Scripture: John 12:20-33 (NIV)

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

“Escape is not his plan.” Fittingly for a former student, Darth Vader had his old master measured well. Obi-Wan Kenobi did not want to rush headlong into death and if he could have gotten away without dealing with Vader, he might have taken that option. However, he knew where the path led. He knew that Vader was eventually going to be blocking his way off the station and, as such, he would have to face his old friend. If Kenobi was unable to strike the killing blow on Mustafar, he must have known he couldn’t kill him now that he was armored up and full of the dark side.

No, Obi-Wan was at peace with the fact that he was going to die. He also had a trick up his oversized cloak sleeve. He knew about being able to retain your identity in the Force after death and he also knew he could use that to direct the person that could defeat Vader and his Emperor, Luke Skywalker. Kenobi knew that his death was going to lead to bigger and better things for the galaxy. He couldn’t be selfish enough to try to stay alive if it meant others would suffer.

Jesus was also at peace, for the most part, with the fact that He needed to die for more to live. There was anguish at the Garden of Gethsemane but even then, Christ wanted His Father’s will to be done. It would have been great if there’d been another way, a way where both people could be reconciled to God while also keeping Christ from the cross. That way didn’t exist, though. A sacrifice was required to satisfy the holiness of the Most High.

The death of that seed brought life to so many. Millions upon millions of people have been saved and have had a relationship with the Creator because of Christ’s death and resurrection. Without that act, without that sacrifice, this world would look totally different. As bad as it can be today, it would have been so much worse without God’s love coming through the sacrifice of His Son.

Death is not something that we like to think about. We do our best to avoid it because our death (save those that are in the military or in some other stressful situations) isn’t usually going to be a sacrifice that helps someone live. Yet for the Christian, death is not to be feared. We shed this shell and are reborn anew in the presence of God. We have a greater life ahead of us. Death has no power over us and we need to remember that, especially when we arrive into that time of life when those thoughts are more present. Once we are struck down in this world, we will become more powerful than we can possibly imagine. Thanks be to God for this gift!