(Note: this message is based on a sermon preached at First Baptist Church of Sigourney, Iowa in March 2019 and is not an exact reproduction.)
Introduction: The Lord Jesus Christ was on His way to Jerusalem, where in just a few days He would be crucified and would die for the sins of the world. Some Greeks were on their way to worship at the feast (Passover, John 12:1) when they met Philip, one of the Lord’s disciples. These Greeks made a request of Philip: they wanted to see Jesus. What happened after they spoke to Philip may have been something they weren’t expecting.
As an additional note, a pastor had this verse in view on the pulpit of the church where he served. I myself saw this and never forgot it.
Text, John 12:20-26, KJV: 20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
1 The request
This was of course the Passover feast, held during the first month of the Jewish lunar calendar, mid-March to mid-April in our solar calendars. The first Passover was observed way back in Egypt (Exodus 12), over 1000 years before the days when our Lord walked this earth. Passover was one of the three feasts where every Jewish male was required to come to Jerusalem (Exodus 23:17 and 34:23; and Deuteronomy 16:16 per Nave’s Topical Bible) and Jesus, plus the disciples, were heading that way to observe this feast.
Certainly the Jews of Israel would attend this feast, but other Jews were coming too. After the kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon around 588 BC, a number of Jews returned to Judah but many stayed in Babylon, Persia, and other places. Some historians and commentators mention how Alexander the Great and others invited Jews to settle in other parts of the area now called the Middle East (witness the number of locations mentioned in Acts 2).
Besides these Jews of the “dispersion”, or other lands besides Judaea and Galilee, some Gentiles were converts to the Jewish faith. Some of these Gentiles became circumcised and were accepted into the Jewish faith. The exact number may never be known, but one of these was Nicolas of Antioch, who was one of the original seven deacons (not using that name) in Acts 6. Others were called “proselytes of the gate”, according to some, who did not become circumcised but renounced pagan worship and followed the Law of Moses. All of these were welcomed to take part in the Passover.
Some of these were “Greeks”, according to the text, but whether these were Jews who spoke Greek as their heart language and lived outside the borders of “Israel”, or Gentile converts, may never be known. What is certain is that these men, whoever and how many there were, all were on their way to worship at the feast.
But there was something that they wanted to see or, better, experience while they were there. And that was to see Jesus Himself. The Bible’s original language has several different words for “to see,” ranging in meaning from simply to look at something, to experience something. That last word was the one these Greeks used when they wanted to ask a question of Philip.
Now, why did these Greeks find or come to Philip? One common opinion is that he had a Greek name (as did Andrew) so these Greeks may have felt more at ease with someone whose name was similar to their own. Another idea is that Philip might have been the first disciple of Jesus they met on their journey—word about Jesus was everywhere in those days. The reverse of this is stated in John 7 where some of the leaders asked (themselves?) if Jesus was going to go into “the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? (John 7:35)”.
2 The referral
Philip decided to find Andrew and probably explained the situation to him. Why Philip didn’t go to Jesus by himself is never specified and it’s probably best to leave that reasoning to him. At any rate, he and Andrew went together to find Jesus and tell Him there were some people who wanted to see Him. In a moment we’ll see the Lord’s reply.
Going back for a moment, even though Philip had limited experience, at best in introducing people to Jesus (Nathanael, per John 1:44-51 is the only one so noted), he did know Andrew was good at it! Andrew had introduced his own brother, Simon, to Jesus (John 1:40-42) and even made friends with a small boy who gave his lunch to Jesus. This gift was enough to feed at least 5,000 people (John 6)! The late Dr. Peter Marshall, who died in 1949, wrote in one of his printed messages that maybe we should call Andrew “the Introducer”!
More could be said about this referral of the Greeks’ request to see Jesus but let’s move on to what the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had to say about that request.
3 The reply
The Lord gave a four-fold reply to Peter and Andrew. There is no indication He spoke to the Greeks. Dr. C. I. Scofield in the Scofield Reference Bible notes on this passage gave some very interesting comments. Each of the Lord’s replies deserves some study so let’s take a look.
First, Jesus said “the hour (has) come that the Son of man should be glorified”. This implies there was at least one hour, however defined, that was not the right time or time period; and was distinct from time (such as “the third hour”, the “ninth hour”, etc.)
The Lord used the word “hour” several times in the Gospels, with the first time in John 2 at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. His mother Mary came to Him and said, “They don’t have any more wine” which would have been a real embarrassment in those days. Jesus simply replied, “My hour has not yet come (John 2:4)” most likely meaning it wasn’t yet the time to perform a miracle. Of course He did turn water into wine, literally saving the day for the “governor of the feast (John 2:9), allowing the wedding feast to continue.
Another time our Lord used the word “hour” was when He spoke with the woman of Samaria in John 4. Jesus was sitting by the well, thirsty and tired—it was “the sixth hour” or noon—and when she came to the well, He asked her for a drink. Note, among other things, the Lord’s humanity (He was thirsty) and humility (He could have asked angels for as much water as He needed, but didn’t) in asking another person for a drink of water! As the conversation developed, Jesus remarked that an “hour” was coming when it didn’t matter where people worshiped the Father and in fact, He said, “it now is (John 4:23)”, meaning people can worship the Father anywhere in the world!
Twice more, our Lord was delivered from a premature death (John 7:30 and 8:20) because “his hour had not yet come”. It wasn’t time for Him to suffer death, not before He made it to Calvary so that He could indeed die for our sins and come back to life to provide our salvation! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Second, He gave another “double verily”, a phrase used often in this Gospel. On this occasion, it was about how a grain of wheat produces nothing unless it’s sown into the ground and dies—all in order to produce new grain: new life, as it were. This figure of speech might well be familiar to the disciples, who remembered, perhaps, one of the Lord’s first parables: the sower and the seed, with the various results.
Another idea is that He may be giving a veiled or not-so-obvious indication that He was going to die and He Himself would be the “first fruits”. Jesus had told the disciples several times that He was on His way to Jerusalem to die but rise again—and they still didn’t “get it” until after the resurrection. Years later, Paul mentioned this concept in 1 Corinthians 15:20-24. Perhaps the Lord had other ideas in mind but the figure of speech, sowing seed so that it would die but produce fruit, would be very familiar to the people, Jews or Gentiles, of that period.
Third, the Lord provides another paradox: “the one who loves his life shall lose it but the one who hates his life will keep it forever (verse 25, paraphrased).” He and the disciples may have had in mind the “rich young ruler”, mentioned in the other three Gospels, who came running to Jesus and asked Him what he would have to do to inherit eternal life. Give him credit for at least asking the question, but when he heard the Lord’s reply—he walked away. Sorrowfully. That man loved his life on this earth, but unless he repented and accepted the Gift of Salvation, he lost not only everything he owned but he also lost his soul.
Further, the Lord may be giving a bit of encouragement. For the disciples, they had left everything to follow Jesus and had even shared in the bad as well as the good. They had hated their lives (hate, by the way, as a lesser emotion or attachment than love) but would keep it “unto life eternal” whereas many others had loved their lives but would lose everything. Besides the rich young ruler, they might have had the unnamed rich man of Luke 16 who woke up in the flames of Hades (“Hell”, Luke 16:23, KJV) after he died. These Greeks had come to worship but how much they endured being followers of a foreign religion while they lived in a foreign land would be hard to imagine.
Finally, the Lord gives a final challenge or even an invitation: “if any man serve(s) Me, let him follow Me”. According to an interlinear translation, the text really reads, “if Me anyone serves, Me let him follow”—placing the emphasis on Jesus, as it should be. Many had followed Jesus in the past (John 6, for one example), but it seems only a few were following Him now, as He approached the end of His life on earth.
But no matter how many were following Him at this time, Jesus still gave the challenge or invitation for those who wanted to follow Him to do so. He had only a few days, maybe a few hours, before He was crucified but He knew He would rise again. And He gave the Greeks, and anyone else listening, a great promise: “if any man serve(s) Me, him will my Father honour (sic)”. Even better, there is no expiration date for this promise! Anyone, anywhere, can follow the Lord Jesus Christ and honor Him—and the Father Himself will honor those who do so.
Conclusion:
Just before the Passover Feast, some Greeks were coming to Jerusalem to worship. They came into contact with Philip and made a touching request, “Sir, we would see Jesus”, Philip found Andrew and together these two came to Jesus Himself. He gave a four-fold reply to their request, closing with an invitation to follow Him.
From that day to this, countless numbers of people from all over this world have followed Jesus. Praise God for their decision and their faithfulness! But there is still a need for people to follow Him even today. The rewards may not be much on this earth, but in Heaven, one day the Father will honor those who truly followed Jesus. Will one of those be you?
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
