“Discipleship: Die to Live” (John 12:20–26)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 12:20–26

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: January 28, 2024

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

I’ve been thinking a lot about books and stories I’ve enjoyed, and I came back around to C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Some of you have watched the movies, which always leave some room for improvement in the minds of book lovers. One of the parts that hasn’t captured in film, though, was the final book of the series, The Last Battle.

In the story, everyone hears that there’s a problem in Narnia and seek to return. That is, all of them except Susan. She is no longer counted among the friends of Narnia. The narrative presents her as having lost her belief and interest in Narnia and Aslan, having become more concerned with worldly and superficial pursuits, such as clothes and parties. She has essentially “grown out” of it. It was one of the saddest aspects of the story.

She illustrates an unhappy reality in this world — some people can have convictions, coming to Christ with excitement and vigor, but over time become entangled again in the distractions and pursuits of the world. An example of this in Scripture would be a man named Demas; Paul mentions him in Colossians 4:14 as being in his group with Luke, engaging in ministry. However, in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul says Demas deserted him, “having loved this present world.” Demas became fascinated with the wider world, eventually abandoning the ministry and possibly even his belief in the Lord.

These are examples of disciples, of learners, who forsake their teaching. We know that, while many disciples stay, others leave, and we’ve seen examples of that here in the Book of John. Still others have never even known Jesus Christ and are coming for the first time, but they need to know what they’re facing.

Disciples must value the Lord above all else. Only this is true discipleship. So, as we go through this passage, then, we’ll see that we must approach Christ as disciples, understand Christ’s mission as disciples, and value Christ above all as disciples (vv. 25–26). Let’s consider the first of these.

First, Approach Christ as Disciples (vv. 20–23)

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.

We’ve considered in this chapter both the anointing of Jesus at Bethany and his triumphal entry. Although the text seems to hint this is the same day, it may not be the case. The word translated “now” in v. 20 is an extremely common conjunction which can often indicate that time’s passed. Various gospel harmonizations breakdown the events of this final week slightly differently, but this does seem to be the next day.

Regardless of the day, who were these people? A few have thought that these might be Jews of the dispersion — the diaspora spread out among the Gentiles — and that these Jews were Hellenized or had adopted Greek culture. However, the best indications are that they are simply Greeks, actual Gentiles who had come to the feast to worship. There were a couple of groups of Gentiles who worshipped along with the Jews: one which had converted to Moses, and the other which, not yet following circumcision, were known simply as the God-fearers (cf. Acts 8:27; 13:26; 17:4).

Unconverted Gentiles were allowed into the first courtyard of the temple but no further, under penalty of death. As one commentary notes, “Warning notices were posted on the barrier (‘the dividing wall of hostility’, Eph. 2:14) that separated the inner courts from the court of the Gentiles. Not even the Roman Governor of Syria, Vitellius, dared ignore the prohibition or test its sanction when he attended the feast seven years later (March ad 37; cf. Jos., Ant. xviii. 122).” Perhaps these Gentiles were in that outer court when Jesus cleansed the temple for the second time (which John doesn’t record here), sparking their interest in the one concerned about the pure worship of the Gentiles.

There’s a great irony in their coming to Jesus. First, it serves as a foil for the Sanhedrin. As one study notes, “At the very moment when the Jewish authorities virulently plotted to kill Him, Gentiles began to desire His attention.” There’s also a corporate foreshadowing here, for as Paul says in Romans 11:25, a partial hardening will come upon the Jewish nation until the fullness of the Gentiles. Here, the Gentiles are coming to Christ!

It also signals the next stage of Jesus’s ministry. Jesus has already said He has sheep of another fold (John 10:16), though the disciples did not understand that yet. The next stages in ministry will include the hated Samaritans, as we saw with the woman at the well, as well as the Gentiles. However, Christ is reserving both until after His ascension back to the right hand of glory. Book of Acts records the fulfillment of this goal.

For now, let’s consider how they approach Jesus. Keep in mind that there could be anywhere between one and two million people in Jerusalem at this time, and many of them would likely crowd near Jesus to see what He’ll do or say next. So, either out of humble respect (they refer to Philip as “sir”), or due to a lack of an alternative due to the masses, these Greeks seek out one of His disciples to request some time with Him.

They pick Philip, a disciple with a Greek name. The text notes that he is “from Bethsaida of Galilee,” which may be significant to their own origin point. Perhaps they picked Philip specifically because they saw some kinship in him. The text doesn’t say specifically, though — they might have just grabbed the first confirmed disciple they could find!

Either way, Philip first finds Andrew. We see something of circles of influence within the disciples, where Philip was in more of an outer circle and Andrew in an inner circle. Philip wants advice before taking these Greeks straight to Jesus. Why?

We’re not told exactly, but we can assume he was a sensible man who had his reasons. One commentary says, “Since crowds of people probably wanted to speak with Jesus, the disciples may have tried to do some screening (cf. Luke 18:15–16).” Another notes that Jesus had often said through His ministry that He was there for the nation of Israel, and that Jesus speaking now to the Gentile might further provoke the Jewish leadership. So, Philip goes to Andrew for help.

What lessons should we draw from these verses? It’s odd that some have tried to make this about praying other people, like dead disciples and saints, when our Lord no where commands this of us. This does demonstrate that, as Philip went to Andrew, Christ’s ministers can go to one another for help. This also illustrates that, if you don’t know Christ, get ahold of someone who does and ask them to lead you to Him. It’s not that you need a minister or an evangelist to get you in good with Christ (you can approach Him on your own as countless others do), but you may have questions about Jesus you want answered.

One of the chief questions you should have is why Jesus is here. If you are going to be a disciple of Jesus, you should know what His mission is. That brings us to our next point and Jesus’s response:

Second, Understand Christ’s Mission as Disciples (vv. 23–24)

And Jesus answered them, saying, “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.”

Now, you might be fairly confused about what we just read. After all, the Greeks request an audience with Jesus, and He starts talking about time, glorification, and agriculture. What is happening?

Well, He isn’t ignoring anyone. As one commentary notes, “The Lord’s response is directed neither to Jews or Gentiles, but to all who choose to follow Him.” This answer must be understood by all true disciples of Christ.

First, He says, “The hour has come.” The first time He says this in this Gospel. It’s true that we read about His hour or time not having yet arrived (John 2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20). Here, however, Jesus says the time is here, that the hour has come, and we’ll be reminded throughout the rest of this Gospel of this fact (v. 27; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1).

What time has come? He says that it is the hour “for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Specifically, based on the immediate context and the rest of the Gospel account, this applies to His death. Now, that may seem counterintuitive: How can the Lord’s death glorify Him? Even the others ask about this paradoxical reality in v. 34.

We might think of Jesus being glorified through rising from the dead and ascending to heaven. Yet, that doesn’t happen without first His humiliation. It is through the cross that He can offer us salvation, and it is through His death that He can pay the penalty for our sins. Without His death, we could not live.

This is where His glory begins to grow, like a fresh sprout from the ground. We see the importance of this image as we begin the next verse, for Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you.” He sets up His solemn statements in that way, and then He gives that agricultural picture: “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” This is a picture Paul borrows later when he explains that nothing sown comes to life unless it dies (1 Cor. 15:36), and in this case, Jesus is the seed which must die to bring life.

There would be no salvation for Jews or Greeks if Jesus did not die. There would be no New Covenant. There would be no church. There would be no eternal life for anyone in the Old or New Testaments. If Jesus did not come to die, He could not bring about this bountiful harvest of souls. We would have no hope.

So, this is the important mission that all Christ’s disciples must see. Many reject Jesus on the basis that He had to die for them; they want to work their own way into glory. Yet, it is only through the glory of the cross — not our own glory — that we can have salvation. Jesus died (and rose again) to become the Lord of the dead and the living (Rom. 14:9).

Jesus is saying that one must die to live. That is the great paradox. As Matthew Henry notes,

He fell to the ground in his incarnation, seemed to be buried alive in this earth, so much was his glory veiled; but this was not all: he died. This immortal seed submitted to the laws of mortality, he lay in the grave like seed under the clods; but as the seed comes up again green, and fresh, and flourishing, and with a great increase, so one dying Christ gathered to himself thousands of living Christians, and he became their root.

Salvation is His mission. It comes through His death: He died that we might live. Yet, this doesn’t mean He died to give us better lives; disciples of Christ must count how costly it may be to follow Jesus, as we see next.

Third, Value Christ Above All as Disciples (vv. 25–26)

“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

In a sense, Jesus continues to talk about Himself here. He is the one who did not love His life in this world. He was a man of sorrows, and He looked forward to the coming age. It was because of His obedience and lack of love for the things of this world that we can know salvation.

Yet, He is also subtly shifting to speak of disciples here. Consider how a person might love his life or her life here. Even Christians in church might do this as they think less about the Lord and His Word and more about where they are going to eat after the service or what they are going to watch on TV. Unbelievers can do it by valuing their time outside of church, loving their lives of disobedience as they pursue all the pleasures that the weekend can afford them.

Now, I don’t want you to feel guilty for the wrong things, so please understand. We’re not talking about enjoying things God created to be enjoyed or getting excited about a big event coming up in life — praise God for those things and enjoy them. Rather, Jesus is condemning a prioritizing worldliness over godliness, finding treasure only here on earth rather than in heaven. This is living for self rather than the Lord.

We are entertainment-saturated people. Yet, as Matthew Henry says here, the religion of Christ is “to wean us from this world, by setting before us another world.” No one can be a disciple of Christ if they are constantly wandering away from Him after every shiny thing they see.

By contrast, we should seek to “hate” our lives. Now, there are people who say they hate themselves, and there may be a germ of truth that they could get out of that; usually, though, they mean they hate something about themselves they wish could change so they could fit in better with the world. This isn’t about hating life, becoming depressive or anything like that. Rather, this is about hating life in this age, seeing the sin and corruption all around and wanting that to vanish.

We could go back to the word prioritization. Some people would say money should be a priority, but most of us see that as an excuse for greed. Some might say something sounding good, like family should be our priority; Jesus says the shocking words in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” True disciples of Christ value Him above all else, even life itself.

Many would call that hatred, even today — people have made an idol out of loving oneself. However, Jesus calls us to treasure something above our own will, following to the point of discomfort and even sacrifice. One might have the natural drive for self-preservation, which would include not identifying with Christ in this world, but the one serving and following Him will even sacrifice his own life in the cause of Christ.

We must be willing to follow Him, even to death. That’s hard to think about here and now. There are places in this world where unbelievers will murder you for following Christ, even if you are a child. While that kind of persecution is rare in the United States, there are people who will mock you and shun you for going to church, reading the Bible, and doing what the Lord commands you to do. You may even lose opportunities in the future. You must choose, though — do you value your life and your comforts, or are you willing to do what people would see as foolish and self-hating, and follow Jesus Christ no matter what?

Jesus comforts us. He says that the people who choose to hate their lives here will have assurance of eternal life. This does not mean that we earn salvation through our works. Jesus has already made it clear that the work of God is to believe in Him (John 6:29) and that by believing, one has eternal life, promising to raise that one up on the last day (v. 40). However, the one who comes to Christ is transformed so much that he will serve and follow Jesus to the point of hating one’s own life. Indeed, there are signs that follow conversion that help to increase our confidence that our salvation is kept to eternal life.

This is about serving Christ, of course. Disciples follow, as v. 26 says. There are some who say they serve Christ, but they don’t follow Him. They don’t put their sin to death within their members to ensure that He’s their ultimate focus. They don’t want to obey all the things He commands, denying some of His words by their actions or their vain speculations, all while claiming to serve Him in spirit rather than in letter. These are the believers who can rationalize their lives in this world, and they can keep them quite comfortably here.

However, if you truly follow Christ, you will have some suffering and discomfort in this world. You may even follow Christ in death. Yet, Jesus says in v. 26 that you can know you’ll be right there with Him. You can also know that the Father will honor you! The question is whether heaven is your true treasure rather than the things of earth.

Conclusion

A young reader of the Chronicles of Narnia series named Martin wrote C. S. Lewis in 1957 because he was concerned for Susan’s fate. Lewis replied to him, explaining, “The books don’t tell us what happened to Susan. She is left alive in this world at the end, having by then turned into a rather silly, conceited young woman. But there’s plenty of time for her to mend and perhaps she will get to Aslan’s country in the end... in her own way.” This caring letter was written not just by an author to a young fan, but by a man who spent many years as an atheist before finally coming to Christ.

It’s difficult to keep our priorities straight, especially when new experiences come along. These Greeks (as well as the Jews) must understand that before following Jesus. Discipleship calls us to deny ourselves, sometimes even to the point of death, if we’re going to be His disciples.

Are you willing to turn your back on pursuing this life for the true joys of following Christ? Are you willing to put your sins at His feet? Are you willing to follow Him even if your family and friends mistakenly think you hate them? These are the hard questions of discipleship, but at the end of the age, there is far greater joy and honor in Christ than in anything this old world has to offer!

What about if you’re afraid you’ve loved life here too much and did not hate it enough? You can know that Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement in this regard. We are to follow His example and strive to keep this life in proper perspective with eternity. Yet, never forget to trust in the good news of the gospel, that our salvation is ultimately secure in Jesus Christ alone.