Dying to Self
Fortifying the Foundations # 28
John 12:12-36[1]
2-15-04
Intro
Video Clip “The Greatest Story Ever Told” [Ch. 22 (2:07: 47) to Ch. 23 (2:10: 36)]
Does Christianity really work? Is there something to be experienced in a walk with God that is not experienced by the average human being? I believe the answer to both those questions is yes. Yes, Christianity works if we live it out the way it is supposed to be lived. And yes, there is a dynamic of life available to those who surrender to Christ that the world neither knows nor understands.
In our text this morning, Jesus gives us the key to living above the normal human experience. He not only tells us what it is, he also shows us by example the path that leads to life as it was meant to be experienced.
I. The events in Jesus life are moving rapidly toward the cross.
1. It is the time of the Passover feast in Jerusalem. It is a matter of days before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.
2. And as you saw in the video clip Jesus has entered Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey.
It was a declaration of his messiahship. He arrives as King of the Jews. We know from the other gospels that Jesus had arranged for this entry.[2]
It is a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.[3]” NIV
That was a powerful sign because kings do not normally ride into the city on the colt of a donkey. They normally come riding in on a prancing stallion. But Jesus’ manner of entry was also a revelation of the nature of his kingdom. “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey...”[4]
There is an excitement in the crowd. There are shouts of “Hosanna”. Palm branches are waved in celebration and garments are laid before him like a red carpet.
3. Jesus goes into the temple and cleanses it a second time[5]. Jesus was the talk of the town. With all that going on and the word out that the rulers were seeking to arrest him, people’s attention was upon Jesus.
4. Some of those people were Greeks who came to Phillip wanting to talk with Jesus.
These Greeks were Gentiles who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast. The Greek word John uses lets us know they were Gentiles not Hellenistic Jews.[6] It is significant that these were Gentiles because Jesus’ earthly ministry had been directed to the Jews.[7] We are not told much about Jesus’ interaction with these Greeks. What we are told is something more important.
II. We are told about Jesus’ response to their coming.
1. John 12:23 “Jesus replied. ‘The hour has come...’” “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Up until this time we have heard Jesus say, “My hour has not yet come.” He said that to his mother, Mary, at the wedding in Cana when he began his public ministry. In Chapter 7 he said it to his brothers when they wanted him to go to the
Feast of Tabernacles with them. Jesus lived with not only a sense of destiny and purpose but also a keen awareness of the Father’s timing.[8] His hour refers to the culmination of his earthly ministry, the cross.[9] The time for him to lay down his life as a sacrifice for sin has come.
I do not know exactly why this inquiry by these Greeks triggered that response.
Certainly it was a reminder that Jesus mission went beyond the boundaries of Judea.
He is the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.[10] Yes, he is the King of the Jews.
But circumstances have now progressed to the time for him to die for all sinners, Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus’ words in verse 23 may have addressed them as part of the crowd. “The hour has come...” Can you feel the gravity of those words? Jesus is face to face with the horror of the cross—not just a martyr’s death but the weight and punishment of the world’s sin laid on him as the eternal sacrifice for sin. John gives us a glimpse into the pain of Gethsemane. He does not retell the details, which have been recorded in the Synoptic gospels. But we are reminded of the struggle that Jesus, as a human being, went through as he prepared himself for that great ordeal.
“...and what shall I say?” The human side of Jesus screamed for an escape from what he was about to experience. Not for a moment did Jesus yield to that temptation. But do not be so naive as to think there was no temptation involved. Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.” NIV
Here Jesus endures the ultimate temptation, the temptation to simply look into heaven and say, “Father, I decided I don’t want to do this after all.” That would have been totally uncharacteristic of our wonderful Lord. Love brought him to this world. His love for you and me—His love for the Father as well—would take him to the cross also. The thought is dismissed immediately. “...and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No...” Jesus always said “no” to anything contrary to the Father’s will. And without a moment’s hesitation—without any surrender to the thought at all—he says, “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”
Jesus’ whole life was a movement toward the cross, toward the ultimate obedience to the Father.
III. Look closely at what is motivating him. Verse 28, “Father, glorify your name.” We could go to other passages and talk about His love for us as a motive as well.[11] But ponder with me this morning the significance of those words, “Father, glorify your name.”
The word “name” is being used more broadly than we normally use it.[12] Jesus is saying, “Father, what matters to me is that you are honored, you are exalted.” The cross was about our redemption but it was also about the integrity and honor of Almighty God. I think that has to be said emphatically from the pulpit because we live in a society that would elevate man and ignore the significance of God’s honor and glory.
This is extremely important because you and I are called to live for the honor of God as well. We are to follow Jesus’ example in this. In fact, our dignity is found in seeking the glory of our Creator and Redeemer. When we live for the honor of God we ourselves become something honorable.
That motive becomes a reason not to sin, not to compromise. It is not a self-righteous, self-exaltation. It is a passion to exalt God by the way we live for Him.
An interesting thing happens when we do that. Verse 26 “My Father will honor the one who serves me.” When we give our lives to the honor of God through obedience to Jesus Christ, honor comes to us from the Father.
Much of our text today revolves around the subject of glory. “Father, glorify your name!” Heaven responds to that kind of motive. I can imagine a scene in heaven as all this is going on in our text. Don’t you think every eye in heaven was upon Jesus? Every ear was listening to this beautiful expression his devotion to the Father. I can envision the Father looking upon Jesus in this moment of crisis. I see Him listening to those glorious words spoken by His Son, “Father, glorify your name!”
The response is immediate! It thunders down from heaven. Now the Father speaks. “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.” Jesus whole life had brought glory to the Father. Every act of obedience, every touch of compassion, every tear of intercession had brought honor to the One Who had sent him. But the greatest moment of glory was just ahead. An old rugged cross, despised by man, brought the greatest honor to the Father this world will ever see. “I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.”[13]
Look what happens when a person seeks to glorify the Father. Immediately, the Father glorified the Son. God was saying something to that crowd about Jesus that day. The crowd did not have enough spiritual perception to discern all that was going on. Some thought it was the voice of an angel speaking. Everyone knew something significant was happening. They heard the supernatural thunder of the Father’s response to the Son.
Here is what we must learn from this. Life is to be lived for the glory of God. Life is not to be a pursuit of my own exaltation and glory. I am to ask myself in every decision, would this behavior, would these words reflect well on the name of Christ (whose name I represent) or would it disgrace that name?
No person can live for his own honor/prestige and for the honor of another at the same time. I will either humble myself and live for God’s esteem or I will choose a path that pursues my own exaltation. Luke 18:14 “...For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." NIV That is the irony of it all.
When a life is lived for self-aggrandizement and self-exaltation it actually brings a person shame and humiliation. When a life is lived in humility and obedience to God the end result is honor and exaltation.
Phil 2:5-7 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing...” NIV
Does Christianity work? It works if we live by its principles. The Christian who lives his life by the world’s principles (makes his decisions based upon self interest) experiences life much like the unbeliever.[14] But if a Christian will live by the principles of God’s kingdom (obedience) he will experience life on a supernatural plane.
The principles of God’s kingdom are diametrically opposed to the spirit of this world.
The world is driven by one thing: self-interest. As a general rule, employees work hard because they want a raise. Corporations invest resources because they want a profit.
It is the most natural thing in the world for a person to ask, “What’s in it for me?”
But do we also see, that can be the most unchristian question as well. Watch Jesus move toward the cross and you do not hear him ask, “What’s in it for me?” His response is not “Father save me from this hour.” His response is “Father, glorify your name.”
IV. In verse 25 he sets forth the great paradox of Christianity.
“The man who loves his life will loose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Jesus is not saying a person should hate living. He is saying that the person who will “misoon” (have relatively little regard)[15] for his own natural life will find life as it is to be. He is setting one attitude toward the things of this world in contrast to another. Selfishness is the issue. The person who selfishly lives for his own advantage, own comfort, own prosperity, own pleasure will ultimately loose everything that matters.
The man in Luke 12 who foolishly lived to build bigger and better barns for himself was confronted about his love of the self-life. Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ NIV The key to understanding that verse is the words “for yourself.” There are two ways to live life—for yourself, or for God. Both cannot happen at the same time.
Using a simple kernel of wheat, Jesus illustrates what he is about to do on the cross.
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.” Only by Jesus’ death on the cross is his life available for you and me. His death was a necessary for bringing many sons unto glory. That is the heart of the gospel. Through his death we can have life.
But Jesus extends that principle you and me in the next verse when he states the paradox; “The man who loves his life (psucheen —his natural life, his self centered interest) will lose, while the man who hates his life (has relatively little regard for it) will keep it for eternal life (zoe). Here is the hard question for us to face. By the decisions I make and the way I live my life, which kind of person am I? Most of us would say, “Why, I’m a Christian. I’ve been born again.” But in our text Jesus is not talking about being born again. He is talking about living our lives for ourselves or for God.
We know from the example of the Pharisees, it is very possible to be religious, go to church, pay my tithes, live a moral life and yet be totally motivated by self-interest. When Christianity is lived that way it does not work.
The practical question this brings to you and me is this: Do I make my daily[16] decisions on the basis of (1) This is what I want to do, this is what I want—so this is what I will do. (2) Or is there that pausing before the Father, asking God what He wants.
The issue is whether I will have my way or God will have his way. When people get real religious they just attribute to God what they want and say God told me. When people are not religious and insist on their own way they just impose it on others. But the person who has truly surrendered his desires to the will of God will enter into a rest—can afford to yield personal rights—because there is a confidence in the overruling providence of God.
The Problem is this: We want the power and peace and joy that we read about in the New Testament. We want to live in the power of resurrected life. But we do not want to die to our own plans and designs and desires. We want a resurrection but not a cross. But unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and die it remains unchanged and unfruitful.
Jesus made a conscious decision to live in obedience to the Father’s plan. “What shall I say...” The circumstances of life often bring us to that question. Will I ask for my plan to be validated or will I surrender to God’s plan for me?
Have you ever had to make a decision that was not what you wanted but you knew it was God’s will? So you did it. And to your own amazement it turned out to be the best possible route. Imagine what Daniel must have felt as he was led as a slave into the great city of Babylon (a young person about 17 years old, emasculated and under the total control of his captors). He is brought meat to eat that has been dedicated to the pagan gods of that empire. He is faced with a difficult decision. He can take what would seem to be the easy route—defile his conscience, eat the meat in violation of Jewish law. Or he could risk asking to be excused from such activity. God gave him wisdom in his approach, but make no mistake about it, he had to make the hard choice. He asked to be fed vegetables instead. It was a request that could have cost him his life. It was a move contrary to self-interest but passionate about the glory of God. God honored that choice. That choice and others like it opened the door for great effectiveness in the kingdom of God. It was a choice that looked insane to the natural man. But it turned out to be the right choice.
When we make those kinds of choices, when we decide to do the will of God whatever it costs us, that is when we really experience Christianity as it was designed to be. That kind of person enters into a quality of life that is beyond himself. God’s power is released when we relinquish control. God’s blessings are experience when we walk in obedience.
Sometimes God just orders our steps providentially because we have submitted our lives to Him. Have you ever been in an intimate conversation with God? And in a moment of sincere devotion lifted your heart to the Lord and said with deep sincerity, “God, my life is not my own. I surrender it entirely to you. Have your way in my life. Lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Lead me the way I should go.” Have you ever prayed a prayer like that? I have. And then a few years later I’m wondering why my plans are not working out. I’m frustrated because things are not going my way. I had entirely forgotten what I had said to God. But God didn’t forget. He does not ignore prayers like that and He does not forget them. Sometimes in answer to prayers like that he takes us on a path that we don’t understand. He brings us into success, not according to our definition of it, but according to His definition. He knows what He’s doing in our lives. Amen?
In this video clip from Mr. Holland’s Opus we see a man who felt like a failure in life. He never became the great, famous composer that he had hoped to be. Circumstances and responsibilities interfered with his plans. He did the right thing for his family. He worked hard as a high school music teacher. And he invested himself in his music students. He was not even aware of the real success God had given him. What seemed like a pathway of loss, in the end was great gain. Watch as he realizes what real success is.
Mr. Holland’s Opus[17] video clip (Scene toward end at 02:05:50 for about six minutes)
Conclusion
Some here today may identify with the Mr. Holland’ personal struggles. You may have unfulfilled dreams. You may even feel some of the sense of failure and disappointment that he felt. But God may be leading you into something far better than the fulfillment of your own plans. He may be leading you into eternal riches and fulfillment. Will you simply lift your heart to Him this morning and say, “God have your way in me. I surrender it all to you. I choose your way above my way.” Maybe you are simply affirming a decision you have already made long ago. Or perhaps this is your day to say to Jesus for the first time in your life, “Come into my heart and be Lord of all!”
Suggested Discussion Questions
I. In the video clip
1. The governor said, “Mr. Holland has achieved a success far beyond riches and fame...We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melody and notes of your opus and we are the music of your life.” What do you feel is the significance of her comment? What satisfaction have you discovered by investing your life in other people? How has the investment from others into your life blessed you?
The one thing in this world that is eternal is people. Buildings, bank accounts, fame, fortune, etc. will one day pass away. But helping other people enter into God’s purpose for their lives produces eternal benefits. Parents’ sacrifice for their children’s training and safety is rewarded in this life and the life to come. Matthew 10:39-42
2. For Mr. Holland events prevented him from accomplishing what he set out to do (become a famous composer). Have you ever felt like your dreams were not being fulfilled? How did it make you feel and how did you work through it?
For Mr. Holland what seemed to be a series of unfortunate circumstances, actually led to great blessing in a number of people’s lives. Have you had an experience where circumstances seemed to be so against you yet through it all God actually had something better in mind than what you were pursuing?
Can you think of examples in the Bible of difficult experiences actually resulting in great blessing? Gen. 50:20 (Joseph,) Ruth 1:4-6 (Ruth), Phil. 1:12-14 (Paul).
II. In the text
3. Jesus deals with a great paradox in John 12:25 when he says, “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.”
In what ways do you think the pursuit of worldly goals (pleasure, greed, lust, and vain glory) can backfire on people in terms of eternity, relationships with friends and family, and personal happiness? (Luke 12:20-21) Michael Jackson’s money and fame will never replace the loss of a childhood that he experienced as a child star. The emptiness Solomon felt after trying it all (Eccl. 2).
Then why do people pursue these things (sometimes even knowing this teaching of Jesus)? They think they are the exception. They think they can have the best of both worlds. The god of this world has deceived them. (II Cor. 4:3-4)
4. What lessons have you learned in life about yielding to God’s will rather than insisting on having your own way?
There is a peace experienced when we know we are doing what God tells us to do. The problems become His problems because we are simply obeying His voice. When I am going my own way I intuitively know that I am outside of a certain safety zone and feel I have to solve my problems. This robs me of a sense of rest.
I have also found that things are not always as they appear. Sometimes what looks like a great opportunity can be a disaster just ahead. Sometimes what looks to require great personal sacrifice winds up being a very satisfying and enriching experience. Gen. 13:10
5. On the one hand, we are to be hard working, disciplined people (Prov. 10:4-5) pursuing great goals. On the other hand, we are to surrender our ambitions to the Lordship of Christ (Phil. 2:3). Have you experienced any difficulty in trying to balance these two concepts in your life? How did you resolve it?
When I was in my early twenties God dealt strongly with me about surrendering my personal ambitions for money and success. When I embraced that, I then found myself unmotivated for my work. It was because I had accepted the death of a selfish motivation. But I had not yet discovered the joy of working for an unselfish purpose (Eph. 4:28).
6. Perhaps some of you are experiencing some disappointments or difficulties now in your life and you would like prayer for God’s wisdom and intervention in the matter?
5. You may need to gently lead visitors out of the sanctuary so they won’t be in the way of set up. Sometimes they might enjoy helping. Others might join you at cafe.
Text: John 12:12-36
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt." 16At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"
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. 34The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, `The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this `Son of Man’?" 35Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. NIV
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Text, which was read earlier in the service is available at the end of the message.
[2] Mark 11:1-11; Matt. 21:1-11, 14-17; Luke 19:29-44
[3] Mark 11:2 tell us this donkey had never been ridden. There is in that statement a subtle revelation of the majesty of Christ. There was no rodeo that day. This creature, which would have normally tried to pitch its rider off, meekly submitted to the authority of its Creator.
[4] The manner of his second coming is revealed in Revelation 19:11.
[5] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Book III. , (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), p. 377-378
[6] John 12:20 “Helleene” (from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[7] Matthew 15:24 Something about the approach of these Gentiles seems to have heightened Jesus’ awareness of just how soon he would endure the cross.
[8] John makes this abundantly clear in his gospel. See John 2:4; 7:6-8; 8:20; 12:27; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1.
[9] John 12:23 (from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[10] Revelation 13:8
[11] For example, Ephesians 5:2.
[12] NT: 3686 (from The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)
[13] This is the third time in the life of Jesus that God spoke audibly from heaven. The first was at his baptism (Matt. 3:17; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22). The second was on the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5; Mk 9:7; Luke 9:35). This incident is the third.
[14] Galatians 5:16-17
[15] Fredrick Danker, ed., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), p. 652.
[16] Luke 9:23
[17] Hollywood Pictures, 1995. This is the scene of the surprise reception in the High School Auditorium where the governor makes her speech.
