175. What Happened When Greeks Wished to See the Lord. Jn. 12:20–50

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and said to him: “Sir! We wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip 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. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, they must follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also. And if anyone serves me, the Father will honor them. Now my soul is troubled; and what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this very reason I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered; others said that an angel had spoken to him. The Lord Jesus said: “This voice has come not for my sake, but for yours. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”

He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him: “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Then the Lord Jesus said to them: “A little longer, the light (I myself, the Lord) is with you. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you; those who walk in the darkness do not know where they are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” Having said this, the Lord Jesus departed and hid from them.

Though he had performed so many signs before them, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Is. 53:1). For this reason they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn – and I would heal them” (Is. 6:10). Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him; but because of the Pharisees they would not confess it, for fear of being expelled from the synagogue. For they loved human glory more than the glory of God. Then Jesus cried out and said: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge. For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”