12:31 prince of this world. The “prince of this world” is Satan (John 14:30; 16:11). See also II Corinthians 4:4; I John 5:18; Ephesians 2:2. The “now” of which Christ speaks refers to the assurance of ultimate victory over Satan that would be won at the cross (Colossians 2:14-15) and empty tomb (Revelation 1:18; Matthew 16:18).

12:32 draw all men. Here is another amazing claim (as in Matthew 24:35; John 8:12) that seems absurd, yet has been a remarkably fulfilled prophecy. How could “all kinds of men” (literal meaning) be drawn to a local, relatively unknown itinerant teacher, who was crucified as a criminal on a Roman cross? Yet that is exactly what has been happening for the almost two thousand years since He died.

12:33 what death. Although His initial hearers did not at first comprehend the meaning of His phrase “lifted up from the earth,” He clearly was referring to His imminent crucifixion (see also John 3:14).