Text:  John 12:20-33 (Jeremiah 31:31-34)                                                      X Judica (5^th Sunday in Lent)

“I Will Draw All Men to Myself”

            In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ:  There are of times in the Gospel accounts of our Lord’s ministry in which someone says something to him or asks him a question, and the reply that Jesus gives just doesn’t seem to fit.  It’s like he suddenly changes the subject and doesn’t seem to be responding to the situation at hand.  You listen to what he says and think, “Where’d that come from?”  We’ve got one of those cases today.

            The story takes place in Jerusalem on Tuesday of Holy Week, just three days before Jesus’ death on the cross. The city is filled to overflowing with pilgrims: Jews and converts to the faith from all over the world.  They are here to celebrate the Passover. Jesus, as is his custom, is teaching on one of the Temple courts.  Somewhere outside is a group of Greek people.  They are most likely proselytes:  Gentile people who believe in the God of Israel and who are here for the feast.  Another possibility is that they are merely travelers who are interested in observing what the Jewish Passover is all about.  The Greeks were an intensely curious people, pursuing wisdom wherever they could find it.  Either way, they have heard about Jesus.  And that shouldn’t surprise us.  It’s only natural that word of Jesus’ remarkable ministry would have spread far and wide.  And now after three years, the reports about him could easily have reached the land of the Greeks, to Ionia, Macedonia, and beyond.  And certainly, in their travels to Jerusalem, the incredible reports these Greeks were hearing about Jesus would be getting thicker and more numerous the closer they’ve got to the source.  It only makes sense that now that they’re here, they’d like to meet this amazing man they’ve heard about.

            The problem is that they can’t get to him.  As Gentiles, they have to remain on the outermost court of the Temple. Jesus is doing his teaching on one of inner the courts that they’re forbidden to enter.  Unable to go to him directly, they accost Philip, one of his disciples, as he’s either coming in or going out of the Temple. Interestingly enough, Philip is the only one of Jesus’ disciples with a Greek rather than a Jewish name.  Maybe they thought he would be more sympathetic to their request; who knows?  In any case, they say to him, “Sir, if it’s possible, we’d like to see Jesus.”  And pregnant in their request is the thought that Jesus would come out of the Temple to where they are – to some place where access was not so restricted – to some point of common ground.

            It seems that for his part, Philip doesn’t know what to make of such a request. He knows for sure that no other sought after Rabbi in the Temple would bother to give these Greeks the time of day, much less give up his prestigious teaching seat among the best and brightest Jewish scholars to go out to them.  To the Jews of the day it would be sort of like us asking the head of the M.I.T. physics department to come to here to CLS and teach second grade science – except it would be more insulting because the Jews considered Gentiles to be dogs rather than children.  On the other hand, Philip has been around Jesus long enough to know that he doesn’t have the same prejudices as the typical Jewish Rabbi.  Quite the contrary, the disciples are often surprised and even embarrassed by the kind of people Jesus is willing to deal with.  So, apparently unsure what to do himself, Philip takes the matter to Andrew, and the two of them together bring it to Jesus’ attention. “Jesus, they’re some Greeks outside who want to meet with you.”

            And this is where it gets a little weird.  Mind you, most Rabbis back then would have said, “So what?  Do you imagine for a moment I’m going to waste my precious time with the likes of them?”  Then again, looking at it from our side, we who know the heart of Jesus might expect him to say something along the lines of, “Wonderful!  Tell them I’ll be right out.”  But we don’t get either one.  Instead what Jesus says doesn’t seem to be even remotely related to the topic at hand.  He hears that the Greeks are asking for him and he says, “Ah, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  You’re left thinking, “What?  What has that got to do with the Greeks waiting out there?”  Then he goes into this discussion of how a kernel of wheat must go into the soil and die, as it were, in order to grow and produce many more grains. If it fails to die in this way, he says, it will remain alone.  That‘s followed by a comment about how a person who loves life will lose it, but how someone who hates life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  And finally there’s this little debate he has with himself about whether he should ask to be rescued from this hour.  He decides, no, to face this hour is the very reason he came.

            Now, though it’s difficult to follow his train of thought from one topic to the next, it’s pretty clear that he’s talking about his passion and death that is soon to take place.  The question remains however, why does he say this in response to the fact that some Greeks want to meet with him?

            It’s an intriguing question.  And to help explain the answer, there’s something you have to understand about the way Jesus operated during his earthly ministry.  We all know that he was and is the Son of God made flesh. That is, he was both fully God and fully man.  But what we sometimes lose track of is the truth that during his earthly ministry, Jesus did not make full use of his divine powers and prerogatives.  Quite the opposite:  though he was always true God, as much as possible he lived as just a man.  And it’s important to understand that.  He lived from day to day pretty much just like you or me, except without sin.  So, for example, though he was all powerful, typically he didn’t use any more powers than you or I have.  He only did on those comparatively rare occasions when he was actually performing a miracle.  Even then, he never performed a miracle for his own benefit.  They were always for someone else, and always to teach a broader lesson he wanted to get across.  Now, the same is true of what he knew.  As God, he knew everything, including all that would happen in the future; but he did not make use of that divine knowledge.  He willfully “turned it off” as it were, so that he could live just like one of us.  I mean, think about it:  if you knew exactly what was going to happen in the future, you’d do everything differently than you are doing now, wouldn’t you?  If, say, you knew tomorrow you’d be in a car wreck, you’d stay home.  Well, the same would have been true of Jesus. But the point is that if he knew the future like that, then he wouldn’t truly be living as one of us, would he? And then when he says to us, “Follow my example”, it wouldn’t mean anything because we’d be thinking, “Well, if I had the advantages you have, I would; but as it is, I think you’re asking too much.”

            No, and this is key:  Jesus lived just like us.  And what that means with respect to the future, is that on a day to day basis, he didn’t know what was going to happen to him that afternoon, or tomorrow, or a week from then any more than you do.  He didn’t know who he would meet, where he’d have his next meal, or what challenges he would face.  Just like us, Jesus had to live by faith in the words and promises of God.  Well, didn’t he know about his messianic mission to save the world from sin?  Sure he did. But what he knew about it he learned from the same place you do:  God’s Word. He studied the Scriptures to know what God’s will for his life was, just like you do.  The big difference is that he truly understood what he was reading. He knew that the Scriptures said that the Christ would have to suffer, die, and rise again on the third day. And though nobody else back then was teaching those truths, it wasn’t new information.  It was all there in the Scriptures; it’s just that he was the only one who understood it.

            Now, hopefully you’re still with me, because here’s the point:  even though Jesus knew that ultimately he would have to go to the cross and suffer and die for our sins, he couldn’t have said, “It’s going to happen on this certain day and date”.  Why not?  It’s because Scripture doesn’t say exactly when, and that’s where he was getting his information.  Of course, in a general way, Jesus could see that the time was drawing near; but it’s the arrival of these Greeks seeking him that tells him that the hour has finally come.  It is for him the last prophecy to be fulfilled that tells him that the stage is now completely set for the drama now to unfold.  The time had come for his glorification that would take place strangely enough in his being lifted up in pain and humiliation on the cross. 

            It’s interesting to note that at the time of his birth, when the Son of God assumed human flesh and became a helpless infant, it was not the Jewish people who had for centuries been expecting him who recognized and honored him as their newborn king.  Rather it was Gentile wise men from the east who sought him out and came to worship him.  And now at the end of his earthly life, Gentiles are seeking him again, this time from the west – Greeks, the seekers of wisdom.  The first time the Gentiles sought him, when Jesus became a weak and totally dependent baby, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest”.  The birth of the Savior glorified the Father’s name.  And now, as he goes to the cross, weak, in shame, and completely under the control of his enemies, he prays that his Father would be glorified again.

            That’s what the arrival of the Greeks seeking Jesus portends.  And with this in mind, the rest of Jesus’ comments begin to make sense.  For the three years of his ministry Jesus has been the sower, casting the seed of his teaching on to the hard, stony ground of the hearts of God’s chosen people, Israel. Despite all his effort, he’s achieved very little in the way of a harvest.  But now, due in large part to their rejection, Jesus himself, the Word of God made flesh, is the kernel of wheat that is about to “die” and be planted in the grave.  These Greeks coming to him now represent the world of people beyond.  They are the fertile ground, the broad plains and fields, in which the Seed, when it dies, will take root and grow to produce many seeds. It’s from them that the great harvest for the kingdom of God will come – and that too will glorify the name of God.

            St. John doesn’t tell us if this particular group of Greeks ever did get to meet with Jesus.  The story stays with Jesus and those who are listening to him in the Temple; but here’s what’s fascinating.  When Jesus prays for the Father to glorify his name, there is a response from heaven that is heard by all.  So these Greeks came wanting to see Jesus; instead they heard the Word of the Father from above.  Of course, Jesus is the Word of the Father from above – so, you’d be right in saying that they got what they wanted even without seeing him.  We’re not sure how they reacted to it; but we do know that the Jews in the Temple made excuses, “It’s only thunder”, “Maybe it’s an angel speaking to him”, whatever – they failed to recognize it for what it was:  the voice of God.  As was almost always the case, they weren’t really listening.

            But Jesus makes it clear that the voice of God was for their benefit; the strong indication being that they really ought to be listening to it.  And then he goes on explain exactly how the Father will glorify his name.  He says, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.  But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

            There’s a lot to unpack there.  He means that in his crucifixion all people will be present in him.  That is, from the perspective of God, the fallen human race with all of its sin will be there in Jesus and will be judged and condemned on the cross.  That is what drives out the prince of this world, the devil.  His is the authority to accuse the nations and keep them in the bondage of sin and death.  But once the sacrifice of atonement is complete, he no longer has that power. As the word of the Gospel is spread and people hear and believe that Jesus died and rose for them, they are freed from the curse of the Law.  Satan loses his grip on them.  He can no longer accuse – for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

            And with that in mind, I think we can find something more here and learn a lesson from these Greeks.  They came to the Temple of God seeking Jesus.  They were drawn to him by what they had heard.  Their arrival however marked the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  Though they didn’t know it when they started out, the Christ they came seeking was the One to be crucified for them.  That’s how Jesus makes God known to them and to all people.  May that be the same Jesus we always seek and to whom we are drawn by the liberating power of his death on the cross.   May we make it our goal to let him reveal himself to us through his Word and to allow him to write his Word on our hearts, that we may truly know him, and knowing him and his Father through him, live in his promise to forgive our wickedness and remember our sins no more.  In Jesus holy name, Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!