John 12 (NRSV)
23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
The glory of Christ begins with a commitment to humility.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. In a world often obsessed with building platforms, maximizing individual recognition, and preserving legacy, what does it mean to disappear like a seed into the soil—trusting God brings the increase? What does this say about the myth of the “lone revolutionary” versus the power of collective sacrifice?
2. Like a work out early in the morning in a setting we would rather not be in, how does a humble struggle through discomfort bring us closer to God and the love of God, as opposed to avoiding that situation completely? What might it mean to embrace that struggle? What would it mean to avoid it?
3. Can you think of a time when choosing humility led to unexpected growth or blessing in your life? What made that choice difficult or freeing?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. Where in your life are you still seeking “glory”, validation, or safety? Where are you harboring pride? Where is God inviting you to reimagine glory as presence, humility, and faithful obscurity?
2. What is the relationship between dying as a seed in John 12 and abiding in Christ in John 15? Where in your life are you trying to produce fruit without surrendering to the vine?
3. In John 12:24 the focus is on the grain dying to produce fruit, while Psalm 1:3 highlights a tree planted by streams thriving in nourishing soil. How do these two images deepen our understanding of transformation. Does the seed’s death alone guarantee fruitfulness, or does it also depend on the quality of the soil and environment?
4. Considering the idea of Jesus, known far and wide, riding a donkey into town — how did that level of humility work to reinforce His message? In an era of private jets and expensive production sets, what is lost in that same message today?
5. Plants occur in nature with purpose. The trees work together to break the wind, to protect each one from damage. The same for grains in the field or the reeds along the shore. Many plants require others for pollination as well. How does our pride stand between us and being part of a thriving, loved, and protected community?
For further contemplation, consider these quotes & prompts:
1. Pastor Trey used the phrase “aggressively humble” which evokes an image of INTENTIONality to our humility. How does being “aggressively humble” help us avoid that passive humility that may give way to pride?
2. “Admiring it outside of where it was made to be will not yield the bounty it was created to make.” Where were you made? How does our pride look like admiring ourselves outside of where we were made?