Read John 12 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
Joh 11:46-12:50 Chiastic Structure:
I ask myself, now why would a single verse about the Greeks searching for Jesus, be the key point of this structure?
We know that it is almost Passover (Joh 11:55). Jesus was actually crucified on the exact day of Passover, the year that He was crucified; so He is approaching the day of His sacrifice as the [Passover] Lamb of God (Joh 1:29). Recall that a few chapters ago, Jesus had said,
“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” Joh 10:16
All the nations had rejected God from being God over them at the Tower of Babel rebellion (Genesis 11), and as a result, God had separated out one man, Abraham, of whom He would make a new nation, who would preserve His worship in the earth (Genesis 12). It was with Israel, not the other nations, that God made a covenant to be their God, and He would take them to be His people (Exo 6:7). But it was always His plan to extend His covenant to all the other nations as well.
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen 12:3
It was to this plan that Jesus was referring, when He said, “I have other sheep who are not of this fold.” When the other nations began searching for Him, He knew that the time had come to be sacrificed as the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the whole world (Joh 1:29), and not Israel only.
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