John 12:23

What then does the Lord say? Since He had commanded the disciples "not to go in the way of the Gentiles" (Matt. 10:5), and now saw that the Gentiles were already coming to Him of their own accord (for the Greeks who wished to see …

And Jesus answered them,....

The hour is come - The time is come. The word “hour” commonly means a definite part or a division of a day; but it also is used to denote a brief period, and a fixed, definite, determined time. It is used in this sense here. The appointed, fixed time is come - that is, is so near at hand that it may be said to be come. The Son of man - This is the favorite title which Jesus gives to himself, denoting his union with man, and the interest he felt in his welfare.

The middle wall of partition that keeps them out from the commonwealth of Israel is on the eve of breaking down, "and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, shall draw all men unto Me"; I see them "flying as a cloud, and as doves to their cotes"--a glorious event that will be for the Son of man, by which this is to be brought about.

There is more going on in some people's minds than we are aware of. The case of the Greeks before us is a remarkable proof of this. Who would have thought when Christ was on earth, that foreigners from a distant land would have come forward in Jerusalem, and said, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus"? Who these Greeks were, what they meant, why they desired to see Jesus, what their inward motives were—all these are questions we cannot answer. Like Zaccheus, they may have been influenced by curiosity.

There is more going on in some people's minds than we are aware of. The case of the Greeks before us is a remarkable proof of this. Who would have thought when Christ was on earth, that foreigners from a distant land would have come forward in Jerusalem, and said, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus"? Who these Greeks were, what they meant, why they desired to see Jesus, what their inward motives were—all these are questions we cannot answer. Like Zaccheus, they may have been influenced by curiosity. Like the wise men from the East, they may have surmised that Jesus was the promised King of the Jews, whom all the eastern world was expecting. Enough for us to know that they showed more interest in Christ than Caiaphas and all his companions. Enough to know that they drew from our Lord's lips sayings which are still read in one hundred and fifty languages, from one end of the world to the other. We learn, for one thing, from our Lord's words in this passage, that death is the way to spiritual life and glory. "Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit." This sentence was primarily meant to teach the wondering Greeks the true nature of Messiah's kingdom. If they thought to see a King like the kings of this world, they were greatly mistaken. Our Lord would have them know that He came to carry a cross, and not to wear a crown. He came not to live a life of honor, ease, and magnificence, but to die a shameful and dishonored death. The kingdom He came to set up was to begin with a crucifixion, and not with a coronation. Its glory was to take its rise not from victories won by the sword, and from accumulated treasures of gold and silver, but from the death of its King. But this sentence was also meant to teach a wider and broader lesson still.

CERTAIN Greeks desired to "see Jesus." They informed Philip of their desire, Philip consulted with Andrew and the two disciples together informed their Master of what seemed to them to be a very important matter. As wise men from the East once came to see Jesus, so now would these Gentiles from the West do the same!

CERTAIN Greeks desired to "see Jesus." They informed Philip of their desire, Philip consulted with Andrew and the two disciples together informed their Master of what seemed to them to be a very important matter. As wise men from the East once came to see Jesus, so now would these Gentiles from the West do the same! Probably Philip and Andrew expected that Christ would display His miraculous power before the eyes of these enquirers, but our Lord, instead of going on from His triumphal procession and the hosannas of the multitude to something outwardly grander, began at once to speak about a glorification far other than either His disciples or these Greeks desired—a glorification which was to follow upon death and burial! Is it not very noteworthy how our Lord's mind was always dominated by the anticipation of that Baptism of His, that immersion in grief and suffering, that decease which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem? This was the main thought of His whole life and nothing could make Him forget it. In His heaviest moments of trial and in His brightest moments of joy, His heart was equally at the Cross—He was longing to complete His atoning Sacrifice for the salvation of His people. O brave, loving heart of Christ, so firmly fixed in love, so resolute to be pierced for the Beloved—we admire and love You in return! Surely we make too little of our Redeemer's death. I fear that even we, who preach most concerning it, dwell too little upon it. That we who pray, plead it too little. That we who sing, praise our Lord too little for His wondrous death and that we who live upon His Grace, yet think too little of the channel by which it flows to us! Christ's death is His Glory and it ought also to be ours.

The hour is come, that the Son of man, etc. - The time is just at hand in which the Gospel shall be preached to all nations, the middle wall of partition broken down, and Jews and Gentiles united in one fold. But this could not be till after his death and resurrection, as the succeeding verse teaches. The disciples were the first fruits of the Jews; these Greeks, the first fruits of the Gentiles.