Father, help us in this time now for preaching to listen with attentive ears and submissive hearts to your word. Holy Spirit, do in us what only you can. Bring faith to those who lack faith and save them. Build faith in those whose faith has been weakened. Strengthen them. Help us all, Lord, in our own individual places. our own individual needs to receive exactly what we need today from your word, we pray, amen. In our passage we read earlier, we read of two Greeks that come, they approach Philip wanting to meet Jesus. We're not given all of the details of the surrounding story and why did they come to Philip, you know, why didn't they go to Jesus themselves. Could be that they were in the court for the Gentiles. There was a wall of separation, you understand, I should say a barrier where Gentile proselytes were not allowed to go into certain areas of the temple because they were not Jewish. They were allowed in their area. And it could be that these Greek proselytes to the Jewish faith were there in that designated area for Gentile converts. And they somehow knew that Philip knew Jesus. Long story short, they want to meet Jesus. And they say in verse 21, sir, we would see Jesus. Now, there's an irony here that often goes unnoticed. And Rudolph Steyer described it with these words. He said, these men from the West represent at the end of Christ's life what the wise men from the East represented at its beginning, but those come to the cross of the king, these two Greeks that come to the cross of the king, even as those wise men came to his manger. You see, at the beginning of his life, people traveled from the far east, and near his death, we see them coming from the distant west. And I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when one of the few hymns that we sing that specifically mention the resurrection is a Christmas song. I was preparing for the service and we were choosing songs to sing, and I am shocked how few hymns specifically mention Christ's resurrection. In fact, you can go to an Our Hymnal or any hymnal, really, I've got several at home, and the section on Easter or resurrection is very small. And not that there isn't the singing of Jesus or his love and his death, a lot of songs about the cross, a lot of songs about grace and things, and those are all wonderful topics, but amazingly, very few songs specifically sing about the resurrection or mention the resurrection directly, which I think is strange because our entire faith rests upon the fact that Christ is alive and risen from the dead. But anyways, I read this and I saw that element of irony there, that near his death, people are now coming not from the Far East, as was in his birth, but from the exact opposite direction, from the distant West, and that there is this mentioning of Christ's resurrection in the Christmas song about those men who came from the East. We three kings of Orient are, listen, I know that Preachers have kind of pooh-poohed that song because we don't know. Can I say that behind the pulpit? I just did. They kind of frowned upon that song because we don't know if there were three kings. The Bible doesn't say there were three. The Bible says that there were more than one. There were three gifts that they brought, right? Gold and what? And myrrh, that's right. So, I mean, it's understandable why the song was written about three. because the song really isn't about the three kings. It's about the three gifts. So it's okay. It's okay to sing it, folks. But I understand why sometimes we make an issue about that. And yes, we also understand that those men from the east did not actually go to the manger scene. They came later on because they actually had to follow the star from far away, modern day Iran to modern day Bethlehem. That's a long journey. But in that song, We Three Kings of Orient are, the last verse goes like this, and it's a summation of the first three verses about the gold and the frankincense and the myrrh. And the last verse sums it up by saying, Glorious now, behold him arise, king and God and sacrifice. He was all three of those, and those three gifts of those wise men represented that that deity, that royalty, and ultimately his death. But, above and beyond that, his resurrection. Glorious now, behold him arise, king in God and sacrifice. In his birth, men from far away come to worship a king, not born in a palace, but in a manger. And now near his death, men come from far away to see a king, who is rejected by his own country, an innocent man who dies a criminal's death, an innocent man who was exchanged and given over to death, and instead the people received Barabbas, a murderer, the healer of others, refuses to heal himself. He delivered others. He did not deliver himself. Easter is about Christ's resurrection, but the Savior redeemed us by conquering death through death. The power of sin is death, and Christ broke the power of sin by dying and then rising again. The Savior's life was one giant declaration that humanity Sinful man had ruined everything, haven't we? God made the world and the universe, and he made it, and the Bible says that it was good. Behold, it was very good. And then sin comes along, and now we have death, disease, suffering, pain, evil. And the Savior's earthly life was this exclamation and this proof that man had ruined everything, and the only way that it can be restored, as the Savior showed us, restore things to their proper God-designated and designed way, was to live a life of opposites. And that's what Jesus did, a life opposite to sin. He lived a life opposite to selfishness. Jesus saves us through this upside-down approach to living. He does everything, according to the sinful perspective, backwards. And he shows us how to live by living a life of opposites, a life of an upside-down perspective. Now, in our story we read, Jesus is approached by these Greek men, or they want to see him, and they send Philip. And they tell Jesus, there's these men, and they want to see you. And it's interesting that instead of saying, well, bring them in or bring them over, that Jesus sort of gives this dissertation about how He lived and why He lived. We see in these few verses three upside-down truths that I want to bring to your attention this morning, this Easter Sunday. The first one is this, glory comes through shame. Glory comes through shame. Look in verse 23, if you would. And Jesus answered them. So they come in verse 22. Philip tells Andrew and again, Andrew and Philip, they come to Jesus and they say, look, these guys are seeking you. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the son of man should be glorified. You see that glorified. And then he says in verse 24, Verily I say unto you, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. The Savior announces to his men that now the hour is come and through his ministry, There's been these, if I may, these close calls, right? Where they've sought to install him as king or they sought to kill him and ambush him and murder him. But the Bible says that he always was able to maneuver away from those events because his hour was not yet come. It wasn't time yet for his death. But now in this last week, he is in Jerusalem, Passover is coming, the crucifixion is dead ahead, the Savior knows this. And so he announces, the hour has come and the Son of Man will be glorified. And exactly how will he be glorified? He says in the very next verse, except the corn of wheat, and that word corn, we Americans think of corn on the cob, you know. Well, that's just another way of saying like a seed. or grain, a grain. I think in the UK they even still call seeds and grain corn. I could be wrong about that. And what we eat on the cob, they call sweet corn. But anyways, the word corn doesn't, don't think that to mean, you know, the corn on the cob, but the grain, a seed. If that grain of wheat doesn't get buried, it doesn't do anything. I mentioned last Sunday about this matter of taking a seed. If you put it on the windowsill in the sunlight, right, and just leave it there, nothing will happen. But then if you take it and you bury it and you put it in the ground, it receives the nourishment it needs and the water from the soil, it begins to shoot up with new life. And that's the picture that Jesus is painting of his own death, that if he does not die sacrificially, then there will be no fruit from his life. If a corn of wheat doesn't die, it abideth alone. But if it dies, it bringeth forth fruit. So how is Christ to be glorified? He will be glorified through his passion and his death. John Piper put it this way, this matter of Christ being glorified in his death, that in John 18 we see that when Jesus is arrested, remember there in the garden when they come to arrest him, they come to Jesus and Jesus asks, whom seek ye? And those who come to arrest Christ, they answered him and they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus saith unto them, I am he. He uses there that invoking that sacred name of God, the I am. I am he, the he is. understood and inferred, I am Jesus saith unto them. And Judas was also there and stood with them. And as soon as Jesus said unto them, I am, the Bible says they went backward and fell to the ground. There was this demonstration of the power and the presence of God on Christ. And so he was glorified even in his arrest. In Luke chapter 23 in verse 4, Pilate confessed to his accusers, I find no fault in this man. Even the governor there of that region says there is nothing about this man that would deserve crucifixion. In Matthew chapter 27 and verse 19, Pilate's wife says to him, have nothing to do with that just man. She had a dream that night. Something scared her. There was this premonition, I believe, that God sent to her that this man is an innocent man. And as good wives are wont to do, they try to keep their husbands from making mistakes that they know are going to be made. Don't do that. And Pilate's own wife comes to him and says, have nothing to do with that just man. Again, the Savior is glorified. The sign that was hung over his head as he died on the cross read, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Usually a criminal's crimes were written over their heads so all would know why they died, murder, theft, whatever. But over the Savior's head was not written what he had been accused of, blasphemy, insurrectionist, Instead, Pilate had written, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, written in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. So all the bases are covered, and everybody can see as they walk by this Jesus of Nazareth dying on the cross. What was his crime? He is the King of the Jews. And of course, the Savior's enemies came to Pilate, and they said, don't write that. Well, they knew what that meant. Pilate's answer was, What I have written, I have written, and it stayed, and Christ was glorified. In Luke chapter 23, we see that one of the criminals that was crucified with Jesus believed on him while they were dying on the cross. You think you've shared the gospel in extenuating circumstances. Dying on the cross, he believes. I'm reminded of what, I think it was what Augustine said, that there is one deathbed conversion, we say deathbed is near death. There is one near death conversion so that none would despair and only one so that none would presume. In other words, if you're not saved, don't delay. That's the height of foolishness and folly to know that you need to be saved and to wait and to wait. Know that you need saving and to put it off. But here is that that man dying on the cross next to Christ, this criminal that was crucified with Jesus. He believed on him and he said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said today thou shalt be with me in paradise. And again, the Savior was glorified in his dying. And for three of the hours while Jesus hung on the cross, there was an unusual darkness over the land. Again, the Savior is glorified in his dying. And when he finally did die on that cross, a great earthquake shook the land and the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom. And that veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies, which had the Ark of the Covenant from the holy place and the rest of the temple, that that curtain was not like the curtains you and I think of made of fabric and or a veil that is sheer and see through and thin and easily torn. the curtain or the veil in the temple was made of thick animal skin. You don't just go around and rip a gnat in half. It's impossible. But by a miracle of God, that veil was ripped from top to bottom so that all would know that the way to God was open through the death of Christ. Again, the Savior was glorified in his death. In Matthew chapter 27 and verse 54, we see that when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying, truly, this was the Son of God. Even those who took part in his execution, seeing all of this, confess the truth of his deity. Indeed, in Christ's death he was glorified, even in the shameful death of the cross. Jesus said, the hour has come, remember? The hour has come when the Son of Man will be glorified. I'm reminded of Hebrews chapter 12 in verse 2 that we are to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. You see, the upside-down truth that Christ demonstrated in that holy week was the truth that there is glory through shame. He was glorified through the shame of the cross. Yes, despising the shame, but is now sat down at the right hand of God. Glory comes through shame. Now listen, I know that our human nature instead wants to seek glory through other means. We never want to find glory in the way that God has set it down. It's because we want glory for self. The Bible teaches us to seek glory for God alone. The Bible confesses that For His pleasure all things were created. And it is folly for us to sink self-glory in this life and not to live for the Lord and glorify Him in our life. And you can only glorify, truly glorify God as you embrace the reproach of Christ. So many Christians are embarrassed to take a stand for Christ. They're embarrassed of being known for a holy life. They're embarrassed to confess that they believe that there was a man who lived a sinless life, who was born of a virgin, who never one time disobeyed the law of God, who did miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit, who died upon a cross. And yes, especially this one who, though was dead and buried, rose again by the power of God through the Holy Spirit's work. Some Christians are embarrassed to say that they believe that. Sometimes when we confess our faith, there is this resistance against that from others and they look at us sideways and they ask, you really believe all of that? I like a story I shared. I think it was on a Wednesday night or Sunday night. I don't remember when I shared it, but that one drunkard who was converted and all of his drinking buddies began to make fun of him. And they said things like, you don't really believe all that about Jesus, do you? You don't believe all that about the Bible, everything in the Bible, really? You really believe that Jesus turned water into wine? And the drunkard said, well, I do know this, that Jesus turned beer into furniture in my own house. Meaning instead of wasting his living on booze, he began to take care of his family. You know, I like something that a preacher by name of Armin Tomasian, I don't know if I said his name right. I think I did. He said something along the lines of this, when people balk at your faith, don't recoil away from that. But instead, you should tell them you are shocked that they don't believe. When they're shocked that you do believe, you should be shocked that they don't believe. You believe in God? You believe the Bible? You don't? You don't? Given all the mounds of evidence that stares you in the face day by day, you don't believe in God? Honestly, how do you go through life? Embracing the idea that you're a completely meaningless speck of random chance that has sentience. How do you cope with the inevitable feelings of despair that must just pervade a heart that doesn't believe in God? I'm shocked that some don't believe. But that's the human condition, isn't it? The human condition wants glory for self. Jesus came to glorify his father. And not only was he glorified in his death, but Jesus was glorified in what his death accomplished. Jesus said, if a corn of wheat abideth alone, or if it dies, I'm sorry, if it doesn't die, it's not buried, it abideth alone. But if it die and is buried, it bringeth forth fruit. Jesus said that this would happen when a seed is buried, it brings new life. But if it is buried, it will bring forth fruit and new life and spread and grow. Christ, you see, was that corn of wheat. He's teaching his men that there's a purpose in my dying. It's not just another man dying for a cause. It's not just another man dying for what he believed in. It's a man whose death is specifically designed to accomplish something which no other man and no other death could do, the redemption of souls, the forgiveness of sin. Christ was that corn of wheat. He died, he was buried, and his resurrection has brought forth fruit. Look around. See, there's the fruit of his resurrection even here this morning. believers assembled in the name of Christ, believing that He, yes, died, yes, was buried, and yes, He rose again. Did we see it? No, but we believe it. And that faith in your heart is the fruit of his death, you see. Faith that he purchased for you through his death and his resurrection. Faith that you now have not, you didn't get saved because you had the sense to get saved. You are saved because Christ purchased faith for you. And the Holy Spirit was sent through his resurrection, through his ascension to this earth to convict and convince people of their sin. in the need of a Savior. The very fact that you sit here this morning believing and confessing Christ as your Savior shows that he was right. His death brings fruit. You and me. The first upside-down truth is glory comes through shame. You'll never glorify God unless you embrace the truth of the gospel. As Paul says, the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us who are saved, the called. It is the power of God. The world sees it as incredible. impossible, even scandalous. But those who are saved, the called, see it as the proof of the power of God and the wisdom of God. Glory comes through shame. You'll never be saved without first embracing the humility that always attends the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The world today is often given a a watered-down, milk-toast gospel where it's all about how great you are and Jesus wants to make you better. Jesus didn't die to improve something that was already really awesome. Jesus died to save the unsavable. He died to forgive the unforgivable. He died to redeem those who could not be redeemed on their own. He died to shield the unworthy from the wrath of a just God, the deserving just wrath of a holy God. Christ came to intercede on our behalf. You see, you never get saved unless you come to the foot of the cross. and embrace the reproach of the cross and humility seeing you as God sees you. How does God see me? How does God see you? Apart from the grace of God, He sees us as rebels condemned in His sight. Oh, listen, I know that this is something that humanity shrinks back from. Preachers get stereotyped all the time of hellfire and brimstone and preaching wrath and judgment and hate. You know why people recoil at that? They know it's true. I will say in attendance to that wrath and judgment and God's hatred of sin is God's free offer of mercy. Free grace. What can you do to redeem yourself? Not a thing. What has God done to redeem you? Everything. Everything. Do you believe Jesus is alive right now? Do you believe he's alive right now? That's the faith that saves. Not, yeah, he was a guy, he lived and maybe he did some of the things that he did, you know. I love to hear the preposterous theories about some of the ways that Jesus did miracles. Well, how did he walk on the water? Well, he knew where all the rocks were. I mean, honestly, that's still kind of a miracle even then, right? But no, that's silly. It takes more faith to believe some of these preposterous theories. How did Jesus feed the 5,000 with, you know, a few loaves and fishes? Well, see, the disciples had some extra bread up their sleeves, you know. They were all in it together. Come on. Faith to believe. That's all it is. That's all it takes, folks, is faith to believe that Jesus is who he says he is. He died the way the Bible says he died, according to scriptures. that he was buried, and that he rose again. Faith in that is saving faith. It's a saving faith that doesn't stop there, though, does it? It seeks out more truth, more ways to live a life to the glory of God. And it's a faith that always drives us down. What I mean is it brings us lower and more humble in life. puff us up with pride, because it's a faith that begins in the lowest state under the conviction of sin, knowing that I am worthy of the wrath of a holy God, but there is a Savior who offers salvation, who came, who lived a righteous and perfect life that I could never live, and who died for me so that I would not have to die under the wrath of a holy God, but save me from that. You see, glory comes through shame. Embrace the shame of the gospel. Embrace the reproach of Christ. Secondly, life comes through death. The second upside-down truth that we see in this passage is life comes through death. This is not your best life now. It comes later, in eternity. Life comes through death. Christ was that corn of wheat and He died and was buried, and His resurrection has brought forth this new fruit, new life in every believer. And the power that raised up Christ from the dead is the power that will raise you one day from the dead, and it's the same power that raised your dead spirit into new life. Life comes through death. We have life now, spiritual life, because Christ died. And one day when we die, and that day is coming, it'll be the beginning of a new life, won't it? That's the hope of the resurrection. That's the promise of the gospel. Life comes through death, and not only life in the hereafter, but true life now, as you live life, comes through dying to self. The Bible says a lot about dying to self. We want to live for self, me, mine, more, all for me. We want to feed the ego. We want to live our lives around our own selfish goals and ambitions. But when we die to self, then we truly begin to start to live. You will never really live life until you learn to die to self and live for him. That's true life. That's truly living. Lastly, the third upside down truth that we see in this passage is honor comes through service. Honor comes through service. Notice what Jesus says in verse 26. If any man serve me, let him what? Follow. Where is he going? He goes to the cross. Let him follow me, and where I am, where is he now? At the right hand of the Father. Follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be. If any man serve me, as we follow him to the cross, Him my Father will honor. You say, I don't want to die on a cross. Well, you understand that there is a certain metaphor here for the Christian life, too, right? You may not, probably won't literally die on a cross for your faith. Many have. Peter did. Church history, recently, yes. Church history indicates that Peter was even crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die in the same fashion as the Savior. I don't know how much truth there is to that, but I'll say this. All of the apostles, minus John, died a martyr's death. They died for Christ. They followed him, didn't they? And where Christ went, they went. Remember, Jesus said that, I'm going someplace. And the disciples asked, we want to go with you. And Jesus' response was essentially, are you sure? Are you sure? Can you be baptized with the baptism I'll be baptized with? Oh, yeah. They had no idea, but they figured it out later, didn't they? And honor comes through service, serving Christ. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, is that you? Do you serve Christ? If any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now, I know sometimes it seems as if there is no honor for serving Christ in this life. Nobody sees what you do for the Lord, right? It seems nobody appreciates what you do for Christ, but the Lord sees. God knows. Him will my father honor. And the marching orders for the Christian is not to live life to self, but to live life of servitude. What did Jesus teach his disciples there at the last supper? Remember that they came to the dinner. It was customary in that time and age to wash the feet of the guests to a dinner party or to a supper you're hosting. I'm glad we don't do that anymore. I may have just ruined my entire point I'm making here, but I'm glad that we have socks and shoes. But you can understand coming in from a dusty street in Palestine and you have grime all over your feet and you're gonna go eat, you wash your hands, but you also need to wash your feet because they're gross. Not yours specifically, but generally speaking. And think of the scene then as the disciples file in, the 12 of them, to come and have the Last Supper. And there is in the corner of the room the basin and the towel and the stool. Where's the servant to wash the feet? And so I imagine all the disciples would have walked in, you know, and kind of looked at each other like, where's the servant? Why don't you wash their feet? They kind of looked at each other. They probably had that slinking, guilty look on their face, like you do when somebody is washing dishes, whether the missus or the mister or mom, and you have that one plate that's still dirty, and you kind of slip it in. You kind of feel bad because you know that you're giving them more work, and you're not doing it. Maybe that's how the disciples kind of felt, sliding by that basin of water. I don't want to do it. And then, during the event, when they all should have had their feet washed by now, if somebody would just volunteer, Jesus does it himself. And he gets up and he wraps the towel around his waist, and he goes to the disciples, and he washes their feet. He comes to Peter, and Peter, in his typical personality, you can't wash my feet. I think Peter felt embarrassed. He was ashamed. And Jesus tells him, if I don't wash your feet, then you have no part in me. Oh, then wash me all over, you know. He goes from saying no to getting a foot washing to, you know, just throw me in the bathtub, Jesus, I'm dirty all over. He was missing the point. The point is this. Learn to serve. The Savior came as a servant. He came in the form of a what? A servant. The lowest segment of society in that day. He came in the form of a slave. He came to serve. Honor comes through service. You are not an honorable man or woman based on how many people serve you. In Christ's upside down way of life, the godly life, it's how many people do you serve? How many people do you serve in his name? Him will my father honor, Jesus says. Honor comes through service. Life comes through death. Glory comes through shame. Are you saved? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you're not saved, don't put it off. Today is the day for your salvation. If you will have him, he will have you. What do you need to do? Believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Let's stand and pray.