The Fifth Sunday in Lent

March 17, 2024

John 12:20-33

Rethinking Religion—

Rethinking Devoted Commitment!

20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, 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. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever 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 heart 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. 28Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

How can you tell when someone is truly committed to something? Since commitment can be complicated, that is not an easy question to answer. For example, if a group of people is discussing whether or not to do something there might be a call for a vote: Everyone in favor say “Yes,” or, Everyone in favor raise your hand.” My experience has been that this is not always the best way to gauge the level of someone’s commitment. Someone may vote “Yes” or raise their hand when they are in a group of people— even if they are not actually committed to supporting what is being voted on.

Sometimes you can gauge a person’s level of commitment by asking them to sign a document or to make a deposit of money. And yet, even that does not guarantee their level of commitment. People can change their mind. People can be willing to lose their deposit.

Our sermon text for today gives us an opportunity to look at the best way to gauge the depth of a person’s commitment. With that in mind let’s study this portion of Scripture under the theme: Rethinking Devoted Commitment!

Jesus and His disciples are in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. It was Tuesday of Holy Week. This was the last day that Jesus would teach publicly before He died. Pilgrims had come from all across the Empire to celebrate the Passover. John tells us that some of those pilgrims were Greeks “who went up to worship at the Feast.” Because these Greeks had been brought to faith in the Lord God of Israel and because Jesus’ reputation had become known far and wide John tells us, “They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’”

The word that is translated here at “see” can also be translated as “to experience” or “to visit.” Since it seems that these Greeks wanted more than just a casual opportunity to get a glimpse of the One they had heard so much about, John goes on to tell us, “Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.” Did these Greeks get the opportunity to “see” Jesus, to “experience” Jesus, to “visit” with Jesus? We are not told. What we are told is that this request by these Greeks prompted Jesus to speak some very sobering words. John tells us, “Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’”

“The hour has come.” Does that statement remind you of anything? Think back over Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus’ mother came up to Him at the wedding at Cana to inform Him that they had run out of wine, Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time (My hour) has not yet come” (John 2:4). When Jesus was in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, He read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). You may recall that the people of His hometown became so furious with Him that they “took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff” (Luke 4:29). Since it was not “time” for Jesus to die, “He walked right through the crowd and went on his way..” There was another time when Jesus was teaching in the Temple and the Pharisees challenged Him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid” (John 8:13). When Jesus told them that His other “witness” is the “Father who sent me,” they were not happy! But John tells us, “No one seized him, because his time (his hour) had not yet come.”

I share these details with you because they reveal to us that Jesus was consciously following a plan. In other words, Jesus was committed to following the Father’s Plan of Salvation for this world— for you and for me! And so when these Greeks came to Philip and said, “We would like to see Jesus,” Jesus’ response was, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

What did Jesus mean by this? He meant that His mission, His reason for coming into this world was about to be completed. Remember, this is Tuesday of Holy Week! The fact that Jesus knew that He was nearing His “goal” (Pointing to the cross) is brought out in verses 24-27 of our text. Jesus goes on to say, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, 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…Now my heart 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. ‘Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”

Did you notice how closely Jesus ties together His death and “glory”? How is it possible for Jesus’ death to result in “glory”— both for Him and for His heavenly Father? The answer to that question is found in what Jesus’ death would accomplish! Outwardly Jesus’ death on the cross (Pointing to the cross) looked like a humiliating defeat. Outwardly Jesus’ death on the cross made it look as though Satan had won! In reality— and in eternity!— the exact opposite was true!

Using the picture of a “kernel of wheat” Jesus reveals that His willingness to die on the cross would result in a huge “harvest” of souls— including Gentiles like these Greeks! The “many seeds” that would be “produced” by Jesus’ death includes everyone who would be brought to faith in Jesus as their Savior. It includes everyone who would be made spiritually alive even though they were born “dead in their transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). It includes everyone who would become heirs of the eternal glory of heaven. And yes, it includes you and me!

Jesus’ commitment to dying for our sins guarantees us eternal life. That simple question by these Greek pilgrims, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus,” not only prompted Jesus to share with His disciples that, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” but that simple question prompted Jesus to proclaim His commitment to completing the Father’s Plan of Salvation for this world. Look once again at what Jesus says in verses 27 & 28 of our text and see how clearly it reveals Jesus’ commitment, “Now my heart 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. ‘Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”

As the true Son of God Jesus knew exactly what He was going to endure on Thursday and Friday of this week. As the true Son of Man Jesus’ “heart was troubled” by what He was about to endure. And yet, even though Jesus knew that the cross was a “terrifying” way to die, Jesus’ commitment to our salvation would not allow even the possibility that He would change His mind and call out, “Father, save me from this hour!” Jesus’ commitment to our salvation motivated Him to stay focused on the “glory” that His death would bring. Jesus’ death would bring “glory” to Him for being this world’s only Savior from sin. Jesus’ death would bring “glory” to the heavenly Father for loving us so much that He was willing to send His only begotten Son into this world so that through faith in Him we “shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The ”glory” that Jesus was about to secure and the “glory” that the heavenly Father was about to receive would proclaim judgment and defeat for all of God’s enemies, for all of our enemies. Look at verses 31 and 32 of our text. Jesus says, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

The ”glory” of the cross of Jesus Christ pronounces a “judgment,” a “condemnation” on this world. Whatever this world offers to us as being “precious” — money, fame, power, pleasure— the “glory” of the cross of Jesus Christ “condemns” it as being worthless!

The “glory” of the cross of Jesus Christ also guarantees that “the prince of this world will be driven out.” The fulfillment of the Father’s Plan of Salvation for this world means that Satan’s head has been “crushed.” The devil has been defeated. Standing in the light of the “glory” of the cross we can confidently follow the encouragement given to us in James 4:7, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

And we cannot overlook the fact that the “glory” of the cross of Jesus Christ applies to all people! No matter who we are, no matter what we have done, Jesus’ innocent suffering and death on the cross guarantees that all of our sins have been paid for— in full! Through His holy Word and through His holy Sacraments Jesus continues to lovingly “draw all men to himself.”

How does Jesus’ commitment to our salvation— a commitment that motivated Him to die as our Substitute!— how does Jesus’ commitment to our salvation impact our lives today? To answer that question we need to go back to verse 25 and 26 of our text. Our Savior says to us, “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

Jesus’ commitment to us and to our salvation gives us an opportunity to rethink our commitment to Jesus. How can we do this? One way is to look back over the course of our life, to look back over the course of the past month, the past week and carefully evaluate our commitment to Jesus. For example, ask yourselves questions such as: How often do I sit down and humbly listen to my God as He speaks to me through His holy inspired Word? How often do I humbly yet confidently speak to my God in prayer? Do I gather together in God’s house on a regular basis so that I can receive His holy Supper and bring my praise and my thanks to Him? Do I cheerfully support His Kingdom work by placing my generous offerings of firstfruits on His altar? Do I consciously strive to make sure that the people around me can see and hear Jesus through the words I speak and the actions of my life?

For as long as we are on this side of heaven there is going to be room for improvement when it comes to our commitment to Jesus. Looking back over our life and carefully evaluating our commitment to Jesus helps us strive to make those improvements as we move forward in our life of commitment to Jesus. Recognizing that this is not an easy thing to do, recognizing how easy it is to be drawn to all the things that this world offers to us will lead us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus’ perfect commitment to us and to our salvation (Pointing to the cross) and let His commitment to us serve to motivate and guide our commitment to Him.

How can you tell when someone is truly committed to something? Far better than a show of hands, far better than a financial deposit is by looking at what they are willing to endure to maintain that commitment. May God grant that the cross on Calvary’s hill (Pointing to the cross) will lead each and every one of us to follow the example of these Greeks here in our text and daily lead us to say, “We would like to see, we would like to visit with Jesus.”

To God be the glory!

Amen