Predicting the Hour
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning Church, and Good morning to those logged in at home
We can breath a little now huh?
What a wonderful week of ministry
All this to Glorify God
Amen
And this what we will be discussing for the most part today
The glory of Christ…. in His death
So please turn in your bibles to John 12:20-36
Our message this morning is titled
“Predicting the Hour”
Last week we saw Jesus ride into town
Announcing that the King, has finally arrived
Last week we discovered that while He is the
True King
He was not the King they expected…
as we asked ourselves
“Who is our King?”
This morning is a continuation of that scene
as Jesus predicts His crucifixion
And tells us how He
the True King
will be Glorified
So let us please stand as custom
For as Paul tells Timothy
Devote yourself to the public reading of the word
And we will do the same
20 Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. 25 The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now my soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came 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 standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for me, but for you. 31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to indicate what kind of death he was about to die.
34 Then the crowd replied to him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.
Let us Pray!
Illustration
Illustration
I stumbled upon a powerful poem
written by Charles Ross Weede.
It’s titled ‘Jesus and Alexander,’
and I want to share it with you
as we prepare to reflect on the glory of Christ,
the cross,
and what it means to truly glorify God.”
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
One lived and died for self; one died for you and me;
The Greek died on a throne; the Jew died on a cross;
One’s life a triumph seemed; the other but a loss.
One led vast armies forth; the other walked alone.
One shed a whole world’s blood; the other gave His own.
One won the world in life and lost it all in death;
The other lost His life to win the whole world’s faith.
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
One died in Babylon, and one on Calvary.
One gained all for himself; and one Himself He gave,
One conquered every throne; the other every grave.
The one made himself God, the God made Himself less,
The one lived but to blast, the other but to bless.
When died the Greek, forever fell his throne of swords;
But Jesus died to live forever Lord of lords.
Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three.
The Greek made all men slaves; the Jew made all men free.
One built a throne on blood; the other built on love.
The one was born of earth; the other from above.
One won all this earth, to lose all earth and heaven.
The other gave up all, that all to Him be given.
The Greek forever died; the Jew forever lives.
He loses all who gets, and wins all things who gives.
What a powerful testament to the King we serve!
Jesus Christ is indeed a King like no other.
His death was our Victory
Our main idea this morning
is that fact that Jesus predicts His death
after His triumphal entry
Then shows that His death is indeed
The pinnacle of His Glory
while also calling us
Glorify Him
Our three points of the morning are
His Hour (V20-26)
Gods Glory (27-29)
Our walk (30-36)
So let us begin with our first point of the morning
His Hour
His Hour
Now..we should understand that the
His Hour
is perhaps started by His pursuit
Our first verse starts with
Now, this is our time marker I am always talking about
this Now is our transition from the event
from His triumphal entry
to His monologue or his response as to what happened
So what happened, Jesus rode into town right
great fanfare
cheers
shouting
He parked his donkey in the valet spot
after all he was the celebrity of the moment
He gets off and starts making His rounds
This is still Sunday
So He gets off His donkey
I can only assume the crowds are gathering in on Him
Their excitement can be felt
they still believe He is going to conquer Rome
they still believe He is their great warrior messiah
So Now, in the midst of this chaos
in the midst of this great crowd we have
Some Greeks enter the picture
what I love of this portion is that V19 concluded by saying
Look, the world has gone after Him
And here is V20 that world is represented by the entrance of the greeks
such a beautiful tapestry John is weaving for us
So these greeks enter the picture
and they are looking for Jesus amongst the crowd
and possibly due to the crowds etc
they cannot find them
but, they do recognize some men from Galilee
who also have Greek names
possibly because the Galilee area borders the greek area
we know as
The decepolis
So these Greeks come to Philip and ask him
politely I should even say
I mean they called him “sir”
if they can speak to Jesus
so then Philip goes to Andrew
Andrew by the way is the gateway it seems to Jesus
If you look in all the gospels you will see that most people that came to Jesus
disciple or not
came through Andrew
So they came to Philip, whom went to Andrew
whom then went and found Jesus
and told him these greeks
these gentiles
wanted to speak to them
Now, what and why they wanted to speak to Jesus is not explained
Im not sure if the Greeks even got their question in
But it seems as though just the very sight of the greeks
triggers something in Jesus
perhaps it is the realization that His message has now reached beyond the people of Israel
which would fulfil the prophecy found in Isaiah 49:6
Or perhaps it was just the time and this was the catalyst
Either way,
with the presentation of the King in his entry
and now the pursuit of Him by the greeks
there is no doubt
that Jesus’ next words shocked the crowds
we can almost imagine a profound hush come over the crowd when Jesus says the following words in V 23
John 12:23 “Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
Now we can deduct
that those in the crowd
those in the audience
surly had theirs ears perked right now
They are elbowing each other saying
here it is
he is going to launch his attack
Or this is it!
He is going to gather the forces and march
to overthrow Romans
But instead He follows up that statement with an illustration
John 12:24 “Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
I bet you could have heard a pin drop on that temple platform
I bet you could feel the air
being sucked out of the area
I bet the you could have cut the tension
with a knife
See this is the moment, that all of those in the crowds
all of those watching
this is the moment they realized
That Jesus was not the king they expected
This is when the wave of confusion hit them
and they realized
maybe they got this wrong
See, this was a primary agricultural society
see, they may not have understood many of His parables
but they understood this illustration
They knew wheat
They knew that if you held a small kernel of wheat in our hand
that even though you cant see whats in it
That in fact there are millions of similar offspring in this one kernel
this one seed
But in order for that seed to grow
it must be put in the ground
it must die
But as this seed is put in the ground
as this seed in put in its tomb
it lies dormant for a short amount of time
then
as death seems to have won
and that tomb seems to be locked
It is then resurrected from that same ground
as it bursts forward from its encasement
as it pushes the dark aside and gathers in the light
as it sprouts in the mid day sun
so that it may to become fruitful
so that it may give life to others
This brothers and sisters is Jesus, speaking to what He would do
This is Jesus telling the crowd how he would fulfil His kingly role
And this is by
dying
and therefore reproducing life
eternal life
in others
That is how our king will rule
This is how our king would obtain His glory
And this is the hour he pointed to in our previous verse
This is His hour
the hour that he had only eluded to up until this point
The hour that until this point was
to come
And now, in this moment
it is here
See
what Jesus is doing here is predicting His death
Predicting his final stage of Glory
And while he has not mentioned it yet
we know
that it revolves around the cross
and around His resurrection
This is what the grain illustration means
the grain illustration points to
his death and resurrection
See it is the cross and resurrection
that stand as the heartbeat of our faith,
where every pulse and purpose of Christianity is found.
Some in this world have tried to strip away this heartbeat,
Some have tried to reduce Jesus to a moral teacher with a gentle philosophy,
and relegate the cross
to merely a symbol of personal sacrifice.
something we wear around our neck
But the Scriptures won’t allow this.
Jesus did not come just to teach us morals or give inspiring words.
He came for His hour—
And that hour is
the divinely appointed moment where He would
willingly bear the cross,
where he would confront death head-on,
where He would usher in the kingdom of God
how
through His suffering, through His shame
through being nailed to that cross
and ultimately
His resurrection.
This hour isn’t merely a point in history; brothers and sisters
it is an eternal,
holy turning point,
brimming with meaning and glory that will never fade.
John tells us that in His hour,
Jesus knew He would be glorified—
not by ascending to an earthly throne,
but by hanging on an old rugged cross.
His path to glory was found in the
deepest humility and sacrifice,
where He took on our sin,
our shame,
and death we deserve
And, in doing so,
revealed the unfathomable glory of God’s love for us.
In this act of total surrender,
the Father glorifies the Son,
and the Son in turn glorifies the Father.
This is not only the glory of God—this is the central,
beating heart of the universe,
laid bare for all to see.
hanging on the cross
for you and me
Isaiah foresaw this Servant of the Lord,
“disfigured beyond that of any man,”
yet
“raised and lifted up and highly exalted.”
Here, the crucified Savior is exalted as King,
and the cross has become His royal throne.
But let me tell you something else
As I want to foreshadow V25 for a second
See for us believers,
Jesus’ hour doesn’t just bring salvation;
it doesn’t only bring eternal life
No,
Jesus’ hour
has a calling for us as well
and it calls us to follow in the pattern He set,
what we are about to see is that
Jesus calls us to surrender our own lives
and take up our crosses.
See His path of glorification speaks directly to us.
This principle that he sets in his glorification on the cross
includes us as well
That is why in John 12:25 “The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
what does this mean
and what does this have to do with his death
Is Jesus telling us that we should hate our life
that we should walk around discontented,
rejecting everything around us?
Absolutely not
in fact it couldn’t be any further away from that
But He is saying
is that the things we love
the things in our flesh
are the very things that separate us from Him
He is saying that we should put away our desires
our ambitions
our self centeredness
and align ourselves with God
And this isn’t easy
that why he says it’s like dying to yourself
that why He says its like hating yourself
and your life
see
We love pleasure
we love instant gratification
we love to be loved
in fact we probably love to be loved
more by people we don’t even know…
Which is why we tend to impress people
with things we cant afford
we want people to think highly of us
why do you think social media is so popular
because on there we can be as fake as we want to be
in order to get what
like, little hearts
Our flesh, our earthly desires
want people to envy what we have
we want people to think we have it all together
But what Jesus is saying is that none of those things really matter
those are all things of the world
and are lies
and that we must put away those things
we must die to those things
so that we can truly LIVE
Think about learning how to play an instrument
to get really good
what must you do
practice
Is practice easy
no
are there a lot of more comfortable things you could be doing
yes
What about getting good grades or that job
it takes studying right
it takes doing the things you don’t want to do
the things that are uncomfortable
in order to achieve the thing that matters most
It means turning off Fox News and opening your bible
it means turning off Netflix
and taking a walk in His creation
it means that instead of reaching for your phone in the morning you reach for your bible
Or better Yet
Use church examples…
Jim Ryun
a famous runner who set the record for the mile when he was only 18
said this..
“I would run until I felt I couldn’t take another step, then I would run until I felt my lungs were going to burst. When I came to that state, then I would run until I thought I was going to pass out. When I did this, I knew I was making progress. “
Jesus is saying that to die to self
is to put away our worldly comforts
our worldly desires
So that we may Live for Him
so that we may serve Him
and those He loves
why
Because He put away His crown
He put away His place in Heaven
He came down from the stars he hung
Put on flesh
and died for us
Now, for those that do this
for those that “die” to themselves in service of the Lord
They/we are the anyone he is talking about in V26
See, when we serve Him, we are following Him
and where He is, there we will be
and the Father will honor us
in our service to Him
And That is how we become His servant
the kings servant
that is how we glorify Him
And His promise to us is that
That those who follow Christ in this way
will be honored by the father
Application
Application
So the question before us is this
are we willing to Glorify His hour
with everything we have?
as He did?
Are we willing to follow Jesus
even if it means walking a path of sacrifice
and self denial
Beloved we live in a world that demands our attentions
that captures our mind through entertainment
and constant distractions
are we wiling to set that aside
and focus on Him
Let me ask you
If you are not serving Him
or even if you are serving
I know we all that one thing
that one thing we like to hold onto
that one thing that we have close to us
What are you clinging to?
what are not you willing to give up?
what will you not let go of?
We all have that one thing
What is it
that is driving a divide between you and the Lord
Because it is that thing
it is that very thing
that you must die to
In order for him to get HIs true Glory
Lay it at his feet
For His Glory
For Gods Glory
Because in His hour
He let go of ever thing for us
Which brings us to our second point of the morning
Gods Glory
Gods Glory
So as Jesus finishes making this prediction
and finishes this statement this foreshadowing
of his death on the cross
which in our text is only 5 days away
It breaks Him
remember He is fully man
as well as fully God
and the weight of what is coming is getting heavier on his shoulders
That is why in John 12:27 ““Now my soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour.”
With His humanity on full display
we see that His heart is troubled
that His soul aches for the task He has been given
And he is not merely dreading the physical pain he will bear
he is not only dreading the whipping or scourging
he is not only dreading the crown of thorns
he is not only dreading the being spit on
or even the nails driven through His hands and feet
He isn’t only dreading the spear in His side
or the unquenched thirst and dehydration that settles in
perhaps he isn’t only dreading the suffocation that comes with death on a cross
No, he is not only dreading the physical
but the spiritual
as the weight of our sin
the weight everything we have done
are doing
and will do
are set upon His shoulders
As perhaps the biggest thing that has him in turmoil
is the seperation from the father
from his father
that will occur
as our sin in imputiated
onto Him
Brothers and sister
We can equate this prayer with the prayer He prays in the Garden of Gethseminie
where he cry's tears of blood
Yet despite the turmoil in His soul
despite the disturbance in His heart
He does not ask to be saved from this Hour
For this hour is the very reason He came into this world
Jesus
From Gen 1:1.
through all of the OT
through Him being born in the manger
through his years growing up
through His earthly ministry
was here for one reason
And that was to die
For you
For me
Why, as V28 says
to glorify the father
See Jesus’ ultimate desire is to Glorify the Father
just as ours should be
Even in His suffering He does not pray
for His own comfort or deliverance
but for His father to be glorified
And His fathers response solidifies that His death
will indeed Glorify Him
This response is found in the second part of V28
where a voice from heaven says “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again”
This is God
witnessing audibly to the Son
about who He is!
Only 3 times in scripture does this occur
the first was at Jesus’ baptism
the second at the transfiguration
and here
This is saying that God has glorified Jesus throughout his ministry up until this point
and will solidify that glorification
upon the cross and resurrection
Now there was some confusion within the crowd
was this the voice of God
was this thunder
and perhaps this only concretes the response to Jesus’ ministry
as they were again
divided
But I want us to consider is just how Jesus’ death
specifically on a cross
brings glory to God
See, that is the million dollar question, right…
and the answer is because it brings His entire creation
back to Him
See this entire creation
from trees, to weather
to us
Is under the power of sin
But God
Revealed the depth of His love for creation
and especially His love for us
by sending Jesus to that cross
to satisfy His justice
and reap grace and mercy upon us.
See the cross is the ultimate display of God’s glory
because it brings together
His holiness
His justice
His Love
into one profound act of Grace
That is why, when we too die to ourselves
we too,
Glorify God
And How do we glorify God
in our own walk
As our 3rd point of the morning suggests
So let us dive in.. to
Our walk
Our walk
John 12:30
“30 Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for me, but for you.”
See Jesus knew He was obedient
He knew he sought the Fathers will
He did not need that reassurance
See they needed to hear this voice so that they would believe
Now, in these next two verses Jesus unpacks
amazingly the effects of the cross
which should effect our walk
See His death on the cross
laid out here in this statement
will achieve four things
First, it is the judgement of this world
and this an amazing thing
we see 2 things here
See Jesus coming on the cross Judges the world
in the sense that if you reject His work on the cross
then you essentially reject God and the salvation He provides for you
and therefore you will be judged according to your sin
But another amazing thing that happens on the cross is that Jesus
Not only comes as Gods representative and agent
But He goes to the cross as our representative and agent as well
Not only does the judgement of God come through Jesus on the cross
but so then our judgement is placed upon Him on that very same cross
The second thing we see is that due to Jesus’ death
the ruler of this world will be cast out
There is no arguing that the ruler of this world is Satan
I mean just look around and at all the evil and destruction going on
and yes, he still rules this wold
and those that are of this world
But remember, we believers, are no longer of this world
He no longer has power over us
why
See when Jesus died on that cross
He cast out the power satan over us
He cast out Satans power to charge men with sin
we now have the power over sin through Christ
He cast out Satans power to cause death
we now have life in Christ
He cast out Satans power to cause men to be separated from God
instead Christ was separated from God on that cross
thus restoring our separation
And finally Satan’s power to enslave men to sin has been cast out
By His death,
Christ made it possible for man to be free from Sin
Then as the the ruler of this world is cast out
we see the third effect of the cross
and this that
He will be exalted
this is what He means by lifted up
When He is lifted up upon that cross
He will also be lifted up into Glory
He will be exalted back to His rightful place
The cross is His throne
and the crucifixion is His kingly coronation
And finally the fourth effect of the cross
is that he will draw all people to himself
Now this of course does not mean that all will be saved
we know indeed that not all people will be saved
But this indicates that people
from all tribes, tongues, and nations will be saved
From the Samaritans in
Chapter 4:42.
to the other sheep in the fold in chapter 10:16
to the greeks we met at the beginning of this message
Jesus’ work on the cross wasn’t just for a certain class or people
nor a certain race of people
nor a certain type of people
No, His work on the cross provides salvation for all people
that come to Him
no matter your past
no matter your sin
no matter what you think you did that is outside of his forgiveness
He can out love that
but only, if you believe in Him
See access to salvation is only through Jesus
and only through the Cross
Yes, it is that exclusive
Now, in V 34 Jesus is responded to with another question
another one that we see He does not answer
because this question is based upon whom they expected him to be
and he has already answered that previously
By telling them the kind of death he was about to die
So as we close this morning I want to conclude with V35-36
John 12:35–35“35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.
Brothers and sisters,
this is a gospel call by Jesus
He is telling the people that are listening
he is telling the leaders
he is telling the crowd
he is telling you
he is telling anyone that will hear
That those that don’t believe
are in fact living in darkness
that those that don’t believe are still under the ruler
of this world,
that those that remain in a state of unbelief will remain in that darkness
for in fact the darkness will overtake them
But let me tell you it doesn’t have to
you do not have to live in that darkness
When Lindsay and I visited Israel
we got to walk through Hezzekiah’s tunnel
it is a masterpiece of ingenuity
and planning
but deep in those tunnels it is dark
deep in those tunnels it is wet
deep in those tunnels the next turn is unknown
one second you are almost crawling
hitting your head
the next second you are turning sideways just to fit
It is flat out scary due to the darkness that surrounds you
See without a flashlight
Lindsay and I would have been stuck
we would have never found our way out of that tunnel of darkness
But when equipped with the light
that tunnel,
became a time of journey
that tunnel glorified God
in it’s construction
and in it’s history
And it is the same with Christ
He is the light in the darkness of this world
And Jesus is calling us to walk in His light
He is calling us to walk in the light that radiates from the shadows of the cross
and onto the world
See he is the light of the world
and we are to reflect that light
onto a world full of darkness
So as we walk in that light
let every step glorify Him
Let us die to the things that keep us from fully
seeing His Glory
And live a life worth dying for
And if you have not taken that step
from darkness to light
Do not hesitate
for the light will only be with us a little longer
then the time will gone
Take that step
heed that call
and become a Child of the Light
Let us Pray!
