John 12: 1-36

Redemption Church - Augusta, GA

Sermon notes 👇 What is life? It’s a hard thing for me to define at times because when talking about life we could be talking about a number of things… One way we can talk about life is from a pure biological perspective, but we can also talk about life as it pertains to our individual existence. The New Testament generally seems to refer to this type of life by using the greek word “bios”… But the Greek word John uses in 20:31 - the word for the life that we find when believing in Jesus as the Christ, our Savior - is not “bios,” it is “zoe”… “Zoe” is the word used to talk about Life Eternal in the New Testament. And it points to the truth that we exist at a deeper level than just our flesh and blood… For those who believe in Jesus…there is life in us that comes from the Eternal God and is Eternal…and it is meant to lead our bodies with purpose… Jesus says in John 12:25 that “whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” & “If anyone serves me, he must follow me.” And here, in Jesus’s words, a 3rd Greek word for life is found…and the word is “psuche” - of course this is where we get psyche. This is the soul-life. This is the mind, heart, and will. I kind of think of it as the YOU of your life. Jesus basically says that your soul-life can either be driven by the “bios” life or the “zoe” life… That which is of this world, or that which is eternal… That which is temporal, or that which is everlasting…. But not by both. Only one or the other can possess you, and it may seem obvious which is the better choice… But the truth is that, because of the Fall, because of our sin, our heart and soul is bound to - and I mean held captive to - desiring temporal things over eternal things. But it isn’t how we were created to be, we’re broken and we need saving. We desperately need Jesus to give us eternal life.