John 12:27

This is a verse of well-known difficulty, and the meaning cannot be determined with certainty, several meanings being admissible. The doubtful points are (1) the position of the interrogation, whether it should come after -I say" or -from this hour;" (2) the meaning of -for this cause."

Now is my soul troubled The word rendered -soul" is the same as that rendered -life" in -loveth his life" and -hateth his life." To bring out this and the sequence of thought, -life" would perhaps be better here. -He that would serve Me must follow Me and be ready to hate his life; for My life has long since been tossed and torn with emotion and sorrow." -Is troubled" = has been and still is troubled; a frequent meaning of the Greek perfect.

what shall I say? Or, what must I say?This appears to be the best punctuation; and the question expresses the difficulty of framing a prayer under the conflicting influences of fear of death and willingness to glorify His Father by dying. The result is first a prayer under the influence of fear -save Me from this hour" (comp. -Let this cup pass from Me," Matthew 26:39), and then a prayer under the influence of ready obedience -Glorify Thy Name" through My sufferings. But the Greek means -save me out of" (sôson ek), i.e. -bring Me safe out of;" rather than -save Me from" (sôson apo), i.e. -keep Me altogether away from," as in -deliver us fromthe evil" (Matthew 6:13). S. John omits the Agony in the garden, which was in the Synoptists and was well known to every Christian; but he gives us here an insight into a less known truth, which is still often forgotten, that the agony was not confined to Gethsemane, but was part of Christ's whole life. Others place the question at -from this hour," and the drift of the whole will then be, -How can I say, Father save Me from this hour? Nay, I came to suffer; therefore My prayer shall be, Father, glorify Thy Name."

for this cause These words are taken in two opposite senses; (1) that I might be saved out of this hour; (2) that Thy Name might be glorified by My obedience. Both make good sense. If the latter be adopted it would be better to transpose the stops, placing a full stop after -from this hour" and a colon after -unto this hour."