John 12:20-26
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illustration: Grandmother makes me realize the necessity of Jesus’s death.
illustration: Grandmother makes me realize the necessity of Jesus’s death.
Context:
Context:
The Triumphal Entry is currently going on.
Jesus is being heralded as King of Israel, but the Jews have stopped short of recognizing that he is the true Messiah.
They have welcomed him as a conqueror of Rome but they have not welcomed him as conqueror over sin and death.
They have heralded him as King of Israel but they have not heralded Him as king over their hearts.
They have laid down their coats and the palm branches in their hand, but they have not laid down the rights to their lives and submitted to Christ as Lord.
The Triumphal Entry was a big event, but it wasn’t revival.
In fact, it serves as a contrast to genuine belief.
The crowd emotionally cried out to him, but their hearts still stand diametrically opposed to him.
The Pharisees wrongly conclude in verse 19 that the crowd of followers are actual followers of Jesus.
And the Pharisees and the crowd will join forces to try and kill the Lord Jesus.
So now we come to verse 20, and it comes as an interesting development.
First, keep in mind that the majority of those in the crowd are Jewish people, and their minds are set on Jesus coming to be the liberation from Roman oppression.
But like we said last week, there are approximately 2.5 million people in Jerusalem during the Passover Feasts, and not all these people are ethnic Jews.
Look in verse 20.
Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
This is pretty self explanatory.
While most of the people there for the Passover were ethnic Jews, some were not. This is why John mentions this here.
Its worth noting that Passover is a distinctly Jewish feast, but the religion of Judaism was embrace by other who might not have been considered as ethnic Jews.
This is something that may be misunderstood at times.
You can be a Jew ethnically, but not a Jew religiously.
Likewise, you can be a Jew religiously, but not a Jew ethnically.
This is what is the case with these Greeks.
They are Greek by nationality but they are Jews by religion. This is why they are here for the Passover.
They are going up to worship at the feast.
They are caught up with excitement an they desire to see Jesus as well.
these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
They go to Philip.
Why? We aren’t told.
We do know that Phil
Philip is a Jew. John points this out by telling us that he is from Bethsaida of Galilee, but he does have a Greek name. Maybe they knew Philip? We don’t know. But thats not the point. The point is what they say to Philip.
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
It is interesting here that when the Jewish leaders and authorities have turned violently against Jesus, there are Gentiles who are seeking Him out.
And we have seen this theme throughout the book of John.
Thi
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
Paul later comments on this very thing in where he discusses how Israel as a whole has rejected Jesus as Christ, but the Gospel has opened the door for Gentiles as well as Jews to be brought in.
We see a glimpse of that here.
These Gentiles are seeking him out.
And this serves somewhat of a marker for Jesus and John in this Gospel.
Look what happens
Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
These disciples specifically Philip and Andrew, having heard the request from these Gentiles, go to Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t set up a meeting with them.
He does in fact answer their question.
And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Somehow and for some these Greek people coming and wanting to see Jesus is a time marker for Jesus route to the cross.
Up unto this point, Jesus has made mentioned of the hour that was coming, but this time, he says that the time has arrived.
What is this hour?
It is the hour that has been established in the Holy Trinity from eternity past that God will send His son to die.
He says that his hour has come. He isn’t talking about a literal 60 minutes.
This can also be translated “appointed time.”
its the time Jesus has come for. It is the time Jesus was sent for.
interestingly enough its the time that he will die.
But he doesn’t say that.
He doesn’t say that it is time for him to die.
He has the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Here is the difference between Jesus and every man.
Jesus’s death will prove to be his glory.
Its ugly. Its tough on every one around it. I’ve witnessed this first hand this week.
But for Jesus,
His death, though he will be publicly shamed and killed without a slither of dignity, death will not have the final say over Jesus.
It in his death that he conquers over his enemies.
This is why he can confidently say here that the appointed time for his glorification is hand.
Jesus is about to take on death, and he knows he will be victorious.
In his humanity, he knows the pain and the sorrow, of death and the wrath of God that is going ot be poured out upon him which is why he asks for the cup to pass from him, but in His deity, he knows he will be victorious.
My glorification time has come.
Now think about what the disciples heard at this point.
He has just been heralded as king. He has had his triumphal entry, and now he has told them that his glorification is at hand.
What do you think they thought he meant?
Certainly, not His death.
How could death ever lead to glory?
Look in verse 24.
“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.
Jesus, as he has done time and time again, tells a parable.
Jesus is a much better teacher than I ever thought about being.
Listen to what he says:
Truly Truly.... normally a teaching moment or a correction of an erroneous thought.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
Jesus uses an example of a seed.
You farmers can understand what he is about to say.
Unless a seed falls into the earth, and decomposes, or dies, it remains alone.
You can take a bag of seed and set it on the shelf, or put it in your pocket, but what needs to happen for the seed to grow is it must be placed into the earth at which point the ground reacts with the shell of the seed to decompose it allowing life to be extracted from the seed.
Essentially what Jesus is saying is this:
If there is to be life, I must die.
Jesus’s death is absolute necessity.
There is no good news apart from the death of Christ.
But why did He have to die.
He had to die in order for me to live. (His mercy and grace motivated it)
He had to die in order for my sin debt to be paid. (His justice demanded it)
He had to die because only he, as God’s son, has the ability to take the wrath of God for me. (His Deity enabled it)
Without Jesus dying, we cannot be delivered.
But listen to what he continues to say. If it dies, it bears much fruit.
What a wonderful privilege it is today to know that he did die, and as a result, there are people who have been bought and paid for by the blood of Christ from every tribe tongue and language.
he did die, and that why many of you here today are saved by God’s grace.
His death did bear fruit.
Because just like the seed, though he was placed in a tomb and the outer shell began to decompose, his deity could not be held back, but he rose again rising up bringing with him all those who trust in him as Savior.
Do you understand what he is saying here?
We are the fruit of his dying.
Because he died, I can live.
Because he died, My grandmother lives.
Because he died, all those who are staring death in the face right now can have confidence that it does not end in death. We can be confident that Jesus will be glorified.
Jesus’s death results in life for us, but Jesus does not stop there.
He doesn’t stop with just His death.
If we are to follow Christ genuinely, we will have to die to ourselves as well.
listen to what he says in verse 25-26
“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
“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.
What is he saying?
Jesus has said this time and time again.
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Paul echoed this idea in
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Jesus is telling them what they should expect when they begin to follow him.
Perhaps even as important as what he says is what he doesnt say for us today.
He doesn’t say:
Pray this Prayer and you’ll be good.
Just walk up front, say that prayer and get baptized and youll be good.
he doesn’t say any of that.... ever.
Listen to what he does say again.
That is what it means to follow Christ.
Death to yourself.
You no longer live for your self. You live for Christ.
Paul explains is this way
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Please hear me out:There are many people out there who are misguided and mistaken if we think that thats what it means to be saved.
They believe that they said a prayer, and that becasue they did that that they are good.
But hear me out church:
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
If there is no transfer of Lordship, where you are dethroned and Jesus takes up residence on the throne of your life, it is not biblical salvation.
Thats not salvation from sin. Thats not Jesus as Lord.
Thats Jesus as an insurance policy.
We die.
In fact
This is what baptism symbolizes.
We have died to ourselves and we have been raised with Christ. The Old man is dead, and we have new life
but sadly, many wear the sign of baptism, but their lives hasn’t demonstrated the reality of what baptism symbolizes.
Hear verse 25.
Living your life for yourself will end with you losing your life.
This is what he means by living his life.
The moment we trust in Christ, he must become Lord over our lives.
What shall it profit ....
“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.