I really did mean to get this up sooner. So if this was the one week you were there and had something - a verse; a thought - that you wanted to remember and didn't write it down because you assumed it would be on here, apologies. Or, if you weren't there and you thought to yourself last Monday morning: 'Hey, I have some time this morning, I'll take a quick look at Justin's sermon notes', only to find that they were not there, more apologies. Was working hard studying Psalm 38 for Wednesday night (will probably put that up in a day or so).
This text, John 12:19-36, follows close on the heels of the triumphal entry in John 12:10-18, in which some Greeks come to see Jesus, and he announces that his hour has come.
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19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has
gone after him.”
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip,
who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told
Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for
the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and
whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow
me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this
purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I
have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it
had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for
your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by
what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that
the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of
Man?" 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have
the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:18-36, ESV).
Last week, if you were paying close attention, you might have noticed that I never mentioned verse 19 again after quoting the passage, and simply finished the message when we reached verse 18. I had forgotten at the time what I had learned while studying for last week’s sermon. That is that verse 19 seemed like more of a setup verse for verses 20 and following.
“19 So, the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world
has gone after him.’”
Though probably said hyperbolically, John sees the same significant irony here as he does in John 11:49-50 when the high priest, Caiaphas, prophesies that Jesus will die for the people. In neither case is the full meaning of what they were saying grasped by those who spoke. It is not insignificant that verse 20, immediately after this reference to the whole world going after Jesus, that the Lord is approached by these Greek men.
“20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to
Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’”
John does not tell us much about them, simply that they came to worship at the feast. Perhaps they were Gentile proselytes who have adopted the beliefs of Judaism. Perhaps they were simply Gentiles who feared God like Cornelius in Acts 10.
John doesn’t tell us what exactly they wanted, simply that they wanted to see Jesus. Although John doesn’t record the event, the synoptic Gospels tell us that shortly after the triumphal entry, Jesus entered the temple and threw out those who sold merchandise and overturned their money tables. Matthew 21 records Jesus quoting from Isaiah 56:7:
“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,”
Jesus concludes by observing that rather than that being the case, they have made it a den of thieves. Particularly what angered him was that this business was being done in the court of the Gentiles – the one place in the whole temple that non-Jews could come to worship. God had commanded this place be made for them, but by their sin, the Jewish leaders had effectively made any worship impossible in that area – thereby shutting out all Gentiles from worshipping God.
Perhaps these Greeks had heard what Jesus had said. They may have even been there. Or they may simply have been aware of prophecies in the Old Testament that foretold the inclusion of Gentiles in the future and wanted to ask Jesus, considered to be a wise teacher, about these things.
John doesn’t tell us why they came to Philip instead of to Jesus himself. Perhaps Jesus was occupied or was in another part of the temple that the Greeks could not enter. Although it is interesting that John makes a point of saying that they came to Philip, and then says, ‘he was from Bethsaida in Galilee’, in verse 21. Now, if Philip’s hometown was important, it might be that these Greeks were from the Decapolis just north of Israel, to which Bethsaida is not geographically far from. Also, given that his name was Greek, and he may have also spoken Greek well given where he lived in Israel, this might explain why he was approached particularly. In any case, Philip seems to have been similarly reluctant to approach Jesus and takes the request to Andrew. Andrew and Philip then deliver the message to Jesus together.
And at this point, the Greeks are never mentioned again: Completely absent from here on. Whether Jesus spoke to them or whether they were listening as he speaks here, we are not told. And, I might point out, as far as John’s point is concerned, it does not matter: That they came to Jesus is what matters, not what he might have said to them. It is their coming that causes Jesus to say in verse 23,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
If you’ve been paying attention at all throughout John, you will know that this is not the first time that Jesus’ hour has been referred to. In John 2, Jesus’ mother came to him about the problem with the wine and he told that his hour had not yet come. In chapter 7, John tells us that they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. Again in chapter 8, we are told that no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
So finally in chapter 12, at some point between Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and Thursday night when he and his disciples gathered together for the last supper, Jesus is approached by some Greeks, and this is the sign to him that his hour has arrived.
He doesn’t mean a literal hour – that is, that he will be killed within the next sixty minutes. But he means the time when his mission will be completed and his message fulfilled has now arrived.
Why now? What does the coming of these Gentiles have to do with his mission? In the time we have left, I want you to see 5 Truths About Jesus’ Mission and Message – There is a great deal of overlap between the mission and the message, so I have decided to connect them for the purposes of our study tonight. There were originally more than five, but I found it too difficult to keep some of them separate, so I have condensed those into other points.
We have just seen that the hour has arrived: When the Gentiles came, God revealed to Jesus that this is the sign that paves the way for his ultimate purpose in coming to earth. All his teaching and the signs that he has performed cannot be truly understood prior to, and apart from, the culmination of his mission when he dies on the cross.
1. It costs everything
Jesus says,
“24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
An agricultural example: Basically, the seed’s whole purpose in existing is to reproduce. As a seed, it is worthless if it stays unchanged. But when it falls to the ground and ceases to exist in its current form, it becomes extremely useful, and subsequently bears much fruit. Yet, in order for that process to be completed, the seed must cease to exist in its current state.
“25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for
eternal life.”
While it is true that with God all things are possible, that doesn’t mean that this road is without pain for Jesus.
“27 Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?”
Just as in Gethsemane, Jesus will pray: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But not what I will, but what you will. As he recognizes that the time of his death is drawing near, and all that comes with it, he is troubled, and who can blame him? Jesus knew better than anyone what awaited him, and it was fraught by pain and sorrow. He would be spat upon and tortured by his own people whom he created, and even forsaken by God his Father.
In verse 32, he alludes to his death,
“32 I [will be] lifted up from the earth.”
Verse 33 tells us that this is a reference to the kind of death he would die – on the cross. The most painful and humiliating death imaginable. It was reserved for rebels and traitors. And the cross was only the end – before that, Jesus would be scourged.
Scourging was a form of whipping in which bits of steal and bone were attached to the whip and it deeply into the body of the victim. In fact, scourging occasionally led to death from shock. If the victim lived, their body would be a wreck, and they would be covered by scars for however long after that they lived. There were actually three forms of scourging – a lighter form for miscreants, intended to teach them a lesson, and two more extreme forms.
From a comparison of the Gospel accounts, it appears that Jesus was first given the lighter form of flogging before sentencing – an attempt by Pilate to appease the crowd – and then the most severe after sentencing, before he carried the cross up the hill.
And this does not even consider the spiritual torment of the weight of sin that he carried for us – leading to the Father turning his face away from him. We say that God never learns new things because he knows everything. But I can tell you this: Jesus did not know what it felt like to carry the guilt and condemnation of sin upon him, because he had never sinned; and he did not know what it felt like to be separated in any sense from the Father.
What he endured for us is beyond our ability to comprehend, even if we were so inclined to spend all eternity trying to understand. Even then, it would be beyond our grasp. And God be thanked for that.
And yet, we are not left entirely off the hook.
2. It provides an example for us
Although this message is first meant to explain his own work, Jesus clearly intends for us to recognize that we must be prepared to do the same.
“25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If
anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
God created man in his image. He created us to have dominion over all creation. Adam was called to rule over the birds and beasts and to care for the trees and plants. He named them, and he ruled as God’s steward over them.
Now, in the work of redemption, we who have been transformed by the Gospel – who have repented of our sins and committed our souls to Christ in salvation – are now called to be his emissaries in a fallen world; we are to proclaim his message to those who have not yet accepted it. Both through the message of his life, death on the cross, resurrection, and through the message of our lives that have been transformed through the renewing of his Holy Spirit, we are to carry on the work.
So as we are to represent him, that requires that we follow his example. As he was willing to lose his life and give everything for us, so we are to be willing to do the same for others.
“9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy...
...20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good
and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been
called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his
steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did
not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who
judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now
returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:9-10, 20-25, ESV).
We are like that grain of wheat. In our natural state we reject our created purpose because we reject God and his plan. Also, it is not the easiest path. But if we submit to God’s plan for us and fall into the earth like the wheat we will bear much fruit – we will be made like him and draw others to him as well.
But the purpose of this plan is not to make everything cozy for us. If it was, God is certainly powerful enough to do so. In fact, from the beginning, the life of man was without such pain in it – but our sin necessitated this. That said, Christ suffered far more than we ever could. The purpose of God’s plan for us is the same as the purpose of his plan for Jesus: His glory.
3. Its purpose is God’s glory
“‘27 Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this
purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I
have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”
Many of our problems with serving God come down to the fact that until our salvation, our life was self-based, not God-based. That is, we lived to serve ourselves. And even though we are saved now, our past habits of selfishness do not simply disappear.
Jesus’ life was lived with that purpose in mind. Interestingly enough, for about the first thirty years of his life, he was apparently unknown and basically worked as a carpenter.
Living every day to the glory of God does not mean you will necessarily be called to live in a hovel in the South Seas for the rest of your life. It seems that Jesus glorified God in those first thirty years by being faithful in the position that God placed him in.
We glorify God by demonstrating that his Spirit is living within us, changing us into his image. Old desires begin to pass away and new ones from God take precedence. In some cases, God uses people through a particular gift he has given them.
Johann Sebastian Bach lived in Germany following the Protestant Reformation. He loved the theology of Luther and Calvin and was committed to the biblical teachings that they preached. The music he wrote was intended to glorify God. In fact, it is said that at the bottom of the page in his musical compositions, he would write next to his name, SDG – abbreviated for Soli Deo Gloria – To God alone be the glory. Bach recognized that genius God had given him to compose was to glorify God, not Bach.
Eric Liddell is famous for being featured in the movie Chariots of Fire. In that film, the character of Liddell memorably says, “God made me fast. When I run, I feel his pleasure.” He used his ability as a platform to proclaim the glory of God. Less famously, God called him from there to the anonymous work of serving on the mission field in China where he dedicated the rest of his short life to working among the Chinese until his death during World War 2 (I believe in a prisoner camp).
As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12, we all have a particular role in the body, no more or less important before God: Because he assigned our roles to each of us.
One warning I’ve had to remind myself, and I think especially needs to be remembered in America today is this: Be careful that we don’t try to find some way to justify what we want to do by saying that it glorifies God. You glorify God by fulfilling his plan for your life. If you are not doing what he appointed you to do, you are sinning.
If what you are doing costs you nothing for Christ, be wary of it. The difficulty is part of the refining process to make you more like our Lord. Christ suffered to leave us an example, not to give us a cushy time in this life. The end of pain and sorrow is not to be found here. If that’s what you, or I am looking for, this is the wrong church and the wrong God.
4. It provides freedom from judgment for all peoples
In verse 28, when Jesus prayed to the Father to glorify his name, an audible voice comes from heaven. Then,
“30 Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this
world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all peoples to myself.”
The initial judgment of the world came in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve, as representatives of all their descendants, rebelled against God and broke his commandment. That day, they died spiritually, by separating themselves from God. And all mankind is judged through them – not that we would have done any different.
The second judgment came at the coming of Christ. He came to his own people, and they did not receive him. Just as Adam and Eve rejected God in the Garden of Eden, in the same way, the nation of Israel – whom God had chosen as his own special nation, and set them apart from all nations of the world – rejected his Son, Jesus Christ. And thus, by rejecting the Son, they rejected the Father also, and condemned themselves. The final judgment will come at Christ’s return at the end of days.
But if the world is being judged now, Jesus tells us that he will draw all people to himself. Now, this is tricky – some readers love to be lazy with words and simply take ‘all people’ as an all-inclusive statement. But Jesus is not a Universalist. He clearly says the world will be judged. But in particular, Jesus came to his people: Israel. And even as they reject him, he calls all peoples to himself. Both Jew and Gentile. That is why the coming of the Greeks was so significant in verse 20. Their coming signaled to Jesus that the judgment of Israel was about to begin.
But in this drawing all people to himself, what does he mean?
In the verses leading up to Isaiah 53 and Israel’s confession that they have rejected God’s servant, their Messiah, we read in Isaiah 52:13,
“13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.”
The servant is exalted – Jesus uses the same language in our passage. So what else do we see of this servant?
“10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an
offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall
prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge
shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their
iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:10-11, ESV).
Earlier, in John 8:28, Jesus said,
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on
my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.”
The purpose of his ministry can only be understood with the background of the cross. His signs and his teaching were worthless without the cross. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sins. That is what he has done for us.
But Jesus came not merely to save Israel alone, but to open the way for people of all nations to be reconciled to God. Even his name for himself makes that clear: The Son of Man. That title was used in Daniel 7 to describe this vision:
“13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
In John 12:34, it seems as though the people have grasped the connection between the Christ and the Son of Man, but their unwillingness to accept Jesus’ message clouds their understanding. Apparently, ignoring the context of a passage was just as popular in Jesus’ time as it is today. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
Daniel is very clear:
“14 To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, [all] nations, and [all]
languages should serve him;” (Daniel 7:14, ESV - Words in parenthesis added for emphasis).
The term ‘all’ in regards to people may not always refer to everyone who ever lived - the context determines the qualification of the word - but the term ‘all peoples’ certainly does not mean ‘one people’ – that is, Israel.
The people listening to Jesus, we see in verse 34, have questions. But while they’ve latched onto the part about his dominion being an everlasting dominion – they say, ‘We have heard…that the Christ remains forever’ – at the same time, they missed the universal nature of the message: That the Christ came into the world so that whoever believes in him, whether Jew or Gentile, will be saved.
5. It provides a warning
The last truth regarding Jesus’ mission and message is that a warning comes with it.
“35 Jesus said to them, ‘the light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the
light lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is
going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’”
Jesus’ basic point is this: The truth is here now. You’ve heard it, but the expiration date on this truth always comes sooner than you expect it.
When one goes out to evangelize, the apathy among unbelievers is so disheartening to see. So many people just refuse to take it seriously. They’re in the dark, and they’ve deluded themselves into thinking that they’re the smart ones - We’re the fools. It breaks your heart to see that kind of hard-heartedness.
When I was reading these last verses, it made me think of some who have been in church, both whom I have known in this church during my life, and those who’ve been in other churches – while they are here, in fellowship with believers and in the hearing of the Word, they look like us; they look sincere in their faith. But when they go out and either stop regularly attending church or they attend a church that does not preach the Gospel faithfully, they begin to show that their faith was not genuine.
While we ourselves are not the light, there is a sense in which, while people are in the church, the reflected light of God is on them. That is, they’re in church, hearing the truth: The light of the Word is near them. When they go out and no longer have that, they demonstrate that they never truly came to the light; never truly became children of light and walked in the light.
When we look back to the call to commitment that Jesus demands in verses 24-26, it’s a good litmus test to determine whether we are walking in the light. How willing are we to lose our life for his sake? That doesn’t even necessarily mean we have to die like Jesus did. It may be tougher than if we did that: It may mean we have to live like Isaiah or Jeremiah, ministering for years in a difficult situation with no end in sight. That’s where the glory of the Lord comes in: We’re not working to ‘save more souls than the next guy’ or serve in a flashier way than someone else.
George Muller once said that in seeking God’s will he did his level best to eliminate having a personal opinion. He didn’t want to have a personal will in the matter, but simply to have God’s will be his will. Now, there are limits to how well we can do that, but that is the attitude we are to have: To make God’s will our will. If our will is not God’s will, it is a sinful will.
As we close, I want to look at Galatians 3 and reflect on the glorious gift of God seen in this passage. It is one we tend to take for granted because we lived in the post-Christ age, not the pre-Christ one.
“13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed
is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come
to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14. ESV).
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