Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-13 

Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: “Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?” Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip together told Jesus. ^CJB

These three verses are easy to skip over because of the theological importance of what Jesus says next. Yet, there are some lessons contained here.

This is a rare appearance for Philip in any Gospel account. We learn that he was from Bethsaida, the birthplace of Andrew, Simon, James, and John. We can also infer that Philip was a Greek speaker, not just because his name is Greek. For that matter, Andrew is also Greek and it is to Andrew that Philip seeks help.

They were all good Jewish men, but most, if not all of them, spoke some Greek. The fishermen had to be able to sell their catch to whoever had money and there were many Greek speakers living along the lake shores. Even the Romans living in the area were Greek speakers, as were most of them in the eastern half of the Empire. Only the highest officials needed to know Latin.

Do not forget that all this occurs in (or near) Jerusalem at the time of Passover—though not the day of Passover. There were always Greeks in the city at the major feasts. Some of them were there as tourists, but many were believers without having converted (God fearing).

If these Greeks lived in Galilee, why did they not speak some Aramaic. For the same reason Americans living in Greece today don’t bother to learn Greek. English is so widely spoken around the world that we don’t have to bother learning; we put the burden on everyone else. The ancient Greeks felt the same way. You want to sell me your fish, learn Greek.

Notice that they asked to “see” Jesus. Philip did not just point to Jesus because he understood what they meant. They wanted Philip to translate a conversation with the great teacher. So, Philip turned to one of the inner four and asked Andrew what he thought they should do. There are few indications in the Gospels that any of the disciples had gatekeeper duties and that may not have been the case here either.

We can imagine that either Philip or Andrew asked, “Jesus, these Greeks would like to talk with you. Do you have time?”

We know Jesus rarely turned people away; in fact, he often sought them out. But not this time. Why?

This trip to Jerusalem is not his routine trip where teaching, healing, etc. was the norm. This is three days before his death. Saying a few pleasing words to non-Jews, or anyone else outside of his followers, is not an option.

Instead, Jesus said, The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ^Phillips We do not see the reactions to these words, but it is possible that Philip returned to the Greeks and translated what Jesus was saying. They were likely within hearing distance anyway.

Jesus goes on with this analogy. Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. ^CJB This is different from the mustard seed image in that Jesus is talking about himself and about each of us at the same time.

Initially, Jesus is the seed that will be buried. Once underground, he will sprout and fill the world with a great harvest. In that sense he is talking about each of us who are willing to bury our old, sinful lives and rise anew to be part of the harvest; to be both harvested and harvester.  We cannot do that with our own power; we can do it only with the presence of the Messiah that is living in the world around us.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. ^ESV

How do we follow Jesus? There is confusion about what we are to do and where we are to go. A good clue might be to look in the Gospels at where Jesus went and what he did. If we read the Gospels we will find enough examples of Jesus in action to fill our waking hours for more than a lifetime.

Notice here that Jesus did not send Philip back to chase the Greeks away. While this was a very Jewish moment, there was nothing wrong with Greeks watching from the perimeter. They would be in the thick of it soon.

“Right now I am shaken. And what am I going to say? ‘Father, get me out of this’? No, this is why I came in the first place. I’ll say, ‘Father, put your glory on display.’” A voice came out of the sky: “I have glorified it, and I’ll glorify it again.” ^CJB

This is all about God. God created us and wants us to live in His presence, but we are too covered with rejection of Him, what we call sin, that we cannot be in His court. But, by having His perfect Son live as a human and die as a human, carrying with him our sins, it is possible for the impossible to happen.

All God asks of us is the do our best to follow in the footsteps of His Son. It is not easy. God wants me to love people I don’t even like.

The listening crowd said, “Thunder!”

Others said, “An angel spoke to him!” ^CJB

Which will we be?

At this moment the world is in crisis. ^CJB

Be righteous and do good.

Mike Lawrence

Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

Today, I will be doing a commercial for the New English Translation Bible (NET). Their footnotes are so helpful I thought it would be good for everyone to see how they explain such an important passage from the Gospel of John. I have cut out parts of the footnotes for clarity.

¹⁴ Just as^[a] Moses lifted up the serpent^[b] in the wilderness,^[c] so must the Son of Man be lifted up,^[d] 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”^[e]

1. Grk “And just as.”
2. Or the snake, referring to the bronze serpent mentioned in Num 21:9.
3. An allusion to Num 21:5-9.
4. So must the Son of Man be lifted up. This is ultimately a prediction of Jesus’ crucifixion. Nicodemus could not have understood this, but John’s readers, the audience to whom the Gospel is addressed, certainly could have (compare the wording of John 12:32). In John, being lifted up refers to one continuous action of ascent, beginning with the cross but ending at the right hand of the Father. Step 1 is Jesus’ death; step 2 is his resurrection; and step 3 is the ascension back to heaven. It is the upward swing of the “pendulum” which began with the incarnation, the descent of the Word become flesh from heaven to earth (cf. Paul in Phil 2:5-11). See also the note on the title Son of Man in 1:51.
5. This is the first use of the term ζωὴν αἰώνιον (zōēn aiōnion) in the Gospel, although ζωή (zōē) in chap. 1 is to be understood in the same way without the qualifying αἰώνιος (aiōnios). Some interpreters extend the quotation of Jesus’ words through v. 21.

¹⁶ For this is the way^[f] God loved the world: He gave his one and only^[g] Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish^[h] but have eternal life.^[i] 

1. Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (houtōs) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son, or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son. Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done, the following clause involving ὥστε (hōste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God’s love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.
2. Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child. It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix. From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna theou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John.
3. In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.
4. The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,^[j] but that the world should be saved through him. 

1. That is, “to judge the world to be guilty and liable to punishment.”

¹⁸ The one who believes in him is not condemned.^[k] The one who does not believe has been condemned^[l] already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only^[m] Son of God. 

1. Grk “judged.”
2. Grk “judged.”
3. See the note on the term “one and only” in 3:16.

¹⁹ Now this is the basis for judging:^[n] that the light has come into the world and people^[o] loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 

1. Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”
2. Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

²⁰ For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 

²¹ But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.^[p]

3. This verse provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. As Brown observes, “If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God. Thus, there is no determinism in John as there seems to be in some of the passages of the Qumran scrolls”. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

Numbers 21:8-9 has an interesting twist. God told Moses to make a bronze snake and the people merely needed to look at it to be saved. No faith was involved. That seemed contrary to the post-exile rabbis, so they began to teach that Moses directed them to turn their hearts to the Name of the Lord. Yes, look at the snake, but also believe in YHWH.

With Jesus claiming to be the Son of YHWH, he is also claiming that we must believe in him as well as in Him. In other words, Jesus is the same as God. If you believe in God but not Jesus, your yoke will be heavy. Jesus came to show us the right way, the Light Way, and to lift the heavy yoke from our shoulders.

While verses 20-21 may seem to suggest that our works condemn us or protect us, we should understand that we will do the works of the one or the One we face. Keeping our eyes on the Evil One will cause us to do evil. Focusing on God by knowing the life and ways of Jesus will produce goodness, truth, and light. Pray that God will lead you to His Son.

Be righteous and do good.

Mike Lawrence