A Peculiar Glory

As people, we're wired to seek and be dazzled by glory.

We admire the beauty of the sunset.

We visit the mountains, perhaps we went hiking on these nice couple days

to wander at the grandeur of the mountains.

We are dazzled by the pomp and power of royalty and statesmen

and the glamour and popularity of celebrities.

And often for people, the relentless drive to acquire more and to accomplish more

are also frequently veiled attempts to find lasting glory.

Yet because we're broken by pervasive sin in our lives,

we often see glory in the wrong places.

And so what is truly glorious at times looks to us as inglorious.

And so we see in this passage Jesus' peculiar glory,

glory that maybe others would not see as glory.

And in this peculiar glory of the cross of Jesus Christ teaches us,

it enables us to take up our crosses and follow him.

That's the main point of this passage.

And first, I will talk about the glory of the king.

And secondly, I will talk about the glory of the cross.

And lastly, I talk about the glory of discipleship.

Read verse 12 with me.

It says,

The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast

heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So Jesus, like other faithful Jews who had come to worship,

celebrate the Passover feast,

he's on his way to Jerusalem like them.

And because people had heard about Jesus and had heard that Jesus is coming,

and now they're kind of gathering around them.

And so, it says in verse 13,

The Jews took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him,

crying out,

Hosanna!

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

even the king of Israel.

This is a quotation from Psalm 118, verses 25 and 26.

Psalms 118:25

It says,

Save us, we pray, O Lord.

O Lord, we pray, give us success.

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

And the word Hosanna is just a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word

that translates to save us.

So that's where they get the Hosanna from.

And this psalm, Psalm 118,

was sung at the feast in particular for the Jews,

so the feast of the tabernacle,

but also the Passover feast.

And so it's a psalm that all the observant Jews knew,

probably knew by heart.

So it's not surprising they're able to sing this as Jesus is coming in.

So the psalm was originally used by the Jews

to pronounce blessing on pilgrims.

So the Jewish pilgrims were coming into Jerusalem

to worship at the temple.

So blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

But if you look at Jewish commentary from that time,

it also shows that they understood that psalm messianically.

So they understood it to refer to the Messiah,

the promised king who was supposed to come.

So the one who comes in the name of the Lord

is not just a pilgrim, but he's the Messiah,

the promised king that is supposed to come.

And that's why the Jews add to the psalm at the end,

even the king of Israel.

That's their real expectation.

They're expecting the king to come

and proclaiming Jesus as that king.

And so the fact that they took branches of palm trees

and went out to meet him confirms this

because the palm is obviously not the kind of palm

that we find in Florida and California,

even though those are all kind of imported as well.

They're not indigenous.

But this is a native palm to this region.

It's the shorter palms.

It's date palms.

And so they're plentiful.

You can still find them to this day.

And so they grabbed them.

And why?

Because there's no biblical command

for people to celebrate the Passover feast

with palm trees.

But palm tree was associated with Israel

throughout the Old Testament.

So in Isaiah 9.14, for example,

the palm tree is referred to as a symbol of Israel.

But there's much more going on than that

because palm tree historically by this time

has become a nationalistic symbol.

And the reason being a Syrian ruler,

Antiochus Epiphanes, overran Jerusalem,

took over the temple and desecrated it

so that Jews couldn't worship there anymore.

And then some of the Jews,

led by leaders, the Maccabee brothers,

Judas, Jonathan, and Simon,

they staged a successful military campaign

to oust the Syrians and then re-consecrate,

rededicate the temple.

That's what Hanukkah celebrates.

And when they did that,

in the first book of Maccabee,

chapter 13, verse 51,

it says that Simon Maccabee,

one of the leaders,

entered triumphantly into the temple

and rededicated it carrying palm branches.

So during Hanukkah,

when they took over the temple again,

they used palm branches to rededicate the temple.

And since that time,

palm tree has become

kind of this nationalistic symbol.

So they kind of rally around that symbol.

This stands for us,

the people of Israel.

This shows our power in unity.

This is our might.

And so that reveals,

kind of betrays the people's true expectations

for Jesus, doesn't it?

By carrying palm trees to greet Jesus,

they want him to be like Simon Maccabee,

another king to come,

and this time to oust the Romans

so that they can be free.

And as the crowd is getting into it,

it says in verses 14 to 15,

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it,

just as it is written,

fear not, daughter of Zion.

Behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey's colt.

This is likely a quotation

that conflates two verses,

Isaiah 49, which says,

fear not, behold your God,

and Zechariah 9, 9, which says,

rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, your king is coming to you.

Righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So by procuring a donkey

and riding on it

in his entrance to Jerusalem,

Jesus is self-consciously fulfilling

this prophecy in Zechariah.

And as he does that,

Jesus both simultaneously confirms

the people's expectations of kingship

and he corrects

the people's expectations of kingship.

And I'll explain how he does that.

So I've heard some people argue

after reading this

or reading a pair of passages

in the gospel

that Jesus is here

kind of denying people's proclamation

of his kingship.

That if he was trying to be a king,

he would be riding on a stately stallion,

and not this lowly donkey.

So I've heard some people argue that.

So that's, I think,

a little bit too clever to be true.

Because if you look throughout the Bible

and how the donkey is used,

it's actually the preferred ride

of royalty throughout Scripture.

So if you look at Judges 10, 3, and 4,

it says that Jair of Gilead,

he's the judge of Israel for 22 years,

he had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys

and controlled 30 towns.

Riding a donkey symbolizes

their rule over these towns.

There are 30 sons, 30 kings,

basically riding 30 donkeys.

That's why also in 1 Kings 1,

when King David commands

Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet

to anoint Solomon as his successor,

his king,

he puts him on his own mule.

Not a horse, not his town,

his mule, his donkey,

to ride around the city

to indicate to the whole nation

that he's the successor, the king.

And finally, kind of an ancient

Near Eastern parallel,

this is an ancient letter

that was found in Mari,

which was a Sumerian city

in the ancient Near East.

It says this,

Verily, you are the king of the Heneans,

but secondly,

you are the king of the Akkadians.

My lord should not ride a horse.

Let my lord ride in a chariot

or on a mule,

and he will thereby honor

his royal head.

So riding a horse

befits a soldier,

marching into battle,

but not a king coming into his kingdom.

The king rides a donkey.

So Jesus riding a donkey

is not denying his kingship.

In fact, he is very consciously

confirming that he is the king.

And not only that,

just imagine this scenario.

So Josephus,

an early Jewish historian

from the first century,

records a Passover feast

that he observed.

And he says in it

that about 2,700,000 people

took part in it,

took part in the feast.

Not the people

that are not partaking in it

because they're not clean ceremonially,

but 2,700,000 people

partake in the feast itself.

So that's,

just to give you an idea,

the number of Muslims

that last year

did perform the Hajj,

the pilgrimage to Mecca,

which is required

once in their lifetime.

All the people that did that,

all the Muslims

that did that last year

for the Hajj,

plus all the people

that attended

this year's Super Bowl

combined

is about that number.

So that's a huge,

huge, huge feast.

And so all these people come,

and just like the people

who live in the city

like us know,

during rush hour,

you don't want to drive,

right?

You walk

or you bike,

right?

You need to,

in order to avoid driving.

And so people,

all these pilgrims

who are coming into Jerusalem

knew better than

to ride a donkey

into the city.

Everybody's on foot,

invariably,

right?

So this,

over 2 million people

on foot,

crowded together,

coming into Jerusalem.

Picture this,

and there's one man

in the whole crowd

riding on a donkey.

And you could just picture

people just looking back,

well,

what's going on over here?

And then just spreads

this murmur,

this wonder.

Who is this?

And because Jesus

was already well known

by that time,

because of his miracles,

because of him raising

Lazarus from the dead,

that sign,

his act,

is unmistakable.

He's saying,

I am the king.

I am the king

that was to come.

So,

Jesus is humble,

right?

Zechariah describes him

that way.

He's not coming in

and looking down

on people.

He doesn't have

this elaborate entourage

or is in ornate clothes.

No,

he is humble.

He comes

as a human being,

right?

The God,

the king of the universe.

He comes

humbly.

And it,

but it's not

humble for him

to deny that he is king.

That's not what he is doing.

That would be false humility,

not true humility.

And so,

but so he,

on one sense,

he confirms the people's

messianic expectations.

He says,

I am the king

that you are expecting.

But on the other hand,

he corrects the people's

messianic expectations.

And he does that also

by riding on a donkey.

Because by riding on a donkey

rather than on a war horse,

he is confirming

that he is not come,

he has not come

like Simon Maccabee

to deliver military victory

for the Israelites,

to rescue them from,

militarily from,

the hands of the Roman Empire.

But he has come

as the prince of peace.

He comes in peace,

rising to the city

as the king.

And this truth

is confirmed

by the context

of the prophecy

that was cited

by John,

Zechariah 9, 9-11.

Because after it says,

Rejoice greatly,

O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud,

O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold,

your king is coming to you.

Righteous and having salvation

is he,

humble and mounted

on a donkey,

on a colt,

the foal of a donkey.

It continues like this.

It says,

I will cut off

the chariot

from Ephraim

and the war horse

from Jerusalem.

And the battle bow

shall be cut off

and he shall speak peace

to the nations.

His rule shall be

from sea to sea

and from the river

to the ends of the earth.

As for you also

because of the blood

of my covenant with you,

I will set your prisoners

free from the waterless pit.

So Jesus is the humble king

who is coming in peace,

not war.

And his peace and rule

will extend

not just to the Jews

but to all the nations.

He will establish

his universal reign

and set the prisoners free.

But

the disciples

and the people following

don't understand

the profundity

of what Jesus is doing

and proclaiming.

So in verse 16,

it says,

His disciples

did not understand

these things at first

but when Jesus

was glorified,

then they remember

that these things

had been written about him

and had been done

to him.

Only then

do they truly grasp

the significance

of what Jesus

is here doing.

And so

there's a lot of people

and Jesus is very popular,

right?

And at this point,

at least.

And so even though

the Sanhedrin,

the ruling Jewish body

had already decided

to kill Jesus,

they don't dare

incite the mob

by doing something

at this moment.

And so they are

exasperated

and they exclaim

in verse 19,

you see that

you are gaining nothing.

Look,

the whole world,

the world has gone

after him.

And as they say that,

they speak truer

than they know

because it's

a hyperbolic statement

for them.

Oh,

the whole world

has gone after him.

It's hyperbolic for them

but it's actually

a very true statement

because the world,

the word,

the world occurs

more in the Gospel of John

than any other book

in the New Testament.

Seventy-eight times,

which is about a third

of all the occurrences

of the word,

the world.

And in the Gospel of John,

it refers to

the lost world,

the world that Christ

has come to save

that includes

not just the Jews

but all the nations.

So when they say

the whole world,

the world has gone

after him,

Jesus is,

they're speaking the truth.

Yes,

the world has gone

after him.

He has come to draw

the world to himself.

He is the Lamb of God,

it says John 1, 29,

who takes away

the sin of the world.

And this truth

is confirmed immediately

by verse 20.

It says,

Now,

among those

who went up

to worship

at the feast

were some Greeks.

Greeks

are not necessarily

people who

just are from Greece,

but in the New Testament,

throughout the New Testament,

it refers to

every basically Gentile,

any non-Jew

is referred to

as a Greek.

And so,

Gentiles,

people,

non-Jews

from all over the world

have come

after Jesus.

And this arrival

of the Gentiles

kind of transitions

us from the glory

of the king

to the glory

of the cross.

Second point,

in verses 20 to 36.

Because the fact

that the Greeks

were there suggests

that they were

probably God-fearers,

maybe converts,

but perhaps not

full converts.

And they reached out

to Philip,

and we don't know

exactly why,

because perhaps

because Philip,

like Andrew,

is a Greek name.

Maybe they thought,

oh, maybe we'll have

a better chance

with this disciple.

And he was also from,

he lived near

a Gentile region.

And so,

they come to Philip,

verse 21.

Philip takes this

to Andrew,

and then they together

bring this issue

to Jesus.

And Jesus answers

in verse 23,

the hour has come

for the Son of Man

to be glorified.

So,

up to this point

in the Gospel of John,

the hour,

which refers to his,

the hour of his glorification,

has always been future.

The hour is coming,

but now,

as the Gentiles

have come to him,

it has triggered

that hour.

Now the hour

is not in the future,

but it has come.

And notice that

during this time,

the Jews and Gentiles

are strictly separated.

Even during the Feast

of the Passover,

the Gentiles,

upon threat of death,

were forbidden

from crossing over

to the Jewish inner court.

They had to stay outside

in the outer court.

But yet Jesus,

when he is glorified,

will draw all nations

to himself.

So now that the Gentiles

are starting to come to him,

Jesus says,

my hour has come.

And John doesn't tell us

whether he actually

grants them an audience

or not,

because to him,

that's theologically irrelevant.

What's important

is that the Gentiles

came to Jesus.

So he records that part.

But what exactly

does this glorification entail?

It sounds glorious,

it sounds good.

What does that entail?

He hints that

in verse 24,

truly,

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.

Now,

that's a little bit

of an enigmatic statement.

That doesn't sound too glorious.

What are you talking about,

Jesus?

Someone dying,

a grain falling

on the ground

and dying.

But he continues,

verse 27,

now is a soul troubled.

And what shall I say?

Now is my soul troubled.

Father,

save me from this hour,

but for this purpose

I have come

to this hour.

The hour of his glory,

his glorification,

has come,

but Jesus is not excited.

He's troubled,

which the word communicates

deep anxiety,

turmoil.

And so he asks himself,

should I cry to the Father,

save me from this hour?

And yet,

he steals himself,

resolves himself,

and says,

no,

it is for this purpose

that I have come

to this hour.

Because his desire

is not to glorify himself,

as verse 28 reveals,

but he says,

Father,

glorify your name.

Jesus' glorification

is tied to him

unreservedly pursuing

only the Father's glory.

So,

this will get clear

in a few verses,

but for now,

let's keep looking

at what this glorification

entails in verse 31.

Because it says,

now is the judgment

of this world

and now will the ruler

of this world

be cast out.

And I,

when I am lifted up

from the earth,

will draw all people

to myself.

Now,

that makes a little bit

more sense,

doesn't it,

what glorification

is supposed to be like.

Because if a king

is going to be glorified,

if he's going to ascend

to his throne,

then yes,

of course,

he's going to judge

his subjects.

So,

he says,

now is the judgment

of this world.

And even though

Jesus says later

in verse 47

that he has not

come to judge

but to save the world,

by virtue of him

being the light

of the world,

he does cast judgment.

Even though he hasn't

come for active

final judgment,

because he is light,

he simultaneously

shines on some

and casts a shadow

on others.

So,

he,

by virtue of his presence,

is separating

the children of light

from the children

of darkness.

So,

he judges

this world.

And likewise,

it says in verse 31,

now will the ruler

of this world

be cast out.

The ruler of this world,

that the phrase occurs

again in John 14,

30,

and 16,

11.

And similar title

refers throughout

the New Testament

to Satan.

Because the true king

has now returned.

This is the real return

of the king.

The Jesus glorification.

Now,

his enthronement

means Satan's dethronement.

He's going to be

overthrown

because he's

a pretender.

He's not the true king.

So,

he'll be expelled

from his

temporary station

as ruler of this world.

So,

Jesus continues

in verse 32,

and I,

when I'm lifted up

from the earth,

will draw all people

to myself.

And so,

his glory consists

of being lifted up

far above the earth,

probably even hinting

at his ascension here.

Yet,

when he does that,

he will draw all people

to himself.

And again,

all people,

of course,

refers to the world

that he is just

talking about.

It doesn't mean

all individuals

without exception

because that would mean

that every single person

will be saved,

which clearly contradicts

this passage

which talks about

Jesus' judgment.

But it means

all people

without distinction,

meaning all kinds

of people,

all Jews and Gentiles

will be drawn

to the kingdom of God,

invited to the kingdom of God.

So,

all these details

so far sound great

except for that little bit

about the grain dying.

So,

what was that about?

Why was Jesus troubled

and not excited?

And verse 33

tells us what's going on.

It says,

He said this

to show by what kind

of death

he was going to die.

Because everything

he said up to this point

about his glorification

is about his death.

Now the meaning

of Jesus' glorification

is revealed plainly,

right?

So,

John's a master

of using double meaning

in his narratives

and the word lifted up

in the Greek

means two things

just like in English.

It can mean physical

raising up

as well as

kind of more abstractly

glorifying,

exalting.

So,

we thought Jesus

was going to be exalted

and he is.

He's going to be glorified

but that glorification,

that exaltation

is going to come

in the form of him

being physically

raised up

on the cross

to be killed.

And John is quoting

and alluding to

Isaiah 52 and 53

which says that

the servant of God,

this Messiah,

shall be high

and lifted up

and shall be exalted

yet in the same breath

Isaiah the prophet

says that he will be

despised

and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows

and acquainted with grief.

He will bear our griefs

and carry our sorrows.

He will be pierced

for our transgressions

and crushed

for our iniquities.

That's the glory

that Christ seeks.

This explains

what Jesus said

earlier in verse 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.

The death of the grain

is the first stage

of its fruitfulness.

Likewise,

Jesus' death

is the first stage

of his glorification.

His death,

resurrection

and ascension

to the right hand

of the Father.

Now,

this is the supreme irony

and peculiar glory

of the cross

because the world

presumed

that it was

passing judgment

on Jesus

in debating

his identity,

in putting him

on trial

and sentencing

him to death.

The world thought

that they were

passing judgment

on Jesus,

yet it was they

who were being judged

by the light

of the world.

Satan,

the prince

of this world,

thought that he was

triumphing over Jesus

by leading him

to death

and killing him

on the cross.

Yet,

the cross

was the place

where he was

decisively defeated

by Jesus.

A king

without subjects

is no king

at all,

right?

But in order

for Jesus

to get his people,

in order for Jesus

to come into his kingdom

on earth,

he must first

rescue his subjects

who are being ruled

by the prince

of this world,

who are captive

with sin

and death.

And because

eternal death

is a just penalty

for sin

that only an eternal

God can pay,

Jesus

goes to the cross

in order to come

into his kingdom.

So his throne

is the ancient

equivalent

of the electric chair,

the cross.

His crown

is a crown of thorns.

His glorious

inauguration

is his inglorious,

shameful death.

And now

is that time,

John says

in verse 31.

I hope that

captures

your imagination

and fills you

with gratitude

because that's

the peculiar

glory of our king.

He didn't win

us over,

win our allegiance

by ruling us

with an iron fist.

He won our allegiance

through his sacrificial

obedience and love.

God's grace.

He won our allegiance

to the king

of the king.

He won our allegiance

to the king.

And let me ask you,

what other kings

of this world

have ever done that?

Subjects himself

to shame

to rescue his subjects.

Let me ask you,

what other so-called

gods of this world

have done that?

Only one.

Jesus.

And for that reason,

he is the only one

who deserves

our love

and loyalty.

And that's what

we call the good news,

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The crowd,

however,

is a little dismayed

at this point.

They don't quite get

the profound things

Jesus is saying.

They're just kind of

hung up on one point

that Jesus said

he was going to be

lifted up from the earth.

So they're worried

that he's going to leave.

It's like,

what do you mean

you're going to leave?

I thought the Messiah

was supposed to be here

forever.

They're probably,

it's not clear exactly

what passage,

what passage they have

in mind,

possibly Daniel 7,

13 to 14,

which says that

the Son of Man,

one like a Son of Man,

the Messiah,

would have everlasting dominion.

But they don't understand

that Jesus' reign

is going to last forever.

But Jesus come primarily

to establish

a spiritual kingdom

before he establishes

a physical kingdom.

Because he recognizes

that unless

the spiritual,

the underlying spiritual problem

is solved,

the military victory

won't assure blessing

for his people.

Because every brokenness

in our lives,

our lack of,

just comfort

under our own skin,

our own psychological alienation

within ourselves,

our social alienation

with others in our lives,

with our neighbors,

our physical alienation

from the rest of creation,

all the brokenness,

all the alienation

you see is just

a result,

the root,

the cause of all of that

is our spiritual alienation

from God.

And so Jesus comes

to fix the underlying problem.

Because unless our hearts

are reformed

by the grace and mercy of God,

we will never be

fully comfortable

in our own skin.

Unless our hearts

are conformed

to the love of God,

we will never

consistently forgive people

and love people

selflessly.

Unless our hearts

are transformed

by the generosity of God,

we will not consistently

be generous toward others.

and provide

for others' needs.

The foundation,

the root

of social renewal

is not more

programmed by us,

it's transformation,

internal transformation

brought by the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

And that's

why he

does not march

to Caesar's palace

in Rome,

but he

marches,

rides into Jerusalem

to die on the cross.

So Jesus said to them

in verse 35,

the light is among you

for a little 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.

While you have the light,

believe in the light

that you may become

sons of light.

Jesus is soon

going to leave,

and in that

intervening absence

between his

ascent

and the spirit's

descent,

the people who

did not believe

in him

will be completely

lost

and without

spiritual direction.

But those

who believe in him

will become

sons of light,

they will be

characterized by light

and so they

will not be lost.

And so he warns them,

follow me now.

And so we've seen

that glory of the king

and we see his glory

of the cross,

the peculiar glory,

and now this turns

and brings us

to the glory

of discipleship.

Because he says

after he said

these things

in verse 36,

he departed

and hid himself

from them.

Because in the last

moments of his life

he devotes himself

to his primary disciples

to lead them

and prepare them.

And his withdrawal

from others

is kind of

almost an active parable.

It acts out

his warning,

earlier warning,

that once the light

of the world is gone

they will be lost

so they must seek him.

And John knew,

understood this time,

so this is still

actually one of the

main reasons

why Jews don't

come to faith.

And the same reason

that the people here

don't seem to come

to faith is that

they rationalize,

well if Jesus

really was the Messiah

and there's no reason

why all these Jews,

so many of them

who had been

waiting for that Messiah

would refuse to believe

in him.

So that's the argument

against Christians

and John knows this

so he's writing

with that in mind.

And so he says

so why don't they believe?

Even today

the Jews say

the same thing.

Well if Jesus

really were the Messiah

there wouldn't be

all these Jews

who don't believe in him

and are still waiting

for the Messiah

they argue.

But John gives

a different take.

His explanation

is this

in verses 37 to 40.

Though he had done

so many signs

before them

they still did not

believe in him

so that

the words spoken

by the prophet Isaiah

might be fulfilled.

Lord who has believed

what he heard

from us

and to whom

has the arm

of the Lord

been revealed?

Therefore

they could not believe

for again

Isaiah said

he has blinded

their eyes

and hardened

their hearts

lest they see

with their eyes

and understand

with their heart

and turn

and I would

heal them.

That's

pretty blunt

isn't it?

We can't

let's not

rationalize

this

and blunt

the forcefulness

of what

John is saying here.

He's quoting from

Isaiah 53.1

and 6.10

and he's saying

that many

of the Jews

still did not

believe in Jesus

why?

So that

Israel's prophecy

about their

unbelief

would be fulfilled.

God already

knew this

and he prophesied

and again

Isaiah said

he has blinded

their eyes

and hardened

their hearts.

The reason

why people

don't believe

is because

God has rendered

them incapable

of belief.

God

has ordained

unbelief.

But

as I've said

over and over again

throughout our

series in the

Gospel of John

whenever there's

this kind of

stark teaching

about divine

sovereignty

and God's

foreign ordination

it's always

paired with

teaching about

human responsibility

because we

always have to

hold those

two things

together.

And so

in verses

41 to 43

it says

Isaiah said

these things

because he saw

his glory

and spoke

of him.

Nevertheless

many even

of the authorities

believed in him

but for fear

of the Pharisees

they did not

confess it

so that they

would not be

put out of

the synagogue

for

they love

the glory

that comes

from man

more than

the glory

that comes

from God.

That's the

reason why

they didn't

believe.

So in the

first part

we get

the divine

perspective

he knew

and he

foreordained

and in the

second part

we see

the human

perspective

they didn't

believe of

their own

accord

because they

were afraid

of the

Jews

because they

love the

glory that

comes from

man more

than the

glory that

comes from

God.

This is

obviously hard

to get our

minds wrapped

around and I

don't try

usually so I

hope you don't

as well.

But I think

about it kind

of like the

wave particle

duality in

physics.

I wish Jimmy

were here to

elaborate.

He's a

physicist.

And the

physicists have

discovered that

photon which is a

light particle

it's an

elementary particle

of light is

at the same

time a

wave.

So it's

both a

particle it's

a fragment of

matter and a

wave which is

like a wave of

energy and they're

kind of contradictory

yet those two

propositions are

equally true.

And Albert

Einstein writes

about this he

says it seems

as though we

must use

sometimes the

one theory and

sometimes the

other while at

times we may

use either.

We are faced

with a new

kind of

difficulty.

We have two

contradictory

pictures of

reality.

Separately

neither of

them fully

explains the

phenomena of

light.

But together

they do.

Only when

these two

contradictory

pictures of

reality are

put together

we can explain

the phenomena

of light.

And Jesus

is the light

of the world

and we see

in an

analogous

way that

duality at

work here

also.

Because on

the one

hand people

do not

believe in

order to

fulfill the

scripture

because God

has so

ordained that.

But on the

other hand they

do not believe

because of

their own

cowardice and

selfishness.

On the one

hand the light

of the world

has blinded

them.

On the other

hand the light

of the world

they have

turned voluntarily

their eyes

from that

light.

Sometimes you

need to use

one to

explain a

situation.

Sometimes you

need to use

the other.

But you

need both to

make sense of

the light of

the world and

how humans

respond to

him.

So

this is the

glory of

discipleship.

Verses 24

to 25

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.

Whoever loves

his life will

lose it and

whoever hates

his life in

this world will

keep it for

eternal life.

The Jewish

leaders, the

Jews refused

to die.

They wanted to

preserve

themselves, their

own standing,

their own

power.

So they

fail to be

Jesus'

disciples.

So a

certain death,

a type of

death, a

type of

humiliation is

necessary for

the generation

of life and

glorification.

And this is so

important because

that's a pattern

we see in

Jesus, right?

Throughout his

entire life, we

see his

incarnation and

then we see

his glorification.

We see his

death and then

we see his

resurrection and

ascension.

That's a pattern

we see in

Jesus and that

applies to all

of us as

well as his

followers.

And that's why

Jesus says in

verse 25, 26,

whoever loves

his life will

lose it and

whoever hates

his life in

this world will

keep it for

eternal life.

And if anyone

serves me, he

must follow me

and where I am

there will my

servant be also.

So if we're

going to follow

Jesus, if we're

going to serve

him, then we

must go where

he goes and

that's to the

cross.

And because he

carried the

cross, because he

revealed to us the

peculiar glory of

the cross, now we

must take up our

cross and follow

him and that's the

glory of discipleship.

And the language of

love and hate, I

hope you're not

thrown off by

that, it's not

saying you need to

actually hate your

life.

That's not emotional

hate that he's

talking about, rather

he's using them to

refer to preference.

If you love your

life more than you

love God and

prioritize yourself

over his will, then

you will lose your

life.

But if you love God

more than your life,

that's what it

means to hate

your life, and

you sacrifice

everything in your

life and you

orient everything

around your life

for that purpose, to

love him and serve

him, then you will

gain your life.

That's the glory of

Christian discipleship.

In his book,

Miracles, C.S.

Lewis very eloquently

describes this pattern

of descent and

re-ascent in the

life of Christ and

the life of

believers.

He says,

In the Christian

story, God

descends to

re-ascend.

He comes down,

down from the

heights of absolute

being into time and

space, down into

humanity, down to

the very roots and

seabed of the nature

he has created.

But he goes down to

come up again and

bring the ruined

world up with him.

One has the picture

of a strong man

stooping lower and

lower to get himself

underneath some great

complicated burden.

He must stoop in

order to lift.

He must almost

disappear under the

load before he

incredibly straightens

his back and marches

off with the whole

mass swaying on his

shoulders.

Or one may think of

a diver, first

reducing himself to

nakedness, then

glancing in mid-air,

then gone with a

splash, vanished,

rushing down through

green and warm water

into black and cold

water, down through

increasing pressure

into the death-like

region of ooze and

slime and old decay,

then up again, back

to color and light,

his lungs almost

bursting till suddenly

he breaks surface

again, holding in his

hand the dripping

precious thing that he

went down to recover.

In this descent and

re-ascent, everyone

will recognize a

familiar pattern, a

thing written all over

the world.

It is the pattern of

all vegetable life.

It must belittle

itself into something

hard, small, and

death-like.

It must fall into the

ground.

Thence the new life

re-ascends.

It is the pattern of

all animal generation

too.

There is descent from

the full and perfect

organisms into the

sperm and ovum, and

in the dark womb, a

life at first inferior

in kind to that of the

species which is being

reproduced.

Then the slow

ascent to the perfect

embryo, to the living

conscious baby, and

finally to the adult.

And now he applies

this to our emotional

life.

So it is also in our

moral and emotional

life.

The first innocent and

spontaneous desires have

to submit to the death-like

process of control or

total denial.

But from that, there is a

re-ascent to fully formed

character in which the

strength of the original

material all operates, but

in a new way.

Death and rebirth go down

to go up.

It is a key principle.

Through this bottleneck,

this belittlement, the

high road nearly always

lies.

The pattern is there in

nature because it was

first there in God.

So often, and in my life

this has been the case in

every major spiritual

breakthrough and growth in

my life, and so often the

Christians dream of wealth

must first die.

She must find contentment

in poverty or just middle

class income and learn to

give generously even in the

midst of her scarcity before

God prospers her.

So often, the Christians

dream of self-sufficiency

and self-righteousness must

die.

He must struggle with

demoralizing and shameful

sins for years on end and

learn to rely fully on Christ

and only in his righteousness.

And then, God delivers him

from his sins.

So often, the Christians dream

of health and strength must

die.

She must find contentment in

chronic illnesses and

suffering and learn to thank

God and be joyful even in the

midst of such weakness before

God heals her.

So often, the Christians dream of

honor and success must die.

He must struggle to string

together a viable career.

He must work for years without

proper recognition and be

rejected by many places so that

he learns to boast in and glory in

Christ alone.

Then God honors him.

So often, the Christians dream of

companionship and family must die.

She must struggle with loneliness and

learn to make Christ her best and

most intimate companion

before God provides for her a

husband and a half family.

This is the law that governs the

kingdom of God.

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.

And if you're not a Christian, this

applies to you also.

You must die to your fancy of

figuring out religion and then you

need to take hold of God by faith.

You must die to your claim to

autonomy and submit to his

lordship.

Then and only then will you have

spiritual life.

All spiritual life must first be

preceded by death.

So I plead with all of you, don't

leave the worship service this

morning until you've seriously asked

yourself that question.

What part of my life is God calling

me to die?

Dying to ourselves is not an easy

take.

It never is.

But the glory of the cross of

Christ, that peculiar glory,

enables us to take up our cross and

die to ourselves.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the

very nature of God, did not count

equality with God's love to be

grasped.

But he took on the very nature of a

servant.

And being found in human form, being

made in human likeness, he humbled

himself, he emptied himself and became

obedient even to death, even death on a

cross.

He says, therefore, in Philippians 2, God

exalted him to the highest place and gave

him the name that is above every name, that

at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in

heaven and on earth and under the earth.

And every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the

glory of God the Father.

That, brothers and sisters, that's the pattern

for us.

That's the peculiar glory of discipleship we're

called to.

So let's let that captivate our hearts and

imaginations this morning.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Lord, what an upside-down kingdom we're in, that

he who was first shall be last and was last

shall be first, that it's only those who die

who will live.

Lord, we want to be able to count everything in

our life a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of

knowing you and following you.

So please help us, Lord.

Let that truth become more and more real to us each

day so that we might live and live abundantly as you

desire.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.