Author: Bryan Jay

In Genesis 40, Pharoah’s cupberarer and his baker have both been thrown in prison for an unnamed offense (the implication of v. 1 is that they were in for the same thing).  God gives each of them a dream and then uses Joseph to interpret the dreams.  The cupbearer will be restored.  The baker will be condemned and put to death.

There are two ways to understand these dreams 1) God is revealing in advance what will happen out of his bare knowledge of events yet to come. 2) God is revealing in advance what will happen out of his sovereign predestining of events yet to come. Which of these is the case is difficult to determine from this passage alone.

The events here related don’t seem to have much bearing on biblical history other than the cupbearer’s forgetfulness of Joseph. So one could conceivably read the story as God’s futile attempt to get Joseph out of the prison by using the dreams to give Joseph an opportunity to perhaps get help from the cupbearer. Sadly, there are many today who would be happy to interpret the story in this way.

But when we consider the many passages where God explicitly shows himself to be sovereign over future events (the Exodus from Egypt comes to mind), it is much more likely that God is showing here how easily he could have released Joseph from prison. If he can determine what will happen to these two officers, then reminding the cupbearer of Joseph’s plight would have been very feasible. The fact that God does the extremely difficult act (from our perspective) of predestining the outcome of the officers and doesn’t do the extremely easy act (from our perspective) of reminding the cupbearer of Joseph, shows that God is making clear here that Joseph is in prison by God’s sovereign plan. And Joseph will remain in the prison as long as it accords with God’s sovereign plan.

A proof of this interpretation is that if it were true that God was trying to get Joseph free by giving the dreams and then using Joseph to interpret them, why did he not do the very simple thing and remind the cupbearer?? 

The fact is that God is showing Joseph (and us) that he is the one who is in control of everything that is happening to Joseph. In fact, this specific instance from Joseph’s life is only one of a whole string of events that hammer home this theme. Joseph understands this and tells his brothers much later that what they meant for evil, God meant for God (Genesis 50:20).

The application to us is twofold. First of all, the most important event of history, the crucifixion of our Lord, follows this pattern. Jesus was crucified by evil men, and yet they did “whatever your (God’s) hand and your (God’s) plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:28). God has always been at work in every event of human history to accomplish his perfect, eternal plan, and the result is our redemption from sin! God’s sovereignty over everything that happens is ultimately for his glory, the revelation of his glorious character, and what we see in that revelation is grace!

The second application is that whatever the Christian sees happening in his life, whether it looks like a blessing (“Hey, the cupbearer is going to spring me from this prison!”) or not (“I can’t believe he forgot about me!”) God is at work to accomplish his good purposes (Romans 8:28).

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

In the English Standard Version, the greek word “epitimao” translated here, “rebuked” is variously translated, “rebuked (25x), ordered (2x), or charged (2x).” 

Interestingly, although we see Jesus rebuking this storm, demons, and a fever, the verb’s use in relation to other people is always rebuking of a person, usually in a negative sense, as in Peter rebuking Jesus in Mark 8:32, or the disciples rebuking those who bring children to Jesus in Mark 10:13. 

When we come to Acts, there is not a single occasion where the word is used of the apostles or any believer in the same sense that it is used of Jesus in the gospels. We do not see the apostles rebuking storms, demons, or sicknesses.



Unfortunately, it is quite common to hear people today “rebuking” or “ordering” all manner of things that they think need to be rebuked in Jesus’ name. But the NT clearly shows us that this is an unbiblical practice and comes from presumption rather than faith. 

It is true that we see the apostles doing something that looks like “rebuking,” but it is interesting that an entirely different word is used there. In Acts 16.18, for example, when Paul becomes greatly annoyed, he “commands” (greek word “parangelo”) the demon to come out of the slave girl. This word, while still being quite strong (it is often translated, “command”, “order”, “charge”), nevertheless has the idea of “instruct.” It is often used in reference to instructing others in some obligation that they are to fulfill. So Paul is not commanding the demon in the sense of exercising his own authority over it, but rather he is directing the demon “in the name of Jesus.”



Even when one has a gift of faith and is able to know with certainty how he should proceed in a given situation, it is not our place to be ordering as if the authority that is Christ’s alone were given to us. Even in the great commission, Jesus reserves this authority to himself (Matt. 28:18).

My wife says that whenever she sees this passage in her English Standard Version, she always misreads the paragraph title as, “Some Geeks seek Jesus.”  I’m sure glad that Jesus accepts geeks like me!  But he does more than just accept us, he challenges us, just as he does these… Greeks.  Let’s consider Jesus’ words here phrase by phrase.

First of all, notice that the request Andrew relays to Jesus is,

Sir, we wish to see Jesus…

Have you noticed how often it seems like Jesus’ response to questions is unrelated to the question asked or issue raised?  I think this is because Jesus was constantly dealing with the questions and circumstances around him on a deeper, more foundational level than those who come to him.  Here, rather than saying, “OK, I’ll see these gentlemen.”  or “No, I don’t have time to see them,” what does he say?

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified

Jesus is using the curiosity of these Greeks as an opportunity to say to his disciples, “Yes, people like these Greeks want to see me, but the way I am going to be ‘shown’ is much greater than what you or they realize.”

Jesus is announcing that his death is near.  “the hour has come…”

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

The “grain of wheat” that “falls into the earth and dies” is of course, Jesus himself.  If Jesus does not die, then he will “remain alone” in the sense that the life that is in him will not be given to his followers.  All along in John’s gospel, Jesus has been offering life.  Here he shows how that life is going to be given–it is through his death.  “Bears much fruit” refers to the life that is in Jesus being given to his followers.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

What does it mean to “love one’s life”?  In the context, we know it is a negative idea since it results in the loss of one’s life.  Before answering that, let’s note that Jesus is offering an invitation here.  “Whoever” is an inviting word.  We are called to join either the group that loves their life, or the group that hates their life.  And what Jesus calls us to, he himself does.  He has just compared himself to a grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies in order to bear fruit.  In the same way, “loves his life” refers to one who is unwilling to die.  This is a person who holds on to his life in this world and is unwilling to “serve” Jesus (v. 26) and “follow” Jesus (v. 26).  This is a call to be willing to die for Jesus–to lose one’s life for him.

If one is unwilling to do this, Jesus says that person will lose his life anyway.  But if one “hates his life” or in other words, is willing to die for Jesus, to “serve” and “follow” him (v. 26) then that person will “keep” his life “for eternal life.”  The contrast here is between our life here and now (“in this world”), and our life after physical death.  This is Jesus calling us to “set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3.2)

If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.

This verse gives more details about what it means to “hate one’s life.”  When Jesus says, “he must follow me” he is referring to his dying like a grain of wheat.  In the same way that Jesus dies to provide life for us, we also must follow him in that death.  In the words of the other gospels, to follow Jesus is to “take up our cross” (Matt 16.24, Mark 8.34, Luke 9.23).  The result of this is that we will be where he is.

To be “where I am” is an interesting phrase.  To me, it points to the fact that the “follow me” here refers to more than just “taking up our cross” and dying like a grain of wheat.  It starts with that, but Jesus did not stay on the cross, and so following him only starts there, but it goes on to new places, which are not specified here.  Jesus could be referring to his exaltation in glory, or he could be referring to his continued working in the world by the Spirit whom he will send.  The promise reminds me of Jesus’ words in the Great Commission, “and, lo, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Only here in John 12.26, it is not he with us, but us with him.  This pictures Jesus taking the initiative, and our being with him by virtue of having followed him.

“If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”  Jesus did not stay dead in the tomb, but rose again to life.  Jesus was exalted after his death and resurrection.  That is where he is now (“…and where I am”).  Thus he promises that the Father will “honor” those who serve and follow him in the sense that they will also be exalted “in Christ”.

So throughout this challenge from Jesus, notice that there is a very intimate connection that Jesus is forging between himself and those who would follow him.  To heed this call to a radical, life-surrendering discipleship is to enter into an intimate relationship with Jesus in which yes, there is suffering, but there is also glory and life everlasting.  This is the call of the gospel–to be united with Jesus Christ and to live his life.  Ultimately, there is no other life worth living.  If you are searching for “real life,” here in Jesus’ words is the only place you will ever find it.