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Late in the afternoon on Tuesday in the last week in the life of Christ, John, alone, records for us an event that seems to have occurred while Jesus was still at the Temple observing the people.
Some "Greeks" came to Jerusalem to worship. Some scholars believe that they were actually Jews whose ancestors had been scattered some 500 years before by the Babylonians when the Jews were taken into captivity into Babylon. Having never returned to live in Israel, they still continued to return for the feast days.
Let us remind ourselves that this is the week of the Feast of the Passover. Some scholars believe that these, who sought Jesus, were actually Gentile converts, called "proselytes of the Gate", devout worshippers of the true God even though they were strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel. Many Gentiles were called Greeks.
Notice why they sought Jesus. They came to honor Him, but they knew Him not. So they asked around and they found one of His Disciples, one by the name of Philip. This was a great honor for Philip. We do not know very much about him. He was a shy and quiet man whose home was at Bethsaida, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus met Philip at Bethany, beyond the Jordan, not the Bethany where Mary and Martha lived but where John the Baptist was baptizing. Jesus personally invited Philip to become a Disciple. Philip introduced Nathaniel to Jesus. Philip was the one who took charge of the provisions for the group. He was somewhat like Thomas, he was slow to grasp the relationship of Jesus to the Father. But to these Greeks, he represented one who was a follower of Christ. One who might get them an opportunity to talk to Jesus.
It is the greatest honor for a Christian to be asked by someone to help them see Jesus, to be recognized by someone as a follower and close enough to Him to help them with their problems. "Sir", they said to Philip, "We would see Jesus." It is evident that they had great respect for Philip. What did they mean? What did they want? If all they wanted was to "see " Jesus, they could have done this without Philip, but they wanted more. They wanted to "see" with their hearts, their minds, their understanding. I read of a church that had inscribed across the pulpit facing the minister, "Sir, we would see Jesus." It had been put there by the congregation as a request to every one who spoke from that pulpit.
So what did Philip do? He went and told Andrew and together they went to Jesus. John does not do a very good job of putting the ends of this story together, but a study reveals that this request did two things for Jesus. First, it made Him glad. He was honored that these Greeks would seek to know Him and His mission. He foresees a great harvest amongst the Gentiles. But it also makes Him sad. It signals that His hour had come. The time for the "glorifying" of the Son of Man, glorified by a cruel death on a cross. How could this be? Christ explains. "Accept a grain of corn fall into the ground and die, it will not bring forth fruit." Accept Christ die on the cross, there will be no atonement, no forgiveness, no salvation. But with His death, all of this will be possible to all who believe and are called.
Then Jesus instructs the Disciples to do likewise for he who loves his life, will loose it, but he who hates his life shall find it for eternity. Matthew Henry says that many a man "hugs himself to death". "He that loves the things of this world, will miss out on the fullness of life that is ours in Christ. But should we actually "hate" this life? No, we simply need to understand that the things of this world are not capable of making us happy. We need to be able to do with them as Jesus told the Rich Ruler, "Sell what you have and give to the poor." Its the love of money that Jesus condemns.
"If you follow me, serve me." you cannot have your energies consumed by the attaining of riches and have anything left over to serve Jesus. Notice what the "wages" are for serving Christ. Happiness, joy, peace and assurance. Secondly, we shall be honored by the Father. Those who serve Christ must humble themselves and if need be, be crucified by the world. But in due time we will be exalted by the Father.
Well what happened to the Greeks? We are not told. But we can believe that they to heard the lesson and being sincere as they must have been to seek Him out, they went home, walking in the light, as God gave them the ability to see the light.
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