A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 34
“We Would See Jesus”
John 12:20-26
I want to begin this morning by reading you the text from the translation called (The Message). I want to use this translation as the introduction because I believe it gives us a good sense of what is happening here. We read in John chapter twelve and verse twenty, “There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: "Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?" (22-23) Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip together told Jesus. Jesus answered, "Time’s up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. (24-25) "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal. (26) "If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.”
Jesus had just entered into Jerusalem to the shouts and praises of a huge crowd present in the city for the Passover celebration. The people were anxious to proclaim Him king, but the Lord refused to accept the role they wanted him to take. Our story today opens with a group of God-fearing Gentiles (Greeks) who have come to worship at the feast. But they are more than just curious visitors or one time investigators of Judaism they are seeking the truth. They approach Philip with an appeal to “see” Jesus. But to their credit, they did not just want to physically see Jesus. They did not just want to learn more about Jesus. Having heard and observed, they were attracted and they wanted to believe in Him, they wanted to “know” him.
In verse twenty we read, “Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. (21) Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (22) Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus”
We are told that a group of men came asking to see Jesus and interestingly enough we are not told that the people who made this request actually did see Jesus, although I do think they did. We are told they came to Philip, although John does not say why. It may be because Philip has a Greek name: Philipos, means “a lover of horses.” Philip was apparently also perplexed about what to do so he consulted Andrew (v. 22). And Andrew did what he always did. Andrew would have no doubt. Every time we meet him in the Gospels he is bringing someone to Jesus (1:41-42. 6:8-9). Obvious, at least to him, the right thing; is to tell Jesus that these foreigners want to see him. John does not actually tell us that the two apostles brought the Greeks to Jesus, but this seems implied.
The first part of Jesus’ response is startling. He says, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” (v. 23) Up to this point His Disciples, have heard him say over and over, "My hour has not yet come." The first occurrence is at the Wedding in Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle when his mother came to him and asked him to do something about the wine for the wedding feast. Jesus said to her, "…. My hour has not yet come," (John 2:4).In the seventh chapter of his Gospel, John tells us that Jesus told his brothers to go on up to the feast at Jerusalem but that he was not going up because "my hour has not yet come" (John 7:6).And, in the eighth chapter, as he is speaking in Jerusalem and already the opposition against him is beginning to form, John says, "No man laid hands on him to arrest him, because his hour had not yet come," (John 8:20).Yet now, when a handful of strangers come and the report is carried to Jesus that a certain group of Greeks want to see him, suddenly, to his disciples’ amazement, He seems greatly moved with emotion and says, "Now my hour has come. The time has come for me to be glorified." This event seems to be to Jesus like a great clock striking the hour, a momentous moment of his life when all that he had lived for shall now find its fulfillment.
What Jesus makes clear is that the coming of the Greeks in some way communicated to the Lord the fact that the climax of his work on earth was at hand! Because in verse twenty three Jesus says, “But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” (v. 23)
William Barclay stated “To the Jews, the Son of Man stood for the undefeated world conqueror sent by God. So when Jesus says: The hour has come that the Son of Man must be glorified’ When he said that the listeners would catch their breath…. They meant that the subjected kingdoms of the earth would grovel before the conqueror’s feet: by glorified he meant crucified. When the son of Man was mentioned, they thought of the conquest of the armies of God: he meant the conquest of the cross.
The first sentence which Jesus spoke would excite the hearts of those who heard it: then began a succession of sayings which mush have left them staggering and bewildered by their sheer incredibility, for they spoke not in term of conquest but in terms of sacrifice and death. We will never understand Jesus, nor the attitude of the Jews to him until we understand how he turned their ideas upside down.” [William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible. The Gospel of John. Vol II. Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, Kentucky, 2001) pp. 143)
When Jesus says he will be glorified he means he will be crucified in that way his real glory will be revealed.
Verse twenty four begins with “most assuredly” but I like the old King James version which says “verily, verily” or as some translations have it “truly, truly” whenever we read those words it should be a beacon that shouts “pay attention” what-ever Jesus has just said is of “supreme importance!”
Now having gained everyone attention Jesus goes on to state three Amazing Paradoxes
First, Life Comes Through Death (v. 24)
“….I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
Of course what he says is first of all auto-biographical, it first applied to himself. Jesus used the image of a seed to illustrate the spiritual truth that there can be no fruitful life without death no victory without surrender. In and of itself the seed is weak and useless but when it is planted and “dies” it fulfills its purpose.
First of all Christ speaks of His own death. Jesus died on the behalf of others that they might be the fruit of his death. The simple truth is, If He does not die we cannot live! His death, is what produces the fruit of life!
Christians “ ….are like seeds. They are small and insignificant, but they have life in them, God’s life. However, that life can never be fulfilled unless we yield ourselves to God and permit Him to ‘plant us.’ We must die to self so that we may live unto God (Gal.2:20); Rom 6). The only way to have a fruitful life is to follow Jesus Christ….” [Warren Wiersbe. Be Alive. (Wheaton: Ill, Victor Books, 1986) p. 151]
Our problem is we are storing the grain into bigger and bigger barns, hoarding the seeds, protecting them in the large barns we call churches. The Parable of the Richman (Luke 12:16-21) is not just about the “materialism” it’s about hoarding what could be used for the benefit of others in need!
Secondly, Life Comes Through Spending It (v.25)
“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
We have to stop controlling grasping and hanging on to our life and our security. We are called to place a higher value on eternal things than on the things on this earth. (Col 3:1-3) “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. (2) Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (3) For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
The truth is that we lose everything that we associate with this life at some point; it just a matter of time. We cannot hold on to our youth no matter how hard we may try, we cannot hold on our athletic ability (of course some of never had it to begin with) we cannot hold on to our mental capacity we cannot even hold on to our loved ones. It’s just a matter of time. Jesus tells to start now. Don’t focus on grabbing and keeping what you have. Corrie ten Boom said, “I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands.”
She said that it is less painful to hold loosely to the things of this world so that God does not have to pry from our grasp.
“In one of his books Watchman Nee said that we approach God like little children with open hands, begging for gifts. Because he is a good God, he fills our hands with good things—life, health, friends, money, success, recognition, challenge, marriage, children, a nice home, a good job, all the things that we count at Thanksgiving when we count our blessings. And so like children, we rejoice in what we have received and run around comparing what we have with each other. When our hands are finally full, God says, “My child, I long to have fellowship with you. Reach out your hand and take my hand. But we can’t do it because our hands are full. “God, we can’t,” we cry. “Put those things aside and take my hand,” he replied. “No, we can’t. It’s too hard to put them down.” “But I am the one who gave them to you in the first place.” “O God, what you have asked for is too hard. Please don’t ask us to put these things aside.” And God answers quietly, “You must.”
God orchestrates the affairs of life—both the good and the bad—to bring us to the place where our faith will be in him alone. Slowly but surely as we go through life, he weans us away from the things of the world. At first the process touches only our possessions (which we can replace), but eventually it touches our relationships (which may not be replaced), then it touches our loved ones (who cannot be replaced), finally it touches life itself (which is never replaced) until finally, there is nothing left but us and God. (Dr. Ray Pritchard)
Third, Greatness Comes Through Service (v. 26)
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
I heard of a well known speaker who often preaches the gospel and also speaks to graduates at colleges said that he is introduced a lot of times with great introductions, some of them say that “he has this degree and that degree, or that attended this college and that college, or that he has this honor and that honor, but the intro-duction that he remembers the most (And he remembers it the most because, it exalted God not him) was when a young man who simply said, “It is my great pleasure to introduce to you my brother, a servant of the most high God.” What a Biblical, God honoring introduction. A servant of the most High God. And do you realize that every single person that is a believer, that is exactly who we are. The Bible says you and I are servants of the most High God, I wonder if it has ever dawned on you how very important that title is. That God could not give you a higher honor, than to call you one of His servants. I want you to think about this, because, I think that lot of people have the idea that when we talk about serving the Lord that somehow you take a step down-ward.
Jesus came as a servant, willing to do
whatever was necessary in order to move men, and bring them to the saving knowledge of himself. In John 13 which we will examine in detail next week you recall at the last supper, Jesus is sitting at the table with the disciples, and if any one of them had been perceptive, had any one of them been thoughtful, if any one of them had had a servants spirit, they would have done first, what Jesus ended up doing. They didn’t do it, He is the one who got the basin of water, and knelt down and washed their feet. You remember Peter totally objected to the idea. Jesus said, yes, I must wash your feet. What was he doing? He was taking the form of the lowest servant, the bond servant, and washing the dirty feet of his disciples. He was a bond servant, he saw himself as a servant of the Father, and a servant of the very ones he was serving,
“We Would See Jesus”
John 12:20-26
First, Life Comes Through _________ (v. 24)
“….I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
Secondly, Life Comes Through ________ It (v.25) “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
We are called to place a higher value on eternal things than on the things on this earth. (Col 3:1-3)
“I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands.” Corrie ten Boom
Third, Greatness Comes Through __________ (v. 26)
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
