Let's turn together to the gospel of John, the 12th chapter as we continue to forge our way through this chapter at a fairly fast clip. John chapter 12, beginning at verse 20,
reading through 26 this morning, I've already pointed out to you the significance of the transition in Jesus' ministry of the Jews' rejection even while they appear to be receiving him, just a few days later he will be on the cross, and so they're receiving him and proclaiming Hosea or Huzanna rather, blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord, seems to have wrong hollow. And this morning we see again the progress of that transition in Jesus' ministry as it becomes exciting for us. Now the ministry will be opening up to the Gentiles, beginning at verse 20 of chapter 12. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip who was from Bessedia in Galilee and asked him, sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew, Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus, and Jesus answered them, the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified, 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, whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. May the Lord bless the reading of his word and the hearing of his people. First of all, as we walk through these verses, let's answer a very obvious question, who are these Greeks? Here we are at the Jewish Passover and the Holy City of Jerusalem, and all of a sudden, we have, as it were, from nowhere, the introduction of Greeks. These are most likely and almost definitely not Hellenist or Greek speaking Jews. If they were, certainly, we would not be led to believe by John that these were not, in fact, Jews already that simply spoke the Greek language. John gives no indication that these are Jews, and he points out their hesitancy and coming to Jesus. The Jews we already noted had already stormed Jesus as it were on the road to Jerusalem. Why would these particular ones being Hellenists, if they were, which they are not? Why would there be so hesitant to come and speak to Jesus? Also, these are probably not proselytes, and what we mean by that is, a Greek person of ethnic origin, a Gentile, if you will, who had adopted the Jewish faith in such a way as to undergo circumcision and to become a Jew. So, a proselyte is one who was not born a Jew, but who has become a Jew. Again, it would seem that John would have pointed to that and that they would be more comfortable approaching Jesus, now embracing their own Jewishness, having gone through all that was necessary to become a proselyte Jew. Most likely, then, we are left with the fact that these are God-fearers. A God-fearer is a Greek or a Gentile who was drawn to the monotheistic religion of the Jews, drawn to their system of ethics, drawn to their organization of family life, and to marriage. Probably coming out of decapolis, which had a large Gentile population, the Greeks were welcome at the Jewish feast. Now, as we go through the scriptures, oftentimes, it seems that the Jews just really don't talk to anybody unless they are Jewish, but in fact, the Gentiles were welcome, remember, at the temple, there was even a Gentile court, and so the Gentiles who were interested in Jewish religion or supportive of Jewish religion would be able to proceed into the Gentile court, the largest of those outer courts, and there would be a wall about waste high, which they could see beyond, but they would not be able to go past, and there would be a sign that was hung there that even said, if you proceed any further, it's under penalty of death. So there was a presumed capital punishment for proceeding as a Gentile beyond the Gentile court, which is most likely why these God-fearing Gentiles, called here Greeks, why these Gentiles were hesitant and their approach to Jesus. There was built into the system a distance between those who were Gentiles, and those who were teachers, or those who were welcomed into the temple and the services of the Jewish faith. And so the Gentiles would have approached those that had names that seemed to resemble, or came from, a Greek background, Andrew and Philip. These were not Jewish names of origin, even though Andrew and Philip were Jews, these were Greek names. And so these Gentile Greeks find Andrew, and they walk to him and find Philip, they go to these two men of Greek name, and then those are the ones who will take the message to Jesus. So they're not Jews by birth or circumcision, but they were probably converts philosophically to Jewish theology because they had come to worship. They had come to worship. It's important now to capture the mind of those who were drawn into the reading of the scriptures, who were beginning to see the symbology in the temple, who were beginning to watch and observe the sacrificial system, because all of this creates the groundwork, or the area, or the thinking, the structure, that they will come to understand Christ and his mission on. Why would Andrew or Philip hesitate to bring that word to Jesus? Don't you get the idea that there was some hesitation? They came to Philip, who was from Bethesadian Galilee telling him very simply, we want to see Jesus. And then Philip doesn't go directly to Jesus. He goes to Andrew to consult with him, to ask Andrew as it were, do you think this is proper? Can we go and bring this information to Jesus? Why would Philip be hesitant, do you think? To take these inquires to Jesus, after all, the whole atmosphere is charged with coronation, the whole atmosphere is charged with reception of the king, and so you would think that these who desire an audience with Jesus would be ushered straight in, straight away, to see Jesus. Well, the disciples had been instructed by Jesus that there was an exclusive ministry that Jesus was conducting to the Jewish world. In Matthew 10 5, he even told them as he was sending them out to do ministry, it says these 12 Jesus sent out instructing them, go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of Samaritans, but go rather to the sheep of the house of Israel. You might recall from John 4, the conversation with the Samaritan woman, which Jesus had, while the disciples were going to get food, and as he was talking to the woman and of Samaria, he told her salvation is of the Jews. Salvation comes from the Jews, emphasizing that Jewish origination of his ministry and of salvation, but then he also said when the disciples came back, look and lift up your eyes and as the Samaritans were approaching from the town, he said the fields are white and the harvest. Here we call it the first glimpse of the orientation of Christ to the world and to the great commission. Philip and Andrew came to Jesus probably even though they had been taught to not go into Gentile towns and that salvation was of the Jews and that Jesus was King of the Jews, yet they had also heard him recently speaking of sheep from a different flock.