Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip ... and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." ... Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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." (John 12:20-21, 22b-24)
Of course they wanted to see Jesus! These were probably Gentile converts, in town for Passover. So they asked the disciple with a Greek-language name to introduce them.
But when Jesus heard about these foreigners, He immediately started talking about His death! "The hour has come," He said (John 12:23b). "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself" (John 12:32). And after talking a bit more about the cross, "He departed and hid Himself from them" (John 12:36b). Why?
Jesus knew that His short time on earth was dedicated primarily to reaching "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24b). It would be the disciples' job to take the Gospel of salvation to the whole world after that (see Matthew 28:19). And here were the first Gentiles, right on cue. The Greeks' coming meant it was time for Jesus to suffer, die, and rise for everyone—and for Jesus' followers to begin sharing their faith.
WE PRAY: Lord, thank You for loving us so much that You became our salvation at the cost of Your own life. Let many more people around the world come to see You as their Savior. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* What do you think the Greeks' reaction was when Jesus went away?
* Do you think they might have stayed in town long enough to witness His death? Pentecost?
* Why do you think the disciple John tells us this story?
