The Glory Of The Cross (John 12:27-43)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
[SLIDE 1] Introduction
If you have your Bible, then please turn to John 12:27-43.
Illustration
Let me begin with a story that took place at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
There was a man by the name of Derek Redmond.
He trained his entire life to be a runner.
He won gold medals at the World Championships and European Championships.
At the Olympics, he was competing in a 400-meter semifinal.
He most likely was one of the favourites to win the gold medal.
As the gun fired up in the air, Derek and other runners exploded off the blocks.
Derek was running the race of his life.
However, halfway through the race, something went terribly wrong.
He tore his hamstring.
Other runners were crossing the finish line while Derek collapsed to the ground in agony.
Others went to help Derek, but he waved them off.
And what Derek did was quite astonishing, yet memorable.
He continued the race limping.
Then something remarkable happened.
A man broke through security and ran onto the track.
It was Derek's father, Jim Redmond.
He wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders and assisted him to the finish line.
Derek was sobbing as he was limping.
Of course, Derek didn’t win the race.
He was dead last.
His Olympic dream was over.
However, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous applause that lasted for minutes after Derek and his father crossed the finish line.
It became one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.
This moment was even advertised by Visa and featured in Nike commercials.
It’s not because Derek won, but because he lost with his father by his side.
I share this story because many have been conditioned to believe that losing is bad and winning is good.
Some who are competitive would do whatever it takes to come out on top.
This includes finding loopholes, stepping on others, or compromising their integrity.
However, Jesus is going to challenge that mindset that losing is bad.
Instead, He’ll flip the script: losing is winning.
Or, more accurately, dying is winning.
His death on the cross is a glorious victory.
It is the glory of the cross.
Context
The context of this passage is important in John’s gospel.
Jesus has entered into Jerusalem.
The crowd was expecting Him to be the promised and political Messiah who will overthrow Rome.
The Greeks sought to see Jesus in verse 21.
At that point, it triggered a turning point in the story.
Jesus said that “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
That means that Jesus is going to be glorified through His death on the cross.
And if anyone wants to follow Jesus, they count the cost according to verses 25-26.
What we will see in verses 27-36a are the final words of Jesus to the crowd in His public ministry.
After this, He withdraws from them and spends the rest of His time with His disciples in the Upper Room (John 13-17).
Then in John 12:36b-50, the Apostle John provides a concluding summary of Jesus' entire public ministry (John 1-12).
This brings us to the main idea that I want you to remember for this message:
[SLIDE 2] Dying Is A Glorious Victory, But Unbelief Is A Shameful Defeat.
That glorious victory is the glory of the cross.
With your Bible in hand, let’s walk through this passage verse by verse.
Exposition
[SLIDE 3] First, we’ll see “The Struggle Of Jesus” in verses 27-30.
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.
The hour of Jesus’ death is approaching.
Jesus was troubled by the fact that He’s about to go to the cross.
This is not merely a passing emotion that Jesus felt, but a state that He’s in.
He’s about to experience the full gravity of what He’s about to endure.
It’s not merely the pain He’s going to endure on the cross.
He’s about to bear the full weight of God’s wrath against sin, and thus satisfying His wrath on our behalf.
One commentator suggests that “this was an ongoing struggle for the sinless Saviour, as He recoiled in revulsion from the implications of bearing divine judgment for sin.”
Since that’s the case, Jesus says, “And what shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour’?
That’s what we would naturally do, right?
Suppose we know a week in advance that we’ll have to endure some form of intense affliction, we may say this:
Lord, save me from this suffering or pain.
Certainly, Jesus - in His human will - did want to be saved.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus pleaded with His Father (Luke 22:42):
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
However, Jesus submitted to the will of His Father.
He obeyed even to the point of death on the cross.
Jesus ultimately rejects the idea of being saved from this hour not only because He desired to obey His Father.
Jesus says at the end of verse 27: “for this purpose I have come to this hour.”
The purpose of His 1st coming was to come to this hour of glorification.
He would voluntarily lay down His life on the cross to save His people from their sins.
So, in verse 28, Jesus prays to His Father to glorify His name.
And then a phenomenon happened.
There was a voice that came from heaven and responded to Jesus’ request.
The Father says, “I have glorified it,” namely His name.
He has glorified His name all throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry.
And the Father promises that He WILL glorify it (His name) again.
The Father will glorify His name through the death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of His Son.
The perplexity of the cross is that it is meant to be a shame and defeat for Jesus.
However, Jesus’ death will indeed be glorious because it brings honour to the Father.
It’s glorious because His atoning sacrifice will be salvation to unworthy sinners who repent and place their faith in Him.
That’s the glory of the cross.
After the voice came from heaven, the crowd was there to witness the event.
They stood there and heard the voice.
The crowd just witnessed a miraculous event where the Father spoke to the Son.
Yet, some in the crowd confused the voice of the Father to a thunder.
While some in the crowd may have been less dull in hearing, they took away from this glorious moment between the Father and the Son and attributed the Father’s voice to that of an angel.
But, perhaps, some may have heard the voice, and it benefited those who truly heard it.
So, Jesus answered in verse 30: The voice has come for your sake, not mine.
If you think about, did Jesus need the Father’s voice to be audible in order for Him to hear it?
I don’t think so.
Jesus and the Father have a perfect relationship with one another.
Jesus can hear from His Father privately.
The voice was meant to benefit those who heard it.
What’s the benefit?
The benefit is so that they may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
And since there were some genuine disciples of Christ, the voice came to strengthen their faith.
Not only that, the voice of His Father also served to comfort His Son in His troubled mind.
[SLIDE 4] Now, as Jesus anticipates and embraces the glory of the cross, we’ll see “The Supremacy Of The Cross” in verses 31-34.
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?”
Jesus’ death on the cross is perplexing yet glorious.
The enemies assumed that His death would be a victory for them.
The Jews are happy to see Jesus dead.
Pilate was glad to get rid of the guy who was causing a stir in the Jewish community.
The Roman Soldiers get to mock our Lord.
Satan hought he won the battle against the Son of God, but he didn’t win the war.
However, Jesus’ death was a decisive victory against the enemies of God.
The glory of the cross is THE cosmic judgment event against the evil of this world and against the ruler (Satan).
The world has been passing judgment upon Christ and rejecting Him.
However, by rejecting Christ, the world has condemned itself.
This highlights what Jesus said in John 3:18
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
For Satan, the ruler of this world, was defeated at the cross of Christ.
Satan was dethroned of his power in this world.
He was disarmed.
Death was defeated by the death of Christ.
Jesus provides redemption and salvation by transferring His redeemed people from the kingdom of Satan to His kingdom.
Jesus had to die (or lose by the world’s standard) in order to claim glorious victory over Satan, sin, and death.
Jesus said in 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.
Now, in verses 32-33, Jesus talks about being lifted up from the earth.
And the Apostle John explains that Jesus said this to show by which kind of death he was going to die.
This phrase, “being lifted up,” means to be raised high and even ironically to exalt someone.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Not only is Jesus lifted up on the cross, he is also lifted up in glory.
The consequence or the effects of Jesus’ being lifted up is that He will draw all people to Himself.
When it says, “all people,” this doesn’t mean that every single individual in the world will come to Jesus by faith.
If that’s the case, then logically, everyone will be saved.
Jesus would be teaching this false doctrine called universalism.
The wider context tells us what “all people” means.
It cannot mean every single individual because we just learned in verse 31 that judgment awaits those who reject Christ.
Earlier, the Pharisees said, “The whole world has gone after him!” (John 12:19).
Obviously, that doesn't mean literally everyone in the whole world because it's hyperbole.
The key is found in verse 21: the Greeks (Gentiles) were seeking to see Jesus.
It was precisely their arrival that triggered this entire discussion.
When Jesus says “all people,” He doesn't mean every single person without exception.
He means all people without distinction—all kinds of people, both Jews and Gentiles.
Jesus promised that He will draw them to Himself, and we see this promise fulfilled throughout the book of Acts as the gospel goes forward into the world.
Remember, Jesus also said in John 6:44 that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them.
Because Jesus is going to die by being lifted up from the death, THEREFORE, the crowd are quite puzzled in verse 34.
We have heard from the Law that the Christ (the Messiah) remains (or lives) forever.
In this context, when they say, “the Law,” it is a more general term for the Old Testament, not a specific term for the Torah.
Jesus spoke about the Law in John 10:34, which was a reference to the book of Psalm.
In one sense, they're correct.
The Messiah will live forever, and His kingdom and throne will be established forever.
That's what the Old Testament prophesies in passages like 2 Samuel 7 (the Davidic covenant) and Isaiah 9:6-7.
So they're confused: Why does Jesus say the Son of Man must be lifted up?
If their presupposition is that the Christ remains forever, how can Jesus talk about being lifted up?
They seem to have understood that Jesus was talking about His death.
And they question, “Who is this Son of Man?”
It’s not like they’re ignorant or don’t know who the Son of Man.
Rather, based on what Jesus said about the death of the Messiah, they're asking:
“What KIND of Son of Man/Messiah are you talking about who would DIE?”
This points us back to their false expectation of the King of Israel, the Messiah, during Jesus so-called Triumphal Entry.
They assumed that Jesus would be the Messiah to rule and establish His kingdom.
But, they did not expect Him to die.
A dying Messiah contradicted everything they knew from Scripture.
Death meant weakness and losing, not triumph.
We now know that Jesus Christ will remain forever because of His resurrection and exaltation.
He promised that He will return and He will establish His kingdom on earth.
And that can happen only through the humiliation and suffering of His death on that glorious cross.
[SLIDE 5] Therefore, knowing that the crowd is puzzled, Jesus responds to them with “The Summon To Believe” in verses 35-36.
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.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
Jesus doesn’t answer their question directly, “Who is this Son of Man?”
Rather, Jesus gives them an invitation and a warning.
That invitation is to believe in the Lord Jesus.
Jesus uses a metaphor of light and darkness.
Jesus is referring to Himself as the light.
This metaphor is meant to convey the spiritual truth about a sense of urgency.
He’s going to be with the crowd for a little while longer.
Jesus’ public ministry is about to be over.
He’s going to go to the cross soon.
He’ll be with the crowd for a little while longer.
These will be His final words before He withdraws from His public ministry.
Jesus is calling the Jewish crowd to walk with Him while the light still remains.
Otherwise, darkness will overtake and seize them, causing them to stumble in their spiritual ignorance.
They’re spiritually lost because they failed to trust in Christ.
Jesus says, “The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.”
Darkness represents their sin and their love for wickedness.
Therefore, Jesus urges the crowd to believe in the light while they still have the opportunity.
The purpose is so that they become sons of light
They come become a follower of the light.
They are to be characterized and governed by the light as they walk in fellowship with God who is the light
This was Jesus’ invitation and warning.
Now, Jesus departs and hides Himself from them.
The text doesn’t tell us where He went.
He vanished before the crowd in obscurity.
But His departure signifies the end of Jesus’ public ministry as recorded in John’s gospel.
It’s not only that, Him leaving the crowd becomes a word-picture of verses 35-36.
They had the light, but now the light physically withdrew from them.
As Jesus withdraws from this scene and concludes His public ministry, this transitions to the Apostle John’s summary and commentary.
Most likely, Jesus withdraw from the crowd because He knew what’s in their heart.
I don’t think this is speaking of everyone because we know some did believe in Jesus.
But, majority of the Jews were still in unbelief, including the crowd who had a wrong expectation of the Messiah.
[SLIDE 6] Fourth, we’ll see “The Scandal Of Unbelief” in verses 37-41.
37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
We remember that John’s purpose for this gospel, right (John 20:30-31).
These are written (the signs that John included) should cause people to believe in Him.
Certainly, that’s what happened on several occasions (John 2:11; John 4:53-54).
However, John notes that although Jesus had performed signs and that His signs ought to have caused the Jews to believe in Him, they still did not believe.
Perhaps, the big question that John is going to answer is this, “Why are they still in unbelief?”
This passage become John’s theological reflection on why the Jews reject Jesus and choose not to believe.
The reason or consequence of their unbelief is to fulfill the Old Testament significances, prophesies or predictions.
The Apostle John quotes from two passages from the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament.
The first passage John quotes from is Isaiah 53:1
The context of Isaiah 53:1 speaks about the Suffering Servant.
Isaiah talks about the Suffering Servant, who was despised and rejected by men in Isaiah 53:3.
Because of the prophesy from Isaiah, it explains why the Jews could NOT believe.
They have closed their eyes to the Light.
They have rejected the invitation.
They have rejected their long-awaited Messiah.
John is about to explain why they couldn't believe in Jesus.
He quotes Isaiah 6:10 in verse 40.
And what he says is shocking:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”
This is what I'm calling the scandal of unbelief.
Why is it scandalous?
Because the truth of God's hardening and blinding is theologically perplexing.
It shocks our human sensibilities.
Isaiah 6:10 was written after Isaiah saw the glory of the LORD, who was seated upon a throne, high and lifed up.
He saw the seraphim saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of glory.”
He saw the King, the LORD of hosts, and he thought he was a dead man.
This text was written after the LORD commissioned Isaiah to be a prophet of the LORD, and to speak to national Israel and call them to repentance.
Similarly, Jesus’ audience was national Israel, the Jewish crowd.
It was the unbelief of the corporate entity even though some individual Jews did believe in Christ.
Now, perhaps the idea of God hardening people’s heart may bother some of you.
If God hardens hearts, then how can people believe?
Theologically, there is the tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.
Now, God doesn’t arbitrarily hardens hearts.
God sovereignly hardens the hearts of sinners because they have already and wilfully rejected the gospel.
They have already chosen to walk in darkness rather than the light.
While God is gracious, He reveals His glory through judgment upon wicked sinners by hardening their hearts and letting them live their own way.
We see that in Romans 1:28 that God gave wretched and rebellious sinners a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
We see that in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We see this pattern in the book of Exodus.
Pharaoh hardened his own heart and refused to released the Israelites.
Later on, it said that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
This is a sobering reality.
This is a sobering truth for those who reject the gospel.
This is sobering against those who persistently harden your heart against Christ.
If you’re not a Christian this morning, and you have been rejecting or delaying your response to the gospel, then this is a dire warning to you.
If you continue to harden your heart, you may find yourselves being hardened by God.
Therefore, I call upon you once again to repent of your sins and place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
A urgent invitation (Isaiah 55:6)
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
What’s peculiar is that Isaiah wrote this for a reason in verse 41.
It answers the question: “Why should we accept Isaiah’s explanation for Jewish unbelief?”
The answer: it’s because Isaiah saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Isaiah himself testified to Jesus’ divine identity,
Isaiah saw the glory of the pre-incarnate Christ.
Isaiah spoke about the Christ, the Messiah.
Isaiah even wrote about the Messiah who would also be the Suffering Servant.
The same LORD who was high and lifted up in Isaiah 6 is the same Person (the Suffering Servant) who shall be high and lifted up in Isaiah 52:13.
Sadly, those who are in unbelief...
Those who continue to resist the Lord.
They faces a shameful defeat.
They reject the very glory Isaiah saw.
They reject the Lord of hosts.
And in rejecting Him, they condemn themselves.
While there is bleakness in John’s explanation for the unbelief of the Jews, I suppose there is a glimmer of hope.
[SLIDE 7] But, truthfully...we’ll see “The Shame Of Secrecy” in verses 42-43.
42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
There are many people, including some authorities or rulers of the Jewish high council who believed in Jesus.
They may believe that Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Son of God.
They may believe because of the evidence of eyewitness testimony regarding the raising of Lazarus.
They may believe because Jesus performed miraculous signs.
Quite possibly, Nicodemus - a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews in John 3 - believed in Jesus.
Yet, that belief seems superficial in nature.
The opposition against Jesus Christ was so great to the point that if someone confesses faith in Jesus, they would be excommunicated or put out of the synagogue.
And that’s what caused these folks to be fearful of the Pharisees.
They would not want to publicly confess and acknowledge their faith and loyalty to Jesus.
Why is that?
Verse 43 explains that.
As rulers or authorities, they sought glory and praise from men instead of loving the glory that comes from God.
These folks may have been content and satisfied with just having enough faith in one sense while also hesitating to show that faith publicly and outwardly.
To put it in modern terms, they are the churchgoers who do not want to let anyone know about their faith.
They are ashamed of the gospel.
They may confess Jesus with their lips on Sunday, but they hide their so-called faith throughout the week.
They don’t want to offend anyone, such as losing their friends or hurting their reputation.
They don’t want to be put out of their jobs or miss a chance for a promotion.
Even if they do believe in Jesus, However, can such faith save sinners?
There is a real cost, isn’t there, to believe in Jesus (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.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Unfortunately, they love the glory of man and their own life more than they love the glory of Christ and glory of the cross.
But, in the end, they will lose that life and they will lose the glory and praise of men.
They sought to be people pleasers and seeking validation and approval from men.
Jesus has an indictment towards these kinds of people in John 5:44
44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
Sadly, those who try to save their lives and seek the glory of this world will lose and face a shameful defeat on the day of judgment.
Application / Conclusion
[SLIDE 8] Brothers and sisters, this passage is indeed glorious because it reveals the glory of the cross.
Dying Is A Glorious Victory, But Unbelief Is A Shameful Defeat.
Certainly, this applied to our Lord Jesus Christ, right?
Because of His death, He conquered Satan, sin, and death.
For us, we are called to follow Jesus and share in His glorious suffering.
In this life, in this world, we will lose.
If we follow Christ and desire to live a godly life, we will be persecuted.
Paul describes the paradox of the Christian life in this manner in 2 Corinthians 6:
As dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
For us as born-again Christians, death or losing is:
Not the end, but a doorway to resurrection life
It is not defeat, but victory over sin and Satan
It is not loss, but gain
Paul said, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.
[SLIDE 9] Brothers and sisters, let us imitate our Lord Jesus Christ in how He viewed the glory of the cross.
Let us walk and follow Him and share in His suffering as we proclaim the gospel and live out our Christian.
