Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 12:16

"These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him." — John 12:16 (ASV)

This parenthetical statement by the author states that the disciples did not then understand the situation but that they later comprehended it (cf. 2:17, 22). His comments demonstrate that the gospel must have been written when he and the others had attained a spiritual perception they did not possess in the years of their travels with Jesus. The Passion and the Resurrection were keys in unlocking the mystery of Jesus’ person.