John 12:16-19 16His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and these things were done to him. 17Then the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were witnessing. 18On account of this, the crowd went out to meet him because they heard he had done this sign. 19Therefore, the Pharisees said to themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
The disciples had a hard time understanding all that Jesus said during his years of ministry when they followed him around Galilee and Judea. Glorified in verse 16 refers to after Jesus was raised from the dead (2:22). Resurrection helped them piece the puzzle together. Much was happening for the disciples in the days leading up to the Passover. They had returned to Bethany and been with Jesus in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They had journeyed into Jerusalem and seen the great welcome Jesus received there.
John mentions two witnesses to Jesus at this point in the story. Two witnesses was the minimum requirement to establish the truth of a matter (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). The first witness was called upon in verse 15. As good Jews, they had studied the Scripture in their synagogues. They knew many of the messianic prophecies. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, they spent time rereading their Bibles and saw how Jesus fulfilled so many passages. It was hard for them to see this in the middle of the events. The second witness was the crowds who had seen Jesus raise Lazarus. They confirmed the truth of Lazarus’ return to life, which then proved Jesus to be a powerful miracle worker. For those with open minds and receptive hearts, it should not have been difficult to believe Jesus to be the Messiah. The first crowd at the tomb witnessed to the second crowd along the route to Jerusalem. Together, both groups recognized Jesus as King.
The disciples did not see all these connections in the middle of the events but only later. Their expectations of Jesus as the Messiah may have been skewed by all the excitement of the time. They did not understand yet the need for the cross and what this would cost both Jesus and them in the days ahead. The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders should have seen the connections because they knew the Scriptures well. They devoted to lives to studying the law, but their hearts were closed to what God was doing right in front of them. Instead of being open to the miracles and studying their Scriptures, they went the totally opposite way by trying to get rid of Jesus. Jesus’ popularity had grown exponentially by this point. The situation was rife for revolution, which the Jewish leaders feared. They misunderstood the kindgom Jesus proclaimed. They exaggerated in their frustration that the whole world was following Jesus. The reason Jesus came was to save the “world,” a term John uses to refer to unbelievers of all humanity (3:17). The Jewish leaders plotted how to get rid of Jesus, but their schemes were backfiring. Instead of becoming less popular, Jesus was gaining more attention. This passage prepares for the confrontations in the coming chapters.
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