The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified

 

 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

 

- John 12:20–26 

 

Yesterday we read that a great many of the people among the ruling Council in the temple knew that He was there in Jerusalem at the Passover; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out! "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

  Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  The Greeks mentioned here are Gentiles (Greek-speakers, as Greek was the lingua franca or universal language of the time).  They believed in the God of Abraham, and have come to participate in the Passover feast.  My study Bible says that the fact that they are still called "Greeks" shows that they were not yet full proselytes (converts).  Since Jesus had taught His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5; 15:24), the disciples approach Him before bringing these inquirers.  To be glorified in Jesus' context is a reference to His death on the Cross.  My study Bible explains that Christ's obscure response indicates two things:  first, the answer these Greeks are seeking will not be found in words, but in the Cross; and second, the Cross will be the event which opens all manner of grace to the Gentiles.  

 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."  Here Jesus uses the image of a grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit in order to signify that His death will give life to the world.  In many Orthodox churches, boiled wheat is mixed with sweeteners and spices to serve at memorial services for the departed faithful (this sweet dish is called kolyva in Greek).  My study Bible calls this custom an affirmation of God's promise that those who have died in Christ will rise again to life.  

 

How paradoxical it may seem that, just after what is called Christ's Triumphal Entry, His thoughts are on His entry to suffering and death.  The Cross looms before Him, and He knows already what the authorities are preparing for Him.  He knows that He will make the sacrifice the Father is asking of Him, and He knows that His sacrificial death -- like the grain of wheat -- will come in order to give life to the world in immeasurable and timeless ways.   Jesus has already taught this understanding.  He said to Nicodemus, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"  (John 3:14-16).  To the crowds who forcibly tried to make Him king, after He fed them in the wilderness, He preached, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51).  So, He has always been aware that this is what is asked of Him.  But now that He has made His final and triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where a "great multitude" welcomed Him as Messiah, He is entirely aware that His "glorification" is at hand.  I wonder how many of us can understand sacrifice in Christ's terms.  For although He will suffer, and experience death as a human being, He knows that what He does is redemption and the bringing of abundant life to the world through faith.  While we may either focus on His suffering or on His Resurrection, it is important that we be able to see things as Jesus (and the Gospel) presents them.  His participation in this process of service to all and through the Father's will is one of glorification.  It is something akin to honor, perhaps, but it is also much more than honor.  It is exaltation, a fulfillment of the joy that comes from fully manifesting His glory as the Pantocrator, a title (in Greek) that means Almighty.  He is fulfilling His role as Lord and Savior, and as the One to whom all judgment will be given by the Father.  This is more than sacrifice.  It is rather an extraordinary exchange, a fulfillment of promise, the magnification of One who serves an entire cosmos and beyond, and a manifestation of the fullness of God.  Jesus' act of love, in fact, destroys death and gives cosmic healing to the world.   It is one thing to understand sacrifice on worldly terms; for example, we make sacrifices all the time in order to gain something good.  But it is an entirely different thing to understand sacrifice as part of the fulfillment of one's mission, and leading to the fullness of life and potential.  This is true whether we speak of Jesus Christ, the Lord, or one of us human beings finding and fulfilling a call from God so that we also may share in that kind of joy.  It is in this kind of fulfillment that Jesus can offer us His peace: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27).  And He likewise, in this, offers us His joy:  "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full"; "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves" (John 15:11; 17:13).  This peace and joy found in Christ and His fulfillment and glorification is also possible for us through Him, as part of the gift of abundant life He brings.  It is part and parcel of the quality of redemption, what it "being saved" means.  Let us view Him with gratitude, for His glorification offers us so much more than we can know.