The Hour has Come for the Son of Man to be Glorified

Introduction

So this passage is important because it brings us to the last scene of Jesus’ public ministry. After this section, Jesus withdraws to spend time with just his disciples. So according to John, this is the last thing Jesus does in public in front of everyone before he is crucified.

It’s almost like his parting words, his goodbye to the public. What would you want to say, if you knew that hese were the very last words in your life? Probably something important right? You wouldn’t want to waste your last words on something unimportant.

So we have to pay very careful attention to this passage, because Jesus knew this was his last opportunity to address the public, so clearly he will tell us something extremely important before he goes.

And what does he say?

Read John 12:23 “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

What is this ‘hour’?

What is the ‘hour’?

Well, if you look back previously in John, Jesus has actually mentioned this ‘hour’ multiple times.

John 8:20 “20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.”

John 7:30 “30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.”

John 5:28 “28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice”

John 5:25 “25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

John 4:23 “23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

John 4:21 “21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”

John 2:4 “4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.””

But every time he has mentioned it, he keeps on saying, the hour has not yet come. He constantly builds this tension and suspense, and as we read it, we keep on thinking, “when is this hour coming, and what is this hour?” Jesus builds and builds up until this climax, constantly saying the hour has not yet come. But now, Jesus says in verse 23, ‘the hour has come’. The time is now, the great moment of God’s plans for the world, finally being revealed.

And this hour, that Jesus talks about, is for Jesus ‘to be glorified’. This is the main reason Jesus came into the world. Jesus has constantly been described as the one who has been ‘sent’ from the Father (John 12:44-45) -> being sent from God the Father means that Jesus is going out on a mission. And that mission is ‘to be glorified’. This is the great climax, the entire purpose, of what he has been sent to do.

What does it mean to be ‘glorified’?

So what does it mean to be glorified? Well, when Jesus talks about being glorified in the entire gospel of John, Jesus is talking about everything that happened on the cross. It’s like his code way of talking about the events of the cross and resurrection.

But why does he talk about it in terms of ‘glory’? Why doesn’t he just call it the cross? Because when we think of glory, we think of something grand, getting praise from everyone, being the greatest, being powerful. The cross doesn’t seem like glory. But for Jesus, the cross is glory. So why was it that his death on the cross brought him glory?

Read John 12:24 “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.”

Jesus is saying that it is only by his death, that he can become fruitful. It is only when like a grain of wheat, he falls into the ground, and dies, that he can bring to fruition the Father’s purposes, achieving why he came into the world.

And what were the Father’s purposes? What is the fruit of his death that he is talking about? What was his mission and the reason he was sent into the world?

Read John 12:31 “31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.”

This verse tells us that on the cross, Jesus defeats the rule of Satan and death in this world. But it also tells us that through Jesus, not only Satan, but the world would also be judged. Because in one sense, what does the cross represent? The cross represents the sin of mankind - God sent his son into the world, but the world rebelled against God and rejected his son, by crucifying him. So the cross represents our sin and therefore our judgement. So part of the fruit, and therefore the glory of the cross of Christ, is judgement.

But what else does the cross represent? On one hand it’s our sin and our judgement - we rejected Christ and crucified him; but on the other hand, in the very same cross, the cross represents Jesus receiving the judgement and punishment instead of us - because who was ultimately crucified? Jesus Christ, and not us. So the cross is glory for Jesus, because it not produces just and correct judgement for sin, but also produces perfect salvation for sinners. It is God’s perfect solution to satisfy both his righteousness in judging correctly, but also satisfies his love by saving those very same sinners from His judgement.

(Read John 12:32 “32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” So Jesus’ mission by dying on the cross, is both judgement of evil in this world, but also saving us from our problem of sin. By dying on the cross, Jesus says he will ‘draw all people to [himself]’ -> he has come to save all. Not just the Jews, not just the Greeks, not just the rich, not just the poor -> all people. This good news of salvation that Jesus gives us on the cross, is available for everyone.)

And this idea the cross being the glory of Jesus, is shown in verse 32. Read John 12:32 “32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”” Notice how it says ‘when I am lifted up from the earth’. This ‘lifting up’ means two things at the same time: (1) firstly it is talking about Jesus dying the cross, because Jesus was lifted up onto the cross. (2) But secondly, it is also talking about how Jesus is ‘lifted up’ and exalted, and glorified, to be placed on throne like a king. When we talk about Jesus being glorified, and praised, in the cross, we almost think about it as if it is a reward for the suffering he went through on the cross. The cross is something shameful and bad, but because Jesus endured it, he now receives the glory and praise as a reward. But this is wrong. John talks about the cross and glory at the same time in one word. Essentially, John is saying, the cross is the glory, the cross is the exaltation of Jesus. Glory and exaltation doesn’t follow the cross as a reward, it is part of the cross. God is saying, this very thing you think is shameful, is actually precisely my glory. Here’s a good quote: ‘The cross is a throne; his crucifixion is his coronation; and he reigns from the tree’.

All of this wasn’t easy for Jesus. If we read verse 27, John 12:27 “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.” Jesus was agonising over this, because he knew the extreme suffering that he would go through. But this very suffering, the agony and shame of the cross, was the very glory of Jesus.

So now we see why Jesus calls his mission of dying, as being glorified. Because for Jesus, the very mission that His Father gave Him and the very reason the Father sent Him into the world, was to die on the cross like a grain of wheat, to judge and to save. And this very shameful and agonising crucifixion, is the very glory and throne given to Christ the King.

Why is this important for you?

So then why is this important to you? Why is the cross important? There are the obvious things:

Thanks to Jesus’ work on the cross and his glorification, Satan is defeated, we are being freed from the power of sin, we are saved by the work of Jesus on the cross, and Jesus saves the whole world. That’s the obvious, we’ve talked about this over and over again.

But there’s another reason why it’s important. Let’s read John 12:25–26 “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.”

This verse shows us that the other reason why Jesus’ death on the cross is important to us, is because his death forms the pattern of life we are also to live. There needs to be something dying in our lives, in order for the fruit of life to come out.

In verse 25, Jesus says ‘whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life’. Jesus is not saying to literally hate yourself or hate this world. But what He is saying is that we need to reject the attractions and values of this world. The ways and values of this world can be attractive, and tempting, especially when everyone around us, at school, or work, is chasing after those things. But Jesus is saying you must reject that, because in rejection is the path to eternal life. And this does mean at times, you will have to make difficult decisions and sacrifices. It may be difficult decisions and sacrifices in choosing your friends, in saying no to certain activities when you hang out with friends, saying no to a certain job, missing out on a promotion, being judged and ridiculed by people around you. But whatever it maybe, if you don’t reject the values and influence of this sinful world, Jesus warns us that in our very attempt to find life, we will lose it.

But it’s not just for our salvation and eternal life that we need to follow the pattern of the cross. What does Jesus say in verse 26? Jesus says ‘if anyone serves me, he must follow me’. If anyone wants to serve Christ and the church, He must follow Jesus Christ in his way of life, which is the cross. Jesus calls us to take up our own cross. This means the Christian life is costly. It requires sacrifice. Just like how a grain of wheat dies in the ground to produce a plant, something must die be sacrificed and die in our lives for our lives to produce fruit as well. It is only in dying that we become life-givers.

That means as a Christian, there must be something we are giving, sacrificing, dying, for God and his great purposes. So much of this world is about consuming and absorbing: consuming food, consuming social media, TikTok, Instagram, gaming, all these instant pleasures and gratifications, consuming information, fashion and clothing, technology. And this mindset has infiltrated the church as well. People come to church with a consumerist mindset: what can I get from God and church, how can it make me feel better today, what can I learn from this sermon today, how can this benefit my life. And although the church is there is benefit you as well, our primary call in life, is not consuming, but its dying, and serving, and giving to others - and that will require a sacrifice.

Through the joyful sacrifices we make, through our struggles, through the opposition we face in life, we die day by day, and through this, God produces his life-giving fruit for others through our lives. And through our suffering, our dying, and our cross, God brings glory to himself, just like how Jesus brought glory to the Father.

Conclusion

So what is the cross that you are taking up in your life today? Is your Christian life a comfortable one? Do you feel like its a relaxing walk in a park? Is your Christian life more about consuming and receiving, than sacrificing and giving? Because if it is, I challenge you to seriously examine your faith today. As His children and disciples, Jesus calls us to take up the same pattern of life that He took up - a life that is giving, serving, and fruitful, through self-sacrifice, even in our weaknesses and challenges. So what is it that you are giving up for God today? What is it that you are rejecting in the world for God today? And these sacrifices that we make in our lives for God, although they may be painful and hard, are not without reward: because God promises to honour and glorify those who honour and glorify Him, He promises to be with us and strengthen us and sustain us in all our difficulties as we take up our cross, and finally He promises eternal life for those who follow Jesus in His way of the cross (these are John 12:25-26). Remember, our lives are ultimately not our own, and not for ourselves, but they are for the glory of God, the service of his body, which is us, the church.

Ending song: Lead me to the cross

Discussion questions:

What is Christianity to you?

Is the Christian life easy or hard for you? What are you sacrificing for Jesus?

How is the Christian life radically counter-cultural, just like how the cross was radically counter-cultural?

(Some other important points not covered in sermon:

The Jews flocked after Jesus in the triumphal entry. They were seeking their own idea of a kingdom, by religious piety, moral effort, ie, self-righteousness. The Greeks are seeking Jesus - intellectual endeavour (cf. Acts when Paul preaches in Athens at the Areopagus), or appeal of Judaism. But by the end of the passage, they don’t believe -> radical counter-cultural nature & subversive nature of the Christian message.

Not dissimilar to the world. World has misunderstanding of Christianity, many are attracted to Christianity these days for the wrong reasons -> moral therapeutic deism. But is that what Christianity is about? The heart of the Christian gospel is radically counter-cultural and subversive - the very thing that was shameful (the cross) is actually glory. See how it was rejected even by the initially enthusiastic Jews and Greeks.

The idea that of the Trinity and ultimate purpose is God’s glorification of his own name through his Son and us.

Pre-destination (in the quotation from Isaiah) vs. human responsibility

Jesus’ mission in verses 44-50.

Etc.)