Scripture Reading: John 18; 12:23-24, 27-28, 31-32; 13:31-32; 17:1
In this chapter we come to John 18. Apparently, it is easy to read and understand this chapter. Actually, it is not easy to find the extract of this chapter. We can easily see the substance of John 18. After reading this chapter, we may be able to recite the events described in it. This chapter tells us that the Lord Jesus went to the garden, that He was betrayed by Judas, and that He was arrested, bound, brought to the high priest, and judged by him. Afterward, He was brought before Pilate, who did not find any fault in Him. These are some of the main points in chapter 18. But what is the extract of this chapter?
If we compare the opening of the Gospel of John with chapter 18, it will seem that chapter 18 is much lower than chapter 1 and that it does not match it. John’s Gospel opens with the words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then we are told in 1:14 that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and reality. What is the connection between such statements in chapter 1 and the account in chapter 18? What connects these chapters? It is difficult to see the connection between chapters 1 and 18. In order to see the connection, we need to penetrate into the depths of the Gospel of John and find what is the extract of chapter 18. In this chapter and in the chapter following, we will attempt to get into the extract of this chapter.
Before we come to chapter 18 itself, we need to ask an important question: According to the Gospel of John, why did the Lord Jesus die on the cross? As Christians, we may immediately respond by saying that the Lord Jesus died to accomplish redemption for us. On the cross He took away the sin of the world. This answer, of course, is correct. However, in the Gospel of John the emphasis is not on the Lord’s death for redemption. I do not mean by this that this Gospel says nothing concerning redemption. John 1:29 clearly speaks of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. My point is that in John’s Gospel the emphasis with respect to Christ’s death is not on redemption. This is the emphasis in the synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark, and Luke — but it is not the emphasis in the Gospel of John. What, then, is the emphasis concerning the Lord’s death in the Gospel of John? Not many Christians can answer this question.
If the saints in the Lord’s recovery were to try to answer this question regarding the purpose of the Lord’s death in the Gospel of John, they might give different answers. Some might say that the Lord died to enlarge Himself as God’s dwelling place, that He died to glorify Himself or to release the divine life from within Himself, or that He died to become the life-giving Spirit. Such answers, although somewhat close to the truth, may be according to the doctrines that the saints have learned in the Lord’s recovery.
If we would understand the emphasis in the Gospel of John concerning the death of Christ, we need to have a bird’s-eye view of the entire Gospel. The twenty-one chapters of this Gospel are very well arranged in sections. In the first eleven chapters we have a number of cases. The Lord Jesus did many miracles, or signs. John selected some of these miraculous cases and used them in his Gospel to signify that the Lord Jesus, God incarnate, is adequate to meet the need of every person. No matter what our need may be, no matter what our case may be, the Lord Jesus is able to meet our need and take care of our case.
As we have pointed out, the cases selected by John begin with regeneration and end with resurrection. The first case, that of Nicodemus, is a case of regeneration, and the last case, that of Lazarus, is a case of resurrection. In principle, regeneration and resurrection are the same. On the one hand, apart from resurrection no one can be regenerated; on the other hand, regeneration is related to resurrection. All the cases found in the first eleven chapters of this Gospel are in the principle of regeneration by resurrection. Actually, all these cases involve the problem of death. These cases reveal that the Lord Jesus is fully qualified and adequate to meet all the needs of those in death. He is the unique One who can meet these needs because only He can impart the divine life into people in order to resurrect them and thereby regenerate them.
The raising of Lazarus stirred up the people. They heard that a Nazarene had resurrected a man who had been in the tomb for four days. No doubt, that was a great miracle, a miracle of miracles. John 12:17 and 18 say, “The crowd therefore that was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead testified. For this reason the crowd also went and met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.” The crowd was excited and gave the Lord Jesus an enthusiastic welcome when He came into Jerusalem. Even when certain Greeks heard about the Lord, they wanted to see Him (vv. 20-21). Philip and Andrew came to the Lord and told Him about the desire of these Greeks to see Him. To Philip and Andrew, this was a golden time for the Lord.
If we had been in the Lord’s place in chapter 12 of John, we probably would have said, “How wonderful that the people are welcoming Me! This is the golden time for Me to be exalted.” However, according to verses 23 and 24, the Lord responded in a very different way: “Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” I doubt that Philip and Andrew understood what the Lord was saying. Perhaps they thought that when the Lord used the word glorified, He was saying that He would be exalted. But then the Lord went on to tell them that He would fall into the ground and die as a grain of wheat. This word may have been a disappointment to these disciples. The Lord indicated to them that He would not accept the welcome of the crowd. Instead, He would fall into the ground and die in order that He might be multiplied. If we see this, then we will know the answer to the question concerning what aspect of Christ’s death is emphasized in the Gospel of John.
In John’s Gospel the emphasis regarding the Lord’s death is not redemption; John’s emphasis is multiplication. As we pointed out in foregoing chapters, this multiplication, revealed in 12:24, is the Lord’s glorification. The Lord Jesus was God incarnate, God in the flesh. The Lord’s divine life with His divine nature was concealed in the flesh and confined by it. As such a One, He had come for a single purpose — to reproduce Himself, to have Himself multiplied, through death and resurrection.
This multiplication can be illustrated by a grain of wheat. Life is confined and concealed within the grain. How can a grain of wheat be multiplied? How can the life within it be released in order to produce an increase of the grain? The only way is for the grain of wheat to fall into the earth and die. The Lord used this illustration, taken from the realm of nature, to show the purpose of His death. Referring to Himself as a grain of wheat, the Lord indicated to His disciples that He came to be multiplied, to be reproduced, as a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies and then grows up to produce many grains.
In chapter 1 of John’s Gospel we have the Lord as the Lamb of God, and in chapter 12 we see Him as a grain of wheat. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The Lamb of God is for redemption, for taking away sin from the world. But a grain of wheat is for the releasing of life so that the one grain may be multiplied into many grains. Now we can see that, whereas the Lamb of God is for redemption, the grain of wheat is for multiplication. The multiplication of the grain is its glorification.
If a grain of wheat remained alone and did not fall into the ground to die, it could never be multiplied or glorified. But after a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it eventually will grow up to be multiplied. Through this multiplication one grain brings forth many grains. This multiplication of a grain is also its glorification. A field of ripe wheat has a certain kind of glory. All the ripe ears of wheat are the glory of the grains of wheat that has been sown into the ground. Therefore, the multiplication of a grain of wheat is its glorification.
The Lord’s divinity and divine life were confined within the shell of His humanity. Hence, it was necessary for this shell to be broken so that the divinity and the life confined and concealed within it might be released and multiplied. For this purpose the Lord Jesus went to the cross and died there.
The truth concerning the Lord’s death for multiplication is much neglected by Christians today. All Christians realize that the Lord’s death has accomplished redemption. It is wonderful to realize this, but this realization is not adequate. The Lord’s death was not only for redemption but was also for multiplication. The Gospel of John is not focused on redemption; rather, this Gospel is focused on multiplication.
As a whole, John’s Gospel reveals that the Triune God desires to work Himself into His chosen people to make them His reproduction. This reproduction is illustrated by a grain of wheat that falls into the ground, dies, and grows in order to be multiplied. The many grains brought forth by the one grain are the multiplication of that grain.
A father is one who multiplies himself through the begetting of children. A man’s children are his multiplication and reproduction. In the same principle, as children of God, we are God’s reproduction. Concerning this, 1:12 and 13 say, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” According to these verses, whoever receives the One who came as God incarnate and tabernacled among us will be given the authority to become a child of God, His reproduction. As a result of the coming of the Lord Jesus, millions of children of God have been produced.
We have seen that the Gospel of John does not emphasize the redemption of the Lord Jesus but instead emphasizes the multiplication brought forth by the Son of God. According to 12:24, the Lord brought forth this reproduction by falling into the ground as a grain of wheat to die. The Lord Jesus died on the cross to bring forth the multiplication, the reproduction, of Himself. According to the synoptic Gospels, Christ died for redemption, but according to the emphasis in John’s Gospel, He died for the purpose of multiplication.
We have seen that after the resurrection of Lazarus, the crowd welcomed the Lord Jesus and wanted to exalt Him. However, the Lord did not come for human exaltation; He came instead for divine glorification. This glorification required Him to pass through the process of death and resurrection. The five and a half chapters from the middle of chapter 12 to the end of chapter 17 are all on one subject — the glorification of the Lord Jesus. What is the Lord’s glorification? His glorification is His multiplication. From 12:23 to the end of chapter 17 we see that Jesus, the Nazarene, had to pass through death so that He might be multiplied in His resurrection. This multiplication is His glorification.
Suppose a certain brother has twelve sons. These sons would be the brother’s multiplication and glorification. If we saw this brother surrounded by all his sons, we would realize that with him there is multiplication and that this multiplication is his glorification.
The matter of multiplication as glorification revealed in chapters 12 through 17 has been neglected by Christians throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, these chapters definitely speak of the Lord’s glorification. When the people wanted to exalt Him, the Lord said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23). In order for the Son of Man to be glorified, it was necessary for Him to die and be multiplied. In 12:28 the Lord Jesus went on to pray, “Father, glorify Your name.” For the Father to glorify His name is for Him to glorify Himself, for the Father’s name denotes His person. Then in 12:32 the Lord went on to say, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” For the Lord to be “lifted up” means that He was put on the cross. When He was lifted up, He drew all men to Himself. All those who have been drawn to Him are His multiplication.
Concerning the Lord’s death, 12:31 says, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out.” This verse indicates that through the Lord’s death, the world, the anti-God system of Satan, has been judged, and the ruler of this world has been cast out.
In chapter 12 of John we do not have the thought of redemption. Instead, this chapter speaks concerning multiplication, the drawing of all men to the Lord, the judgment of the world, and the casting out of the ruler of this world. In order for all men to be drawn to the Lord so that He might be multiplied, it was necessary for the world system, which usurps mankind, to be judged. Fallen mankind is under the tyranny, the usurpation, of the world, just as the children of Israel were under the tyranny and usurpation of Pharaoh in Egypt. After God judged Egypt and Pharaoh, Pharaoh let the children of Israel go. Likewise, the world, which usurps the children of God, has been judged. When the Lord Jesus was lifted up on the cross, the world was judged. This is the reason that Paul could say, “The world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). This makes it possible for God’s chosen people to be released from the world. Furthermore, the ruler of this world has been cast out. In the sight of God and in the sight of the angels, demons, and Satan, this world has been judged, condemned, and its ruler has been cast out. Therefore, the world and its ruler, Satan, are powerless to hold us.
Through the Lord’s death the divine life within Him was released. Then in resurrection He imparted this life to God’s chosen people. In this way God’s people have become His multiplication, a multiplication which is His glorification.
No one in history has been glorified in such a way as the Lord Jesus. Today there are Christians all over the world. Even though many believers are weak, it cannot be denied that Christians are Christ’s multiplication and glorification.
Unfortunately, many believers do not realize that they are Christ’s glorification. Have you ever realized that you are a part of Christ’s glorification? Probably you have not realized this. Perhaps your understanding of Christ’s death has been according to traditional teaching. Most of the biblical truths, including the truth concerning redemption, have been leavened. As a result, very few Christians know the truth in a complete and pure way. On the contrary, nearly every truth has been leavened, reduced, and covered. Therefore, I hope that we all will see that the Lord’s death was not only for redemption but was also for His glorification through multiplication. We are His multiplication, and as His multiplication we are His glorification.
After the Lord predicted His glorification, He went on to give a lengthy message concerning it, a message recorded in John 14, 15, and 16. In chapter 14 we have the Father’s house; in chapter 15, the vine with all its branches; and in chapter 16, the newborn man. The Father’s house, the vine, and the new man are all the result of Christ’s multiplication; they are the issue of His reproduction. As we have pointed out in previous chapters, the Father’s house, the vine, and the new man are the Lord’s glorification. Therefore, in 17:1 He prayed, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.” This means that in chapter 17 the Lord prayed for His multiplication, which would be the issue, the result, of His death. As a grain of wheat, He fell into the ground and died, and then He rose up to become many grains. Now these grains have become the Father’s house, the vine, and the new man for His expression. This, therefore, is the purpose of Christ’s death unfolded in the Gospel of John.
After praying for His glorification, the Lord presented Himself in chapter 18 to be arrested, tried, judged, and put to death. The Lord Jesus boldly presented Himself for death. He knew where He would be arrested. In chapter 13 the Lord even encouraged Judas. He told the disciples that one of them would betray Him. Then He gave a morsel to the betrayer, to Judas, and said to him, “What you do, do quickly” (v. 27). After Judas took the morsel and went out, the Lord again spoke concerning His glorification: “Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him. If God has been glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and He will glorify Him immediately” (vv. 31-32). The Lord Jesus certainly knew that the time had come for Him to be put to death. However, He spoke not of being put to death but of being glorified. His word in 13:31-32 corresponds to His prayer in chapter 17, the prayer that the Father might glorify the Son so that the Son might glorify Him. To glorify the Son actually means to put the Son to death. Hence, by praying for His glorification the Lord was praying concerning His death.
John 18:1 says, “When Jesus had said these things, He went forth with His disciples across the brook Kedron, where there was a garden, into which He entered as well as His disciples.” The Lord delivered Himself of His own accord to the process of death, as He mentioned in 10:17-18. He did this voluntarily and boldly. He went to the garden where He knew that He would be betrayed. For what purpose was He betrayed? He was betrayed in order that He might be put to death so that He might be multiplied. May we all have a clear vision concerning this.
