今天我们要探讨一个看似奇怪和矛盾的属灵观点，就是「我们如要活，必先愿意死去」。这到底是甚么意思？最能够说明这个真理的，是约翰福音十二章的经文，我们曾在前天的默想中阅读过，现在我们要更仔细地来看这段经文。

有一天一群希腊访客（希利尼人）来到耶路撒冷，他们听到耶稣的名声，于是去找耶稣其中的一个门徒腓力，对他说：「先生，我们愿意见耶稣」（约十二21）。腓力告诉耶稣有些希腊人想见他时，我们的主心中马上出现了一个属灵的危机：「人子得荣耀的时候到了……一粒麦子不落在地里死了，仍旧是一粒，若是死了，就结出许多子粒来」（约十二24）。

为甚么希腊人的简单要求，会引起耶稣心里出现这个危机？在这危机中，死还是不死似乎是一个相当重要的症结。耶稣是否感到希腊人来邀请他将他的信息带到雅典──哲学和学问的中心──在那里人们可能更乐意接受那个信息？耶稣是否感到，这些人在想见他时，他们准备说：「先生，如果你继续走现在的路，犹太人会杀你。不要留在耶路撒冷等死，来雅典并生存下去吧」？如果情况是这样，这就表示耶稣一直在面对眼前一个极其严肃的问题──死还是不死。

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.