Jesus and the Gentile Visitors (12:20–36) - part 1 of 2

After our Lord entered Jerusalem He cleansed the temple a second time. He quoted Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11: “Is this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (Mark 11:17) Perhaps these Greeks heard this word and were heartened by it.

One of the major themes of John is that Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just the Redeemer of Israel. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16). The Samaritans correctly identified Him as “the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42). He gave His life for the world and He gives life to the world (John 6:33). He is the Light of the world (John 8:12). The universal thrust of John’s gospel is too obvious to be missed. Jesus will bring in the “other sheep” that are outside the Jewish fold (John 10:16; see also 11:51–52).

The Greek text indicates they were accustomed to coming and worshipping at the feast. They were not casual observers or one-time investigators. They were, to be sure, “God-fearers”, Gentiles who attended the Jewish synagogue and sought after truth but had not yet become proselytes. Gentiles saw Jesus as a young child (Matt. 2), and now Gentiles are coming to see Him before His death.

The men who were “always” asking Philip for the favor of an interview with Jesus were persistent in their requests. Philip told Andrew (who was always bringing people to Jesus), and Andrew passed the request on to the Lord. There were surely many who desired private interviews with the Lord, but they were afraid of the Pharisees (John 9:22). The Gentile visitors were from outside the country and either were unaware of the danger or feared no consequences.

We can be glad that these Greeks want to see Jesus. The Jews would say, “We want a sign!” (Matt. 12:38; 1 Cor. 1:22), but these men said, “We would see Jesus.” There is no record that Jesus did converse with these men, but the message that He gave in reply contains truths that all of us need.

The thrust of this message is the glory of God (John 12:23, 28). We should have expected Jesus to say, “The hour has come that the Son of man should be crucified.” Jesus, however, looked beyond the cross to the glory that would follow (Luke 24:26; Hebrews 12:2). The glory of God is a major theme in the remainder of John’s gospel (see John 13:31–32; 14:13; 17:1, 4–5, 22, 24).

Jesus used the word picture of a seed to show the profound spiritual truth that there can be no glory without suffering, no fruitful life without death, and no victory without surrender. A seed is weak and useless by itself, but when it is planted, it “dies” and bears fruit.

There is beauty and bounty when a seed “dies” and does its work. If you could talk to a seed, it would probably complain about being shoved into the cold, dark earth. But the only way it can do its thing is by being planted. The seeds are the children of God. They are small and insignificant, but they have life in them, God's life. But that life can never be fulfilled until we surrender ourselves to God and let Him “plant us.” We must die to self so that we may live unto God (Rom. 6; Gal. 2:20). To have a fruitful life, we must follow Jesus Christ in death, burial, and resurrection.

In these words Jesus challenges us today to devote our lives to Him. Notice the contrasts: fruitfulness or loneliness; losing your life or keeping your life; serving self or serving Christ; pleasing self or receiving the honor of God.