John 12:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

NIV: Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

NASB: If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

CSB: If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

NLT: Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

KJV: If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

NKJV: If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Jesus is speaking in front of a group of non-Jewish seekers, who have come to see Him in Jerusalem (John 12:20–22). The main message He is giving deals with the need for a person to "die" to themselves in order to "live" in eternal life. This is not a question of earning one's salvation—rather, it's a measure of a person's sincerity. Those who earnestly want to submit to God will put Him at the very top of their priorities. They won't "love" things as much as they "love" God and His will. To the world, that looks like death, just as burying a seed has all the appearance of killing it (John 12:24). In reality, that act is what allows the seed to achieve the purpose for which it was created!

In the same way, being a born-again believer in Jesus Christ means "dying" to one's self and self-interests (1 Corinthians 15:36–42; Romans 6:6–8). Those who resist that obedience are like a seed which is never planted; seeming to "live" but merely stagnating in a state of immaturity and barrenness (Mark 10:21–23).

Jesus' upcoming words are a continuation of this speech, which includes a supernatural response from heaven. In keeping with Jesus' teachings about those who will or will not hear His voice (John 10:26–27), most of those who hear this divine answer will dismiss it as something natural and meaningless (John 12:27–29).

John 12:20–26 describes a group of Greeks—non-Jewish people who worshipped God—who approach Jesus after the triumphal entry. The disciples appear to be carefully vetting everyone who wants to come near Jesus, knowing that local religious leaders have marked Him for death. Jesus' response indicates that the time has come for His ultimate sacrifice, an event which opens the gospel of grace to the entire world.

Jesus is treated to an honorary dinner at the home of Lazarus, whom He has recently raised from death. At this dinner, Lazarus' sister, Mary, anoints Jesus with expensive oil. Jesus then enters Jerusalem to great fanfare, stoking fears that His popularity will attract the anger of the Roman Empire. That anger even inspires a murder plot against Lazarus. After being approached by non-Jewish seekers, Jesus offers a final plea for people to understand His ministry. In effect, these are the last public words spoken by Jesus in the gospel of John.

In the prior chapter, Jesus spectacularly raised Lazarus from death in front of a crowd of witnesses. This inspired local religious leaders to commit to having Him killed. Here, after a celebratory dinner where Jesus is anointed with oil, He will fulfill prophecy by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, celebrated with shouts of ''Hosanna'' and a massive crowd. This leads to a group of curious non-Jews approaching Him. Christ then offers a final plea for belief in Him and His message. After this, His ministry will turn to preparing the disciples for His impending death and resurrection. The next several chapters of the gospel of John are almost entirely made up of his teachings to these men.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.