The Price of Service

Quotes are taken from the New American Standard Bible

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answer them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

John 12:20-26

As is true for any passage of Scripture, there are several interesting notes that could be made about John 12:20-26. What we're going to concentrate on, though, is something that most of us may have never before noticed.

Until this interaction, Jesus had asserted that His hour had not come (John 2:4, John 7:6). When approached by Philip and Andrew, however, He said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." It was time for Christ to turn His attention to the cross, where He would, like a kernel of wheat, die and bear much fruit. And because of His love for His followers, Jesus prepared to perform the ultimate act of service - to sacrifice Himself that they might live forever.

Jesus also used this opportunity to remind His disciples (and us) that if anyone wishes to follow after Him, they must deny themselves just as He would do; if they wish to be where Jesus is, they must “hate” their life in this world; and if they wish to be honored, they must serve as Jesus served. In doing all of this, Jesus' followers have enmity with the world (just as Jesus did), but they also have eternal life, and in the process of following after Jesus, they bear much fruit.

Serving Jesus requires us to love Him more than we love the world, our families, even life itself. As His disciples, we are called to put Jesus ahead of everyone and everything else, freeing ourselves to follow after Him fully and become servants who will be honored by the Father.

That is the cost of serving Jesus as His disciples. It is the cost Peter was called to pay in John 21:18-19. Having reinstated him by the sea, Jesus told Peter, " 'Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death [Peter] would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me!' ".

As we follow Jesus today, seeking to serve Him, the price of that service should not be overlooked. It will certainly lead to conflict with the world, and may even cause friction within our families. It could lead us to great suffering. Yet in that service is life, for it leads us to where Jesus is, that there we may be also.

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