Charles Ellicott Commentary John 12:38

"that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?" — John 12:38 (ASV)

That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled.—This is the first instance in this Gospel of a phrase already familiar to us from its frequent occurrence in St. Matthew. We will find it again in John 13:18; John 15:25; John 17:12; John 18:9; John 18:32; John 19:24; and John 19:36. Its frequency is one of the characteristics of the two Gospels which are most allied to Hebrew modes of thought. St. Matthew and St. John both regard the events of our Lord's life as fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures. These prophecies foretold what, in the divine plan, was destined to occur, and therefore the events are regarded as occurring in order that the will of God, as expressed in the prophecy, may be fulfilled. (Compare Note on Matthew 1:22.)

Lord, who hath believed our report? ...—The quotation is from the Greek version of Isaiah 53:1. That prophecy was understood by all to refer to the Messiah. The prophet's lamentation over the neglect of the prophetic message by the people is here placed by the Evangelist, in his interpretation, in the mouth of the Messiah Himself, as He, in the fuller meaning, addresses the Father with the words, Who hath believed our report? (Compare the words as quoted by St. Paul in Romans 10:16.) Here “our report” means “the truth which we have declared to them.” (Galatians 3:2.)

And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?—Compare Notes on Luke 1:51, and Acts 13:17. The phrase was used, as in Isaiah 51:9; Isaiah 52:10, to express the power of the Lord, and here refers especially to the power of the Lord manifested in the whole life of Christ. The signs which were revelations of this power are, of course, prominent in the thought, and the question strongly expresses the negative implication of the previous verse.