March 25, 2012, Lent 5B

John 12 is a turning point in the Gospel of John. The turning point comes when some Greeks made a request saying, "We would like to see Jesus" 12:21. At that time Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified" 20:23. Now, we may have thought that Jesus had already received glory and honor and praise in his ministry in the Gospel story. The previous story is the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. He rides in on a donkey and the people greet him saying "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel" 12:13. The people were giving him the glory as being their king! Just previously Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and this news was the talk of Jerusalem. And before that there were many miracles and signs that had made Jesus famous.

Jesus rejects all of that as not being his real glory. The beginning of his glory was when the Greeks came and said "We wish to see Jesus." Previously Jesus had been working with the Jews only. Now we see that the Gospel work of Jesus was for the whole world, as John 3:16 says. We modern Christians, who are not Jews, are included in those Greeks who came to see Jesus. We too would like to see Jesus. We want to see what his true glory is like, and Jesus now explains.

23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

Jesus is glorified when he dies and then rises again. His death and burial is like a seed that is planted in the ground. It is like a seed that is planted and then grows up and produces many seeds. Jesus says that when the seed is planted in the soil it dies. I always thought this to be a strange picture, because I thought when a seed was planted that it then came to life. But actually, unless the seed is buried, it remains dormant and useless. So it is with Jesus, unless he dies as a sacrifice on the cross, all his preaching and healing is useless. But when he dies and is buried, then in the resurrection he will give new life, like many seeds, abundantly to those who believe in him.

Jesus says that life in this world must be discarded so that eternal life might be kept secure. This is true for Jesus, and for all those who follow him. He said, "25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

For Jesus, his hour when he is glorified is the hour of suffering. He knows that. He knows that he will be beaten and whipped and mocked and finally cruelly crucified. His hour of glory is not "glorious" at all. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus is already feeling the pain of his suffering in his heart. The agony in the Garden of Gethsemane has already begun. In the Garden he prays, "Father, if you are willing, removed this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours be done" Luke 22:42. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus is already feel that agony and is beginning to pray that same prayer. 27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!"

Jesus knows that this is the plan of God. Jesus knows that this will bring glory to the Father when the people of the world thank him for salvation. And yet, Jesus is troubled in his heart, to the bottom of his soul. The Greeks wanted to see Jesus, and now they see him suffering. That is what we see, too. Sometimes we think of God as sitting in heaven far away from the grief and pain and war and worries of this world. But in Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, God made flesh, God in human form -- in Jesus Christ God suffers. This is the suffering or passion of God. Jesus has grief and pain and worry and trouble in his heart. That is also the true face of God. That is how God has revealed himself to us. And so we know that he knows our human situation and has mercy on us.

God the Father confirmed this in a voice from heaven. It may have sounded like thunder or the voice of an angel, but it was God Himself speaking. "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 28. That day the Greeks saw Jesus and heard the voice of God. We do too! The voice was also for our benefit (30).

Jesus says that the time of glory will be the time of judgment on this world, a time of justice for the people of the world. Jesus says, "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out." 31. The prince of this world is Satan. At the time of his death, Christ will descend into hell to announce victory over Satan. When our sin is forgiven, our bonds to the devil are broken and we are set free. It is the time of judgment and justice for us. We will be set free from the tyrant of this world. Satan will be put down and we will be lifted up. We will be lifted up with Jesus. We will be lifted out of our graves, out of our misery, out of our slavery to sin. Jesus will draw all people to himself. Then we will walk in his light (35). Then we will see his true glory.

The Greeks came to the disciple Philip. Philip is a Greek name and was from Bethsaida in Galilee, so he probably knew Greek. The Greek visitors to Jerusalem were probably Jewish pilgrims who had come from abroad for the Passover feast. Because they could not speak directly to Jesus, they asked Philip to be their intermediator. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 21. And in the same way we come to ministers or church people and want to know more about Jesus. "We want to see Jesus, please show us." During this Lent and Easter season, we see Jesus in all his glory. We see Jesus crucified and risen.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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