LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Honor of Serving the Son
"If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him" (John 12:26).
John chapter 12 has an abrupt change of tone. It begins with Mary's anointing of the Lord at Bethany, continues with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem-all very gratifying and flattering-but then follows with a scene contrasting with all that has gone before.
Some Greeks have come to the feast and want to meet Jesus, probably motivated by the Lord's fame, which has transcended borders. But he says some surprising words about how the time has come for him to be glorified, and that the grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die in order to bear fruit. Then he adds a sentence that probably puzzles Andrew and Philip: "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (v. 25).
Indeed, the Lord is describing his own way. At such a time as that, when he has received public honor and honors, he stills the heart with the thought of self-denial, the cross and death. Many will come after him trying to follow in his footsteps, and he must give clear testimony of what it truly means to follow him. His gaze is fixed on the cross, and on the joy that will come after it. "For the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). The joy is set beyond; a joy that allows us to face the cross.
The Lord then adds: "If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him" (v. 26). The way of the cross is a way of service, which does not stop at the cross. The path of service is a form of the cross that ends in great honor. What is the honor? To share the place with his Lord, that place of exaltation at the right hand of the Father. That is why he says: "My Father will honor him".
The toils and travails of service have a reward here and a future reward. Peter once said to the Lord: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and have followed thee". To which the Lord replied: "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, or the gospel, who shall not receive an hundredfold now in this time ... and in the world to come eternal life" (Mark 10:28-30). The writer of Hebrews also says sharply: "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward his name, in that you have served the saints and are still serving them" (6:10).
In these last two passages it is clearly demonstrated that it is service to the Lord that the Father honors, and not mere service to the cause of the gospel. There are many, unfortunately, who do not serve Christ, but the gospel, which, while good, is not good enough. Service to Christ goes through the cross, but it does not stop at the cross, it goes beyond it to honor by the Father.