Greeks Among Them
John 12.20-28
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, 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. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their 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 honour the one who serves me. 27 “Now my soul 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!”
We could differentiate which type of people these Greeks are. Yet, whether they are converts to Judaism (most likely), or just plain Greeks (classified as Gentiles), they want to see Jesus. They come to the edge of the disciples. Philip takes the request, with Andrew, and the reply might seem very disconnected. But imagine trying to see Jesus, and the things you hear are about seeds dying and bringing life. Hating life, but keeping it for eternal life. John shows these statements as Jesus’ reply to the request, or even his statement directly to these Greeks.
We understand the way life comes from death in the world. Seeds bring life to plants that bear much fruit. And many of those fruits carry multiple seeds. One seed this year could mean hundreds, or thousands, of seeds for the next year. Seeds are the beginning of life for the plants. Yet they are also the result of the life of the plant. A seed brings us the plant and the plant produces more seeds. (Speaking of the way things are supposed to be. We understand the hybrids like watermelons)
As Jesus says it to the people, I don’t think they fully understood what he was saying. John recalls it later and sees the significance. This image will be seen in the other 3 gospels in the parable of the sower. Matthew has it in the parable of the Mustard Seed. Paul brings it back to us 3 times in 1 Corinthians (chapters 3, 9, 15). Paul brings it back in 2 Corinthians 9. Peter brings it in his first letter and John in his first letter to the churches. We see the image of seed presenting us with faith in us and bringing faith from us to the world. The spreading of faith throughout the world is shown in the spreading image of seeds.
An image that begins here with the initial action of the seed of faith. Jesus will die as the initial seed of faith for all. Life will come for us all as we receive faith. Life will come for all as we are able to plant the seed of faith in people around us. Life comes as the seed dies, but then will sprout to life in an even greater way than the seed began. We approach Good Friday, the day we see death. But the death of a seed of life that sprouts even greater life than we can imagine.
Song – Glorify Thy Name
Prayer
God of love, as in Jesus Christ you gave yourself to us, so may we give ourselves to you, living according to your holy will. Keep our feet firmly in the way where Christ leads us; make our mouths speak the truth that Christ teaches us; fill our bodies with the life that is Christ within us. In his holy name we pray. Amen.