Yes! There is Good News! 5.13.17

It might be an odd thing to say that the death, burial and resurrection of someone is good news, but in the Gospel of John, a few days before the death of Jesus, John tells us that “there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.” These were either Jews from the Grecian Isles or they were God-fearing gentiles from Greece. We learn in the story (John 12:20-36) that these Greeks wanted to meet Jesus. And true to form, when Andrew and Philip told Jesus about them, He used the opportunity to teach a lesson.

Jesus never really recognized this request but immediately replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, yes, 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 much fruit.” On the surface this is a very cryptic statement in reply to the request of the Greeks. But let’s take a closer look.

Jesus first words were that His hour had come. This is the fourth of nine statements in the Gospel of John concerning His hour/time. The first three tell us that His time had not come. This, the fourth, is the first to tell us that “the hour has come.” We learn from this just what was on His mind: “The Son of Man is to be glorified.”

He knows the sacrifice of His life was as hand. It is weighing heavy upon Him. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father glorify your name.”
How beautiful this next statement is: “Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”

The Father, seeing the heaviness of the heart of His beloved Son, spoke through the heavenly realm such words of comfort. But what about this “kernel of wheat dying”? There are so many references in the Bible, in parables, in blessings, in prophecies etc. about food. Food for us is just something we stop at the grocery store and pick up, and yet in biblical times, there was nothing more important than food and water.

The kernel of wheat is a metaphor applied to Himself. It was He that was to die and so by His death much fruit would be produced. The kernel of wheat “dies” when it is planted in the ground. It sprouts, flowers, and produces many more kernels of wheat. Jesus, by His death, was to produce a tremendous harvest that is today still bearing fruit.

We skipped over one statement in this episode, verse 25: “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. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” This is the concept of salvation and eternal life. Yes, this is the good news that we can rejoice in. But what about this “following Him”? He was going to His death. Must we follow Him there?

Until next time…..