The Paradox Of Discipleship
LENT 2025 DEVOTIONAL:
John 12:20-50 (NIV)
(Daryl Tay, Pastoral Team Member, BeTween Ministry)
The text uses paradox to convey profound spiritual truths and highlight the countercultural nature of Jesus’ message. The passage begins with some Greeks seeking Jesus, foreshadowing the universal scope of His sacrifice. This prompts Jesus to speak about His impending death, introducing the central paradox of glorification through death.
Jesus illustrates this concept with the metaphor of a grain of wheat dying to bear fruit, redefining glory from worldly acclaim to sacrificial love. He extends this paradoxical principle to His followers, teaching that those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. This depicts the radical nature of discipleship, where true fulfillment comes through self-denial and sacrifice, not self-preservation and worldly success.
The passage presents a series of inversions that challenge human expectations: glory through suffering, life through death, gain through loss, exaltation through humility. These paradoxes underscore the fact that God’s ways often oppose human wisdom, revealing the “upside-down” quality of His kingdom. By using paradox, John creates contrasts between God’s ways and ours, challenging readers to reconsider their assumptions about glory, life and discipleship. Ultimately, these paradoxes invite me to embrace a transformative worldview centered on Christ’s sacrificial love.
The passage presents a challenge to embrace a countercultural mindset aligned with Jesus’ teachings, rather than conforming to worldly wisdom. At its core, it calls me to a daily practice of dying to self, which involves surrendering my plans and allowing God to direct my path. This surrender is not a passive, but an active choice to trust in God’s wisdom over my own.
The text also emphasises the importance of humility, reminding me that in God’s upside-down kingdom, true greatness is found in service. This challenges me to serve others selflessly, to forgive quickly, and to be slow to take offence. Instead of seeking personal glory, I am called to redirect praise to God and others, recognising that any good in me is a result of His grace.
Most importantly, I want to make a daily choice to trust God’s wisdom over worldly wisdom. In doing so, I hope to believe more and more each day that laying my life down for Christ leads to discovering a true and fuller life.
Reflection Questions:
1. Are there instances in your life where you find Jesus’ teachings contrary to worldly wisdom? How might you embrace a counter-cultural mindset to follow Jesus?
2. What are your assumptions about glory, life and discipleship? How do these assumptions square with Jesus’ teachings in this passage?
3. Are there instances where you refrained from openly acknowledging or sharing your faith because of concerns over how others may respond? How would you overcome these concerns?
