Rethinking Commitment
– It’s What Changes Transforms a Promise to Reality
By Pastor John Eich Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Alma, MI
John 12:20–33
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew. Andrew came with Philip and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25Anyone who loves his life destroys it. And the one who hates his life in this world will hold on to 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, the Father will honor him. 27 “Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, this is the reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified my name, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said it thundered. Others said an angel talked to him. 30 Jesus answered, “This voice was not for my sake but for yours. 31 “Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate what kind of death he was going to die.
No other human power can match that of determination or commitment. It has the potential to create heaven or much worse not just for oneself, but also for the world. It is the ultimate terminator, unstoppable and invincible; nothing can stand in its way – not obstacles, not dangers, not even death. Nations rise and fall on the backs of a few determined souls. The most glorious as well as the most heinous pages of human history belong to individuals, who are totally committed in their single-minded pursuit, regardless of the costs.
Commitment. Determination. We see it here in this reading about Jesus. And this tells us so much about how Jesus is committed to you.
We meet up with Jesus during Holy Week after his Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. Some people from Greece had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. They had heard about this Jesus from Nazareth. Perhaps it was about the miracles. Perhaps it was because he openly loved the Gentiles. Regardless, they want to check him out and understand what he was about. So, they track down Philip and make a simple request, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
We don’t know if Jesus met with these Greek people to talk with them. But he does take the opportunity to point ahead to what is coming. In the future, this will be his disciples’ job—to show Jesus to those who need him. But for now, Jesus is set on what is coming in the near future: “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus uses this agricultural analogy to point to what he is going to do in just a few days. These Greeks really did not need to see and meet with him; they needed the work he was going to do. He, one person, would be sacrificed, so that all people would benefit from it—many seeds from one seed.
Jesus knows what is going to happen to him in Jerusalem, the suffering, and the cruel death. Yet he goes through with it anyway. Christ is committed and determined to carry out his mission, knowing full well what it will involve. That will mean a cross. There Christ will shed his holy blood. There, on the cross, the Son of God will suffer and die. For you. To atone for your sins including your lack of commitment to him. To lift the burden and the guilt off of your shoulders and place them on his own. To put you right with God, even as he, the sinless one, experiences the utter abandonment that we sinners deserve. That is how committed and determined Jesus is for your salvation.
But this was no easy commitment. This is weighing heavily on Jesus. We will see it clearly in the Garden of Gethsemane just 4 days later. But even now Jesus is showing the pressure and the hardship that his work is putting on him, “Now my soul is troubled,” Jesus says. But there is no other option. “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” Jesus asks, as if it is the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever said. “No, this is the reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Should Jesus retreat from what is ahead of him? Should the Father change the plan at the eleventh hour? No! This was the whole reason that Jesus came into the world in the first place. He came to be the seed that dies in the ground which then produces a gigantic harvest!
The Father is as committed to our salvation as His holy Son is. Every step of the way from the fall into sin in Eden to this moment has revealed his determination to save us. Despite mankind’s sin, he promised a Savior. That Savior would be his only-begotten, eternal Son. God worked to mold history to bring about Jesus’ arrival. Even when Israel repeatedly lost their commitment and dedication to Him by worshipping false gods, God stayed committed to them. When the baby was born in Bethlehem, and nobody except some shepherds cared, God stayed committed to his plan of salvation. As Jesus spoke the things the Father gave Him to say, and people rejected his words, he stayed committed to proclaiming the kingdom of heaven. And now, as Jesus talks about his impending death and the disciples were slow to understand, Father and Son showed an unswerving commitment and determination for our salvation.
It continues to happen repeatedly over the coming days. When the Father tells Jesus that he cannot take the cup away from him, they stayed committed. When Jesus submits to the abuse of the Sanhedrin, the High Priest, and Pontius Pilate, he stays committed. When Jesus is tortured, humiliated, and stretched out over the cross, the Father does not change his mind. Would we be so committed to ungrateful people that we would let our child suffer like that and not change our minds? Would our hearts not break, and we change our minds? God stayed committed. When Jesus suffers hell itself, over your sins and mine, there, too, God stayed committed to you and your salvation.
Here is the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This news of Jesus’ work is for all people. That is exactly what Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Jesus’ death would hurl Satan from any position of power that he might have thought he had and proclaim Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. And in doing so, He will become the Savior for all people of all time. Because he committed to the cross, all people, you and I included—are forgiven.
Now, let us take it from there. If Jesus was so determined and committed for you, will he not see you through your life? Of course he will. Your risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is committed to see you through, all the way. He is determined to get you home safe and sound. Christ your Lord will do whatever it takes to keep and preserve you in the Christian faith so that you make it home. How can I be so sure? Because in your baptism you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of eternal life.
Do you doubt, do you worry? Jesus will see you through. Are you weighed down with a guilty conscience? Hear the freeing words of the gospel preached into your ears. Do you struggle with a lack of commitment and dedication to God? Come to the Lord’s Table today and hear Jesus say to you, “This is my body, this is my blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus will do whatever it takes to bring you home safely.
How is your commitment to following Jesus? Determination is the ability to make tough decisions and accomplish God’s goals based on the truths of God’s word, regardless of the difficulty. It is the ability to set ourselves toward Godly pursuits, and not allow ourselves to be distracted or discouraged. Is your commitment total and complete? Or does it have weak links? Are there things that, at times, are more important to you than Jesus? Jesus expects the same dedication to him that he has for me, but does he find it? Hardly. When my frustration with other things leaks out and negatively impacts my family, I am committed to my frustration or anger, not Jesus. When laziness leads us to prioritize leisure over responsibility, we are committed to recreation, not Jesus. When we let our focus and energy be on money, we are committed to our greed, not Jesus.
The athlete who fails his carefully regimented diet and spends a day eating junk food is not disqualified as an athlete. But he needs to recommit himself to following the training plan. Likewise, you and I are not rejected by our Savior because we have had poor commitment today, this week, this month, this past year, or even the past decade. Jesus solves our lack of commitment to him by his total commitment to us. And then, in turn, his total commitment to us is what produces our total commitment to him.
So strengthen your feeble knees today, be refreshed and encouraged by means of what Christ gives you.
He is totally committed to you.
Amen