Charles Ellicott Commentary John 12:23

"And Jesus answereth them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." — John 12:23 (ASV)

And Jesus answered them, saying.—The words are rather the utterance of the thoughts of His own mind, which this visit of the Greeks suggests, than a direct answer. They are spoken to the Apostles, but the narrative is too condensed for us to know whether any separate answer was given to the Greeks. The most probable explanation is that the Greeks heard this discourse, and that it was, in reality, an answer to the thoughts of their hearts and to the words they wished to have spoken to Him.

The hour is come.—This approach of men from outside the limits of Judaism, who have been admitted within its fold, and who now, when priests and rulers are seeking to kill Him, are seeking to pay Him homage, brings back the thought of the scattered sheep, for whose gathering the Shepherd’s life must be laid down (John 10:16–19). They are the first-fruits of the great flocks of humanity, and their presence is like the first stroke of the bell that sounds the fatal but glorious hour. That hour, designated in the counsels of God and ever present in His own thoughts, has now come.

That the Son of man should be glorified.—This is to be accomplished in His ascension and return to the glory of Heaven. (Compare to Notes on John 17:1-2; John 17:5.) But the immediate context implies that He regards the extension of His Messianic work, and the acceptance of His truth by the nations of the earth, as part of the glory of the Son of man. The context also implies that He regards His own death as the dark path that must be trodden before the path of glory can be entered.