We would See Jesus (John Part 38)
Text: John 12:20-26
We’re continuing on with John’s Gospel this morning, so if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to John 12. While you’re turning there, let me just set the stage for you by giving you the context of our passage this morning.
Jesus has just entered Jerusalem with a massive crowd of people singing His praises. Probably tens of thousands of people are shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Even the King of Israel!” So this is a political uprising on the scale of a Trump rally! No joke! It’s actually nice to be able to point to something we can look at in our present time, as a way of comparing what was going on here. I mean; these crowds at the Triumphal Entry might as well have been wearing M-I-G-A hats… Make Israel Great Again, because that’s what they thought Jesus had come to do. And what’s interesting… really interesting… is that the powers that were in place, reacted the same way that they do now. THEY FREAK OUT!
If you look back at verse 19, the Pharisees were like, “Look, the whole world is going after him!” Jesus was messing everything up! He was upsetting their apple cart. They saw their whole, well-orchestrated, racket being ruined by Jesus. No more kickbacks from the Roman government. No more defrauding the people through the corrupt temple tax. No more comfort zone, and easy, living. The Pharisees see all of this; and in one sense, they’re right. The Romans are going to take notice of it at some point, and have to do something about it. So the Pharisees were getting desperate. They were getting worried. Everything that they had done to try to keep Jesus on the fringes, and to try to subdue His ministry had failed. And they had tried a lot… false and phony narratives, saying that Jesus was a Samaritan, that He was demon possessed, that He was a blasphemer, and a whole bunch of other lies that they made up, out of thin air, to try and damage Him and His character, and His ministry, and to try to keep people from jumping on the Jesus bandwagon.
And I’m not trying to be political here… I’m really not… what I’m trying to do; is to get you to see that if you want to get a good sense of what was going on here in our text, then take a look around at what’s going on today. You’ve got the entrenched powers that be – the Pharisees, who would rather see their own nation of Israel remain in bondage to the Roman Empire, just so that they can continue to enrich themselves off of fraud, and deceit. You’ve got the masses, who are totally wrong about what they think Jesus has come to do. They think He’s a political leader… Their next great king. But they themselves aren’t interested in dealing with their sin, and their own spiritual failings. They want political peace and security, and economic prosperity, because when you have that, it’s easy to put God on the back burner. And the thing is – both of them, the Pharisees and the large crowds, both of them are totally wrong about what Jesus had come to do, and what His mission and purpose was.
So that’s the background… that’s the context for our text this morning. Let’s go ahead and look at it… We’re in John 12:20-26 (READ).
Now John had just mentioned in verse 19 before our text, how the religious leaders, the Pharisees were at their wits end… they were done with Jesus… they had come to the point of complete rejection. And then verse 20 opens up with the introduction of a group of Greeks.
NOT PEOPLE OF JEWISHI ANCESTRY, OR OF JEWISH NATIONALITY – GREEKS!
And John tells us that these particular Greeks were going up to worship at the feast. Now Bible scholars have typically called these Greeks “God Fearers”. And let me just… really quick… give you some background information on the “God Fearers”. God fearers were Greeks who had rejected the false religion of the Greek’s… they had rejected the false religion of Rome… they were no longer polytheists, but had come to believe in one God… specifically the God of the Hebrews – Yahweh. In other words, through logic, reason, observance, and through the hearing of the Old Testament Scriptures, they had come to believe in God.
But they weren’t accepted as Jews, because they didn’t convert to Judaism… they just acknowledged that the God of the Old Testament was in-fact; the one true God, the Maker, Creator, and the one and only true God!
That’s who these Greeks are.
And you notice, they come and talk to Philip… Now why Philip? Well if you remember, way back when we first saw Philip, back in chapter one, we talked about how Philip was not a Jewish name. It’s a Greek name. In-fact; he has the same name as one of the most famous Greeks of ancient history – Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great! Now that doesn’t mean that Philip was Greek; he’s obviously Jewish, but most likely his dad named him that because his dad was a pragmatist. His dad probably did business with the Greeks, or had some kind of dealings with them, and thought that it would be beneficial to his son, if he had a Greek name. So Philip himself, has probably associated with Greek’s in the past. There’s some affinity there. And these Greeks; they end up talking to Philip, and they say, “We want to meet Jesus! We want to see Him. We want to see what all this fuss is about.”
Now to me… this is exciting. I mean… all of John’s Gospel is cool, but this – this is a catalyst! This is one of those big turning points. Because as soon as they talk to Philip, he goes and tells Andrew, and then he and Andrew go and tell Jesus, and look at what Jesus says… verse 23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
In other words, “IT’S TIME!” (As Bruce Buffer would say)
Time for what? Time to die for man’s sin. Time to fulfill the mission. Time to lay down His life. It’s time to do what He came to do. That’s why Jesus speaks of it in this way of being glorified. He’s being obedient even unto death. And it’s glorifying because this is what God is going to use to save lost sinners. Through His death, the wrath of God is going to be satisfied. Through His death, the justice of God is going to be satisfied. By His death, the love and mercy of God is going to be satisfied. It’s the most glorious thing. It’s amazing! It’s awe inspiring! It’s… it’s humbling… that Christ would die for His own creation. Doesn’t that mess with you? That God would send His Son to take the punishment for OUR sin? It’s amazing. It’s wonderfully good news to you and me. And we know that Jesus is talking about His death, because in the very next verse, He uses an analogy that every farmer would understand – He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The fruit Jesus is talking about here is you – and me – and every other person who has been saved by the grace of God, throughout history. We are the fruit! We are the result… We are what Jesus’ death brings about. And isn’t it amazing how God designed His creation to give us a picture of what He Himself would do? Don’t you think that when God was creating wheat, He had the death of Jesus in mind? I mean; have you ever thought that God created wheat, not just to provide us with food, but to picture the death of Christ, and what His death does? How His death results in new life for believers?
All of creation declares the glory of God!
And if you go on to verses 25 & 26 you’ll see what marks us as His fruit… Verse 25 Jesus says, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” And verse 26, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
You can claim to be an apple all day long, but that doesn’t make you an apple. If you’re an apple; you’re going to have come from an apple tree. You’re going to look like an apple, you’re going to do what apples do, and you’re going to taste like an apple, not a kiwi or a mango, or an orange.
So Jesus is saying, “Hey now is the time for Me to die… but that’s ok… because by dying I’m going to bear much fruit. By My death, a lot of people are going to be saved, and forgiven, and given eternal life. And here’s what’s going to mark them as My actual fruit – they are going to die to sin and self, and this world, because they know that something far greater is awaiting them in eternity.”
“And they’re going to follow Me… ACTUALLY follow Me. Not in words only, but by the way they live their lives, the things they do, the decisions they make. They’re going to follow Me in the way they treat their spouse, in the way they raise their kids, in the way they work at their job. They’re going to follow Me by being faithful. They’re going to live how I live. Talk how I talk. Stand for what I stand for. Love how I love. Following Me will be more important to them than their comfort, or their earthly possessions. Following Me will be more important than their earthly achievements and accomplishments.”
This isn’t “Do more”, “Work harder”, “Be better”.
This is the natural, normal, growth of a Christian. This is what we do because it’s who and what we are. We be an apple, because we’re an apple – so to speak. And this is exactly where John takes this train of through later on as he’s writing to the Church. Turn with me to 1 John 3:7-10 (READ). Do you see that? John’s not talking about behavior modification here. He’s not saying, “Hey stop sinning, so you can BE a Christian.” No… Christianity is not a religion of “DO”… it’s a religion of “DONE!” Jesus has done it, He’s done everything that needs to be done in order to secure your eternal standing with God. So John is saying, “Guys, listen, if you are a Christian, the natural progression you will be making is a progression in sanctification, and in righteousness, and in holiness. Why? Because God’s seed abides in you.” So if you’re born again, you have this driving desire to be more and more like Christ. And you’re going to be in His Word, and you’re going to gather with His people, and you’re going to spend time in prayer, and you’re going to be making progress in sanctification and holiness. You’ll never be totally free from sin in this life, but if you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you should be able to look back on your life and say, “I’m not where I’m going to be… but PRAISE GOD, I’m also not where I used to be. I’m a new creation in Christ! The old is passing away and all things are being made new!”
You have the victory in Christ. So look what Jesus says back in John 12:26… “Where I am – there will My servant be also.” This is Christ’s promise to those who have been born of this incorruptible seed… this is the promise to those who are the fruit of Christ. We will be with Him – in this life, and in the life to come.
The question I have for you this morning is – IS THAT VICTORY YOURS?
Have you at some point been like these Greeks and said, “I want to see Jesus. I want to know Him, and be known by Him. I want to be born again by this incorruptible seed. I want to know that His death paid it all, and that I stand justified before God.”? Have you done this? Have you been saved from the wrath of God that’s coming upon the children of disobedience?
CLOSING
