Unless a Kernel of Wheat...

All right, well, we've been working through the Gospel of John, and we're just now coming to John chapter 12, verse 20.

John 12:20

So if you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to John chapter 12, verse 20.

John 12:20

Last Sunday, we heard about how Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey's back to shouts of Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Blessed is the King of Israel.

It was a royal coronation kind of procession, parading him into the city with celebration.

And we watched as the crowds led him into the city, and we saw how the Pharisees were seething with frustration and anger about this.

See? This is getting us nowhere.

Look how the whole world has gone after him.

And there was some truth to that, says John.

Let's pick up the story in verse 20 of chapter 12.

Now, there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival.

They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request.

Sir, they said, we would like to see Jesus.

These Greeks are an example of how news about Jesus is spreading.

About how people from all over the place are going after Jesus.

You know, it's easy for us, maybe, to take for granted.

We're so used to knowing Jesus in our own culture, having the scriptures in our own language,

worshiping in our own way.

But there was a time when it was not that way.

Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 12.

Ephesians 2:12

Paul's writing to those who he refers to as Gentiles by birth.

And he says this to them.

He says, remember that at that time, you were separate from Christ.

In other words, you had no share in the Messiah.

You were excluded from citizenship in Israel.

You were foreigners to the covenants of the promise.

Without hope.

And without God in the world.

I often tell you to put yourself in the story.

But in a very real sense, if we could, none of us would have been among Jesus' disciples.

We'd be like these foreigners.

Like these Greeks who had no connection with Jesus.

We'd be hearing the news about Jesus wherever we happened to live in the Roman world.

But it would probably have sounded very different to us.

News of a Jewish Messiah.

Doing all sorts of miracles and signs and wonders.

Even if we happened to be Gentiles who lived in the region.

In Israel.

We would still very much have felt like outsiders.

Looking in on all of this.

Jesus in his work.

And ministry.

Came first to the Jewish people.

Those who are by blood.

Descended from Jacob.

And even though Jesus has been talking a lot about how.

What he is coming to do is for the people of the world.

How they will come to be included in what's going on here.

It hasn't really happened yet.

Now don't get me wrong.

Jesus has not been shutting the Gentiles out.

Or turning away the non-Jews.

But the main focus and the main following of Jesus has been Jewish.

And so this is a significant moment here.

Some Greeks work up the courage to ask to meet with Jesus.

And there's lots of speculation about who these Greeks were.

Most of it is just that.

Speculation.

All we know is that they were Greeks.

That is ethnically Greek people.

And that they were among those who went up to worship at Passover.

Passover.

We don't even know if they were from Greece.

Or if they happened to live somewhere else.

Because by this time Greeks lived all over the Mediterranean world.

Some have suggested that they were Jews born in Greece.

Others have suggested that they were Greeks who converted to Judaism.

Both are doubtful.

Because there were other words John could have used to describe that.

If that was the case here.

Best we know they were just God-fearing Greeks.

And we know that they were God-fearing.

Because they went up to Jerusalem to worship at Passover.

You didn't do that as a Gentile.

Unless you believe something significant about Yahweh.

The God of Israel.

So they came to Philip, these Greeks.

Who was from Bethsaida in Galilee with a request.

Sir, they said.

We would like to see Jesus.

Philip went to tell Andrew.

Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

For whatever reason the Greeks don't come straight to Jesus.

Perhaps they didn't know if or how they would be received.

After all, they were Gentiles.

And Jews didn't associate with Gentiles.

So they first go to Philip.

One of the twelve disciples.

And here again, there's lots of speculation.

Why Philip?

Philip was a Jew.

But he had a Greek name.

Was that the reason?

Maybe.

We don't know.

Philip seemed to have some hesitation about what he should do about this.

And so he goes and kind of talks to Andrew about it.

Why the hesitation?

Again, we don't know.

But it probably shows us at the least that this is a big deal.

What's happening here?

This is out of the ordinary.

What's they're asking?

And finally, Philip and Andrew come to Jesus together.

And they tell him about these Greek guys who would like to meet with him.

And Jesus responds in verse 23 by saying,

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Well, that's an interesting response, isn't it?

It doesn't really answer the question.

Will he meet with the Greeks or not?

Why this response?

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

What does Jesus mean by this?

Well, we've heard Jesus say something similar to this quite a few times in the Gospel of John.

Maybe you'll recall back to John 2, verse 4.

John 2:4

The wedding in Cana.

Jesus' mother was trying to get him to do something about the wine shortage there.

And he answered her saying,

My hour has not yet come.

Or you might think back to John chapter 7.

John 7 · chapter mention

There he said a similar sort of thing.

His brothers were trying to convince him to go and do a bit of a Judean miracle tour

and connect with his followers before the festival began in Jerusalem.

They said,

Leave Galilee.

Go to Judea.

So that your disciples there may see the works you do.

No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.

Since you're doing these things, show yourself to the world.

And Jesus responded saying,

My time is not yet here.

My time has not yet fully come.

So Jesus seems to have this awareness of God's schedule.

Of God's timeline for when and how things should unfold for him.

At the beginning, my hour has not yet come,

seems to refer to the hour for him to go public.

To begin to do all these signs and miracles.

And then here in John 7,

Jesus' time seems to refer to his going up to Judea

and getting into the spotlight of the world.

My time for that has not yet fully come.

Though we found out that Jesus did end up going up for the festival

later in chapter 7.

And he got into almost some trouble there

with the religious leaders in the temple courts.

John tells us in John 7 verse 30,

John 7:30

he was there teaching,

but no one laid a hand on him

because his hour had not yet come.

Then again in chapter 8,

while he was teaching in the temple courts,

a different time,

things seemed to be heating up again.

And John told us there,

no one seized him at that time

because his hour had not yet come.

So now John is telling us

that there is an hour coming for Jesus.

And this hour has to do with Jesus being seized

and arrested.

So now finally,

chapter 12,

we come to the moment where Jesus says,

the hour has come.

And yet it's not quite the hour that we expected,

the way he describes it.

He says,

the hour has come

for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Well, what kind of hour is this?

Is this the time to show yourself to the world

that's finally come?

Or is this the hour

in which you're going to be arrested

and captured by your enemies?

Or is this the hour

in which you will be glorified?

I think the answer is

all three.

All three of these things

are coming together

all at once.

Here are the Greeks,

the outsiders,

the foreigners,

these people of the world

who are now seeking after Jesus.

It's not just the attention of Israel

that Jesus holds anymore,

but people from the world.

And here also,

we see the religious leaders,

their opposition to Jesus

is at an all-time high.

They are fed up with him

and ready to kill him.

And yet,

in the midst of all this moment,

Jesus looks at that

and he refers to that

as the hour

for the Son of Man,

for me,

to be glorified.

Huh.

That's surprising.

To be glorified

means to be exalted.

It means to be lifted up.

To be worshipped.

To be praised.

To have the spotlight

put on you

in usually a positive way.

How does that fit

with being captured

and killed?

Well, John is getting to that.

For now,

we'll wait with the disciples

until we get to that part.

So these Greeks

who have come to see Jesus,

they are an indication

that things are right

on schedule.

That everything is

going according

to God's plan

and timing.

Jesus has the attention

of the world now

as he's supposed to

at this moment.

And then Jesus tells us

about what's coming next

for him.

What seeing these Greeks

reminds him of.

Verse 24.

The hour has come

for the Son of Man

to be glorified.

Very truly,

I tell you,

unless a kernel of wheat

falls to the ground

and dies,

it remains

a single seed.

But if it dies,

it produces

many seeds.

Jesus gives them

an illustration

from farming.

something that's

so basic

that all of us

can understand it.

This is Farming 101.

And yet,

Jesus is not

trying to teach

us about farming.

He hones in

on a very specific

reality of farming.

He zeroes in

on how it goes

for a single seed,

a single kernel

of wheat.

It falls

to the ground

and dies.

And from it

springs up

a whole plant

which will bring

many more

kernels of grain

into existence.

From one seed

comes many.

But here's the catch.

It's an exchange.

You can't have

the many

without the one

dying.

You must give up

and lose that seed

to gain

the harvest

from it.

Now for you

farmers

and agronomists,

you might notice

that Jesus said

the seed dies

and you might

be thinking,

well actually

the seed is alive

and it's just

kind of developing

according to

the plant

it was made to.

Well I think

we all know

that Jesus

is not intending

to write

a science textbook

here.

And he's not

saying that the

seed physically

or biologically

dies either.

He's just giving

an illustration.

He's speaking

with the language

of phenomenon.

We do this

all the time.

I still hear

people say

the sun

rises,

the sun

comes up,

the sun

goes down.

I have yet

to hear anybody

say,

I'll see you

tomorrow

when the

earth turns

to face

the sun.

It's the

language of

phenomenon.

It's not

technically

correct,

but that's

what we see

from our vantage

point.

And Jesus

is just doing

the same

kind of thing

here with

the seed

illustration.

From the

vantage point

of the

farmer,

he must

give up

the seed

and lose

it in order

to get

more from

it.

From the

vantage point

of the

seed,

it must

die,

it must

give up

its seed-like

existence

for there

to be a

plant that

comes from

it and

bears more

seed.

Here's the

point.

An exchange

is required.

There cannot

be a harvest.

There cannot

be many

more unless

the one

dies.

this is

what is

on Jesus'

mind right

now as

the Greeks

show up,

as the

attention of

the world

comes to

rest on

him.

The hour

has come

for me.

Yes,

it's the

hour for

me to be

glorified,

but the

glory of

the plant

that will

be,

the glory

of the

harvest

that will

come,

will not

happen unless

I die

first.

as we'll

see next

week.

This is

not Jesus

just giving

us some

kind of

academic

sage-like

wisdom about

how to get

more than

what you've

got or

about farming

or about

economics.

this is

the reality

of what's

about to

happen to

Jesus in

the days

ahead,

this very

week,

striking home

to his

heart.

It's like

the Greeks

show up

and all of a

sudden the

writing's on

the wall and

Jesus sees

it right,

the time is

here,

my death

is right

around the

corner,

but it

has to

be.

there's

no way

around it.

If I

do not

die,

there will

be no

harvest.

If I

do not

die,

the human

race will

perish at

the judgment,

all of

them,

and there

will be

no people

of God.

All have

sinned and

fall short of

the glory of

God.

No,

there must

be this

exchange.

I must

die for

there to

be.

a harvest

so that

I can

redeem

them.

And

there's a

sense in

which this

matters even

more for

these Greek

men.

Why?

Because they

cannot become

followers of

Jesus.

They cannot

be included

in the

harvest

unless the

dividing wall

that exists

between Jew

and Gentile

is destroyed

unless that

barrier is

broken down

and that

cannot be

done

unless Jesus

first goes to

the cross

and dies.

Let me read

you the rest of

what Paul wrote

to the Ephesians

back in Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

We'll take it

back up to

verse 11

there.

this is what

Paul came to

write later.

He said,

remember that

formerly you

who are

Gentiles by

birth and

called

uncircumcised

by those who

call themselves

the circumcision.

Remember that

at that time

you were

separate from

Christ.

you were

excluded from

citizenship in

Israel

and foreigners

to the

covenants of

the promise

without hope

and without

God in

the world.

But now

in

Christ

Jesus

you who

were once

far away

have been

brought near

how?

By the

blood

of Christ.

for he

himself is

our peace

who has

made the

two groups

one and

has destroyed

the barrier

the dividing

wall of

hostility by

setting aside

in his flesh

the law

with its

commands and

regulations.

His purpose

was to

create in

himself one

new man

out of the

two thus

making peace

and in

one

body

to

reconcile

both of

them

to

God

how?

Through

the cross.

Down a

couple

verses in

verse 19

he goes

on to

spell out

the

implications

of this

for us

Gentiles.

He says

consequently

you are

no longer

foreigners

and

strangers

but

fellow

citizens

with

God's

people

and

also

members

of his

household.

Listen

without

Jesus

death

without

Jesus

blood

shed for

us

without

Jesus

body

broken

for

us

Gentiles

would

still

be

outsiders

to all

that God

was doing

with

Israel.

We'd

still be

foreigners

on the

outside

looking in

without

hope

without

God

that

us

non-Jews

can have

salvation

too

forgiveness

too

and be

considered

citizens

with

God's

people

members

of the

family

of God

it's

a

sheer

gift

of

grace

and

mercy

and

it

could

only

come

for

these

Greeks

and

for

us

through

Christ

in

Christ

and

what

happened

to

him

at

the

cross

his

death

how

easily

we

take

this

for

granted

don't

we

very

truly

I

tell

you

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

now

Jesus

is about

to

take

this

and

explain

how

this

also

applies

to

his

followers

how

there's

a

sense

in

which

they

too

must

die

in

order

to

get

something

better

but

we're

actually

going to

save

that

part

for

this

afternoon

after

the

potluck

I

typically

give

a bit

of a

devotional

at the

start

of the

meeting

and

we're

going to

save

verse

25

and

26

for

then

I

invite

you

to

join

us

whether

you

plan

to

stay

for

the

meeting

or

not

stay

for

lunch

and

then

you

can

hear

that

after

that's

where

Jesus

will

drive

this

home

and

tell

us

what

we

really

need

to

do

in

light

of

all

this

but

for

this

morning

let's

apply

it

to

our

hearts

in

this

way

have

you

been

taking

for

granted

that

Jesus

is

your

Messiah

your

King

God

is

absolutely

free

he

says

I

will

have

mercy

on

whom

I

will

have

mercy

I

will

have

compassion

on

whom

I

will

have

compassion

and

in

God's

freedom

he

chose

one

man

and

his

family

to

reveal

himself

to

long

ago

to

bless

and

to

make

a

people

for

himself

from

he

chose

one

family's

descendants

to

make

into

a

great

nation

and

he

promised

the

Messiah

the

King

who

would

come

to

that

people

to

Israel

Jesus

was

and

is

that

Messiah

that

King

but

apart

from

the

grace

of

God

and

the

compassion

of

Christ

Jesus

which

took

Jesus

to

the

cross

we

Gentiles

would be

left

out

we'd

be

lost

forever

forever

excluded

and it

wouldn't

have been

unfair

it would

just be

us

getting

the

justice

we

deserve

and so

we

must

praise

and

give

glory

to

Jesus

that

he

was

willing

to

fall

to

the

ground

and

die

so

that

we

too

might

be

included

in

the

harvest

that

his

death

brings

these

Greeks

reminded

Jesus

of

his

death

because

he

loved

them

because

he

loves

the

people

of

the

world

not

just

the

Jews

he

knew

they

needed

what

his

death

would

bring

to

be

included

to

be

his

let's

pray

thank

you

Lord

Jesus

for

going

to

the

cross

for

us

for

loving

us

Gentiles

too

for

laying

down

your

life

for

us

to

welcome

us

into

the

fold

so

that

we

can

be

sheep

to

outsiders

though

we

were

may

we

not

take

our

salvation

for

granted

Lord

may

we

continue

to

grow

in

that

heartfelt

knowledge

of

your

great

and

deep

love

for

us

of

your

grace

and

of

your

truly

undeserved

mercy

towards

us

we

ask

this

in

your

name

amen

before

I

get

to

the

devotional

I

just

want

to

say

a

quick

word

with

regards

to

my

message

I

was

chatting

to

someone

after

the

service

and

if

you

heard

that

it's

possible

that

if

Jesus

hadn't

died

for

us

Gentiles

to be

lost

and the

Jews

to

still

be

saved

you

heard

wrong

if

Jesus

hadn't

died

nobody

would

be

saved

Jew

or

Gentile

so I

just

hope

that

that's

clear

in fact

you can

probably

back it

up even

further

than that

if

Jesus

hadn't

died

every

promise

that

God

ever

made

to

bless

anybody

throughout

all human

history

would fall

flat

and God

would be

unjust

for all

the times

that he

did show

mercy

and

forgiveness

before

Jesus

died

all of

it

requires

Jesus

death

to bring

about

that

new

covenant

so that

any

of us

can be

saved

and

you

could

even

back

it

up

one

step

further

than

that

if

it's

not

even

possible

for

the

plan

that

God

came

up

with

to

save

to

fall

flat

or

to

fail

because

no

plan

of

God

ever

does

Jesus

had

to

die

and

he

was

going

to

and

he

did

so I

just

wanted

to

clarify

that

before

I

said

anything

more

as

promised

we're

going

to

come

back

for

a

moment

to

John

John 12:25

chapter

12

verse

25

I'm

going

to

start

by

reading

it

back

up

in

23

though

just

to

bring

in

the

context

again

the

hour

has

come

for

the

son

of

man

to

be

glorified

very

truly

I

tell

you

unless

a

kernel

of

wheat

falls

to

the

ground

and

dies

many

seeds

anyone

who

loves

their

life

will

lose

it

while

anyone

who

hates

their

life

in

this

world

will

keep

it

for

eternal

life

whoever

serves

me

must

follow

me

and

where

I

am

my

servant

also

will

be

my

father

will

honor

the

one

who

serves

me

so

Jesus

is

not

the

only

one

who

must

make

an

exchange

a

loss

of

his

life

for

a

gain

of

a

harvest

he

now

turns

to

his

disciples

to

us

and

lets

us

know

that

we

too

must

make

an

exchange

a

loss

of

a

life

in

order

to

gain

or

else

in

trying

to

keep

to

lose

everything

these

are

deep

words

anyone

who

loves

their

life

will

lose

it

while

anyone

who

hates

their

life

in

this

world

will

keep

it

for

eternal

life

we

need

to

meditate

and

chew

on

these

words

long

and

hard

there's

a lot

here

what is

Jesus

saying

let's

start

with

the

outcomes

there

are

two

outcomes

some

people

will

lose

their

life

others

will

keep

their

lives

and

attain

to

eternal

life

two

outcomes

some

lose

their

life

some

keep

it

and

attain

to

eternal

life

life

that

goes

on

forever

some

people

will

get

that

good

gift

of

God

and

others

will

not

what

makes

the

difference

according

to

Jesus

it's

how we

thought

and felt

about

our

lives

here

and

now

in

this

world

if

we

love

and

cherish

our

lives

in

this

world

seek

to

hang

on

to

them

Jesus

says

we

will

lose

our

lives

but

if

we

hate

our

lives

in

this

world

and

give

them

up

we

will

be

saved

and

attained

to

eternal

life

becoming

a follower

of

Jesus

is

absolutely

free

in

one

sense

there's

no

cost

there's

no

amount

of

money

that

we

must

give

there's

no

amount

of

good

works

that

we

must

do

all

that's

required

is

a

simple

childlike

faith

that

comes

from

a

repentant

heart

and

if

out

of

that

trusting

and

penitent

heart

we

ask

Jesus

to

be

our

savior

our

good

shepherd

our

king

he

will

be

it's

that

simple

it

is

that

free

but

there's

also

a

sense

in

which

becoming

a

follower

of

Jesus

will

cost

us

everything

Jesus

speaks

about

this

on a

number

of

occasions

our

very

lives

there's

a

sense

in which

we must

die

to the

life

that we

could

otherwise

have in

this world

in order

to gain

the eternal

life that

Jesus offers

in the

next

why is

it like

this

because

Jesus is a

good shepherd

he is a

righteous

king

and he's

not

content

to leave

us

as the

selfish

sinners

that we

are

in this

world

he makes

us new

he brings

change in

us

he calls

us

and commands

us

to live

differently

than we

otherwise

would in

this

world

we might

think about

it like

this

we may

seek to

be the

masters

of our

own

destiny

and live

for

ourselves

for our

own

aims

and wants

whatever

that may

be

or

we can

put our

faith

our

trust

in

Jesus

and give

our

lives

to him

which means

that he

becomes the

master

and the

king of

our lives

and we

will live

for him

and for

his aims

and wants

and these

two really

are mutually

exclusive

says Jesus

we must

die to the

one in

order to

gain the

other

an exchange

is required

let's think

about it

practically for

a minute

in terms

of

say

material

possessions