Greek to Me...

 

John 12:20-33
12:20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.

12:21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

12:22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

12:23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

12:24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

12:25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

12:27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--' Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.

12:28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

12:29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

12:30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.

12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

12:33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

 

Greece has historically been one of the most curious and “factually motivated” cultures on planet earth. Of course, they have also been culturally advanced in the areas of philosophy and the arts, as well, but their almost pathological passion for information is most likely what drove a number of “Greeks” who seemed ever-present and curious during the ministry days of Jesus Christ, to seek him out. The author of the Gospel of John is often the one picking up on the presence of these inquisitive Greeks. 

 

I must say a word about curiosity, for it is what has been the motivator for our world of knowledge arrived at by great thinkers, great researchers, and creative authors down through the history of humanity. When we want to know WHAT happened, WHY it happened, and HOW it happened, we are doing more than answering the typical questions of journalism! These are the questions of enlightenment and learning. I wonder if today’s “curiosity” will carry human learning very far, given what we regularly see of it is more interest in social media, “pop” culture, fashion, iPhones and X-Boxes, and sports betting than in libraries and focusing on the core studies of STEM (Science, Technology, English, and Math). I often wonder that if Jesus were walking through our time, what would be the questions he would get from any curious observers? Would he get inquiries such as “What must I do to be saved?” or “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Or, would he be asked where he “emigrated from?” What was his favorite singer or band? Or maybe even whom did he like in the Super Bowl? I do fear that our cultural “curiosity gene” has developed a serious birth defect. And yet, God still loves us and wants to redeem and reconcile us.

 

Thankfully, the Greeks who sought knowledge of Jesus maintained a purity of curiosity. I would call it a “curiosity within a context.” They knew Jesus to be a “religious” leader of some sort; they were aware of the “miracles” taking place in his ministry, or at least within his “orbit”; and their questions were guided by the universally known and shared environment of these things. They were prepared to “seek Jesus” based on a foundation of the knowledge of him that had begun to “leak out” into the public sphere of “his-story.” Their query, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus,” was much more than a request for an audience. “To see” may very well carry the curiosity of all of human thinking. Do WE not “wish to see Jesus,” meaning all of what he was—and IS—about? 

 

I have suggested that one of the “two Greeks” (or in the case of this particular passage from John, “some Greeks”) may have included Luke, the physician. Luke was Greek, and may have also been one of the two men Jesus met on the road to Emmaus, after the resurrection. That text says that “one of them” was named Cleopas, which is a Greek name. Might the other one be the one who TELLS us this story—Luke? It is clear from reading his Gospel and his contributions to the Book of Acts that Luke is MOST curious about all things Jesus, which would have been characteristic of a Greek-trained thinker. 

 

I believe we need more “Greek” thinkers today, especially that which made them so curious about life, the universe, and everything! And this is especially true in the world of theological thinking. There seem to be only three “streams” of thinking about religion—and I’m specifically thinking of the Christian faith—today: those who codify and assert specific "orthodox" doctrines and dogma about what we “should” believe; those who believe what they are told; and persons who just CAN’T bring themselves to believe, either because of doubt OR that they don’t believe in accepting such doctrinally rigid religion as seems so prevalent. I believe it is not only HEALTHY but also formative to be curious about Jesus Christ, and to be “Greek” in desiring to know more by asking probing questions. Our desire to “see” Jesus should not be limited to “accepting” him via what others tell us we need to believe, but would be better approached by studying the Bible with other good inquirers, and not being afraid to ASK the tough questions. The best theologians have posited that forming and asking good questions is the key to serious theological reflection and understanding. The “Greek” approach to “seeing Jesus” is precisely this, and it has the ability to turn us ALL into better theological thinkers! Coming too quickly to an answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” may truly short-change the transformative power of that question, the answer to which may take a lifetime of prayer, study, and regular “recommitment” by the dedicated, growing-in-faith believer. Many will tell you, “Believe it, then live into it.” But what if “LIVE it, and you may come to BELIEVE it” is a better formula, especially for those who are skeptical? There should be freedom to experiment, here, and the church that spends more time “prescribing” than probing, poking, and prodding at what others so quickly want to label and market as “the truth” may be the church that fails. The curious church—the one which truly “wants to see Jesus”—may be the one that resonates with the agnostics, the disinterested and the “Nones” of our day. 

 

It is most interesting that just after being told that “these Greeks” want to see him, Jesus launches into a remarkable “vision” of the much, much larger picture of what he came to accomplish. “These Greeks” may, in Jesus’ mind, represent the countless future generations of the truly curious. He doesn’t rebuff them, he reveals himself to them—and to all of the future questioners who read this passage. The church in our day needs critical thinkers and life-long learners, ones who are willing to let their “seeing Jesus” be part of a transparent experiment in full view of others. Curiosity may have killed the proverbial “cat,” but it is the engine of both evangelism AND discipleship for any church that wants to open its arms to both GOD and God’s human creation. After all, what do you think Jesus meant, if not THIS, in verse 32—" And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”? It is in our passion to “see” him through our serious inquiry about WHO he IS and WHAT he is UP TO, as well as our curiosity as to what it means to US that “lifts him up from the earth.” And when he said that if we do this, he will draw ALL PEOPLE to himself, I believe for Jesus, ALL means ALL. If we are openly curious in our faith walk and in our approach to the scriptures, we send a very different message to the skeptics and other suspicious seekers than those who spout doctrines and “rules” in their direction. It is a message that says their doubts and questions are an “on ramp” to “seeing Jesus,” and that their current lifestyle is NOT a barrier to him “seeing” them! May we ALL want "to SEE Jesus!" Amen!