JEREMIAH 31:31-34 | HEBREWS 5:7-9 | JOHN 12:20-33
The Pastor’s Reflections
The gospel begins in a very interesting way. Some Greeks came to worship at the temple during the Passover feast. They asked Philip if they could speak with Jesus. They were in the court of the Gentiles – the only area in the temple where non-Jews could enter. This is the court that Jesus “cleansed” when he first began his ministry. Perhaps these Greeks knew of the incident and wanted to check Jesus out. Perhaps, they heard of the healings he had performed. Remember this “cleansing of the temple” was an act that intimated that Jesus was the Messiah. We’re not told if Jesus met with these Greeks, but what we do learn is what was on Jesus’ mind at that moment. He was thinking about the conclusion of his mission. He was thinking about his death. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
Those listening to him would not have understood immediately what he was saying. They would have thought of the prophecy of Daniel where the term “Son of Man” refers to a Messiah who would liberate Israel and inaugurate a golden age for the Jewish people. The term “Son of Man” would have gotten their attention instantly. Was Jesus actually saying that he was Daniel’s Son of Man? Was Jesus announcing that he was ready to mobilize an army to bring the Roman occupation to an end?
Their flash of excitement and hope lasted but a second. Jesus hit them with two sayings that redefined the Son of Man. “Amen. Amen. I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies it produces much fruit.” The Son of Man is supposed to be a conquering hero! What’s this
image of death all about?
Jesus then hit them with the second saying. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world, will preserve it for eternal life.” More death talk! The disciples must have been reeling. Jesus then spoke a prayer so that they could hear his inmost thoughts. “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
But it wasn’t enough for Jesus to let his disciples hear his prayer; he let them hear the Father’s response. In a voice that sounded like thunder, they heard, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
The Father gave witness to Jesus by blessing all that he had done and all he was about to do. The glory of his ministry was to be crowned with the glory of the cross. Again, Jesus shared his thoughts with the disciples. “Now is the time of judgment on this world, now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”
This passage is given to us as a prelude to Holy Week. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday when we’ll read the Passion according to Mark. The image of the cross will tower over us throughout Holy Week. We mustn’t fear it; we mustn’t run away from it like the young man in Mark’s Passion who, when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, ran away from the scene. While the cross gives witness to God’s unconditional love, it simultaneously pleads with us to die like the grain of wheat so that we might be reborn to a new and resurrected life.
