How Sacrifice Leads to Life

The following video transcript has been lightly edited

In the book of John, there's a great story about Jesus and his disciples, and there's some Greeks that are up in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, and they want to see Jesus. So, the Greeks tell Andrew and Philip. And Andrew and Philip go to Jesus and say, "Hey, good news, there's some people who want to spend some time with you", and Jesus says that the Son of Man must be glorified.

Such a strange response, really. But there's a lot going on there. What is going on is that the Greeks, who represent the Gentiles, is a reflection that the whole world is beginning to take note and understand who Jesus is. And so they naturally want to spend time with Jesus. But what Jesus knows is that the reason he's come is not just to spend time with people, but to ultimately go to the cross, to die, and to rise again to defeat death.

And so that's what he says. He says the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. And he goes through how even though he's troubled and feeling overwhelmed, he must step up. That this is the hour he came for. That he must submit himself to death in order to conquer death. What I love about this story is it's this reminder that in this world, in this broken world, that sacrifice is often required in order to find new life. And this is a principle that is really helpful for us to grab ahold of as well. And so today I want to talk to you about three ways that sacrifice can lead to life.

The first is this reminder that sometimes we need to ignore our present wants and needs in order to find our better future. And so this is what Jesus does. Even though it's great news that these Gentiles, these Greeks want to spend some time with him and become disciples, he knows that he needs to go do this other thing. And in the midst of John, he says that once he is resurrected, that the whole world then can come to him.

So Jesus ignores the present want and need, goes through that sacrifice in order to find that better future. And that's true for you and I. We need to, at times, resist. our present wants, our present needs in order to find our best future. And this comes in all kinds of ways. Sometimes it's in the simplicity of what we choose to eat, how we choose to invest our time, the way we operate in terms of relationships.

So that's what we want to think. We want to think, how might I invest in the future? How do I invest in this relationship? How do I invest in this community? And recognizing that what people want or need in the moment is not always necessarily. The best path to a future that is filled with faith, hope, and love.

The next thing that happens is that Jesus talks about how he must die, that he must become like a seed of wheat that goes in the ground, and to multiply. And so in this way it's strange because it's signifying the end of Jesus ministry, but the end of Jesus ministry is actually the entrance into a new beginning, a new beginning that will bear more fruit.

I love harvest season in my household. My wife is a gardener and she likes to plant things like tomatoes, and there's nothing like seeing a seed turn into this beautiful ripe tomato. Many of them. The fruit has multiplied from this one little seed and we get to eat delicious things and this is a reminder to us in our life that sometimes endings are required in order to find new beginnings.

You know, sometimes we can usher in those endings. It's like being in a job that's stuck or an unhealthy relationship. We can make some choices to help us get out of that and while that might be hard and difficult and disorienting as we make that transition there's a multiplication of fruit that goes on and so that's the reminder to each of us that sometimes we have to welcome in and accept an ending in order to have a new beginning and we'll choose some of those endings in our life And some of them will be handed to us But we don't want to run in fear from them.

Rather, what we want to do is we want to see what they might bring. Because sometimes the sacrifice of an ending, trust me, I don't like endings, is needed for a new beginning. A new beginning that will bear more fruit.

Lastly, Jesus says that he's troubled. He knows he has to go to the cross, and he's deeply troubled by it. He understands the suffering that is to come. And so he says, should I sidestep it? Should I opt out? Should I say, hey God, this is not what I want? No, Jesus says, no, I've come for this hour. And you and I will face similar things in life. Not on the grand scale of all of humanity and the wrestle of good and evil like Jesus, but in small ways we will find ourselves facing the trouble of the day.

And we'll have to make the choice. Is the sacrifice to accept the trouble of the day worth the good of tomorrow? Or are we going to sidestep it? Are we going to deny it? And what we learn is that sacrifice does lead to life and sometimes that requires us to accept the trouble of today, to embrace it. To say, hey, this day is not gone as I had hoped.

This conversation has not gone as I had hoped. But rather than opt out, check out, I'm gonna stay engaged. I'm gonna find a path for love so that as I engage the trouble, as I serve and as I sacrifice in the midst of this trouble, that I can find the good for tomorrow. And this is true in our relationships, it's true in our community, it's true in our workplaces, it's true in our church.

And so this week, as you go about your day. No doubt, you will find moments that are not easy, and you will wish they were easier. But remind yourself that sometimes, life is found in sacrifice. And to not always get caught up in the tyranny of the urgent, to not always look at the trouble of today and want to run away from it, and to recognize that even sometimes an ending can create a new beginning.

Because sacrifice can lead to life. Hey, I hope you have a great week, and I look forward to being with you again soon. Take care.