If Any Man Serve Me
By Rev Charles Seet
(Preached at Life BPC, 10.30 am Service, 8 April 2001)

Text: John 12:24-26

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when many churches remember the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, prior to the events that led to His betrayal, His death and His resurrection. Since we will remember the Passion of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection this week on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, it is good for us to trace some of the significant events that took place, beginning with Palm Sunday.

As we read in our responsive reading (John 12:12-23) Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a young ass. This was the fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy that the Messianic king of Israel would enter into the city not on a horse, as a mighty conqueror, but on a lowly ass, as a gentle bringer of salvation. This typifies the first advent of Jesus Christ when He came to the world not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17). But a time is coming soon when the Lord Jesus Christ will descend from heaven riding on a white horse, to judge the world and to make war with the world. And all the kindreds of the earth will then wail because of Him and the judgment He brings (Revelation 1:7).

In contrast to that future event, this triumphal entry of Jesus Christ was warmly greeted by the cheering crowds of Jews waving palm branches in their hands and shouting, “Hosanna [Save now!]: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” At this point it would seem as if the whole of Jerusalem was there acknowledging Jesus to be the rightful King of Israel and the Messiah of the Jews. But the true picture is revealed in a few days’ time, when instead of offering Him cheers of “Hosanna! Hosanna!” they hurled at Him jeers of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Why did the multitudes change their tune? It was probably due to their having an utterly selfish and mistaken concept of the Messiah. They had heard that Christ had just raised a man named Lazarus from the dead at Bethany, and so they probably hoped to feast their eyes on more great miracles to be performed by Him. According to v.18 – “For this cause the people also met Him, for that they heard that He had done this miracle.” Now, what made this miracle so remarkable was the fact that Lazarus had been dead for 4 days when Christ brought him back to life.

And so they eagerly expected this Messiah to bring the glorious Davidic Kingdom of Israel back to life, a kingdom which had been dead by then, for more than four centuries! Thus, their cries of “Hosanna! Hosanna!” expressed their hopes that Jesus would now lead them to overthrow the Romans, and to restore all the lost glorious fortunes of the Kingdom of Israel.

But when it became very clear to them that this was not His intention at all, and Jesus did not perform any miracles for them, all their excitement gradually died down. In the days that followed, this selfish concept of the people became evident, as they went back to their own businesses, and paid hardly any attention to what the Lord Jesus said or did. All the high honour that they had given to Him during His triumphal entry in Jerusalem was soon forgotten, as they gave attention to other pursuits. Among the few who came sincerely to seek after the Lord Jesus were the Greeks that are mentioned in v.20.

The point we want to take note of, is that the majority of the people sought after Christ for the wrong reasons. They craved for all His benefits and for manifestations of His wonder-working power, but they did not want to give themselves and all they they had to Him.  The same thing is still true today. Multitudes of people come to Christ, but unfortunately not all are coming to Him for the right reasons. Many may merely be looking for a Saviour who is powerful enough to help them to escape from the fires of Hell, and who can give them whatever they wish to have in this life or in the life to come, be it wealth, or health, comfort or ease.

Dearly beloved, do you come to Christ for these reasons, or for different reasons? Are you seeking Christ with the right motives? Why did you come to church this morning? Did you come primarily to give Him the full-hearted worship He deserves, or did you come with the sole objective of getting all the blessings you can get from Him? Dear friends, let me ask you this: Would you still come to Jesus, if He does not bless your life in the end? Would you still come to Jesus Christ, if requires you to sacrifice your life for Him?

Let us listen again to what Jesus said in vv.24-26 – “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.”

Now, these are very important words for us to ponder in our hearts. They remind us of what it costs to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. They show us that those who desire to be His disciples must be willing to follow Him, even to the extent of forsaking their own life, like Jesus was going to do shortly, on the cross. So let us study what Jesus said carefully, beginning with v.24:

“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.” The imagery used here is clearly derived from the realm of farming. Any farmer knows that a single seed of wheat can never produce anything, unless it is first planted into the ground. Only then will it germinate into a plant and produce many more seeds.

I. Life From the Death of Christ (v.27,32,33)

Why did Jesus say this? One reason is that His own death was imminent. (v.27) Within less than a week after saying these words, Christ’s own life was going to be sacrificed. Thus the seed here refers to Himself. As the seed falls to the ground and dies, so Jesus was shortly going to fall into the hands of those who would crucify Him. But out of His death, the glorious and bountiful atonement for sins would germinate and blossom, bringing many into eternal life! Thousands upon thousands were going to be saved from eternal death through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is stated by Him in vv.32,33 – “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.”

But there is another reason why Jesus said this. And that is, to teach us to follow His example of self-sacrifice. Listen to what He says in v.25 – “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” Here Christ was no more talking about His own death, but of a general principle that is applicable to every one of us.

II. The World’s Philosophy of Self-Love (vv.25,26)

But there seems to be a strange paradox in this statement. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life will get to keep it.

This thought is totally opposite to the philosophy of the world, which is based on the survival of the fittest. Most people are motivated by the survival instinct, to jealously guard the precious life they have. Most people not only desire to preserve their own lives, but to enhance and improve their lives as much as they can. What the world promotes is self-love and self-esteem. Now, self-love, and all self-seeking attitudes in our heart is actually a form of idolatry, and we all have probably been guilty of at some point of our lives. whenever we put our desires and our will before God’s desires and God’s will, we love ourselves. whenever we want to have things going our way rather than God’s way, we love ourselves. And whenever we live our lives the way we want, rather than the way God wants, we are loving ourselves.

Today self-love is increasingly popularized by the media, and especially by the New Age movement. The basic teaching is the satanic lie that the serpent used on Eve in Genesis 3:5 – “Ye shall be as gods.” Most of what you will hear on the media promotes a proud, grossly-distorted, inflated self-image, with slogans like: “Believe in yourself, and you can make it to the very top on your own merits.”  Please do not be fooled by this appealing propaganda, as it is only the same satanic deception that has been around since the time that Eve heard the words, “ye shall be as gods…”

Satan also loved himself when he said in his heart “I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14) The book of Daniel records that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon learned a very painful lesson about self-love. It says, “At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:29,30). Here was a king who clearly loved himself more than anyone else, and because of this God’s judgment on him came immediately (v.31-32). The once-great king who loved himself was reduced to a helpless psychotic, thinking and behaving like an animal for 7 years, all because of his self-love. What happened to this king aptly portrays the truth of what Jesus said in John 12:25 – “He that loveth his life shall lose it”

In contrast to that, we also see in the same book, Daniel and his friends, not loving their own lives, and in fact willing to give up their own lives. And the outcome of this is that they were rewarded with life! Daniel did not mind facing death in the lion’s den for the sake of the Lord. The result of this is that his life was wonderfully preserved.

The same thing happened to Daniel’s friends – in chapter 3 they were cast into the fiery furnace when they refused to bow down to the golden image the king had made, but they were miraculously preserved from death. How aptly this illustrates the truth of the second part of the statement that Jesus made – “He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”  This brings us now to consider:

III. Christ’s Teaching of Self-Sacrifice in v.24,25

Within this verse we can observe two distinct strands of teaching. The first is:

1. Living in Humility

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.” Unless we are willing to deny ourselves any glory, we would never be able to do this. But many do not like to humble themselves. Many do no like to end up with the unpleasant prospect of having less privileges and rights than others. But that’s the price we must be willing to pay if we are to live in humility. The other strand of teaching is found in the latter part of the verse:

2. Living and Dying for God’s Glory

“But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” The words, “much fruit” here is the term that is often used by Christ to describe good works that bring glory to God. Christ Himself set the example. In v.28 He expressed His earnest desire that the Father’s name would be glorified. Therefore our lives become fruitful when we live for the purpose of glorifying God. Dearly beloved, let us resolve that whether we live or die, we do so to glorify God. Let our earnest prayer be, “In my life, or in my death – may God be the One who is praised and glorified.”

IV. What It Means To Follow Jesus Christ (v.26)

Besides bringing glory to God, there is one more motivation for self-sacrifice. This motivation is mentioned in v.26 – “If any man serve Me, let him follow Me;…” This means that anyone who follows Jesus Christ must be willing to make the same sacrifice that Jesus made, and to have the same level of self-denial that Jesus had. That is the requirement that Christ has set upon all who serve Him. Is that an unreasonable requirement? No it isn’t. Christ Himself said that by virtue of the relationship that a disciple has to his Master, the disciple should never expect to be better off than his master.

We can see this in Matthew 10:24,25, where Jesus said “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.  It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord…” Therefore, as followers of Christ, we should not expect to be in better circumstances than what our Lord had. Christ expects anyone who follows Him to have the same willingness He had, to forsake every right He has for the sake of God’s Kingdom. As His disciples we must be willing to sacrifice all our rights and privileges, whenever such a sacrifice is necessary.

Dearly beloved, has your discipleship cost you anything thus far? What price have you paid so far, for following the Lord Jesus Christ? What sacrifices have you made to do His will? I think that if we were to list all the things we have had to endure for Christ’s sake so far, they could never compare with what Christ Himself had to endure. Nor could they even compare with what many saints before us had to go through. Many saints of the early church had to pay the price of martyrdom.

According to church tradition and history, The Apostle Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city in Ethiopia. Mark died at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city. Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in the land of Greece. John was put into a cauldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward banished to the island of Patmos. Peter was crucified upside down at Rome. James was thrown from a lofty pinnacle of the temple and then beaten to death with a club. Bartholomew was skinned alive. Andrew was bound to a cross, from which he preached to his persecutors until he died. Thomas was pierced with a lance. Jude was shot to death with arrows. Matthias was stoned and then beheaded. Barnabas was stoned to death in Greece. Paul, after various kinds of tortures and persecutions, was beheaded at Rome by the emperor Nero.

Besides these there are many, many others who had to pay the price of discipleship with their own lives in church history, such as those who were fed to the lions by the Roman Emperors and those who were burnt at the stake for their faith during the Spanish inquisition. But not all Christians are called to pay this price. There are many others who brought glory to God without being martyred, but a life of dedicated service, burning themselves out for the Lord.

One good example is Dr. John Sung. For him, the price of discipleship was a life burnt out for Jesus. Abandoning all opportunities to advance himself, he followed the Lord whole-heartedly, advancing God’s Kingdom in China and South East Asia. Without thinking of his own comfort and health, John Sung would preach 3 times a day, 2 hours each time, with all his might and forsake much sleep to pray in the early hours of the morning. He maintained an unrelenting pace in his effective ministry until his health deteriorated and he died.

Many of us here may perhaps be wondering what the price of discipleship would mean for us. God has put each one of us in different circumstances, with different opportunities, different abilities, and with different limitations. Discipleship simply means that each one of us makes the utmost, and most cost-effective use of whatever God has given to us, in doing His will.

And what would this cost us? For some of us, the cost would consist of the loss of convenient comfort, the loss of our sense of security, or the loss of our leisure time. For others among us, the cost may involve going the second mile, or stretching ourselves to our limits, whether physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

Last Sunday, 6 ladies from one of our adults Sunday School class came with me to Batam, not just to see the Lord’s work there, but also to serve. They made all the preparations for the Sunday School lesson they were to give to the children at Batu Aji B-P Church – the Bible story, the art and craft materials and the song. After enduring a long journey by boat and by car, they arrived to find 90 children waiting for them. This was more than they had prepared for, but they were determined that no child should be deprived of art and craft material. So they quickly improvised extra material from the plastic bags they had. And when they were asked to present a song item at the church service, they all willingly sang for the Lord, unrehearsed! They were all tired by the time we got back to Singapore in the evening, but the joy of serving the Lord was clearly seen in their faces. Now, they could have spent that Sunday relaxing at home or engaging in some recreation, but they sacrificed that in order to serve the Lord!

Dearly beloved, let us be willing to serve the Lord in whatever way we can – In making mission trips, in teaching in Vacation Bible School or in bringing our friends and loved ones to church to hear the Word of God.

Get yourself involved in some area of service for the Lord, or get yourself equipped to serve. You can do this by attending a Bible study class, or our Bible college evening lectures. Doing this will involve some kind of sacrifice in time, in effort or in forsaken opportunities for personal advancement, but each of us must be willing to make whatever sacrifices the Lord requires of us. As our Lord and master, Jesus Christ deserves nothing less than our total compliance with His will, and our total willingness to give Him our very best. Dearly beloved, is Christ your Lord and master? Are you giving Him what He deserves as Lord and master? What price are you willing to pay to do His will? Let us examine our life today with these questions.

And if you find that your life has not measured up to His standards of discipleship, please take steps to make sure it does from now onward. The Lord wants each and every one of us to serve Him and follow Him. Listen once again to His words in vv.25,26 – “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.”  May the Lord help us all to be what He wants us to be. Amen.