“Now there were some Greeks (Greek God-fearers) who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip came and told Andres; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answer them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’” (John 12:20-23 [NASB])
I remember going to a farm and
picking berries when I was a child. A few times mom and I picked strawberries,
and other times we picked blackberries. Just thinking about them-puncturing
their skin with my teeth and the sweet juice bursting across my taste buds-was
enough reason to want to get to the farm quickly. With that idea on my mind, I and
sure I ate half the berries in the first fifteen minutes I picked. I did not
think of what more I could do with them. I just wanted to taste those
sun-ripened berries in my mouth immediately.
This same idea applies to the Greek
God-fearers in John 12:20-21. They had heard about Jesus and the miraculous
things He did and taught, so they wanted to see Him. These Greeks approached
Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, and said just that. He said, “We want to see
Jesus.” They did not mentally fathom God had a greater meaning to Jesus’ life
on earth. These Greeks wished just to see this famous man-teacher and miracle-worker.
Jesus’ reply to Andrew and Philip,
when they told Him about the Greeks, seems not to answer what these two men
said to Him. He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
What?! How does Jesus’ statement relate to the what Andrew and Philip told Him?
Look again at what Jesus said and for what the men asked. The Greeks literally
wanted to see Jesus. They did not seek Him as the Son of God, the Son of
Man, and the Messiah. These Greeks did not see Jesus’ purpose beyond His
earthly life. They were not the only ones. The Jews who laid palms on the
ground as the donkey carrying Jesus trod into Jerusalem saw Him as a warrior King
who would take back the lands Israel had lost since Solomon’s reign (vs 13). Before
that, Judas did misunderstand the symbolic significance of Mary washing Jesus’
feet with perfume (vs. 1-8). He saw the act as wasteful. The crowd of Jews went
to see the man (Jesus) who raised Lazarus from the dead (vs. 9). The chief
priests saw Jesus as interfering their leading the Jews (vs. 10) Each of these
individuals and groups of people only saw the man, Jesus. They did not look
beyond the immediate to the eternal and spiritual purpose of His life on earth.
Going back to our berry picking
analogy, if when I picked berries, I thought ahead to the jams and pies I could
make with them, that is, if I looked beyond the berries themselves to what they
could become, I might have been able to take more home for future purposes. A
similar thing could have occurred to each of the people in John 12. If they had
looked beyond the body of the man, Jesus, beyond their blinders and biases,
they could have seen Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, and the Messiah.
These people would have believed, and Jesus would have saved them from their
sins and into eternal life with God. Instead, they just saw the miracle-worker,
teacher, and man. These people saw what their earthly eyes saw and nothing
more. They did not look at Jesus through spiritual eyes. The Greeks and Jews
wanted the Messiah but did not expect Him yet or did not expect Him to be in
the form in which He arrived.
Because of this, Jesus answered the
request by the Greek God-fearers to see Him with verse twenty-three. He said, “The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” People clamored to see Jesus,
but they did not see accurately. When a person sees the truth about Jesus
Christ, then he or she will lay down his or her right to his or her life, just
as Jesus did. That means they will die to themselves and live following and
serving Jesus, so they will bear fruit. They will live as Jesus did, so that
all people may come to know Jesus truly, in heart, mind, and spirit. When people
follow and serve Him instead of seeking their own way, those people abide with
Christ and the Father, and the Father will honor them.
Berry picking is much more
significant than just getting the berries from the plant into our mouths.
Seeing Jesus is much more significant than recognizing Him. Seeing Jesus should
cause us to see who He is as the Christ and what His purpose is for now and the
future then following and serving Him. The hour has come for Him to be
glorified in us.
The pies and jams cannot get made if
we eat all the berries when we first touch them. Jesus is more than just for
now, the moment we first see Him. God has a plan for more than one moment. His
plan is for eternity because of His love for each of us. See beyond the first
moment with the berries. Make jams and pies, then share them with your
neighbors and friends. Jesus is for everyone. Share Him with your neighbors and
friends.
“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.’” (John 12:44-45 [NASB])
