John 12:20-36
20Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
27“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. 34The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah£ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”
In our passage for today it is Palm Sunday and earlier in the chapter, Jesus had made his entry into Jerusalem. A great crowd that was in town for the festival heard that Jesus was coming and welcomed Him with great excitement.
Some Greek speaking Jews wanted to see Jesus, so they sought out Philip, one of the twelve that had a Greek name. Philip tells Andrew (also with a Greek name) and together, they tell Jesus.
The Greeks probably wanted to talk to Jesus about His coming into power and bringing back glory to Israel. Instead, Jesus talks about His coming death.
This perplexes the crowd, since they believe that the Jewish scriptures teach that the reign of the Messiah will last forever. They cannot reconcile this with Jesus’ words that He is going to be crucified.
Verse 37 says that “Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.”
Israel has been waiting for a long time for the Messiah to arrive. Their expectations were based on several well-known scripture passages. Here are two examples.
Isaiah 9:7 – His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.
Daniel 7:14 – To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
They are led to believe that when the Messiah finally arrives, He will establish His kingdom and reign forever as the King of Israel. They hear and see all the wonderful and powerful things Jesus is doing, they get their hopes up that Jesus is the Messiah and that they will be freed from Roman rule.
So, when Jesus starts to talk about His impending death, most conclude that He cannot be the Messiah, even though they have witnessed Jesus doing things that only the Messiah should be able to do. Further, the invitation that Jesus gives them – To follow Him in giving up the things of this earth – does not appeal to them, especially now that they conclude that Jesus is not the Messiah.
Today, thanks to the completed New Testament, we now understand that the establishment of an eternal kingdom under the rule of the Messiah will happen the next time Jesus comes to earth.
Jesus came the first time to suffer and die for our sins. He took the punishment that we deserved, so that by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our sins will be forgiven, and we would be assured of eternity with the Lord and our fellow believers.
However, if our expectations of the role of Jesus in our lives is not accurate, we can still make the same mistake that people made some two thousand years ago.
If our expectations of Jesus is that He is going to help us in our pursuit of earthly happiness, then this will hinder us in our lives. If we really believe that Jesus is our helper in whatever we do, then we will undoubtedly be disappointed when things do not go according to our plans – When we get sick; a loved one dies; we lose our job; when relationships fail; etc.
There are promises that God will help us, but it is associated with when we are pursuing works on behalf of the Kingdom of God. Luke 12:31 – “Strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
Jesus’ invitation to follow Him still stands for us – To put priority on doing the work of the Kingdom, instead of putting first our pursuit of pleasures and happiness. Once we are willing to put to death our selfish tendencies, we will become a fruitful citizen of the Kingdom of God.
There are many around us that need to see the light of Jesus. The opportunity for people to be saved is not endless – The Lord could come back any day. This dark world needs the children of light to make it less dark.
To this world, we need to make the same invitation that Jesus made – “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on October 12, 2025.)
Japanese Congregational Church 