Sermon - John 12.20-33

John 12.20-33

INTRO

·         What would make you visit Mecca at Hajj time? Risky for an outsider, one of the hated “others” at a time where nationalist and religious fervour crescendos.

·         Gospel building to a crisis point thru Jn 11 & 12

·         Jesus’s HOUR has finally come

GREEN LIGHT

·         Gentiles WANT (also means “lack or be short of something desirable or essential”) to SEE (Jesus (Is 52.10, just before 53!) cf Spanish saying (check with Bob) “del lo que hay, no falta nada”, meaning “of all the things we have, we don’t lack anything”.

·         Passover – J will be the true, voluntary lamb of God

·         Gentiles (and everybody) will get what they need or lack; they will SEE Jesus, but not what they expect…

JESUS about to be CLARIFIED (John Wycliffe’s 14C translation) and GLORIFIED

·         A “Truly, truly” saying (i.e. very important)

·         Dying to Live; the seed principle

·         Applies the seed principle to himself (firstfruits of a great harvest)

·         Applies it to others – explain hating your life (hating the psyche, ego-self)

·         To live eternal (= from above) life, your psyche/ego needs to die

KRISIS in the KOSMOS (v31 in original Greek)

·         Vast scope …

·         Judgement has come on the world, the present order of things

·         The ruling powers are about to be defeated

·         When Jesus is lifted up from the earth (= resurrected!) he will draw (literally drag) ALL (every person) to himself (see also Jn 1.7, 9, 16, 29, 3.17 etc). What God wants – in both senses of want (1 Tim 2.3) God will surely achieve, through the resurrection of Jesus who draws/drags all who want or lack God to him with an everlasting love and with cords of loving kindness (Jer 31.3, Hosea 11.4)

·         For anything or anybody to prevent God reaching his goal, they’d have to be stronger than God, to somehow deflect or neutralise his everlasting, powerful love.

RESPONSE/REFLECTION…

·         Love, wonder, worship … or at least be intrigued?

·         I don’t want to die having just been a good seed, stay shiny and hard shelled to the end, then disintegrate with all my life giving potential crumbling into dust, wasted. That wouldn’t be the end for me but I would surely have good cause for regret.

·         Our ruling self needs to die now, be buried in the soil of life now, so can live from above, grow, be fruitful

·         Think back to small deaths which (in hindsight) led to new life, growth, fruit

·         What else do you want (lack or need)?

·         What else do you need to die to?

·         What hard shell needs breaking, so that your healing, lifegiving potential can break out and grow?

·         Prayer…