The Seed Sacrificed
John 12:20-36
Last Sunday we entered into the final week of Jesus’ life on earth before His crucifixion. He and His disciples have set up temporary base in the village of Bethany, from which they travel into Jerusalem each day. The news of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in combination with the whole nation coming together for the Passover Celebration has created a big stirring amongst the people. The first day of Jesus arriving into Jerusalem, the crowd declared Him as Messiah and King of Israel. Yet, there is also a heaviness in the air as Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree, then cleared out a fruitless temple, and reminded His disciples there in the midst of all the looming darkness, that they were to “Have faith in God.” (Mark 11:22)
The author John mentions how some of the religious leaders reacted to all the hub bub encircling Jesus, he says in John 12:19 “So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.” And they were right. The world was going after Him, not just the Jews, but other nations. In the verses that follow, we’ll see that some from Greece were approaching Jesus, desiring to see Him. And the way Jesus responds- at first glance, seems a little odd. But from His response, we can glean 3 spiritual truths that will help us on our journey, as we follow Jesus’ example of sacrifice. Let’s look at the passage together, John 12:20-26.
These Greeks appear to have accepted the God of Israel, and they would have been a very small minority at this point in time amongst others from Greece who participated in pagan worship associated with Greek gods and mythology. I believe they approached the disciples with honest intent, truly seeking to meet this man who raised Lazarus from the dead, and who had just been pronounced King of Israel. They approached Philip in verse 21, and John gives us the detail that Philip was from Bethsaida of Galilee, which perhaps is the very reason why these Greeks approached him. Bethsaida of Galilee is located north east of the eastern side of the sea of Galilee, close to the Greek populated regions of the Decapolis. Maybe they knew Philip, or they had picked up on his accent as they heard him speaking, or heard his name being spoken- being that Philip was a Greek name. The only other Greek derived names amongst the 12 disciples were Peter and Andrew.
Now these were all considered Jewish men, but maybe they had family ties to Greeks, or maybe they had lived and worked for a time in the Decapolis region- somewhere there would have to have been some connection with Greece and/or Greek culture. Actually, 100 years earlier, before the Romans invaded, the land of Israel had actually been ruled by the Greeks. In verse 22 we see that Philip went to Andrew first before approaching Jesus. Maybe there was some hesitancy by Philip, not knowing exactly how the King of Israel would want to relate now to those outside of Israel. Perhaps Philip wanted to bring in Andrew if our assumption is correct that because of his Greek name he had some sort of connection with the Greeks; at the very least perhaps the two of them felt stronger together in vouching for these Greek men, and felt more likely to persuade Jesus to engage with them.
Now at first glance, it would appear that Jesus completely ignores Philip and Andrew’s request. But ignoring definitely would seem out of character for Jesus. I personally have the feeling, that whether the Greeks were within earshot of Jesus’ response or not- either way- I believe that His answer was for them. I believe His answer directly addressed the questions and thoughts that weighted upon their hearts. Let’s look at His answer again: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:23-26)
It’s as if Jesus responded “Yes, they are right to seek me, and many more will as well. I will serve as glorious King of Israel. My glory will be fruitful and My reign will be multiplied. I will also be glorious King of Greece, and King of every other nation in the world. But in order to be that King, I must first lay down my life. And those who want to be with me and be part of my Kingdom must do the same.”
Here we have 2 different people groups and cultures- the Jews and the Greeks. The Jews with the perceived more direct and authentic right to God’s Kingdom, and the Greeks as outsiders who in the past were (and probably were still to a degree in this moment of time) considered enemies of the Jews. And Jesus says this impossible unity will be forged through… sacrifice. Jesus was going to lead the way through His life sacrifice on the cross. And to all others who wanted Him as King- whether Jew, Greek, American or any other nationality- they too would die to themselves. They would die to their own personal desires, preferences, culture, expectations- in order to be with Him and honored by God the Father.
A grain of wheat, or any other seed- can remain intact and preserved by keeping it isolated in cool, dry storage. But when it is planted- dropped into the ground- there are certain conditions that begin to work on it that trigger the new life: the dampness of the soil, the warmth of the soil, and the darkness of the soil. What strange conditions, right? How many of us like to hang out in damp, warm, dark places? I like warmth, but warm with wet and dark is just sticky and gross! Jesus was comparing His life to a grain of wheat falling into the earth- if we were to compare our lives to a grain of wheat falling into the earth, I believe that most of us would prefer to remain isolated, in cool dry storage. Preserved. Unchanged. Not bothered. But Jesus is saying there’s life out there that He wants for us, that is only accessed through temporary states of being uncomfortable. Not only does He want it for us, and not only does it lead to a better life, but through the way scripture reads- it appears living a life of sacrifice is a prerequisite to inheriting eternal life.
Here’s our first truth that we must understand for our journey of following Jesus in sacrifice: 1. Sacrifice is life-giving. This isn’t a newly presented concept Jesus is teaching. For over a thousand years prior, sacrifices and offerings to the LORD were made regularly in order that a sinful people might be able to remain living in the presence of a Holy God. During the days of Moses, God used to meet with Moses in a special tent- the Tent of Meeting. At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, there was an altar for sacrifices where blood was to be sprinkled and the offering burnt up. (Lev. 1:5) Death and sacrifice were at the very entrance to the presence of God. Once the temple was constructed, it was the same. There was a bloody altar right in front of the entrance to the Holy Place, leading into the Holy of Holies, where God could be encountered. You could only get to where God was, by first offering the right sacrifice. You had to let go of things in the physical life, in order to grab onto things in the spiritual life. The same principle is true today. We enter into God’s presence, blessing, and truth not through the sacrifice of bulls, sheep, or doves on an altar, but through the sacrifice of a bleeding man named Jesus on a cross. And He calls us to join Him up there on the altar of His cross.
Just days later, He would be mounted to a cross and then buried in a tomb. And if He had remained in the tomb, then His calling to follow Him would have gone down in history as being one of the most sick, demented, and deranged utterances of all time. But He proved Himself worthy of being followed. What He said was true- His sacrifice brought glory and fruit, and put eternity within reach of mankind. He rose again, paving the way for people from all nations to rise again- to experience new life in Him here on Earth and for all eternity.
We all experience sacrifice as we walk through life. There is a giving up of certain things when you get married, when you start a new job, when you have kids, even as you age and life changes. We benefit from the sacrifices of others, those who raised us, spouses, friends, family members, and unless you’re a vegan- even animals who give of their life, so that we might be fed and have a better life. The whole idea behind sacrifice is that it brings life and betterment to others, and if we are Jesus’ followers and believe His words, then I believe we can be reassured that our sacrifice even brings life and betterment to ourselves.
But the reality is, even in knowing the life and betterment achieved through sacrifice, it is still not an easy thing to do. Even as Jesus knew the incredible outcome His sacrifice would lead to, even as He knew that He would rise to life and open up life for millions after Him- as bright as the future looked- it was still terrifying, hard, and uncomfortable. Look at what Jesus says next, in verse 27: Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?
His statement leads us to our 2nd truth, and that is 2. Sacrifice is troubling. Jesus- God in flesh- is here troubled. He’s saddened in anguish and turmoil. His stomach has butterflies. He’s doing the right thing, the best thing, the greatest thing- and yet His soul is troubled. For some reason, I think we as believers sometimes are accustomed to wanting to feel good about doing the right thing. We don’t like feeling uncomfortable, we don’t like being in the wet, warm, and dark. We don’t like change. We prefer our physical and spiritual realms to stay close to each other, moving together, on the same level- in other words we don’t want to lose anything physical in order to gain anything spiritual. “I don’t want more of Jesus and His Kingdom, under the condition of having to give anything up.” If we are to gain spiritually, we would much rather at least maintain our same level in the physical realm. “Ok, I’d like more of Jesus and His Kingdom, as long as I don’t have to give up anything else in my life.” But better yet- how about gaining spiritually and physically? That sounds great! “I’d like more of Jesus and His Kingdom, and more wealth, health, and power- please and thank you.” It doesn’t always work that way. Yes, there are physical blessings that can come from following Jesus. Yes, sometimes we know His will by the peace and joy He places in our hearts. But sometimes decisions are made- sacrifices made- with great trembling in our hands and hearts, sensing Him calling us to do something different, uncomfortable, and perhaps even painful. If Jesus wasn’t spared the troubling in His soul- and He was perfect- then we shouldn’t expect to be spared the troubling in our soul.
That’s a scary thought, right? How do we walk through that, how do we unpack these negative emotions like Jesus was experiencing here? How did He reconcile His emotions? Look again at the last sentence of verse 27, and look at the first word of that sentence: “But…” Jesus says “My soul is troubled, I feel like saying ‘Father, save Me from this hour,’ but…” And that word “but” leads us to the answer: “for this purpose…” How did Jesus get through the dark time of a troubled soul? By recognizing purpose. Your sacrifice, your doing the right thing even if it hurts, your following Jesus, your pain- is not without purpose. Here is our 3rd truth: 3. Sacrifice is purposeful. What’s the specific purpose Jesus is referring to here in verse 27? Well, I think He’s already been answering that question from the very beginning of His answer to the Greeks back in verse 23. His purpose is to be glorified (verse 23), His purpose is to bear fruit (verse 24), His purpose is to enable the world to keep life unto life eternal (verse 25), His purpose is to make a way for His servants to be with Him and honored by the Father (verse 26), and ultimately all these are wrapped up in the purpose of bringing glory to the Father’s name (verse 28).
In looking at this passage, I can’t imagine that much better of a purpose or motivation to lead us in any sacrifice, life decision, through any pain, or spiritual growth. In fact, Jesus’ purpose list here is probably a pretty good one to personalize even if you’re not experiencing any troubling times of sacrifice. It would be a pretty good life purpose statement in general to adopt. For anyone who has ever asked “What is the meaning of life?” or “What does God want me to do?”, here it is: Your purpose is also to one day be glorified, with a new glorified body after living a life of glorifying Jesus. Your purpose is to bear fruit. Your purpose is to show the world how to keep life unto life eternal. Your purpose is to be with Jesus and be honored by the Father. Your purpose, ultimately in all of these, is to bring glory to the Father’s name.
Shouldn’t our church be moving towards the same purposes? Reminding ourselves that as God’s universal church, we are purposed to be glorified in Christ, that we are to be one unified beautiful body of believers- as the very bride of Christ. Our purpose is to bear fruit until that day. We exist in order to let the world know there is a way to keep life- life eternal. We are to be with Jesus, serving alongside Him, wherever He is working, and God will honor us in that action. Our purpose is to glorify the Father’s name- Yahweh, the LORD Creator God, revealed to mankind through His son Jesus. Verse 28… (28-33)
Jesus being lifted up on the cross was the means by which all peoples could be drawn into right relationship with Jesus and God the Father. Verse 34 (34-36)
The crowd expected to be able to hold onto their newly declared King. They didn’t want Him to be lifted up and away to anywhere. They had proclaimed Him as the Christ, as the Messiah, as the one who comes in the name of the LORD, heir to David’s throne, but they didn’t understand Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of Man. The people would later, very soon actually, understand what He meant by “lifted up” (on the cross). They would soon understand His self-given title explained through His resurrection, as He would reveal to the world Him being God in the form of human flesh (a son of a man). Yes, their questions would be soon answered, but the question that needed to be answered right then and there was “Will you walk in and believe in Him as the Light?” He challenged them to trust in Him right then and there, knowing that future circumstances would make that decision to trust all the more difficult. The timing was critical.
The timing of this whole conversation was super critical. I want to point out some of the timing bread trail crumbs the author John has given us along the way throughout his account. John chapter 2, at the wedding in Cana- when they ran out of wine how does Jesus respond? “…My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4) In John chapter 7, Jesus’ brothers encouraged Him to make a public entrance at the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem, and Jesus responded “My time is not yet here...” (John 7:6) Jesus did arrive to that Feast, and the religious leaders tried to seize Him, yet no man could lay a hand on Him- why? “…because His hour had not yet come.” (John 7:30) John chapter 8, after forgiving the woman caught in adultery, He began teaching again in the temple and no one seized Him- why? “…because His hour had not yet come.” (John 8:20) But now look at the change in timing, what does Jesus say at the beginning of His answer to the Greeks? (verse 23) “The hour has come…” And at the end of His conversation, in verses 35 and 36, it’s as if He says “Walk now while you have the light- the timing is now. The path is clear, I have laid it out before you. Follow me in my sacrifice. Come, believe in me and become one of my own.”
How might the Lord be leading you this morning concerning His calling to follow Him in sacrifice?