Lesson for September 14, 2025
The Book of John
Lesson 32
Chapter 12:20-36
Verses 20-26
“Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21 these people then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. 23 But Jesus answered them by saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.’”
In the crowd were Greeks, people who had no frame of reference for Judaism, no understanding of the Messiah, but they were intrigued by Jesus and the miracles He had been performing and the message He was preaching. Philip was approached by some of these Greeks saying they wanted to see Jesus. Andrew was the brother of Peter and a close friend of Philip, so he went and told him of the Greeks and their desire to see Jesus. Jesus had told his disciples in Matthew 10:5 not to go to the Gentiles with the Gospel. They talked this over and decided to take the Greeks to see Jesus.
Jesus answered Andrew and Philip, and those with them, saying. the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. The “hour,” which Jesus spoke about through His public ministry, had come. (John 2:4; 4:21, 23; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20) By His statement, that “the hour has come,” marked a turning point in His ministry. His earthly ministry was coming to an end and the time for His crucifixion had come, and there was no turning back. It was now the time for His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The ultimate glorification of Christ would be the resurrection, Ascension, and Session. Jesus was now ready to reveal Himself to the Gentiles. Up until this time, He had gone to the “House of Israel.”
Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Truly, truly means what Jesus was about to say was of extreme importance. Jesus used an agricultural illustration, that the Greeks would understand. What Jesus said was based on Greek culture and religion. The whole system of Greek culture and religion was based upon planting in the spring and harvesting in the fall. They had a whole system of gods that revolved around this. Jesus knew this and explained His purpose within the framework of their culture, so that they could understand His message as an analogy of His death and resurrection. As a result of this, many Greeks believed in Jesus as their Savior.
Jesus knew the Greeks would understand His illustration about the wheat seed falling to the ground and dying. They had many legends and many of the Greek myths were built around the death of the seed. When a seed of wheat drops and dies, it becomes a stalk, producing wheat. The “glory” of the seed is the wheat that is produced for food. Jesus Christ had to die on the Cross and rise from the dead to be glorified by God the Father. The seed falling and dying represented Jesus dying for our sins on the Cross. The wheat producing food represented the resurrection of Christ and His victory over sin. The Greeks would understand this. So, Jesus explained the necessity for His death and His resurrection, and He explained it using an illustration from a very common practice of the Greeks.
The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.’ Jesus now addressed those who believed in Him. It is always God’s desire that after salvation a person follow Him. Those who become believers and fail to follow Him (by fulfilling His plan for them) are the ones who love life in Satan’s world system more than they love following God’s plan for their lives. The meaning of “keeping your life” is to keep your life from becoming a meaningless spiritual failure.
Hating your life means that a believer desires to fulfill God’s plan for their life and glorify Jesus Christ to the maximum. Those who believe in Christ and desire to follow Him will not desire temporal things over eternal things. They will live a life devoted and pleasing to God and enjoy “rich harvest” in eternity. The only treasures we take into eternity are what are accomplished for the Lord. Those who live for Christ will reap a harvest of eternal blessing, will be honored by God the Father, and will be to a glory to Christ.
Verses 27-28
“Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Jesus was aware of the significance of the spiritual death that He would suffer on the Cross, when He was bearing our sins. He was under great pressure. Nothing could be worse for the perfect humanity of the Son of God, than bearing the sins of the world. He would come into contact with every sin of the human race. Jesus anticipated the suffering, despising the shame, yet He joyfully fulfilled the Father’s plan!!!
‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ The prayer of Jesus was answered immediately by God the Father. God the Father spoke out loud, so that everyone heard it. It was the will of the Father that Jesus Christ be glorified. The only way that the humanity of Christ could be glorified was by fulfilling God’s plan of salvation. God the Father could not compromise any part of His character. His love for His Son could not override His righteousness and justice. His plan had been decreed in eternity past and had to be carried out by Jesus Christ. Because God so loved the world, He could not save the world arbitrarily because that would compromise His righteousness and His justice.
By the spiritual death of Christ, God’s justice was satisfied, so that love and eternal life can freely come from God the Father’s will to the human race but only by means of the Cross. This was the only way that God the Father could glorify Himself. Any other way would have compromised His character. The only way that people can be saved is by believing in Jesus Christ, and when they do, they are saved without compromising the character of God.
Verses 29-31
“So, the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, ‘An angel has spoken to Him!’ 30 Jesus responded and said, ‘This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. 31 Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
The crowd was filled with Greeks and Jews, and they both make comments after hearing the voice of God the Father speaking to His Son. The Jews had learned to associate thunder with the voices of angels. So, they said the only natural thing, an angel has spoken to Him! The Greeks simply thought it was a natural burst of thunder. So, they said it had thundered. Both groups, of course, were wrong!!
God the Father had said that He had already glorified His name in the Person of Christ (His Virgin Birth and sinless life) and that He would do it once more on the Cross and at the Resurrection. This was said so that all those present would acknowledge the Messiah and believe in Him for salvation.
Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. The judgment of Satan and his world system took place at the Cross when Jesus “bruised the head of the serpent” (Satan). Jesus dealt a fatal blow to Satan and won the strategic victory over him. The result of this victory will be carried out when Satan (the ruler of this world) is cast into the Lake of Fire, forever. (Revelation 20:10)
Verses 32-34
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.’ 33 Now He was saying this to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the Cross, and by His death and resurrection millions of people have been drawn to Him in faith. Jesus Christ had been preaching the truth of the Gospel. However, there were those in the crowd who wanted to discredit Him. These people begin by quoting Scripture, which was typical of religious people who tried to use the Scripture against Jesus. But Jesus knew the Scriptures better than they did, and He used it to effectively defend His deity, which many still doubted (Who is the Son of Man?). This was why Jesus so often quoted from the Old Testament. He was authenticating His deity from Scripture.
Verses 35-36
“So, Jesus said to them, ‘For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.’”
Jesus declared that He was the “Light of the World” in John 8:12. The word light in Greek is “phos,” and metaphorically means to make evident or to make to appear. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World Who reveals God. When “light” is used in reference to God, it encompasses His entire character (His essence and attributes) and His work in the life of believers (His grace, His illumination, and His guidance). It is God’s light that is being reproduced in the life of advancing believers, as the character of Jesus Christ. Believers are called “the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14-16; Galatians 5:22-23)
Spiritual darkness is a condition of spiritual ignorance. Therefore, those who choose to remain in spiritual darkness, hate the Light and are blinded to spiritual truth. Darkness is a term often used to describe Satan, his world system, and man’s sinful nature. (Ephesians 6:12; I Peter 2:9; I John 2:11)
Believers who choose to reside in God’s power system, by fulfilling God’s plan under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, can avoid spiritual darkness. A believer can also avoid the evil “works of darkness” of Satan’s world system, by walking in the Light of God’s Word. (Psalm 119:105; John 12:35-36; II Corinthians 4:1-6)
Walking in the Light is a metaphor for aligning your life with the royalty that you are in Christ. “Light” is also a metaphor for God’s perfect character, personified in Christ, and Divine Viewpoint Thinking. Therefore, walking in the light can be easily understood as aligning your life through divine viewpoint thinking, as the character of Christ is being produced in your life. A believer cannot think correctly, as God would have him think, without the persistent and consistent study and application of Bible doctrine. (Romans 12:1-2)