20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
Who were these Greeks who had come to the Feast to worship? They were people who had accepted that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the only true God, and the Jewish religion was the way to please and honor God. They were Gentiles who feared God but had not yet become proselytes. Approaching Jesus echoes the way the gospel is spread in the Book of Acts. Jesus comes to Jerusalem and cleanses the temple. He comes to the Jews first. Later, he goes through Samaria and witnesses to them. Now he is revealed to Gentiles “God fearers” as happened when the gospel came to the centurion, Cornelius and later in Antioch. Their attitude is significantly different from the Pharisees who came and demanded a sign. These people are asking to see Jesus, not a sign. They display the attitudes that we should have when we come to Jesus. First, they are not asking for anything from him, they only want him. Second, they come despite the dangers posed by the Pharisees. They aren’t going to let the world, or the religious leaders keep them from the one who provides eternal life.
Philip and Andrew are the go-getters among the disciples. Andrew went and got Peter and brought him to Jesus (John 1:41). Philip went and got Nathanael and brought him to Jesus. Andrew brought a young boy with five loaves and two fish to Jesus. It seems quite appropriate that these two would be the ones who would bring the Gentiles to Jesus. Sometimes, that is all we need to do. Bring a person to Jesus and let him do the rest. No long elaborate arguments or sermons, but a simple message that you would like them to meet Jesus. I’m not saying the others aren’t necessary because each person comes to Jesus in a different way. However, we shouldn’t overlook the simple invitation either.
23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
I would have expected Jesus to answer Philip and Andrew by telling them to bring the Greeks. There is no indication in these verses that the Greeks have been allowed to see Jesus. I would have expected Jesus to enter into some witnessing conversation with these Greeks in the same way he did with Nicodemus or the woman at the well. But, no, John doesn’t record whether Jesus met with them or not. I can only presume that if there was a meeting, the details were not as important as what Jesus then taught. He replies to Andrew and Philip about his own glorification, his death, the results, and discipleship. Bringing the Greeks signals the time when he is to be glorified.
Jesus explains that it is impossible for him in his current state to see every person on earth and give them the words of eternal life. Instead, he explains that he must die in order to spread the word of God throughout the world. Jesus has used the parable of seed for the word of God before (Luke 8:11). Since Jesus is the word, then his death will multiply his word in those who will become disciples.
Disciples must also have the same conviction as Jesus. We must die to the world and put Jesus first in our lives if we want to have eternal life. This may seem harsh or even impossible, but it is the same principle that Jesus is following to be glorified. We can’t produce fruit when our lives are entangled with the world. The more we put Jesus first and die to self and follow Jesus’ example, we will serve him fruitfully. When we serve him, he will be with us. We won’t be alone, and he will give us everything we need to follow him. Then, God the Father will honor us. When we are honored, then Jesus gets the glory.
27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!"
You might ask how Jesus’ heart could be troubled because he is God incarnate and in his human nature, he is closer to the Father than anyone can get because he is sinless. Yet here is the emotion of contemplating what is to happen to him. Jesus points the way for us when we are troubled. We should do the same thing that he did. He first remembered him mission. He knew from the beginning of his ministry and most likely well before that, that his mission was to die for our sins. Second, he asked the Father to glorify himself. This isn’t just about Jesus, but his death and resurrection bring glory to the Father. Jesus is putting the Father’s glory and desires ahead of his own. That’s what we need to do when we are discouraged by ministry or other things in our lives that should bring glory to God. We need to pray and ask the Lord to glorify himself through us.
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again."
29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine.”
God answers Jesus and lets him know that his name is always glorified. That is something we need to remember. Even when we mess up God is glorified because there is nothing that happens in the world that he hasn’t decreed. But it is so much better when his name is glorified because we are walking and talking with him. When we abide in Jesus and are serving him, then he is most glorified.
But, we will not hear and understand when we are separated from him by our iniquities. The crowd said it was thunder. They were not close to God. Others hear something but thought it was an angel. Maybe they were closer to the Lord than others and could distinguish a voice. But I rather doubt that because they attribute this to an angel rather than God. They are too much like people today who are caught up in angels and praying to saints as they want God in their lives but not directly.
Jesus must explain that God answering his prayer with a voice from heaven was one more witness to his ministry and who he is. They need to know that Jesus is their Savior and God is gracious to give them evidence after evidence to this.
31 “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
How is judgment coming on the world? One way is explained in Acts 17:30-31, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Before Jesus, God overlooked a lot of sins. He forgave people like David when he should have been stoned for adultery and executed for killing Uriah. They didn’t know about salvation through Jesus. They had to have faith to be saved, but their faith was limited. But now, there is no other way to be saved except by explicit faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead for our sins.
Satan’s power is destroyed for all who believe in Jesus. We don’t have to let him mess with us because Jesus is ascended and has sent his Holy Spirit to live in us. We have all we need to defeat the evil thoughts and desires that Satan plants in the minds of people. Certainly, we will often ignore his defeat and listen to him, but it is our choice and when we are walking with Jesus having our minds fixed on him, then our failures will be few. We will never be forced to do what Satan wants.
33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?"
Hallelujah, the crowd has finally understood what Jesus was saying. They recognized that Jesus was talking about his crucifixion. They also connect the Son of Man to the Christ, and they even see that Jesus is identifying himself with being the Christ. But they stumble over the eternal nature of Christ’s rule. They have never been taught about the Christ’s suffering from Isaiah 52-53. So, they question him. They want to know and that is good. But they aren’t ready to hear the answer.
35 Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
At this point, Jesus is almost pleading with them to listen to him and learn from him while he is still there to teach them. He knows that they will soon be calling for his blood. If they had understood, they would not have turned to the darkness. To emphasize what was about to happen, he hid himself from them. He knew that he had to withdraw, or they would have escalated things but his exact time had not yet come.
This is a better message for anyone who we invite to know Jesus. We have the Gospels and the whole Bible to tell us who Jesus is. We have the light, but it isn’t available to everyone forever. When they reject it and turn to the darkness they are lost. So, we should make sure that when we witness to people that they understand that we are providing light but there is no guarantee that they will always have the opportunity to come to Jesus. If they reject him too often, he may very well hide himself from them.
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