John 12:20-36

WELCOME TO BT

-talking about honor.

-star wars the new hope. Hans solo is a smuggler. He meets up with luke skywalker who is a whiny teenager working on a farm in a no name planet. Then there is a wookie -named chewbacka who is routinely made fun of and han appears to treat the wookie people as a lower life form. They end up doing a lot of great stuff. They save a princess and save the day and thwart the evil darth vader - at the end of the movie they recieve awards - they receive Honor from the princess of alderaan for what they have done. Imagine that - you are farming on a nowhere planet. You are a no good ethically suspect smuggler with an enormous bounty on your head and a few weeks later you do something that makes you worthy of honor from the princess of an entire planet.

In this scene in Jesus life Jesus tells people that they can do something that will lead to God honoring them.

Hold on a second. He is talking to regular fisherman, some tax collectors, a guy who was dead like a week ago, a few young women, All Israelites who have been conquered by the great and honored roman empire - ceasar images everywhere! Roman Soliders everywhere - and Jesus says - hey you can live your life in a way that not just honors God but you can live your life in a way that GOD HONORS YOU!

Jesus says this to regular people - I think we can hear it today too. - You can live in a way - You can choose to do something where Not just a princess of a planet not a leader of a nation but The king of heaven, the creator of the universe can look at you and say- I honor you.

what if you, wherever your life is now, if you are a smugglers a farmer or a wookie - could look to the rest of your life and say - I could life a life where I honor God and God honors me. What if your tombstone could be a quote from God saying “i honor this man.” I honor this woman’

Let’s take a look at this passage. and see how to live in such a way that God will honor us.

GOD

Some greeks are interested in seeing jesus. He the hour for the son of man to be glorified (HONOR!)

-HONOR FOR THE PERSON WHO FOLLOWS JESUS

WHAT DOES FOLLOWING JESUS LOOK LIKE - SEE THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPH.

HONOR JESUS BY FOLLOWING HIM!

GOD the Father is honoring (glorify and honor similar)

WOW FOCUS ON 25-26, 27 - HONOR JESUS - FOLLOW HIM AND SERVE HIM.

WhAT DOES THAT LOOK ? BEING WHERE HE IS.

-What is he talking about in this passage. THE CROSS!

And I owe some this thought to Andrew ROot and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

-INCARNATION

-be with people

-CROSS

That the crucifixion of a man should be the ultimate manifestation of the glory of God is as scandalous to Jewish religious messianism as it is absurd to Greek philosophy (1 Cor. 1:22–24). But it is true, for the glory of God is the outpouring of love which is supremely revealed in the obedience of Jesus to death and in the action of the Father who gives his only Son for the life of the world.… Lesslie Newbigin, The Light Has Come, 15

Jesus says, take up your cross and follow me.

In this passage he explains in several ways what it looks like to follow hom.

God Honors the suffering servant and all of his suffering servants.

If you choose to take on the suffering of another. That is following Jesus chrsit. that is christ like. If you choose to be scorned and take the blow rather than fight back and defend yourself - that is to follow Christ. That is christ like. God honors that. Self-sacrifice. Suffering love for the sake of another. Covering the sin of another. Taking on the sin of another - that is cross centered love.

CROSS - sacrifice for other sacrifice for others (phil 2 - same mind as jesus - it is the way of giving up your stuff, your life, your desires to be reborn in new creation glory and raising up others as well).

Phil 2.

-RESURRECTION

-as the church, as the body of christ, the followers of Christ come alongside the hurting world and sacrifice, surrender give up their own rights for the sake of others we will see signs of resurrection and new creation - The cross leads to resurrection and new creation - There for God also highly exalted him - the grain of wheat must fall, the seed must die for it to bear much fruit - but then it does bear much fruit.

to follow Jesus is to point out, it is to notice and to declare the signs of new creation in our midst. When you see something good happening that is in line with the kingdom of God you celebrate and commend it! When you sacrifice and love and something Good happens you point to new life (just like jesus miracles - new creation pops up some times.just like flowers in the spring - new creation pops up sometime - and points us to the coming kingdom!

to follow Jesus and to be honored by God -we come alongside the suffering world like the incarnate jesus. We do some mini-incarnating. We take up the cross and follow Jesus - I think and I’m wrestling with this and I’m not good at this - but here is what the rest of the world should say about Christians - “they are people who willingly choose to suffer for other when they do not have to.” they are people who choose suffering love over getting their own way or their own rights? Is that what the church in america is known for? If not should we change so we are knowng for being cross like people just like jesus? Maybe we should embrace suffering dishonor from people around us - people that we are commanded to love anyway - maybe we should embrace dishonor from others for the sake of receiving honor from God.

that’s following Jesus. CROSS CENTER - to take on the flesh and come to be with hurting people - identifying with sinful people

CROSS - sacrifice for other sacrifice for others (phil 2 - same mind as jesus - it is the way of giving up your stuff, your life, your desires to be reborn in new creation glory and raising up others as well).