Chapter BY Chapter

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

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John 12:20-29

 

“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.”  Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

 

Jesus replied, “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 only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces 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.

 

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

 

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.  Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

 

The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

 

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.  Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.”

 

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The first thing that we find in this passage that there are some Greeks that want to see Jesus.  Notice that these Greeks came up to worship at the festival.  The fact that the Greeks were allowed to do this shows us that it was acknowledged that salvation was meant for the Gentiles as well. Also, there are some factors that contributed to the Greeks being interested in Judaism in the first place.  Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world from the 3rd century BC until the 3rd century AD. Stoicism is predominantly a philosophy of personal ethics which is informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to happiness for humans is found in accepting this moment as it presents itself, by not allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, by using our minds to understand the world around us and to do our part in nature's plan, and by working together and treating others in a fair and just manner.  The Stoics taught that emotions resulted in errors of judgment which were destructive, due to the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will that is in accord with nature.  The Jews had the law that was given by God, it was very ethical and it also was based on principles and the ethical treatment of others.  In addition to that, Jesus taught a very high standard of ethics.  And now, Jesus was performing all these signs.  It is no wonder they wanted to see Jesus.  Would you have wanted to see Jesus in that time?

 

I have never met anyone that would not have wanted to see Jesus in that time. 

 

Now, these Greeks ask if they could see Jesus, and then Jesus gives an answer.  It never goes out and says then the Greeks saw Jesus.  Jesus seems to be avoiding the question by talking about a different topic rather than answering Phillip and Andrew directly. 

 

The answer is in how verse 23 starts.  Verse 23 starts with the word, “moreover.”  This is like saying, “Additionally.”

 

Before Jesus speaks in verse 23, this issue is resolved.  What Jesus says in verse 23 is in addition to the Greeks wanting to see Jesus.  The question of whether Jesus allowed the Greeks to see him is answered by the rest of the book.  In chapter 3 verse 16, God so loved the whole world that he gave his Son.  Jesus ministered to the Samaritans.  Some of the people that followed him in Galilee had to be Greeks.  Even the Pharisees in the last chapter said the whole world is following him.  So, by the time that we get to chapter 12, we find that some Greeks want to see Jesus.  What was Jesus’ answer?  OF COURSE THEY CAN!

 

Now the first thing that Jesus says to this crowd is that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Jesus knows every step in God’s plan.  Not only is he going to be crucified on the cross – and he knows this, but he will be raised from the dead and be glorified – and Jesus knows this too – without holding one doubt about it. 

 

Then Jesus gives an analogy.  Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a seed, but if it dies, it will produce many seeds.  It is essential for Jesus to die to further God’s plan.  Without it, the furtherance of God’s plan will not be accomplished. 

 

From this analogy, Jesus makes another analogy.  “Anyone that loves their life will lose it, while anyone that hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  What does this mean exactly?  That if you love life, you will lose your life?  No, but if you love your life, that is, if you think you are doing good and don’t need the atonement that Jesus is going to give, you will lose your life in eternity.  If you hate your life – if you think you are not doing so well, then you realize you need the gift of atonement, then – you will keep your life for eternity. 

 

Whoever serves Jesus must follow Jesus.  Does this mean that we must all die on the cross? 

 

It just means that we must value our life in the same way that Jesus did – that is with the same attitude, which is that our life belongs to him and we are here to fulfill his purpose for our lives. 

 

As a Christian, how do we know God’s purpose in our lives?

1. Read the Bible.

2. Follow Jesus’ example of godly living.

3. Obey Jesus’ Commands.

4. Obey Jesus’ commission to spread the gospel.

5. ​

6. Desire the things that God desires.

7. Assess the talents and abilities that we have to let God use.

8. Confer with other Christians.

9. Validate your decisions along the way.

10. Listen for answers to prayer.

    • When we get answers to prayers, do we hear a voice?

    • Mostly we get answers through circumstances.

    • Sometimes we do hear a voice or other miraculous things happen.

 

Each year in southern India, millions of fervent Hindu worshipers endure a dangerous trek up a holy mountain, called Sabarimala, to pay homage to the Hindu god Ayyappa. In the mid-1990s, a 15-year-old boy named Aji Kumar joined the treacherous journey to fulfill the vows his Hindu parents had made to their god.

 

Previously, the tedious worship of multiple gods proved unfulfilling for Aji. This pilgrimage, he hoped, would change that.

 

According to legend, Ayyappa, one of more than 30 million gods in the Hindu religion, is a protector from evil and giver of good fortune. In preparation for the trip, Aji fasted for 41 days. Weak and malnourished, the teenage boy hiked up the 3,000-foot mountain without shoes, in accordance with sacred tradition.

 

Aji was tired and afraid. Pilgrims literally fight each other to get to the shrine; in 1999 a stampede of worshipers killed 53 people.

 

Along the way, Aji bathed in the Pampa River, which is said to release a person from a lifetime of sins. When he finally reached the 18 stairs leading to the shrine, he was so exhausted that he dropped the sacred articles he was carrying, and a policeman had to help him.

 

“If you are a true God,” Aji prayed to Ayyappa, “then why didn’t you give me strength? Why didn’t you keep the sacred things from falling?”

 

For years, his family adhered to the meticulous Hindu traditions. They attended temple services and followed specific worship creeds. They routinely bathed, fed and garlanded the idols. But they felt no peace.

 

“We visited a number of temples and other holy places for deliverance and joy,” Aji says. “But what we received was only disappointment and hopelessness.”

 

Currently, Hinduism is the third-largest religion in the world. Hinduism can be traced back to ancient Indian seers who transmitted to their followers their ideas about ultimate truth. The earliest Hindu writings date from roughly 1500 B.C. There are a variety of sacred writings—the Vedas and Upanishads. The Code of Manu set down many prescripts for life, including the caste system—a social structure based on birth and wealth.

 

At one point, a Christian explained how Aji could know Jesus personally, how Christ came to set people free. But Aji continued to worship Hindu idols. When he found his mother reading the Bible one day, he was furious.

 

“We have enough gods and goddesses,” he told her, snatching the Bible away. “If our relatives come to know that we have received Jesus, they will desert us.”

 

Tradition says that if a Hindu does not obey the stringent requirements of his gods, sickness and calamity will afflict him. Suffering is explained through karma, the idea that a person carries the collective force of his actions.

 

Hinduism literally means “religion of India.” Currently, 82 percent of India’s population are professing Hindus. The religion is so tied to the heritage of India that the idea of worshipping only one God, like in Christianity, is offensive.

 

Aji belonged to a political group that persecuted Christians, interrupting church services and other Christian meetings. During the Hindu festival of Onam, Aji and others from the political group set out to sabotage a Christian meeting at a local college. Armed with sticks and stones, they planned to disconnect the sound system’s power supply. Before they could cause a disturbance, a speaker announced, “Who is Aji Kumar, who has come to disrupt the meeting?

“You have tried many times to do such things and torture the people of God,” the man said. “If you give your life to Jesus today, He will love you, and give you joy and peace of mind.”

 

The speaker continued, listing specific sins Aji had committed. Aji was astonished—and angry. He didn’t want to listen to the man and was embarrassed in front of his friends.

“Don’t be afraid,” the speaker continued. “Stand up, Aji Kumar.”

 

Aji felt a sensation of extreme heat in his body, “like I was sitting on fire,” he says. His heart tugged at him. Finally, he stood up, joined the speaker, and prayed and received Christ.

Soon after, Aji began studying the Bible. As a result of his faith, several in his family abandoned their idols and received Jesus. Today, Aji works as a missionary in India.

 

Hinduism is a difficult religion for Western Christians to classify. With a kaleidoscope of gods, there is no central creed or founder, and no universal text on which the faith is based. Instead, it is a religion of relativism, where few Hindus worship the same way. This actually appeals to many Americans, explaining why more than 1 million practice some form of the religion stateside.

 

Westernized Hinduism is often philosophical. It may include practices such as meditation, yoga and rituals. “Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion,” says Madasamy Thirumalai, the author of Sharing Your Faith with a Hindu.

 

For Aji, it took a personal encounter with God to bring him out of that way of life. “In Christianity, I found there is a living God who loves me,” he says.

 

REMEMBER THIS:  God will lead step by step, not in one giant leap.  Proverbs 16:9 “A man plans his course, but the Lord directs his every step.”

 

• - - -

 

I love the story of a man named Ira. His story is the perfect example of what happens when you never give up. By the time he was 12, both of his parents had died. He and his brothers had no choice but to take care of themselves. So they got jobs working at a ranch.

Through hard work and refusing to give up, Ira eventually got married and saved enough to buy a small ranch of his own. He kept dreaming, staying focused and making good decisions.

He bought a small grocery store, which turned into a big success. But he didn’t stop there either — he then sold the store to purchase a large 20,000 acre ranch in West Texas.

 

Not long after this big move, the Great Depression hit with full force and Ira fell behind on his payments. The bank threatened to foreclose and take away everything he’d worked so hard for through the years. At the last moment, just days before Ira lost everything, massive reservoirs of oil were discovered on his ranch!

Instead of losing everything, Ira received more than enough resources to bless his entire family and many more throughout his area. He provided jobs for people in need, built schools, children’s homes, Boy Scout camps, Salvation Army centers and developed a town that still exists today.

I love this story because his life was suddenly transformed.

Now I’m not saying that you’re going to find oil on your property or instantly become a millionaire! But what I am saying is that no matter how dark things look, God can turn things around in a single moment.

We all just enjoyed the changing of seasons, from winter to spring. Spring symbolizes new birth, a fresh start. No matter how cold and harsh your winter might have seemed, or even been, I want to encourage you to see your new fresh start in God. This spring, let this truth take root in your heart and mind: In a single moment, God can make all things new for you.

It all starts with your mind and attitude. Even if you don’t physically see this change right now, God can transform your heart and thinking, giving you peace that the world can’t give you. It’s a sustaining peace. It’s hope. Hope carries you through as you wait for your completing moment.

Ephesians 1:19–20 says: “I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead...” (NLT) Think about it! The Bible says that God gives the same power that raised Jesus from the dead to those who believe Him.

He triumphed over every force of darkness, disease and destruction. And He’s promised to give this same victory to everyone who puts their trust in Him!

God’s incredible power is available for you, but you have to do your part and believe in Him and by faith, receive what He is offering and persevere in your hope!

When you face challenges and tough times, do you focus on the negative and begin to complain about how unfairly you are being treated? When you give in to those thoughts, you stop the transformation process.

When you are filled with doubt and unbelief, God’s miracle for you is put on hold. And it stays on hold until you begin to walk again in obedience and put your complete trust in Him

When you stay positive, full of hope, and do not give up on God, He can take any situation in your life, any circumstance, regardless of the economy or what the world might say, and turn things around in a single moment for your benefit. Your life can change in a moment just like Ira’s and just like the disciples — who went from being alone and afraid to boldly proclaiming the message of Christ to every nation, making an impact on the entire world!

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “...anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT)

No matter what you are facing today, I want to encourage you...

When you decide to not give up and put your whole trust in Christ, you pave the way for greater things to happen for you, in you and through you!

We are all hearing the negative reports about the current economic conditions; I hear them too. But in order for us to overcome these challenges, it’s important to know what God’s Word says about it.

His Word promises us in Philippians 4:19: “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (AMP). God promises us that He is able to meet every need.

Remember, no matter what challenges you’re facing, God will make all things new in your life!

But it’s up to you and your choice! Keep choosing to stay in hope, believing for God to make things new, in His time. Remember, if we don’t give up, in due time we will be richly rewarded!

 

Do Christians become angels when they die? 

 

In Matthew 22:30, Jesus said we will be LIKE the angels in heaven.  Here in John 12:26, Jesus says, “Where I am my servant will also be.”

 

So, Jesus’ promise is not that we will be angels, but we will be LIKE angels.

 

One day I had an assurance of this promise.  It was October 19, 2013.  It was more than ten years after my dad passed away.  When the weather is good, I like to take a walk from my apartment to the bridge across the river and back.  On this day, it was cloudy, and the clouds were touching the tree tops.  As I walked down the street, I heard a voice coming from the clouds.  It was distinctly my own dad’s voice.  It was so loud that all the windows in the buildings all around me shook.  A man that was sweeping the steps at the gas station there was startled and looked around.  The voice said, “Hey buddy!  I see that you are out for your morning stroll.  Keep up the good work.”

 

With this, we can be assured that the promise is being fulfilled when Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.  My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

 

Jesus IS keeping this promise, and he will keep ALL his promises.