ZPCBlog

About the author: Brian and Cynthia McCall are long time members of ZPC and involved in many different aspects of ZPC church life. They have 4 wonderful kids who have gifted them with 5 beautiful grands! Brian owns his own business in Zionsville and Cynthia works as a workforce chaplain and has recently begun work on her Doctorate of Ministry.

Scripture

Jesus Predicts His Death
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. 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. 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.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

The time is coming quickly. The holiday is approaching; the pageantry and the chaos. The city is bustling. People want to see Jesus. There are crowds. Word has gotten out. And…Death comes. 

Such was Jerusalem this particular week.

Our passage begins with the odd “some Greeks were in town for the Passover (why?) and they asked to see Jesus (they had heard). Andrew and Phillip took the request to Jesus and it was as if this was the secret signal. 

The time was nigh. Jesus knew he had come to save the world and now the world knew of him.

Can you imaging how Jesus was feeling? He knew that people were clamoring to see him, he knew he was the light of the world. He knew that he was God's fulfillment. To be that fulfillment though, it meant suffering an unimaginable death.

Jesus begins to explain to them about how a kernel of wheat needs to die to produce much fruit, that he will be lifted up (on the cross) and now his followers are confused…again. The Messiah was to live forever. Now he is predicting his own death. We even get a foreshadowing of Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer; “…Let this cup pass, but not my will, yours.”

In the midst of all of this though, Jesus gives us the formula for living, as if he reminds us to breathe: “Walk in the light…Put your trust in the light.” As believers, that light is within us thanks to the Holy Spirit. 

What does walking in the light mean to you; is it doing or being? 

We all know these beautiful people who exude the Light. People who change the atmosphere of the room when they walk in, or when it is storming, they turn their faces up and praise God for the rain. We think “gee I wish I could be more like that.” 

That is to imply it’s up to us. It’s not. When “we attempt to walk in the light” on our own, we will fail. It’s only up to God. He gives us the light, He IS the light. Let His light shine through you, but not in our own power—in His.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you are so gracious to us and you have gifted us the Light and instructed us to walk in the Light, not for your benefit but for ours. Whether walking in the Light for each of us is doing or being, give us the ability to recognize what that is. In the busyness of Holy Week, let us not loose sight of what the resurrection means for us; that the Light lives in us.
Amen

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