John 8:51 (YLT)

Passage

verily, verily, I say to you, If any one may keep my word, death he may not see--to the age.'

Nearby Context

John 8:49 Jesus answered, `I have not a demon, but I honour my Father, and ye dishonour me;

John 8:50 and I do not seek my own glory; there is who is seeking and is judging;

John 8:51 verily, verily, I say to you, If any one may keep my word, death he may not see--to the age.'

John 8:52 The Jews, therefore, said to him, `Now we have known that thou hast a demon; Abraham did die, and the prophets, and thou dost say, If any one may keep my word, he shall not taste of death--to the age!

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "verily", "keep", "word", "death", and "see--to". 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 "and I do not seek my own..." into verse 52's "The Jews therefore said to him Now...", 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.