Theological Bias in Translation
In the first couple of centuries after Jesus’s resurrection, pretty much all of the great Christian teachers of the era emphasized the ascension and resurrection of Christ. N.T. Wright, in his new book entitled, Simply Christian, acknowledges that John, Paul, and even Jesus Himself emphasized resurrection. The Arian Controversy appears to mark a shift in thinking from Jesus’s ascension and resurrection to an emphasis on the cross. In recent years, Protestant theology has vehemently held to the view that the crucifixion was physical only. Indeed, Christian heresy hunters have declared that any other view is pure blasphemy. That theological view, which I believe is scripturally inaccurate, has found its way into many Bible translations. For instance, in John 12:32, we read in the King James Version (and many modern translations):
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Practically every sermon that I have heard on this verse places its emphasis on the crucifixion. Usually the sermon goes something like this, “In this verse, Jesus spoke to the people about his death on the cross. In this verse we see the great truth that Jesus was suspended from the earth and between heaven and earth bearing the sins of the people, yada, yada, yada.” Indeed, I do not believe that I have ever heard a sermon about Jesus’s resurrection from this verse.
A sermon on this verse emphasizing the crucifixion hangs on the word “from.” If one goes to the Greek, one finds that “from” is translated from “ek.” In John 12:34, the King James translators translated “out of” from “ek.” (“we have heard out of the law …”). In fact, every Greek grammar that I have on my shelves (about 5 of them) all say that “ek” should be translated “out of.” Many of the grammars even include a diagram showing an arrow coming out from a circle for the description of what “ek“ means.
This shows us that, at least for the King James translators, they have included their own theological bias in their translation in verse 32. If the ordinary meaning of “ek” was used in John 12:32, it would read, “And I, if I be lifted out of the earth, will draw all men unto me.” One can see that the entire emphasis of the verse has changed. Instead of an emphasis on crucifixion, the verse emphasizes Jesus’s resurrection. This translation is consistent with Jesus’s statement that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, He would be in the heart of the earth. This translation would also be consistent with the early Church Fathers who emphasized Jesus’s resurrection, not the crucifixion (which is not to say that the crucfixion doesn’t have its own importance).
These days we have literally hundreds of different translations. For the regular believer, it is important to understand that not all translations are equal and they should be aware that translations can be colored by the translators’ own theological views.
The interpretation of John 12:32 is clearly given us by God Himself in John 12:33: what DEATH He should die. That Jesus hearers understood He meant death is clear in John 12:34.
Dan,
Thanks for the comment.
Being raised “out of” the earth indicates the kind of death that he would die (he was speaking to Jews).
And John 12.34 also gives light as to the substance of that death which is consistent with what I have posted here.