As Jesus is making way, and he's made it clear in his teaching and his preaching to his disciples and to the crowds that follow him, that his primary duty, his primary work is to the house of David, to the Israelites, to the Jew. It's not that his work does not also include the Gentile world, because it does. He himself even speaks about other sheep. He even speaks about those who are not in the house of Israel. But here, it is very clear that the Lord is of much interest, has much interest upon those who are not a Jew. And that's because he gives audience to a group of Greeks. These Greeks are likely, as we've learned in the book of Acts, these individuals who are not by birth Jewish, but they have heard of the God of Israel. They've heard news of Him. They've heard the reputation of Him. And so they come seeking and they come searching, perhaps to use the birth of Jesus as one of the examples of this, that those outside of the house of Israel come searching for the Messiahs. Mainly speaking of those Magi who come from a different country. Who come from afar. And they've come here seeking and searching that which they've heard about. Perhaps even like that Queen of Sheba who comes when Solomon is ruling. And the news and the reputation of Solomon spreads widely. So she comes searching. She comes seeking. Is this reputation true? Is this nation indeed as it's been purported? Scripture teaches us that when she arrives, she says, I haven't known the half of it. The reputation of this nation, the reputation of their God, I haven't even known the half of it. They get there and they see and they observe this splendor the spectacularness of God upon display, that His glory has been seen. And so, here in John chapter 12, beginning in verse 20, a little bit of background from that, Jesus has already entered the city, the crowds have already been declaring Hosanna upon Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord, upon all of the nations of the world would be blessed because of the work of Jesus. And so the crowds have already been triumphantly and eagerly anticipating the entrance of Jesus on this day. And these verses just prior to this, verses 12, through 19 we hear the news Jesus as foretold in the Old Testament prophets that he would ride into the city on on the cult of a donkey in verse 15 that that that reference to this from Zechariah that that Jesus enters upon this cult of a donkey and in there he's making his his announcement he is indeed the king of the Jews he's the king of the glory of God. Also what's happening here is that there is a plot amongst the religious elite to kill Lazarus. Now that's just, that's not just a passing note of a historic position. You remember who Lazarus was, don't you? He's the one whom Jesus called out of the tomb. And they want him dead. which makes you wonder, it's really not a good day to be known as Lazarus. You know for certain you're going to die again, but you're certainly not thinking that it will be because the government or because the religious elite want you quiet. Because how can you not speak of the glory of God everywhere you go? You don't even have to open your mouth You were in the grave. Everyone who witnessed it knew that you were dead. You stank of death. And now everywhere you go, you don't have the stench of death on you. Everything about you represents life. So this is what's immediately surrounding this inquiry of these Greeks that come to Jesus. This is what's happening. Jesus has entered the city. There's a lot. It's a busy city. Jerusalem is buzzing with business. You and I might think of Black Friday as the calendar event in our Western culture that boosts the economy for the entirety of the year. Well, the Passover in the city of Jerusalem sat as some type, the Passover would represent a type of an economic boost. You've got people visiting the city who are not normally there on a regular commerce of the day. The hotels, the beds and breakfasts, the restaurants, the retail, everything is busy. The government is active, the religious activity is active, and in the midst of this, now, you also have the news that Jesus is about to take his place as the King of the Jews. So you know, the city of Jerusalem on this day, in this year, was in a great buzz of interest. Well, there is this group, In verse 20, it says there were some Greeks. Now here's what we know about these Greeks. We don't know a lot about them. We don't know specifically which ones they are. We don't know their names. They're not just, they are Gentiles, but they're not unbelieving Gentiles. These are Greeks, these are Gentiles who at least are seeking the God of Israel. They are, as the Book of Acts, what we would most know these individuals, this group of people known as the God-fearers. They are individuals who have heard of this God, Yahweh. They believe Him. They seek Him. They are allowed to gather in the synagogues. They have, at least partially, if not even fully, become total proselytes of the Jewish faith. They are of interest in this. They have at least converted to belief in the God of Israel, if not in total practice of it, at least in the belief that He is the one true God. And thus they win the title, they win the description as the God-fearers. That's who they're known as, these Greeks. They have come to Jerusalem just like all else who are in the city of Jerusalem. They're there because it's a calendar of significant interest. And it is the Passover, so it is the day that anyone who is a fearer of God would be in the city to offer their sacrifices and to be found and obedient unto the Lord. They are likely, we don't know, again, we don't know much about the specifics about their names, what particular towns they're from. History points toward that they are probably from the region around the Sea of Galilee. So from this area also would be known as the Decapolis. You will recall that region primarily, we're best known We're best introduced to this region in Mark chapter 5 when Jesus is coming across that giant lake. It's so big that they call it the Sea of Galilee, but it's not a sea, it's an actual lake, but it's gigantic. And it also carries with it typical weather patterns of that which would be out on the open sea. So here's Jesus coming to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and when he approaches, when their boat lands shore, there is an individual there in the mountainside, in the rocks, in the tombs, known as the demoniac. And there Jesus has that encounter with that man. And without going into all of the details of it, You know that there is an interaction between Jesus and this man, and Jesus heals the man. He restores sanity to him, and he gives him once again, or perhaps, we don't know, for the first time ever, that he's actually sitting clothed and in his right mind, according to the Gospel of Mark. And in that state, the businessmen in that region, known as the Decapolis, These are, all the good Greek students in the room will know that that's just a way of describing 10 cities, 10 regions or 10 communities inside of this region. And so the businessmen who lost their business because Jesus cast those demons into the swine and they ran off a cliff into the sea and died. They are pretty furious with Jesus. And can you just imagine this demoniac, pleading with Jesus, please let me go with you. These people, they were previously at peace with me in my out of control estate, but now that you've given sanity to me and you've given control to me, they want me dead. I want to go with you, please let me go with you. Do you recall what Jesus tells that man? No. You must go home to your family. to your community and tell them. You look at this in Matthew, in Mark chapter 5, Jesus tells him, tell them everything that I have done for you. Now there's good evidence that this man did exactly that. Everywhere Jesus went in this Galilee region, people flooded to him. And they were mostly not Jews. Greeks, Gentiles, So history at least paints the picture that these individuals, and we don't see it specifically here from the scripture text, but are they, would it not make sense that it would be possible that they could certainly be from there? And I certainly don't want to build a case if it's not there, but because history at least makes the possibility consideration of it, it certainly lends itself to some believability that they're from this region. and from this region that they've heard, at least from somebody who heard from this guy who was once demon-possessed. Well, the fact that they come in verse 21, these Greeks have come to Philip, is another indication that they are probably from this particular region. Philip and Andrew are the only two of Jesus' disciples who carry Greek origin names. It doesn't mean that they're Greek, doesn't mean they're Gentiles, but they carry names that are of that culture. And so at least it gives us further reason to see the comfortableness that they came to specifically to Philip. Otherwise, why does John need to point out that they came specifically to Philip? Because I mean, how often is Philip the main point guy? Andrew, we certainly know this about Andrew, Andrew loved to bring people to Jesus. This is, anytime that we read about Andrew and the encounters with Jesus, he's constantly bringing people to Jesus. So it's beautiful, at least in the retelling of this event from John's perspective, that these Greeks, these God-fearers, come to Philip, and Philip goes to Andrew, and then the two of them come and say this to Jesus. They come and they tell Jesus, hey, these Greeks, they got a question for us. They want you to address this. So we also know that they're requesting a private conversation with Jesus from the text in verse Well, let me reread verses 20 through 23 at least here, and we'll see how this lays out. And why is it important that they're asking for a private conversation with Jesus? Verse 20, now, there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast. These men came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Well, Philip came and he told Andrew. And Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. So at least should at least beg the question of why perhaps why are they asking for a conversation with Jesus and then why is Jesus now ready to say the hour has come because in most encounters that Jesus has with non-Jews and Jews alike, but as certainly pretty common with the non-Jews, is Jesus is telling them, go and tell no one, except for a few occasions, and one of those being, Mark chapter five, where Jesus tells that demoniac, go and tell everybody. Generally speaking, Jesus says, don't tell anybody. The reason for that is because usually, There is a known plot to kill Jesus. And Jesus is aware that if they kill Him prematurely, that the work that His Father sent Him to do would not have been accomplished. And we'll see that in the text as we unfold the remaining verses. But specifically here, for Jesus to say, the hour has now come. So this is news to the disciples because they've listened to the majority of these conversations, where Jesus says, go and tell no one, for the hour has not yet come. for me to go to the cross. He's all the time pointing to the disciples. Death is the ultimate direction that he's going to be moving toward. He's satisfied inside of a city that is busy economically in the trade. It's busy with interest because of the religious activity in the city and the commerce is just booming and news that there is a hunt for Lazarus. So for Jesus to agree to a meeting would have otherwise, could have had the potential of being a risky move on his part. But because Jesus is announcing, the hour has come. for the Son of Man to be glorified. He's pleased to meet with these individuals. Now what we don't know, we don't know specifically did they have a sidebar meeting in a closed room with these Greeks. Or is there still some of the large crowd that we're introduced to in verse 12? Is Jesus still mostly among the large crowd? Or is this in a much more intimate setting? I don't think that the numerical value of who's in the meeting is of any enormous significance because Jesus has announced the hour is present. Today is, it's okay for my presence to be known. However, you notice in verse 36 that Jesus will go and hide. We'll address that here if time will allow. We'll at least address it here in a moment. We'll see how that unfolds. Here, Jesus is satisfied to meet. He's heard the news from Philip and Andrew and these particular God-fearers of interest in this Jesus. He's agreed to come and have a meeting with them. Because it is a known plan, not only to kill Lazarus, but the Pharisees have been on a mission to kill Jesus. And largely, the Pharisees are attempting to kill Jesus privately. Because they know the crowd, especially today. The crowd is thrilled that Jesus is in the city. They have been waiting for this. So Jesus is really, He can go anywhere in the city, you could say, without any fear of any private or any public of His life being taken. Certainly the concern might perhaps be for their intent to take His life privately. And so the unfolding here comes with us even further. We see that there is truly an anticipation of Jesus for Gethsemane, the moment where he'll go to the garden to pray. There's an anticipation for that. Look at it with me as we continue through the text. Verse 24, truly, truly, Jesus is at least speaking to Philip and Andrew and the Greeks. Perhaps it's all of the disciples and perhaps it's even some of this larger crowd we're introduced to in verse 12. Verse 24, Jesus speaking truly Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Verse 26, if anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." Now, largely for the sake of my observation, I want to spend the majority of the examination of verse 27 specifically, but even the verses that will follow this. Just know here Jesus is speaking He's, and you know this about the Greek, you know this about the Word of God that you hold in your hands, that anytime you hear Jesus say, truly, truly, He's not just saying, hey, listen, if you don't believe anything else I say, at least believe this. He's not saying that. to say truly truly or listen closely to me and pay close attention he's not saying you know if you if the other things that I've said if you're not comfortable with them okay okay whatever but certainly this make certain of this what he's saying is certainly making an emphasis listen what I have to say right now these Greeks are coming inquiring are you are you the Messiah? are you the Christ? We know that that must be of their interest. Why else would they want? Why else would they ask Jesus? Why else would they seek an audience with Jesus? Otherwise, they're in the city to go through the motions of the religious activity. Their inquiry of Jesus is because they are God-fearers first, and they're familiar with the Old Testament prophetic text that speak about a Christ, that speak about a Messiah. So their inquiry here is of that level. So Jesus answering in this way, the hour has come, the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, He's prophetically speaking about His death. If I don't die, then what I've come to do will not be accomplished. If I don't die, then you could go ahead and mark it, I am not the Messiah. If I'm not died like this, if I'm not killed like this, if I'm not taken like this, if I don't give my life for, as the Father has sent me to do, then there is no value of anything here. And you should go searching for another. So Jesus is saying to these God-fearers, it is true. It is time. I must now die. He'll speak about the specifics of that in the coming verses. But now let's at least bring in verse 27. Notice a familiar tone of our Lord Jesus Christ. You remember there in the garden of Gethsemane, there Jesus is as, The Gospels refer to us, he's under such enormous physical stress that he's sweating drops of blood. Doctors tell us that that kind of stress on the human body is rarely experienced. It can be, it has been, but it speaks of the enormity of the physical stress that the Lord Jesus Christ is under. And you remember how the Lord prays there in the garden? Oh Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours. One could read that and struggle with what is Jesus meaning? Is Jesus actually considering another path to save humanity? And we know that that's not true. We know that there's no possible way that that could be even legitimately considered by the Lord Jesus Christ. And verse 27 is a similar kind of a statement. Now, keep in mind, who is Jesus speaking with? It's hard to tell. Has there been a break in this? And we're now at a new scene, at a new location, at a new hour. John doesn't give us any time. time differentials to know that any break in the conversation or any break in what he's saying to the Greeks, that he's no longer speaking to them and now he's only speaking here, we can just assume, and I think it's the right thing for us to assume, that he's still speaking in the presence of these Greeks, these God-fearers, and the disciples, at least Philip and Andrew, perhaps the others, and then also perhaps maybe this larger crowd that has been around him. Jesus now says this, now my soul has become troubled. And what shall I say? Father saved me from this hour, but for this purpose, I came to this hour. We may not get out of verse 27. beyond our time today, listen again, Jesus say, my soul has become troubled. Is that meaning Jesus is perplexed? confused, the way you and I might use the word troubled. I'm troubled over these circumstances. I don't know how to interpret them. It doesn't make sense that I'm in this condition where I devote myself to God to live like this, and now I don't get it. It doesn't make sense that I'm like this. Perhaps that might be why Peter would say, do not think it's strange when you are in this fiery ordeal, Peter speaking to the church, it shouldn't be a strange, perplexing, troubling condition for us. This is the way it is. This is the normal action, this is the normal existence of a believer, that in this world we will face trials and hardships. Coming to Christ does not, and you know this, You know this better than anybody in the day, that coming to Christ does not wipe clear all of the troubles. It doesn't make all of your wrongs better. It doesn't make any of your wrongs right. It doesn't make any of the hardships. Coming to Christ is simply you, by the grace of God, seeing who God is, and you now having the capacity to speak of His glory like this. To be troubled, thinking it doesn't make sense that I'm doing everything that I've been commanded to do and yet here I am still struggling. This isn't this kind of confusion for Jesus. If you will, if you can, think of it, think of it biblically. Think of it contextually. Now there is some complications in the grammatical placement of the question mark. Some translations put the question mark as Jesus says, what shall I say? Question mark. I wouldn't say that's a wrong place for the question mark. The New American Standard doesn't place the question mark there. It places it after he says, Father, save me from this hour. The placement of the question mark doesn't change the statement. It may give a reason to study and to think better, but it doesn't change this. Is Jesus saying, what shall I say? I don't know what to do. I'm confused. I thought I was coming to this city to be crowned king of the Jews, and now I'm kind of getting this mixed message from God that I'm going to have to die? He's not in that kind of a troubled condition. His troubling, his perplexion, his trouble is not perplexion about his own plight. It would be better suited to see that he's really kind of answering a assumed question. People would be saying, what? He's going to come to the city and die? What kind of a king is this? His trouble is not of His own path, of His own purpose, of the hour in which He's in. If you could, if you would, consider this in this respect, is it that Jesus is in a heart rending grief over the moments that are immediately in front of him, or is this really more of a bold confidence in the face of a gloating religious community that says, we've got him right where we want him? Is Jesus now going to say what? Father, save me from this hour? I've come, I've obeyed, I'm in the path of obedience. And now what am I gonna say? God, save me from the moment. Jesus isn't troubled like this. He's not sitting there perplexed that I thought we had another plan. It is that this is the plan, this is the purpose. He's entered the city, the city is abuzz. Everyone is shouting and singing, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the King, Hosanna, blessed be the name of the Lord. Everyone is pleased that Jesus is in the city. He's not troubled over this. He's not sitting here thinking, well, that's not the welcome I was expecting. He's not even thinking, these people just don't get it yet. It is really a bold, confident statement that Jesus is saying inside of a body that is in a temporal day would help understand and help explain why in this moment and in the moment in the garden, that there would be significant, serious, physical, temporal stress upon his being. But this I don't see as one lending itself to the physical stress upon him so much as it is a bold statement. Perhaps is it to the Greeks who've come saying, are you the Christ? Is it perhaps to the disciples that just never seem to get it? They keep wanting to put Jesus in position of an earthly king and always wanting to know, can I sit by your side in the new kingdom? And can I be elevated to this position in the new kingdom? They're obviously not linking in completely to everything that the Lord Jesus Christ has come to do. His coming is not in the establishment of any kingdom. His coming a purpose and he says it in the last part of that 27th verse for this purpose I came to this hour what I'm going to say now father saved me from this no it is his confidence it is his certainty it is his awareness this is is the work that he's come to do for this purpose. I've come to this hour. What is this purpose in this hour? Verse 28 father glorify your name. There is his purpose. That's why he's in the city. He's come to glorify the father. He's come to make He's come to finish. He's come to accomplish the work that the Father has sent Him to do. Here is my purpose. Here is my task. Here is my order. Here is what I've come. Here is what was settled before the foundations of the earth were even established that I would come to do, and that would be to glorify my Father. And so His work is to do this, to glorify the Father. What would glorify the Father. Can you imagine this? And you can because this is our, this is our unconverted estate before the opening of our own eyes, the opening of our own ears, that our condition is one that deserves the full wrath of God. The world will certainly face the wrath of the Father. Why will they face His wrath? Because of their rebellion. Their rebellion against holiness. Their rebellion against righteousness. Their rebellion to accept and believe. Their rebellion against any submissive condition that they must submit to the Father or submit to the Son or submit, as Paul would argue, to the Spirit. There is a rebellion. in the heart of man that would say, I don't need God. That does not glorify God, that man would be found superior and would go unpunished for being so arrogant and so prideful. What would glorify the father? That the standard has been raised and it is now the property of humanity. The standard is this, Christ must be lifted up.