20 There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. 21 They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. 24 What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. 26 Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27 “My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. 28 Father, bring glory to your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” 29 The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. 32 And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show them how he was going to die.
34 The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.
Read John 12:20-36 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
At the start of the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, we find an interesting event that only John chose to include in his gospel. This event happens immediately following Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and His arrival at the temple.
John then tells us that “there were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.” (v. 20-22)
Ordinarily, this wouldn’t stand out in my mind, except that what follows doesn’t match what is said here. It would appear that right when Philip told Jesus that some visiting Greeks were looking to see Him, Jesus replied by saying, “the time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory.” (v. 23)
This statement is the start of Jesus’ next big message to the people, and nothing more is really said or implied about the Greeks in John’s earlier statements. While later on, we can see some of the gospels writers include details about the religious leaders wondering if Jesus would leave them and go witness to the Greeks in their own land; this speculation is about the only other time Greek people are mentioned in the gospels.
It is as though Jesus completely ignores the Greeks who wanted to see Him. While the gospels don’t directly tell us that Jesus went and saw these visiting Greeks or if He went out and shared the next verses in the part of the temple the Greeks were in (a.k.a. the outermost courtyard), we can learn a powerful truth in what John intentionally chose to include and exclude.
There was a reason John included these verses in His gospel, and I believe the reason is this: While these Greeks did not come with the goal of distracting Jesus from His mission, their presence and request was seen as a distraction in Jesus’ eyes. The cross was Jesus’ goal, and meeting with some Greeks did not in any way help Jesus accomplish what He came to this world to accomplish.
In John’s decision to include these verses, we see a Jesus who is intentional about where He placed His focus, and a Jesus who was very aware of the trap of distraction. While it isn’t nice to think about a Jesus who would appear to ignore people, this may have been what happened.
Jesus’ choice to not see these Greeks was for the ultimate good. Jesus’ death on the cross paid for not only the sins of the Jews, but also the sins of gentiles (including these Greeks), and the sins of you and I. If Jesus feels distant or if it feels like He is ignoring you or me, it may be because He has something bigger in mind that we cannot see from our limited perspective. It’s up to us to trust that He knows what is best in the big, eternal picture.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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