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17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very 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. ~ John 12:17-24
In John 12:17-21, the Lord Jesus is popular. The whole world seemed to want to see Him because He had raised Lazarus from the dead. This kind of word spreads fast. So popular was the Lord Jesus that some visiting Greeks went to Philip and Andrew, requesting to see Him. This request underlines the fact the Lord Jesus was popular. But, this kind of popularity repulses Him.
This kind of popularity isn't high on His list. And, even though He came to be the King, He didn't come to be the King that was expected by these gathered in Jerusalem. In fact, by the end of this week their praises turn to "crucify Him".
In v.23, we read, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified!" This is the first time the Lord Jesus has gone along with the people's desire to acknowledge Him as such. Several times in this gospel we have heard Jesus say "My hour has not yet come." These responses give clear indication that He was in utter subjection to the will of His Father in heaven.
In v.24, we get the explanation for His acceptance of the people's adulation: He goes on to utter words introduced by what I have described as the formula of focused attention: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very 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."
Of course, He is talking about Himself. He is the grain of wheat. Unless He is willing to die, unless He goes to the cross, His whole purpose in coming to earth will have been wasted, we will remain alone. "But if it dies, it produces many seeds." These Greeks, perhaps, represent the many seeds, converts with changed hearts and minds.
The Lord Jesus is that grain of wheat. To realize its purpose, the seed must be planted. It has to be left in the cold, dark earth. In time, a green sprout will appear, then the blade, then the plant, then the stem, and finally the head. Then, the harvest. On the cross He accomplished something no one else could have: He conquered sin and death so that we could be reunited to God. Had the Lord Jesus not embraced death on the cross, we would not be redeemed.
The word redeem means “to buy out.” The term was used specifically in reference to the purchase of a slave’s freedom. The application of this term to Christ’s death on the cross is quite telling. If we are “redeemed,” God has purchased our freedom, and we are no longer in bondage to sin or to the Old Testament law.
In the Old Testament, redemption involved deliverance from bondage based on the payment of a price by a redeemer. The Hebrew root word includes a substitution required for the person delivered from the bondage of another.
According to the New Testament, deliverance of mankind from its state of alienation from God has been accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In the New Testament, redemption requires the payment of a price. Mankind is held in the bondage of sin from which only the atoning death of Jesus Christ can liberate.
Redemption is the promise of God to deliver us from the penalty, power and presence of sin. Before sin entered this world, Adam and Eve had intimate relationship with God. But now, mankind has forfeited that relationship by choosing to reject God. The good news is that the Lord Jesus has purchased our redemption through His death on the cross by dying as a kernel.
James Montgomery Boice tells the story of a young Russian, the son of a close friend of Czar Nicholas, who was caught stealing from the Czar. As treasurer of a border fortress of the Russian army, the young man was to manage the Czar’s money and dispense the wages to the troops. But he began gambling and trying to cover his losses by borrowing from the army treasury.
One day he heard that a government auditor was coming to examine the books. He sat down and added up what he had taken. It was a huge amount. He emptied out his own resources, subtracted it from what should have been in the account and noted the great discrepancy. Under the amount due, he wrote: “A great debt; who can pay?” He couldn’t, and he knew no one who could help him. So he drew his revolver and decided to kill himself at midnight.
But as he waited for the clock to strike, he fell asleep, and while he slept, Czar Nicholas paid a surprise inspection visit. He saw the books, the despairing note and the revolver, and he realized that the young man had betrayed his trust. But rather than arrest the young man, he had mercy on him. He stooped and wrote something next to the man’s note and quietly left.
When the young man awoke, he again picked up the gun and was about to pull the trigger when he noticed something. Next to his note, “A great debt; who can pay?” was a single word: Nicholas. And the next morning, a bag of coins arrived from Nicholas that covered the exact amount owed.
Our debt was much, much steeper. We faced an eternity apart from God and all that is good. But while we were yet enemies of God, Christ died for us. My friend, I trust you have believed in the Lord Jesus and received His free gift of redemption.
