Sermon – March 21, 2021 – Lent 5

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Pastor David Clark  ~  John 12:20-33  ~  March 21, 2021  ~  Lent 5 Sermon

JESUS IS WORTHY OF GLORY

20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly I tell you, 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. 25Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27“Now my soul 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. 28Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

 

Dear friends in our Savior Jesus,

          In June of 2014 at the age of 92, Robert Read, a high school graduate and WW II veteran passed away in Brattleboro, Vermont. Mr. Read had worked most of his life undistinguished as a janitor and gas station attendant. Imagine the surprise of the residents of Brattleboro who found that in his will he had left six of his eight million dollars to his local library and hospital. A quiet unassuming man in life. He was glorified by many in death.

          Jesus looked like a pretty ordinary guy. He consistently asked his disciples not to tell people he was more than that. But a discerning few saw through all that, including some Greeks who came to Jerusalem for Passover and deemed Jesus as worthy of great glory.

  1. Because of his purpose.

We don’t know how they heard about Jesus, but it is clear they knew why he had come.

 23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly I tell you, 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.31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (verses 23-24, 31-33)

We do with seeds the same thing we do when people die. We bury them. The seed sprouts and produces much more. One seed produces stalks with many, many more seeds.

Jesus is that kernel of wheat. Although he taught, he didn’t come to be a teacher. Although he set an example, he didn’t come as one. Jesus came to crush the head of Satan, so that Satan no longer has the power over death, and death is no longer something to be feared. Although his death looked humble, he produced many more seeds – all of us who believe in him.

  1. Shown by his Father’s approval.

That request of the Greeks gave Jesus the opportunity to remind his disciples they weren’t the only ones to give Jesus glory. 27“Now my soul 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. 28Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. (verses 27-30)

At Jesus’ baptism recorded in Matthew 3:17, the Father said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” At his transfiguration recorded in Matthew 17:5, the Father said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” The resurrection says the same thing.

We all want the approval of our fathers. We are used to moms spending a little more time with us than dads. Moms tend to be a little more nurturing than dads. But when dads speak, it usually carries a little different weight. That’s why “Wait until your father gets home” has so much authority in a child’s heart.

Jesus’ father was not a sports guy or a music guy or a gamer. Jesus’ father is the perfect God of all creation with a standard that is impossible for any of us to ever live up to. It’s called perfection. That means never talking back, getting a perfect grade on every single test, and always being helpful around the house – especially to Mom.

Jesus’ father says he is worthy of glory when he says, “I approve!”

  1. As we follow him.

We see that! 25Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. (verses 25-26)

It’s pretty exciting to visit a foreign country. But after a while the difference in the customs, the language, the habits, tend to become awkward. And when it does, we sound like Dorothy, “There’s no place like home.”

          You are living in that foreign country. The longer we are here the more temptation there is to start picking up the local color – the customs, the language, the habits. That’s not what we are about. Our home is heaven. We are about serving the one who came to serve us, and that’s not always comfortable. Jesus’ cross was heavy, painful, and misunderstood.

          This is one time to not fit in. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in COVID fear or COVID laziness that we forget to follow Jesus. Following Jesus means having the same priority for worshiping him as he had for saving us. It means we live in joy and hope rather than pessimism and fear. We see tomorrow as another day to give glory to him in the way we drive our cars, post on social media, or talk about our church. We don’t think of ourselves first. We think of Jesus first and others second. Following Jesus means serving him. As we serve him, we glorify him.

          Those Greeks wanted to see Jesus. So do we. We do when we hear his word, see a child baptized, take communion. Others do when we live the way he wants us to. All of these things show the same thing. Jesus is worthy of glory. Amen.