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24 Aug 2022
Key Verse 24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
Entry into Jerusalem[1]
I am collecting seeds of various flowers to sow in the soil of the balcony next year. When I sow them, their shells are first torn and grow.
And the plant will bring sunflower or other flowers around July or August. And from one seed you can harvest many hundreds of seeds.
But if I leave the seeds indoors, the seeds remain in their dry state and will eventually lose the power to produce seed, even though they are sown in the soil.
In this chapter, Jesus teaches us a secret for a fruitful life of faith.
We can thank Jesus Christ for His grace and follow Jesus with a grateful heart.
This is the way of victorious discipleship and the secret of the fruitful life of faith.
May God help us to personally accept Jesus' love, follow Jesus out of gratitude and bear many fruits.
1. The Entry into Jerusalem (12-19)
Napoleon once triumphantly entered Paris through the Victory Gate (Ạrc de Triomphe) after defeating some neighboring countries. He wanted to show everyone that he was a big winner. A little later, however, he was banished to the small island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean and died there lonely. So he ended his life as a loser.
Verses 12 and 13 tell us of another triumphant entry: Jesus is greeted with great rejoicing by a large crowd as he enters Jerusalem. This entry is called the "Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem", not only because he was received triumphantly by the crowd, but above all because after his entry through his death on the cross and his resurrection he conquered the power of sin and death and us gives victory over sin and death.
Verses 12 and 13 tell us: “The next day, when the crowd who had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him, crying, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel!>"
Palm branches are considered a symbol of joy (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15,17) and victory (Rev. 7:9). The cheering "Hosanna" of the crowd means "help!" or "save now!"
Their cheering means something like: "Praise be to Jesus, the true King. He came to save us!"
So Jesus is the Savior and the true King. He saves us from the dominion of sin, death, and the devil and brings us under his dominion. Jesus saves us from every need. He is the real king.
After saving us, he rules over us with his divine love, power, and wisdom. His rule is good and wonderful. If we have personally accepted Him as our Savior and King, we are already saved from sin, death, devil, and hell and are under the dominion of God. Then we are quite safe and happy.
How did Jesus enter Jerusalem? Does he enter the city in a magnificent chariot, surrounded by marching bodyguards, as every king used to do at a triumphal entry?
Verses 14 and 15 describe his entry: "Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, as it is written: <Fear not, daughter of Zion! Behold, your king is coming riding on a colt.>"
Jesus is the King of kings because He is actually God. He is the ruler of all things in heaven and on earth. However, he does not flaunt his power during this entry to impress people. Rather, he chooses a colt as a mount for his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, because he wants everyone, old people and little children alike, to be able to come and shake his hand without shyness or fear.
He is a gentle and humble king to everyone. A proud man can neither be a good shepherd nor a good king. Only a humble, gentle person can accept others and help them well.
Jesus is very humble and meek. Therefore, even if people are sinful or weak, he can accept them out of heart, help them, encourage them and lead them to the right road.
Jesus would like people to come to him. That is why he says to us:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Mt 11:28,29).
2. The dying grain of wheat (20-33)
Verses 20-22 tell us that among the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the Passover feast were some Greeks.
They come to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and ask him, "Lord, we would like to see Jesus."
So these Greeks want to get to know Jesus personally and believe in Jesus, whose name is on everyone's lips as that of the promised Messiah.
Philip tells Andrew, and the two go to Jesus and tell him.
"Jesus answered them and said, 'The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'" (verse 23).
Jesus now recognizes from the visit of some Greeks that the hour of his sacrificial death for the sins of all people is near. That is why he wants to explain to his disciples the meaning of his death.
He also wants to teach his disciples the mystery of spiritual fruitfulness by his own example.
That's why he says: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (verse 24).
Jesus declares that he wants to become a dying grain of wheat. He wants to die on the cross so that countless people will receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in him.
If he hadn't wanted to die, he could not die. He could have saved himself much suffering and agony and enjoyed a comfortable and long life - maybe 70 or 80 years.
Then the cross on Calvary would have remained empty, and we would have had no opportunity to receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. That would have been devastating for us.
However, he voluntarily decides to become a dying grain of wheat and to die on the cross as a sin offering in order to give us and many people forgiveness and eternal life.
We are the fruits of his death. What gratitude! We must never forget this gratitude. Because of his death, Jesus continues to bring countless fruits of eternal life; all people receive forgiveness and eternal life when they confess their sins and believe in him as God's Son and Christ.
Jesus also wants to encourage each of us with his words in verse 24 to become a dying grain of wheat. He wants us to follow His example and bring many fruits of eternal life.
If a grain of wheat is to bear much fruit, it must fall into the ground and die.
So the first secret to fertility is "fall into the earth."
The grain of wheat should first leave its storage room and fall into the ground to bear fruit.
This means accepting the divine call to work for the fruits of eternal life.
The grains of wheat left lying around in the storeroom are like the people who do not accept the divine call.
You don't want to fall into the damp soil, you want to be left lying around in a clean, dry storage area. They maintain their beautiful shape for quite a time.
But after a certain number of years, say after three or four years, they lose the ability to sprout. After that, they shrink and lose their beautiful shape and become ugly.
On the other hand, the grains of wheat that leave the storeroom and fall into the damp earth bear much fruit.
People tend to stay in their familiar, clean surroundings. Germans and Koreans would like to remain in their affluent society.
But if you want to bear fruit, you should overcome your love of laziness and follow God's providence.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean moving to a poor country. But one should overcome one's laziness and follow God's leading.
Our pastor is always happy to invite guests who are on the journey. This is also a practical example of the dying grain of wheat.
Or some go to the undeveloped countries to share the gospel.
Or you can go to the people who don't believe in Jesus Christ yet and invite them to believe.
So there are different ways to fall into the earth.
The second secret to fertility is "dying".
Jesus said that a grain of wheat should fall into the ground and then die, yielding many fruits.
The husk of the grain of wheat that has fallen into the ground must be broken in order for the germ to sprout.
Eventually, the nutrient of the wheat grain is completely consumed for the growth of the sprout. This means that the shell of our egos must be broken in order for faith in the Word of God to take root, sprout and grow in our hearts.
A farmer scatters the grains of wheat with firm confidence that the grains he sows in the ground will bear much fruit at the right time.
We can trust Jesus and His promise in verse 24 because He said, "But if it dies, it bears much fruit." All who have chosen to become dying grains of wheat out of faith in Jesus' promise in verse 24 have a vision of a great harvest of eternal life.
When our ego dies, we grow well in faith and can bring many fruits to God: both many inner fruits - that is love, joy, peace, hope, etc. and many outer fruits - this means that many people become children of God through us and grow up as good disciples of Jesus.
Some want to bring forth many fruits without dying. Unfortunately, this is not possible. Without the cross, there is no resurrection. Without death, there is no fruit.
That's why Jesus says in verse 25, "Whoever loves his life will lose it; and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
"To love your life" here means that you just don't want to become a dying grain of wheat, but want to protect your life like the grains of wheat that are lying around in the storeroom.
"Hating your life" means devoting your life for the gospel.
Jesus says that those who want to spare their life lose it, but those who actively use their lives for the gospel receive the eternal life.
In verses 27 and 28 Jesus shows us how He behaved as a dying grain of wheat. His soul is grieved when he is about to die for the sins of men. He honestly confesses his weakness in prayer before God and asks for help to overcome his weakness and to obey his will.
And God hears his prayer and strengthens him so that he gets enough strength from God and dies on the cross as a sacrificial lamb of God.
In verses 31-33, Jesus declares that through His death and resurrection, He will defeat Satan forever, deliver people from Satan's power, and lead them into the kingdom of heaven.
That's why he says: "Now is the judgment of the world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. And, when I am exalted from the earth, I will draw everyone to me."
People seem to be independent and free without God. But they must fill the empty place of God with some substitute, e.g., Money, lust, ambition, fun, etc.
And man without God inevitably sins, and through sin man becomes the prisoner of the devil. So the godless world is a toy of the devil.
But Jesus is the victor. Through his resurrection, Jesus triumphs over sin, death, and the devil and gives us the final victory!
Praise the Lord who slew the devil by dying on the cross and gave us eternal life.
His example encourages us to become dying grains of wheat and also bring forth much fruit.
3. Decision Hour (34-50)
Jesus says in verses 44-46, “Whoever believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I came into the world as a light, so that whoever believes in me should not remain in darkness."
Jesus says whoever believes in him will not remain in darkness. Everyone should believe in Jesus to avoid being judged.
Our difficult time is actually a time for decision to believe or disbelieve. We are in a situation of decision.
Do we believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God?
Do we believe that God sent Jesus into the world for our redemption?
If we believe in it, this belief can become a turning point in our lives.
Jesus says in verses 47-48, “Whoever hears my words and does not obey them, I will not judge them, for I did not come to judge the world but to save it.
Anyone who despises me and does not accept my words already has his judge: the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.”
Jesus teaches us here that every time of crisis is the time of decision.
We are to stand before God and make a right decision to either believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and King or to reject Him.
We are faced with the choice of living by faith in Jesus Christ or living without Jesus.
Many people call themselves Christians, but in their practical life they act according to their selfishness.
But we should ask ourselves:
“Do I from my heart name Jesus as my King and Lord? Or do I want to remain king over my life myself?”
May God help us to accept Jesus as our King and Lord.
[1] www.ilaganbap.org/ von Jose B. Cabajar
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