Sermon Palm Sunday April 13, 2025 John 12:20-43
/Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ So, you wish to see Jesus, you Greeks? So, you wish to see Jesus, you stranger, you professor, you university student from far away or nearby, you lifelong, unchurched Stillwater resident, you church member who hasn’t been to church in months or years? We would, we should, welcome this to happen, people of any stripe, any attitude towards Christianity, asking We wish to see Jesus. It would be an opportunity for them to hear of Christ, a new believer, the return of another, a sign of potential growth. It would be exciting. We hear God’s Word today under the theme,
JESUS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO BE JESUS IS WHAT YOU, AND ALL PEOPLE NEED THE MOST, THE CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR FROM SIN
The Greeks wanted to see Jesus. But Jesus did not entertain any questions from the Greeks. Instead, He said this, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. I wonder what they thought of those words. Something must die in order for there to be fruit. Eternal life is promised for the one who hates his life and serves Jesus, in faith.
The Greeks are non-Jews. In this text, they also represent the Gentiles. When Jesus half ignored them and began to talk about the hour of the Son of Man being glorified, it might have caused the Greeks to leave or to at least be put off. But it seems as though they did not leave. It appears they were riveted in place by this very strange, yet compelling sermon/conversation given by Jesus. What were the Greeks expecting when they asked to see Jesus? Because what they would get was an arrest, a sham trial, and jockeying between Herod and Pilate and the Chief Priests over who had jurisdiction. They would see Jesus railroaded to a kangaroo court, convicted of telling the truth and of being the truth, tortured, crucified and dead. They would also hear a voice from heaven, and talk of death and resurrection.
What does the stranger in our day have in mind when he or she asks to see Jesus. It could be anything imaginable under the current unanchored understanding of so many people. There could be cherished, yet wrong behaviors and attitudes the stranger is seeking validation for. The Jesus who judges sin and calls to repentance, may not be the stranger’s idea of Jesus. A professor might be seeking a Jesus who agrees with their political ideas and who also does not judge sin but just loves everybody no matter what they believe about him. The Jesus who claims that He is the way, Truth and life and no one comes to the Father but by Him, might not be the enlightened professor’s idea of Jesus. The “enlightened” professor might want a more “inclusive” Jesus. But Jesus is inclusive in that he died for the sin of all people. The Greeks were going to find out that Jesus death and resurrection was for them.
The unchurched lifelong Stillwater resident probably passes by churches almost every day. They certainly know Christians claim that Jesus rose from the dead. Aren’t they even curious about that? There are excellent records of Jesus' resurrection from the dead in the Bible. Easter is on all the calendars. And still, the Jesus that can be seen through the eyes of faith may not even be a thing to the unchurched. And the church members who are rarely, or never in God’s house receiving his gifts, might be seeing a Jesus who is fading from view. Prayers abound for all these people.
My niece once told me that the OSU campus has many, many Bible studies going on. Some are organized by ministries, such as ours, and others. But there is a substantial number that are hosted by private individuals. This is all good. I pray that these studies are fruitful in leading those students who wish to see Jesus to repentance, Godly sorrow for sin and faith in the Savior. I pray they always remember that,
JESUS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO BE. JESUS IS WHAT YOU, AND ALL PEOPLE NEED THE MOST, THE CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR FROM SIN
We’re not told why the Greeks wanted to see Jesus. Maybe they were looking for a Jesus to work a miracle for them. Isn’t that too often what we all do? Look for a Jesus to meet our expectations, our ideas, and our opinions of what He should be, and what He should be doing. But Jesus is not having any of that, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” This shows that Jesus is going to the cross willingly. Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. Jesus doesn’t jump through any of the hoops we set up for Him. He won’t do what anyone but His Father wants him to do. He became flesh and blood to go to the cross. He came so that his blood would be shed and his body would be given into death for the life of the world. Any person who wants to see Jesus must see Him on the cross, tortured and bloody for his or her own sin. No cross; no Savior; no forgiven sins, no reconciliation with the Father.
The eternally begotten son of God became a servant for us. The name given to him for our benefit is Jesus, the one who saves His people. See Him as a servant. See Him as your Human brother and as your God. If you want to see Jesus, see him on the cross, forsaken. See Him humiliated, tortured, weak, pathetic, condemned like a criminal, a punished and nailed man, who is God. That is to see Jesus for you.
The cross is a stumbling block for Jews and folly to the rest of us. In general people do not want a God in flesh who suffers like Jesus did. Either they abhor the perceived cruelty of it all, or maybe they think that was not necessary because sin isn't that much of a problem. But sin is death, and we have no answer for that.
Any other type of Jesus than the suffering, dying, and rising one, is not sufficient, is not a Jesus we really need to see. This is the profound gift of God to all people. Not what we want, or what we think we need, or what we think the world needs so that it can live in peace, finally. No. We needed a Savior lifted up from the earth on a cross, drawing all people to Himself.
JESUS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO BE. JESUS IS WHAT YOU, AND ALL PEOPLE NEED THE MOST, THE CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR FROM SIN
In the everyday of our lives we see Jesus in good works of faith granted to His believers in their various vocations. We see Jesus in redeemed lives of purpose and meaning. We see and receive Jesus in Baptism, Word and Supper. Jesus is for us in our daily walk as we encounter people for whom Jesus died in everyone we see. He died for them. He died for you. He rose from the dead and you are forgiven, having the promise of life eternal. Amen.
The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen,