https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/7445/john-1232-what-who-does-the-all-refer-to
John 12:32 - What/Who Does the "All" refer to
John 12:32.. Jesus speaking here obviously, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” (NASB)
Who or what are the referents for the "All" in this passage and what is the rationale/evidence behind that opinion?
The word in the Greek for all here is
πάντας (pantas) whose root is
πᾶς (pas).
Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says of
πᾶς:
When used without the articles, it means, "every kind or variety." When used with the article, it means "whole or the totality of persons or things referred to."
Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Friberg) says:
with summarizing significance, designating everything belonging to a class all (manner of), every kind of, all sorts of
The word "all" in the verse has no article so it means "all kinds of men", so it isn't talking about every single man (universalism), it just denotes a broad spectrum.
Good question! Most English translations take παντας as "all men," or "all people" simply because παντας is an adjective functioning substantively, and it makes sense to render it that way in English. Usually when we have a substantival adjective we want to look for an antecedent noun, but in this case there is no easily identifiable antecedent. Our theological choices might be 1) people, 2) elect/believers, or 3) things. The answer will depend on what Jesus means by "draw" (ἑλκύσω). The verb ἕλκω is used six times in the GNT, with five of those instances occurring in John and four of them having very physical meanings (e.g John 18:10, 21:6). Many times people try to conflate this instance of draw with John 6:44- "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." There isn't a strong argument for that textually, however. I think a better argument is found in the comparison between Jesus reference to being lifted up from the earth here and his description of himself as the snake lifted up on the pole in John 3:14. Just as the snake was lifted up and all who looked to it were healed, so Jesus will be lifted up and all who look to him will be healed. This is the drawing. It is an effectual drawing which accomplishes that which the Son was sent to accomplish, one which glorifies the Father (12:28) by bringing many sons to glory.
