Народ, бывший с Ним прежде, свидетельствовал, что Он вызвал из гроба Лазаря и воскресил его из мертвых. Потому и встретил Его народ, ибо слышал, что Он сотворил это чудо. Фарисеи же говорили между собой: видите ли, что не успеваете ничего? весь мир идет за Ним. 

Народ, видевший чудо над Лазарем, свидетельствовал и проповедовал о силе Иисуса. Посему и встретили Его со славой те, которые слышали о совершении этого чуда, то есть уверовали; если бы не уверовали, не переменились бы так скоро. Фарисеи, говорящие: "видите ли, не успеваете ничего"

Посему, не имея никакого успеха, оставьте ваши ковы и не грешите понапрасну.

     Из пришедших на поклонение в праздник были некоторые еллины; они подошли к Филиппу, который был из Вифсаиды Галилейской, и просили его, говоря: господин! нам хочется видеть Иисуса. Филипп идет и говорит о том Андрею; и потом Андрей и Филипп сказывают о том Иисусу. Иисус же сказал им в ответ: пришел час прославиться Сыну Человеческому. Истинно, истинно говорю вам: если пшеничное зерно, падши в землю, умрет, то принесет много плода. 

Because of the beauty of the temple and the miracles handed down by the Jews, many of the Greeks also came to worship. They were close to becoming strangers, that is, to accept Judaism. When word of Jesus reached them, they approached Philip and asked him to give them the opportunity to see Jesus. Philip, in humility and decency, speaks to Andrew as if he were higher than himself. Andrew does not take up the report, does not decide it by himself, but, taking Philip with him, dares to report to Jesus (such good order and mutual love prevailed between them). What about the Lord? Since He had commanded His disciples not to go on the way to the Gentiles (Matt. 10:5), and now He saw that the Gentiles themselves were already coming to Him (for the Greeks who wanted to see Him were undoubtedly pagans), and the Jews were building His snares, He said: "It is time at last to go to suffering, for the time of the Cross has come, that the Son of Man may be glorified." What is the use of not receiving the Gentiles who come to us, and of imposing oneself on the Jews who hate and persecute? And so, since the Gentiles come to us, now is the time to be crucified. Therefore, I will allow the Jews to finish their schemes and allow them to crucify Me, so that they will later be crucified without any excuse, since I will graciously leave them as crucifiers and murderers and turn to the Gentiles who have already begun to come to My teaching. For it would be very unjust to give nothing to the Gentiles, who thirst for the word and salvation, and to give abundantly to the Jews, who trample on what is given to them and plot evil against the Benefactor. Then, so that the disciples would not be offended by the fact that He was dying when the Gentiles also began to come, He said: "This very thing, that is, My death, will increase the faith of the Gentiles even more." For as a grain of wheat bears much fruit when it is sown and dies, so my death will bear much fruit for the faith of the Gentiles. Therefore, let no one be offended, because My death does not hinder the joining of the Gentiles, but let him be convinced by the example of the seed that My fall in My death will increase the number of believers. For if this is the case with the grain, how much more will it be with Me. For, having died and risen again, through the resurrection I will manifest My power even more, and then all will believe in Me as God.

     He who loves his soul will destroy it; but he who hates his soul in this world will preserve it to eternal life. Whosoever serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be; and whosoever serves me, my Father will honour him.

Since the Lord was close to suffering and knew that the disciples would be filled with sorrow, therefore He says: "You should not grieve in the least for My death." For if you yourself do not die, it will be of no use to you. And in general, any person who loves the present life and loves his soul, that is, fulfills its inappropriate desires, when he pleases it more than he should, and does not despise death, will destroy it. And whoever hates it, that is, does not serve it and does not bow down before it, will preserve it unto eternal life. Wishing to show how severe an aversion one should have to the lusts of the soul, He said, "Who hates?" We can neither see the faces nor hear the voices of those whom we hate: we must treat the irrational desires of the soul in the same way, that is, hate them with complete hatred. With the words: "Whoever hates his soul "in this world" shows the temporality of the matter. This commandment seemed murderous and inconsistent with the love of life. He softened it by adding: "in this world." I, he says, do not always command to hate the soul; but "in this unfaithful world" turn away from it, when it enjoins you to "do unlike" (Romans 1:28). He also adds benefit: "He will preserve it unto eternal life"; you will hate it for a time, but you will keep it alive forever for divine life. Wishing to persuade them still more to despise the present life and encourage them against death, he says: "Whosoever serves Me, let him follow Me," let him be ready for death as I am. Then He offers consolation: "Where I am, there will My servant be." Where is Christ? In heaven. For the heavenly and the earthly are opposed to each other. Whoever loves to be on earth will not be in heaven, and whoever avoids earthly things and this world will be high in heaven. "Whosoever serves me, my Father will honor him." He did not say, "I will mail him," but, "Father." This shows His affinity with Him. For the true Father will honor him as a servant of His true Son. At the same time, this shows that He is not an adversary of God. For God the Father would not honor a servant who opposes Him. Therefore, let us not set the love of our soul in keeping it from dangers for the truth's sake, and not wishing to suffer evil for good; but if we are servants of Christ, we give it up in danger for the truth, and will undoubtedly be in the same condition as Christ is now; I do not speak in divine dignity, for He is God by nature, but in that with which human nature can be adorned; for He is God by nature, and we are gods by adoption and by grace.