There are 3 occurrences of πάντας in John’s Gospel [see Table below] including: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself.¹ The first occurrence follows (John 2:13-17 ESV):

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned² their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His³ disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume⁴ me.”

Here πάντας was limited by those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting in the temple in Jerusalem. The next occurrence follows (John 2:23-25 ESV):

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) [Table] and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

There is no limit to πάντας here. It is probably safe to infer people from what follows: He needed no one to bear witness about man (τοῦ ἀνθρώπου), for he himself knew what was in man (τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ). Both τοῦ ἀνθρώπου and τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ are singular forms of ἄνθρωπος, so humanity as a whole seems to be in view here. This is a not-so-veiled reference to the sin nature that resides in every human being.

The final occurrence of πάντας in John’s Gospel is the main reason for this essay series: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself.⁵ I already considered the words concerning judgment in another essay. Here, I want to consider the words which follow (John 12:34 ESV):

So⁶ the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that⁷ the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

Even without John’s explanation, He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die,⁸ Jesus’ audience grasped that lifted up (ὑψωθῆναι, a form of ὑψόω) was a euphemism for death (even a particular kind of death according to John). It seems to be the only thing they heard when He said: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified [Table]. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.⁹ Those seeking an immortal king to overthrow the Roman superpower were clearly troubled by this talk of death.

I feel fairly confident paraphrasing Jesus here: And I, when I am [crucified], will draw all people to myself. The author of “What Did Jesus Mean When He Said That he will ‘Draw All Men [and Women] to Myself’?” on the Christian Publishing House Blog quoted someone named Morris:

“We must take the expression accordingly to mean that all those who are to be drawn will be drawn. That is to say, Christ is not affirming that the whole world would be saved. He is affirming that all who are to be saved will be saved in this way. And he is speaking of a universal rather than a narrowly nationalistic religion. The death of Christ would mean the end of particularism. By virtue of that death ‘all men’ and not the Jews alone would be drawn. And they would be drawn only by virtue of that death” (Morris, pp. 598–99).^[2]

In other words, Morris wanted Jesus to say, And…when I am [crucified], “that death” will draw “all who are to be saved” to myself. Aside from the fact that this isn’t what Scripture records Jesus saying, ἑλκύσω (I…will draw) is in the 1^st person rather than the 3^rd person. Jesus’ death is not the subject of the verb. Jesus is the subject of ἑλκύσω. He stated clearly before his death one of the things He would do after his crucifixion with all authority in heaven and on earth.¹⁰ Morris did seem to allow that by Christ’s death “‘all men’ and not the Jews alone would be drawn.” But he would not allow Christ’s death to draw ‘all men’ to the point “that the whole world would be saved.” 

When the crowd asked, Who is this Son of Man? Jesus did not direct their attention to Daniel (Daniel 7:13, 14 ESV):

I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve (Septuagint: δουλεύσουσιν, a form of δουλεύω) him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

Instead Jesus said (John 12:35, 36a ESV):

The light is among you¹¹ for a little while longer. Walk while¹² you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While¹³ you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.

“I am the light of the world,” Jesus had said. “Whoever follows me will not walk¹⁴ in darkness, but will have the light of life.”¹⁵ There is some question whether Jesus spoke the following assessment or if it was John’s by the Holy Spirit (John 3:19-21 ESV):

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

So here is another example of how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!¹⁶ Jesus, the door to the kingdom, is also the light that exposes one’s works as evil, proving Jesus’ word that we are, in fact, evil.¹⁷ It is not just that we make mistakes. The evil within us is repulsed by the only help available to us.

I’ve often thought of this passage as if it described secret sins. Actually, there are no forms of ἁμαρτία here. The Greek word translated evil was πονηρὰ (a form of πονηρός), and wicked things was ὁ φαῦλα (a form of φαῦλος). But if that seems a little too much like straining out a gnat, I’ll simply say that my deepest, darkest, most secret and deceitful sin is that there is something in me that desperately wants its own righteousness derived from law, from rules it obeys successfully. The light makes it obvious that even all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.¹⁸ Jesus’ disciples were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”¹⁹

Granted, I took this a bit out of context. But I’m not convinced that Jesus meant to imply that the rich cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,²⁰ and the rest of us are expected to do it on our own. The main advantage we have over the rich is that we can afford fewer diversions. We spend more time with less to distract us from the insistent drawing of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The verses following Jesus’ promise, And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself,²¹ continued (John 12:36b-38 ESV):

When Jesus²² had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

The Greek word translated might be fulfilled (NET: would be fulfilled) was πληρωθῇ (a form of πληρόω). It is in the subjunctive mood, so it was translated might be fulfilled so as not to offend those who already know Greek apparently: “The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances.”²³

John by the Holy Spirit chose πληρωθῇ here despite the fact that Isaiah’s prophecy was already fulfilled before he wrote his Gospel account: God had already successfully hardened a people to withstand Jesus’ miraculous signs and condemn Him to death for violating their understanding of the law. It should give those who do not already know Greek great confidence that this is a stylistic device of Koine Greek and that the caveat in the definition of the subjunctive mood is entirely accurate:

“However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”²⁴

We can all be confident that other examples of verbs in the subjunctive mood in purpose or result clauses in the New Testament will be fulfilled, absolutely. John continued (John 12:39, 40 ESV):

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

“He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their heart,

lest they see with their eyes,

and understand with their heart, and turn,

and I would heal them” [Table].

John made it quite clear that many in Israel could not believe (οὐκ ἠδύναντο πιστεύειν) because God intended to fulfill his word through the prophet Isaiah (6:8-13). Jesus contrasted his hardened contemporaries to others who lived before them (Matthew 11:21-24 ESV):

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!²⁵ For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum,²⁶ will you be exalted²⁷ to²⁸ heaven?²⁹ You will be brought down³⁰ to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done³¹ in Sodom, it would have remained³² until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.

And John concluded (John 12:41-43 ESV):

Isaiah said these things because³³ he saw [Christ’s] glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

I don’t doubt that these authorities were drawn to faith in Jesus out of their blinded and hardened conditions by God: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,³⁴ Jesus said. Yet even they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!³⁵

I’ve considered all the occurrences of πάντας in the four Gospel accounts. It is sufficient to persuade me that if Jesus had intended to limit πάντας here, He would have. But Christianity, as far as I know, still won’t acknowledge that He said, And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself.³⁶ So, I’ll continue to look at other occurrences of πάντας in other essays.

I’ll conclude with an observation that came as I began this essay. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: we ourselves boast³⁷ about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions (διωγμοῖς, a form of διωγμός) and in the afflictions that you are enduring.³⁸ Then he embarked on a rather detailed description of the righteous judgment of God (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10a ESV):

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus [Table]. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all (πᾶσιν, a form of πᾶς) who have believed…³⁹

We wait still for this relief (ἄνεσιν, a form of ἄνεσις). I don’t doubt that day will come. I long for the day when the sin condemned in my flesh will be condemned in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels⁴⁰ instead. Then it struck me that Jesus’ command was a far more practical and timelier tactic for those seeking relief from persecution: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute (διωκόντων, a form of διώκω) you…⁴¹

It would be nice if everyone was like the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-38), but some like Saul oppose themselves kicking against the goads as Jesus draws them to Himself (Acts 8:1-3 ESV):

And Saul approved of [Stephen’s (Acts 6:1-7:60)] execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution (διωγμὸς) against the church in Jerusalem, and⁴² they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles [Table]. Devout men buried Stephen and made⁴³ great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Jesus met Saul (Acts 9:1-9) on the road to Damascus and began to transform him into the man we know as Paul an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:19b-31 ESV):

For some days [Saul] was with the disciples at Damascus [Table]. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus⁴⁴ in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in⁴⁵ Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come⁴⁶ here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ [Table].

When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching⁴⁷ the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his⁴⁸ disciples took him⁴⁹ by night and let him⁵⁰ down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple [Table]. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him [Table]. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace (εἰρήνην, a form of εἰρήνη) and was being built up. And walking⁵¹ in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied⁵² [Table].

I don’t think Paul deliberately misled the Thessalonians regarding relief from their persecutions and afflictions. He thought everything he wrote to them would happen in his lifetime: Then we (ἡμεῖς) who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.⁵³ Granted, the relief Paul wrote about is more permanent than the short-lived peace enjoyed by the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria after Saul met Jesus on the Damascus road. There will always be those who oppose themselves kicking against the goads until the things Paul wrote to the Thessalonians come to pass.

Peter informed us why we wait so long for these things (2 Peter 3:9 ESV [Table]):

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

As we approach the 2,000^th anniversary of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, maybe Christianity will accept that God is serious about this, and fully embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as the right man for the job: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be (e.g., will be) saved through him.⁵⁴ And I, when I am lifted up from the earth (e.g., crucified), will draw all people to myself,⁵⁵ Jesus promised. The rest of us it seems would stop short.

According to a note (38) in the NET John quoted from Psalm 69:9. The table below compares the Greek of John’s quotation from the NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text to that of the Septuagint.

The table below compares the Greek of John’s quotation from the Stephanus Textus Receptus to that of the Septuagint.

According to a note (82) in the NET John quoted from Isaiah 53:1. The table below compares the Greek of John’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

According to a note (87) in the NET John quoted from Isaiah 6:10. The table below compares the Greek of John’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

It is safe to say that John didn’t quote the Septuagint. This is more like a paraphrase of the Hebrew and a subtle corroboration of what is preserved in the Masoretic text. The idea that God caused this was apparently too much for the rabbis who translated the Septuagint too receive.

The table mentioned above follows.

A table of occurrences of the Hebrew word פְּלַח (pᵊlaḥ) in Daniel follows:

The difference between Daniel 7:14 and 7:27 is apparently in the vowel points, a difference that wasn’t recognized by the rabbis who translated the Septuagint, where both occurrences were rendered δουλεύσουσι(ν), a form of δουλεύω in the future tense and indicative mood. The English translation of the Tanakh on chabad.org (where I found the Hebrew with vowel points) was shall serve (7:14) and will serve (7:18).

Tables comparing Psalm 69:9; Daniel 7:13; 7:14; Isaiah 64:6 and 53:1 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Psalm 69:9 (68:10); Daniel 7:13; 7:14; Isaiah 64:6 and 53:1 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of John 2:15; 2:17; 12:34; 12:35, 36; 8:12; Matthew 11:21; 11:23; John 12:41; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; 1:10; Acts 8:2; 9:20, 21 and 9:24, 25 in the NET and KJV follow.