Hope Lutheran Church
Manhattan, Kansas March 17, 2024 John 12:20–33 When you think of Jesus, what picture comes to mind? Do you think of Jesus as a shepherd, out in a grassy field by a calm river taking care of his sheep? Maybe for you, the picture of Jesus is him standing outside the empty tomb with beams of light shining out behind him. Maybe you think of Jesus and you think of King Jesus sitting on his throne with a scepter and crown as people bow down and worship him. Maybe you think of Jesus coming and once and for all driving away everything that’s bad and evil and hurtful in the world. Maybe you think of Jesus in heaven waiting there to welcome you with open arms as go from this life to the next. There are a lot of different ways that we would like to see Jesus. And those are all pictures and images that can bring us hope and comfort. Each of them can help remind us about something Jesus has done and continues to do for us. Today, in the words John has recorded for us, rather than thinking about how we would like to see Jesus, we’re invited to think about Jesus the way Jesus himself would like us to see him. It was the Tuesday of Holy Week and there must have been an electricity in the air in Jerusalem. Jesus had gained a reputation. He was famous. He had ridden into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with the people shouting their praises. Word about Jesus’ miracles and teaching had spread all over Israel and beyond. And now he was in Jerusalem for the Passover. Now people from all over the place were going to have the chance to see the man they had heard so much about. The city was full of people who wanted to see Jesus. Among those people who were in Jerusalem for Passover were a group of Greeks converts to the Judaism. And just like everyone else, they had heard about Jesus and wanted to see Jesus for themselves. But, for whatever reason, they weren’t ready to talk to Jesus on their own. So they went to one of Jesus’ disciples, Philip, with a request. “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip talked to Andrew and then the message got relayed to Jesus. And Jesus used this request as an opportunity to teach. He said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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.” That first part of that must have sounded pretty good to everyone who was listening. No one has a problem with glory and honor. But then Jesus talked about dying. Jesus says that his death will be connected with glory. There’s a disconnect there, isn’t there? Dying isn’t something associated with glory. You wonder what Philip and Andrew were thinking as Jesus said that. They had just brought a group of potential followers to Jesus and the first impression he gave them was one of death. You wonder what those Greeks were thinking as Jesus spoke. You wonder what they expected to see when they asked to see Jesus. Were they looking for a Messiah who could lead them into glory like so many of the Jews wanted? Were they looking for some wise teaching from Jesus they could apply to their lives? Did they want to see a miracle like the ones they had undoubtedly heard about? I think it’s safe to say that of all the things they would have liked to see from Jesus, it wasn’t suffering. It wasn’t death. And I’m certain they weren’t looking for any sort of pain or trouble for themselves. But Jesus said, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” What Jesus was saying was that he hadn’t come to glorify the life we have right now and make our time on earth just a little bit better. He didn’t come to just be a life coach with some words of wisdom. Jesus didn’t come to earth just to enjoy life for a little while and then go back to heaven. He came to give up his life, to suffer and die. And he told his followers that they must be ready to put aside and give up those things that would keep us from following him. We understand what Jesus is talking about there, right? We get the idea of giving things up and sacrificing things as we follow Jesus. We understand giving up some of our time to come here to worship when we could be doing something else. We understand bringing offerings to God. We understand that following Jesus means letting go of sin. We know that life is about more than what we can see right now. But the thing is, I don’t always understand all those things perfectly. There are times when I would like to see Jesus, but I want like to see him on my own terms. So often, I want Jesus to be who I think he should be, instead of who he has shown himself to be. What do I want to see in Jesus? Sometimes I want a Jesus who will take care of all the worries I have in my life right now. Sometimes I want a Jesus who will make my life easier. I want a Jesus who will sweep in and take away all of those things that hurt me and hurt other people in the world. Instead of following Jesus and what he’s said, I expect Jesus to follow the plans that I have for myself. I don’t know what those Greeks were looking for when they came to Jesus. But I know what I’ve wanted to see from Jesus. The thing is, it’s the other way around, isn’t it? You see, as followers of Jesus, it means that sometimes we have to give up the things we have planned so hard for and instead trust in what God would want for us. Jesus would be glorified, but it wasn’t going to happen the way anyone else would have expected to see it happen. Jesus wouldn’t be recognized for making this life better, he would be recognized and glorified by dying and assuring us of eternal life. That must have been hard to hear, right? But Jesus didn’t tell those Greeks and the crowd all of this to scare them off. It was great that they wanted to see Jesus. And Jesus wanted them to see him. But he wasn’t going to set anyone up with false promises or give a false idea of what was going to happen to him in just a few short days. If they would like to see Jesus, Jesus wanted to make sure they saw him for who he really was and what he had come to do. He told them that if they really wanted to see what he was all about and what had come to do, they would have to look to the cross. And it was on the cross where God would be glorified. But again, that doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Jesus was going to bring glory, but that glory was going to be connected to a cross. That glory was going to be connected to death and suffering. Jesus knew that. He knew that soon death was going to be staring him right in the face, and it troubled him. Jesus said, “What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” Jesus, he gives us this brief glimpse into his soul. We get to see Jesus, the God-Man, show us his humanity as he thinks about his impending death and it troubles him. What would Jesus do? Would he sneak off and hide? Would he run away and spare himself from the shame and suffering? No. Jesus answers his own rhetorical question. “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” You see, Jesus was born to die. That’s how God’s name was going to be glorified. To everyone watching and seeing the events of the next few days, it would have looked like all Jesus had done was for nothing. As they saw him hanging on the cross, the world would see just another man who had been sentenced to death. There was nothing pretty or glorious about the cross. This was shameful, horrible, painful way to die. But for you and me, for those who believe, we know what really happened on that cross. Jesus talks about that at the end of our lesson. Jesus said, “’And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” We know that on the cross Jesus paid the atoning price for every last one of our sins. We know that at the cross it was the power of God for our salvation. Jesus’ greatest glory, saving you and me, came through this ultimate act of humbling himself. Jesus, the Son of God died, so that you and me and all who believe could be children of God. There’re lot a of different ways that we would like to see and think about Jesus. They can all bring us comfort in times of trouble and relief in those hours of pain and agony. And when you think of Jesus, don’t forget the cross. That’s also how he wants you and I to see him. Remember what he did for you there on the cross. Trust and know that on the cross, God’s greatest glory was revealed. Because at the cross, Jesus humbled himself all the way to death for your salvation. Amen. 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