John 12:12. On the next day, the great crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem, (13) Took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (18) For this reason [that He raised Lazarus from the dead] the crowd also went and met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. (23) And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. (24) Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
At this point, according to the worldly view, Jesus was in His golden time... Because the Lord had raised Lazarus from the dead, a great crowd of the Jews highly esteemed Him and warmly welcomed Him. Humanly speaking, this very hour was the most glorious time for the Lord while He was on earth. All the people praised Him, welcomed Him, honored Him, and respected Him.... At that very moment, when the Lord was welcomed and honored by both Jews and Greeks, what did He say? If we had been there, or if such a welcome were extended to us, we would have said, "Praise the Lord. Now is the time for us to do something to glorify God." The Lord Jesus, however, was not excited. The greater the welcome, the more calm He became... He told the seekers that He was a grain of wheat. This was the Lord's attitude toward such a human welcome. This was His reaction toward the glory of human honor. What is the way for a grain of wheat to multiply? It is not by being welcomed or honored, but by falling into the ground to die. This is absolutely contrary to the human concept.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-Study of John, pp. 311-312. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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