Lent Week 2 - What Did You Expect

He’s got pressure from his fellow Israeli countrymen to pursue a path of political power and influence. They want him to keep building his platform. They want to make him king by force, because he’s obviously got divine power and divine blessing.

Time to do some winning, Jesus. Let’s fight the culture war. Let’s fight the real war. Let’s take back our nation back for God—and maybe the whole world while we’re at it.

He’s got pressure from his political and religious enemies. They feel like he’s a threat—a threat to God, a threat to the truth of Scripture, a threat to their tradition, and really, a threat to their influence. They’re conspiring to kill him.

But the real pressure Jesus is feeling is the pressure of his own future. Of what he knows is coming his way:

A cross | and a crucifixion.

And all of it begins to really weigh on him.

In fact, that’s one of the things that I love the most about these accounts in the gospels about Jesus:

They’re not afraid to show you that he was a human being—a real person who really felt the real weight of the world on his shoulders.

He’s not just some, “Don’t worry… be happy… God’s got it… turn that frown upside down” kind of caricature of a person. No—

He’s a real person. The cross he knows is coming his way looms large in his mind and weighs on his heart. His death is near and is becoming real to him.

And that’s an interesting thing to think about—because:

If what the gospels say is true, Jesus knew both how and when he was going to die. And he’s starting to work through that. Mentally… emotionally… spiritually… relationally.

I don’t know how I’d do with that kind of foreknowledge. If I could know, I don’t think I’d want to know.

Would you? Would you want to know how and when you were going to die?

What if you knew it was going to be painful? Like, excruciatingly painful?

What if you knew it was going to be cruel?

What if you knew it was going to be at the hands of others?

What would it be like mentally and emotionally to anticipate that?

Well, Jesus gives us a little insight into what it was like. John 12, first part of verse 27:

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John 12:27a “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say?”

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Jesus is honest with himself and his friends about what’s going on inside of him. “I’m troubled.”

He doesn’t sugarcoat it. He doesn’t gloss over it.

He doesn’t re-label it as something else; diminish it by calling it something not as bad.

Jesus’ doesn’t try and trick his mind into thinking something else. He doesn’t deceive himself. Nor does he try and deceive or misdirect those around him.

No. He’s honest. He sees reality, calls it what it is, and is open about what it’s doing to him.

That’s a good lesson for us in 2025. It’s ok to call reality what reality is. And it’s ok to be honest about what it’s doing to us on the inside. It’s ok.

Jesus’ Response

But then he asks a question:

“What shall I say?”

And this is a good lesson for us, too. Maybe not as “feel-good” of a lesson, but a good one nonetheless.

Because so often, we love to give ourselves permission to be real, be authentic, be open about how hard our lives are sometimes and how tough this world sometimes is. We love that part.

And that’s good. Nothing wrong with that.

But this next part… what Jesus models here in this question…

We’re sometimes not as quick to embrace.

After Jesus is honest with himself and his friends,

He asks this seemingly rhetorical question:

“And | what | shall | I | say?”

In other words:

This is my reality; but where am I going to go from here?

How am I going to respond?

Who am I going to be? Which direction will I choose to go?

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Jesus never let himself be dishonest about his circumstances.

But he never let his circumstances dictate his response.

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(Repeat.)

Now:

That is something I fall short of all the time. Yet another way I look at the life and person of Jesus and go, wow. You’re him. And I’m not.

Because what do we do?

We’ll be honest about our circumstances.

Work sucks. My boss is a moron.

I’m so stressed out. Pulled in so many different directions. Out 5 nights a week.

Can’t even read the news anymore. It’s all bad.

And on and on.

Lots of us have no issue being honest about our circumstances—

As long as we all kind of agree that we’re allowed to respond to those circumstances however we want.

“You can’t tell me how to feel,” we’ll say.

And I agree.

But are we allowed to challenge one another on how | we…

Respond?

Here’s how Jesus responded. Here’s the rest of the verse:

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John 12:27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?

No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”

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We’re actually going to camp out in the point Jesus makes here for the rest of our time this weekend as we unpack it in the next few verses.

But this verse (and the truth it reveals) reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite books called “The Screwtape Letters.”

And some of you have read that book—but if you haven’t, it does take a little bit of a setup before I share the quote with you.

It’s written by C.S. Lewis, a Brit who lived in the U.K. through WWI and WWII. He was a brilliant man; Oxford-educated; raised in a Christian home, but then left the faith entirely as a young adult and embraced atheism—likely influenced by what he saw on the battlefield during WWI.

But he had some friends—J.R.R. Tolkien, the LOTR author being one of them—who influenced him back towards Jesus. And on a train ride, while reading a book by George MacDonald, a Christian author, Lewis says that God opened up his mind and his heart once again. And he says he stepped on the train an atheist, but off of it as a Christian.

Anyways:

C.S. Lewis was a prolific author—writing the Chronicles of Narnia series and so many others.

But in his book, Screwtape Letters, he imagines a fictional correspondence between (2) demons who are writing back and forth about the best strategies to counteract and undermine people’s faith in Jesus and their walk with God. And these two demons’ names are “Screwtape” (who is the boss-demon) and “Wormwood” (his apprentice, or demon-in-training, so to speak).

And in one correspondence, here’s what Screwtape writes to Wormwood that I think perfectly captures what we just heard Jesus say. Here’s the quote:

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“Be not deceived, Wormwood, our [the demon’s] cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy’s [God’s] will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

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How is it that Jesus, when looking all around him, when taking in his reality and being honest with himself and his closest friends about how troubling it all was—

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How is it that Jesus can look at all of it and not say,

“God, save me!”

But instead say:

“God, use me?”

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Here’s why I think Jesus was able to say that:

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How is it that Jesus can look at all of it and not say,

“God, save me!”

But instead say:

“God, use me?”

It had everything to do with what Jesus expected.

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You Never Know

Now, we’ve already talked a bit about Jesus’ foreknowledge—that because he was so closely connected to God, God had revealed certain things about Jesus’ future to him:

He knew that a cross was coming for him. He expected it.

And apparently he also knows why. We just heard him say as much: it was “for this very hour” that he came. He knew what was coming, and he knew why.

And so it’s tempting to think that when you know the future—

When the future isn’t uncertain, but known—

And you not only know what’s going to happen, but why—

Then wouldn’t it be a lot easier to respond appropriately?

I mean, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Jesus can look at all of what’s coming his way and say, “God use me.”

He knows what’s coming. And he knows why:

He came into the world to die for the sins of the world.

And so what he expected to happen was just that:

A cross and a crucifixion. No surprises there.

So, yeah, grateful that a cross isn’t coming my way. Thanks for that, Jesus.

But where’s the lesson in that for those of us who don’t know what to expect because we don’t know what tomorrow brings?

Yet another score for Jesus. Jesus, 2. Us, zero.

You respond in a godly way, Jesus, to whatever comes your way. 1 point for you.

But you also know everything that’s coming your way before it comes your way. 2 points for you.

Game, set, match. Jesus wins.

What does that have to do with me?

What does that have to do with the rest of us who don’t know what’s coming our way? I mean, if you want to get technical about it, we don’t even know if we’re gonna wake up tomorrow.

Wouldn’t it be great to know…

Wouldn’t it be great to know if you were gonna get through the horrible season of work you’re in? Wouldn’t it be great to know how it’s all gonna work out—or if it’s gonna work out?

Wouldn’t it be great to know not just what those test results say, but what that’s gonna mean for life 6 months from now?

Wouldn’t it be great to know if you’re ever going to feel good again, or if you and your spouse are gonna feel close again, or if your kids are gonna come back to Jesus, or what you’re gonna do when you grow up, or if you’re gonna meet someone, or…

Wouldn’t that be great to know? Must be nice to know.

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If Jesus could respond how God wanted him to respond

Because he knew what to expect,

What about the rest of us who never know?

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Because “you never know.”

I’m sure you’ve said that before—either to yourself or to someone else—usually off the cuff and in passing, probably.

But it’s true of all of us, all the time:

“You never know.” What about the rest of us who literally never know?

When You Never Know

We’re going to discover some answers to that question as we take a look at this interaction Jesus is about to have with the crowds gathered in front of him.

So let’s start in verse 27 again, and kinda work our way through verse 37, pausing along the way:

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John 12:27–29 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.”

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So here’s the first thing that you can do when you never know:

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When You Never Know:

Expect a bigger purpose: for God to glorify himself in you and through you.

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I was talking to one of our chaplains here at our Cedar Falls campus at their Summit this past Monday night. She and her husband are both chaplains. And they’ve been caring for one of our guys at Cedar Falls, Tim Wolfe, who has been fighting a losing battle with ALS for a couple of years now. Tim’s my age; he’s a husband and father of two girls. And ALS is a horrible disease.

But I was talking to our chaplain, and here’s what she said:

She said it doesn’t seem to matter how bad of news he gets—and it’s almost always only bad news—

But she said it doesn’t seem to matter: he just accepts it, seems to stay positive, and keeps moving forward.

And then she said this:

“There’s only one way a person can respond like that: God.”

I’m sure he doesn’t always respond that way. And I know from their Caring Bridge that there have been plenty of long, dark days for him and his wife, Jen, and their daughters. It’s not this Christian-movie or children’s book sanitized story.

But right there, in the middle of all the pain, God showed himself in Tim’s attitude. Even in the midst of really dark, painful stuff. And this chaplain saw God’s glory in that.

Which is why Jesus himself goes on to say:

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John 12:30–33 “Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

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That phrase “I am lifted up” is actually one word in the language John originally wrote in. It’s this word hupsóō, which is used in a lot of different ways:

sometimes it’s used to talk about “getting a raise”—like receiving a higher status or position of honor

sometimes it’s used to describe being “exalted”

sometimes it’s used to describe Jesus ascending into heaven and sitting “at God’s right hand”—meaning that he’s God’s “right hand man,” in charge of everything and everyone by God’s divine power and authority

This is the word that Jesus uses here to describe being raised up…

On the cross.

To describe something literally: the death he was going to die as he was raised up on the cross.

But also metaphorically: the deeper meaning of what his death would mean for everyone—that his death on the cross would make a way for anyone (anyone!) to be a drawn into becoming a part of God’s family through him.

So here’s #2:

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When You Never Know:

Expect a bigger purpose: for God to glorify himself in you and through you.

Expect God to bring something good even when you’re walking through something bad.

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We don’t have to call bad things good. That’s not it.

ALS—that’s bad.

Jesus is troubled. Not “fine.”

Crosses are painful.

We don’t have to call bad things good.

Nor do we have to say that the “reason” for bad things happening is so that good things can happen. No. God doesn’t need bad things so that there can be good things. In fact, one day, there’ll be no more crosses, no more ALS, no more uncertainty, no more pain, no more bad of any kind. One day, only good.

But today, today there are really bad things in this world and in our lives that we have to deal with.

And it’s ok to expect that, even in those bad things, and even in your bad things, God can bring something good. For you—or even for someone else.

Now, stay with me here as we continue to move through this story. Because Jesus says all of this… but now, the crowds around Jesus are going to interact with him:

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John 12:34 “The crowd spoke up, “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’?”

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Let’s get right to #3:

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When You Never Know:

Expect a bigger purpose: for God to glorify himself in you and through you.

Expect God to bring something good even when you’re walking through something bad.

Expect others to act like they know better than God himself.

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These people literally looked God himself in the eyes and said, “Nope. That’s not how it works.”

“We’ve read the Bible. We know better than you.”

Amazing how they knew the Scriptures better than the Author himself.

But that’s who some people are. Unwilling to admit you never know, they lean into knowing better.

And sometimes they’ve got chapter and verse to bolster their case.

But anyone can quote Scripture. Knowing a verse and knowing God are two different things.

Which is why Jesus finishes this conversation by saying this in verse 35:

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John 12:35–37 “Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.”

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So here’s the last one for us:

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When You Never Know:

Expect a bigger purpose: for God to glorify himself in you and through you.

Expect God to bring something good even when you’re walking through something bad.

Expect others to act like they know better than God himself.

Let Jesus set your expectations: you’ll walk through darkness—and he will light your path.

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The crowds couldn’t tolerate a Savior who came to die. Didn’t fit their picture. Too dark. Too weak.

They wanted a victorious life. A powerful savior. A God who vanquished all of their enemies and gave them the life they felt they deserved.

But it was in his death that Jesus would ultimately secure our life.

And Jesus couldn’t be more clear:

Darkness is coming. It is. On this side of heaven, this side of Jesus returning, darkness is coming. He’s cast “the prince of this world” down, but he’s not out… yet.

We’ll walk through darkness. You gotta expect it.

But you can expect that he’ll meet you there—

And be the light—your light—on the path.

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