John 12:20-36
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 Now there were some Greeks[a] among those who had come up to worship at the feast.(A) 21 [b]They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”(B) 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.(C) 23 [c]Jesus answered them,(D) “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 [d]Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat;(E) but if it dies, it produces much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life[e] loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.(F) 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.(G)
27 “I am troubled[f] now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.(H) 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”(I) 29 The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”(J) 30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.(K) 31 Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world[g] will be driven out.(L) 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”(M) 33 He said this indicating the kind of death he would die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever.[h] Then how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”(N) 35 Jesus said to them, “The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going.(O) 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light.”(P)
Unbelief and Belief Among the Jews. After he had said this, Jesus left and hid from them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12:20 Greeks: not used here in a nationalistic sense. These are probably Gentile proselytes to Judaism; cf. Jn 7:35.
- 12:21–22 Philip…Andrew: the approach is made through disciples who have distinctly Greek names, suggesting that access to Jesus was mediated to the Greek world through his disciples. Philip and Andrew were from Bethsaida (Jn 1:44); Galileans were mostly bilingual. See: here seems to mean “have an interview with.”
- 12:23 Jesus’ response suggests that only after the crucifixion could the gospel encompass both Jew and Gentile.
- 12:24 This verse implies that through his death Jesus will be accessible to all. It remains just a grain of wheat: this saying is found in the synoptic triple and double traditions (Mk 8:35; Mt 16:25; Lk 9:24; Mt 10:39; Lk 17:33). John adds the phrases (Jn 12:25) in this world and for eternal life.
- 12:25 His life: the Greek word psychē refers to a person’s natural life. It does not mean “soul,” for Hebrew anthropology did not postulate body/soul dualism in the way that is familiar to us.
- 12:27 I am troubled: perhaps an allusion to the Gethsemane agony scene of the synoptics.
- 12:31 Ruler of this world: Satan.
- 12:34 There is no passage in the Old Testament that states precisely that the Messiah remains forever. Perhaps the closest is Ps 89:37.
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