Those Who See Jesus

Those Who See Jesus

John 12:20-26   

Illus. T’s & C’s.

 

       The text we will cover from John 12:20-26 this morning is centered around a group of Greeks who are in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover and want to see Jesus.  It is their expressed desire to see Him, but when Jesus hears of their wishes, He comes back to them with “terms and conditions” of sorts. Jesus delivers what must be understood, acknowledged, and agreed to for a person to truly see Him.

What is clear in our study and what becomes abundantly clear as we enter into the texts surrounding Jesus’ final week before His crucifixion, is that He wanted people to come to Him, but also wanted to make sure people understood what exactly that means. Here, after entering Jerusalem at the beginning of His final week, this group comes with a desire to meet Him, and He will detail what must be true for those who truly see Him. 

 

John 12:20-26

 

       Verse 20 begins by informing us that it was a group of Greeks headed to worship at the feast who expressed their desire to see Jesus. The specific feast was the Passover feast, which was a yearly feast in Jerusalem commemorating and celebrating the day God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The city swelled for this celebration, up to 5 times its normal population. People would come from all directions and last week studied Jesus’ entry into the city on the colt of a donkey. That entry was a fulfillment of prophecy  from Zechariah 9:9, which states that the Messiah, the Savior, would come into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. As Jesus came into the city, the people were celebrating. They knew that He was presenting Himself as the Messiah and King by entering on a donkey. The people were celebrating and shouting., “Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the King of Israel.”

We understood last week that those celebrating and praising Jesus were expecting Him to overthrow Rome and take His seat as earthly King, but as the week unfolds, He will go about things differently. Jesus was going to take the cross before the crown. Those coming to meet Him have been desiring to meet the next King; we cannot be certain of why exactly they are seeking Him. What we can be sure of, however, is that this account will leave little doubt regarding what is true of those who see Jesus. This morning we will pull from three facts from this text for those who see Jesus. We will look at finding Him, falling for Him, and following Him.

 

1. Find Him Personally

 

John 12:20-26, Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these people then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

 

• In verse 20 we are introduced to a group or people, and we don’t know much about them other than the fact that they are Greek, they a part of the crowds headed into Jerusalem, and they wish to see Jesus.

 

• We don’t know why they are among the crowds, however, and we also don’t know why they want to see Jesus. However, scholars have suggested some potential reasons as to why they may have been seeking Jesus specifically while in the city.

 

• One possibility is that they were God fearing Greeks, or spiritual Greeks who had abandoned false Gods and paganism and had chosen to worship the One true God.

 

• These would be referred to as a spiritual Greeks or proselytes, which was a name given by the Jews to foreigners who adopted the Jewish religion. And a proselyte of the gate was somebody who believed in the God of Israel and aligned with that covenant, but not completely.

 

• These spiritual Greeks, known as proselytes of the gate, stopped short of becoming full Jews in lifestyle and in circumcision.

 

• A spiritual Greek would have been in Jerusalem for spiritual reasons.

 

• The other possibility is that they were secular Greeks. They would have been in town to check in on what was happening in this busy city.

 

• If they were secular Greeks seeking Jesus, it is likely that they were coming to Him with curiosity regarding His teachings, or to understand more of His philosophy.

 

• Greeks were known to travel far and wide, going nearly anywhere in pursuit of philosophy, philosophical conversations, or ideation.

 

• When Paul was in Athens, Greece preaching to the people there in Acts 17, we learned in verse 21 of that chapter that “all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.”

 

• This all said, if they were spiritual Greeks, they were there to worship, seeking Jesus to find out if He was indeed the King of Israel that everyone was suggesting, if secular Greeks, they would be seeking Jesus to find out what king of thoughts or philosophies He might enlighten them with.

 

• While we don’t know why they wanted to see Jesus specifically, we do know that they wanted to find Him personally.

 

John 12:21, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

 

• That they approach Phillip specifically makes sense as Phillip is a Greek name, he grew up in Bethsaida which had a mix of cultural influences and was right next to a Greek colonized area known as the Decapolis.

 

• Many believe that Phillip likely spoke Greek and that this group may have already known or been familiar with him.

 

• While it is notable they went to Phillip, what is most notable is what they went to Phillip for, to express their desire to see Jesus.

 

• When the say to Phillip, “we wish,” it is a word that expressed their intent, what they have in mind, or what they are resolved to do. It is much different that just throwing a wish out there, in other words they didn’t come to him saying “we wish we could see Jesus,” rather, they are saying “we want to see Jesus.”

 

• Another word worth noting is the word “see.”

 

• When they say they wish to see Jesus, what are they asking?

 

• There are different ways we can understand the word “see” in English, such as, to observe something, to understand something, or to realize something.

 

• In Greek it is similar. There are different words, one word is blepo, which means to look at something physically. Another is theoreo, which means to analyze something for the purpose of theory, and another is the word used here, horao, which means to become acquainted with, to experience, or to know.

 

• In other words, they wanted to become acquainted with Jesus, to get to know Him.

 

• What this shows is that they weren’t asking Phillip to get a glimpse of Jesus, there weren’t asking Phillip to duck down because he was blocking their view of Jesus, rather, they were asking him to help them meet Jesus personally.

 

• They could have gone to Phillip, “Hey Sir, hey Phil, tell us about Jesus,” or they could have thought, wow, you are one of Jesus’ disciples, give us some stories…But they were intent on getting to Jesus personally.

 

Illus. Not satisfied.

 

• Those wishing to see Jesus, were intent on finding Him personally.

 

Psalm 27:4, One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in his temple.

 

• Perhaps you are wanting to see Jesus in your life but you have been allowing something or someone else to serve as a stand in, or substitute for getting all the way to Him.

 

Jeremiah 29:13, You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

 

1. Fall for Him Willingly

 

John 12:22-23,  Philip came and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. But Jesus answered them by saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 

 

• As learning that the group wished to see Jesus, Phillip with to Andrew and then they both went to Jesus.

 

• Jesus answers them, but His answer in not what any of them might have expected given the question.

 

• You might expect Him to say, “okay, bring them…” But instead, He tells them that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be Glorified.”

 

• While Jesus’ response is surprising, perhaps even puzzling as to why He would respond that way, the people in His day would have been in awe and amazed as what He was said here.

 

• First, Jesus had said many times because that His hour had not yet come (2:4; 7:30; 8:20), but here He is saying that “the hour has come.”

 

• Additionally, in the context of this text, Jesus had just presented Himself as King, fulfilling the Zechariah 9:9 prophecy that the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey.

 

• The people had been shouting praises to Him, declaring Him King, they were all anticipating that He would set overthrow Rome and set up His kingdom immediately, now He says, in response to those who want to see Him, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

 

• No doubt, when they heard these words would have believed that Jesus was going to set up His kingdom.

 

• Jesus used a term that was reserved for the Messiah for Himself here. It is right out of Daniel 7.

 

Daniel 7:13-14, In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (NIV)

 

• Here the people are, anticipating the coming king and His kingdom, here is Jesus, the time has come for Him to be glorified…They were ready, this is what they were hoping for and expecting…Then came verse 24.

 

John 12:24, 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.

 

• In attaching this statement to His time to be glorified, Jesus was giving them His way to glory, the conditions of His conquest, and that was, by His death and resurrection.

 

• Jesus was not going to establish His kingdom by overthrowing Rome, but rather, by laying down His own life.

 

• The cross was a necessary journey to glory.

 

• To the disciples on the road to Emmaus, He would later say it this way…

 

Luke 24:25-27, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.

 

• In Luke 24, He will be talking to His disciples, who would have understood the Scriptures, Old Testament history, and a great deal of biblical prophecy.

 

• Here is John 12, Jesus is talking to those who were Greek. He doesn’t use the Scriptures to inform them, He doesn’t point them to Old Testament prophecy, rather, He speaks to them about a grain of wheat falling to the ground…

 

• I love that He speaks that way because it is an analogy they would understand clearly. It is one that centers in on science and philosophy…what happens to the seed when it gets buried?

 

• Given the right conditions of space, water, and nutrients, one grain of wheat planted can produce 400+ grains. Those grains then planted, produce grains as well and the amount of grain is limitless.

 

• What must happen, however, in order to start the process, is the grain has to die and be buried, then it will rise and bear fruit.

 

By the way, wheat is botanically a type of dry fruit…

 

• You cannot see what that grain of wheat can really do, until it is buried, watered and begins to bear fruit.

 

• They wish to see Jesus, and Jesus is saying, they cannot truly see me until my death, burial and resurrection.

 

Philippians 2:8-11

 

• Jesus laid down His life and was exalted highly, this was His way to glory. And it is as His name that those who see commit to Him personally and bow their knee at His name.

 

John 12:25, The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.

 

• When Jesus said the hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life, He was not telling us to disregard or be disgusted with one’s life.

 

• What Jesus was giving was a Hebrew expression that means to prefer one thing over another, to prefer something over something else, or someone over someone else. I prefer this over that so much that it is as strong of a preference as the difference between love and hate.

 

• It is also important to note the words Jesus used when He made this statement.

 

John 12:25, The one who loves his life (psychē) loses it, and the one who hates his life (pyschē) in this world will keep it to eternal life (zōē).

 

• The word Jesus used for “life” when He said the one who loves his life will used it is the Greek word pychē. It is a reference to psychological life, the thought life, the mental life, or feelings in life.

 

• This seems to represent one whose life is life is spent loving themselves and their temporary life, their thought and feeling as what is most precious and important to them.

 

• One commentator said that we are disregard our life in this world, seeing instead that we are pilgrims and sojourners, with our home in heaven (Hebrews 11:13-16).

 

• I would contend not so much a disregard, but placing the highest regarding on the life we have been given in Christ.

 

C.S. Lewis, Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’: aim at Earth and you will get neither.

 

• Vs. 24, unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground, it remains along, but if it dies, it bears much fruit!

 

• This is true for Jesus, and also true for me and you.

 

Matthew 16:24-25, If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

 

Illus. Falling for Him.

 

III.   Follow Him Fervently

 

John 12:26, If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

 

• Jesus here says that those who serve Him follow Him, and those who follow Him will be with Him.

 

• Jesus will continue to define this, and in chapter 14, He will speak of the place He is preparing for those who follow and believe in Him, that where he is, we will also be.

 

• Those who serve Jesus, those who follow Him, will be honored by the Father.

 

• Perhaps we don’t always feel honored in this life we are in. The word “honor” is to affix value to.

 

• Our world affixes value to many different types of people, they get awards for all different types of things.

 

• We are honored by the Lord by being given redemption, purpose, favor, eternal life and eternal reward from Him.

 

• When one’s life is set in the direction of serving, following, and honoring the Lord, they will be honored in return.

 

1 Samuel 2:30, those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be insignificant.

 

• Jesus says the Lord will be honoring, those who lives are set on following.

 

Illus. Following.

 

Illus. Well done.

 

1 John 3:1-3

 

Matthew 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

 

 

John 12:20-26

20Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21these people then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip *came and *told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23But Jesus *answered them by saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, 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. 25The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. 26If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.