In v. 20, the Greeks appear on the scene. They have come to worship on the Feast and want to see Jesus. The intermediaries are Philip and Andrew, two apostles with Greek names. Of Philip it is deliberately noted that he was from Bethsaida of Galilee (v. 21). From there, as we know, Andrew was also (cf. I. 44). Philip, or perhaps both, may have had Galilean connections with these Greek pilgrims. The desire of the Greeks is brought to the attention of Jesus by Philip and Andrew (v. 22). And the Lord answered them with a great word, concerning which, as was noted in his time, we remain ignorant whether it was spoken in the presence of the Greeks or in their absence. We hear nothing more about the Hellenes at all. The Lord's words are addressed to the two apostles who told Him about them.

XII. 23-36.

The Lord speaks of the coming of the hour of His glorification (v. 23), which, as we know, is part of His Passion. It is noteworthy that the Lord calls Himself the Son of Man. We know that the Lord used this name primarily when He spoke of His Passion and His Glory. In the present context, this name seems particularly appropriate.

But from the words of glorification He passes to the testimony of life through death. In order to bear much fruit, a grain of wheat that falls into the ground must die, v. 24. The death of grain is a condition of fruiting. This parable also applies to man: "He who loves his life destroys it, but he who hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life" (v. 25). This obliges the disciples to follow Jesus. And again the theocentric emphasis: "If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him" (v. 26). But before the coming hour, the Lord is confused and His prayer is twofold: "... what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour; but for this reason I have come, for this hour. Father, glorify your name" (cf. vv. 27-28a). This prayer is answered by a voice from heaven: "I will glorify and glorify again" (v. 28b). This is the first John's parallel to the struggle of Gethsemane in the Synoptics. The second will be the High Priestly Prayer in Chapter XVII.

The voice of heaven is also heard by those present. Some think it is thunder, others that "an angel spoke to him" (v. 29). To these conjectures, Jesus replies: "... this voice is not for me, but for you" (v. 30), and reveals the meaning of what is happening: "... Now is the judgment of this world, now the prince of this world will be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (vv. 31-32).

This passage raises many questions. And first of all, how to understand the glorification of the name of the Father, of which the heavenly voice speaks? We know that the glorification of the Son is accomplished in His Passion. We also know that the glorification of the Son is the glorification of the Father (cf. XI. 4). But does the Gospel allow us to speak of the glorification of the Son before the Passion? The future και πάλιν δοξάσω ("and I will glorify again," v. 28) may refer to the Passion. And the previous kai. έδόξασα ("and glorified")? Is there any speech in Jn. about the glorification of the name of the Father before the Passion? From passages such as VIII. 54 (cf. v. 50) and others, it follows that the glorification of the Father and the Son is a mutual glorification. This conclusion is fully confirmed later. Prayerful Confession XVII. 4: "I have glorified Thee on earth, having done the work which Thou hast given Me to do" can only refer to the time before the Passion. This is the glorification of the Father by the Son, but the Father, also before the Passion, glorifies the Son: "My Father is He who glorifies Me" (VIII.54). This also shows that the Glory of God was already manifested before the Passion. A new and most perfect manifestation of the Glory of God will be the Passion.

But the Passion will not be only a manifestation of the Glory of God. They will also be a judgment – a judgment over the world in the person of the prince of peace, that is, the devil. About the world as a hostile force opposed to God and Christ in Jn. There was a speech before. In the speeches of Chapter VIII, the conflict between Jesus and the world was revealed in its metaphysical depths as a conflict between God and the devil. The thought of the judgment taking place in the very appearance of the Son of God also arises again. Now the hour has come. The condemnation of the prince of the world, the liberation of the world from its power, is to be accomplished in the Passion of Christ, or, in Johannine terminology, in the manifestation of His Glory.

This phenomenon will be associated with the "ascension of Jesus from the earth," by which He will draw everyone to Himself. We also encounter the concept of "ascension". We have seen that it embraces the Ascension in Glory as well, but it is closely related to the Ascension to the Cross. The Evangelist correctly interprets this word about death (v. 33). And the people are perplexed: according to the law, Christ abides forever. Who is this Son of man who is to be lifted up, v. 34? Jesus answers this question by exhorting those who hear Him to walk in the Light for the little time that the Light is still with them (v. 35). "As long as you have Light, believe in the Light, that you may become sons of Light" (36a). And the evangelist adds: "Jesus said this, and went away and hid himself from them" (v. 36b). Jesus' ministry in the light of day came to an end, the night of the Passion, or, in Johannine terminology, the night of the Son's ascent to the Father.

But even earlier, when Jesus spoke of His Ascension from the earth, He said that He would draw everyone to Himself with it. In the context of Jn. drawing to Christ must be understood in the sense of saving faith. But in this case, what does "all" mean? Retreating before the idea of the salvation of each individual person, which frightened them, interpreters in antiquity[67] proposed to understand "all" not in the sense of individuals, but in the sense of collectives. Thus, "all Israel" does not mean all Israelis, but Israel as a collective. That which belongs to a collective may not apply to each individual that is part of this collective. The text, however, says πάντας ("all") without any restriction. According to the letter of the Greek original, it is about the salvation of everyone. This idea can be deflected by interpretation. But with an unbiased reading, it arises in the reader's mind before any other. We have already met in connection with the interpretation of the Lord's conversation with Nicodemus.

XII. 37-43.

Having conveyed the last words of Jesus to the people and told about His departure, the evangelist stops and tries to comprehend what is happening. What is the reason for the unbelief of the people, after all the signs which the Lord had done before their eyes, v. 37? The Evangelist answers from the Scriptures, at first in a general form: "... who believed... To whom has it been revealed?" (v. 38, reference to Isa. LIII. 1 in the translation of the Seventy). The unbelief of the people was foretold by the prophet. The answer to the prophet's question is implied: no one believed, no one was revealed. But the evangelist does not limit himself to this general answer. He quotes another text of Isaiah (VI. 9-10), from which it follows that the people could not believe (v. 40), because "He blinded their eyes, and made their hearts hard, so that they would not see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and be converted. And I will heal them." At this point in the book of Isaiah, the Hebrew text does not coincide with the translation of the Seventy. John's reference is closer to the Hebrew text. This closeness is preserved in the Slavonic translation as well. In the previous Russian translations, the redaction of the Seventy is reproduced. This reproduction was dictated by apologetic considerations: "This people have blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts..." No, not "this people", but "He". This "He" is God. In the prophetic quotation, as it is given in John, the subject of blindness is God. If God blinded, surely the people could not believe. This terrible thought of God as the subject of blindness seemed intolerable and was the cause of corrections, which, however, must be rejected as distortions. In the new Russian translation, as follows from the comparison of quotations, the apostolic original has been restored. What caused God to blind the eyes of the people, the evangelist does not say. He confronts us with the inscrutable mystery of God's providence. And yet the quotation ends: κα'ι ίάσομαι αυτούς. In the best lists there is the future tense[68]. Blindness is thought of as temporary. Christ healed the blinded. And one more thing. It has been said above that the immediate understanding of "I will draw all men unto me" (v. 32) is the universal fullness of salvation. There is no instruction in the Gospel that requires an understanding of "all" in a restrictive sense. If we were to understand πάντας ("all") literally, we would have the right to assert that in the ways of Divine providence, the falling away of Israel was necessary, but that this falling away is temporary, and that Christ will draw to Himself those who have fallen away. This will also be the healing by Christ with which the prophetic quotation ends.

It is possible that the evangelist was thinking about something else. The quotation from the sixth chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah, which he quotes, belongs to those Old Testament texts that are most often cited by the sacred writers of the New Testament. In Acts. XXVIII the Apostle Paul explains by it the falling away of the Jews and the salvation of the Gentiles (cf. vv. 25-29). Did not the Evangelist John also think about this? And do not the Greeks who have flashed on the pages of the Gospel in some way show the conversion of the pagans? Of course, we cannot say anything more, but the question arises.

The comprehension of what is happening ends with a correction introduced by the evangelist. Having explained the unbelief of the people, the evangelist must admit that many of the rulers also believed in Jesus, but did not profess their faith, fearing excommunication from the synagogue, "for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God" (cf. vv. 42-43).

Here is quite unexpectedly quoted another speech of Jesus (vv. 44-50). The Evangelist does not explain where, when, or to whom it was told. It contains almost no new thoughts in comparison with the earlier speeches. Parallels from Jesus' earlier speeches can be drawn to almost every verse. The theocentric nature of the teaching is very strongly emphasized. The work of Jesus is the revelation of Him who sent Him (cf. vv. 44, 45, 49). And the last word of this speech: "... what I say, as the Father has told me, so I say" (v. 50).