[NOTE: audio corrects at 12:47]

Do you see him hanging there, with his back against the grain?

Hear him crying in pain, as he pushes off his nail-pierced feet to breathe, rubbing his wounded back against the grain.

See the early Christians, staring down the Roman Empire, facing brutality armed only with sacrificial love, going against the grain.

And cast your eyes to the wheat field, to the stalks swaying in the wind. Will they simply waver through the summer til the autumn of their lives? Or will they be gathered and crushed, so that they, being few, may be planted in new soil and yield a harvest of plenty? 

It seems to go against every instinct—against our need for survival, and against common sense—to go against the grain.

It’s also the way of the cross. But, then again, so is resurrection.

The sermon today is titled "Against The Grain." It is the first installment in our "He Is Risen" Series. The Scripture reading is from John 12:24-26. Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on April 2, 2023. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ and DISCOVER: A New Reality.

Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.

Footnotes (Sources and References Used In Today's Podcast):

• Inspired by Sam Wells, "Unless A Grain of Wheat," a sermon preached at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London (21 Mar 2021).
• On the text (John 12:24-26), see also Andrew T. Lincoln, The Gospel According to Saint John, Black's New Testament Commentary (2005), p.350.
• Alexander Jannaeus crucified 800 Pharisees.
• After the Spartacus revolt, Romans crucified 6,000 on the Appian Way. Appian, The Civil Wars, 1.120.
• Varus crucified 2,000 of Jesus' fellow Jews in 4 BC.
• For the story of the Philippian house church and baptistery, see this chapter by Charalambos Bakirtzis, "Paul and Philippi: The Archaeological Evidence," in Philippi at the Time of Paul and After His Death (1998), pp. 42-46.
• "One 19th century theologian": Teilhard de Chardin.
• "Living Significance": Fleming Rutledge's preface to The Crucifixion.
• Chrysostom, Homily on Galatians 6:14. Cited here.
• "O Sacred Head": see the Wikipedia page here.

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