Series: Worth Dying For Title: Want to see Jesus?
Main Text: John 12:20-33, Jeremiah 31:31-34
Supplemental Texts: Psalm 119:9-16, Hebrews 5:5-10, John 12:20-33
Summary:
Harriet Tubman was one of the great heroes of the underground railroad. She rescued hundreds of people from slavery, risking her life for their sake. It is said that she knew God and heard God. There are reports that she heard God give specific directions while fleeing from slave catchers. Her story inspires us to consider how to live each day knowing God and experiencing His presence. In John 12 a group of Greeks comes searching for Jesus with the request: We want to see Jesus. His response shows that His life purpose was to die and through dying to drive out the prince of the world and draw all people to Himself. Jesus wants to be found, but it’s not in the way we would expect it. He came to dismantle our old way of self-preservation and reassemble us around self-sacrifice. He came to deconstruct our former way of self-promotion and reconstruct us around self-giving. We have to lay our expectations and agendas aside and give Him the final word in our lives. When we do, we experience what Jeremiah was promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34, an intimate knowledge of God and an internalizing of His ways and commands. If we want to see Jesus, we will find Him amidst the suffering of the world, beside those who have been mistreated and downtrodden, alongside the traumatized and abused. If we want to really know Him and find real life, we will join Him in serving those He is beside, risking our lives and reputations in the way that Harriet did.
Read more about the Underground Railroad in York County in Scott Mingus Sr’s books “Guiding Lights: Underground Railroad Conductors in York County, PA” and “The Ground Swallowed Them Up” and use the power of google to find more!
Read a brief account of Harriet Tubman’s life here.
Read about Harriet Tubman’s visits in York County here.
Reflection Questions:
Begin by reading Psalm 119:9-11. Choose one line to repeat in your heart for 2 minutes.
What is the role of suffering in the life of a Christian? What makes it difficult for people to accept or integrate into their understanding of God?
Read John 12:20-33. What does this passage tell you about how Jesus understood His mission and purpose? What about this passage bothers you? Or inspires you? Or challenges you?
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34. Why is this “one of the profoundest and most moving passages of the entire Bible”?
Connect Psalm 119:9-11 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. How can we internalize God’s word? What can we practically do to foster intimacy with God?
Compare John 12:25-27 and our series memory verse Mark 8:35. How does losing one’s life for Jesus help you find real life?
Pair the promise of forgiveness in Jeremiah 31:34 with the invitation to self-sacrifice in John 12:25-27 and Mark 8:35. The promise of forgiveness is not permission to sin, but an invitation to a life free from sin and given to service. What do you need to stop doing in order to live a life of service to Jesus and others?
Close in prayer.
Daily Reading
Monday: Isaiah 43:8-13
Tuesday: Acts 2:14-24
Wednesday: Haggai 2:1-9
Thursday: Philippians 2:1-11
Friday: Jeremiah 33:1-9