John 12:19-21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the whole world[a] has gone after him.”(A)
The Coming of Jesus’ Hour.[b] 20 Now there were some Greeks[c] among those who had come up to worship at the feast.(B) 21 [d]They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”(C)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12:19 The whole world: the sense is that everyone is following Jesus, but John has an ironic play on world; he alludes to the universality of salvation (Jn 3:17; 4:42).
- 12:20–36 This announcement of glorification by death is an illustration of “the whole world” (Jn 12:19) going after him.
- 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.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.