Text for the Week: The Light is Lifted Up

Scripture: John 12:20-36

²⁰ Some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and made a request: “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” ²² Philip told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Human One to be glorified. ²⁴ I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Those who love their lives will lose them, and those who hate their lives in this world will keep them forever. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me. Wherever I am, there my servant will also be. My Father will honor whoever serves me.

²⁷ “Now I am deeply troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? No, for this is the reason I have come to this time. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

²⁹ The crowd standing there heard and said, “It’s thunder.” Others said, “An angel spoke to him.”

³⁰ Jesus replied, “This voice wasn’t for my benefit but for yours. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. ³² When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me.” (³³ He said this to show how he was going to die.)

³⁴ The crowd responded, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Human One must be lifted up? Who is this Human One?”

³⁵ Jesus replied, “The light is with you for only a little while. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness don’t know where they are going. ³⁶ As long as you have the light, believe in the light so that you might become people whose lives are determined by the light.” After Jesus said these things, he went away and hid from them.

Questions

1. What about the Greeks coming to see Jesus triggers his reply to them?
2. How should we understand Jesus being deeply troubled, and how does this impact us and our own troubled moments, especially given his resolution that follows?
3. How does Jesus’ death on the cross relate to his exultation and what do each of these mean for us who follow him?

Background

Related Scriptures: Ps. 6, Is. 9:2-7, 49:6, 52:13, Dan. 7:9-14, Zech. 8:20-22,  Jn 3:1-21, 8:12-22

We do not know who the Greeks who came to Philip were, but Philip is a Gr.eek name, and he probably shared a connection to the larger gentile world. The Greeks also provide a connection with the previous section where the Pharisees see “the world “coming to Jesus.

There is a double entendre in “lifted up” it means physically as on the cross and “exulted”.

Jesus is troubled by the reality of his pending death and him being troubled shows us that it is understandable to be troubled by suffering.

The voice from heaven is a sign about Jesus’ identity which confronts the comments made by the Pharisees in earlier passages like 8:12-22.

Reflection

At first glance Jesus’ words, “The time has come for the Human One to be glorified.”, seems like a strange response to a group of Greeks wanting to see him. However, this group coming to Jesus are john’s way of fulfilling the Pharisees words in verse 19 that the whole world is following Jesus. And, in turn, this fulfills the prophetic longing that the nations of the world would come to Jerusalem to encounter God (see Zech. 8). It is in this moment when the nations of the world represented in this small group of Greeks and the Pharisees words (which unbeknownst to them are prophetic) that Jesus announces that the time has come for him to be glorified and exulted. To explain this he weaves together ideas from Daniel 7:9-14 where the True Human is exulted to rule on behalf of the Ancient of Days and Isaiah 52:13 which proclaims the exultation of the suffering servant. We see hints of this theme throughout John’s Gospel, but it is when we get a glimpse that the whole world is watching and finally ready to understand Jesus that the time is right.

It is when we understand that Jesus is using both of these Old Testament passages to speak about himself and his work that we can see the double entendre of being “lifted up”. Jesus will be lifted up as the one who suffers on the cross and exulted as the True Human who sits on God’s throne. This idea stands behind Jesus’ description of life and death in the following verses. He highlights the differences between the physical life found in this world and the life he opens up to humanity which transcends death. While it is possible to adapt Jesus’ words to our context and discuss how we need to be like a seed willing to give up physical life to gain something greater, within the context this metaphor applies expressly to Jesus and his work. Jesus is telling those around him that if he refuses the suffering of death he will not be able to gain the throne that is promised to him. The glorification and exultation Jesus is anticipating comes in surrendering himself to physical death so that he can conquer death and ultimately assume his proper role as lord of the world. This is why he follows his quote of Psalm 6:2 “I am deeply troubled.” With the comment that he cannot wish to be saved from suffering. He has fully embraced the vindication that ends Psalm 6, knowing that God justifies the righteous.

At this point the conversation is sent into confusion as a sound is heard, was it a voice, a divine thunder, or simply a loud thunderous crash, the crowd is confused. They are even more confused by the fact that what Jesus is saying does not fit into their ideas of God’s plan or what they expect of God’s Messiah. Jesus does not answer the people’s confusion directly, he does not say, “you just heard the voice of God” nor does he explain his concept of how the True Human of Daniel, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, and the Messiah all fit together. Rather, Jesus talks about having the light in the world and the need to follow the light. This is because John wrote the story for our benefit and wants to highlight what would be important for us. He wants us to understand who Jesus is and to trust the testimony we receive. He also wants us to understand the confusion surrounding Jesus and I think there are two reasons for this. First, it can be tempting to despise those who reject Jesus because they reject what we accept. I think John wants us to show people grace, understanding that sometimes life is confusing, and people do not know what or who to follow. Secondly, I think John wants us to realize there might even be times that life is confusing for us and what we have been taught and believe seems insufficient to meet the circumstances, in those times we are to fall back on the reality that Jesus is the light of the world and the exulted ruler of the world. When we do not understand what is going on in our world or feel hurt or forgotten we can look back at this passage and remember we walk in the light.

Takeaway

In his death and resurrection Jesus has gained authority over the world and we are given the means to recognize this fact so we can bring the light of his life to others and find consolation in difficult times.