The Path to Resurrection Life (John 12) Myles Holmes | November 23, 2025

Hello and welcome to the Redemption Church Podcast.

We're a church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada that exists to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the spirit of the Great Commandment.

Thanks for joining us today.

It's good to be together this morning.

Before we get into God's word, I want to uh just point out a few things that are happening in the life of the church.

The first is that the women have come back from an amazing women's retreat this past weekend.

Yeah, there they are.

They are hyped up.

Nearly 40 of them went to Windermere House up in Muskokas.

And I've heard uh reports from many of you that it was a great time.

I think I don't know what the women are doing right.

When the men went up, there's a giant ice storm.

You guys, it seems like everything was very blessed.

And uh, I've heard a lot about this salad bar, which I'm very curious to try myself.

But I just want to take a moment just to thank uh Melanie and Christina and Beth.

Can we just thank the Lord for them?

A lot of work went into preparing that and preparing the teaching for that, and I've heard nothing but good things, and I just I know that the Lord was powerfully at work this past weekend.

I also want to give you a quick update about our facility search.

Many of you know over the past few months we've been exploring a potential partnership with King Christian School.

This is a school that's in East Gwillenbury, just north of us here, where we would potentially rent space for uh a couple of years.

And then down the road, the exciting potential for us was the possibility of leasing land from them on which we could build a church, not only a church facility, but a facility that would accommodate some of the growth that they're experiencing as a school as well.

And so we had a some great conversations with their board and their leadership, and we believed at the time that there was a lot of alignment and excitement going forward.

However, recently they've let us know that they're not able to move forward at this time.

They're currently as a school in the process of discerning their own vision and thinking about their own long-term strategy, and until they have clarity on that, they don't want to move forward with this process.

Now, that might sound like bad news.

We we as an elder board look at that and and we're incredibly thankful for that.

The other option would be that they don't have clarity, and they get clarity further down the road when we're a lot more invested in the whole um situation, and we're more thankful for this than to step into something prematurely.

And so we're very we wouldn't say it's a closed door.

We're very thankful uh we're very thankful for the opportunity to give them time to work some of those details out.

But the answer right now is not right now.

In fact, renting the school is still a great and possible option for us, and so I'd ask that you continue to pray for the elders as we consider where to go in the future.

What we know is this is that increasingly it's becoming clear to us that meeting in this space is not a long-term viable option for us.

Part of that's just the nature that it is up for sale, uh, nothing happening with it yet.

But a more exciting problem is that we're just outgrowing the space, that our family's becoming too large for the parking, for the kids, for the worship center, for everywhere.

And so that's a very exciting problem.

What does this mean for us now?

Well, it means that once again I'm up here giving you a facility update that's not really an update at all.

But I would ask that you continue to pray, that we continue to trust the Lord as we continue to look and think about where the Lord wants our family to meet.

We think this is really important.

We think having a home and having the right home is incredibly important for us.

We praise the Lord.

He's been incredibly faithful.

We know he will continue to be faithful, and so we thank you as you continue to pray and trust and walk alongside us and the church.

If you have your Bibles, you can open them up to John chapter 12.

John 12 · chapter mention

If you don't have a copy of God's word this morning, you're gonna need it.

So the ushers are coming down, and you can just flag one of them down, and they'll get a copy into your hand, which you can keep as our gift to you.

We are in John chapter 12 this morning.

John 12 · chapter mention

We had a discussion at step one last week, and I'm curious to know where you would land on this.

We were talking about winter and whether or not winter is something that we enjoy or not.

I don't know about you.

I do not look forward to winter.

Now, I brought this up in step one, and I very quickly started to think I might not be a Christian because God created winter and we should enjoy it.

So I get that part about.

There are some exciting parts about winter.

I like the first snowfall, I will admit that.

The first time that snow falls and it's serene and you know the ground is white and the snow is falling, is like a it's really nice.

But that's already happened this year.

And so now from this point forward, it's just cold, you know, the snow's gonna fall, it's gonna turn brown from the salt, it's slushy.

I don't enjoy it.

But a few years ago, at our house, we planted a few fruit trees.

And in my in my attempt to be a great fruit tree parent, I learned something fascinating about winter, and that is that winter is not when everything dies like I thought it was.

Instead, winter is when life in these plants is actually being prepared and protected.

That winter is when these trees rest so that they can ultimately live in the spring.

So the branches then they look barren, but they're storing up energy through the winter.

I know with my gardeners, I'm really like, you know, I'm really connecting with them right now.

The rest of you are like, what are we talking about?

Was this like a TED talk on gardening or something?

What did I sign up for here?

But you're here now and you have to listen to it, so let's keep going.

The branches are storing energy, the buds are inside those branches, protected by bark already formed, and that the cold is actually necessary to give life to these plants next season, so that what begins to look like death actually is the beginning of life.

And you know where I'm going with this, that in so many ways, even in the songs that we sang this morning, this illustrates our Christian life.

Where we want spring, an endless summer, maybe that's visible growth in our life, maybe that's answered prayer, maybe that's blessing, spiritual victory.

So often what we find is winter, which we resist.

Maybe that's discipline, that's the pruning that our Lord gives to us.

It's the call to surrender, the dying to ourselves that actually produces the growth that we want.

Put this in gospel terms, and maybe what we're saying is this we want resurrection without crucifixion.

We want growth without pruning.

We want new life without having to surrender the old one that we've built up.

Now you get to John 12, and this is exactly what Jesus is confronting in us.

Because in John 12, everything turns towards winter.

John 11 acts like a hinge in the Gospel of John.

The resurrection of Lazarus has happened.

And if we didn't already feel the shift, I want you to notice what we're about to read in verse 1.

John says this that we are six days before the Passover.

Six days before the point where Jesus will hang on the cross and die.

And from this point forward in the Gospel of John, everything is moving relentlessly towards the cross.

And in John 12, Jesus is making it unmistakably clear that if you want the resurrection life of John 11, you must follow him into death.

In fact, this is our main idea this morning.

I want you to see this this morning that the only way to truly live is to follow Jesus into death.

That the only way to fall to truly live is to follow Jesus into death.

And just like winter is preparing life in the trees, even though they look dead, Jesus teaches that the path to real life always runs through death.

And so listen, right now in the Holy Spirit, if we're listening to this message, we're kind of buckling up because death is hard, isn't it?

I mean, we don't have to get too complicated here.

It is hard.

Like death is a hard thing.

And Jesus is calling us to that here.

Let's see it together.

I want to read all of John 12 with you.

It's a pretty long one, and so again, buckle up for that.

But let's stand together and read God's word.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

So they gave a dinner for him there.

Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table.

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair.

The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, he who was about to betray him, said, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?

He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief.

And having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Jesus said, Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.

For the poor you will always have with you, but you do not always have me.

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came not only on account of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they 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.

And Jesus found a 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.

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.

The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they had heard he had done this sign.

So the Pharisees said to one another, You see, you are gaining nothing.

Look, the world has gone after him.

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.

So these came to Philip, who was from Betheda in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus.

Philip went and told Andrew.

Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

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 loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.

If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?

Father, save me from this hour.

But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Father, glorify your name.

Then a voice came from heaven.

I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered.

Others said an angel has spoken to him.

Jesus answered, This voice has come for your sake, not mine.

Now is the judgment of this world.

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.

He said this to show what kind of death he was going to die.

So the crowd answered him.

How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?

Who is this Son of Man?

Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer.

Walk as you have the light, lest darkness overtake you.

The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

Will you have the light?

Believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

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 Isaiah said, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

Nevertheless, many 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.

And Jesus cried out and said, Whoever believes in me, believe not in me, but in him who sent me.

And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

If any one hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I do not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge.

The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day, for I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who has sent me has given him a commandment, what to say and what to speak.

And I know that this commandment is eternal life.

What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.

This is the word of the Lord.

You can grab your seat.

Now, John begins with this important timestamp in verse 1.

We are six days before the Passover, six days before Jesus will be hung on a cross.

And Jesus is in Bethany, and the scene that is set is that there is a banquet being put on to honor Jesus.

And if you were to be hearing this story for the first time, you would not imagine it because Lazarus is there.

And Lazarus is a man who everybody knows just recently was dead for four days.

And here he is sitting in this room alive at this banquet.

And it really is undeniable evidence for everyone who is there of the power and identity of Jesus.

It'll be as undeniable as when you and I sit in heaven and there is Jesus and there we are, having been resurrected to eternal life, was this day.

Here is Lazarus, a resurrected man.

Now, in light of this, then Mary does something shocking.

Look at verse 3, look at the text with me.

Mary, therefore, took a pound.

That's when we all gasp, because that is way too much perfume.

Even though I'm convinced some of the teenagers at the gym I work out use at least half a pound.

That is way too much.

But Mary, therefore, look at the text again, took a pound of expensive, all the frugal people gasp again, ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.

And the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume.

Now again, what John is, I think, contrasting here is just how costly this act of worship was for Mary.

It was a pound of perfume, okay?

So this wasn't those little testers that you get at the makeup store that you spray and you leave smelling like seven different people.

This was an expensive, extravagant offering.

John here is he's even emphasizing the value.

It's pure nard.

I don't know what nard is.

It sounds kind of gross if you know without knowing the context, but but in context, this is valuable perfume imported from northern India.

And if we've missed the price tag, Judas makes it clear for us in verse 5.

He said, this was worth 300 denarii.

That's a year's salary.

In other words, this isn't just luxury, this is security for Mary.

This bottle of perfume is a life savings.

It might be a family inheritance.

Now notice the manner.

The Gospel of Mark tells us that she broke the jar, that she pours it all out for Jesus.

There's no rationing, there's no saving some for later, there's no fallback plan.

And what John is making very clear here is that the worship which understands the significance of Jesus is at times costly, giving the most valuable things that we own.

It's at times inconvenient, standing in the way of what otherwise would be what we embrace, and it is unreserved.

There is nothing held back.

There is nothing protected.

There is nothing kept for herself.

And so what we see here is a worship that is given to Jesus from Mary that is not something reasonable.

In every way it's unreasonable.

She gives him everything.

All because she believes that Jesus has more worth than anything she has to offer.

Now there's a contrast that John is making clear here, and we see it in verses four to six.

Look at verses four to six with me, and notice how clear John is trying to make this.

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, and we're told in footnotes here, he who was about to betray him, said, Why was this ointment not sold for 300 deneri and given to the poor?

He said this, John tells us, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

And so in this very room with Jesus in it, we have two reactions to his worth.

First, Mary sees the worth of Jesus.

Judas he just sees the waste.

Mary treasures Jesus.

Judas treasures money.

Mary pours out everything.

Judas is trying to hold tight onto what he can keep for himself.

And look at Jesus' response in verse 7: Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.

Jesus looks at Mary's act as a preparation for his death.

She understands what the others keep denying, that the cross is coming, that Jesus' time has come, that death is imminent for him.

Well, here's what we're seeing clearly that we can apply to our lives in the text.

True worship always costs something.

Mary gives everything.

And we need to understand that following Jesus begins right here, laying down what we treasure most, so that he becomes what we treasure the most.

What we see here is Mary opened her hands and walked straight into death with Jesus.

And what we see is Judas close his hand and try to preserve his life.

And John is asking us to consider this question.

What in life is Jesus calling me to lay down?

I mean, this is the reality of the gospel that John is unfolding for us this morning, that we always pour out on what we treasure most.

We always do.

It's an undeniable reality of our human existence that you and I are always pouring out.

We are the little teapot.

You remember that song?

I'm a little teapot.

Gord's shaking his head.

He doesn't want me to finish it.

He's like, do not do this, man.

Do not do that.

This is gonna go on the internet.

Don't do this.

Short and stout.

Tip me over.

Pour me out, right?

That's what we are.

I mean, we are always pouring out worship.

Every single one of us right now in this moment are here pouring ourselves out for something.

And tomorrow and the next day and for the rest of our lives, we will always be pouring ourselves out.

Whether it's our time, our energy, our money, our emotional bandwidth, our effort, our sacrifices.

We cannot help it.

As human beings, we are always being poured out.

And so the question is not, am I pouring out?

The question of this text is who am I being poured out for?

Am I like Mary and pouring myself out for Jesus?

Or am I like Judas pouring myself out for something inferior?

You know, Judas was willing to pour out the perfume.

He was willing to take the perfume, but what he wanted to do was to sell it for his own profit.

And many of us are the same way.

We pour ourselves out.

We take what God deserves and use it for something, but it's not Jesus.

It's something else.

And in this moment, we just need the spiritual honesty and humility to look at ourselves and ask ourselves, what is that thing that I'm tempted to pour myself out for?

Maybe it's control.

Because like you just need to be in charge.

It does not matter the price tag of control in your life.

Maybe for you it's comfort.

Whatever it takes for me to just get some rest, to take a break from what's hard.

And maybe it's your image.

If you are willing to be frantic, to stress yourself out, to busy yourself for an image of someone who has it all together.

Maybe it's money.

Success.

Approval.

Maybe it's a hidden sin that you're just trying to cover up and cover up and cover up.

And you spend all your energy trying to cover up this sin.

And if none of those things right now are convicting you in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, well, here's what you can do.

Think for a moment about the way that you use your time.

I mean, follow the trail of your time.

Where do you spend your time?

Follow the trail of your thoughts.

Think about your spending.

Think about your reactions to things.

What do I think about when I'm not thinking about anything?

What do I reach for when I'm stressed and life is too much?

What do I rearrange my schedule for?

What do I get angry or anxious about losing?

Those things are your treasure.

Those things are what you worship.

We can only follow Jesus once we're willing to lay down what we treasure most.

Now, Jesus here continues to press this idea home as we travel through the Gospel of John that we can only begin to live once we follow him in death.

And he does so really by warning us of a great danger.

Because in the next scene, what we find is that there is a crowd of people cheering loudly for Jesus, as though what they want is Jesus as their king.

But what they really want is for Jesus to serve their agenda.

They're not coming like Mary to pour out everything in worship to him.

They're coming to Jesus to receive something they want from him.

And it's scary because the reality for you and I is that we can be in the church, we can be doing the whole Christian thing, and yet not truly know Jesus.

I want you to see this.

This is our second point.

I follow Jesus into death when I submit to him as king.

I follow Jesus into death when I submit to him as king.

Look down at verse 12 with me.

John writes, The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him.

And in verse 13, they cry out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.

Now this is a scene in the gospel that is filled with excitement.

The kids these days would say that the people are hyped, that there are great vibes here, right?

Gen Z, am I with you?

I don't think so.

They want to get out of this room as fast as they can right now.

They're shouting out, Hosanna.

It literally means save us now.

They're declaring Jesus to be the king.

But the irony is that they're not declaring that Jesus to be the king that he actually is.

They're declaring Jesus to be a political Messiah who will overthrow Rome.

Now, everything in this scene points to the opposite of that.

Look down at verses 14 to 15.

Because Jesus, we are told, found a young donkey and sat on it just as it is written.

Behold, your king is coming sitting on a donkey's colt.

Jesus could have rolled up in so many things.

He could have rolled up in a war on a war horse, wearing army, a mighty king and ruler who would lead to valiant victory.

I mean, this is like the equivalent of the Rolls Royce he could have showed up in.

Instead, he shows up in a Toyota Corolla that's parked by the dumpster outside.

It's a donkey.

And a donkey was ridden by a king only in times of peace and humility and sacrifice.

And Jesus is deliberately sending a message that the crowd does not see of the kind of king he is.

It's a message we're told in verse 16 that the disciples don't understand.

And in verse 18, we learn that the crowd is not really there for worship.

They are there because of the sign of Lazarus.

They don't want what Jesus has to offer, they want what Jesus gave to Lazarus.

Look at the conclusion then in verse 19.

Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are gaining nothing.

Look, the world has gone after him.

And it's ironic that the same crowd who's cheering loudly and waving branches and shouting his name a week from now, six days from now, we'll be yelling, crucify him.

Crucify him.

Why?

Because Jesus didn't meet their expectations.

Because Jesus refused to be the king that they wanted, and so they rejected the king that they needed.

You know, it's it is possible to admire Jesus and never obey him.

It is possible to love Jesus' teaching, to sing his songs, to sit in his church and never actually follow him.

My fear is that there are many in the church today who treat Jesus simply as a consultant.

We treat Jesus like a helpful voice.

We treat Jesus like we found a great podcast.

You ever find a great podcast?

You share it with a friend, man, there's some great advice in this podcast.

You gotta listen to it.

And Jesus becomes nothing more than that to us, like someone who gives great advice, maybe inspirational thoughts, helpful life tips, someone we can consult when we want life input, but who we ignore when we don't.

And what Jesus is pressing into us and asking us to examine right now is this reality is that he is unwilling to be a consultant for us.

He came to be a king.

And where a consultant gives advice, a king gives commands.

Where a consultant suggests, a king rules.

Where a consultant simply helps, a king owns us.

Now I know that most of us are willing to allow Jesus to consult our lives.

Like Jesus, tell me what to do.

Give me some life tips.

We all want advice.

We all want encouragement.

We all want insight, but Jesus is coming for something different.

He is coming as the King.

You know what that means?

That in this text, that believing isn't the battle.

You know where the battle really is in the Christian life?

It is in surrendering to Jesus.

There are many here who believe Jesus to be something.

There are few who surrender to who Jesus really is.

And the real question, loved one, this is how you truly know you are a disciple.

It's do you surrender?

Or maybe we can get maybe we can get a little more specific with this.

When was the last time the word of God confronted your desires?

And you obeyed anyways.

When was the last time you were walking this way in life and the word of God stopped you dead in your tracks, and you stopped and you said, Even though I want to keep going this way, I will repent and I will turn that way, simply because the word of God tells me to.

I mean, we have got an image of what a true disciple is totally wrong.

We often think that a true disciple is someone who never struggles.

But I can I tell you that if someone comes and tells me that I am so mature in my discipleship that I never struggle, I immediately know that they are the most immature Christian in the room.

Why?

Because a mature Christian is the one who is being confronted the most.

The mature Christian is the one who is constantly convicted of their sin and saying again and again and again, this is not the way I'm supposed to live.

And so listen, loved one, right now you might be looking at your life and you feel like it's an abysmal failure.

You know all these things that you should be doing, but you're not.

And can I just take a moment to encourage you that that is the life of a mature disciple?

A mature disciple knows the word of God and it constantly confronts their desires.

But the thing that happens then is you turn in the power of the Spirit in repentance and turn the other way.

This is the path of mature discipleship.

The one who bows in submission to God and fights for surrender.

And so, can I just give you one specific and real example?

There's so many ways we could go with this, but can we just talk about anger for a moment?

Someone says something that hurts you or wounds you or embarrasses you, or behaves in a way that just is not the way that you want them to behave.

Everything in you in that moment wants to lash out, to tear them down, to get even, to attack.

That is your desire.

That is your flesh.

What happens when you surrender to Jesus?

When you surrender to Jesus, your mind is renewed by the truth of Scripture, and these verses come to your mind.

Be quick to listen, James 1.19 says.

Slow to speak and slow to anger.

Colossians 3.13, forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven you, and in that moment you have a choice.

Will Jesus be your consultant to what you say?

Well, that's interesting, that's good advice, but you don't know what they did to me.

Or will Jesus be your king?

Lord, I don't want to obey, I don't want to obey this.

Everything in me is resisting, but you are the king, so I will obey you and not my desires.

Loved one, that's that is the death to self.

That is laying down control.

That is following Jesus into death.

Jesus is telling us this surrender matters.

That there is no faith apart from the constant battle of surrender.

And Jesus tells us exactly why in his next words.

He says, the grain of wheat must fall and die.

The path of life always runs through death.

This is the third thing I want you to see.

I follow him into death when I die to my way of life.

A third way we follow Jesus into death is by dying to our way of life.

Look down at verse 23 with me.

Look at your copy of God's word.

Jesus says this the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Now, up to this moment, you know, the Gospel writer loves to talk about the hour.

I mean, I'm convinced John always knew what time it was.

He was a good friend to have.

You asked him the time, he knew it.

John always tells us what hour it is.

And up to this moment, Jesus time and time again has said, the hour has not come.

But here there is a screeching moment.

The Gospel of John comes to a skidding halt.

Why?

Because Jesus has changed his tune.

The hour has come.

The cross is no longer distant, it is imminent.

Jesus is in Jerusalem, and everything from this moment forward is moving directly toward his death.

And then in verse 24, Jesus gives us the core image of the entire chapter that his death is not something that happens separate from his disciples, that it is something that is incredibly applicable to his disciples because look at verse 24.

He says, 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.

What is this?

Well, in one way, it is an agricultural illustration.

And so I opened this up with a gardening illustration.

And some of you were like, listen, quit it with the gardening illustrations, okay?

But here's Jesus doing the same thing.

I just wanted to find myself there, but that was unnecessary.

Let's keep going.

You know, you get what Jesus is saying.

A seed that is in your hand will never do anything.

The seed must fall to the ground and be buried in the soil, where in the soil it dies before bearing life and fruit.

It must undergo a kind of death before it comes to life.

And Jesus is taking this and explicitly saying this: without death, there is no life.

Loved one, that if you want life, you must pass through death first.

Without burial, there is no fruit.

Without the cross, there is no resurrection.

Without the cross, there is no crown.

And look again then at verse 25, where Jesus applies it directly.

Whoever loves his life loses it.

Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it.

Loving your life then is clinging to control.

It's insisting on your way.

Hating your life, it doesn't mean self-harm.

It doesn't mean self-contempt.

It means surrendering your life into God's hands, trusting his own way over yours.

And then in verse 26, Jesus, again, if we do not have it yet, defines discipleship about as clearly and simply as anywhere in all of Scripture.

Look at it, loved one.

If anyone serves me, he must follow me.

Follow me.

And loved one, the question we ask is follow him where?

Into death.

Into surrender.

Into the tomb.

Trusting that on the other side of Jesus' tomb is resurrection and fruitfulness.

My loved one, you must undergo death before you can find life.

Sports fans know exactly what I'm talking about here, don't you?

Every great team, maybe I shouldn't say every, but almost every great team, has to undergo a certain kind of death before they can start winning.

They rebuild, they tear down, they take criticism, they trade stars, they fire coaches, they endure painful seasons looking like they're going backwards, but all the while they are building something new.

This is why some of the most immense suffering in my life is happening right now as I'm watching the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.

Because they endured that season.

We watched for years and it was horrible.

And then they rebuilt and it was supposed to be great.

But this year they're supposed to still be rebuilding, but they're at the very bottom and they're trying to hold on to something that is just not there.

They're stuck.

And church, I want you to understand this same thing happens to you and I when we are not willing to embrace death.

If we refuse the death that Jesus is talking about here, we lose life.

If we refuse to surrender, we miss the resurrection that Jesus is calling us to.

If, in other words, if we cling to what we have, we will never experience the transformation that Jesus wants to accomplish in us.

Life only comes through death.

And so, in a moment of honesty, can I ask you something right now?

Is it possible that you are spiritually stagnant and stuck because you are unwilling to die to yourself?

Is it possible that you are stuck in your walk with the Lord because you are terrified of losing what you have?

You're not growing.

You're just hanging on.

To put it in Jesus' words, you are unwilling to bury what needs to be buried in order that new life may grow.

To put it in Paul's words, like we read in Colossians 3, verse 5, you are unwilling to put to death what is earthly within you so that the life of the Holy Spirit can grow.

Colossians 3:5

Listen, loved ones, if growth is gonna happen, if life is gonna be experienced in us, the seed must fall.

Pride must be put to death.

Self-love must be put to death.

The old life has to be buried.

Why?

Because resurrection always happens on the other side of burial.

And so if we leave this message right now, if we leave the exposition of John 12 this morning without hanging on to one thing maybe that needs to die, I think we've wasted our time.

Think about that for a moment.

What is the one thing?

And I trust that, you know, like so often in these moments, the Holy Spirit is bringing that to mind.

Like you know, you've already had the conviction, but what you need is the boldness to stand up and to believe Jesus' promise that on the other side of the death of this thing, there is life.

What's the thing that needs to die today?

For some of you, it's a sin that you keep excusing.

For others, it's a relationship that you know is pulling you away from Jesus.

Whatever the Spirit has brought to your mind, that is the seed that Jesus is talking about here.

And Jesus is asking you to bury it.

Not because he wants to kill you, not because he just wants things to be hard for you, because he wants to bring you life.

So we ask ourselves in this moment, do we do we have the type of faith that can bring Jesus to the things in our life that we cling to so closely and say, Jesus, this is yours.

I'm gonna live without this now.

And trust Jesus that you are gonna bring life through this death.

Now this is where the tension gets even sharper for us because it's one thing to do that privately.

But what we just did was, you know, we did that in our own heart and in our own mind.

And that's relatively easy, isn't it?

You know, when no one sees in.

And yet what Jesus is getting to here is that the way that we know that that seed has truly died is that it happens publicly.

We choose to surrender publicly.

And that's what I want you to see fourth and lastly, is that we follow Jesus into death when we choose public surrender.

Now look at verse 37 with me.

John writes, though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe him.

Think about that for a moment.

Lazarus had been raised, they had watched.

Jesus healed the blind, raise the lame and the broken.

They were surrounded by all the evidence they needed.

They were at this very banquet because Lazarus was there, and yet they still refused to surrender.

And in verse 42, John gets right to the heart of why.

Nevertheless, even many 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 loved the glory that comes from man more than they than the glory that comes from God.

Listen, it is easy to believe privately.

But simple to refuse Jesus publicly.

And it's easy to identify with Jesus.

It's easy in a moment like we just had to say, listen, Jesus, this is the thing.

But then when it comes to the rubber hitting the road to say, I don't want anyone to know about it.

I don't want this to be a thing that gets public.

And Jesus is pointing at our lives right here and saying, Here, here's how you know that your surrender isn't true, that you want to keep it quiet.

You don't, you, you'll you'll give it to God, but you don't want to embrace the public loss that this might that might happen through it.

I mean, that's what's happening with the Pharisees.

They believe in Jesus, but I don't want to be kicked out of the synagogue.

Jesus, I want to give you this thing, but I don't want to live without, you know, pursuing money.

I don't want to live without the control I have.

I don't want to live without the comfort I have.

You know, I'll give it to you, but don't, but don't take it away from me publicly.

They wanted a private faith.

They wanted a hidden discipleship.

They wanted a secret Christianity.

They wanted a faith that costs them nothing.

And Jesus is looking at them and saying, listen, if your surrender is costless, you know that it's not true and it will not be accepted.

Look at verse 44.

Jesus cries out, he raises his voice publicly as this is happening secretly in our hearts and in the Pharisees' hearts.

Jesus cries out his voice into the air, and he says in verse 46, I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes me may not remain in darkness.

Jesus is unwilling to allow us to live in the darkness, to live in the hiding, to live in the image management, to live in the fear of people, to have a secret faith that no one knows about.

He is calling us into light, into obedience, into a public surrender of him.

And then in verse 48, Jesus says this the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

In other words, Jesus is saying this: there is a day coming where all will be exposed.

Loved one, do you know that?

You can live your life trying to hide your sin, but it will not work.

It will always be found out.

And there will be a day where you stand before the Lord and you are completely naked and exposed before him.

And Jesus looks to that day and he says, On the word that I've spoken today will judge him on that last day.

What you do with Jesus' word today and in your life will be revealed and evaluated before God.

And hidden belief will not hold up to the light of judgment.

It was never true surrender in the first place.

And Jesus is looking at our faith and pressing us to look at our own faith.

To say that private faith that never becomes public obedience is not genuine faith.

True faith shows itself in the open.

True faith is visible, it is seen.

You know, the good news for us this morning is that Jesus publicly went to the cross.

There's about nothing in history that was so public as the crucifixion of Jesus.

It was the most shameful thing that has ever happened in the history of humanity, and yet Jesus was hung there publicly, naked and exposed.

Not ashamed of you.

Not saving you secretly, saving you in public, exposed, rejected, mocked, beaten, so that you could be forgiven, made new, and brought into his life.

And what Jesus now calls you to is to respond with him, to say, listen, I will take that public death.

I will at times be the mockery of the world.

I will expose myself to brothers and sisters in Christ who will know me for who I really am.

Because I'm surrendering and I'm trusting in him.

The authorities believed, but they would not confess it because they love the approval of people more than the approval of God.

And I want you to know, loved one, that practically, as we think about this, I want you to understand that Christianity does not work privately.

It is not a private faith.

There is not a single example in the entirety of the New Testament of a Christian who is not connected to the local church.

Our growth in every way is a group project.

And what Jesus is saying here, I think it gets so practical.

Wherever you try to follow Jesus secretly, you will be spiritually stuck and in the dark.

Now that's really hard for us to hear in the 21st century because in the 21st century we love privacy, don't we?

And we want to be able to build lives where we can hide, where we can pretend, where we can manage our image.

And I want you to know that that's not new in the 21st century.

That what we're reading in John 12 is that the Pharisees were doing the same thing.

It was all image management, but the way of Jesus is public.

It's visible, it is costly.

Jesus is saying, to be a disciple, you must step out of the shadows and into the light.

Can I ask you this?

Because I care for you, because you are loved in this church.

Can I ask you this?

Are you known?

Are you known by people?

Do people know the depth of the darkness that you struggle with?

I can't help that so many of us are working just like the Pharisees to hide, to hide, to hide.

And what Jesus is doing this morning is calling us into the light and saying this, listen, you know, I hung naked and exposed so that you could come to me with all of your dirt, with all of your sin, with all of your shame, and know that there is nothing that you can bring to me for which I have not already died.

John 12 confronts us with a decision that every one of us must make.

Some in this passage will admire Jesus, some will avoid him, but only few will surrender to him.

The crowds, they they love the idea of the king as long as they served, as long as the king served their agenda.

The authorities, they believed, but they would not confess him because they loved the approval of the people more than the approval of God.

But Mary.

Mary poured out everything.

Because she saw that Jesus was worth more than anything she could ever hold on to.

And loved one, I want you to know that the only way to life is to follow Jesus into that death, into the death of self, into the death of control, into the death of secrecy, because resurrection life is found on the other side of surrender.

The question this morning isn't, do you believe in Jesus?

The question is, will you surrender?

What needs to die this morning?

What needs to be brought out into the light?

And loved one, if he was not ashamed to die on the cross for you, we don't need to be ashamed to be open in the light of him.

Could you pray with me this morning?

God, my prayer is really bold in light of the way that we often live.

God, that we would be a church that steps out from the shadows and into the light that is Jesus Christ.

And God, I know that if there are some in this room who have strength and boldness and courage right now, that they are on the brink of something amazing.

Lord, that they are willing to put to death the things that cling so closely to their sinful flesh and to surrender completely to you.

And so, God, we pray for your help in this moment.

Lord, we pray that that thing that maybe it's on our mind right now, that maybe we're our inner lawyer is even wrestling right now, saying, No, Lord, that can't be it, that cannot be the way.

God, I pray that that thing would be pressed so deeply into our minds that our convictions would be so strong that we would stand and be able to say, Lord, we surrender this to you.

God, it is yours.

Take it as painful as it is, so that I might lose my life, and that in losing it I might gain eternal life.

God, thank you for life.

Thank you for eternal life.

And we praise your name because of what you have provided.

You are a good king.

And we worship you in the name of your son.

Amen.

Could you stand and worship with me?