John 12:20-33
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
I am interested in people with what I would call magnetic personalities, people who have others naturally gravitate toward them. If there is someone who people naturally want to follow. I wonder what is it about that person that draws people to them? When I was growing up in school I wondered why certain kids were popular and what made them so popular. What drew others to that person? Also, I would wonder what drew people to some of the more famous activists? What draws people to follow a Martin Luther King, a Mahatma Gandhi, what draws people to a Mother Theresa or a Harriet Tubman? I recently finished watching Judas and the Black Messiah a movie based on the life of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. Chairman Hampton said that he was high off the people and that he lived for the people. He said he might have to die for the people. Hampton helped form a Rainbow Coalition, Hampton was able to get people from the Young Patriots organization, a group of Southern Whites living in Chicago, Latino leaders, and African Americans to come together to help the people in the community.
Hampton caught the attention of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover who wanted to prevent the rise of a Black Messiah that could bring unity and coalition among black political groups, so they did to Hampton what they have done to so many black leaders during that time. Attracting people sometimes attracts people that don't have your best interest at hand. Hampton was killed by police officers in his apartment at 4 am in 1969. My mother and grandmother tell me that the squeaky wheel gets the oil, I had another friend tell me that sometimes the squeaky wheel gets removed. Hampton was too loud for J. Edgar Hoover’s tolerance and Hoover sought to get rid of him. Magnetic personalities have positive and negative consequences.
We find someone with a magnetic personality in scripture here in the gospel according to John. Jesus comes to Jerusalem a week before Passover. Jesus has been living for the people, he has been helping the people. Jesus has been healing the sick, raising the dead, this is not too long after Lazarus was revived. People in the community are attracted to Jesus because Jesus is out there in the community helping the people. Some Greeks have come to see Jesus. These Greeks are different than the Greek-speaking Jews that would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, these are people not born into the faith. The powers that be, the Pharisees don't like that, in verse 19 they say that they are worried the world is coming to this man. We hear the Pharisees' fearful prophecy in verse 19, we see it come true in verse 20. The powers that be have their status quo messed up and they don't like that.
Jesus knows with all the change he is bringing out, along with the fact that he is here to free us from penalty, power, and presence of sin, that he is going to have to die for the people. Jesus says that his hour is coming, his time is almost up, he does not have long for this world.
When Jesus says that the ruler of this world is going to be driven out, a more literal translation of the Greek phrasing for “the world” means system. Jesus came to tear down the systems in place that are not like God's kingdom. God is on the side of the oppressed and has been since as early as Exodus when he told Moses to tell Pharaoh "let my people go" he was with the oppressed when the kingdom was in captivity, he was with the oppressed in the New Testament under Roman captivity, God is with those who suffer, and will be with them in victory.
“I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” That’s spiritual magnetism at work! On the one hand, he repels; but he also attracts. Once the power of his love gets hold of you, there’s no resisting. He just brings you along.
At Jesus' birth, he attracted shepherds to a Bethlehem hillside, and later on, attracted wise men from afar. In the temple when he was 12 years old, the wise were attracted to Jesus listening and asking questions. Jesus called to his side fishermen who left their nets and tax collectors who put down their account books. Even the wise Pharisee, Nicodemus, came to him by night, in John chapter 3 to learn how to be “born again.” Jesus attracted to his side women like Mary and Martha, and men like Lazarus. Even the Roman governor, Pilate, felt the pull of his magnetism as he interrogated him.
Jesus can do the same thing for you today. Have you felt the pull of his love in your life, calling you out of ungodly habits? Have you experienced the fascination that comes from hearing his story, the timeless story retold by the church in every age? Have you ever turned to him in grief or worry or fear, and discovered at the center of your being a calm and peaceful place, where none of life’s storms can harm you? If so, you’ve felt his magnetism. Very likely, it’s what has drawn you here today.
Jesus understood that there has to be some sacrifice, the seed of wheat is sacrificed to make more wheat. Jesus was willing and able to make the most impactful sacrifice that would change the world. Jesus is God in the flesh looking to reconcile humanity back to God. Jesus is going to do this by sacrificing himself so that all of creation can have access to eternal life.
I remember a scene from Judas and the Black Messiah where Hampton was put in jail, and the Black Panther’s headquarters blown up. Hampton expected to come out of jail to a pile of rubble, but the community banded together to help rebuild the headquarters. People rise and make a change in their community or the world at large, and sometimes those in power do not like change. Sometimes those in power seek to destroy the person, that magnetic personality creating the change. That is why so many of our great leaders get killed, however putting Jesus on the cross was just the beginning, death could not hold him down. Jesus boldly walked into his sacrifice, boldly into being a ransom for all our lives.
