Introduction
There’s
an old story about a Boy Scout leader who wanted to teach his troop how to
handle first aid. So, he took the boys into the woods near their neighborhood.
He had one of the boys lie down under a tree and pretend to be injured. The
leader's plan was to take the rest of the troop over the hill, teach them how
to properly bandage a wound, and then rush back to "save" the injured
boy.
But the leader got so caught up in his teaching, going over every detail, that he forgot all about the boy waiting under the tree. Time went by, and suddenly it hit him: "Oh no! We’ve left him alone all this time!" The troop quickly rushed back, worried about what they might find. When they arrived, there was no boy. Instead, they found a note stuck in the ground that said, "Have bled to death and gone home!"
Greek
Seekers
A
lot of people have “bled to death” and left our churches for various reasons.
Even today, within and without the church, many people are bleeding,
struggling, and seeking – seeking truth, freedom, and community.
In today’s scripture, some Greeks came to see Jesus (v. 20). In Jesus’ time Greeks were known as seekers after truth. These Greeks in today’s reading went up to worship at the Passover festival and kept asking to see Jesus. The original Greek text shows their request (“we would like to see Jesus”) was continuous. They were persistent. They really wanted to see and hear Jesus.
“We
want to see Jesus.” But how did these seekers see Jesus? Through his death.
How did they understand him as King and Messiah? Through His death. Jesus
replied to their request this way, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a
grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single
grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit” (v. 24).
The
Gospel
Christ’s
death is the source of life to the world. Just as, a single seed must be buried and dead to
sprout and bear fruit, Christ’s suffering and death were to produce great blessings
for all people. The heart of the Gospel is that Christ’s death (not just
His life, his miracles, or his teachings) was the key to bringing salvation –
“new life with God” – to a world in need. Without Christ’s death there would be
no life for the world.
Charles Ross Weed captured this truth beautifully in his poem “Christ and Alexander” in this way[1]:
Jesus and Alexander died at
thirty-three,
One died in Babylon and one on
Calvary.
One gained all for self, and one
himself he gave.
One conquered every throne, the other
every grave.
When died the Greek, forever fell his
throne of swords,
But Jesus died to live forever Lord
of lords.
Jesus and Alexander died at
thirty-three.
The Greek made all men slaves, the
Jew made all men free.
One built a throne on blood, the
other built on love…
The Greek forever died, the Jew
forever lives.
He loses all who gets and wins all
things who gives.
Our
new life comes through Christ’s death.
How did the Greek seekers see Jesus? Through Christ’s death. Jesus said, “When
I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (v. 32).
Whenever Christ crucified has been preached, souls have been drawn to Christ in
every part of the world, just as iron filings are drawn to a magnet.
Follow
How
will those around us see Jesus? Only when we die to ourselves and live for
Christ. Jesus said, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I
am, there will my servant be also” (v. 26). As the sheep follows its shepherd, we
are to follow Him on the way of the cross—a life of sacrifice.
Jesus faced a moment of great inner struggle. He said, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (vv. 27-28). Jesus chose obedience and God’s glory over comfort and safety.
This reminds me of William Wallace's famous battle speech from the movie Braveheart, where he inspires his people to fight for freedom over safety:
“Fight and you may die. Run and you’ll live – at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom?”
I
still remember a former District Superintendent from the Greater Boston area
lamenting over the state of many churches he supervised. The majority were
small and stuck in survival mode. Their mindset was, “We’ve been there and
done that.” They weren’t willing to take risks or make sacrifices. Instead,
they were simply trying to keep the doors open for as long as possible.
A church in survival mode is already dead. But a church that dares to take risks, to step out in faith, is a church that will truly live. Jesus said, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25, ESV).
The
Church Is Not Dead
The
other day I had a movie night with my children. We watched the movie All
Saints. It is a story about a former salesman-turned-pastor who is sent to
close a dying church. But when the pastor meets a group of refugees seeking
help, he feels God calling him to keep the church open and turn the church
property into a farm to help the community. The congregation steps out in
faith, in spite of the challenges ahead. They face setbacks—no rain during
planting and a flood at harvest—but they press on, trusting that God is at
work.
In that story each one does their part. The Karan refugees have to work at their chicken farm all day, but still they come to help on the church farm after work and on weekends. The pastor and his family sacrifice all they had – their times, talents, treasures –
for
the church. Even the bishop resigns to help this church designated as mission
church. Through their sacrifice and perseverance, the church comes alive again.
The Bible says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. The one who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6). Today we plant small seeds by faith. We may not see many young people among us, but we plant a seed by starting a praise band and holding a monthly music service at the nursing home. We may not see many new faces among us, but we plan a seed by staring small groups.
We don’t get to choose the time, but we can choose what to do with the time given to us. There’s a life-cycle of the church. We don’t know exactly what phase our church is in. Our local church may live or die. But what we know for sure is the Universal Church will never die. The Church will prevail. The Day will come when every knee shall bow before the Lamb that was slain, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That’s the glory of the Church on that day.
The Church is not dead.
When we feel discouraged and think our work is in vain, may the Spirit of the living God revive our souls again. May the Lord lead us into a life of sacrifice, so that people can see Jesus and find life in Him. Amen.
[1]
R. Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe (Preaching the Word) (p.
303). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
