1. The Christ and the Crisis
Four part series in John Chapter 12, Showing how He
relates to four different groups of people; the third:
“Greek Guests”
John 12:20-36
2. The Crisis…
•John 12 records the second major crisis in Jesus’
ministry, as perceived by the disciples
•The first when multitudes left Him, (John 6:66)
•This time we look at a group of Greek “Jews” coming
to Jerusalem for Passover, but seeking out Jesus
•Several things in this passage raise many questions
•Why did they approach Philip instead of Jesus?
•Why did Philip hesitate to lead them to Jesus?
3. The Crisis…
•What was Jesus talking about with the dying seed?
•Love my life, hate my life…?
•What was He talking about saying he would…
•Draw all man unto Himself?
•By being “lifted up”…?
•You might think it obvious but there are things we’ll
learn today by comparing the Passover with the
Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb…
4. 20 Now there were some Greeks among those
who were going up to worship at the feast;
21 these then came to Philip, who was from
Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him,
saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip
*came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip
*came and *told Jesus. 23 And Jesus *answered
them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
5. dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit. 25 He who loves his life loses it, and
he who hates his life in this world will keep it to
life eternal. 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. 27 “Now My soul has become
troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me
from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to
this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a
6. voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified
it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of
people who stood by and heard it were saying
that it had thundered; others were saying, “An
angel has spoken to Him.” 30 Jesus answered
and said, “This voice has not come for My sake,
but for your sakes. 31 Now judgment is upon this
world; now the ruler of this world will be cast
out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men to Myself.” 33 But He was saying
7. this to indicate the kind of death by which He
was to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him,
“We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is
to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The
Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son
of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “For a little
while longer the Light is among you. Walk while
you have the Light, so that darkness will not
overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does
not know where he goes. 36 While you have the
8. Light, believe in the Light, so that you may
become sons of Light.” These things Jesus
spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from
them.
John 12:20-36, NASB
9. Jesus heads to the Feast…
•V 20, Greeks going up to worship at the Feast
•This tells us many things about them
•The original Greek text says “…they
were accustomed to come and wor-
ship at the feast…”
•This means they were practicing
“Jews”
•By this we know they were not Pagan Greeks, but
Monotheists, worshipping the true God
10. Jesus heads to the Feast…
•V 21, While they were going, these Gentiles
approached Philip
•They obviously wanted Jesus, why did
they approach His disciples instead?
•How did they come to know of Jesus?
•Word of mouth
•Possibly even heard of Jesus’ recent rebuke of the
Gentile woman asking to be healed
11. Jesus heads to the Feast…
•Vv 22-23, the original Greek text indicates a
persistence on their part, and a hesita-
tion by the disciples to tell Jesus
12. 20 Now there were some Greeks among those
who were going up to worship at the feast;
21 these then came to Philip, who was from
Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him,
saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip
*came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip
*came and *told Jesus. 23 And Jesus *answered
them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
13. 20 Now there were some Greeks among those
who were going up to worship at the feast;
21 these then came to Philip, who was from
Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him,
saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip
*came and *told Andrew; Andrew and Philip
*came and *told Jesus. 23 And Jesus *answered
them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
14. Jesus heads to the Feast…
•Vv 22-23, the original Greek text indicates a
persistence on their part, and a hesita-
tion by the disciples to tell Jesus
•Why? May be because of that earlier
Gentile woman
•Probably lots who wanted private time
with Jesus
•Fear– Being from elsewhere, the Greeks did not know
about the danger of Pharisees’ plot
15. Jesus and the Greeks…
•Vv 24-26, no indication this is a conversation with
them privately as they asked, but what H
He says is profound
•He uses another parable to illustrate
the spiritual truths of “no Glory w/o
suffering” and
•No victory without surrender, no fruit-
ful life without surrender
16. Jesus and the Greeks…
•A seed by itself is week and useless, but when it is
planted, it “dies” and becomes fruitful
•I’m sure the seed doesn’t like it, but the
results are both beauty and bounty
•We are like seeds
•Individually small and insignificant
•But with the life/power of God inside
•Only fruitful after being planted
•Death to self, Romans 6, Galatians 2:20
17. Jesus and the Greeks…
•Vv 27-30, Jesus voices a prayer– either He can run or
ask for God to be glorified
•He gets an answer, OUT LOUD, from
Heaven– third time, btw
•God ALWAYS gives His Word of assur-
ance to those who willingly suffer for
His sake!! Be encouraged by this!
•The people heard but didn’t understand it– that’s OK
•When God speaks to you, YOU will know; others…
18. A new parable…
•Vv 31-36, Jesus tells them what is coming to pass is for
their salvation
•He talks of being lifted up, we know its
a reference to the Cross—
•But He is also alluding to the Serpent
raised up on a cross in the desert
•The sign of “healing” is the same
19. Back to Passover…
•These Greeks came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast
of Passover & Unleavened Bread,
which commemorated the dying of
the Paschal Lamb, and the
subsequent release from the bondage of
Egypt
•The Feast of Passover & Unleavened
Bread therefore was about those who
killed the first-born lamb (and thus suf-
fering "lost" life and then escaping Egypt) versus those
who remained in Egypt and "lost" life, when the Angel
of the Lord killed the first-born sons of Egypt
20. Back to Passover…
•The parting of the Red Sea and the resurrection of
Jesus are also in direct parallel in the
Feast of Passover & Unleavened
Bread, when the armies of Egypt
were destroyed as was the power of
Satan: thus Jesus adds, "...the ruler
of this world will be cast out"
21.
22. Back to Passover…
•The parting of the Red Sea and the resurrection of
Jesus are also in direct parallel in the
Feast of Passover & Unleavened
Bread, when the armies of Egypt
were destroyed as was the power of
Satan: thus Jesus adds, "...the ruler
of this world will be cast out“
• Finally, the way that Jesus will draw all men to
himself is by being "lifted up"
(John 12:32) in the same way that the as the bronze
serpent was lifted up in the wilderness–
23. Back to Passover…
•The sting of the “serpent of sin” (whose infection
was death) by believing the word of
the Lord and looking upon the
bronze serpent "lifted up."
•The point here is that if you connect
the dots and believe the word of the
Lord, you see “the light” (Vv 35-36)
•This was a contradiction to the current belief that
the Messiah would never die, (v34) hence un-belief
24. Take Away…
•Remember when He said this?
“36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so
that you may become sons of Light.” John 12:36
What does it mean to “walk in the light”?
29. Take Away…
TRANSFORMABLE
“2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that
you may prove what the will of God is, that which is
good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
30. Take Away…
TRANSFORMABLE
“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among
many brethren
31. Take Away…
TRANSFORMABLE
“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among
many brethren
32. Take Away…
TRANSFORMABLE
“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among
many brethren
33. Take Away…
TRANSFORMABLE
“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among
many brethren
34. Take Away…
TRANSFORMABLE
“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among
many brethren”
Romans 8:29
