Charles Ellicott Commentary John 12:33

"But this he said, signifying by what manner of death he should die." — John 12:33 (ASV)

By what death he should die.—Better, by what manner of death... . The words are the Apostle’s interpretation of the saying of our Lord. He remembers it as he has recorded it twice before (John 3:14; John 8:28), but he adds here words ("from the earth") which supply another thought, though the two thoughts are not inconsistent. The words bear the double sense, and looking back upon the fact of the Crucifixion, he sees in that a lifting up which was part of the great moral victory over the world, and in the very cross of shame he sees the throne of glory.