THE ABUNDANT DYING OF JESUS
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 2, 2023 under 2023 |
Bethany Bible Church Palm Sunday Sermon Message; April 2, 2023 from John 12:23-26
Theme: Jesus’ death for us was an abundant dying that produced much fruit.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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This morning, we commemorate the day that the Lord Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem just a few days before He was crucified. We call it His ‘triumphant entry’ because He came to present Himself to the Jewish people as their promised King—although He knew that they would reject Him and crucify Him. And yet, He died as our Substitute for the guilt of our sins and purchased our salvation with His own blood. And so, it truly was a ‘triumphant entry’.
Now; how do we interpret that day? How do we understand its significance? How should it impact us today? There’s no better authority to turn to than the Lord Jesus Himself. He told us about the significance of that day in John 12:23-26; when He declared:
“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12:23-26).
Just when it was that He spoke these words isn’t clear. It may have been that He spoke them as He was riding into the city on the colt of the donkey, and while the crowds shouted and celebrated around Him. Or it may be that He spoke them shortly after He had entered the city and into the temple. But whenever the exact time was that He spoke them, they clearly explain to us the significance of His triumphant entry. Jesus compared Himself to a kernel of grain that, when it falls to the ground and dies, produces much more grain. He came to die for us.
And as these words show us, Jesus’ death for us was a richly abundant death—a death that produced much fruit.
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Now; my wife is very skilled at growing things. I also have a brother who is very good at growing things. I, however, am not. But that doesn’t diminish my appreciation of the fact that—somehow—things grow. In fact, I am rather awestruck by the fact that they do.
I believe that the growth of a plant or a grain or a tree from a single seed is a true marvel. I don’t mean that in a merely sentimental way. I mean that it’s a true cause for wonder in the sense that it is a work of God that shows forth His glory as the Creator. It amazes me that in a tiny seed abides all the potentiality of growth and fruitfulness of a living thing. God has designed a particular seed to bear within itself all the characteristic substance—in dormant form—of a particular plant. It amazes me that the seed remains dormant—and that it can sit in that dormant state for years and years—until it is placed in the ground and exposed to the combination of water, nutrients in the ground, and light. It amazes me that you don’t have to check to see which side of the seed is the top and which is the bottom; because—no matter how it is placed in the ground—it somehow ‘knows’ to send the roots downward and the plant upward. It amazes me that each seed produces a plant after its own specific kind—and not of another kind.
Do you realize that it’s logically impossible for this amazing process of the germination of a seed into a plant to have ‘evolved’ over time? The very first seed of any original plant—no matter what it was—had to have the full substance and potentiality of growth in it from the very beginning; or else the process could not have begun at all. It had to work right and be complete the very first time; otherwise, there would not have been another plant and another set of seeds to follow from it afterward. It may be true that the nature of the growth of some plants has experienced a certain amount of change over time; but it’s not possible that the process itself could have evolved into existence. The whole process had to have come into being as a complete unit. How could such an amazing thing be? How could it have all started? Well; the Bible tells us in Genesis 1:11-12—in the story of the third day of creation;
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:11-12).
Each time you see the growth from a seed, just remember that you are witnessing the distant echo of God’s creative act from the very beginning; because there is no other way for it to have happened than all at once. That’s why it’s such a marvel! It’s truly a repeated miracle!
And now, I am left to wonder something else. Could it be that one of the great spiritual reasons God designed the process so perfectly, and in the way that He did, was so that it would teach us a lesson about something far more profound and eternal? Could it be that it’s meant to teach us something about His own Son?—and about how He brought about our salvation through His own sacrifice for us?
Our Lord’s words in this morning’s passage causes me to think so. He used the analogy of the germination of a seed to teach us about His own gracious sacrifice on the cross for us—not only to cause us to wonder and marvel at the love He has shown for us—and not only to show us how His death for us results in His life produced in us—but also to call us to respond in sacrificial love for Him in return!
Truly, Jesus’ dying for us was an abundant dying! That’s what Palm Sunday teaches us!
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Now; notice how this passage begins. After we read the story of our Lord’s triumphant entry into the city, we then read—in verse 19—of the way that the Pharisees rejected Him. They declared in frustration to one another, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” And what was it that they were trying to accomplish? They were trying to turn the people away from Him. They did not believe in Him; and they were jealous of Him because He was drawing all people to Himself—showing Himself to be the promised King of Israel. And the reception He was receiving from the crowds along the way—as they came to Jerusalem for Passover—was giving proof to them of how miserably they were failing in their plans against Him.
And then—as if in contrast to the unbelief of the Pharisees and Jewish leaders—a remarkable thing happened in verses 20-22. We’re told;
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus (vv. 20-22).
Who were these ‘certain Greeks’? They apparently were people from the Gentile world who were drawn to the God of Israel. They had perhaps seen the inadequacy of the pagan beliefs of their own culture; and they desired to come and worship the one true God on the day of Passover. They knew that they couldn’t come into the temple to worship Him; because, as Gentiles, they were prohibited from doing so. But perhaps they saw in Jesus the embodiment of God’s gracious welcome to all people who desire to know Him. And so, they sought to see Him—not merely to cast their eyes on Him, but to receive God’s favor through Him.
And why did they come to the apostle Philip to ask to see Jesus? It may have been because ‘Philip’ is a Greek name. It may have been because Philip was from Bethsaida of Galilee—which was just at the borders of the Gentile world. It may have been that they saw in Philip a friendly face by which they might draw near to Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew about this surprising request; and perhaps together, they remembered that Jesus had told them;
“… other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
And so, they both came to Jesus and told Him that these Greeks—these Gentile worshipers of the God of Israel—were drawn to Him and wanted to see Him. And even though we’re not told so, I believe that Jesus welcomed them to Himself and spoke to them; don’t you? He never turns anyone away who truly seeks Him. But though we’re not told what He might have told them, we are told about what happened in response. We’re told in verse 23 that “Jesus answered them”; that is, He answered the two apostles who had come to Him with this request.
And it’s then that we learn of what Jesus had to say about the important event of His triumphant entry into Jerusalem—and about what He was going to do for all people there. It’s then that we read the words of our passage—and learn about the abundant dying of our Savior.
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So then; in what ways was it abundant? The first thing we see from Jesus’ own words is that …
1. IT WAS A DYING IN WHICH HE WAS GLORIFIED.
In verse 23, He said, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.”
Notice the name He took to Himself. He called Himself “the Son of Man”. Every Jewish person who would have heard Him say those words would have known exactly what He meant by them. He was taking to Himself the name of the Messiah—as it was declared to the Jewish people in Daniel 7. In the Old Testament Book of Daniel, the prophet Daniel was given an unfolding vision of the distant future. He was shown how, in the centuries to come, one world ruler would follow after another—and how one world empire would replace another—and how each successive kingdom would be more oppressive than the one before—until God’s King over all the earth would finally come. Daniel 7:13-14 says;
“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).
In calling Himself “the Son of Man”, Jesus was saying that He is that promised King. The name “Son of Man” identifies Him as the Chief of All Humanity—the Head of the Human Race—the One whom God has appointed to rule over all the nations. He rode into Jerusalem on that day to present Himself as the King of the Jews. But they rejected Him. And yet, one day, He will come again to rule as King of kings and Lord of lords.
But do you also notice that He said, “the hour has come” that this Son of Man “should be glorified”? Don’t misunderstand that word “hour”. He was not speaking of a specific time on the clock. Rather, He was speaking of a moment in history—a crucial point in the unfolding plan of God at which His appointed destiny from God the Father would be fulfilled.
Do you remember the time when his mother Mary came to Him during the wedding at Cana? She told Him that they had run out of wine … hoping that He would then prove Himself to all to be the promised Messiah. But in John 2:4, He told her;
“My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4).
And then, do you remember how—later on—His brothers (who, at the time, didn’t believe Him) taunted Him to go up to Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles and show Himself to the world? He told them then in John 7:6;
“My time has not yet come …” (7:6).
And later on, while He was in the temple teaching, and speaking against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, they were unable to lay their hands on Him. This was because, as we’re told in John 8:20;
“His hour had not yet come” (8:20).
But look at our passage this morning! After He rode into the city on Passover … and after the Gentiles expressed their desire to see Him … He declared plainly “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” That long-awaited hour had finally arrived. And how would He be glorified? It would be by yielding Himself to be betrayed, arrested, and crucified by the hands of the very Jewish people to whom He came to present Himself.
Just before He was betrayed into the hands of those who crucified Him, He prayed;
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:1-5).
So; Jesus’ dying was an abundant dying because, by it, He glorified the Father … and brought glory to Himself.
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And then notice another reason why it was abundant. It was because …
2. IT WAS A DYING BY WHICH HE MULTIPLIED LIFE.
Look at verse 24. Jesus began by letting us know that what He was about to say was very solemn and important. He said, “Most assuredly,” or “Verily, verily,” or “Truly, truly, I say to you …” Anything that our Lord said was, of course, important and worthy of our full belief. But when He prefaces a declaration with words like these, He is intending to catch our full attention to the particular significance of His words.
He then went on to say, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” And by this, we understand that He isn’t talking merely about seeds, and plants, and the process of germination. He was talking about His own sacrifice. He was saying that, if He didn’t go to the cross, and if He clung to His own life instead, He would have remained alone. But that was not His desire—nor was it the desire of His Father. Instead, if He laid down His life for us, and suffered the horror and shame of the cross—taking our sins upon Himself, experiencing the just wrath of the Father for us, and paying the penalty for our sins on our behalf—then it will produce the salvation and eternal life of all those who the Father had given Him. All who believe on Him would be washed clean of their sins, and would enjoy eternal life with Him.
When I thought of this, I remembered what the Bible tells us about ‘the firstfruits’. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were to gather in the first of the harvest of their grain and offer the best of it to God. It was the offering of ‘the firstfruits’ at the ‘feast of weeks’—which also happened to correspond with the feast of Passover. It was called ‘firstfruits’, because it was the ‘first’ of the harvest—with the promise of much more to come. And in the Bible, Jesus is presented as ‘the firstfruits’ of many. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15;
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
So; Jesus’ dying is an abundant dying because, by it, He has brought life to countless multitudes who have believed on Him and were saved by His redeeming sacrifice.
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And there’s one more way it was abundant; and that’s by the fact that …
3. IT WAS A DYING THAT IS TO NOW BE IMITATED.
I will admit that I struggle with that word “imitate”. Jesus our Redeemer is unique; and there’s no way that we could do what He did or be what He is. But there is a sense in which His dying for us is to be embraced by us as a model to follow in being His disciples. As He died, so also are we to die. We’re to respond to His sacrifice of love for us by denying ourselves, dying to ‘self’, and following Him.
In verses 25-26, Jesus said, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” His own sacrifice for us teaches us this basic principle. He makes it clear that He was talking about life on this earth—the building up of our own happiness or prosperity or status for the advancement of self; the preserving of our own longevity and the protecting of our own pleasure at all cost. He used the word in the original language that described “love” as a kind of fondness for a thing; and said that if we held on to our own life on earth with an inordinate ‘fondness’—unwilling to give up that life for Him—then we will not keep it. We will, in fact, lose it in the sense of having destroyed it. But if we, by comparison, ‘hate’ our life—if we love Him so much that we are willing to give up our life on earth at His call—then we will “keep it for eternal life”.
Jesus once put it this way to His disciples in Mark 8;
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34-38).
As someone once wisely said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” That someone was Jim Elliott—the missionary who laid down his life for the cause of the gospel. We may not be called upon to lay down our lives by literally, physically dying. But we are called by Jesus to be willing to lay down our life—and everything else with it—for Him.
Jesus took the road to Jerusalem to lay down His life for us. And in verse 26, He went on to say, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.” If we will follow Him, then we will take up the cross—the instrument of our death to self—and walk behind Him on the path that He took. And He made this promise: “If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” Just as the Father glorified Him, so will the Father also glorify us in Him. We will eternally share His glory with Him.
That’s how abundant Jesus’ death was! It produced followers who take up their cross and follow Him unto eternal glory.
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So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; on this Palm Sunday—and especially as we come together to the table of the Lord—let’s celebrate Jesus’ dying for us as a truly abundant dying. By His dying, He, as the Son of Man, has been glorified by the Father—and He now welcomes us to share in that glory eternally with Him. By His dying, like the kernel of grain that falls to the ground, He multiplied life to many—and He now invites us to receive Him as the ‘firstfruits’ of many and to partake fully of that life with Him. And by His dying, He has given us an example to faithfully imitate—and He now invites us to take up the cross, die to ‘self’, and follow Him in a brand new life as His faithful servants.
We can’t really understand Palm Sunday—or rightly receive it—in any other way than as an abundant dying for us.
AE
