Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.23
And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
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.25
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 27
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”33
He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
Why were these Greeks coming to Jesus? What were they looking for? A king? Were they simply curious to see what kind of man could be causing such a stir? Had they
heard of Jesus and wondered about the signs and miracles he was doing and thought that he was worthy to follow?
The Lord says it is time for glorification, but Jesus ignores the Greeks and speaks to what all men, Jew and Gentile must understand about His kingdom and what it
demands. Jesus said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, we have to ask ourselves, where is our treasure? Be honest with yourself…Jesus knows the answer anyway…where is YOUR treasure? If someone followed you around for a week and
listened and watched, where does your life SAY, your treasure is?
Jesus says that he falls into the ground and dies and the grain, because of the death, produces great results, that is exactly what His death did, opening the doors
of salvation to the world, which in the context of the Greeks coming to Jesus, makes perfect sense. But then he goes on to make sure that we see what His death, his falling into the ground produces in this life of anyone calling themselves his disciples.
The man who loves his life loses it.
The word “loses” can also be translated as “destroys”. The man who loves his life, destroys his life. It seems a bit ironic, that if I love my life that I will lose
the very thing I love…but how many times have we seen this!!! People clinging to things and losing the very thing they are clinging to with all their hearts! Jesus is telling us that to love our life, to love our existence apart from Him to seek life here
in this world, to seek as our happiness, goal and desire, the things that this world has to offer, because we think somehow this is life, as though THIS is what we were made for…this is a self-defeating process and destroys life instead of saving life.
If our chief end is to glorify ourselves, or if we somehow think that the chief end of God is to make sure I am enjoying myself then we have deeply misunderstood Christianity
and we are destroying life; And many of things that are enjoyed are not necessarily sinful, in and of themselves, but they become sinful when they become the end, or the goal. There are many things we enjoy in this life that are fine to enjoy, but not at the
expense of what Jesus has said, and more importantly, not at the expense of our radical life for Him, if so, then that something becomes an idol. Brothers and sisters, many things that are good can become idols: Jobs, children, sports, business pursuits, ambitions,
leisure, recreation, most any good gift can become a snare if the Giver and the gift are confused; And it is hard sometimes to see it clearly because the thing itself isn’t sinful.
Ask yourself this question and you can make it as broad as the entire scope of your life, or you can make it narrow with regard to the many activities of your life,
so both great and small.
Are you living life with your heart on a horizontal plane, looking out at this world, what YOU want, what YOU like, what YOU desire…do you look at what everyone else
has, what everyone else says, what the majority, the status quo, even the religious status quo, says and demands?
Or, are you living on a vertical plane, looking up, seriously setting your life to and from the desires of God, wanting only for His desires, His wants to be yours?
Maybe someone is thinking: Pastor are you saying that I am not going to be saved if I have a few horizontal areas in my life?
I am not talking about being saved, that would be arrogant, God alone determines such things…but I trust that none of us thinks that Xnty is just about getting saved!
We don’t come to Jesus so as to escape the flames of hell and then think we live however we want because now we have our fire insurance! And, we cannot comfort ourselves with the thought, “Well I am faithful in most things and have only a few worldly earthly
pursuits and I will make sure they will do me no harm.”
First, they will do you harm, and possibly great harm. Second, we are quite aware that sin is not static, it does not sit still…ever, it never has enough, it never
says; there that is plenty, I will just stop with that. And third, compartmentalizing life is the kiss of death for the Christian.
Sadly, we are all tempted to put Jesus and our Christianity in a compartment…Jesus is an area of life, perhaps a big area, but an area nonetheless, but there are other
areas of life where He is nowhere to be found. And that is not following Jesus, that is not the life the Bible calls us to.
There is nothing in your life that Jesus does not touch and say, that is mine. Your relationships with the opposite sex…Your marriage. Your work, your hobbies, when
you go to hang out with friends, when you go camping, when you go out with the boys…There is no time when you are free from coming under the Lordship of Jesus.
Jesus says the hour has come, the hour of His glorification and what it works in all true disciples. That is what his being put into the ground is all about, that
is what His death procured. I am in no way saying that the life Christ calls us to, the life that is ours because of our union with Him is easy. Look at the text, even Jesus says that his soul is troubled, He, in flesh and blood like we are, acknowledges that
the life of the cross has exceeding difficulties, even sorrows. He understands that, for he lived it, far beyond anything that we will ever have to endure. Not only the cross’s pain but the reality of the sin of so many poured upon him and then the Father’s
face turned away.
But as we follow Him, which He says we must, not an option, but a requirement, in verse 26, as we follow Him, we too submit to the joy set before us. Do you know that
joy? It is set before you?
That is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer boldly asserted that when Christ bids a man to come to Him, He bids him to come and die…because then, you are raised by God’s grace
to a life that never ends…which is what you were made for.
Prayer: Father, I know that I too often and too easily shrink from the life of the cross and desire ease, convenience and the things of this world. Forgive me for
my lack of perseverance and how easily and often I set down the cross that You have called me to carry daily. Give me grace this day to embrace the life that Jesus so beautifully lived that I may be in Him and find the joy that only You can give, through Jesus
Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Give Me Jesus
