John 12: 20 –50
Cold Call
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. 27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” 30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die. 34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. 37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”? 41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
I use to be a “Sales Manager’ and teach selling techniques to the men and women assigned to my regional territory. One term which some new sales people asked me about was making cold sales calls. This term means that you hit the bricks and just go unannounced to a business and try to speak to the decision maker of the company. Have you ever experienced this happening to you? How do you react to someone just showing up at your business and wants to talk to you. Hardly anyone likes this approach. In fact the success of actually getting to speak to a decision maker is zero to none. Also by your doing this you are most likely to be rejected when you actually try to make an appointment. In a way we see the same thing happen here in today’s scripture.
When you read the passage, the Greeks came to Philip. Instead of simply bringing them to Him, Philip goes and gets Andrew, as though there was some kind of hesitation. As if Philip thought to himself, "Should I bring these Greeks to Jesus?" The question is why the hesitation?
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
The time of our Lord Jesus’ earthly ministry spanned 3 and one half years. We learn in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 15 that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Let’s look at what is recorded, “21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
The Canaanite woman is crying out to Jesus and He Is ignoring her basically because she is not of the House of Israel. I am sure this was something the disciples of Jesus were very aware of and so we see the hesitation of Philip. The only conclusion to make here in John regarding Philip with the Greeks is that Philip hesitated due to this knowledge that Jesus was primarily ministering to the lost of the house of Israel.
In this passage The Lord Jesus is very near the time of His crucifixion and death. From His interaction with the Canaanite woman and from various other comments He made such as other sheep coming into His fold, He knew that He needed to prepare His disciples to accept the coming of the gentiles into the community of the saints. His final statement basically answers our concern as to His ultimate response "If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor".
Please notice that they are called ‘Greeks’ not Jewish men from Greece. These Greeks are gentiles who were observing the feast of unleavened bread and the Passover and were obviously interested in Judaism, which expresses that they were drawn to the one true God not a pantheon of Gods like their own people. I can see they are obviously men who seek and want to know the truth. Like Cornelius in Acts 10 "a devout man that feared God". They hear of Jesus and come looking for him. When they find out where He lodges after leaving the Temple they approach His entourage and come up to Phillip, one of His followers. They respectfully and humbly ask " Sir, we wish to see Jesus?".
In our last study in John 12:17-19, it is clear that there was a real excitement regarding Jesus going on, especially in regards to the raising of Lazerus. The Greeks probably didn't know this information prior to coming to Jerusalem. The text says the purpose for them coming was "to worship" which shows me a purity in there coming to Jerusalem. They weren't Greeks simply seeking signs or knowledge. Their purpose for coming was to "worship". When they came it is possible they saw the triumphal entry. Perhaps they also heard people ask Who Jesus was?
I also think what is confusing in this text and what raises questions in the mind is - the writer John doesn't really get back to explaining what specifically happened and or what was said to the Greeks in the end. Did they finally get to meet with Jesus?
Of course there are certain inferences one has to make. I would say that when The Lord Jesus said these things regarding His death and the prerequisites of "losing your life..." to being a true follower and servant of His, John the writer of the gospel made his intended point.
Our Lord Jesus used this opportunity to clarify to those He was speaking to that, whoever wants to come, Jew, Greek..., and have communion with Him [like these Greeks wanted to do], that there are commitment prerequisites of following Him and laying down your life, becoming a grain of wheat..., these will be accepted by and have communion with Jesus, these His Father will honor.
The second part of HIs point, weather those listening to Him on that day realized it or not, was a warning in a sense, because He knew in the next coming days there faith and being His followers would be threatened with the potentiality of having to die themselves. Only those that would be willing to die are worthy to commune with Jesus and be honored by the Father.
Jesus was saying, be careful, the depth and reality of what’s truly in your heart regarding your discipleship. It is going to be tested. Make sure you are prepared to also possibly die for it. So, He is teaching His Jewish followers that anyone who comes seeking Him with a humble heart will be accepted and as the text says, will be honored by His Father!
27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
In the book of Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 we read about how The Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world chose us – “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,”
Now we see that way before time He had volunteered to die for us. Yet, now it was soon to actually happen and as He thought about it, He experienced what we go through.
He was asking Father God both a question and a prayer. It was not a mere academic query. Even as He asked, He prayed, ‘Father, may I ask this question?’ for His inner soul shrank from facing the consequences. There was no shame in that. But His cry must not be to be saved from it at any cost, for it is the purpose for which He has come. However much He would shrink from it He was determined to face it boldly. He longs for His Father to be glorified through what He must face. And glorified He will be.
The very coming of The Lord Jesus Christ, and His powerful ministry, has glorified the Father’s Name. We beheld His Glory, Glory as of the Only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1.14). His signs and wonders have revealed the Father’s Glory (11.4). But what was to come would bring, if possible, even greater glory, for it would be glory achieved through suffering. So our Master and King Lord Jesus need not be over-concerned about whether it will glorify God’s Name (i.e. God Himself), for Father God assures Him that He has already glorified it through His presence on earth, and that through what is to come the glory of God would be accomplished in even greater measure.
The Gospels record three instances of God responding with a voice from Heaven. The other two were at Jesus' baptism and at the transfiguration thus a voice from Heaven came at the commencement of the revelation of His glory, at its fullest manifestation, and here as a divine seal on the revelation of His glory in death and resurrection.
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
The actual words of the thunderous cry from Heaven were not understood by the crowd, although Jesus understood them. But the crowd was moved by the roaring sound. Some ‘were saying’ - there were awed discussions among the crowd. All had heard something, but not all were willing to accept what it was. Some, those skeptical, claimed that it was thunder, others, the half-believing, were convinced it was the voice of an angel.
We see here something very applicable to our Christianity. Our Lord Jesus Is The Good Shepherd. He said His sheep know His voice. As I mentioned in times past one of the greatest experiences I ever had and I am sure if most if not all of you have experienced is hearing His voice talk to you. In the book of Acts we come across a hater of our Lord Jesus and all His believers. Pick up with me his transformation from a non-believer to a believer and look at what happened.
“1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
Please note how quickly in humble submission Saul accepted the Lordship of The Son of God. First he said, ‘who are you Lord?’ Then after our Lord Jesus spoke to him Paul now was all in for His Lord Jesus as he responded, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ I want you also to take note that those who accompanied Saul heard something but were oblivious to what interaction and communication was going on.
30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
We have just finished chapter 11 with our Holy Lord Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We might have overlooked a key remark by our Lord before He instructed to come back to life and exit the tomb. Look again with me at what He said,
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
He said in chapter 11 that He prayed out loud for the benefit of the people being able to hear Him speak to Father God in Heaven. Now, we see here our Holy Father speak from Heaven and our Lord says again it was for the people standing around benefit. He allows the people to hear two way conversations between He and our Holy Father.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
We see here the ‘Greatest Story Ever Told’. History is His Story. All the evil schemes Satan planned lead to the cross and he thought that he would beat God. Can’t Happen!
The cross would declare that God had passed judgment, not on Jesus, but on the world. As He died there for men it would be because of God’s sentence of death on the world. It was proof that apart from Him the world was rejected. He was suffering what every human being should have been suffering. Furthermore it was a sentence on the ruler of the world - Satan. He along with his followers were to be cast out as a result of their sins. All men and women must look to the crucified One, lifted up to death and glory, Who will draw all men to Himself.
Please note the contrast between the casting out of the ‘ruler of this world’ and the drawing power of our God Jesus Christ . The ruler of this world would appear to triumph, but it would result in his casting out. Our Holy Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would appear to have been defeated but He Is The Victor and would finally draw all kinds of people to Himself.
34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
I have had the opportunity to go on a few missionary trips. Interestingly most of them have been to Russia. On one occasion one guy wanted to hog all my attention to his theological knowledge. He kept asking questions which he knew the answers. I politely in my own way told him that my time in country was very short and limited in certain cities and that I could not waste all my time going over useless dialogue. I told him that they are a lot of people I want to tell them about Salvation because of Jesus. If he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart I would be glad to take a moment to pray with him and give him a bible for his own. If not, then I must move on to those who will respond to the Good News.
Can you see the same thing happening to our Lord Jesus? They throw three questions at Him. How did He deal with them?
It is obvious that the answer to these questions is not too important for our Lord Jesus as He does not answer the questions directly. What He does do is refer them to Himself as the Light of the world Who Is now about to be with them for only a short time so that response to Him is urgent.
At this point the main concern of our Holy King was on the fact that He was about to die, and that it was urgent that they face up to the truth. There had been times when He was prepared to deal with such questions in detail, but not now when His departure was just around the corner.
35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Our Lord wanted the people to consider their present position. There Is One among them Who Is revealing God’s truth, revealing the light. While He Is with them they need to take full advantage of the situation, otherwise there will come a time when He has gone and they will be left only in darkness. Then they will be left wandering around blindly not knowing where they were going like the Israelites who just wandered around in the wilderness. So now while He is still here they must seize their chance. They can respond now to His truth in full faith, thus becoming sons of light, or the alternative will be to be left in darkness.
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
John stresses here the people’s blindness. They had heard Jesus’ words, they had seen remarkable signs, and yet they refused to respond and believe. But He was not surprised for so the Scripture warned. The wondrous Servant of God spoken of in Isaiah 53 had come, but like the men of old they had failed to discern the hand of God in it. Indeed John sees in this a vindication of Scripture. It was ‘in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled’. There was a divine necessity in it.
This is the second time that a decisive rejection of Jesus is spoken of. The first was when many of His disciples would no longer walk with Him (John 6.66), even though He is 'the way' (John 14:6). This one tells us that many in the crowds would not believe in Him, even though He is 'the truth.' The third will come in John 19.15 when, even though He is 'the life,' the Jewish leaders will arrange for Him to be crucified and will rather choose Caesar.
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”? 41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
When does God blind men’s eyes and harden men’s hearts? It is when they have first closed their own eyes and deliberately hardened their own hearts. Compare the example of Pharaoh in Exodus. He first hardened his own heart, and then later on it was God Who hardened his heart. Thus having refused to respond such people become in danger of permanent blindness, for God’s actions from then on will only further blind and harden them. It is dangerous to play with God’s truth.
What a contrast there was between Isaiah and the people. Isaiah opened his eyes and saw the glory of God when God revealed His glory. But the people closed their eyes to that revelation of God. The people here too were closing their eyes in the light of this new revelation of the glory of God (‘we beheld His glory’ - 1.14) and may also become blinded by God. This was what those who had seen Jesus’ signs and failed to respond were in danger of doing.
The apostle John here is thus stating that when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, it was the glory of the Lord Jesus that he saw. To him the Lord God and the Lord Jesus were inextricably linked. Once again we have the emphasis that Jesus is the ‘true Son of God’.
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
At this point they were secret believers including even some of those who were in authority because they feared exclusion from the synagogue. Now some of you may think about why would these people be so afraid of being thrown out of the synagogue? Today, I have seen many people thrown out of a church. When this happens they either stop going to any other church or just go to another church somewhere else.
In this situation however it is very different. To be cast out of the synagogue meant that they would be totally ostracized from society. No one would buy or sell to them. They would treat they like a leper.
They could not bear to be unpopular or to be despised, or to be degraded or criticized by the Pharisees. Before we condemn them let us look at ourselves. Whose praise is most important to us?
44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
This then was the essence of Jesus’ proclamation. He was the One sent from God, and in Whom God could be seen. To believe in Jesus was to believe in the Father. To observe Jesus closely was to see the Father - for He revealed the glory of God. And that included the fact that He and the Father are essentially One.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
Believing in The Lord Jesus also means hearing His words and considering them carefully and living in accordance with them. John will later say in his first letter chapter 2 verse 4, ‘He who says I know Him and does not keep what He commanded is a liar and the truth is not in him’. The Lord Jesus will not judge such people now. He is intent on providing salvation for them. That is why He had come, to offer salvation to the world. But they will have a judge, for His very spoken word will act as their judge in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Our Lord Jesus’ words are God’s words in a unique sense, and carry a unique authority. He was sent by the Father, and His words carry the Father’s authority, for He is being carefully instructed by His Father, and will continue to be so. And when men receive that instruction it results for them in eternal life, for it is God’s word which illuminates their hearts and transforms them. Thus He is here to offer eternal life to all who will receive it.
Our Lord Jesus confirms that all He has said has been because God has instructed Him in what to say and has made Him say it under the divine necessity. He is God’s mouthpiece, God’s voice.
