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John 12:20-33
As I look back over my life, I’ve seen a great change in farming methods in Pembrokeshire. When I grew up there were small farms of 6 to 8 cows, two churns of milk and people made a living. Unbelievable! I’d hate to imagine how industrial it has all become. The size of equipment has changed. The entrances to fields have changed in size – today they are wide double gates to allow in all the machinery. Yet, there is consistency, there is still a miraculous way God has in providing seed for harvest. The wonder of it all has not changed – a seed falls into the ground and there it germinates and grows. From that dying seed, shoots come and in time there is a harvest. Do you like grapes? Some grapes have seed in them, some don’t. How on earth do you get seedless grapes? Some oranges have pips, some are without pips. How do they do this? The interesting thing is this – when God created all things, the fruit was created with seed in it. They would be planting for a new generation. The same mystery, the same wonder is at work – the seed falling into the ground and from that dying seed, harvest comes.
Jesus speaks about this. This was an interesting time in his ministry, when he was approaching the last week of his life, half of the chapters in John’s gospel are to do with the last week of Jesus life. The emphasis is on the last week, building up to the cross.
We have this incredible statement of seed falling into the ground and dying. The Greeks asked to see Jesus and meet with Him, to know more about Him. “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20-21). This was the request of the Greeks via Philip, who was himself from a Greek background, and Andrew. John doesn’t tell us if they met. Jesus then spoke about Him falling into the ground as a seed, to die. Maybe this was how the harvest would reach the Greek nation and all nations?
John spoke after about ‘the hour.’ “Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:22-23). At this point in His ministry, Jesus says the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. It was for this purpose that He kept Himself free from sin, to offer Himself as a sacrifice on the cross. The route, the plan, would bring Him to glory and all who believe on him.
So, this background of a Greek request and His hour coming, has a double act application. Firstly, it has to do with Jesus’ own life. He would have to lay down His life, to go to the cross, to be willing to offer Himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. Because He did this, He was raised again. The harvest is being collected. Without this, there would be no harvest. He offered himself as a perfect sacrifice, that we might have peace with God, forgiveness of all sins. He speaks about His own death and harvest.
Secondly, He speaks about you and me and our willingness to die to self, no longer relying on our own good works – which will never manage it. We have to submit to the way God has purposed for us. We need to confess our sins and trust in the one He sent to be the propitiation of sin. We have to daily deny ourselves and follow Him. We need to set aside our own purposes and to seek to lift up His name. Are you seeking Him? Do you know Him as your Lord and saviour? God will honour you for your faithfulness and sacrifices, what you go through for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus was troubled. “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.” (John 12:27). He knew the path to glory was via the way of suffering, of sorrow, of enduring the cross, of the anguish of the cross that lay ahead of Him. He is the God man – fully God, fully man. These were real concerns for Him, what it would mean to be separated from His Father. They had been in perfect unity, but because He bore our sins on the cross, He was separated from His Father. He was punished in our place. This was the anguish. Did He turn away? Certainly not! “But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” (John 12:27b).
I don’t know what’s ahead for you, what hardships might come your way, but we have a Father in heaven who will keep us, who will sustain us, and who will bring us to glory, “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. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:27-28).
A voice came from heaven. This reminds us of the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” (John 12:30-31). There was a spiritual battle. Jesus was not just working with the antagonism of religious leaders He met, there was spiritual warfare going on. Yet he overcame the evil one, through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with spiritual forces at work. We need the spiritual armour that God provides. Through faith in Him, we too will be overcomers. These attacks from the evil one are often associated with times of blessing or post blessing. Sometimes, these attacks come before blessing. Struggles and opposition come and through overcoming them, blessings come. ‘Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.’
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” (John 12:32). Not every person will be saved. Those who believe, who trust and come the way of the cross, through repentance and faith, will be saved. Through the cross all are saved. “Lifted up from the earth.” What did He mean? The way to glory was through the cross, being lifted up to the cross. The Jews stoned people to death. They knew nothing of crucifixion. The Romans crucified. The crucified one was lifted up. Jesus said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Isaiah 53:1-13 is something that you would normally reserve for Good Friday. I see the image of a seed and harvest here,
“He shall see the labour of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.”
(Isaiah 53:11).
He will be satisfied seeing the fruit because of the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross.
There is a harvest going on all around us, not just a harvest of the land, but a harvest of people. In other parts of the world that is great reaping. We continue to sow the seed, the seed of the gospel. I pray the Lord will bless you here at Penuel and other churches tonight. May you be encouraged to keep sowing with joy.
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 