Guess Who’s Coming?

There was a movie in the 1960s, starring Sydney Portier, entitled "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" This movie dealt with the unique challenges and struggles of a romance between a black man and a white woman. This movie was quite relevant in our culture at that time, for this was a major struggle for many people.

In the Gospel of John, we see the continued struggle between different people groups. The religious leaders of Israel taught that their people were the only ones who could get to heaven. They also felt that all Gentiles were condemned to hell. So it would make no sense to them that God himself would come to this earth to provide eternal life; not just to the Jews, but to Gentiles, as well.

Obviously, they did not have a clear or accurate understanding of God’s design. All the way back to Abraham, God had promised that through Him all nations on earth would be blessed. This would include the Gentile nations. It is in the Bible where we see Rahab and Ruth as ancestors of Jesus, even though they were Gentiles. We see, in the Old Testament, an evangelistic crusade, led by the reluctant prophet Jonah, to minister to a huge city of Gentiles in Nineveh.  And they chose to repent and believe.

In the New Testament, Paul states that in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. That is because, in Christ, we are one family. Nowhere is there a denial of differences between the various groups. However, there can never be a man-made barrier based upon God designed differences.

Salvation is not just for those who are like us in whatever way that may be.  Heaven is going to be one of the most diverse cultural gatherings you and I will ever see.  And you know what?  We’re not going to be surprised.  There will be no discussion of ethnic or social or economic background.  Our background which we shall all have in common is that we were all sinners destined for hell until Jesus took over our lives when we chose to believe in Him.  

Today, we’re going to see how this is going to be emphasized again.  It’s not just the Samaritan woman; it’s not just the sick and dying; it’s not just the poor who need salvation through Jesus Christ.  We need to understand that:

Eternal life is available to all who will believe, regardless of their background.

Self-Worship Creates Christ Cynics - 12.17-19

So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.  For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.  So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

Now, it looks as though another group is joining the group we met last time.  This is the group that had already seen the incredible miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  The passage states that they continued to testify about Him.  They didn’t just start up again.  It sounds as if that was the main topic of all their conversations.  

As a result of the powerful witness and testimony of this group, it appears that this motivated a lot of other people to go check out this Jesus fellow who had done this miracle.  Interestingly, if one looks at this carefully, it actually appears that the people [who] went and met Him did so as if he were some superstar or some celebrity.  After all, if Jesus could raise someone from the dead, it seemed logical that He could overthrow the Roman government and set things as the people wanted them to be.  

Regardless of their motivation, the message was obviously getting out to everyone and anyone who would listen.  With such a massive crowd, this was definitely not a good thing for the religious leaders.  In fact, you can almost imagine a sense of panic among them.  Their fear would be that if Jesus actually would lead the Jews in a revolt against Rome and they lost against Rome, then the religious leaders would have lost everything.  

You also recall from earlier in our readings that the religious leaders had given orders to report Jesus’ whereabouts so He could be arrested.  Now that all the crowds seemed to be quite intrigued by Him, the Pharisees knew they couldn’t follow through on that plan.  They are showing their frustration by attacking each other, then suggesting that everyone is chasing after Jesus, which obviously wasn’t true.

Supplication Creates Christ Seekers - 12.20-22

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”  Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.

In these verses, we do get a glimpse that the impact of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was getting out into the world.  We might well wonder who these Greeks were and why were they worshiping at the feast.  After all, they’re not listed as Jews.  We know that throughout history, many people from various nationalities would worship the One True God.  To be a part of the Jewish celebration of worship at the Passover Feast, these Greeks were what was commonly known as proselytes.  They would be comparable to Ruth; they chose to follow after the God of the Jews and worship accordingly.  They had forsaken their old ways and had chosen to participate in worshiping the OneTrue God.  As a result, they would have been found in the Court of the Gentiles.

The phrase, wish to see, is literally a request to have a personal discussion or audience with Jesus.  They were not there to look at a performer.  They had come to participate in the worship at the feast and had an opportunity to engage Jesus face-to-face.  I marvel at how God’s chosen people who had His Word for centuries were doing all they could to silence and eliminate Jesus; whereas, the Gentiles (here, the Greeks) were wanting to know more about Jesus, yet without having all the knowledge and background of the Jews.  

Philip went to tell Andrew of their request.  Then the two of them went to tell Jesus of the request.  Interestingly, both Philip and Andrew were from Bethsaida of Galilee.  This is of some importance, I believe, because Bethsaida is close to the Gentile area which was known as the Decapolis.  Thus, the odds of them both speaking Greek was quite strong.  In addition, they probably knew of Gentiles from that area.  

Interestingly, John leaves us hanging without any further information about this situation.  We never hear if they actually got to visit with Jesus.  If they did, Jesus would have had to go out to the Gentile court or outside since they couldn’t enter past the Gentile court.  However, John slid the curtain back far enough for us to get a glimpse that salvation is for the Gentile, as well as the Jew.  Of course, we see this later in the book of Acts, as the Jews turn their backs on God.

Salvation Creates Christ Servants - 12.23-26

And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  “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.  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.  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.

Remembering that this section falls on the heels of the request for the Gentile followers of God to meet with Jesus, His answer may seem a bit puzzling.  Jesus does not respond to the specific request.  He doesn’t say yes or no to their query.

Yet, in a unique way, Jesus actually does get to the real issue.  Rather than speaking to Jew or Gentile, Jesus is dealing with anyone who chooses to follow Him.  

In addition, Jesus now proclaims that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Every other time, it was not His time.  The time for Jesus to be glorified was now imminent.  Those who were listening were probably not hearing the same thing.  Many in the crowd probably heard him say this and assumed they were hearing that He was about to lead them in victory over Rome.  Some probably were thinking back to the book of Daniel, where he talks about the Son of Man establishing His kingdom.

However, the next thing which Jesus says would have destroyed those thoughts of political grandeur.  Jesus gives an illustration of what happens when a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies . . . if it dies, it bears much fruit.  In other words, the Son of Man was going to be glorified by dying.  Only through Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection was He able to be glorified.  Only by that taking place could He ever establish His kingdom.  

If a person wants to see Jesus, then they must recognize what His death on the cross means.  His death on the cross purchased the salvation for all those who would believe.  His death on the cross was a substitute of the death that was rightfully yours and mine.  His resurrection proves that He is alive today and is absolutely victorious over the power of sin and death.

Plus, there would be a great harvest of souls as a result of the one atoning, sacrificial death for all those who would believe.  The Bible says that this is for every tribe and language.  This was not just for the Jews.  It was for all who would believe.  Oh, what a shock that was for the religious leaders, we can only imagine.  They were so set on thinking that salvation and being part of God’s kingdom was limited only to the Jews and suggesting that no Gentile could ever be a part of that group.  

Then Jesus gets very specific and clear.  For the person who wants to hold onto the things of this world, even their own life, will ultimately lose it.  But for the person who does not hold onto their life and their possessions and their personal ideals will have eternal life. MacArthur explains it this way:  Hating one’s life is a Semitic expression that has the connotation of giving preference to one thing over another.  In this context it refers to preferring Christ over one’s family, possessions, goals, plans, desires—even one’s own life. In other words, self has no place.  Jesus Christ must be my priority in all areas.  

Then Jesus gives a warning to everyone.  Do you know the difference between a true disciple or follower of Jesus Christ, in comparison to someone who simply professes Jesus Christ?  Very simply, it seems that the Bible states that the person who is a true follower of Jesus Christ, is willing to give up everything and all things in order to follow Jesus Christ.  That’s a big commitment, isn’t it?  Let me tell you, it is worth everything.  Jesus does not identify true saving faith by its perfection but by its affection.

Jesus goes on to show one of the primary means of showing whether or not a person is a true follower of Him.  It is seen in serving.  Interestingly, Jesus flips this upside down for most people.  He doesn’t say that if we claim to be a follower of Jesus, we will serve Him.  Instead, he says, that the one who serves Jesus must follow Him. 

To make this simple for us, let’s look at it this way.  One cannot say they are serving God, yet choose to follow themselves or do whatever they wish, or follow some worldly or humanistic philosophy.  Again, MacArthur puts it so eloquently:  So true salvation is not only affection but also direction.  

Then Jesus actually shares a couple of promises for the true follower of Jesus Christ.  He states that where He is, His servants will be, as well.  Who are His servants?  Those who have believed on His Name, causing them to be born-again.  Being with Jesus simply means that we will spend eternity with Him.  Not just for the future, but beginning the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.  

The second promise is quite amazing.  The servants of Jesus will be honored by His Father.  There aren’t any honors, awards, trophies, accolades, or any kudos on this planet that could ever compare, to being honored by our Heavenly Father.  And, regardless of the hostility the world may throw at the child of God, we will be honored by our Heavenly Father for serving Jesus.  

Reflections

Interestingly, we look at this, realizing that in a few days of this being shared by Jesus, He would die on the cross for our sins.  He fully knew this and kept resolutely marching towards His goal, fulfilling His Father’s will to provide the only way for humanity to be reconciled to God.  

In doing that, He would also eliminate the barrier that sin had erected through the prideful arrogance of mankind, in particular, the Jews.  It was to be made obvious that Jesus’ death and resurrection was for the benefit of all humanity, not just the Jews.  Through His perfect sacrifice, Jesus would bring together Gentile and Jew into one family.  Paul states in Ephesians 2.14-16: For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

We also find ourselves challenged as we understand more clearly the last part of this section.  Gerald Borchert describes it this way:  In an ancient society where shame and honor were extremely significant, the promise of honor for one who accepts a role that has all the markings of little honor is another of the great paradoxes in the message of Jesus. To love God in the Semitic absolute sense is to love God with the whole of one’s being (heart, soul, and mind; Deut 6:4; cf. Luke 10:27, heart, soul, strength, and mind). To love God so much means that God has become primary and human existence has become secondary. That was the model set by the self-giving Jesus, and that is the model Jesus calls Christians to follow.

My friends, because of Who Jesus is and what He has done and the promises He has made, we don’t have to guess Who’s Coming.  We know that Jesus is coming again to take us, who have chosen to believe in Him, to be with Him forever.

But there’s more than that.  It’s not because someone is good that one gets to spend eternity with Jesus.  It’s not because someone is of a certain nationality or ethnic background.  It’s not because of church attendance.  It’s not even because of what one doesn’t do in life.

Guess who’s Coming with me to be with Jesus?  It’s the person who has chosen to turn their life over to Jesus Christ, yet who may be continuing to struggle with smoking, or drinking, or pornography, or gambling, or anger, or eating, or self-worth, or whatever your personal battle may be. 

It’s the person who has been rejected by parents, rejected by a spouse, rejected by a child, rejected by a boss, rejected by a friend; yet finds total acceptance in Jesus Christ. 

It’s the person who speaks differently than I, the person who votes for a different politician than I, the person who has a different skin color than I; yet experiences oneness because of Jesus Christ.

We were given a brief look at some strangers; those Greeks who were there wanting to see Jesus.  I am convinced that John brought attention to them to remind us that God’s plan from the very beginning was for all humanity to have the opportunity to live with Him forever; not just the Jews.

Guess Who’s Coming?  You see, regardless of what some may think:

Eternal life is available to all who will believe, regardless of their background.