Sunday, March 17
John 12:20-33
Read John 12:20-33. [Family Reading Idea: Have different people read the different parts of the story. One person can be the narrator, another can be “the Greeks,” another Jesus, another “the voice from heaven” and another “the crowd.”]
When my dad was youth pastor in Wichita, we lived across the street from the church building. This gave me plenty of opportunities to use the building for “hide and seek.” But even better, “Sardines.” One person would hide and everybody else would try to find them and then hide with the “hider” until everybody finds the “hider.” Because I practically lived at the church building, I excelled in finding difficult to discover places. I remember hiding in a dark closet corner behind brooms and one kid literally had his face one foot from mine, but because it was so dark he didn’t see me! I won that round.
Well, at the start of this text, the Greeks are the ones looking for Jesus. And at the end of this text, it says “Jesus left and hid himself from them.” Does that mean that Jesus was playing some kind of “cosmic sardines”? No. Victory in Sardines means not being found. Jesus came to be found. But he wasn’t going to be found in the expected place of a Savior and King. He said, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). In other words, “when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw people of every nation into my family!” Death on the cross was the place Jesus was going to be truly found.
Earlier in John 3:12-13, Jesus said, “the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” Now Jesus says, “Whoever serves me must follow me: and where I am, my servant will also be.” In other words, like the game of sardines, when you find the “Hider” you stick with Him. Jesus invites us to find and share eternal life, which means we believe in Him and become like Him, willing to sacrifice our lives to serve others.
Household Challenge:
Make a cross from objects you find around the house. Hide the cross somewhere for someone else to find. Talk about why it’s important to “look” for Jesus.
Pray for someone that you know who is searching for Jesus but does not yet know Him.
Pastor Josh Kleinfeld