Being Truly Great Means Dying, Mark 9:30-37

Jesus’ teaching about his own pending death to the disciples connected with his teaching on who is the greatest, reminds us that only by dying to self can we discover the greatness that God the Father intends for us.

Image: John Hazeland on His Deathbed, by Edvard Munch, uploaded by villarreal9, license CC BY-SA 4.0 (No changes made). Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Hazeland_on_His_Deathbed.jpg

God's Favor that Leads from Death to Life, John 12:20-36

Jesus spoke of a grain of wheat that must die to bring forth a harvest. Jesus himself is that grain of wheat, and yet, we too are grains of wheat that have come from Jesus falling into the earth and dying. We too must continually die to ourselves in order to bring forth the harvest that God the Father desires.

Image: The Veteran in a New Field, by Winslow Homer. Public Domain. Image Location: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11145

Sin and Death Dealt with on Earth, Joel 2, Matthew 6

The sin and death that is within us is something that must be dealt with on Earth. It is the problem of Earth and not that of Heaven. Thus, Jesus comes to deal with it here on Earth that we might be saved from sin and death by his death and resurrection. On Ash Wednesday, we embrace that reality and enter the season of Lent recognizing that we can’t deal with death without Jesus.

Image: The story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Hezekiah,_clouthed_in_sackcloth,_spreads_open_the_letter_before_the_Lord.jpg