Redemption... God's Plan

Father, glorify Your name...

As we come to this special week, I want to encourage you to spend some extra time reading the stories from the gospels about the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. To try to unpack every story and give it proper due, would take more time than we have to give to it. In the book of John alone, the best part of eight chapters focus on about four or five days leading up to Jesus’ death, and even seven chapters on the last day of His life.

Leading up to today’s Scripture, there was a dinner at Bethany given in Jesus’ honour. Lazarus was reclining at the table, Martha was serving, and Mary came with an expensive pint of nard, which is about a 1/2 a liter. She broke it and poured it on Jesus’ feet. Then she proceeded to wipe His feet with her hair.

At this Judas Iscariot could see a year’s wages literally being poured out right before his very eyes. What a shame! What a travesty! What a waste! What a lost opportunity.

Judas claimed he was thinking about the poor, but John said that he was a thief, and would help himself from what was put in the money bag.

John 12:7 NLT

7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.

By this time Jesus had been ministering for about three years. He had done many great things and His fame was spreading. Many were leaving the customs of the chief priests to follow Him.

Jesus was in the town where He had raised Lazarus from the dead, and a large crowd had gathered to see both Jesus and Lazarus. Something needed to be done. Even if it meant the death of Lazarus to stop this movement.

Let’s bring some context to this. Passover is in a few days. People are coming into Jerusalem from all over to celebrate the Passover feast. It’s a great celebration.

Jesus is in Bethany but has plans to enter Jerusalem the next day.

John 12:12–15 NIV

12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

John gives the least detail, but gives enough. Many had been spreading what Jesus was doing, and many wanted to see Him. They are looking for this king to come and liberate them from the rule of the Roman Empire.

The crowd is quoting some of what is found in Psalm 118. This is what the Psalmist wrote.

Psalm 118:19–29 NIV

19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

They didn’t understand that their king would hang on a cross and die in just a few short days. Even the disciples didn’t understand, but God was going to fulfill the plan that would bring glory to HIs name.

it was on what we call Palm Sunday that lambs would be chosen for Passover. Jesus came through the same gate, our Passover Lamb.

Three years earlier John the Baptist proclaimed.

John 1:29 (NIV)

29 ...“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Even though Jesus had explained to His disciples several times that He must be handed over to sinners, the disciples didn’t understand it. Maybe they hoped against hope, not understanding the will of God.

On this day, Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt. He received honour and praise for which He was worthy.

He is worthy of our praise. Let’s exalt His name together.

Let’s read our Scripture today.

John 12:20–28 NIV

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 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. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “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.”

In verse 23, Jesus replied that

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified...

Jesus had spent 33 years on earth and His purpose was to bring redemption to mankind.

When Jesus was twelve years old, His parents found Him at the temple, His hour had not yet come. When jesus was at the wedding at Cana of Galilee, and they ran out of wine, He said His hour had not yet come. Now the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry were coming to a close , His hour had finally come for Him to be glorified. Jesus would be glorified in His death and resurrection.

Jesus uses an illustration of

A kernel of wheat...

John 12:24 NIV

24 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.

Farming has changed a lot over the last 2000 years. It has changed a lot in the last 50 years, but there is one thing that hasn’t changed, unless a seed dies, it cannot produce a harvest.

It’s very common to take seed from a bin and send it away for a germination test. If we are using our own grain or if we are buying from a seed grower, we like to know that virtually every seed grows. A farmer doesn’t plant without the intention of getting a crop. When we grow the coarse grains, we expect to get 30, 60, and 100 times what we have seeded. On the other hand with a crop like canola, we seed about 5 lbs an acre and hope to get up to 2500 lbs back.

Jesus used this illustration to declare that He was going to die. It looked like after His Triumphant entry into Jerusalem that He could have started a kingdom, and yet His kingdom was not of this world. He had come to do the will of God the Father, and that was to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, many have been and are being made righteous. Jesus like a seed died, was buried in the ground and rose from the dead.

Romans 5:9–11 NLT

9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Romans 5:17–19 NLT

17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

In verses 25-26, Jesus turns the tables to us. He talks about loving and hating our lives.

Anyone who loves their life will lose it...

This isn’t the only place in the gospels where Jesus speaks to this.

Luke 9:23–25 NIV

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

What does it mean to love your life?

The Greek word here for

love = phileo

In life, we can set goals, have interests, and loves that are more important to us than God. We can be so focused on setting aside a nest egg for retirement that work can become a god in our life.

The first commandment is

You shall have no other gods before Me.

The second is

You shall not make for yourself a graven image...

We might not have any statues that we bow down and worship, but is there anything in our lives, that we have placed more value on than God. There are many things that vie for our time. There are many things that vie for our attention. Pleasure has become a god to many: sports, recreation, TV, the internet, which can include social media. I’m not pointing fingers this morning. There are many things that we do that in and of themselves, they might be good, but if we allow anything to take precedence in our lives over God, things are out of whack.

There were times that Jesus used strong analogies just to show us that we need to love God so much more than anyone or anything.

Luke 14:26–27 NIV

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Anyone who hates their life in this world, will keep it for eternal life.

If we look at hate in an earthly manner, this would go against anything that Jesus has taught.

Matthew 22:37–39 NIV

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

In this case, to hate means to

Love less or to choose one thing over another. Bible Hub

This might sound harsh, but if we choose our family over Jesus, we are not worthy of being His disciple. I didn’t say if we choose family over our ministry or over church, even though sometimes this might reflect our love for Christ. Your relationship with Christ is not defined by your ministry or by the fact that you go to church. Your relationship with Christ is based on the fact that He shed His blood for you.

If we choose the world over Jesus Christ, we will lose our life, but if we choose to love Jesus more than our lives, we will keep them for eternal life.

It’s true that we are saved by faith alone. I want you to pay attention to verse 26.

John 12:26 NIV

26 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 came to bring glory to the Father, and everything He did was based on this premise. If we want to serve Christ and follow Him, the way we live and the decisions we make must be soley based on bringing glory to God.

Our flesh must die for us to do this. We can’t follow Christ and our sinful desires at the same time.

Galatians 5:16–18 NIV

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

As Jesus was nearing the end of His journey for which He had been sent, Jesus was struggling with the agony that He was about to face.

John 12:27 NIV

27 “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.

Maybe you’ve been in the middle of a difficult trial, and you asked God to remove you from your trial. Jesus knows your struggle, He asked the Father to do the same but then He said to the Father that He wanted to go through the agony because He knew that He was sent for that purpose.

Hebrews 12:2–3 NIV

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

As we close let’s look at verse 28.

John 12:28 NIV

28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Jesus desire was for the Father to be glorified. In our lives, let’s bring glory to God. That truly is why we were created.

Let’s pray!