Joh 12:20-26 | TNotes | STEP | 12:20 Among the people drawn to Jesus (12:19 ) were some Greeks , God-fearing Gentiles who had come to Passover to worship. Jesus’ mission was not simply to Israel but encompassed the entire world (10:16 ; 11:52 ). Following Jesus’ resurrection, the church’s mission was to go beyond Judea to Samaria, and ultimately to the ends of the earth (Matt 28:19 ; Acts 1:8 ).

12:20 ^a Among the people drawn to Jesus (12:19 ^b) were some Greeks, God-fearing Gentiles who had come to Passover to worship. Jesus’ mission was not simply to Israel but encompassed the entire world (10:16 ^c; 11:52 ^d). Following Jesus’ resurrection, the church’s mission was to go beyond Judea to Samaria, and ultimately to the ends of the earth (Matt 28:19 ^e; Acts 1:8 ^f).
12:21 ^g The Greeks approached Philip because he had a Greek name and was no doubt Greek.
12:23 ^h Jesus often said that the time (literally the hour) had not yet come (2:4 ⁱ; 7:30 ^j; 8:20 ^k), but now it had. The coming of the Greeks also marked the beginning of the key moment in Jesus’ ministry—the time of his glorification. This occurred when Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross was completed (19:30 ^l), he rose from the dead (20:1-31 ^m), he gave the Spirit (20:22 ⁿ), and he returned to his place of glory in heaven (17:5 ^o, 11 ^p). The connection with the Greeks who had come to Jerusalem (12:20 ^q) was significant: Jesus’ ministry among the Jews alone was finished and he now belonged to the wider world.
12:24 ^r The central event of Jesus’ glorification (12:23 ^s) was the cross. As with a kernel ... planted in the soil, Jesus’ death would bring abundant life.
12:25 ^t For disciples, sacrifice and self-effacement are means of gaining the fullness of life provided by Jesus’ sacrifice. Those who renounce the world will join Jesus in eternity and be honored by God just as Jesus is.