The Seed That Dies

John 12:23-26

And Jesus answered them, “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.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

...............

We have reached a climax in Jesus' ministry. John has laid out the first half of his well organized narrative using seven "signs" which testified to Jesus' divinity and gracious character. We have seen water turned to wine, blind men receiving sight, and finally a dead and buried friend suddenly and inexplicably raised back to life in broad daylight. So many people saw this miracle that the news spread all over the countryside like a brush fire!

When Jesus reached Jerusalem, he was greeted with cheering crowds chanting wildly, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" This, along with the palm branches and donkey ride, amounted to a clear assertion of kingship, for each of these were symbols of Jewish royal coronation.

But not everyone was happy:

So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
(John 12:10-11)

So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
(John 12:19)

This climax of popularity was the beginning of the end for Jesus. First, the Jewish leaders plotted to kill Lazarus, trying to do away with the physical evidence that has inspired such adulation. If he's dead, maybe this Jesus fad will blow over. But, very quickly the target would be Jesus himself. The second half of John essentially begins here and will carry us through the passion narrative, to an old rugged cross, and finally an empty tomb. Even by the end of the chapter, many who saw his miracles still would not believe, and of those Jews who did believe, many preferred their reputations over being associated with Jesus.

Looking to verses 23-26, Jesus lays out a clear prediction of what lies ahead, showing us that, even in the midst of cheering crowds, inquiring foreigners, and the tugging temptation of popularity, he was still committed to his mission. He knew what it would cost.

Let's break down these verses and consider what they mean, for him and for us:

And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."

First, Jesus is aware that his time has come. And though it will be the death of him, he calls it being glorified. What could that mean?

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. 

Next, Jesus elaborates by describing a principle that will become fundamental to Christian belief and practice. He first describes the principle with a metaphor. A seed must be planted in the ground and essentially give up being a seed in order to become something else that bears fruit. The picture is completely clear, but Jesus takes a step further and becomes quite blunt about what he means.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

The seed must die in order to become a fruit bearing plant. And so must Jesus. He is going to his grave. What keeps him committed to this task is the absolute certainty of the fruit this cross will bear - the demonstration of God's love and the offer of forgiveness and new life for all who believe.

If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.

But the principle doesn't just apply to Jesus. (Gulp). It applies to us as well. If we are to accept him as Lord, we must walk this same road and face the same death ourselves. We must cease to be what we were before and this will feel like death. Yet there is fruit waiting to be experienced that will only come through this death. Our own new self, a resurrected life of faith.

If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

And if anyone serves him in this way, joining him in this path of death and resurrection, there is a final promise. The Father will honor him. What promise could be richer? What goal could be more motivating? Our Maker welcoming us home with honor and celebration, accepting us completely because we have become fully and completely identified with his beloved Son.

May those outstretched arms fill our longing hearts with the strength that we need to walk through painful days believing there is new life forevermore just around the corner. May we become identified with Jesus in his death that we to might see this seed burst forth with new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 6:5-11)

Not Who They Expected

Mark 8:29-32

And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

.................

Mark 8 continues the itinerant healing ministry of Jesus and his followers, but also contains a couple important stories that reveal the confusion of the disciples.  The first, in verses 14-21, shows that the disciples could not understand even a simple metaphor and were more quick to think about their stomachs rather than the battle between truth and lies, between Jesus and the Pharisees.  Mark ends this passage with "Do you not understand?" - a scathing, unqualified critique of the disciples' obvious disconnect, despite how familiar they were with Jesus and his teaching.

The second story is related above and presents an even more scathing rebuke to Peter and the other disciples. The fact that Peter rebukes Jesus (who he truly believes is the Messiah) is absurd enough, but Mark inserts a little parenthetical statement that makes it even more ridiculous - "And he said this plainly."  Jesus was not being cryptic here or speaking in parables; he was making a clear prediction of how He would be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead.  Peter makes a willful decision to demand his own version of "Jesus," in place of this inconvenient self-description. "The Messiah can't be rejected and killed! He's the king of Israel. I'll set Jesus straight." Bad idea.

Jesus replies to Peter pretty harshly for at least two reasons.  One, Peter's rebuke was in front of others, so Jesus responds in kind, for the sake of Peter, but also for the sake of the other followers.  Peter's misconception had to be stopped before it spread, not unlike the "leaven" of the Pharisees he had recently warned them about.  But, more importantly, the second reason this rebuke was so harsh, was that Peter's denial here struck at the heart of the gospel itself, the very heart of the message of God's kingdom - namely, that God has arrived, not to condemn the world, but to lay down his life as a ransom for many.  The world didn't need another Alexander the Great or Caesar; the world needed someone to pay for the wages of human sin.  Only a divine savior could deal with the infinitely dark consequences of human rebellion and sin.  Only God in the flesh could rescue mankind, open the eyes of the blind, and miraculously give new hearts to a world that was so fallen.  And Peter didn't like it.

Let us be mindful that the gospel message continues to be a radical challenge to our common sense, both inside and outside the church.  People in the world are offended by the crucified Christ, insisting on their own goodness and resistant to anyone who tells them of their desperate need for a Savior.  People in the church continue to resist the cross-bearing nature of discipleship - the fact that Jesus didn't model an easy or convenient way to fix mankind. It will take blood. It will cost you your life.  I pray for myself, that I am careful not to resist the heart of the gospel, that I take up my cross today, whenever the opportunity arises, so that people will see God's determination to redeem a people for himself.

And let's not forget, it doesn't end with death:

...and after three days rise from the dead.

How's the Weather?

Image via Wikipedia

Matthew 8:27

And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

...............

If you are feeling awkward in a social situation, there is always the weather. This is especially so in Louisville, KY. Now, I know many cities claim the axiom that we use here, but it is still appropriate: "If you don't like the weather, just wait (a day or 10 minutes or whatever)." This is par for the course here in River City, where the weather can be light flurries of snow in the morning and sweltering hot in the afternoon, no joke. And this past year has been exceptionally freakish, giving yet more fodder to the awkward socialites like myself. An earthquake, a hurricane, and an ice storm, the last two of which caused record-breaking power outages and no shortage of grief. There is always the weather.

So, it is quite appropriate to be flabbergasted by someone who has control over the weather. This guy is something to talk about. Matthew 8 records many amazing things that Jesus did, which drew crowds and caused exclamation among the people. But, it was this calming of the storm which brought his closest followers to the end of their logical ropes. This is no ordinary Messiah. He's not just a healer and teacher and potential political leader. He might be the King. The King of Kings Himself.

A couple other things about this chapter bring verse 27 into stark relief. The chapter begins with crowds of people following Jesus down from the mount, after a sermon that would forever be ingrained in their memories. He cleansed a leper, he healed the centurian's servant with a word, he (almost casually) healed Peter's mother-in-law from a fever.

And then the cost.

Verses 18-22. Talk about disillusionment. I have a feeling that when the disciples got into their boat, many people in the crowds were ready to turn back anyway. This points us to the end of the chapter where we find a stark contrast to how the chapter begins. "And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region" (8:34). After yet another astonishing miracle, cleansing the two demon-possessed men, Jesus finds himself kicked out of town. It wasn't the healings that had changed. It wasn't the person that had changed. People were starting to realize that this guy was no ordinary revolutionary. If you followed this guy, it would be no use talking about the weather anymore. Daily life would never be the same.

I'm going to try to be more amazed at Jesus than I am about the weather. Ask me how it's going and we'll see how I respond. :)