Word of Salvation – Vol. 44 No.19 – May 1999

 

Dying to Self for Fruitfulness

 

Sermon by Rev W. J. Van Schie on John 12:20-26 & Lord’s Day 16

 

Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ.

CONTEXT

At the time of our text in John 12 there was great excitement in the city of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem was abuzz.  Jerusalem probably had tripled in size.  People from all over the world had come to Jerusalem for the Jewish religious feast days.  Those who believed in the Jewish faith from all over the world came to Jerusalem for the Passover and the other feast days of that time of the year.

If that wasn’t enough, Jerusalem was also abuzz because of what happened before and on Palm Sunday.  Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and the rumour of that went through Jerusalem like wild fire.  The whole place was in turmoil!  Then on Palm Sunday Jesus was riding this donkey, coming down into Jerusalem and the people came out to meet him and they pulled palm branches down and they worshipped him as the Messiah.  Well, you can imagine that story also went right through the city.  The whole place was abuzz with visitors and rumours about the Messiah.

THE REQUEST

In this context we hear about a couple of Greeks who had come to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh.  It says here in the text that they were Greeks, they weren’t full proselyte Jews.  They were still regarded as Greeks and as foreigners.  This meant that when they came to worship at the temple in Jerusalem they had to keep to the outer court, the Gentile court.  They couldn’t come in and worship with the Jews.

Well, these Greeks came and asked Philip if they could speak to Jesus.  We don’t know what they wanted to speak about, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to speak to Jesus about salvation.  What is salvation and how does it work?  Maybe they wanted to talk to Jesus about being included in the kingdom of God?  Could they be considered as part of God’s people?  Would they, under Jesus’ scheme of things, also be regarded as second rate or third rate members of God’s people?

So they came asking to speak to Jesus.  Well, they came to Philip.  Maybe they came to Philip because they felt some affinity with him.  We can’t be sure.  Philip is in two minds about introducing these Greeks to the Master.  You see, on a previous occasion, Jesus had said that he had come to minister to the Jews.  But at another time Jesus had said to a Roman that he had great faith!  So Philip was unsure as to whether Greeks were able to come and see Jesus.  So he goes to Andrew.  They have a bit of a discussion, and together they go and talk to Jesus.

HOUR OF GLORIFICATION

We read in verse 23, upon hearing this request of the Greeks, that Jesus gives an incredible answer.  He says “the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified.”  Previously, Jesus had said time and time again, that the hour had not come.  But now he says the hour has come.  There is some turning point here, and Jesus knows it!

You see, Jesus is aware that the Holy Spirit is already working in these Greeks.  That the Holy Spirit is already working outside the borders of Israel.  The Holy Spirit is stirring up interest in Jesus’ gospel message.  The Holy Spirit is stirring up hunger for salvation in foreigners and Jesus is aware that in his death that is coming soon, there is going to be given great glory to God.

Jesus is aware that his death is going to give great glory to God.  Because the grace of God that was aimed first at Israel and not at the other countries in the world, that grace that was focussed on one nation, is now going to burst the borders of Israel and is now going to go out into the whole world.  It is going to go to Greeks like these two who are asking to see Jesus.  Jesus sees this as a tremendous glorification of God, his purpose and his will.

In his death God is going to be glorified by Greeks and by other nations throughout the world.  That is why Jesus says the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.  He can see it happening.  The Holy Spirit is already at work out there in Greeks.

JESUS DIES FOR FRUITFULNESS

Then Jesus adds in Verse 24, “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.”

Jesus here gives a simple agricultural lesson to an agricultural audience.  The farmer collects the seed and the wheat in sacks.  He stores it in the barn in a safe, dry place where the mice can’t get it.  He has a great hoard of seed and everything is comfortable and safe.  But nothing more happens, the seed remains in the barn.

But if the farmer plows and prepares the field and sprinkles it with the seed, then covers it over with soil, and the seed dies and deteriorates, then it will shoot into new life.  And as each new shoot grows and new heads of wheat grow on top, then there are multiple seeds.  I can imagine the disciples saying, “Well, everybody knows that!”  It is then that Jesus drives the point home.  For a seed to become fruitful, it has to die first.

What Jesus is saying to these disciples here is that if he stays in Israel ministering to the Jews and continues doing his journey around the place and continues his preaching and bringing people to God, then his ministry is very limited.  Limited to Israel itself and maybe even to himself.

But if he, like the seed, dies and gives his life as a sacrifice for sin then in his death there will be multiple seeds bursting forth in incredible fruitfulness.  Jesus is telling his disciples that for his ministry to become effective and powerful he needs to die.  Jesus is saying that as he gives himself as a sacrifice for sin, then the grace of God can shoot out to the whole world and produce many seeds.  Friends, just think about it, if Jesus had stayed alive in a normal way and continued his ministry in Israel then maybe faith today would be Jewish.

Then Jesus’ religion would be for the Jews alone.  Limited to one nation, just reinforcing the Old Testament religion.  But Jesus deliberately chose to die.  So that grace would be released through his sacrifice to the Greeks and to the whole world.

Hands up all those of you who are Jewish?  Well most of us, if not all, are not!  The fact is that Jesus died deliberately so that the seed of grace could be given to you and to me because we are Gentiles.  We are the ones outside the borders of Israel.  That is what Jesus was thinking about, here in this passage, when he said these words.  He was thinking of you and me.  In his death, grace would go out to you and me, the Gentiles.

DISCIPLES DIE FOR FRUITFULNESS

Note that Jesus didn’t stop here.  In his reply to this request he says in verses 25 and 26: “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.”

The man who loves his life!  The word used here for ‘love’ is philio.  This is the man who has a strong affection for life, the man who is really into life.  The “life-be-in-it” type of person.  He just wants to cling onto life.  He wants to experience everything in life there is to experience.

To this man life is like a wheel.  You have the hub in the middle and all the spokes going to the outside.  Well, this man sees himself as the hub.  He is in the centre of his life and all of life revolves around him.  His material life, his health life, his social life, his work life and his religious life, all these aspects of life are revolving around him.  And so this man is really clinging onto life because he is in the middle, and everything serves him.  He wants to have a good social life because it fulfils him.  He wants a good work life because it gives him satisfaction.  He wants a good material life because he enjoys his comforts.

He regards his religious life as important because it gives him security and comfort.  This man is at the hub.  He is in the centre.  He is the pivot of this life and all these aspects come to him.  He loves life and clings on to all these aspects for himself.

Weil, Jesus says that this man will lose the lot.  Because he is in the middle, he will lose the lot.  Everything he has built up in life, when he dies, as we all will do one day, all that he has built up, will be gone.  His children will get it or his grandchildren.  All that he has clung to will be gone!  He will have wasted his whole life.  There is nothing left.

As far as eternal life is concerned, that, too, is gone since he has been the pivot, the middle.  He has built nothing for eternity.  He hasn’t made a difference for eternity.  No works of his will follow him into eternity.

But then Jesus says: “…the man who hates his own life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

The man who hates his life.  The word here is ‘hate’.  This is the man who detests his life, despises his life.  He sees so much sin in his life that it repulses him.  He sees so many flaws and faults in his character that he despises himself.  He sees so much pain, so much sickness, and so much horror in the world that he hates this life!  Life on this planet stinks.  That is how he sees life.  He would rather be out of it and be home with the Lord.

Now Jesus says that this is the man who keeps life, and he keeps it for eternal life.  Why does he keep it?  Because his perspective is not just for the here and now, nor for himself.  His sees this life as a preparation for the life to come.  This is only the warmup for the real thing.  He sees that he is not the pivot, the hub of the wheel.  He sees that Jesus is at the hub.  Jesus is the central point and he is here to use his social life for Jesus.  He is here to do his work for Jesus.  He is here to use his health for Jesus.  He sees everything he is doing is for Jesus.  This man wants to make an eternal difference; he has that eternal perspective.  Jesus says that when that man dies, then what he has done in this life will follow him into heaven.  He will have eternal life because Jesus is at the core, not him.

But notice what Jesus adds here.  “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.  My father will honour the one who serves me.”

You see, Jesus is not talking here about unconverted people.  He is not talking about those that cling to life and put themselves in the centre as if they are not disciples.  He is talking about people who see themselves as being his disciples.  Jesus is saying that there are disciples who cling to life, who put themselves at the hub.  Jesus is speaking to his disciples and is saying – this is what some of you, my servants, think!

And so Jesus says, a disciple must follow the Master; the disciple must do as the Master does.

Friend, do you hear what Jesus is saying here?  If he had stayed alive then his ministry would have been severely limited.  But because he deliberately chose to die, grace burst out from him and went to the whole world, making his life incredibly fruitful, and his ministry was incredibly fruitful.  Also, Jesus is saying that the same is true for every one of his disciples.  If disciples cling to life and put themselves in the middle of life and everything else serves them, including God serving them, then their effectiveness is curtailed, limited.  But if the disciples put Jesus in the middle of their life and they die to self, then their lives will bear a lot of fruit for the Master.  And the Father will honour that kind of devotion.

This is what Jesus is saying.  As he needed to die for fruitfulness, so also His disciples need to die.  You and I need to die – die to self.  You cannot be a fully devoted disciple of Jesus if you haven’t died!  You cannot be a fully devoted disciple of Jesus if you are not dying regularly for Jesus.  You cannot be a fully devoted disciple if you have something else that you are alive to besides Jesus!  We have to die to self – only then we can be fully devoted and fruitful for the Master.

WE DIE FOR FRUITFULNESS?

The big question for you and me today is: what do we need to die to?  Maybe you are clinging to life?  Maybe you enjoy your comforts, your successes and your materialism so much that you are clinging to these things and you are in the middle.  Jesus is saying to you today that you need to die to materialism, die to your own comforts.

Maybe you have this sense of feeling pretty good about yourself as a believer, that you have been pretty good this week and these past months; that your righteousness is pretty good and that Jesus should accept you.  Maybe you need to die to self-righteousness.  The Bible tells us that our best works are nothing but stinking rags.  We need to trust Jesus for our righteousness.  Maybe we need to die to self-righteousness.

Maybe you’re a person who needs to be in control.  You know, in order to feel safe and secure, you need to be in control.  Maybe you need to die to control and let God be the one who controls your life.  Maybe you’re a person who needs to be recognised.  You feel you need a pat on the back, approval.  You don’t want to be overlooked.  That’s a real big concern of yours.  So you play games to be noticed and you fish for compliments.  Maybe you need to die to ego!  You may need to let God affirm you as his special child.

Maybe you’re a person who is incredibly ambitious.  You have built a lot; succeeded a lot and you are quite pleased with your life.  Maybe you need to die to pride.  You may need to be humble before your God and give God all the glory.

Maybe you carry a scar!  Maybe you carry a hurt, a grudge, from the past and you can’t forgive someone.  Maybe you need to die to the spirit of unforgiveness and give that over to the Lord.  Maybe you are affected by lust and you really struggle with lust!  Your sexual desires are going wild and maybe you’re into pornography.  Well, maybe you need to die to lust.

Do you hear what the Lord is saying to you today?  Because we are all sinful people and we all have flawed natures, we all need to die to something!  You need to die to something and I need to die to something today.  Something that hinders us from being used by the Lord.  Maybe it’s something I have mentioned, maybe it’s something else.  We all need to die to something.

APPLICATION EXERCISE

You know, one of the problems with a message like this is, is that we hear it in church and we firmly agree with it.  Maybe we are deeply moved by it; moved enough to do something about it.  But when we go home and get involved in everyday life again, we soon forget the message, and nothing has changed.

Well, we are going to do a little prayer exercise right here in church while this Word of God is still fresh in our minds.  I am going to ask you to close your eyes for a minute.  Just close your eyes now and focus your attention on the Lord.  In a quiet prayer, just ask the Lord to prompt you what you need to die to.  “What is it, Lord, that I need to die to?  What is it in my life that hinders me from being fruitful for you?” Be still and let the Spirit prompt you.  (Reader, be silent for two minutes)

As you keep your eyes closed and the Spirit has prompted you regarding what you need to die to (and you may be surprised what the Spirit is prompting you), then pray and say to the Lord what you desire to die to.  Commit it to Him, give it to Him in prayer.  (Reader, be silent for a minute)

Now that you have given it to Him in prayer, ask the Lord to give you insight to see that it is dead when Satan wants to resurrect it.  Pray that the Lord will give you strength to keep dying to it – to guide and to help you so that you can deal with this matter once and for all.  (Reader be silent for a minute)

CLOSING PRAYER

Father, we thank you for Jesus who rejoiced when two Greeks came seeking Him because in those two Greeks he could see your grace burst out to many more Greeks and Romans and all kinds of Gentiles – even to us!  Father, we thank you that Jesus deliberately went to the cross, to die as the seed, so that His salvation and grace would be incredibly fruitful, producing many seeds and grace in centuries to come.

Jesus, you have called us to be your disciples.  As disciples we are not higher than you are as our Master.  You call us to follow you and follow your example.  You call us to die to ourselves so that we, too, can be fruitful for you.  Give us the courage to be your disciples.  Father, thank you for prompting us in what we need to die to.  Continue to give us insight, courage and strength to die to specific things in our lives daily.

in Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.