
that it is not to any single saying in particular, any detachedor separate
“saying,” that our Lord had reference. To hit at random on any one of His
multitudinous sayings would indicate an utter ineptitude for the graspof the
Saviour’s ideas, or indeed for the graspof anyone’s ideas. What then? The
saying referred to is manifestly that grand multiple messagefrom God to men
which constituted the sum total of our Lord’s teaching. Or we might put it
thus: It is the sum total or condensedessenceofall the revelations that were
divinely made by our Lord, in our Lord, and through our Lord. And what is
that? It is evidently the glorious gospelof God’s grace, the goodnews and glad
tidings coming from behind the veil of all terrestrial things, and manifesting to
men a living, loving, compassionating,sin-hating, yet sin-forgiving God. It is,
in short, the joyful announcement of free and full salvation for the chief of
sinners. That, that is the “saying,” the life-giving “saying,” ofChrist Jesus,
which, if a man keeps, he shall never see death. “Whosoeverliveth,” said our
Lord to Martha, “and believeth in Me shall never die.” (J. Morison, D. D.)
Would you wish to be in the blissful condition depicted in our Saviour’s
language? ThenkeepHis saying. Keep His words. Keep His Word. Keep the
truth about Himself; keepHimself, the living Word, the living gospel. Keep
Him in your thoughts, affections, mind, heart. Let everything slip and pass
awayfrom you which you cannot keepside by side with Him. (J. Morison, D.
D.)
Immunity from death

What means the Saviour? Deathis. It is a reality. It exists far and wide over
the length and breadth of this world, in which we are all tenants at will. But in
the profounder and only “awful” acceptationofthe term, “death” will never
come nigh the man who keeps Christ’s saying.
1. The grave is dark: Death to the unbeliever is like a sky with neither sun,
nor moon, nor stars overhead, and no prospectof a dawn on the morrow. Is it
not so? Is not that the death that is looming over the impenitent? If it bet
never shall the man who believes in Jesus, and who keeps the saying of Jesus,
never shall he see death, never shall he die. The true believer of Christ’s
gospeldwells in true “light”; and lives in it. Contactwith Jesus insures his
illumination; and all the way along life’s highways and byways he enjoys the
light.
2. Many regard death as the total and final rupture and cessationof all
further possibilities of sweetcompanionshipand friendship. He who dies
enters inevitably, according to their anticipation, into utter loneliness and
dreariness. He is desertedforever. But, most assuredly, there is no such death
to the believing. Their true life is not cut short at the end, or arrestedmidway,
or otherwise impaired. It has no end and no interruption. It is “life
everlasting.” And one of the many true elements that enter into the
blessednessthat is its nature is everlasting companionship with the holy and
the happy in glory.
3. To multitudes death means violent removal from all their carefully
accumulatedtreasures, all their most highly-prized possessions.Deathto the
unbeliever is the loss, not only of all these things, but likewise ofall possibility
of the enjoyment of them, and of the enjoyment of any possessionwhatsoever.
But if so, if all this be death, then the believer in Jesus will never see it; for
that which men call death, in their common parlance with one another, will
only translate the believer into the possessionofthe fulness of life and joy.

Neither things present, nor things to come, neither things below, nor things
above, no depth, no height, no length, no breadth, will be able to separate the
believer from that love of God and of Jesus whichis the never-failing source
and fountain of inextinguishable bliss. (J. Morison, D. D.)
The unimportance of death to a Christian
It is a matter of small importance how a man dies. If he is prepared, if he is a
Christian, it matters not how he goes to his crown. There have been some
triumphant deaths, some wonderful deaths, before which the gates ofparadise
seemto swing open and flood them with light, and the superior splendour of
the invisible turned the dying hour into the soul’s nuptials. Such were the
deaths of St. Stephen and Polycarp, of Latimer and Paysonand Hervey, and
of some known to you and to me. But such angels’visits to the dying couchare
few and far between. Mostsouls go out in clouds or storms; in
unconsciousness orpain. But what does it matter? The only sinless soulthat
ever descendedthe valley of the shadow of death cried from the Stygian
darkness and solitude, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsakenMe?” But
in that hour He conquered! He vanquished death and robbed the grave of its
victory. What does it matter, then, if we follow Him through the darkness to
the light, through the battle to the triumph? What does it matter if I tremble?
Underneath me are the everlasting arms. What does it matter if I cannot see?
He is leading me through the ebon shades. Whatdoes it matter if I seem
alone? He goes with me, as He has gone so often with others before, through
what seems the untrod solitudes of death. The last hour of the labourer’s
summer day may be hot and weary, but the restof eventide will be sweet, and
the night will be cool. The last mile of the homeward journey may burn the
traveller’s bleeding feet, but love and welcome will soothe the pain and wipe
the pilgrim’s brow. As we approachthe land, the winds may be boisterous,
and the waves break loud upon the rockycoast;but the harbour will throw its
protecting arms around the home-bound ship, and we shall be safe. (R. S.
Barrett.)

The antidote of death
I. THE ANTIDOTE ITSELF. The text suggests
1. The life-giving powerof the Word of Christ. We all know something of the
powerof a word--of an orator on his audience, of a generalon his army, of a
friend on his tempted or afflicted associate. Hence, we may conceive how a
saying of Christ may have power. He in fact is “the Word,” and His “words
are spirit and life.” Thus we read that we are born againby it, and that it
must dwell in us richly, which shows that the Word of Christ is the seedcorn
of the soul’s life, which sownin the heart germinates into the tree of
righteousness.
2. The reception which the Word of Christ requires. It is necessarythat it
should be listened to, understood and remembered: but all this may be done
without the experience of its life-giving virtue. It must as seedbe hid in the
soul accompaniedby the energy of the Holy Ghost. We do not keepit unless
we live in Christ, walk in Christ, and have our whole being fashioned after
Him. Without this literary knowledge and controversialdefence ofit are
worthless.
3. Here we see
II. THE OPERATION OF THIS ANTIDOTE.

1. Negatively. Notexemption from the common lot.
2. Positively. The leading thought is brought out fully in John 5:24.
Conclusion
1. See the powerof Christianity. Nothing else can conquer death--no
philosophy, morality, religion.
2. Hence the importance of keeping the saying of Christ--not admiring it
merely.
3. What solace does this truth afford a dying world? (H. Gammidge.)
The undying
This is part of Christ’s answerto the charge of John 8:48. The latter portion
of the charge was answeredin John 8:49-50;the former, “Thouart a
Samaritan,” answeredhere. The Samaritans held the Sadducee’s doctrine of
annihilation. Christ proves that He is not a Samaritan, but He proves far
more.
I. A DUTY OF THE PRESENT. “Ifa man keep,” etc.

1. The “Word” of Christ is a comprehensive term for the substance of His
teaching:repentance;trust in the saving grace ofGod in Christ; response to
the love of God; the practice of holiness, philanthropy, etc.
2. Keeping His Word implies that it is
3. “If a man” makes the statementuniversally applicable. Therefore its
efficacyis essential, notaccidentalor arbitrary.
II. A DOCTRINE OF THE FUTURE. “He shall never,” etc. One
interpretation is that certainpersons mortal by nature are to be made
immortal. The meaning to be preferred is that to such the earthly experience
of dying will not be the same as to the unrighteous, that for them there is and
will be the realizationof a deathless life. Look at this
1. As a revelation. It is of the first magnitude. The Rig Veda--oldestof Hindoo
sacredbooks--doesnoteven hint this. Moses is silent, at leastoracular. There
gradually grew up in Judaism a hope of it. In Christ’s time Jewishopinion
was divided. Christ speaks clearly, authoritatively. The words are best taken
simply, and mean that what makes death truly death will be removed. The
sting of death, and consequentseparationfrom God will no longerexist. As
this involves a continuity of experience from the present to the heavenly state,
it is obvious that the believeris conceivedofas at once entering into eternal
life with the first actof faith that unites him to Christ. The life thus begun and
continued is one life, and must signify, therefore, more than mere duration,
viz., a spiritual relation and condition.

2. As a conditional promise. “If a man keep,” etc., discovers
(a) Word created.
(b) Word sustainedand continued.
(c) Word enlargedand glorified.
Deathinvisible to the Christian
He who follows the light of life which shines from the words of Jesus, does not
see death, just as one who goes to meet the sun does not see the shadows
behind him. (Rieger.)
Christians do not taste of death
A daughter of Mrs. Gov. Wright recentlypassedawayamid Tabor splendour.
As she approacheddeath, she said, “I’m going up! I’m going up! You see I’m
going up on the ineffable glory. What a glorious approach!” To her husband
she said, “Oh! if you could only see what I see, you would know why I long to
go.” To her pastor, who was reading of the “valley of the shadow of death,”
she said, “There is no valley.” The night preceding her death, she abode in the
third heaven of rapture. Being informed that her feetwere in the Jordan, she
said, “Oh, I am so glad!” Her last words were, “Jesus is peace.”(C. D.Foss.)

“Oh what has the Lord discoveredto me this night! Oh the glory of God! the
glory of God and heaven! Oh the lovely beauty, the happiness, of paradise!
God is all love, He is nothing but love. Oh, help me praise Him! Oh, help me to
praise Him! I shall praise Him forever! I shall praise Him forever.” (Robert
Wilkinson.)
“Glory to God in the height of His Divinity! Glory to God in the depths of His
humanity! Glory to God in His all-sufficiency. Into His hands I commend my
spirit.” (Edward Perronet.)
Believers never see death
His (John Wesley’s)death scene was one of the most peacefuland triumphant
in the annals of the Church. Prayer, praise, and thankfulness were ever on His
lips. Many goldensentences, worthyto be had in everlasting remembrance,
were uttered during his last hours. “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.” “He is all!
He is all!” “There is no need for more than what I saidin Bristol;my words
then were--‘I the chief of sinners am, But Jesus died for me!’” “We have
boldness to enter into the holiestby the blood of Jesus.” “Thatis the
foundation, the only foundation, and there is no other.” “How necessaryit is
for everyone to be on the right foundation!” “The Lord is with us, the God of
Jacobis our refuge.” “Nevermind the poor carcase.”“The clouds drop
fatness.” “He giveth His servants rest.” “Be causethHis servants to lie down
in peace.” “I’llpraise: I’ll praise.” “Lord, Thou givest strength to those that
can speak, andto those that cannot. Speak, Lord, to all our hearts, and let
them know that Thou looseththe tongue.” “Jesus!Jesus!” His lips are wetted,
and he says his usual grace, “We thank Thee, O Lord, for these and all Thy
mercies. Bless the Church and king; and grant us truth and peace, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, forever and ever.” Those who look out of the windows
are darkened, and he sees only the shadow of his friends around his bed:
“Who are these?” “We are come to rejoice with you: you are going to receive

your crown.” “It is the Lord’s doing,” he calmly replies, “and marvellous in
our eyes.” “Iwill write,” he exclaims, and the materials are placed within his
reach;but the “right hand has forgottenher cunning,” and “the pen of the
once ready writer” refuses to move. “Let me write for you, sir,” says an
attendant. “What would you say?” Nothing, but that God is with us. Now we
have done all. Let us all go.” And now, with all his remaining strength, he
cries out, “The best of all is, God is with us!” And again, lifting up his fleshless
arm in tokenof victory, and raising his failing voice to a pitch of holy
triumph, he repeats the heart-reviving words, “The best of all is, God is with
us!” A few minutes before ten o’clock onthe morning of the 2nd of March,
1791, he slowly and feebly whispered, “Farewell!farewell!”--and, literally,
“without a lingering groan,” calmly“fell on sleep, having served his
generationby the will of God.” (H. Moore.)
Happy dying
“I am so far from fearing death, which to others is the king of terrors,”
exclaimed Dr. Donne, “that I long for the time of dissolution.” When Mr.
Venn inquired of the Rev. W. Grimshaw how he did, “As happy as I can be on
earth, and at sure of glory as if I were in it: I have nothing to do but to step
out of this bed into heaven.” The fearof death destroyed:--Fox relates, in his
“Acts and Monuments,” that a Dutch martyr, feeling the flames, said, “Ah,
what a small pain is this, comparedwith the glory to come!” The same author
tells us that John Noyes took up a faggotat the fire, and kissing it, said,
“Blessedbe the time that ever I was born, to come to this preferment.” When
an ancient martyr was severelythreatenedby his persecutors, he replied,
“There is nothing visible or invisible that I fear. I will stand to my profession
of the name and faith of Christ, come of it what will.” Hilary said to his soul,
“Thou hastserved Christ this seventy years, and art thou afraid of death? Go
out, soul, go out!” An old minister remarked, a little before his death, “I
cannot sayI have so lived as that I should not now be afraid to die; but I can
say I have so learned Christ that I am not afraid to die.” A friend, surprised at

the serenity and cheerfulness which the Rev. EbenezerErskine possessedin
the immediate view of death and eternity, proposedthe question, “Sir, are you
not afraid of your sins?” “Indeed, no,” was his answer;“eversince I knew
Christ I have never thought highly of my frames and duties, nor am I slavishly
afraid of my sins.” (Religious TractSocietyAnecdotes.)
Contrasts in death
One of our old Scottishministers, two hundred years ago, lay dying. At his
bedside were severalof his beloved brethren, watching his departure.
Opening his eyes, he spoke to them these singular words: “Fellow passengers
to glory, how far am I from the New Jerusalem?”“Notvery far,” was the
loving answer;and the goodman departed, to be with Christ. “I’m dying,”
said one of a different stamp, “and I don’t know where I’m going.” “I’m
dying,” said another, “and it’s all dark.” “I feel,” said another, “as if I were
going down, down, down!” “A great and a terrible God,” said another, three
times over; “I dare not meet Him.” “Stop that clock!” cried another, whose
eye restedintently on a clock which hung opposite the bed. He knew he was
dying and he was unready. He had the impression that he was to die at
midnight. He heard the ticking of the clock, andit was agonyin his ear. He
saw the hands, minute by minute, approaching the dreaded hour, and he had
no hope. In his blind terror he cried out, “Stop that clock!” Alas! what would
the stopping of the clock do for him? Time would move on all the same.
Eternity would approachall the same. The stopping of the clock would not
prepare him to meet his God.
Realizations ofthe text
“Throw back the shutters and let the sun in,” said dying Scoville M’Collum,
one of my Sabbath schoolboys. (Talmage.)

“Light breaks in! light breaks in! Hallelujah!” exclaimed one when dying.
Sargeant, the biographer of Martyn, spoke of “glory, glory,” and of that
“bright light”; and when asked, “Whatlight?” answered, his face kindling
into a holy fervour, “The light of the Sun of Righteousness.”A blind Hindoo
boy, when dying, saidjoyfully, “I see I now I have light. I see Him in His
beauty. Tell the missionarythat the blind see. I glory in Christ.” Thomas
Jewett, referring to the dying expressionofthe English infidel, “I’m going to
take a leap in the dark,” said to those at his bedside, “I’m going to take a leap
in the light.” While still another dying saint said, “I am not afraid to plunge
into eternity.” A wounded soldier, when askedif he were prepared to depart,
said, “Ohyes; my Saviour, in whom I have long trusted, is with me now, and
His smile lights up the dark valley for me.” A dying minister said, “It is just as
I said it would be, ‘There is no valley,’” emphatically, repeating, “Oh, no
valley. It is clearand bright--a king’s highway.” The light of an everlasting life
seemedto dawn upon his heart; and touched with its glory, he went, already
crowned, into the New Jerusalem. A Christian woman lay dying. Visions of
heaven came to her. She was askedif she really saw heaven. Her answerwas,
“I know I saw heaven; but one thing I did not see, the valley of the shadow of
death. I saw the suburbs.” A young man who had but lately found Jesus was
laid upon his dying bed. A friend who stoodover him asked, “Is it dark?” “I
shall never,” said he, “forgethis reply. ‘No, no,’ he exclaimed, ‘it is all light!
light! light!’” and thus triumphantly passedaway. (American Messenger.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography

Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "John 8:51". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/john-8.html. 1905-1909.
New York.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keepmy word, he shall never see death.
This is not a promise of escape from mortality but of eternallife, and no more
glorious promise ever came to man. How strange that it should have been
enunciated so earnestlyin the midst of the vulgar and vituperative charges of
his enemies. Whata flower was this that bloomed in the sewerof their hatred
of Jesus!
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on John 8:51". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/john-8.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole 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 keepmy saying;or doctrine, receives the Gospelin 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 seconddeath, eternaldeath, which is an
everlasting separationof 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 corporealdeath, 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.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on John 8:51". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/john-
8.html. 1999.

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 gospelapprehended by faith is a sure remedy
againstdeath.
(r) That is, he will not feel it: for even in the midst of death the faithful see life.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/john-8.html. 1599-
1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If a man keepmy 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 scepterof grace. The word “keep” is
in harmony with John 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 (John 5:24; John

6:40, John 6:47, John 6:51), is the strongestand most nakedstatement of a
very glorious truth yet given. (In John 11:26 it is repeatedin nearly identical
terms).
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
8:51". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/john-8.html. 1871-8.
People's New Testament
If a man keepmy word, he shall never see death. Here againis a condition
and a promise. Notice (1) Its universal character. {If any one,} Jew or Gentile,
male or female, bond or free. (2) The condition: {Keep my words}. By
obedience we are not only freed, but enter into life. (3) {Shall not see death}.
Deathof the body is not reckoneddeath, but merely the gate through which
the believerenters upon a more perfect life. The real death is that of the soul.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.

Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on John 8:51". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/john-8.html.
1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
If a man keepmy word (εαν τις τον εμον λογον τηρησηι — ean tis ton emon
logontērēsēi). Condition of third class with εαν — ean and constative aorist
active subjunctive of τηρεω — tēreō Repeatedin John 8:52. See John 8:43
about hearing the word of Christ. Common phrase in John (John 8:51, John
8:52, John 8:55; John 14:23, John 14:24;John 15:20;John 17:6; 1 John 2:5).
Probably the same idea as keeping the commands of Christ (John 14:21).
He shall never see death (τανατονου μη τεωρησηι εις τοναιονα — thanaton
ou mē theōrēsēieis ton aiona). Spiritual death, of course. Strong double
negative ου μη — ou mē with first aoristactive subjunctive of τεωρεω —
theōreō The phrase “see death” is a Hebraism (Psalm 89:48)and occurs with
ιδειν — idein (see)in Luke 2:26; Hebrews 11:5. No essentialdifference meant
betweenοραω — horaō and τεωρεω — theōreō See John 14:23 for the blessed
fellowship the Father and the Son have with the one who keeps Christ‘s word.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)

Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on John 8:51". "Robertson'sWordPictures of
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/john-8.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Keep ( τηρήσῃ )
See on 1 Peter1:4.
Saying ( λόγον)
Better, word, as Rev. See on John 8:43.
He shall not see death ( θάνατονοὐ 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
seedenoting steady, protractedvision, 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 essentiallythe
negationand contradictionof 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 connectionwith 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.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/john-8.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keepmy saying, he shall never see
death.
If a man keepmy word — So will my Fatherconsult my glory. We keephis
doctrine by believing, his promises by hoping, his command by obeying.
He shall never see death — That is, death eternal. He shall live for ever.
Hereby he proves that he was no Samaritan; for the Samaritans in general
were Sadducees.

Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on John 8:51". "John Wesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/john-8.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
Verily, verily1, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see
death2.
Verily, verily. See .
If a man keepmy word, he shall never see death. Jesus here re-states the
thought in John 8:31,32. "To keep" here means to cherish and obey. Sin is
bondage, and its wages is death. The fleshly body of the Christian dies, but the
spirit within him does not. His eternal life begins in this world. See John 5:24.
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography

J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "The
Fourfold Gospel". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/john-
8.html. Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
Shall never see death; that is, shall enjoy eternal life and happiness.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "Abbott's
Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/john-8.html. 1878.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
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 opposedto
his doctrine. For this reason, he intended to terrify the wickedwhose 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. Whatever
dislike of the word of God, therefore, may be entertainedby the greatestpart
of men, yet the faithful teacherought not to be wholly employed in reproving
the wicked, but ought also to impart the doctrine of salvation to the children
of God, and endeavorto bring them to sound views, if there be any of them

who are not perfectly incurable. In this passage,therefore, Christpromises
eternal life to his disciples, but demands disciples who shall not only prick up
their ears, like asses,orprofess with the mouth that they approve of his
doctrine, but who shall keephis doctrine as a precious treasure. He says that
they shall never see death; for, when faith quickens the soul of a man, death
already has its sting extractedand its venom removed, and so cannotinflict a
deadly wound.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on John 8:51". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/john-8.html. 1840-
57.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
HOW TO ESCAPE DEATH
‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keepMy saying, he shall never see
death.’
John 8:51

I. Christ’s antipathy to death.—What a startling statementit is! There is
nothing, I think, in all our Lord’s utterances more striking than the persistent
aversionto death which breathes through them; so that it has been said with
truth that death is the one natural fact, the one human experience, to which
Christ showedantipathy. And why, we may ask, did He take up this attitude
towards death, which is an incident as unfailing and as natural as the return
of old age? If He declined to speak ofdeath as death, it was because He saw
through it, because He knew its true nature, and everlookedon beyond it to
that higher and fuller life of which it is intended to be the portal. He is told
that the daughter of Jairus is dead, but He declares that she is only asleep.
And so again, when the news was brought to Him of the death of His friend at
Bethany, He put the hated word from Him and declaredthat Lazarus was
only sleeping;and He would not change the phrase till the dullness of the
disciples compelled Him. It is clearenoughthat He aims at teaching a new
mode of thought and speechin regard to the close of man’s earthly life. The
early believers, taught by the Resurrectionof the Lord, treasured this new
term with deepestgratitude and devotion. They always spoke ofphysical
death as sleep. Now were this the only service which Jesus Christhad
rendered, had He done no more for us than to give us the right to substitute
this word ‘sleep’for ‘death,’ would he not have been among the greatest
benefactors ofmankind?
II. He is the Life.—But now let us go on to see whatis it that ensures our right
thus to think of death. In the words of the text, just as at the grave of Lazarus,
our Lord sets Himself forth as the guarantee that death is not what it seems.
How is it that union with Christ and obedience to Christ put us beyond the
reachand powerof death? Through Christ life has become a ruling power. He
stands in the midst of humanity for an eternal reality, and He came that man
might know it and embrace it. If they believe in Him, if they are grafted into
Him and assimilatedto Him, then they acquire His right to overlook death, to
face it as an unreal experience, a transition not a state, a gain not a loss, an
expansion not an extinction of power.

III. Life in Christ a present thing.—And we need to be perpetually reminded
that this life in and through Christ is a present thing. Men relegate it to the
future. They talk about going to heaven or to hell as if the whole issue lay
outside present experience. But Christ has setforth salvation as a life, an
eternal thing which begins now and here. And does not this thought light up
our Lord’s words? Already, through obedience to Him, the outer life may be
quickened which will pass unscathedthrough the change of death day by day.
If we are living unto Him, the seedof eternity and truth and love and purity
may be sownwithin us, and bear fruits which will suffer no blight in the chill
passageofthe grave. Our Lord reminds us that the one thing that
differentiates men both here and hereafteris obedience to His law. He knows
who are His, who are keeping His sayings, who are living in His spirit, and
who therefore have in them the charm of that life which shall endure, and
over which the grave shall have no power. But some, perhaps, will say, Is this
all real? Are you not making too light of that greatfact of death? Did not
Christ die, and do not we die even if we have believed in Him ever so truly,
and servedHim ever so faithfully? Yes. In one sense Christ did die. But He
carried with Him that which lighted up the darkness. He bore into the other
world a Divine principle of being which could not undergo dissolution, and He
tells us that we shall do the same. On one condition He offers to make death as
harmless a thing to you and me as it was to Him. He says, Come to Me, believe
in Me, follow Me, feed upon Me, live by Me, and you shall be scatheless, you
too shall have the secretof immortality, you shall see through the terrors of
death and decayas I have done and shall defy them. In you, as in Him,
spiritual life shall triumph gloriouslyover physical death.
—CanonDuckworth.
Illustration

‘Is not this the characteristic ofChristianity, that all that it implants and
fosters of faith and obedience is summed up for us in the one greatterm of
“life”? It is the keynote of that Gospelwhich has preserved for us our Lord’s
deepestthought. He says of Himself, “I am the Life.” He says also of us, “I am
come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
All that He taught, and all that He did here was for one end, that we might
have life. This is the final all-embracing purpose of His Incarnation, to be the
life of men.’
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nisbet, James. "Commentaryon John 8:51". Church Pulpit Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cpc/john-8.html. 1876.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see
death.
Ver. 51. Verily I sayunto you] This he speakethforthe comfort of the better
sort among those refractoryJews whom he had so sharply handled. So
Zuinglius, when in his sermons he had thundered out God’s judgments

againstthe wicked, he would commonly conclude with these words, Probe vir,
hoc nihil ad te: this is not spokento thee, thou goodsoul.
He shall never see death] That is, shall never taste of death, as the Jews
interpret it, John 8:52. Chrysostomdistinguisheth betweenseeing and tasting
death. Sed hallucinatur; eodem enim recidunt, saith Drusius. But Chrysostom
is out here, for they are the same. And our Saviour meaneth that such a one
shall die not eternally; he shall mori vitaliter, as one saith, live though he die.
(See Mr Dugard’s Deathand the Grave.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on John 8:51". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/john-8.html.
1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
John 8:51
Christ our Life

I. In Christ all shall be made alive; but that the depth and extent of the
Scriptural term life can never be limited to the mere revival of the soul from
death or unconsciousnessseems obvious on the most cursory inspection of the
sacredvolume. So far is mere immortality from answering to this gift of life,
that there is a species ofimmortality to which the title of death, "eternal
death," and the "seconddeath" is given. It appears hence that this life, as well
as the death spokenof in the text, is essentiallya moral, not a merely physical,
state or notion; that it is a blessedand spiritual vitality. To express His highest
spiritual bestowments no term is more frequently employed by our blessed
Lord than "light." Now, this light is itself perpetually connectedwith His
descriptions or intimations of the life He was to bestow. "My followers shall
have the 'light of life,'" He declares to the Pharisees;while the shadow of
death is, as you know, the constanttype of a state of hopeless spiritual ruin.
II. The more you reflecton this mighty theme, the more you will see that
Christ's offer, insteadof being limited to any of the forms of life, grasps them
all; that He must raise the dead as Judge and Saviour, that He may punish
and that He may save;that He bestows a quickening principle of spiritual life
upon the soul, which must pass the grave, for nothing holy canperish; it
partakes ofthe Divine nature; it is incorruptible seed, and must flower in
Paradise;finally, that of this last consummate state He is also Lord and
Donor, and in love shall rejoice as He beholds the same light which once was
dawn hereafter settling on that noon which knows no sunset.
III. "He that keepethMy saying shall never see death." Many a dark century
has passedawaysince the walls of the temple echoedthese glorious words—
words, one would deem, that, uttered from God to man, might wellchange the
face of the world. It is no momentary adoption of the faith and law of Christ
to which eternallife is the promised recompense. Godwill not condescendto
take His place among the fashions of the day. Christianity is a new life.

W. Archer Butler, Sermons, Doctrinaland Practical, p. 90.
References:John 8:51.—Clergyman's Magazine,vol. iv., p. 89;H. Wilmot-
Buxton, The Life of Duty, vol. i., p. 176. John 8:54.—ContemporaryPulpit,
vol. ix., p. 241.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on John 8:51". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/john-
8.html.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
John 8:51. If a man keepmy saying,— Our Lord, having before observedthat
there is one who seekethhis glory, goes onto declare, that God the Father will
not only finally glorify him as the Son ofman, but will conferthe highest
honours and rewards on all his faithful persevering servants. Verily, verily, I
say unto you, if any one KEEP my word, he shall never see death, or shall not
fall under eternal damnation. Christ is elsewhere saidto have abolished death,
having destroyedthe works ofthe devil, and raised up the believer with
himself, and made him fit with him in heavenly places. Death, being thus
overcome by the Captain of ourfaith, cannot long retain his faithful
persevering disciples:as for the seconddeath, it can have no power over them.
See 2 Timothy 1:10. Hebrews 2:14. Ephesians 2:6.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon John 8:51". Thomas Coke Commentaryon
the Holy Bible. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/john-
8.html. 1801-1803.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
Observe here, 1. The blessedfruit and effectof observing our Saviour's
doctrine: He that keeps my sayings shall never see death; that is, shall be
securedfrom eternal misery, and enjoy eternal life.
Observe, 2. How the Jews misunderstoodour Saviour's words. He that keeps
my saying shall never see death; as if he meant a freedom from temporal
death, and hereupon they lookedupon him as beside himself, to promise a
privilige which neither Abraham, nor the prophets did ever enjoy. Whereas it
was not exemption from temporal death, but freedom from eternal
destruction, which our Saviour promised to them that keephis saying.
Hence learn, That the misunderstanding of Christ's doctrine, and taking it in
a carnal sense, has givenoccasionfor the many cavils and objections made
againstit.

Observe, 3. How Christ clears himself of all ambition in this matter, and
shews that he did not make this promise of delivering his followers from death
vain-gloriously, but that God, whom they calledtheir father had honoured
him with power, to make goodwhatever he had promised to them that keep
his saying.
Learn hence, That as Christ entirely sought his Father's glory; so the Father
conferredall honour and glory upon Christ as Mediator:thereby testifying,
how infinitely pleasedhe was with the redemption of mankind performed by
him. If I honour myself, my honour is nothing; it is my Father that honoureth
me.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on John 8:51". Expository Notes with
PracticalObservations onthe New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/john-8.html. 1700-1703.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
51.]There is no pause (De Wette) betweenJohn 8:50 and this. This is the
direct carrying on of the discourse, arising out of κρίνων in the last verse, and
forming a “novum tentamen gratiæ” (Lampe). ‘Ye are now children of the
devil, but if ye keepMy word ye shall be rescuedfrom that ἀνθρωποκτόνος.’

τὸν ἐμ. λόγ. τηρ., as ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ μένειν, John 8:31, is not only outward
obedience, but the endurance in, and obedience of faith.
θεωρεῖν θάν., as γεύεσθαι θαν., is a Hebraism for to die,—see reff.,—andmust
not be pressedto mean, ‘shall not feel(the bitterness of) death,’ in a temporal
sense, as has been done by Stier (iv. 433, edn. 2). The death of the body is not
reckonedas death, any more than the life of the body is life, in our Lord’s
discourses:see ch. John 11:25-26, andnotes. Both words have a deeper
meaning.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on John 8:51". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/john-8.html. 1863-1878.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
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 keepMy Father’s word, John 8:55, “I know Him, and keep His
saying.” We ought to keepthe doctrine of Jesus, by believing in it; His

promises, by hoping for them; His injunctions, by obeying them.— θάνατον,
death) Jesus herebyshows, that He is not a Samaritan. The Samaritans were
Sadducees, opposedto the doctrine of immortality, according to the testimony
of Epiphanius. At leastthe Jews, who speak here, seemto have attributed that
error to the Samaritans. Yet I will admit that it was the smallerportion of the
latter, who laboured under that error.— οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ, he shall not see)A
most effectualargument againstthe maintainers of soul-annihilation.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on John 8:51". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/john-8.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
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 holiestmen shall die: the
body is dead (that is, in dying) because ofsin; or, shall die because ofsin,
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 keepeththe
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.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon John 8:51". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/john-8.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Neversee death; spiritual and eternal death; not perish in his sins.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on John 8:51". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/john-8.html.
American Tract Society. 1851.

Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
51. ἐμὸν λόγον τηρήση. Keep My word. The connexionwith John 8:31; John
8:43 and John 5:24 must be preserved by retaining the same translation for
λόγος:‘keeping My word’ here corresponds to ‘abiding in My word’ in John
8:31. Τὸνλόγον τηρεῖν is a phrase of frequent occurrence in S. John; John
8:52; John 8:55; John 14:23; John 15:20; John 17:6; Revelation3:8;
Revelation3:10 : τοὺς λόγους τηρεῖν, John 14:24; Revelation22:7; Revelation
22:9 : so also the analogous phrase τὰς ἐντολὰς τηρεῖν; John 14:15;John
14:21, John 15:10;1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 3:22; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 5:2-3;
Revelation12:17;Revelation14:12. Of the three phrases the first is the most
comprehensive;τὸν λόγον τ. is to observe the Divine revelation as a whole;
τοὺς λ. or τὰς ἐντ. τ. is to observe certain definite injunctions. Τηρεῖν is not
merely keeping in mind, but being on the watchto obey and fulfil. Comp.
φυλάσσειν (τὸν νόμον, τὰ δόγματα, τὴνπαραθήκην), whichis being on the
watchto guard and protect. By ‘keeping His word’ they may escapethe
judgment just mentioned. There is no need to suppose, therefore, that John
8:49-50 are addressedto His opponents, and John 8:51 to a more friendly
group; a change of which there is no hint.
θ. οὐ μὴ θ. εἰς τ. αἰῶνα. Shall certainly not behold death for ever: i.e. shall
never behold or experience death. Εἰς τ. αἰῶνα belongs like οὐ μή to θεωρήσῃ,
not to θάνατον:it does not mean ‘he shall see death,’ but ‘death shall not be
eternal.’ This is evident from John 4:14, which cannotmean ‘shall thirst,’ but
‘the thirst shall not be eternal,’ and from John 13:8, which cannotmean ‘shalt
washmy feet,’but ‘the washing shall not be eternal.’In all three cases the
meaning is ‘shall certainly never.’ Comp. John 10:28, John 11:26; 1
Corinthians 8:13.
θεωρήσῃ. Θεωρεῖν θάνατονoccurs here only in N.T. It is strongerthan ἰδεῖν
θαν. (Luke 2:26; Hebrews 11:5) and ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν(Acts 2:27; Acts 2:31;
Acts 13:35), expressing fixed contemplation and full acquaintance. Justas
‘keepMy word’ here corresponds to ‘abide in My word’ in John 8:31, so

‘exemption from death’ here corresponds to ‘freedom’ there: εἰς τ. αἰῶνα
occurs in both passages. The firm believer has (not shall have) eternal life and
real freedom, and shall never lose either. Of this Christ solemnly (ἀμὴν ἀμήν,
John 8:34; John 8:51) assures them.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on John 8:51". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools and
Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/john-8.html.
1896.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
‘In very truth I tell you, if a man keeps my word he will never see death’.
The fact that they should recognise wasthat His words offered life. Those who
fully responded to them would never die. Jesus was ofcourse speaking about
eternal death. The way to eternal life, He was telling them, was by studying
Jesus’words, receiving the truth about Him, believing in Him and responding
to Him, and then obeying His teaching. The Phariseestaught that eternallife
was obtainable by a constantstudy of the words of Moses,and a determined
effort to obey them as they were expounded by the Rabbis, demonstrating
their participation in the God’s covenant. Jesus was now replacing Moses and
putting Himself in his place.

The Judaisers, probably mainly Pharisees,eithercould not understand, or
probably preferred not to understand. They preferred to take His words
literally.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Pett, Peter. "Commentary on John 8:51". "PeterPett's Commentary on the
Bible ". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pet/john-8.html. 2013.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
51. Verily—Having assertedhis own nature as God’s Son, Jesus now
concentrates into one sentence the object of his missionas Son, eternal life to
all who accepthim.
Neversee death—Evenin dying he shall not die but live. Death shall be
swallowedup in victory. Eternal life shall rob the process ofdissolution of real
death, and transform it into a mere transition into higher existence.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on John 8:51". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/john-8.html.
1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
The centralpurpose of Jesus" missionwas not glory for Himself but glory for
His Fatherthrough salvation for humankind. Jesus" introduction of this
strong statementshows its vital importance. Keeping Jesus" wordis
synonymous with believing on Him (cf. John 5:24; John 8:24). The death in
view is eternal death (cf. John 11:25).
"The assurance relates to life which physical death cannotextinguish, and so
to the death of the spirit; the believer receives eternallife, i.e, the life of the
kingdom of God, over which death has no powerand which is destined for
resurrection." [Note:Beasley-Murray, p137.]
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/john-8.html. 2012.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John 8:51. Verily, verily, I sayunto you, If a man have kept my word, he shall
never behold death. The solemnintroductory words indicate that the
discourse is taking a higher strain: once before they have been used in this
chapter, in John 8:34 (but to a part only of ‘the Jews’), and once againwe
shall meet with them (John 8:58). In John 8:34 Jesus is speaking ofslavery
from which He frees;here of death which He abolishes (2 Timothy 1:10). In
the former case the means of deliverance is continuing in the word of Jesus
and knowing the truth (see John 8:32); here He gives the promise to him that
has ‘kept His word,’—has receivedit, hidden it in his heart, and observedit in
his life (see John 8:37, also chap. John 14:15, etc.). The thought here is
substantially the same as in chap. John 6:50 (compare also chap. John 4:14,
John 5:24, John 6:51), where we read of the living bread given that a man
may eatof it and not die. That passage presents one side of the condition, the
close fellowshipof the believer with Jesus Himself, of which eating is the
symbol; this presents another side, the believing receptionof His word (which
reveals Himself), and the practicaland continued observance ofthe precepts
therein contained. In chap. John 6:50, the words ‘may not die’ do not seemto
have been misunderstood,—possiblybecause so nearthe promise of ‘eternal
life,’ which suggesteda figurative meaning, possibly because ofa difference in
the mood and dispositionof the hearers. In neither place did Jesus promise
that they who are His shall not pass through the grave, but that to them death
shall not be death,—in death itself they shall live (see chap. John 11:26).
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on John 8:51". "Schaff's PopularCommentary
on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/john-8.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 8:51. Therefore the emphasis in the next verse, preciselyas 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”. Forτηρεῖν see John 14:15-23, John15:10-20, John
17:6, 1 John and Rev. passim; it is exactly equivalent to “keep”.θεωρεῖν
θάνατονoccurs only here. It is probably strongerthan 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.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on John 8:51". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/john-8.html. 1897-1910.

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
He shall not see death, he shall not die, for ever. That is, he shall not incur an
eternal death, as they who die in sin: but they understood his words of the
death of the body. (Witham) --- You accuseme of being possessedwith a devil,
because I preachto you a doctrine far different from what you are
accustomedto hear; but I speak nothing but the truth; I give honour to my
Father, I execute his orders; and the words I now speak to you, are the words
of eternal life. Whoeverobserves them shall not die. Mosespromiseda long
life to those who observedwhat was commanded in the old law, and offered
them as their reward goods and temporal prosperity. But I now offer you an
eternal life. Believe my words, keepthem, and observe my ordinances, and
you shall not feel the death of the soul, the second, eternal, and most miserable
of deaths. (Calmet)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon John 8:51". "George Haydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/john-8.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
keep. Greek. area, implying watching rather than guarding. See notes on John
17:12.

saying = word. Greek. logos. See note on Mark 9:32.
never see death = by no means (Greek. oume. App-105) see (App-133) death
for ever(Greek. eis ton aiona. App-151): i.e. eternaldeath, because he will
have part in the "resurrectionunto life" as declared by the Lord in John
11:25. See notes there.
see death. The expressionOccurs only here in N.T.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on John 8:51". "E.W. Bullinger's
Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/john-8.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
death.

death: - 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" [ teereesee(Greek #5083)]is in harmony with His
former saying to those who believed in Him, "If ye continue in my word,"
expressing the permanency, as a living and paramount principle, of that faith
to which He referred. This promise - "he shall never see death" - though
expressedbefore (John 5:24; John 6:40; John 6:47; John 6:51), is the
strongestand most naked statementyet given of a very glorious truth. In John
11:26 it is repeated in nearly identical terms.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
8:51". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/john-
8.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(51) If a man keepmy saying, he shall never see death.—Better, If a man keep
My word. Our version obscures the close connectionwith 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 lastpassage 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,

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