Church Fathers Commentary John 12:20-26

"Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast: these therefore came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: Andrew cometh, and Philip, and they tell Jesus. And Jesus answereth them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will the Father honor." — John 12:20-26 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: The temple at Jerusalem was so famous that on feast days, not only the local people but also many Gentiles from distant countries came to worship in it, such as the eunuch of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, mentioned in the book of Acts. The Gentiles who were at Jerusalem now had come for this purpose, and there were certain Gentiles among them who came to worship at the feast.

St. John Chrysostom: The time was now near when they would be made proselytes. They heard Christ talked about and wished to see Him. Therefore, they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Behold! The Jews wish to kill Him, and the Gentiles wish to see Him. But those who cried, Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord, were also Jews. So behold those of the circumcision and those of the uncircumcision, once so far apart, coming together like two walls and meeting in the one faith of Christ with the kiss of peace.

St. John Chrysostom: Philip hesitated, perhaps because he was the more senior disciple. He had heard our Savior say, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and therefore he spoke with his fellow disciple, and they referred the matter to their Lord. And so, Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Let us listen to the voice of the cornerstone. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Did He consider Himself glorified because the Gentiles wished to see Him? No. Instead, He saw that after His passion and resurrection, the Gentiles in all lands would believe in Him. He therefore took the occasion of this request to announce the approaching fullness of the Gentiles, because the hour of His glorification was now at hand. After He was glorified in the heavens, the Gentiles would believe, according to the passage in the Psalms: Set up Yourself, O God, above the heavens, and your glory above all the earth (Psalm 56 and 107).

However, it was necessary that His exaltation and glory be preceded by His humiliation and passion. For this reason He says, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He was that grain of wheat, to be put to death by the unbelief of the Jews, and to be multiplied through the faith of the Gentiles.

The Venerable Bede: He Himself, from the seed of the Patriarchs, was sown in the field of this world so that by dying, He might rise again with an increase. He died alone; He rose again with many.

St. John Chrysostom: He illustrates His discourse with an example from nature. A grain of wheat produces fruit after it has died. How much more, then, must the Son of God? The Gentiles were to be called after the Jews had committed their final offense—that is, after His crucifixion. Now that the Gentiles of their own accord offered their faith, He saw that His crucifixion could not be far off.

To console the sorrow of His disciples, which He foresaw would arise, He tells them that patiently bearing not only His death, but their own as well, is the only way to what is good: He that loves his life shall lose it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This may be understood in two ways. First: if you love your life, lose it. That is, if you wish to preserve your life in Christ, do not fear death for Christ. Second: do not love your life in this world, lest you lose it in the life to come. The latter seems to be the more evangelical sense, for it is followed by, And he that hates his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.

St. John Chrysostom: He who indulges its inordinate desires loves his life in this world; he who resists them, hates it. It is not a matter of one who does not yield to them, but one who hates them. For just as we cannot bear to hear the voice or see the face of those whom we hate, so when the soul invites us to things contrary to God, we should turn it away from them with all our might.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It would be harsh to say that a man should hate his soul, so He adds the phrase in this world—that is, for a particular time, not forever. And we shall gain in the end by doing so, for we shall keep it unto life eternal.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But do not think for an instant that hating your soul means you should kill yourself. For wicked and perverse men have sometimes mistaken it this way and have burned or strangled themselves, thrown themselves from precipices, or otherwise put an end to their lives. Christ did not teach this.

On the contrary, when the devil tempted Him to cast Himself down, He said, Get you hence, Satan. But when no other choice is given—when the persecutor threatens death and you must either disobey God’s law or depart from this life—then you must hate your life in this world, so that you may keep it to life eternal.

St. John Chrysostom: This present life is sweet to those who are given over to it. But he who looks toward heaven and sees the good things that are there soon despises this life. When the better life appears, the worse one is despised. This is Christ’s meaning when He says, If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; that is, imitate Me in both My death and My life. For he who serves should follow the one whom he serves.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But what does it mean to serve Christ? The very words explain it. Those who serve Christ are those who do not seek their own interests, but the interests of Jesus Christ. They follow Him, walk in His ways and not their own, and do all good works for Christ’s sake—not only works of mercy for people's bodies, but all other works, until at last they fulfill that great work of love and lay down their lives for the brethren. But what is the fruit, the reward? you ask. The next words tell you: And where I am, there shall also My servant be. Love Him for His own sake, and consider it a rich reward for your service to be with Him.

St. John Chrysostom: So then, death will be followed by resurrection. He says, Where I am, for Christ was in heaven even before His resurrection. Let us ascend there in heart and in mind.

He says, My Father will honor him, not, "I will honor him," because they did not yet have a proper understanding of His nature and thought Him inferior to the Father.