Death leads to life (John 12:20-36)

1. Jesus death leads to life

Jesus speaks of His impending death saying, 

‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'




God is in control of 'the hour' of Jesus' death; His death has been a part of God's plan from eternity past and now the hour has finally come.

Jesus speaks of His death as bringing great victory – the multiplication of life,

'Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.'

Jesus' death leads to life. He came to die the death that we all face because of our sin. All who put their faith in His substitutionary death have eternal life.

2. Our death leads to life

Jesus also goes on to apply this to how we should live,

'Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.'

We are to follow Jesus' example of dying; we are to live such radical lives for God that it is a kind of death to ourselves; God, rather than ourselves, being the Lord of our lives.

Let's be clear, it is Jesus' death alone that saves us; but our new God-centred life is evidence that we have become Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit within us; Jesus is the 'grain of wheat that has fallen into the ground and died'; His death has alone has 'produced many seeds' – you and me! True seeds take on the likeness of the original, in other words, Christians are the kinds of people who, like Jesus, lay themselves down for God. 

Remember, there is the promise of great joy as we seek to die to ourselves and live for God, even the promise of the honour of God,

'My Father will honour the one who serves me.'

How might this death look each day?

• Regularly ask the Holy Spirit to highlight any areas of sin to which to need to die.
• As you read the bible, expect God to highlight things you need to stop or start doing.
• Think about the 'big three' money, sex and power; every Christian will struggle with these to different degrees. Are you dying to yourself and living for God in each of these areas?

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Death leads to life (John 12:20-36)

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Going deeper – Personal daily study notes on John 12:20-36

Monday: Jesus’ international mission

Read John 12:20-23 and Matthew 28:19-20. John tells us about the Greeks who are seeking Jesus in order to tell us of the international nature of Jesus’ mission. We will see in the book of Acts that the gospel starts in Jerusalem among Jews and then becomes international in its reach. Jesus is still on a mission to the ends of the earth!

Tuesday: The cross of glory

Read John 12:23, 28. The cross is presented as a moment of glory for Jesus. To be glorified is to be held in the highest esteem. How does the cross bring glory to Jesus?

‘True glory is to be seen, not in outward splendour, but in the lowliness with which the Son of God lived among us and suffered for us… it is the cross of shame that manifests the true glory’  (Leon Morris)

Wednesday: Following Jesus for good or bad

Read John 12:24-26. Christians are called to follow Jesus no matter what! Here, Jesus makes it clear that we will have to, like Christ, lay our lives down. This means a complete surrender of ourselves to God and putting others first in multiple ways; in seasons of persecution it can mean a literal laying our life down for Jesus.

Thursday: living for a reason

Read John 12:27 and Matthew 6:33. Greatness demands focus. If we live for everything, we will live for nothing! Jesus has the cross as the ultimate goal, the ‘reason’ of His earthly mission. What is your ‘reason’? Let God’s will be your ultimate, subsuming, focus. But don’t let it stay general; what are you called, specifically, to do?

Friday: Dealing with doubt

Read John 12:34. Many begin to doubt that Jesus is the Messiah because He tells them He is going to die. We will all be tempted to doubt Jesus at points. Doubts arise because we judge what God should be like, should have done etc. Faith in Jesus is the only remedy. Hold on to trust, and keep praying and reading the bible.

Saturday: The constant choice of Darkness and light

Read John 12:35-36. Jesus tells them to trust in the ‘light’ (Himself) whilst He is with them in the body. We will never see Jesus in the body this side of heaven, so what do these verses say to us? We see the light of Christ in the scriptures as they tell us what we need to know about Him. The Holy Spirit, as we read, gives a reality to the words and so we can know Jesus, the light of the world. However, there are times when God seems distant and the bible uninspiring. At such times we must continue to be faithful to walk in the light that we have, believing in the light over the darkness of our melancholy.