The Paradox of the Gospel
November 27, 2022
Are you familiar with what a paradox is? A Paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. Here’s a couple of well-known paradoxical statements: “If I know one thing, it’s that I know nothing.” Or “I can resist anything but temptation.” That last one came from Oscar Wilde who was a master of making paradoxical statements. Here’s another of his paradoxical statements that still rings true today: “We live in an age when unnecessarythings are our only necessities.”
Now paradoxical statements can be quite fun to consider. Such as: “Here are the rules: ignore all the rules.” And this one: “The second sentence is false. The first sentence is true.” Think about that one for a while and it will really mess with your mind. And that is often the point of a paradox. A paradox will make you think twice about what was just said.
That’s why one of the masters of using paradoxes was Jesus. When Jesus taught, he used stories from everyday life to make his message clear to his listeners. But sometimes, Jesus spoke truth by using paradoxical statements to make his listeners think. Such is the case in the passage we’re going to look at today. So, if you brought your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to find John 12:20-26, where Jesus speaks in paradoxes – seemingly contradictory statements that prove to be true. Statements that need to be considered and even explained in order to grasp the truth. But these particular statements that we’re going to look at today are few of the most important paradoxes Jesus ever pronounced – for they contain the truth of the gospel. For they declare the good news that the way to life really does come through death.
Now, in John 12:20-26, we come to an encounter that takes place shortly after Jesus enters Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover. In this encounter we find that a group of Greeks who’ve come to celebrate this feast are curious about Jesus. In fact, when they announce that they want to see Jesus, it’s Jesus who wants to make them think by speaking in paradoxes. So, let’s start with these Greeks who curious about Jesus by looking at verses 20-22 and let’s begin by unpacking…
The enigma of the Jesus: Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. John 12:20-22
So, my first question is this: Why would there be a group of Greeks at the Passover seeking an audience with Jesus? And why did they want to see Jesus? Well, our first clue is that these Greeks were among those who were coming to worship in Jerusalem at the same time when Jesus arrived too the hails of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel.” In other words, these Greeks were God-fearing Gentiles who had come to worship Yahweh. But they were now intrigued by this Rabbi, whom everyone was calling the Messiah. So, they wanted to see Jesus, because they attracted to all the commotion surrounding him. Could this Jewish Rabbi actually be Israel’s Messiah?
They may have also been intrigued by Jesus simply because he was a rabbi out of Galilee. After all, Galilee is called Galilee of the Gentiles. It’s the one place in Israel where many Greeks lived. They may have been from this region. They may have heard Jesus teach. They had most definitely heard of his miracles. And that may be why they approached Philip in hopes of setting up a meeting. Why Philip? Well, Philip is a Greek name. The name Philip was the name of Alexander the Great’s father, Philip of Macedon. And he was from Bethsaida, which was a very Gentile area in the Decapolis. So, they wanted to meet this Rabbi and learn more about Him.
This last observation about these Greeks that may be the key to why they were so intrigued by Jesus. Because it was the very nature of Greeks to want to learn. Greeks loved to seek after wisdom. For the Greeks were the philosophers of the day. They were the thinkers. They exalted the human intellect. And they believed that they had the intellectual ability to figure out all of life’s ultimate questions. And if Jesus was truly the Messiah, he might have a thing or two say about life’s ultimate questions. Like, where do we go when we die? Or, what’s the meaning of life? Why are we here? The very questions people are still asking today. So, they really wanted an audience with Jesus so they could tap into his wisdom about life and eternity.
Their desire to meet with Jesus, to gain wisdom from Jesus, is not only an admirable quality, but serves as a challenge for us today. For people are still looking for answers to the ultimate questions of life today: Where do we go when we die? What’s the meaning of life? Why am I here?
In fact, many people today think much like the Greeks of Jesus day. They still exalt human intellect. Many tend to believe they have the ability to figure out all of life’s questions. And they get this belief from the spirit of the age. What is the spirit of the age? It’s secular humanism: a philosophy that uses facts, science and reason to create a sense of morality – a philosophy that exalts man’s ideas but rejects faith-based ideas. That’s why we are seeing so many strange and ungodly ideas being foisted on us in our culture today. Partly because, the teachings of God’s Word is being rejected and partly because those who are influenced by secular humanism think they know what’s right for us. So, here’s the challenge for us. Even though many today are rejecting all things religious, people are still curious about Jesus. But most of them don’t know how to find Jesus. And many don’t have a clue that Jesus has the answers they’re looking for. That’s why we must be a people who are so captivated by Jesus, that those who are seeking answers to life’s deepest questions, might come to us, just like these Greeks came to Philip, so they might learn more about Jesus.
And that brings us to Jesus. Because He does have the answers to life’s ultimate questions. So, as we jump back into this passage, we see Philip and Andrew come to Jesus about the Greek’s request. And as we’re about to see, Jesus responds with two paradoxes.
The first is this – The Paradox of Christ’s Death: Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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 12:23-24 With the request of the Greeks, Jesus has an epiphany. His hour has come. Everything he has done, everything he has taught has led to this moment. For at the very moment the Jewish authorities are rejecting him, these Gentiles are seeking Him. It reminds him of His mission. He has come not to just to save the Jews, but to save the whole world. And now the world is seeking Him. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
But He’s not going to be glorified by being lifted up on the throne of Israel, but by being lifted up on the cross of calvary. That’s what it means for Jesus to be glorified. Jesus has come to save the world by dying for the world. So, he gives Andrew and Peter this paradoxical saying to take back to the Greeks: 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.
Jesus wants these seekers of wisdom to consider this paradox. Just as a seed must die in order to give life, Jesus must die to give life to the world. That’s the paradox. That’s why Jesus has come. That is what the Gospel of John is all about: The Father sent Jesus into the world to die for the world.
And that’s the message Jesus gives to anyone who is seeking answers to life’s ultimate question: The way to life is through death – the death of Jesus on the cross. That’s the message to those who are seeking answers, to those who are seeking wisdom. Like these Greeks. But here’s the deal. John never tells us if Andrew and Philip ever took this message back to the Greeks. And we don’t know if these Greeks ever believed this message. But this is what we do know? In 1 Corinthians Paul drew this distinction between the Jews and the Greeks when it comes to the death of Jesus on the cross: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 1 Corinthians 1:22-23
Here’s the point of the Greeks seeking Jesus: If you are like the Greeks – if you are bent on discovering all life’s questions by virtue of your own intellect or reasoning, the cross will be foolishness to you. It will be a stumbling block to belief. For if you pride yourself in discovering all life’s answers from your own understanding, the message of the cross will seem narrow-minded, intellectually naïve, and religiously intolerant to you. For the message of the cross says that the way of life is through death. This message was foolishness to the wise then, and it still foolishness to those who trust in their own intellect today.
Why? It’s because people who trust in their own intellect want to believe that the way to life is up to them, not to God. To believe God’s message of salvation is found in the death of Jesus on the cross, insults their intelligence. It can’t be that simple. They think that they must do something or contribute something to their salvation. So, they reject the message of Christ’s death on the cross. And guess what – they may also reject you for sharing it. But don’t be ashamed of the message of the Gospel. For it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:17
That’s the paradox of the gospel. Jesus must die so others might live. And Jesus did die so that you might live…But the question is: do you believe this? Have you put your trust in what Jesus did for you to give you life? Or are you still trusting in yourself for life?
And that leads us to the next paradox: The Paradox of Eternal Life: Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. John 12:25-26
Now, we’ve been working on memorizing these two verses this month. But if you’re anything like me, you have questions. First, if I love my life I will lose it? That doesn’t make sense. Didn’t God create in us a desire to love life? Don’t we all love our lives? I mean, I really do love my life. I love my family. I love my wife. I just enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving with part of my family and Courtney’s husband’s family. I mean, as soon as I walked in the door my grandson Hudson, came running to me, “Papa, papa” and he raised his arms so I would pick him up. A few minutes later, Beckham wanted me to hold him and wouldn’t let me go. Who wouldn’t love that? I love doing life with Becky. I love laughing with her, sharing memories with her. I loved it when we went bogie boarding together in Hawaii a few months ago. And I loved it when she was picking out new furniture for our home just a couple days ago. I love sharing life with her. In fact, there’s so much to love about life. That’s what giving thanks is for. God has given us so much to be thankful for. So that can’t possibly be what Jesus is talking about here when he says, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it.”
So the question is – what does Jesus mean when he says, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it?” Well, to understand this, you also need to understand what he means when he says, “while anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life?” Remember, this is a paradoxical statement that seems to contradict itself. But it’s also true. So, we all feel the contradiction. It makes us feel uneasy.
So, we need to break this down. We need to understand the truth behind this paradox. Let’s start with the first phrase: “The person who loves his life will lose it.” The idea here is that such a person loves their life above everything and everyone else. This is a statement of idolatry: When you love your life, you make yourself the center of the universe. You exalt your opinions, your intellect, your sovereignty over everyone else in your life – including God. That’s what Jesus is talking about here. When you exalt yourself as the center of your universe, you no longer listen to God. You don’t want to submit to God or trust God in anyway. You love YOUR life. You want your life to go your way. You call the shots. And when you love your life in this way, that’s basically the definition of sin and rebellion against God!
So, Jesus is right when he says, such a person loses his life. For the Greek word for lose here is the same word for “destroy.” In other words, when you live only for yourself, you shape your own destiny. You set-up your life to live separate from God not just in this life, but for all eternity. Therefore, you literally lose your life for eternity. That’s the first phrase.
Now, the second: “while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” The key to understanding what Jesus is saying here, is this word “hate.” To hate your life means you willingly disown the tyrannical rule of your own self-centeredness. You quit living your life for your glory. You put to death your tendencies to be your own god. You no longer want anything to do with your selfish pride that does whatever it takes to make yourself look good. In other words, if you want to have the life Jesus died to give you, this paradox is calling you to renounce your sinful and selfish ways, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. For when you do that, you are no longer trusting in yourself, you are now trusting in Jesus.
And then Jesus promises two things that you will enjoy as a result of trusting in Him. First, you will experience Christ’s presence: Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. What Jesus is saying here is this: The person who follows Jesus will live for the priorities of Jesus. And what were the priorities of Jesus? To live a life of humble service to others and to bring the Father glory in everything. This is how Jesus lived.
And we’ve seen Jesus live this way throughout this Gospel. Over and over again, Jesus told his detractors that he only ever did what His Father showed him to do, and He only ever taught what His Father taught Him to say. In fact, He lived His entire life in submission to the Father’s will. That’s what a servant does. Jesus lived to please the Father, not himself. That’s what it means to die to self and live for Christ. In means living like Jesus lived, wanting what the Father wants, not what you want. It means making choices in this life like Jesus would make. Sometimes that means doing things that look foolish to the world. Sometimes it means you will deny yourself pleasures others take for granted. Sometimes it means you will take risks that seem irrational or even reckless. Sometimes it means you will die to protecting your reputation. You’ll die playing it safe. But the good news is that Jesus promises to be with you every step of the way, and you know that you will be living to please the Father.
And that leads to the second thing you will enjoy: You will experience the Father’s smile. That’s the second promise here: My Father will honor the one who serves me. The more you live to please the Father, the more your Father will honor you. He will honor you in this life and the life to come. Why? Because the person who lives to please God, is the person who seeks not your own glory, but the Father’s glory.
This is one of the defining characteristics about Jesus. Jesus always lived to bring the Father glory. He lived to show us what the Father is like. He lived to show us the beauty of God’s goodness and love. That’s why Jesus lived as a humble servant. He didn’t live to exalt himself, but to serve others. That’s what the Father is like. He is a servant, who sent Jesus to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.
That’s why Jesus showed us the way of mercy. It’s why Jesus restored sight, raised the dead, forgave the sinful, and loved the outcast. Jesus was on a mission to set things right in this world and make your relationship right with God. And that’s why His mission led Him to the cross. For God in His great love for us, poured out mercy on all sinners when He poured His wrath upon Jesus on that cruel cross. For at the moment Jesus became sin for us, so we might become the righteousness of God.
And that is why he died. He died so that we might live. He died to make us right with God. And now if you have turned from trusting in yourself – to trusting in Jesus. If you no longer living to exalt yourself but to bring glory to God – that’s the evidence of Christ’s life dwelling in you. You have eternal life now. And the beauty of this eternal life now, is that you will always walk with Jesus and experience the Father’s smile.
And that’s the paradox of the gospel: Jesus died so you might live a whole new way of life with Him.
So, let me ask you: Do you love Jesus more than your own life? Then follow Him and know God’s smile.
Let’s pray.
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