John 12:20–26 - Are You Ready to Follow?

In the thirty-first message of our series through the Gospel of John, Pastor Richard turns to John 12:20–26, asking a challenging and deeply personal question: “Are you ready to follow?”

As some Greeks come seeking Jesus during the Passover festival, their simple request—“Sir, we would like to see Jesus”—becomes the setting for Jesus to announce that the hour has come for Him to be glorified. But Jesus’ understanding of glory looks very different from what the world expects. Using the picture of a kernel of wheat that must fall to the ground and die, He reveals that true life comes through surrender and sacrifice.  

This message explores what it means to move from simply wanting to “see” Jesus to actually following Him. Everyone is welcome to come and encounter Jesus, but following Him requires something more—a willingness to lay down our own desires, take up our cross, and allow God to transform every part of our lives.

Pastor Richard considers the significance of Jesus’ challenging words about loving and “hating” our lives, explaining the Hebrew expression behind the language and the call to value Jesus and the life He offers above everything this world promises. Following Jesus will not always lead us where we want to go. It may involve sacrifice, loss, rejection, suffering, and surrender, but it always leads us toward the Father and the eternal life He promises.  

Through personal reflection and the example of Jesus, this message challenges us to consider whether we are pursuing happiness or allowing God to make us holy. The Christian life is not ultimately about making ourselves comfortable or protecting the life we have built, but about becoming more like Christ and discovering the joy that comes when our lives are surrendered to Him and poured out for others.

As we continue through the Gospel of John, we are invited to ask ourselves: Are we ready to follow Jesus wherever He leads? Are we willing to let God continue the good work He has begun in us? And are we ready to lay down our lives so that others might find new life in Christ?  

Join us as we continue our journey through the Gospel of John, learning that following Jesus means surrender, sacrifice, transformation, and ultimately a joy that cannot be taken away.