Now that spring is upon us, many people are thinking about their gardens, and getting ready to plant their flowers or vegetables soon. They will head off to the local garden center, and purchase the seeds they need. Have you ever taken a good look at seeds? They are lifeless little kernels. You can set them on a shelf and they won’t do anything except lie there for weeks, years, even centuries if left alone. But once you bury them in the soil they will grow into a beautiful flower or plant. Something that is “dead”, when buried, brings forth life. This is the spiritual truth that Jesus speaks about in our Gospel reading for today.
As Jesus was teaching His twelve apostles, and the other disciples and people who followed Him, He knew that the time of His death upon the cross was nearing. No one would look forward to a tortuous death, and Jesus was no exception (vs. 27). Yet He knew that this was why He came to earth, to pay the price for our sins, and bring salvation to mankind. Just like a seed, some things must die in order to be productive (vs. 24). Jesus knew His death would bring salvation to the world. Unless a kernel or grain of wheat is put in the ground and “dies”, it cannot produce more wheat. Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for our sins, and to show His power over death. His resurrection brings eternal life.
When we become a Christian our sinful nature dies (Romans 6:6). However, some sinful aspects of our character have not willingly gone to their graves. If they are allowed to remain alive, they will stifle the fruits of the Spirit. We need to allow Jesus to put those sinful aspects of our character to death. Those times of brokenness hurt. But it is during this time that Jesus does His greatest work in us. A seed left alone on a shelf does nothing. But when it is planted, and its protective layer stripped away, it grows into the plant it should become. Jesus didn’t just talk about this example, He lived it. We aren’t abandoned during this time while God is working on us. We are going into a season of growth.
If our desire is to remain isolated, protected, and comfortable, we’ll never bear fruit for God. It is in dying to self and being broken that we become fruitful and useful to God (vs. 24-26). As followers of Jesus, we may have to lose our life in service and witness for Him. The more we grow as Christians, our love and devotion to Jesus will grow, too. Compared to that, everything else will look like hate (vs. 25). If all we care about is this life, we will lose out on eternal life.
Though Jesus was fully God, He was also fully man. The human nature of Jesus dreaded the coming agony and torture of the crucifixion (vs. 27). His contemplation of taking the wrath of God for the sins of the world caused a natural revulsion, horror, and anxiety in Him, as we see during His time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44). His human nature wanted to be delivered from that horrible death. However, Jesus also knew that the Father sent Him to earth to die for our sins. Jesus said no to His human desires in order to obey His Father, and to glorify Him (vs. 28). Jesus’ death ended the power of sin and Satan over mankind, and opened the door of salvation for people from every age and nation (vs. 31-32). Jesus’ death was for “all people”, and salvation is open to “all people” (vs. 32), both Jews and Gentiles without distinction. However, not everyone will be saved because not everyone responds and comes to Him.
God the Father responded to Jesus’ desire to glorify Him, and spoke His Voice from heaven (vs. 28-29). Some people hearing the Voice said it was just thunder. For many people Satan is so busy whispering in their ears, the Voice of God is drowned out. Some can hear the Voice of God, while others hear only noise. What are we hearing? What are we listening to? We need to tune out Satan and be listening to what God says.
When Jesus was lifted up upon the Cross, that opened salvation to all who accept Him. We need to be lifting up His Cross as a witness to all we meet, so that people will also come to know Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment