今天我們要探討一個看似奇怪和矛盾的屬靈觀點，就是「我們如要活，必先願意死去」。這到底是甚麼意思？最能夠說明這個真理的，是約翰福音十二章的經文，我們曾在前天的默想中閱讀過，現在我們要更仔細地來看這段經文。

有一天一群希臘訪客（希利尼人）來到耶路撒冷，他們聽到耶穌的名聲，於是去找耶穌其中的一個門徒腓力，對他說：「先生，我們願意見耶穌」（約十二21）。腓力告訴耶穌有些希臘人想見他時，我們的主心中馬上出現了一個屬靈的危機：「人子得榮耀的時候到了……一粒麥子不落在地裡死了，仍舊是一粒，若是死了，就結出許多子粒來」（約十二24）。

為甚麼希臘人的簡單要求，會引起耶穌心裡出現這個危機？在這危機中，死還是不死似乎是一個相當重要的癥結。耶穌是否感到希臘人來邀請他將他的信息帶到雅典──哲學和學問的中心──在那裡人們可能更樂意接受那個信息？耶穌是否感到，這些人在想見他時，他們準備說：「先生，如果你繼續走現在的路，猶太人會殺你。不要留在耶路撒冷等死，來雅典並生存下去吧」？如果情況是這樣，這就表示耶穌一直在面對眼前一個極其嚴肅的問題──死還是不死。

Today we ask: What is the meaning of this strange spiritual paradox that before we can live, we must first be willing to die? The best illustration of this truth can be seen in the passage from John 12 that we read on the first day of our meditations and which we will now look at in greater detail.

One day a group of visitors from Greece arrived in Jerusalem, and hearing of the fame of Jesus sought out Philip, one of His disciples, and said to him: "Sir, we would like to see Jesus" (John 12:21). When Philip informed Jesus that some Greeks wanted to interview Him, this precipitated a spiritual crisis in our Lord's heart: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified...unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24).

Why should the Greeks' simple request precipitate such a crisis in Jesus' heart - a crisis in which dying or not dying seemed to be the vital issue? Could it have been that He sensed that the Greeks were coming with an invitation for Him to bring His message to Athens - the centre of philosophy and learning - where it might be more readily received? Did He sense that in wanting to interview Him, they were going to say: "Sir, if You go on the way Your face is set, the Jews will kill You. Don't stay here in Jerusalem and die: come to Athens and live"? If this was the situation, then how dramatically it would have underlined the issue that was constantly before Him - to die or not to die.