Analogy of Seed We are just a little over half way through the season of lent. The idea of lent is that we give up or deny ourselves something that we like in order to draw nearer to God through Jesus by our self-denial. Self-denial is found in the teachings of Jesus. We will look at three scriptures that are almost verbatim that are the words of Jesus as recorded in the synoptic gospels. According to most scholars, the first written gospel was Mark so we will read from Mark first. Looking in Mark the 8 th chapter and starting with the 34 th verse we read. And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life (or soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (or soul) for My sake and the gospel s will save it. (Mark 8:34-35 NASB) Now we will flip over to Matthew the 16 th chapter and start in verse 24. Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life (or soul) will lose it; but whoever loses his life (soul) for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25 NASB) When we turn to Luke we again find almost the exact wording. Luke adds an additional word to indicate it is a daily decision. Look as we read Luke 9:23-24. 1
And He was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life (soul) will lose it, but whoever loses his life (soul) for My sake, he is the one who will save it. (Luke 9:23-24 NASB) Luke makes it explicit. Matthew and Mark, I believe, implicitly convey the same thought. We are to deny our desires and our wants so that we may follow Jesus. This is not a one and done denial. It is a daily decision to continue in the pathways of Jesus. The season of lent highlights a concept that should be a part of our daily lives. Paul cautions against being drawn into the creation of special days and self-abasement that is a part of religion for show. Paul writes to the church in Colossae and points out the superior nature and place of Jesus the Christ. He talks of the freedoms that we have in living lives that are folded into Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus is personal and should not be dictated by onerous rules that have no real value. We will read from Colossians the 2 nd chapter starting in verse 16. Therefore no one is to act as your judge (or judge you) in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day (or days) things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance (or body) belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand (or going into details) on visions he has seen, inflated (or conceited) without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. 2
If you have died with Christ to (or from) the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch! (which all refer to things destined to perish with use (or consumption)) in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made (or would be) religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Colossians 2:16-23 NASB) The season of lent is not one found in the Bible. The idea of self-abasement or humility is one that certainly runs throughout God s message. Jesus is a prime example of humility. In our main scripture for today, we need to understand that Jesus had just entered Jerusalem and been received by a crowd shouting Hosannas. This crowd was ready to place Jesus on a throne and recognize Him as their king. Jesus was known not only in the Jewish community but those who were not a part of the Jewish culture and background had seen and heard about Jesus. Let s read our scripture for this morning as found in John the 12 th chapter and starting at verse 20. Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, 3
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. He who loves his life (soul) loses it, and he who hates his life (soul) in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves (or is serving) Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves (is serving) Me, the Father will honor him. Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, An angel has spoken to Him. Jesus answered and said, This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. The crowd then answered Him, We have heard out of the Law that the Christ (the Messiah) is to remain forever; and how can You say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? So Jesus said to them, For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light. (John 12:20-36 NASB) Hidden in this passage is an analogy of planting: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Some of us may remember when farmers and gardeners saved seeds from the harvested 4
crop to sow in later seasons. I remember my grandmother having jars with bean seeds. It was a marvel to me that these dried seemingly dead seeds could be stuck in the ground and sprout up to produce beans. Jesus had just called Lazarus from his grave and because of this many people had gone to see him. In fact, the verse that precedes our scripture this morning shows that the religious leaders of that day were not pleased with Jesus. So the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him. (John 12:19 NASB) The mission of Jesus was not simply to convert the people of that day. His mission was far reaching. He was God s plan for redeeming and reconciling a lost creation back to a personal relationship with God. Just like my grandmother realized that she had to give up some of her crop so that she could have seed for future crops, Jesus realized that He too must be planted so that He could generate a bountiful harvest. The idea of self-denial runs deep in God s word. Certainly Jesus sets the example. One third of the God-Head actually became human. In Philippians the 2 nd chapter we read about the self-denial of Jesus. Have this attitude in (or among) yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (utilized or asserted), but emptied (laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on (of) a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that 5
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11 NASB) Jesus was ready to become a dried, lifeless seed and be buried for us. In doing this He not only brings forth a bountiful crop, He set the example of humility for each of us. Jesus had all the power to stop at any point along the way. He had human feelings and the human dread of the death that was facing Him as He approached those final days before His crucifixion. Jesus went to God. (He took His anxiety to God) Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came out of heaven: I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. God reassured Jesus that He would be glorified by the Father. We often hear people wish that the spirit of Christmas could last all year. However, we approach the season of Lent counting the days before we may take up whatever we laid aside to help us humble ourselves. Lent is not found in the Bible. There isn t a special finite time when we deny ourselves for Jesus only to return to our normal life at the end of the season. The words of Jesus tell us: If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Perhaps, at this time of year, we can pray with the psalmist: Create in (for) me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast (upright) spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12 NASB) 6