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. 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. (John 12:20-33 NIV)
It was Holy Week. Jerusalem was packed with people for the Passover feast. And some of them had a great desire. Did you catch what it was? “We would like to see Jesus.” Isn’t that a great desire? There was nothing they wanted more than to see Jesus. It’s good for me to hear that. My family and I just got back from vacation in North Carolina. You can imagine what was on my mind: The beach. Family. Relaxing. How often aren’t those the types of things that we desire more than anything else? “I can’t wait for vacation! I can’t wait to go to a game in person! I can’t wait to eat in restaurants!” “We would like to see Jesus.” Their words call me back. “I can’t wait to see Jesus!” Isn’t that a great desire? I’m thankful that you today want to see Jesus too.
Those Greeks who wanted to see Jesus went to the right guy—Philip. What do you know about Jesus’ disciple Philip? Me neither. In fact, we don’t know much about Philip at all. He doesn’t preach any sermons in the Bible. He doesn’t do any miracles. But there is one special thing Philip was good at doing. Know what it was? Bringing people to Jesus. Philip is the one who found his friend Nathaniel and told him, “Come and see” and brought him to Jesus (John 1:46). Could that be your role in life? Not a preacher or teacher. Not a miracle worker. Someone who brings people to Jesus? We need more Philips. People bringing people to Jesus.
So Jesus can go into action. Philip brought these Greeks to Jesus. Now it was time for Jesus’ big sales pitch, right? He had some new customers. Some new potential followers. Now was Jesus’ chance to sweep them off their feet. To make them big promises. What would Jesus say to convince them to follow him? He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
And we say, “Yes! Glory!” Isn’t that what we want? It’s March Madness: How many of us have dreamed of making the winning shot, and the crowd goes wild and your teammates mob you. Glory! Or as a virus rages around the world, you develop a vaccine that saves lives and stops the spread. Glory! Or that position at your company is open, and you apply for it and get it and finally bring the changes that are needed. Glory! This is exactly what we want! And when did Jesus say glory was coming? “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” When? Now. “The hour has come.” It was time for Jesus to be glorified! This was going to be good…
Except, Jesus then explained what “being glorified” meant: “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.” Huh? When Jesus talked about glory, he was actually talking about dying. Like a seed falls to the ground and dies, Jesus was going to die. Life only comes through death. Don’t you want to take Jesus aside and say, “What? This is your sales pitch, Jesus? ‘Want to see me? I’m going to die…’ Jesus, you’ve got to do better than that!” But Jesus looks at glory differently. When Jesus talked about his “hour,” he was talking about his death. Jesus’ whole focus was on dying. And we want to say, “Jesus, do you really think that’s going to attract people to you?”
Actually, it gets worse. “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.” This idea of dying isn’t just for Jesus. Life only comes through death for you too. You want to see Jesus? Then you better not love your life, because “anyone who loves their life will lose it.” You want to see Jesus? Then you need to be prepared to walk in his footsteps of suffering, because “Whoever serves me must follow me.” In fact, Jesus tells us to hate life in this world. To not love anything more than Jesus. To be willing to give up everything—even life itself—for Jesus. That’s Jesus’ sales pitch.
What do you think? You know what I think? This sounds really hard! I don’t like it. Anyone who loves their life in this world will lose it? Really? I can’t help but think about the stimulus check we just received. Politics aside, do you know how I feel when people give me money? I like it. In fact, I love it! What about you? $1400 per person. What are you going to get? Are the options spinning in your mind like they are in mine? Of course, every dollar we receive from anyone is a blessing from God. But in the midst of God’s blessings, we need Jesus’ caution: Don’t love life in this world. Because I do. I always want more—of anything. Have more. See more. Do more.
Jesus’ words show me my heart. You know what my heart’s constant prayer is? “Glorify me.” Life only comes through death? No way! Deep down, I long for an easy life. I want people to praise me for being a Christian—and for lots of other things too. I want to be on the winning side of everything. So here’s what I’m silently asking God: “Glorify me.” Remember my desires? Vacation, family, relax… “God, glorify me!” I don’t think you’re any different. You probably have different wants and desires. But deep down? “God, glorify me!” The proof is that when God doesn’t follow my plans, I get mad. Or I get discouraged. Or I get hopeless. “Glorify me!”
Here’s the danger: “Anyone who loves their life will lose it.” If you love stuff, you will ultimately lose your life. Because all those loves will pull your heart away from Jesus. If you sacrifice your relationship with Jesus for your relationship with that person, you will ultimately lose your life in heaven. If you think your happiness depends on being in that place or in that position, you will ultimately lose everything you’re striving for. “Anyone who loves their life will lose it.” True life comes only through dying to the things of this world. But we hold on to this life with all of our might and avoid suffering at all costs. Watch out! “Anyone who loves their life will lose it.”
This is why we need to see Jesus. In Holy Week, in the face of suffering, listen to Jesus’ prayer: “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 world. Father, glorify your name!’” Jesus had a burning desire: To glorify God. How? There was a very specific purpose why Jesus came—for “this hour.” Remember what Jesus’ “hour” was? His death. We try to avoid suffering at all costs, but Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus came to die on the cross. He came to glorify God by his death. Let that soak in. “It was for this very reason I came to this world. Father, glorify your name!”
At that moment, a voice boomed from heaven: “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Hopefully you’re thinking, “This has happened before.” There are two other occasions when God the Father’s voice boomed down from heaven. Remember what they were? When Jesus was baptized. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the Father’s voice came from heaven, “This is my Son whom I love…” (Matthew 3:17). And… on Transfiguration Day. As Jesus showed his glory, the Father’s voice came from heaven, “This is my Son whom I love…” (Matthew 17:5). Now here it was again: “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” God was glorified through Jesus’ preaching and teaching. God was glorified through the miracles that Jesus did. But God would be glorified even more through Jesus’ suffering and death for you and me on the cross.
And Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.” As Jesus’ disciples watched Jesus suffer and die, they shouldn’t think for a second that God was losing. Jesus was going to look like the most unglorious person in the world. He was going to be arrested and beaten and nailed to a cross. It was going to look like a disaster. Like everything was going wrong. But it wasn’t. God was glorifying his name. God was saving the world. God was defeating sin and death and the devil. “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.”
We have an upside-down Savior. Jesus glorified God in the strangest of ways. Not by being lifted up on a pedestal. By being lifted up on a cross. That cross of Jesus is how Jesus drew all people to himself. Because there at the cross, Jesus forgave every one of our sins that drive us away from God. There at the cross, Jesus broke down every barrier that separates us from God. You are forgiven! When Jesus died for the sins of the world, God was glorified. Why? Because no other god has ever done this—died for his people! No other god has loved the world so much to give up his one and only Son. No other god has ever promised eternal life by grace. You want to know what makes our God stand out? The cross of Jesus. There is no god like our God. God’s greatest glory is found in how he gives life through the death of his Son on the cross.
Because life comes through death. Remember? A seed needs to die before it can live and produce many more seeds. On our vacation, we went to Congaree National Park in South Carolina. It has the tallest trees in the eastern United States. Towering pines that reach up to the skies. Massive cypress trees whose roots spread out in every direction. How did that forest start? With one seed. With a seed that died in the ground and then grew up as a tree and produced more seeds and more trees… You know how it works. Just like Jesus. Jesus’ death brought life—eternal life—to all who believe in him. Life comes through death. $1400 pales in comparison to what Jesus has given to us. Vacations are nice, but they end. Heaven doesn’t. God’s love doesn’t.
You see, glorifying God doesn’t depend on you and me doing great things. Jesus already did all the great things! God is glorified through Jesus’ cross. Just like God is glorified through the crosses that you and I carry in Jesus’ name. When Christians confess their sins and trust in Jesus, God is glorified. When Christians lift high the cross of Jesus as the only answer to sin, God is glorified. When Christians endure persecution for God’s sake, God is glorified. When Christians face sickness and death with hope in Jesus’ promise of heaven, God is glorified. When Christians bring people to Jesus, like Philip did, God is glorified. Because life comes through Jesus’ death.
So may Jesus’ prayer be our prayer: “Father, glorify your name.” Whatever cross you face today, whatever suffering God has put in your way, “Father, glorify your name.” “God, I don’t know how this is going to go, but glorify your name.” “God, this isn’t my plan, but glorify your name.” “God, I don’t know how I’m going to make it through, but glorify your name.” This is how glory works with God: Joy in the midst of suffering. Peace through pain. First the cross, then the crown. Life through death. Through it all: “We would like to see Jesus.” Today and every day.
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