John 12:20-50

An Offer He Could Refuse

This is a rather cryptic incident. There were some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem. Were they there to worship or were they just observers? Whatever they were it is clear that they were among the impoverished because they had the means to travel quite a long way for this occasion. At Jerusalem they saw something they were likely not expecting. A man comes riding in to town on a donkey and the place goes nuts! Who is this guy? The more they asked around the more they heard. The more they heard the more intrigued they became. Finally, they make the right connections and come to Jesus. Why? What did they want to see Him about?

The answer Jesus gives provides a clue but you have do some serious reading between the lines. He starts to talk about a kernel of wheat falling into the ground to die so that many seeds are produced. He talks about if you love your life in this world you will lose it but if you let it go you will have eternal life. His heart is troubled. Should He try to escape this hour facing Him? No, this hour was why He came. All this is very good and powerful but what did these Greeks say to trigger such a response?

Paul tells us in Acts 17:21, “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.” While Rome was clearly the Big Apple of the day it is reasonable to assume that Athens could rightly lay claim to Second City status and perhaps even First City in matters of culture and thought.

So here are these Greeks finding this diamond in the supposed ruff who speaks like no man ever spoke and has earth shaking ideas. What a find! If they can just sign this guy to some kind of contract and get Him to go back with them to the big time this could be enormous. What they didn’t realize was that Jesus had already turned down such an offer from the devil himself a few years earlier. Of course the circumstances were now somewhat different and the offer seemed so good. Surely this was an offer He couldn’t refuse.

Instead, He decided to save the world.