John 8:51 (ASV)

Passage

Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death.

Nearby Context

John 8:49 Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and ye dishonor me.

John 8:50 But I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death.

John 8:52 The Jews said unto him, Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my word, he shall never taste of death.

John 8:53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died: whom makest thou thyself?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "verily", "keep", "word", "shall", "never", and "death". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "verily" and "keep", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 50's "But I seek not mine own glory..." into verse 52's "The Jews said unto him Now we...", so "verily" and "keep" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "verily" and "keep" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.