John 12:23

23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour comes in which the Son of man shall be clarified.

John 12:23 Meaning and Commentary

John 12:23

And Jesus answered them
Not directly and particularly; he did not in plain terms signify what was his will, whether these Greeks should be admitted or not; and yet expressed himself in such a manner as shows he was not averse to it, but was pleased with it, and takes notice of it, as an evidence of the near approach of his glorification:

saying, the hour is come, that the son of man should be glorified;
by rising from the dead, ascending to heaven, sitting at the right hand of God, and from thence pouring forth the Spirit upon his disciples, who should go and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, as well as Jews; and which would issue in the conversion of many of them, and so in his glory, of which the coming of these Greeks was an earnest. But he intimates, in the next verse, that he must first die.

John 12:23 In-Context

21 the same came therefore to Philip, who was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Lord, we desire to see Jesus.
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour comes in which the Son of man shall be clarified.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.
25 He that loves his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010