“My Dying for Your Salvation is also My Dying for Your Imitation”
John 12:25
9-17-17
Matthew 14:25–33
Peter began to sink when his faith shifted from the firmness of Jesus’ word to the instability of his circumstance.
Who enabled him to walk on the water initially? Jesus
Who enabled him to sink slowly in the water? Jesus
Jesus was loving Peter, the disciples and us…
It is always a gift when God lets us sink… Because sinking produces a cry to Jesus.
Lesson #2 from last week’s sermon: Jesus’ word is truer and stronger than what we see or feel, and when we doubt that, sometimes he graciously lets us sink to help us refocus.
“If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command that the church or the individual Christian is in a situation of danger or distress, then there is no need to fear.”
—CEB Cranfield
NOW REGARDING SEEDS- John 12:20-24
Difference between an unplanted seed and a planted seed. One has committed to bearing fruit. Doing what it was made for… Getting out of the bag… Getting out of the boat…
John 12:20–23
24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone NO FRUIT; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
This culture knew all about working and laboring with your hands. They understood that the new harvest was always the result of dying seeds.
The statement that if the seed does not die, but “remains alone” or by itself is unplanted, such a condition implies that a harvest is frustrated and can’t happen. The implication for Jesus was obvious: he had no choice but to accept his coming glorification (death-resurrection) even though it would be traumatic.
John 12:24-26
26If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant (diakonos) be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
The Semitic love for absolute contrasts in argument.
A Semitism is defined as a linguistic usage, expression or construction typical of a Semitic language appearing in another language.
Mark 10:42–45 Servant leadership…
“The gospel is not simply the story of “Christ, and Him crucified”, it is also the story of my own crucifixion. For the Bible tests me that I , too, was crucified on Christ’s cross. My old self was slain there, and my love affair with the world was crucified there too. —Milton Vincent
Galatians 5:24. “Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
So does it just end with the seed being planted? NO!!!
God WILL NOT LEAVE ME FOR DEAD, but will raise me similarly, if I would only allow myself to die. In God’s economy, death is the way to life.
Romans 6:6–7, Philippians 3:8, 10
The path to such power is paved with manydyings, and each state of resurrection is achieved with each incident of dying to myself and reckoning myself dead to sin.
Romans 6:11
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The more I contemplate the gospel, the more I understand that this “word of the cross” stands as a blueprint for my own life story.
Four Hard Things
1—Verse 24: the grain of wheat must die. “Unless the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die . . . “ This is hard.
2—Verse 25: Jesus calls us to hate our lives in this world. “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world . . . “ This is hard.
3—Verse 26a: Jesus calls us to follow him — on his Calvary road, leading to death. “If anyone serves me let him follow me . . . “ This is hard.
4—Finally, verse 26b: he calls us to serve him. “If anyone serves me.” To take the role of a waiter at his table to do his bidding, no matter what the demand or how lowly the status. This is hard.
Four Glorious Things
1—Verse 24: Yes the seed must die, but “if it dies it bears much fruit.” The death is not in vain. It is significant. It bears fruit.
2—Verse 25: Yes, if we love our life, we will lose it; and yes, we must hate our life in this world. But why? What will be the outcome? That we may keep it to eternal life. “He who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.” What we lay down for Christ he will put in our hands again with glory. You cannot out-sacrifice his resurrection generosity.
3—Verse 26a: Yes, we must follow him to Calvary. But with what outcome?“And where I am, there shall my servant be.” Jesus used those very words one other time (John 14:3), and he meant heaven: “I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also.” If we follow him to Calvary, we will be with him in glory.
4—Verse 26b: Yes, we must become his servants. But what does the Father do to his servants? “If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
So don’t miss the glory and the overflowing joy in this hard life of being a Christian.
We die;
we hate our lives in this world;
we follow Jesus on the Calvary road;
we become servants.
And when we do, what we find is that
We bear much fruit;
we keep our lives for eternal life;
we join Jesus where he is in glory;
the Father honors us.
Questions for Small Group
1-Read John 12:17-36
Regarding vs. 18- What was the nature of their motivation to find Jesus? How was it like or not like the response of the people who were fed in the miracle of the feeding of 5000 in John 6?
2-How is “getting out of the boat” in Matthew 14:28-29 similar to a seed dying in John 12:24
3-What is the likelihood of bearing much fruit while staying in the boat or not being planted as a seed in the ground and dying?
4-Why are Jesus’ words in John 12:23-26 hard? Why are they also glorious? Read Matthew 7:13. How does this verse coincide with the message of getting out of the boat and seeds dying by being planted?