Word of Salvation – Vol. 35 No. 22 – June 1990
Living By Dying
Sermon by Rev. A. Nijhuis on John 12:24,25
Reading: Isaiah 43:1-13; John 12:20-33
Singing: BoW Ps.130:4, BoW Ps 84:1.2.5, 94: 1,2, BoW Ps. 86:5,
Song 35, BoW H.502, BoW H.4:1
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Why do you go to church? Have you ever asked yourself that question? I mean: Did you ever face that question yourself? And what was your answer?
Maybe, the boys and girls in our midst would say: Well, I go to church because Dad and Mum go and I go with them. I never thought about it but that is how it is. It belongs to the Sunday.
Teenagers may have a problem finding the right words to give their opinion. They might say: Churchgoing is a tradition. Our grandparents were used to going and our parents followed their example and we? I am not so sure. I am not really interested in going. No, I am not against it, but sometimes I would prefer to stay home or do something else.
I want to address all the members and visitors with that same question: Why do you go to church? There are several answers possible, I mention only a few.
– The church-service gives us an opportunity for fellowship; fellowship with the Lord and fellowship with one another.
– Another reply is: We like to come together to sing and to praise the Lord.
– And still another: We like to be instructed by listening to the Word of God preached. We need to hear the gospel-message to be able to go on in life with our particular problems.
And so I could go on to suggest answers to the question: Why go to church?
We could also respond to that question by using the words which are mentioned in vs.20 of John 12. Some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the feast of Passover. They came to one of Jesus’ disciples with the request: “Sir, we would like to see Jesus. That would be an answer as well to the question: why go to church? To see Jesus!
But we wonder, what did the Lord say in answer to that question of those Greeks? Well, let us listen to the Word of God in John 12, vss.24 and 25.
Those words speak about:
1. The necessity of Jesus’ sacrifice;
2. The necessity of a sacrificial life by Jesus’ followers.
We don’t know anything about those people who approached Philip with their wish to see Jesus. But they were interested in the Jewish religion. They were on their way to worship at the feast. We meet with that kind of people more often in the New Testament (cf.Acts 10:2;16:14) where they are called “God fearing” or “worshipper of God”. Now these Greeks were used to going up to worship. That is what the words “went up” in Greek tell us. Anyway their request “to see Jesus” was addressed to Philip; Philip told Andrew and they in turn told Jesus.
It is a wonderful request, isn’t it? I hope, it is our desire, every time we go to church, to see Jesus! It is tremendous when that is living in our hearts.
And, of course, the Lord Jesus will be very happy with such a request and respond to it with gratitude and appreciation. He will be eager to meet these people and make an appointment as soon as possible. Isn’t it great that those Greeks come at a time when His own people turn away from Him and are about to destroy Him? Was not this His chance, His opportunity to turn away from the Jews and seize the opportunity to work among the Greeks? His own people did not listen to Him. We read in the previous chapter of the gospel of John, chapter 11, that a meeting of the Sanhedrin was called. The leaders of Israel planned to get rid of Jesus, so that He could no longer move about publicly among the Jews. He withdrew to a region near the desert with His disciples. So why not accept the hand which was extended to Him?
We wonder what the answer of the Lord Jesus will be? Will He turn away from the Jews who are about to kill Him and go over to the Greeks? However, listen to Jesus’ answer: “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.”
A strange answer, very strange! Is that an answer to that request of the Greeks?
The Lord Jesus sees the course of His life outlined by what happens to a grain of wheat. That grain is ineffective and unfruitful as long as it is preserved somewhere in safety and security. It remains alone. But when that grain is put into the ground and buried there, it will bear fruit. That is the way of a grain.
The same is the case in the kingdom of God. And so it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. His life and work will be ineffective if He turns away from the Jews and from His death through their hands and listens to the requests of the Greeks.
There is only one way for the Lord Jesus to bear fruit for Greeks as well for Jews: that is His death, His cross.
Oh yes, there is a real temptation in that wish of the Greeks to see Jesus, a temptation to run away from that terrible sacrifice on the cross, a temptation that is more than once launched at Him. Just think of the temptations by the devil after Jesus had been in the desert for forty days. Or think of the cowardice of Peter, Jesus’ disciple, who tried to prevent Him accepting His suffering and death.
Surely, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has to be preached to all the nations of the world, to Jews and Greeks included, but the success of that mission depends on Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice Himself. There is no hope, no future for any nation, for any person, without Calvary. The cross, and the cross alone is the hope for the future for this troubled would and for every individual. Jesus’ sacrifice, His death, means life for Jews and Gentiles.
The Bible is very clear about that message! And the sacraments, Holy Baptism and Holy Supper tell the same story.
It is a wonderful story, the most wonderful story ever told. And it is not just a story, but a historical fact, that happened then and there.
Jesus’ death is necessary for Jews Greeks, for all the nations of the world, for you and me and for our young people and for our little ones. This is something to be excited about and to be grateful for.
However, the people in Jesus’ days did not understand it. They relied on their own wisdom. Even His disciples did not readily accept it. When the Lord explained about His sufferings and death He said to them: “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him…” When the Lord told His disciples all this, we read that “they did not understand anything of these things. They did not know what He was talking about.” (Luke 18:32-34)
You know how Peter reacted when Jesus began to show His disciples His approaching suffering and death. Peter began to rebuke His Lord, saying: “Never, Lord. This shall never happen to you.”
The Lord did not listen to the wisdom of the disciples. Neither did He accept the invitation of the Greeks. The reason was not that He did not care about His disciples or did not want to help the Greeks or other nations. The real motive for His refusal to listen to His disciples and for His reaction to the request of the Greeks was His marvellous love for the world. There is only hope, there is only a future for Israel and for the Greeks and for us along the terrible road of Jesus’ death. Isn’t it amazing, that the Lord sacrificed Himself completely for His people?
When we realize Christ’s amazing love, what is our response? What is the foundation on which we build our life? Don’t forget that a house that is not built on the right foundation will collapse. Whatever we build, all our efforts, what we produce is unable to save us.
As the hymn-writer says:
“Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load”.
But that is not the end of the story. There is not only that negative side. Just listen to these comforting words:
“Thy grace alone, O God, To me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone, O Son of God, can this sore bondage break.
No other work save Thine, No other blood will do;
No strength save that which is divine can bear me safely through.”
And so “I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine.”
However, this is not all. Believing in Christ means also something else, namely that we are called to follow Him. Surely, we cannot follow Christ in the way of repeating His sacrifice on the cross. Christ’s work is unique and sufficient, He is our only Saviour.
And yet… when we belong to Him we have to show that we belong to Him. John puts it this way: “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.”
And Peter in his first letter, chapter 2:21, writes:
“Because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example,
that you should follow in His steps.
The law of the grain which is clear in Jesus’ death will be visible in the life of His followers also. The necessity for self- sacrifice in the life of those who belong to Jesus Christ is emphasized again and again. The apostle Paul in Romans chapter 12:1 is urging the congregation in Rome to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. And he adds this: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Belonging to the Saviour Jesus Christ turns all things upside down: loving our life is losing it; and hating our life is keeping it for ever.
Strange, very strange, isn’t it?
To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is not just a matter of having some fixed ideas, different from non-church-going people. It is not only reading and studying the Bible, but it affects our whole way of living.
We are not saved to live, but to serve and to sacrifice. A man or woman, a boy or girl, who is unwilling to serve the Lord and who refuses to sacrifice is not a Christian.
The trend of our modern world is to get as much as possible for as little as possible. And who says that we are not affected at all by this worldly attitude?
What is the example we offer to our children and young people? What do they read in our life and life-style? Isn’t there an insatiable urge to satisfy ourselves? We want more and more all the time. Our aim seems to be self- satisfaction.
It is just the opposite of what the Lord Jesus Christ is keeping before us. We should be different, not conforming any longer to this pattern of the present world, but being transformed.
The Roman Christians were also in danger of going on the wrong track. The apostle Paul warns them: Stop, don’t go on conforming to the pattern of the world. And so he warns us: Stop, if you want to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The pattern of the world is: self- satisfaction in every way. Have fun, enjoy yourself, use all day for your pleasure. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
Our Lord Jesus Christ came to serve and to give, even to give His life as а ransom for many. He does not hide from us what life with Him is like. We are not trapped by Him, so that we don’t know what we are in for and later discover the reality. Not at all! Christ shows by His own example what the trend of our life should be. Once, when great multitudes accompanied Him, He turned to them and said: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.
Christians are stamped with the mark of their Master. Their life is directed by the law of a grain of wheat. Not our life and our will and our ideals are number one on the agenda, but they are called to love the Lord and to practice His will, whatever the cost.
Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ caused unrest and storm in the days when He was on earth. He is still the same! A break-through in our world, in our godless and religious world. He will break into our heart and our mind, in our life here and now and in our society to introduce a totally new beginning.
Jesus Christ is not conforming to the world. He confronts us with a new way of life, with a drastic change of direction. Let us face it: It is not easy to be a follower of this Lord. You have to pay the price. Anyway, you are warned not to follow this master lightly. You have to sit down and estimate the cost before making your decision.
The Lord does not want you to go after Him without knowing what that means. Remember His story about the man who wanted to build a tower? And that other example about a king who was about to go to war against another king? He had to sit down and consider whether he was able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with an army of twenty thousand.
“In the same way”, so the Lord Jesus says, “any of you who does not give everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
The cost of discipleship, brothers and sisters, young people, is not cheap. Not at all! There is no cheap discipleship.
Does this mean that Christians are to be pitied? Is there any reason for self-pity? Certainly not! Christians are the richest people in the world. What a privilege that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and that we have in Him all things.
Sure, followers of this Lord often had to sacrifice their life for Him. The history of the church counts a large number of martyrs, who paid the price of their life for their Lord. And our time is not different from that past. There is a growing number of people who do not love their life more than Him who gave His life for them. In that way they keep it for eternal life. Their and our lives are secure with Him.
Our concern, and this is the same for young and old, is to follow in the footstep of our Master, serving and sacrificing ourselves, so that the words of the hymn we like to sing become more and more our daily practice:
“Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.”
AMEN