Small Group Lesson Plan for April 1st: John 12

John 12 includes some very powerful scenes to include Mary putting perfume on Jesus’ feet, symbolizing that he is being prepared do die. We also see Jesus entering into Jerusalem as the king that the Jews had always hoped for and yet he entered in humbly on a donkey showing the people that he was in fact not the king they had hoped for the but the King they wanted. And then we see that some Greeks come and ask the disciples to speak with Jesus. At the outset this request might not seem very important but Jesus’ response indicates that word of him had spread to the ends of civilization signifying that the time had come for him to suffer, die, and rise again. As important and significant as all these things are, today we’re going to focus on just a few verses of John 12. Verses 24 – 26, let’s read those out loud a few times together:

24 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. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

We’re a society focused on building, growth, accumulation, and comfort. We have fences and locks, security cameras and lights, and even weapons to protect what is ours, what we’ve earned through our own skills, smarts, and sweat. But these verses call us into a different way of thinking, acting, living, and yearning. Let’s dive into them deeper here and pray that our hearts and minds are open to what Jesus wants for each and every one of us.

Verse 24 we’re told that a kernel of wheat that doesn’t die stays just that, a single kernel of wheat. But if it dies and falls to the ground it will produce many seeds and thus multiplying the crop exponentially since each of those seeds will also do the same thing. How does this apply to our lives? How can we mimic the kernel of wheat? Why is this hard for you and me to do?

Jesus doesn’t stop with the wheat analogy because in verse 25 he tells us plainly what our choice is in life. We can chase after the things of this world, amassing experiences, feelings, things, and status which we will eventually, absolutely without a doubt, tragically lose. This truth is so evident in our own bodies and can be a great example of what Jesus is talking about in this verse. When we’re young, if we’re blessed with health, we look good and feel good. We can eat doughnuts and still have six pack abs. We can run, jump, compete at high levels, and almost never tire. But as we get older our bodies start to slow down, wear down, and our exterior shine fades. Some people do what they can to stave off the inevitable aging process by eating healthy, exercising, maybe paying for plastic surgery and spa treatments, all of these things are ultimately for not though. Eventually, if we live long enough, our youthful look gives way to wrinkles, aches and pains, and eventually death. No matter how much we love our selves here on earth, we will lose the battle against time. Jesus is trying to save us the futile effort and to get us to set our sights higher. What does this mean for you and I practically speaking? What is Jesus calling you and I to do with our hopes and dreams, our careers, our money, our time? Is this a hard thing for you to align your life with and if so, why?

Finally, we come to verse 26 and as if the first two verses weren’t enough for us to chew on, Jesus lets us know that 1) we’re called to serve him and 2) we’re expected to follow him. What does this mean? It means we aren’t in charge. We’re supposed to be servants and followers, at least that what is expected of each of us. But if we can’t lay down our lives and create goals and metrics of success that are based on heavenly currency then there’s no way we’ll be able to serve and follow Jesus. Matthew 6:24 says 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.  Who/what will you serve and follow? How will you make this choice on a daily basis?

Finally, if there’s time, I think one of the best examples of someone who gave up control and ownership of the things of this world, even something that was promised to him by God, to serve and follow the Father is Abraham. Read Genesis 22:1-13 and reflect on what God might be asking you to give up control of, to let go of, and to allow him to be the only thing that you cling to in this world: 

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 

14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”