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Gospel Reading - The Son of man lifted up

^23-24Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that “I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone — a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels — a plentiful harvest of new lives. ²⁵If you love your life down here — you will lose it. If you despise your life down here — you will exchange it for eternal glory.

²⁶“If these Greeks^a want to be my disciples, tell them to come and follow me, for my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them. ²⁷Now my soul is deeply troubled. Shall I pray, ‘Father, save me from what lies ahead’? But that is the very reason why I came! ²⁸Father, bring glory and honor to your name.”

Then a voice spoke from heaven saying, “I have already done this, and I will do it again.” ²⁹ When the crowd heard the voice, some of them thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹The time of judgment for the world has come — and the time when Satan,^b the prince of this world, shall be cast out. ³²And when I am lifted up on the cross,^c I will draw everyone to me.” ³³He said this to indicate how he was going to die.

1. Literally, “If any man.”
2. Satan, Literally, “the prince of this world”; see 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Ephesians 2:2; 6:12.
3. Implied.