I often wonder what the disciples thought of the responses Jesus gave them. In John 12 some Greeks want to see Jesus. Philip and Andrew go and tell Jesus. Jesus does not answer the question.
The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life. –John 12:25
This is just part of His response. Did Philip and Andrew stand there and think “So can they visit?”? I wonder if they rolled their eyes and thought please answer the question for once in your life Jesus.
So many times we see Jesus doing the very opposite of what we would do in an effort to make disciples.
In one instance, He tells the rich man to give away all his possessions and the man walks away sad. We would most likely tell him that he could give away a small portion to make himself feel better about his life and draw him in. We would hope that he would be attracted to Jesus by the lies we tell. Jesus put it down from the beginning. Nothing can stand between you and your relationship to God. Money is your idol so get rid of it. The man went away because his idol was more important. The disciples probably wanted to run after him just like we do now.
He talks to the Samaritan woman about her sins and she is drawn to him. We most likely would not have talked to her at all. She is a sinner. The disciples and even the woman herself were shocked that Jesus was speaking to a Samaritan woman. The other thing we might have done is sugar coat her sins. Yes, you shouldn’t sleep with men you are not married to but you are forgiven so just keep living in your sin and God will keep forgiving you.
What does Jesus say in this verse? The one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life. This is not something that comes to mind when I am thinking about ways to make disciples. Hate your life and you guard it for eternal life. It is a good verse for meditation.