WEDNESDAY, DAY 19 OF LENT 2025

I failed to write on Wednesday, so am catching up on Thursday. I actually thought I had written. I had my Bible laid out beside the computer, had read and reread the portion of John 12 I wanted to write about, and got distracted and diverted to a different writing project. Aarrgghh! Is this what getting older looks like?!?

I am intrigued by John's detail in John 12:20-22. Some Greeks who came up for the Passover Festival  wanted to see Jesus. They went to Philip and asked him (and John adds very specifically that Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee). Then Philip told Andrew; and both Andrew and Philip went to Jesus. It is interesting to me that he provides such specific detail about the process of their sharing that information with Jesus, but in verse 23, his antecedent is not clear when John says, "Jesus replied to them." 

After reading further and knowing there was a crowd, I am going to assume Jesus was speaking to not only his disciples that were present, but to the Greeks who wanted to see him as well as a larger crowd that had formed around him. He tells those listening that his time has come to be glorified; and he talks about a grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying, and because of that, reproducing. He is predicting his death, but at that point his sharing that is not as easily identifiable as it might be. At the end of this portion revealing to us what he said at the time, Jesus says in verse 28, "Father, glorify your name."

Then a voice from heaven proclaims, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd heard it, and while some claimed it was just thunder, others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 

Jesus responded, "This voice came not for me, but for you. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself." 

The hearers didn't understand. They had an erroneous view of who the Messiah would be and what he would do in his coming - and that is why many Jews are still waiting for Jesus to come. They believed all along that he would come as the conquering hero - and he will - but first he had to come to lay down his life to redeem us. He did it for you. He did it for me.