John 12:20-26 Another Law of the Harvest Legrand Baker
Created in the cloud with Aspose.Words for Cloud.
John 12:20-26 -- another law of the harvest -- LeGrand Baker
Author : lbaker
The brief story John tells here seems disjointed and asks questions that on first reading it does not seem to answer. The questions are: Who were the Greeks and why did they come to the Jewish Passover? Why did they want to see Jesus? Why did their visit elicit Jesus’s prophecy and explanation about his own death and resurrection? And, was it still in the context of the imagery of the dying seed’s producing greater life that he said to his apostles, “he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be.”
As is often so, John tells us just enough so we can understand, but not enough to make his message too obvious. This is the way he tells this story:
20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast [Passover]:
21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except [unless] a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be [life eternal]: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33 This he said, signifying what death he should die (John 12:20-26).
The above questions suggest their own answers. These are the answers they suggest to me.
Who were the Greeks and why did they come to the Jewish Passover? Since the Law of Moses required all Israelites attend the Passover, and the Greeks “came up to worship at the feast,” we can safely say they were either Jews who lived in Greece or Greek converts to Judaism.
Why did they want to see Jesus? Curiosity might be the answer, but it does not fit Jesus’s response. Another reason might be that they had come to invite either Jesus himself or his representatives to come to Greece to teach the people there. If that were so, then that would account for the answer to the next question.
Why did their visit elicit Jesus’s prophecy and explanation of his own death and resurrection?
“Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
In the scriptures, verse numbers and breaks that come in the middle of an idea often divide the parts of the same idea from themselves. If Jesus words are read without the verse numbers then it appears that the grain of wheat that dies to produce new life may be as much about the apostles as it is about Jesus.
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
If that reading is coreect, then the next part might be understood differently also.
27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
The conclusion of Jesus mission on this earth was not his resurrection but the 40 day ministry during which he prepared his apostles for their world wide missionary work. {1} Later, Jesus would give his apostles this explanation:
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:16-19).
The analogy of a dying seed bringing forth new life was easily understood by the people in their agrarian society. It had been used by Isaiah as a promise that the dead who rise in the resurrection. Elsewhere I have identified Isaiah 61as a promise that the temple rites would be vicariously performed for the dead. That promise concludes with this imagery of the resurrection.
11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations ( Isaiah 61:11).
Paul also used this imagery to explain the resurrection.
34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
………………….
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:34-56).
Paul also used that imagery to say, as Amulek said, that this life is the time to prepare to meet God (Alma 34:32). It is true that people have an opportunity to repent and accept all priesthood and temple blessings in the post-mortal spirit world. However, repentance is still necessary because neither are our natures nor are our inclinations automatically changed simply because we make the transition through death to life in the pre-resurrection spirit world. Paul warned,
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Galatians 6:7-9).
It is still the story of the seed. The principles of creation do not change. The seeds of the plants still bring forth fruit after their own kind. About our own bodies, the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph,
29 Ye who are [present tense] quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness (D&C 88:29).
And an ancient prophet promised, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy [hesed] (Hosea 10:12).”
Resurrecting of this earth, and of the people who live on it, will be the final act of our creation. The earth will be freed from the iniquity that has inhabited it and become the home of celestial beings. They will have a body that will give them power to experience a magnificent, unrestrained adventure.
——————–
FOOTNOTE
{1} Matthew 24:12-15, 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-17; Luke 24:33-53; John 15:14-19, 21:1-25; Acts 1:1-10.
John 12:12-15 -- Jesus’s Triumphal Entry as an Acknowledgment of his Kingship -- LeGrand Baker
Author : lbaker
Before he died, Jacob gave each of his 12 sons a patriarchal blessing. A description of Jesus’s kingship, his Triumphal Entry, his Atonement and second coming are all encoded in Judah’s blessing.
8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre [of kingship] shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk (Genesis 49:6-12). {1}
Notwithstanding the promise, by Jesus’s time the scepter of kingship had in fact departed from them, and no Jew had sat upon the throne of Judah for 600 years. But the Jews had not forgotten. They were deeply concerned about preserving their genealogies. For example, priests had to prove their descent from Levi in order to function in their priesthood, and even though the Zadok family no longer ruled as High Priests in Jerusalem after 150 B.C., they had retained their heritage in exile in Egypt. The identity of the royal family was also kept in the collective memory. Jesus’s genealogies in the New Testament, and the peoples enthusiasm about his entry into Jerusalem testify that they knew who their legitimate king should be.
The prophet Zechariah had promised that the King would come again.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water (Zechariah 9:9-11).
Zechariah’s prophecy was literally fulfilled in Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Each of the four gospels describe the event.
1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, cerebrate overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves (Matthew 21:1-12).
As I pointed out last time, in the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama, the king, the Ark of the Covenant (representing the presence of Jehovah) and all the people made a grand, joyous procession around the city, through its gates, and into the temple where the king received his coronation rites.
In Jesus’s Triumphal Procession we see that same pattern, a joyous procession where the people hailed their king and led him into the city. Then Jesus also went to the temple, but not to receive his coronation, rather to assert his rights of priesthood and kingship by cleansing the temple of the avarice and corruption of the Jewish leaders.
————————-
1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve (Mark 11:1-11).