Holy Week: Tuesday

March 31, 2026

“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man?’” Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.” John 12:20-36

For all the celebrating we do on Easter (and make no mistake, we should celebrate), we cannot get around the gritty reality that comes before the celebration. Jesus came to suffer and die for our sins, yet what He says is, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus knows what is coming, but He faces it head on. The cross is meant to be an instrument of intimidation and shame. Jesus’s victory over sin and death will make it a means of God’s glorification. What lengths will God go to for His people? What is Jesus willing to do for humanity? The world is about to see just how much God loves us. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We hear Christ’s words echoed in Bonhoeffer’s statement. “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.” The invitation to follow Christ necessarily involves dying to ourselves—putting aside our own desires and purposes to follow Jesus wherever He leads. Our old selves, by which we lived for ourself, are put to rest, and our new selves live in obedience to Jesus’s direction for our lives. By His example, Christ shows us the way. As Paul writes to the Philippians, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” 

By Jesus’s death and resurrection, God is glorified, and His death and resurrection lead to abundant life. Similarly, when we die to ourselves, or when we choose obedience to Christ over living for ourselves, this leads to abundant growth, as well—for ourselves, but primarily for the spreading of the Gospel and the growth of God’s Kingdom.

To follow Jesus means to follow Him through death and resurrection to new life. This is the path to serving Jesus. “Whoever serves me must follow me,” Jesus tells us. Maybe that sounds difficult, harsh, or even impossible. But listen to the promise of Jesus: “Where I am, my servant also will be.” By following Jesus, we get to be with Jesus! And what is more, “My Father will honor the one who serves me.” 

As we follow Jesus along this journey to the cross, perhaps it is time to stop and ask ourselves this question: Are we truly ready to follow Jesus, to the cross and beyond, to be with Him where He is and to serve Him by serving others as He serves?

Grace and peace,
Brandon