The appearance of the Greeks (= non-Jews, perhaps converts to Judaism) flows logically from the remark of the Pharisees in v 19 — which, of course, was more true than they suspected. Jesus does not seem to grant their request to see him, yet he more than fulfills it in v 32. When he is glorified, salvation (= "seeing him") will be available to all peoples.

The true meaning of glory is not empty fame or even well-deserved praise. Glory is inner value. Suffering and death itself is the glory of Jesus because he thus manifests his true self in loving obedience to the Father (v 27), and this glory is shared with his followers in their joining with his sufferings (v 26). The resurrection is not merely a reward for undergoing suffering and death, it is the result of the gracious and loving acceptance of Jesus’ self-gift by the Father. The act of yielding (dying) gives birth to new life (v 29).

The judgment of v 31 is the same as we saw last week: men and women judge themselves by their acceptance or rejection of the crucified (= glorified) Jesus.

The imperfection of the Jewish covenant was not God’s fault. He cared for his people as his own, yet they broke faith repeatedly. But because the covenant was essentially external ("I took them by the hand," v 32; they needed to teach others, v 34), it could not be fully kept. The new covenant hoped for in this passage would be eternal and unbreakable because it is already adhered to perfectly in the person of Jesus Christ, and would extend to all who cling to him in faith. Forgiveness of sin (and forgetting it!) is the reverse side of the covenant — the binding relationship itself heals alienation.

These words of David’s psalm of repentance express the confidence in God’s forgiveness that should be ours through Christ. Response: "Create a clean heart in me, O God."

Jesus carried out the ideal of inner sacrifice — obedience — spoken of by the prophets (1 Sam 15:22-23; Ps 40:7-9; Is 1:10-20; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8). He is the perfect high priest because only he, as God-the-Son, can make God’s very self present and active, and as man-in-the-flesh, can fully respond in obedience. Only he can perfectly represent God to us and us to God!

1. What is obedience? Why was it important in Jesus’ life? Why is it important in your life?

2. Even if sin is forgiven and forgotten, why and in what ways is it still necessary to "make up for" sin?