In John 12:20ff, we have a curious story about “some Greeks” who approach one of Jesus’s native Galilean disciples with a request: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” The text doesn’t tell us whether Jesus said “yes” or “no.” Instead, 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very 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. 25 Those who love their life [ψυχή] lose it, and those who hate their life [ψυχή] in this world will keep it for eternal life [ζωή]. (John 12:23-25 NRSVue)
The term “Greeks” is essentially a linguistic and cultural term and can have a variety of meanings. Most likely, in this passage, the Greeks are “God-fearers.” These are persons from the larger Greek-speaking society who are not Jews, have not formally converted to Jewish religion, but are attracted to the faith of the Jews, particularly their belief in one true God. Places like Galilee included both communities of Jews and communities of persons from the larger Greek-speaking culture. The belief of Jews in one true God was appealing to seekers. Some of these seekers traveled to Jerusalem for the festivals, probably to learn more of what this faith was all about. Some were curious about a new teacher and miracle-worker they had heard about, Jesus of Nazareth. Not being Jews, it would have been too audacious to approach Jesus directly. They figured that a disciple with a Greek name like Philip would be sympathetic to their request and could intercede and introduce them to Jesus.
For Jesus, it is significant that non-Jews, people from the nations (Gentiles), would want to speak with him. Jesus senses that this is a turning point in his ministry. It is a sign of both death and grief as well as honor and glory. Somehow both grief and glory are intermingled. It is hard for us 2,000 years later to fully understand Jesus’s response. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. In this saying, Jesus identifies himself, possibly as a representative of the whole people of Israel, with a visionary figure in the Old Testament book of Daniel which talks about the “Son of Man” or, as often translated today, the “Human One.” This reference to Daniel 7 is probably the most stark reminder that the one who is fully human faces both the intense grief of impending death as well as the promise of the fullest of glory and honor.
Jesus goes on to say, in effect, that you can’t have glory without the grief. 24 Very 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. Death precedes glory. Jesus understands that in Daniel’s vision,
13 …I saw one like a human being (“Son of Man”)
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One (God on the throne)
and was presented before him.
14 To him (the Son of Man) 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.
Daniel 7:13–14 (NRSVue)
Yet, Jesus is not celebrating in glory at an upcoming victory. Instead, his thoughts and feelings mirror those of Daniel himself. 15 As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. (Daniel 7:15 NRSVue) And in John 12:27, Jesus says, 27 “Now my soul [ψυχή] 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.
Jesus understood that only through death could glory be revealed. In the midst of his troubled spirit, he simply says, 28 Father, glorify your name.” And a heavenly voice responds to his heartfelt cry: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
As The Lexham Bible Dictionary notes: “Daniel’s vision is one of suffering and exaltation.” The suffering comes as the kingdoms of this world rise and fall. In that turmoil, real people at every level of society suffer as well. Jesus knows this. He knows that in the battle of the kingdoms of this world against each other, Jerusalem will eventually be overthrown with immense resulting suffering. But Jesus also knows that in the battle of the kingdoms of this world against the Kingdom of God, he himself will be the one for whom the suffering and death is focused in a unique way—on a Roman cross. That suffering will ultimately be turned on its head for glory.
Jesus also knows that just as he suffers and dies, those who would follow him will suffer as well. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. (John 12:26 NRSVue) [1] This will apply to his current Jewish followers as well as these would-be followers of Greek cultural heritage.
The death of kingdoms is the logical extreme outcome of the death of all human beings and their institutions. This includes religious institutions and religious systems. Somehow humans continue to entertain the fantasy that our own familiar systems, be they national systems or cultural systems or religious systems, will live on forever. In my last blog post, I admitted that I was grieving as the church I grew up in and whose heritage now stretches back 500 years is also falling apart. What should be the glory of a 500-year legacy is also a reminder of present grief. I also grieve as the nation in which I grew up and which has given me such tremendous opportunities is also disintegrating. The battle is on whether the United States will continue with even some semblance of democracy or whether it will become a full-blown fascist police state. Entering the 250th year of existence that would normally be something to glorify and celebrate is more a reminder that America is coming to an end. In fact, one could easily argue that an entire world order is up for grabs. Will democracy, government of the people, by the people, and for the people, prevail, or will we revert back to autocracy, oligarchy, and dictatorships where the biggest egos compete for the biggest prizes? Whoever wins, something dies. People die. A national and cultural heritage dies. It’s already happening and the specifics of my grief multiply day after day.
Yet as I grieve the effects of this cosmic battle, I struggle between two competing attitudes, even among those who call themselves Christians.
- On one side are those who want to emphasize and go back to the past glory. They say, “Hang on for dear life to the way things are at present or the way they were in our idealized past. Support our denomination, our conference, our college or seminary, our theology, our rules of life, or our way of interpreting the Bible. Support our country, right or wrong, in the name of all that we imagine it stood for in the past.”
- On the other hand is the attitude that says, “Just burn it all down and we’ll build from scratch. The government is so corrupt that we have to destroy it and start over. Just get rid of all of the church structures and we’ll start again with a more Biblical model. Who cares if people are hurt in the process? The enemies of a more perfect order deserve exile or death.”
When Jesus says that a grain of wheat must die for new life to emerge, was he telling us to actively participate in tearing down the old so that the new can emerge? Was he encouraging us to use our power to get rid of everyone who doesn’t support our ideal vision for our church, our nation, or our culture? Do we celebrate the battle? Is death (usually the death of others) just the new strategy for a return to glory? Do we glorify the situation when our side wins?
Jesus was promoting the Kingdom of God, the complete rule or Reign of God in this world. Jesus was not advocating for a powerful physical destruction of either individuals or religious systems or nations. He was prophesying what the consequences would be if we keep fighting each other in this way.
Indeed, in the midst of the turmoil, Jesus was also grieving. The Gospel writer, Luke gives us this picture of Jesus’s grief: 41 As he came near and saw the city [Jerusalem], he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”,
Jesus honestly uttered this prophesy of judgment which was ultimately fulfilled. Yet, he took no joy in doing so. There was no celebration. This was not where the glory resided. Instead, he wept.
Jesus gave up the momentum to build a political movement that would overthrow the unrighteousness of his world. He gave up the urge to use God’s power as a brute force to make things come out right. He showed caring and compassion for all regardless of whose “side” they were on. He addressed people with a powerful, caring, honesty that reflected the righteousness of his Heavenly Father. In God’s Kingdom, any judgment that comes is ultimately in the cause of God’s justice, God’s righteousness. The glory is not in the destruction of the enemy, but in the triumph of God’s mercy and love even through suffering.
Jesus chose to suffer rather than inflict suffering. He neither hastened nor stopped the consequences of human rebellion. Instead, he became that grain of wheat which indeed died. And in his death, all people, from ethnic Jews to those outsider Greeks, could truly “see Jesus,” the Savior and friend of all.
So, even though I think there is much that needs to change in our world, I am not celebrating or glorifying in any way the destruction of the old structures in the church, in our country, or in the world culture as a whole. There are too many people getting hurt, laid off from work or bombed out or flooded out or chased from their homes. There are too many people starving or tortured or denied medicines or simply dying needlessly. I am grieving.
Yet, in our tears, Jesus keeps inviting us to take up our cross, to minister in ways we can, and to surrender those efforts to a God whose pattern of power is to bring glory out of suffering and resurrection out of death. In a world of sin and rebellion, it is the only way. As Jesus told his disciples… 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.
[1] Leslie T. Hardin and Derek Brown, “Son of Man,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
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