{"id":4205,"date":"2020-09-21T22:11:04","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T22:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=4205"},"modified":"2020-09-21T22:11:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T22:11:04","slug":"when-a-grain-of-wheat-falls-into-the-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/when-a-grain-of-wheat-falls-into-the-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"When a Grain of Wheat Falls into the Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

20\u00a0<\/sup>Now\u00a0among those who went up to worship at the feast were some\u00a0Greeks.<\/span>\u00a021\u00a0<\/sup>So these came to\u00a0Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, \u201cSir, we wish to see Jesus.\u201d<\/span>\u00a022\u00a0<\/sup>Philip went and told\u00a0Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.<\/span>\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup>And Jesus answered them,\u00a0\u201cThe hour has come\u00a0for the Son of Man to be glorified.<\/span><\/span>\u00a024\u00a0<\/sup>Truly, truly, I say to you,\u00a0unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.<\/span><\/span>\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup>Whoever loves his life loses it, and\u00a0whoever\u00a0hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.<\/span><\/span>\u00a026\u00a0<\/sup>If anyone serves me, he must\u00a0follow me; and\u00a0where I am, there will my servant be also.\u00a0If anyone serves me,\u00a0the Father will honor him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Hour Has Come<\/b><\/p>\n

Preceding our passage today, we saw Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey with crowds of people welcoming Him as king, shouting \u201cHosanna.\u201d It caused such a commotion the Jews who wanted to kill Jesus were now afraid that the whole world would be going after Jesus. As we see in our passage today, that is what is signified in the Greeks who come to see Jesus. Now, we are not told whether the Greeks end up getting to see Jesus here or not. It seems they just disappear from the story. It may also seem like a strange response that Jesus gives to Philip and Andrew. Why would Jesus give the response that He does, to a request for a couple of Greeks to see Him? Well, in some way, these Greeks coming to see Jesus signified that it was now time for Jesus to be glorified. We know that Jesus\u2019 mission was first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. And Jesus\u2019 being lifted up is what draws the world, the Gentiles, to Himself. So now that they are coming to Him, wanting to see him, it is now time for Jesus to be lifted up upon the cross, so that they can see Him.<\/span><\/p>\n

The hour has now come as Jesus says. We\u2019ve spent a lot of time throughout John thus far seeing little phrases that express that His hour had not yet come. Multiple times the Jews tried to arrest Him, and John notes that they were not able to because \u201cHis hour had not yet come.\u201d But now, it is here. Now we are of course not talking about a sixty minute hour. It is just a way to express that the time has now come. It is as if these Greeks coming to see Him was an indication to Jesus that the hour was now upon Him. A new era is beginning to dawn. A new age is approaching of the gospel for the nations through the death of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was time for Jesus to be glorified so that the Gentile world could \u201csee\u201d him. \u201cSir, we would see Jesus,\u201d they ask. So Jesus would very shortly be lifted up on the cross so that all could see Him there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Glorified<\/b><\/p>\n

Now I must give a brief point of clarification here. As I have already indicated by the way I\u2019ve been talking, when Jesus states that it is now time for the Son of Man to be glorified, He is talking here about His death. We typically think about glorification as our final stage of salvation, or when Jesus ascends into glory; but it is also used particularly here in John to refer to the death of Jesus. After Jesus states in verse 23 that the hour has now come for the Son of Man to be glorified, He then immediately talks about a grain of wheat falling into the earth and dying and producing fruit, which is clearly a reference to Jesus\u2019 death. So here He talks about His death in terms of His glorification. And we\u2019ll see it again next week as Jesus talks about this \u201chour\u201d as the purpose of His coming and about that hour says, \u201cFather, glorify your name,\u201d and then goes on to talk about His being lifted up on the cross. We\u2019ll talk more about this next week, but just know that that is what is being referred to here.<\/span><\/p>\n

So basically the response to the Greeks wanting to Jesus is Jesus saying \u201cI must be glorified for you to see me.\u201d And by saying that He must be glorified He indicates that the nature of His death is one in which it will reveal and display just who He is. You see, Jesus talks about His death being when He is glorified, because the nature of His death displays His value and worth. You can\u2019t see Jesus unless you see Him at the cross. If you try to view Him in any other way, without viewing Him through the cross, you will not see Him, you will not understand Him. This is how we must view the world, and life, our passage today, and everything: through the cross, in light of the reality of what God declared to the world there, what took place, what it means, and what it changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The necessity and results of the death of Christ<\/b><\/p>\n

There are many reasons we could give as to why Christ had to die – or why He had to die to accomplish what He wanted to accomplish – but there is one significant reason set out for us in our text. In verse 24 Jesus launches into a mini parable you could say. In it, Jesus speaks about His death. In it we are told that a grain of wheat cannot bear fruit, unless it first is sown into the earth and dies. (The idea here of wheat \u201cfalling\u201d into the earth is to say that it is sown. For, how does a grain of wheat fall into the earth most commonly? By being sown.) So, if this grain of wheat is sown into the earth and dies, it will then bear much fruit.<\/span><\/p>\n

So we see that the death of Christ is a fruit-bearing death. It is a death that results in something good. It\u2019s very implicit, but here is definite atonement, or particular redemption: His death is one that has particular and definite results. \u201c…if it dies, it bears much fruit.\u201d This is why the Son of Man must be glorified (crucified); so that He will bear much fruit. If He did not die, then He could not have the fruit of His death. As I like to say, you can\u2019t have resurrection without death. Death is the necessary condition for the generation of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is this fruit that the death of Jesus produces? There are many things that the death of Jesus accomplishes, purchases, produces, etc. While all of those things could be in view, I think it is primarily speaking about the many people whom Jesus will purchase for Himself – the great many Gentiles of all the nations that are Christ\u2019s. That would include those of us here who are Christ\u2019s. We are the fruit of His death. Jesus had to die to save the world, purchase His people, and redeem the nations. And so He did.<\/span><\/p>\n

But not only that. If His people, who He would die to redeem, are primarily in view, it is His people that are called \u201cfruit.\u201d We are called \u201cfruit,\u201d because when Jesus saves a man, He sanctifies him, and gives him graces. God\u2019s people are a blessing to the world. They are a benefit and net positive in the world. They are fruitful, we could say. Because the Christian is the fruit of Jesus\u2019 death, the Christian then bears the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus bears good fruit. We are growing and being sanctified and being matured by Jesus. And one day Jesus will present His bride as pure and spotless, without any blemish or wrinkle. And it is all purchased by His death. Jesus produces good fruit.<\/span><\/p>\n

So if you think you are worthless and scum, and you\u2019ll never be able to conquer your sin; if you think that you are a no-good-for-nothing low-down-dirty rotten egg, yet you are in Christ, then you need to know that Jesus is not done with you yet. Jesus produces good fruit. This is not a goodness in ourselves or from our flesh. It is a goodness that comes from Christ. And He grows it in us. If you are still here, then it is because God created good works beforehand for us to walk in, that we have not walked in yet. There is more fruit to bear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice also that it is one little grain of wheat that results in much fruit. Not just a little fruit or some fruit or a bit of fruit, but much fruit. And not a bunch of grains of wheat. But one grain of wheat bears much fruit. One man\u2019s death results in much salvation. Jesus didn\u2019t die to have just a really small tiny remnant of elect. Rather, He elected many. One man died so that as many as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore would be redeemed. And it was not a bunch of people that died for the many, but one man, substituted for the many. Not Jesus plus this person and that prophet and those teachers – but only Jesus for the many. The death of Jesus is sufficient to bear much fruit. God did not have to scatter a whole bag of seeds just hoping that it would produce some fruit. Rather, He just took one seed – His only begotten Son – and put Him in the ground, knowing that would be enough to produce the entirety of the great many hosts of the redeemed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sowing and Reaping<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot we can learn from the fact that Jesus essentially refers to His death as a sowing and reaping. Indeed, this is a principle talked about quite a bit throughout the Bible. What we see here is that the principle of sowing and reaping is like little deaths and resurrections. Something is buried in the ground like a death, and after a while, it rises back out of the ground in the form of new life and fruit. It is how God set up the world. When we sow and reap, something dies, so that in the future, something else will come to life. Sowing and reaping is the principle of historical progress and advancement on the earth; and also regression when you\u2019re sowing bad seed. Ultimately we see that sowing and reaping is the principle of progress in history from the death and resurrection of Christ, as Christ\u2019s death and resurrection was the ultimate sowing and reaping, that has shaken and redirected history and progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the principle is that you reap what you sow, whether good or ill. What we are doing now will show its fruit later on. If you put a little bit of money away at a time, then in some time, you will have a good sum of money. It is very simple, yet mankind seems always to want a way around it. They either want instant results without the time spent sowing, or they want to be able to sow years of bad seed without reaping the bad fruit. But you can\u2019t have it that way. The world operates by God\u2019s rules. So instead of trying to buck those rules, we should learn them and abide closely by them.<\/span><\/p>\n

This should cause us to really consider and examine what we are sowing, how we are spending our time, and be wise about what fruit will come from the seeds we are putting into our lives. Think about your children. What seeds are you sowing in them? What will come from those seeds? Or think about what you want your kids to become, what kind of person. Now what kind of seeds will produce that? Think about this in terms of your family, yourself, your church, etc. What kind of bond of unity do we want as a Church as we grow together? Are the seeds you are sowing going to produce that? It\u2019s a very convicting thought. This principle of sowing and reaping applies to every area of our lives, from our spiritual devotion to our diets. And we are to be wise and think about what we are sowing.<\/span><\/p>\n

So as the parable goes, the sowing is death. If sowing is death, that means our lives are full of little deaths. That\u2019s because sowing is hard. It\u2019s work. If we want to reap certain fruit, things are going to have to die. We are going to have to die. We are going to have to put to death immediate desires of the flesh, we will have to put them in the ground and bury them, so that we can reap reward. I like what Calvin says, \u201c…our life is\u2026 a sort of continual death\u2026\u201d Verse 25 tells us, \u201cWhoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.\u201d The key qualifier is \u201cin this world.\u201d That\u2019s not to say we hate our physical lives, but we hate our lives \u201cin this world\u201d – that is, the way of the world, the world system of the flesh and principles of sin – things that are temporary. If we love our worldly lives we will lose it. But the point is that\u2019s sowing and reaping. Have you ever thought about that phrase in terms of sowing and reaping? That\u2019s what it is. If you only sow into the temporal desires of this world then that is all you will reap. But if you are putting to death those desires and sowing for things that are eternal and eternal life, then that is what you will reap. You see, you have to lose your life to keep it. You have to die, to rise again. So each day, we must take up our cross and die – not for nothing, but so that we may live, so that we may bear much fruit. It\u2019s not an easy or comfortable thing. It\u2019s very hard. But there is no other way to get the results. I love what Calvin says here, \u201c…if we must die in order that we may bring forth fruit, we ought patiently to permit God to mortify us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Promise of Fruit<\/b><\/p>\n

Dying is not an easy thing. Sowing takes a lot of work. But if that is what it takes to produce the right fruit, then that is what we must do.<\/span><\/p>\n

But our sowing and our dying is not without the promise of fruit. It is not without the promise of greater reward. If you give your life to follow, serve, and obey Jesus in every area of life no matter what you do or what your station in life is, then it will not be for nothing. The way God created things is not that you will spend years and years of sowing with nothing to show for it, or nothing to reap. It will not be a waste. It cannot be a waste. It will bring about much fruit. And that\u2019s not just talking about your eternal reward, though that is essential, but on this earth there will be fruit from what you have sown. You may personally not see much of it, or any of the fruit, because you might have to die first in order for the fruit to live. But what you do here matters for both eternity and the future of this earth. Your work is not in vain.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you suffer, when you are disciplined, when you die to your flesh and desires, take comfort in knowing that it is sowing, and in due season will yield much fruit.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is a hard thing to die and give up our lives; so we are promised that as we follow Him, we will always be with Jesus, and that when we give our lives to serve him, the Father will honor us. Do you want the Father to honor you? Then serve Jesus. There are three rewards held out in verse 25-26: eternal life, being with Jesus, and being honored by the Father. And those rewards, or that fruit, is talked about receiving in terms of it being a reaping of the right kind of sowing. Do you want these things? There are seeds you can sow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Persistence and Patience<\/b><\/p>\n

But in order to trade in our lives for these promises, it means we have to look to the future. It means we have to have a more long term vision than just what is here and now. Christian living is like farming. Farmers have to have a longer term vision and goal. The analogy used is planting and yielding fruit – and that takes time. There is a time to sow and there is a time to harvest. They come in their time. Not only does it take time, it takes persistent faithful action over time. That\u2019s what it takes to see fruit: persistence and patience.<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that discipleship takes time. It doesn\u2019t happen overnight. It can\u2019t be microwaved. Training your children takes time. Cultivating proper relationships in the church takes time. Growing in our relationship with God takes time. These things take persistent faithful action over time and we can\u2019t expect to have them without it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having said that, the principle of sowing and reaping is not a cold reality. It\u2019s a reality, but not a cold one. What I mean is that we live in a world in which there is the grace of God. We live in a world in which the grace of God is a powerful agent. Because it could be easy to look at our sinful selves and despair of ever being able to overcome bad seed that we have sown over many years, or despair over our weak sowing abilities. But this is God\u2019s world, and He intervenes. You may have sown many bad years in your relationship with your wife, or with your children. But you need not despair as if the grace of God did not exist. You can\u2019t undo what you have sown, but you can repent. Repentance is the way out. And God forgives. His grace can overcome bad seed. You may have spent years sowing an immoral lifestyle apart from Christ. There will be consequences, but in Christ there is grace, and grace has consequences too. Where we may have sown sin, God likes to sow grace. The consequences of grace is that it forgives sin, and overcomes sin, and conquers sin. We of course cannot presume upon God\u2019s grace, so we do not go on sinning that grace may abound. We stay disciplined and diligent, persistent and patient in our sowing, knowing we will reap from it. But we also know that this is a world where God is busy sowing mercy and busy sowing grace. And He also will reap. We cannot presume upon grace, but we know that this is a world where God loves to give it out.<\/span><\/p>\n

The One thing we Don\u2019t Sow and Reap<\/b><\/p>\n

But there is one thing that we do not sow and reap. This of course comes from the grace of God. The one thing that we do not sow and reap is our justification before God. This is why Jesus had to die. This is why Jesus had to sow the seed of His body into the earth. We can\u2019t go to the market and buy the seeds of our justification, plant them in the ground, and when we die find ourselves justified before God. All of our good works that we could sow would not and could not result in our justification before God. All we have is corrupted, spoiled, and worthless seeds that manifest in rotten and bad fruit before God. All of our good works are sown with sin. If we think we can work to grow our justification and present it before God one day, all we will have is stinking rotten fruit infested with worms and maggots that will be cast out into the eternal flames. But you see when God decided to save us, He did not throw out the principles of sowing and reaping that run this world. No, instead, He came down and did the sowing for us. God sent the seed of His Son into this broken and fallen world. The seed of His Son is the only perfect and pure seed with a divine potency and power. He worked the ground and laid this seed, His Son, into the ground. God decided that it was good for the Son to die, in order that He could bear much fruit, and in order that He would rise up out of the ground to be presented before the Father as our justification. God decided that it was good for Jesus to die so that He could rise up with many brothers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus is the Seed<\/b><\/p>\n

You see, Jesus is the seed. He dies so that others may live. We are the ones who deserve to die and never come up again. Instead, Jesus was the seed that was put into the earth that produces the most lovely fruit that is growing and growing and filling and renewing the earth with the fragrance of Christ. We should have been put there never to rise again, but Jesus was put there in our stead, and to rise again with fruit in His hands. With us in His hands. Jesus the seed, purified the earth and the ground that mankind had soiled and ruined with sin and rebellion. On the day man died, thorns and thistles began to grow from the cursed earth. On the day Jesus died, the earth gave up some of its dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is interesting that Jesus uses the analogy of wheat in this passage for as we saw in John 6, Jesus is the bread of Heaven, come down out of heaven to be the life of the world. This is one reason we use leavened bread in the Lord\u2019s Supper, because it is the body of our Lord, and the body of our Lord is risen. He is the seed put into the ground that rises again.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the seed of sin was planted in Genesis 3, over time the principle of sowing sin and reaping rotten fruit began to slowly work itself out. Blood and immorality began to soil the earth. And when Jesus the Seed was sown in the tomb, over time the principle of sowing and reaping began to slowly work itself out, and it will continue to grow and flower till the earth is covered with the fragrance of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

This principle of sowing and reaping should give us great assurance that Christianity can never be stamped out, for God has already sown the seed of His Kingdom. He will reap it. What does Jesus say elsewhere? The Kingdom of Heaven is like the smallest of seeds, the mustard seed, that grows into the largest tree in the garden, providing shade and branches for the birds of the air.\u00a0 Marxism, communism, secularism, and persecution cannot eradicate the Kingdom of God. The enemies and threats of our day can do nothing to reverse the fact that God laid His Son in the ground, and that seed cannot be stopped from growing. Once Jesus was put in the ground His victory was inevitable, for He could not not resurrect from the grave. The imperishable seed has already been sown. Fruit is here, more is coming. God could\u2019ve just let man die for their sins and have nothing but a condemned world to be burned up and thrown away. But God thought it better to let Jesus die for man\u2019s sins so that He could have a redeemed world. A world where roses would grow out of thorns. When God put man in the garden, man was charged with tending the garden and taking dominion over the earth. Man failed and instead of garden tending, the earth was cursed and thorns and thistles covered the earth. But God didn\u2019t want to leave it at that. He chose to plant a new seed, His Son, to overcome the thorns and thistles and bear sweet fruit over the land once again. The seed of the serpent will not cover and rule the earth. The seed of the women is and will. Let us not think that God will not bear much fruit in the Earth, for sowing Jesus into the Earth. Let us not think God\u2019s sowing of Jesus into the earth will not reap its reward and fruit. It\u2019s how He made the world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

20\u00a0Now\u00a0among those who went up to worship at the feast were some\u00a0Greeks.\u00a021\u00a0So these came to\u00a0Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, \u201cSir, we wish to see Jesus.\u201d\u00a022\u00a0Philip went and told\u00a0Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.\u00a023\u00a0And Jesus answered them,\u00a0\u201cThe hour has come\u00a0for the Son of Man to be glorified.\u00a024\u00a0Truly, truly, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":4206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,24,25,27,30,32],"tags":[274,277,414,1405,557,562,1403,678,679,687,699,765,1407,1408,1406,1172,1404,1335],"class_list":{"0":"post-4205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-eschatology","9":"category-faith","10":"category-gospel","11":"category-preaching","12":"category-theology","13":"tag-christ","14":"tag-christian","15":"tag-earth","16":"tag-falls","17":"tag-god","18":"tag-gospel","19":"tag-grain","20":"tag-jenkins","21":"tag-jesus","22":"tag-john","23":"tag-joshua","24":"tag-lord","25":"tag-reaping","26":"tag-seed","27":"tag-sowing","28":"tag-spirit","29":"tag-wheat","30":"tag-when","31":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/09\/better-wheatfield.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3753,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/can-anything-good-come-out-of-nazareth-john-143-51\/","url_meta":{"origin":4205,"position":0},"title":"Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth? John 1:43-51","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"May 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Verse 43: Here we have a new day in the flow of the narrative in which Jesus decides to go to Galilee. As we saw in our passage last week, Jesus called his first disciples, Andrew, an unnamed disciple, and Simon Peter. As this new day begins, Jesus continues\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/fd22c-philipcallsnathanaelunderfigtree.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/fd22c-philipcallsnathanaelunderfigtree.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/05\/fd22c-philipcallsnathanaelunderfigtree.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4711,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-resurrection-of-christ-and-historical-progress\/","url_meta":{"origin":4205,"position":1},"title":"The Resurrection of Christ and Historical Progress","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"January 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Introduction It is good to be with you here on this first Lord\u2019s Day of the new year, 2022. I have been asked to speak to you today about the resurrection of Christ and the continuing ministry or continuing work of Christ. Or another way to put it is to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"2\"","block_context":{"text":"2","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/tag\/2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/1Print-1-65.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/1Print-1-65.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/1Print-1-65.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/1Print-1-65.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/1Print-1-65.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/01\/1Print-1-65.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3775,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/of-the-increase\/","url_meta":{"origin":4205,"position":2},"title":"Of the Increase","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"June 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In\u00a0my previous post\u00a0I discussed the key text of 1 Corinthians 15 that pushed me over the edge into embracing Postmillennialism. Once I understood that text, and once I understood partial Preterism, the beauty and the extent of the growth of the Kingdom of God began to make sense and be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/06\/mountain-06-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/06\/mountain-06-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/06\/mountain-06-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/06\/mountain-06-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/06\/mountain-06-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/06\/mountain-06-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3960,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-hasty-mob-and-a-patient-king-john-61-15\/","url_meta":{"origin":4205,"position":3},"title":"A Hasty Mob and a Patient King; John 6:1-15","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 After this\u00a0Jesus went away to the other side of\u00a0the Sea of Galilee, which is\u00a0the Sea of Tiberias.\u00a02\u00a0And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.\u00a03\u00a0Jesus went up on\u00a0the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.\u00a04\u00a0Now\u00a0the Passover, the\u00a0feast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/11\/tissot-miracle-of-the-loaves-and-fishes-450x309x72.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1698,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-christians-top-priorities\/","url_meta":{"origin":4205,"position":4},"title":"The Christian’s Top Priorities","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"May 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Christian, does your life revolve around a healthy set of priorities? When you first wake up in the morning, where does your mind go to? For many of us, if we are being completely honest, our minds are often filled with the cares and worries of this world, rather than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Christ\"","block_context":{"text":"Christ","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/tag\/christ\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3954,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/christs-plenty-for-our-poverty-john-61-14\/","url_meta":{"origin":4205,"position":5},"title":"Christ’s Plenty for Our Poverty; John 6:1-14","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 After this\u00a0Jesus went away to the other side of\u00a0the Sea of Galilee, which is\u00a0the Sea of Tiberias.\u00a02\u00a0And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.\u00a03\u00a0Jesus went up on\u00a0the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.\u00a04\u00a0Now\u00a0the Passover, the\u00a0feast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/11\/feeding-5000-450x225-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}