 Okay, so one of you please pray, then we can get straight into God's Word, Prince, would you be able to lead us and pray? Yes, yes ma'am. Yeah, sure, go ahead. Thank you, thank you Lord, thank you, I give glory to you in this time Lord, in this morning Lord. You've given us one more month in our life Lord, thank you for that. Lord, we pray as we're going to learn your Word now, help us to understand and Holy Spirit help us according your will Lord. Thank you Lord, I pray that all the students are also positive and Nancy, I pray your revelation in our life more and more we plow Lord, thank you, I pray, I submit all the student in your hand, all the time in your hand Lord, thank you, thank you Lord. In this morning, in Jesus name I pray, amen. Amen, thank you, thank you Prince. So in the last class we saw how the Lord Jesus did one of the most powerful miracles which was the resurrection of Lazarus and once this was done, we expect that people will start trusting in Him and believing in Him but we saw that the Pharisees and the Jews, they were even more infuriated because they felt that people will now give their attention to Jesus. So that's what we were looking at, so they were plotting to kill Jesus, they were also upset about Lazarus, so they also had a plot to kill Lazarus and this is what was going on and at that time we also saw how the triumphal entry, we saw the Lord Jesus enter on a donkey and He was greeted by the people with the palm branch and this was in fulfilment of prophecy, so all this was taking place and this was very close to Passover, very close to Passover and we know that the Lord Jesus was crucified. Again some say that it was on the day of Passover, some say that maybe it was the previous day but around Passover is when the crucifixion of Jesus actually took place. So in what Jesus is actually doing now is He is preparing the hearts of His disciples because the timing of His departure is very close, so a lot of what we are going to look at now is just in preparation to that, He is telling them again and again that I am not going to be around and I am finally going to be completing what the Lord, what God has called me to do, so He is speaking, He has always spoken about His death but now He is speaking more plainly, He is speaking more, He is speaking repeatedly so that His disciples are well prepared for what is to come, so that is what is unfolding right now and we also saw how when Mary she anoints Jesus, that is in a sense a preparation for His burial and God is like the events are unfolding in such a way that the work for which Jesus was born is finally going to take place, so I think we were somewhere at around verse, we did a couple of verses but I will still back up at verse 20, I know we touched a few verses ahead but let's maybe look at some of these key verses because it has a lot of meaning in it, so verse 20, there are some Greeks who come and they want to hear Jesus, they want to talk to Him and you know Jesus when they come, maybe these are just people who are seekers and they want to understand whether Jesus is the Messiah, so there are people who are coming seeking in a positive way, there are people who are coming in who are questioning Him despite all the I am claims, so far we have seen the claims of Jesus where He is very clearly spoken of Him being the Messiah and also deity but people were not willing to accept it, so you had people who came in to question that and you know repeatedly ask Him okay tell us who are you, because they were being, they felt threatened by the person and the works of Jesus, now when these Greeks come and ask to meet Him, you know He makes a statement which is a very deep statement, in verse 24 He says most assuredly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone but if it dies it produces much grain, He who loves this life will lose it and He who hates this life in this world will keep it for eternal life, if anyone serves me, if anyone serves me let Him follow me and where I am there my servant will be also, if anyone serves me Him my Father will honor, so in a very quick way I had told in the last class that Jesus is talking about His own death and He says when a wheat of grain falls to the ground and dies so we know that whenever we plant seed in the ground okay we could think that the seed when it is buried in the ground it actually dies because it is hidden away from us okay and it is hidden away from the light and the environment in which we live in but you know the going into the ground of the seed actually means that it has a new beginning that life is going to enter in such a way that this seed will now germinate into a plant and then you know whatever that seed contains the character of the seed is going to emerge so beautifully and if that seed is meant to be a fruit bearing tree then you know it's amazing to see how out of that one seed you see an amazing you know a marvelous great grand tree sort of coming up and yielding fruit to nurture and bless others so you know in this just having this picture in mind what Jesus is saying is for the world and for Satan okay Satan obviously is very happy with the idea that the son of God is going to be betrayed beaten and killed but you know Jesus knows the depth of what God is trying to do through His mighty work so Jesus is trying to explain to His disciples I don't know how far they understood but He's trying to tell them that the end in this case is actually the beginning okay the depth in this case is actually the resurrection in the hopelessness of the situation that Jesus is going to die there is actually hope so you know He's saying that when the wheat falls into the ground and dies so that is like the end it remains alone but if it dies it produces much grain so He's talking about the blessing that the cross is going to become to the world and He was trying to reveal I mean there is revelation in this but the disciples you know they were maybe they were just getting bits and pieces of what He's trying to say here and there you know this temple in three days I will raise it up if it is destroyed in three days I will raise it up so they're just getting bits and pieces of the understanding and it could be possible that when the disciples thought that they are following the Messiah like the others around they must have also had this hope in their hearts that this man will overthrow the government and he will become one of those national leaders you know when Jesus came on the donkey and people waved the palm you know palm leaves and they greeted Jesus maybe even those who did that had an idea that this man you know he's done all the miracles and he speaks with authority he knows scriptures maybe he'll make for a better leader maybe he'll make for a better national leader in comparison to the government officials whom we already have so the disciples as well could have thought that Jesus is going to establish the government and you know we are going to become great in that government he will give all of us a position but you see time and again time and again Jesus is repeatedly telling them that I'm going I'm going away okay it's not how you thought this government is not the way you have planned in your heart but I'm going away and he's repeating that and he's also trying to help them understand that in his going away in his death there lies a blessing which is going to bring about redemption of you know all many people so it's actually going to be a fruitful thing for him to die and he's talking here he's adding to it and he's saying he who loves his life will lose it okay along the in the same vein he's saying that see and whatever Jesus is saying right it is applicable to him that he is going to let go of his life and that will become a blessing for the people that will be an act of obedience to the father but you see as disciples even for us following the example of Jesus okay is something that will impact us in the same way so if Jesus was ready to die okay and if Jesus was ready to lose his life he's talking about losing his life okay and he's also talking about hating one's own life so what does it mean see it's very simple for us as believers we don't have to die on the cross the way Jesus died because one perfect sacrifice was needed and Jesus became that perfect sacrifice however for us dying looks a little different and that dying is us denying our self okay so again in verse 26 he says if anyone serves me let them follow me so anybody who is a disciple of Christ we may not we we definitely need not die on the cross like Jesus now it may be possible that some of the disciples become martyrs martyrs are people who die for the sake of the gospel so some may become martyrs so literally in that sense they may die but the dying which is going to be applicable to every disciple whether they die physically for the gospel as a martyr or not is dying to self denying self following God you know walking in obedience this is what Jesus is talking about and in one sense you know death brings life this kind of death is going to bring life okay when we try to discipline ourselves for the sake of the gospel it is very painful it can be very painful for the flesh because we want to do things the way we like but we are learning here that we must walk in the example of Christ and his example was to die to self a wheat of grain falls to the ground it is going to produce much fruit so in that way now when we die to our own desires when we die to what we think you know our life should be about God can do so much from our lives through our lives so that is something that we understand by what the Lord Jesus did and of course you know we saw how again he was telling them that I'm going away so he he is he you know very strong and projecting this image to his disciples that I'm okay I can face this but you know Jesus was real we know that he was fully man and he was fully God so he felt all the emotions that a human being would feel so you know he did become vulnerable to his disciples and he said I'm my soul is troubled and what shall I say father save me from the sour so Jesus was very honest with the people that he loved the people that he worked with and you know he was honest with God as well he was not trying to make things look something different from what it actually was so you know it's a big lesson for us about the way we relate to God he was not engaging in you know sometimes prayer becomes a grumbling arguing complaining ministry people take their problems to God and they are you know like bombarding God why God why how this and that but you know that's not the manner in which he brought out his pain it was a very honorable and a very reverent way where he says God honestly like my soul is troubled you know I what shall I say you know father save me from the sour honestly I want to escape because I know what I'm going to go through the incidents that line up before him being actually crucified on the cross and the painful death on the cross but still you know he gives it and he says father glorify your name okay so it shows us how to relate with God even at times when we don't want to walk in the way which God wants us to take but in an honorable way Jesus is presenting his request before the Lord and you know God affirms that he confirms it and he says yeah I will glorify I have glorified it and will again glorify it so in this manner he is revealing and again we saw that's one more passage where he says he's going away he says yeah if I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself so again there is a clue for the disciples I'm going away I'm not going to be with you physically enough course over here in this passage we see he said that the ruler of this world will be cast out so you see he is introducing his death which is coming up but each time you also notice that he is giving them the spiritual perspective of it in the natural perspective the grain falls to the ground and dies so it's a very sad thing but the spiritual perspective is it is going to bear much fruit here again he says that when I'm lifted up what is lifted up the elevation is a physical elevation because he will be on a cross so he will be lifted up from the ground but it's also a spiritual elevation where you know he will through the cross he would have done something for the glory of God's name that will go will redeem mankind so that's another spiritual form of lifting up and you see he's proclaiming the victory of the cross here and he's saying the ruler of this world will be cast out so when we look at things only in the natural it seems hopeless it seems like that is the end sometimes we wonder God how can a cross you know Paul writes in the book of Corinthians he says the cross is the wisdom of God it is the power of God those who are of the world right for them it is foolishness if we only look at the natural about the cross it seems like foolishness okay I will be lifted up grain falls to the ground we feel sad oh god we thought you're going to establish a government here but you're going away and you're going to die in such a you know such a helpless way what kind of a leader can this be it's a natural way of thinking okay so when we think about what God is doing in the natural we use a natural mind we know right natural mind spiritual mind carnal mind we don't grasp what God is up to but when we look at it with a spiritual mind then we understand okay the grain falls to the ground but it would produce much fruit when I'm lifted up I will draw all men unto myself right draw all men unto me the ruler of this world will be cast out so there are spiritual like you know there are spiritual results that are going to come from the natural that God the Jesus is going to do so for a spiritual person who understands these things you know it brings a it brings a rejoicing that wow God has thought like this to bring victory for the people to bring a freedom for the people and that is why Jesus has to go through this really painful death yeah so Jesus is going on sharing and informing his disciples look at and you know people obviously they didn't understand what he's saying because they were listening from natural mind so they're asking him questions like the son of man must be lifted up who is the son of man you know they're not able to understand then Jesus makes it little more clearer and he says a little while longer the light is with you walk while you have the light less darkness overtake you he who walks in darkness does not know where he's going so remember he introduced himself as the light of the world so he was telling them that his earthly ministry was coming to an end you know it's beautiful how Jesus had such a sense of time earlier do you recall there were times when he said my hour has not yet come now what is what is he saying a little while longer the light is with you so he's so walking so intimately with the father that even the journey of his own life like which season of life this is he had clarity he knew earlier that nothing is going to happen to him because his time had not come now he's saying a little while and remember when we started this passage I told us that you're roughly one week away you know one week from the Passover so he knows about a week's time all everything that I have been living for it is going to take place and he is trying to clarify to the disciples and say you know this light walk in the light as long as there is light okay and obviously you know as we read this passage we can we can interpret it more based on scripture of course because he says things like you may become the sons of light so he was encouraging the disciples also and saying that you know if you understand me and you walk in my ways you will be like me and that's what happened to the disciples later on you know when they gave witness to the resurrection power of christ so he's preparing their hearts he's preparing their minds he's preparing them for the future you know that they are going to walk into very soon yeah and you know there were others who did not believe him okay despite his words and his signs and of course Jesus quoted from Isaiah and he kind of showed how you know scriptures already say that the some people their hearts will be hard and their eyes will be blinded so even though they are able to see they are not able to understand what God is doing and in the light of all this you know he encourages the disciples and he says you know that you go ahead and believe okay the world will not believe the people around will not believe but you know I want you to believe and he who believes in me you know you will also believe in him who sent me so once again you know the concluding passenger in John chapter 12 that talks about the the relationship that the son has with the father okay so that relationship also comes in so basically you know he's talking as if he's doing a work but that is not just his work he has been delegated delegation means somebody has sent you to do the work somebody has authorized you so he's speaking about his relationship his connectedness but at the same time his submission to the father okay so here you see you know he says he who sees me sees him who sent me so Jesus had come authorized by the father and his life even earlier we saw how he said you know I do only what I see the father do so he was talking about you know how he was walking so obediently and he concludes this passage by making it clear he says for I have not spoken on my own authority but the father who sent me gave me a command what I should say and what I should speak earlier he said he does what he sees the father do now he's saying I speak you know as I hear the father whatever he tells me I speak that so this again shows us that Jesus was in incredible submission or in other words obedience to the father you know just think about it Jesus walked in great authority we talk about that but that authority can flow only out of submission because he's so well submitted to the father he's able to walk in that authority you see this he says for I verse 49 for I have not spoken on my own authority but the father who sent me gave me a command what I should say and what I should speak so he's making it clear that he's functioning out of the authority which he has received from the father and his statements here reveal that he's submitted to that authority and therefore in and through his life we see great authority whenever he taught you know people looked at him and said wow you know who is this man how come he's talking with so much of authority confidence when he did the miracles he said Lazarus come forth the dead man came back to life so there was there was power there was authority in his words there was authority displayed in the works that Jesus did where did that authority come from his submission to the father so you know this applies to us as long as we are sure that we are walking in submission to God we are walking in obedience to God you know that is a place of great confidence whatever we are doing whether in life whether in personal life whether in our ministry we will move with confidence we will move with greater authority okay so we must remember that so our submission to God is proportional to the authority that we walk in so the more we are submitted to God the greater the authority in which we can work or do ministry or you know live our everyday lives but the lesser our authority the lesser our submission the lesser our authority so Jesus was very well submitted to the father you know great submission 100 person submission so in the work which he did he's able to be confident yeah I'm doing only what the father asked me to do so I have nothing to be afraid of okay so that's a big lesson for us today many of us we are ministers of God right we will go we will preach and teach and do many things in the name of God but is are we doing it out of God's direction yes God told me to do this so I'm doing it then you see great confidence you see great authority flowing out of it but let's take for example God tells us like Jonah you know you go to Nineveh but if I'm going to Tarshish somewhere in my heart I'm not submitted to God God told me to go to Nineveh but I'm going to Tarshish so in that case what happens I'm not submitted so I'm not able to flow with that authority and be confident that hey I'm doing this I'm going to see God's blessing in my ministry I won't have that confidence right so I'm telling you in a very simple way but the the essence is that when we are submitted to God we can have great authority but when we are not submitted to God we will lack that authority and you see the life of Jesus very well submitted to the father no wonder you know he could he could be confident he could go against the devil he could cast out demons he could command dead man came back to life so submission in daily life is very very important okay so okay come let's move on I actually we could go verse by verse word by word which is what I was trying to do earlier but I think it's you know bragging a little bit so yeah my apologies for that I will try to just hit some key points so that you know you can get more out of it okay let's continue so I told us that these things whatever is taking place now this is in preparation to the death of Jesus so he has spoken to the disciples he's making it plain and now you know he comes to like before the Passover when Jesus was sure that you know he is going to be taken away he okay I'll read this verse because it is it gives a lot of meaning now before the feast of the Passover when Jesus knew that his hour had come that he should depart from this world to the father so we know timing is up time is up having loved his own who were in the world he loved them to the end okay so now we will read about his relationship now we spoke about his submission to the father okay that's quite clear now we will talk about his relationship to the disciples you know how is he relating John is writing here having loved his own who were in the world so he's making it clear that this is about his followers this is about the people who came to learn from his life or in other words his disciples what was the bond you know in a relationship there's always something that is bonding right if it is a workplace it is we honor our our you know boss or our leader we have the same goal to achieve something for the organization so that is the bond that is the primary bond over there but when you look at a family relationship or a marriage relationship you know there is love which is bonding we will talk about of course you know there's respect and all other things but the underlying thing we would say this is love because of love you know we the parents are with the children in the same way what is the bond that Jesus had with the disciples was it all of you you know I'll tell you what to do you do it it's like task only task oriented mission oriented go and save the world make disciples you know all those things are there but the core bond of the relationship that Jesus had with his disciples is having loved his own you see how Jesus is looking at the disciples he's not looking at them as servants he's not looking at them as you know some hired help slaves okay I'm delegating responsibility that's all no having loved so there is a bond of love which Jesus has with the disciples and we are told that he looked at them as his own you know you we don't think like that about disciples but that is the perspective that Jesus had for his disciples he says having loved his own who were in the world he loved them how did Jesus love these disciples it says to the end you know and some people they interpret this as till the till the time that he died he had love for them in his heart but there are others who interpret this and say that you know the love of God is eternal so it is beyond his earthly life Jesus loved them with that eternal love so for us today we are Jesus's disciples what is the bond which he has with us we can understand from here you know having loved his own he looks at us the same way you know there is a bond of love he looks at us as his own not as you know some people whom he wants to get some work done by so earlier his relationship with the father you know complete submission we understood his relationship with the disciples love okay and seeing them as his own now what is going on you know at this time so preparing in preparation to the Passover they would they would have this very special meal the Passover meal okay and so John is kind of describing that Passover meal and he's talking about the events that took place around that meal we know that people will people would have a meal with those who are close to them okay or those they want to build a relationship with in the in the Jewish culture so Jesus was with his loved ones he was with those that related closely with them which are his disciples so when the supper was ended you know John says it was ended but you know others when you read their other their accounts it seems like it was still ongoing but anyway when the supper was ended the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him okay so at this supper you know something something strange took place it seems like one of the disciples was already you know kind of away from God you know isn't it isn't it funny how Judas was there physically but his heart was far away from God and you know it is likely that he his heart was far away from God for a while remember in the earlier passage when Mary poured that expensive oil on the feet of Jesus he said hey this could have been given to the poor for 300 dinari so Judas is thinking very differently he's thinking in a very worldly way okay and of course Jesus knew it's you know the the motivation with which Judas said what he said was correct yeah it could have been given to the poor but Jesus understood the motivation this man is after that money he could have sold it and he could have he probably has been doing this with the treasury he was in charge of the treasury so he's probably been doing it so when we read here that the devil having put it into the heart of Judas it may not be the first time the devil is putting a thought in his heart okay so Judas may have been opening up his heart again and again to the devil you know the devil what does he put in our hearts he will put envy bitterness anger against people so many things he'll put it in our hearts but it's up to us that is why we say we must renew our minds that is why we say that you know we must keep out the devil like give no room to the devil so if Judas had cast out these evil thoughts bringing every thought captive I don't think on the day of the last supper Judas devil would have had this opportunity to put another thought into his heart but seems like he was opening his heart again and again and again and again to the devil so finally you know the the evil one put the thought of betraying Jesus in his heart now Jesus okay all this is going on we'll see again you know how he interacts with Judas but at this point you know what Jesus does is he knew that everything belonged to him and that he had come from God that he is going back to God so he fully understands his authority he fully understands his position after knowing all this you know we are told that he got up he laid aside his garments he took a towel and he guarded himself so he just made himself you know that putting on a towel is a it's a humble way of you know dressing yourself or rather humbling yourself so he humbled himself and he also poured water into a basin and he started to wash the feet of his disciples and wipe it with a towel okay which towel the towel that he had put on himself so you know so much is going on Jesus is going to go to the cross soon and Satan has already spoken into the heart of Judas to get things moving for the arrest of Jesus and in the midst of all this calmly you know Jesus is doing something and he's doing something special this is to reveal you know how he loved his disciples and how he came to serve okay the son of man you know he he has come to serve he has come to serve the people whom he created okay and that is something amazing and how does he choose to wash their feet you know Jesus because he is the very son of God and by now the people around his own disciples they look up to him he could have told them why don't you prepare a basin of water with some you know warm water or something and yeah bring me a towel I want to wash the feet of the disciples so he washing the feet in those days was considered a very you know like a very low job so one of the lowest disciples they would do this thing of washing the visitors feet and wiping it with a towel so Jesus even though he wanted to show his humility he could have asked the disciples to prepare everything for him he could have quickly gone wiped and come back but no he humbled himself he brought the water he washed their feet and you can imagine you know these are people who are mainly walking all over the place their feet must have been really really dirty okay and then we wonder Jesus why are you doing this why are you doing this you know obviously the the disciples you know they would have seen that humility which the Lord Jesus is displaying so Jesus is showing them by example that I am here to serve you you know if the son of God is here to serve the people whom he led you know think about us our lives there are many people we influence you know maybe in our families the the younger kids they listen to us in our workplace people listen to us as leaders in the church people listen to us but here is a picture of servant leadership where we must love the people whom God has called us to serve and lead them with a heart of humility you know earlier in that passage of Jesus going on the donkey people shouted out red king of Israel king of Israel can you imagine the king of Israel he has become a servant and he is washing the feet of his disciples you know really shows that you know it doesn't affect Jesus's security in any way that hey if I do this do this act of service to my disciples will they think I'm very low will they stop respecting me what if they don't listen to me you know there is no insecurity he already knows who he is where he came from where he is going that he's going to glorify the name of the father and a great sense of confidence you know in serving the disciples and seems like he did it for all the disciples but when he came to Peter you know Peter always had something to say he had an opinion so quickly you know Peter is saying Lord are you washing my feet meaning please don't do this because you are great and you cannot touch my feet you can't wash it and Jesus says what I I'm doing you do not understand now but you will know that know after this so Peter said to him you shall never wash my feet Peter is trying to be that one disciple who stands out and he's trying to you know say that the other disciples they were so foolish they did not give honor to Jesus by letting him wash the feet but I'm not going to do that so you shall never wash my feet and Jesus says if I do not wash you you have no part in me at that point you know Peter got a revelation so he says Lord not my feet only but also my hands and my head so you know it just shows us it just shows us that God wants to cleanse us so as a master what did Jesus he's humbling himself yes that is one thing the other thing is when he's washing the feet of the disciples he's also cleaning them you know we have to let God clean us and Peter understood that that he was a sinful man and that he really needed you know God's word and you know God's presence and the working of God to clean him so it is very important for us to let God clean us you know and be in that place of again submission to God and in a place of you know a state where our heart is humble every day our heart should be in a place where we are ready to repent if God shows us something within us that this is not right we say okay God wash me okay and this is not just about washing you see how Peter understood it he said not just my feet Lord but my hands and my head so he understood that he needed cleansing much more than you know he realized and just think about it Jesus would have washed the feet of everyone maybe even Judas but it was not so much about washing outside but we have to bring our hearts to God and say God wash my heart wash my inner person or Lord okay and Judas he never let Jesus wash him inside maybe he let Jesus wash his feet but that did not count so the point that we take for ourselves as believers is we have to let God work in us in a deep way and let the Lord cleanse us inside out okay and that is when we will be able to represent God really well now when Peter says Lord not my feet only but also my hands and my head you know Jesus says now that Peter has understood that he needs God to work in him now Jesus says he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet but is completely clean and you are clean but not all of you for he knew who would betray him therefore he said you are not all clean so now that Peter has come to a position where he has understood his need you know Jesus is saying that his word right later on we will see in John 17 17 he says my word is truth and with the word of God he cleanses us so in that sense Jesus has already cleansed them they would have heard Jesus speak the word of life the word of truth very often so that has already done a work in them but Jesus is now pointing out and he's saying look there is somebody among you who has never received this or rather has not let this word work in them and that person still remains unclean so Jesus is washing the external but he's making a reference to the internal and he's saying that if we don't let God's word work in us you know hearts will remain unclean and Judas was that person who was not yet clean okay so once Jesus has done this he explains to them you know he asks them do you know what I have done to you and then you know he tells them that I being your Lord and teacher that if I wash I have washed your feet you also have to wash one another's feet so this is to lead us to a life of you know relating humbly with one another relating in a you know later on we see in the epistles brotherly love to be there for each other to be even humble you know scriptures tell us in Romans Paul writes and don't think of yourself more highly than another person right so everyday life has to have that that humble mindset which is what the Lord Jesus displayed for us so if he can be so humble being our Lord and our teacher we should also learn to be like him okay and then Jesus says in verse 16 most assuredly I say to you a servant is not greater than his master nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him okay so we therefore know we we have to do what Jesus did because he is greater and we have to follow his example of servant leadership so whoever we are wherever whichever position God has given us remember to serve people remember to be humble now sometimes when satan puts in our minds why you want to be humble no need there's no need to be humble you'll be like a lord over the people that time we can remind ourselves hey wait a minute in John 13 Jesus said if I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet you also ought to wash one another's feet in Jesus has done it I too must do it okay all right so it is 9 50 let's take a break class we'll come back and we'll continue from here yeah thank you