John 12:20-33

Fifth Sunday in Lent

March 29, 2009

John 12:20-33 (New International Version)

Jesus Predicts His Death

 20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

 23Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

 27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!"

   Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 30Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

 

 

Do you like surprises?  I’m not particularly fond of them because I like to be prepared for whatever I do.  Life does bring us many surprises.  I imagine there will be a few pulled on people this coming Wednesday, which is April Fool’s Day.  In the text before us Jesus made some statements that are surprising or at least eye-opening.  Some of them sound like contradictions.  We call them paradoxes.  All of them relate to the focal point of the Lenten season and that is the cross.  We consider

THE CROSS CREATED SURPRISES
those surprises include:

I.  Glory for Jesus

II. Salvation for the world

III. Service from sinners

 

Glory for Jesus is a surprise we would certainly not expect from the cross.  Crucifixion was a horrible form of death.  It was reserved for the worst criminals and the Romans would not use it on one of their own citizens.  The pain was intense and long lasting.  Imagine hanging there growing weaker until you could no longer breathe.  Public exposure and ridicule brought added misery.

 

Jesus was true man so He would experience such suffering.  As God He knew all about it in advance.  That led Him to note, “Now my heart is troubled”—deeply agitated and disturbed.  Who wouldn’t be?  “What shall I say?  ‘Father, save me from this hour?’”  The thoughts are much like His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where He asked if there was another way to get the job done, let it happen.  Yes, His human nature withdrew from the path ahead.  It was unnatural for the Lord of life to die.

 

Yet that was His purpose in coming to this earth.  Jesus continued, “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”  He was born on this earth with a mission.  He was carrying out His assignment, completing the plans that God had formed in eternity.    He agreed with those plans totally.  He could not back out now.

 

His work met the Father’s approval.  The Father spoke of His name being glorified in Jesus.  A voice from heaven announced, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  The people on the scene heard the voice but some called it thunder while others credited an angel.  Jesus said it happened for their benefit, so did that mean the words were distinguishable but they did not want to face or accept the truth?

 

Whatever was going on with them, the glory was there for Jesus.  As He noted, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  No, the conditions weren’t glorious but His obedience to His Father’s will certainly was.  The event would also lead to glory as He would rise from death.  The resurrection definitely showed who was greater.  Jesus conquered death.  He is the Lord of life and is glorious.  We sing, “Glory be to Jesus, who in bitter pains poured for me the lifeblood from his sacred veins.”  That’s a surprise when we view the suffering Savior.

II.

There’s a wonderful result that we experience, and that is salvation for the world.  Jesus illustrated His point with a seed.  “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”  A single wheat seed produces a new plant with a whole head of grain.  We might be more familiar with corn.  Again, from one kernel grows a plant that produces a whole cob full of kernels.  The Savior was showing us that death brings life.  Seeds have the power to produce new growth, but they do nothing until they are planted.  That’s a marvel of God’s creation.

 

The setting of this text led Jesus to express those thoughts.  Some Greeks were in town for the Feast and asked to see Jesus.  It was the time of Passover at the end of His ministry.  He had entered Jerusalem amid the fanfare on Palm Sunday.  At the beginning of the week He taught.  It seems to be Tuesday, the last day of His public teaching.  The visitors were likely converts to Judaism.  They had heard of Jesus and wanted to see Him.  They were interested in more than a view; they wanted personal contact.  They brought their request to Philip.  Did they know him?  Philip is a Greek name.  He wanted to verify whether it was OK so he consulted Andrew and together they discussed it with Jesus.  Maybe there was some hesitance since Jesus had made it known He was sent to minister among the lost sheep of the house of Israel.   They formed the main focus of His ministry.  Also the actions of Jesus were under close scrutiny from His enemies.  The disciples didn’t want to get Him into unnecessary trouble.

 

We don’t know whether the visit took place or not, but the request was a reminder that matters were moving toward the culmination of Jesus’ work.  After He finished His earthly mission there would be an expansion to the Gentiles.  Here were the first ones knocking at the door.  Jesus was going to die for the sins of all people.  After His resurrection He would commission His followers to take the gospel to the whole world.  That message would convert many people and His kingdom would circle the globe.  That’s how most of us got in.

 

The events at hand brought a time of judgment.  “Now the prince of this world will be driven out.”  That prince is Satan.  He seems powerful because he has so many people under his control and exerts his influence on us all.  Jesus’ death on the cross would defeat the devil.  As Scripture announces, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”  Jesus undid what Satan caused.  He paid the price so that our record of sin has been removed from the ledger.  He broke Satan’s power.  We can use God’s power to defeat the temptations that attack us.  It doesn’t always look that way.  When we view the world we see lots of tracks that are the devil’s doing.  Sadly, we see his tracks in our lives as well.  The power of Jesus is greater and has broken Satan’s stranglehold.  Tap into that power and use it to fight sin.

 

There’s another verdict brought by the Savior’s work.  His death announced that we are holy in God’s sight, forgiven for all our sins.  God’s justice was satisfied, for the payment was complete.  Jesus made that payment for the world.  The Bible declares, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.”  Because God views us as holy through Jesus, we are welcome in heaven eternally.  That future shows how Jesus would be glorified.  We will be praising and thanking Him endlessly.  But you don’t have to wait—you can do so now in worship.

 

There is the other side of the issue.  Those who reject the Savior fall under the “judgment on this world,” which is condemnation.  The crucifixion was a horrible crime committed against God’s own Son.  It really brought the reversal of the apparent situation when Jesus was judged and convicted by the world.

 

Salvation has been brought to you, the judgment that you are forgiven and free from Satan’s grasp.  The Lord has worked trust in your heart.  Live in that freedom, rejoicing in your Savior and fighting sin.  The most terrible act in human history brought salvation for the world.  The cross created surprises.

III.

Those surprises take in you and me as the cross produces service from sinners.  We come to hate life.  “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  How can you hate your life, a precious gift of God?  We naturally love ourselves, especially our old Adam and its desires.  We are prone to self-indulgence.  We think we are providing self-preservation but actually committing self-destruction as we wallow deeper and deeper in sin and away from God.  Loving your life is being absorbed in the things of this world, so that its pleasures and experiences crowd out spiritual matters.  It happens a lot that we are so involved in enjoying the gift that we forget the Giver.

 

When we recognize the passing nature of the earthly and material items, are not excited or wrapped up in them and avoid sinful activities, it may appear as hate of them.  As a result you may not get invited to parties where people are planning sinful excess or you may not advance up the business ladder like those who misrepresent the truth or take advantage of others.  But we so love God that we shudder to do what displeases Him.  That behavior is a confession of faith.  Believers have eternal life.  That’s really living.  It is also a blessing now to be at peace with God, assured of His care and provision, knowing He will guide, guard and bless us.  Christians in no way come out behind.

 

So we follow Jesus.  We follow Him in faith.  We strive to follow Him in a lifestyle of godly ways.  We follow Him in service.  It involves loving God and our neighbor.  We will be other-directed.  We help, support, and encourage those in need.  We stand by the oppressed.  The greatest service we can render is to share the gospel with someone who does not know it.  We also seek to reclaim the erring.  Recently there has been a good deal of talk about the number of inactive members of our congregation.  We see some living outside of God’s commandments.  Talk to them and express your concern.  The Bible says, “Whoever turns a sinner from his ways will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” 

 

We follow our Savior through trials and troubles.  We endure hardship.  Because we know the destination we won’t worry about the twists and turns along the way.  Our Lord will bring us safely through.  Stay close to Him, walk on the paths He chooses, and rely on His Word, not your own wisdom.  You will experience the blessing of the Lord.

 

The cross is key in all that we have looked at.  Jesus’ way through the cross is the cause of honor and glory as He draws repentant sinners in faith.  It is the means of salvation for the world.  We praise Him in our worship and with lives of service.  It sounds contradictory:  death brings life, gore produces glory, and sinners serve.  Those are surprises the cross created, surprises even I can enjoy and so can you.