Prelude to the Cross

The simplest message of what the Gospel is, can be found in a short summary by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.3-4: 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . .  If this would not have taken place, according to all that was prophesied, then there would be no hope for anyone, except that of hell.  

Without this taking place, there would have been no need for God Himself to come down and take upon Himself flesh and live on this earth.  It would have been senseless.  Jesus’ purpose for taking upon flesh on this earth was to die for our sins.  

This was all planned before Creation even took place.  I don’t have to understand how this could be; I just accept it because the Bible says it is so.  Throughout the Old Testament, we read prophetic splashes of the necessity of the blood atonement which the Messiah would offer to take away the sins of the people.  This is not just a New Testament concept which God made up at the last minute.  This was foretold throughout the Old Testament.

This message of the Gospel, which is so simple, yet so powerful, is also seen throughout the New Testament.  Interestingly, the four Gospels focus on the last few days of Christ’s life in about 20% of the total writings.  Without that information, there would be no need for the rest of the New Testament.  This is the core teaching of the apostles; His death, burial, and resurrection.  

Jesus, Himself, did not shy away from discussing this with His disciples, as well as others who had heard Him speak.  It angered those who despised him; it saddened those who loved Him.

We should also be considering that the two ordinances, which the church practices, revolves around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Those ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper or communion.

So as we look to these verses as the Prelude to the Cross, what should we focus upon?

For anyone to experience true hope and change, they must believe that what Jesus Christ did on the cross is sufficient.

Only then can we experience genuine hope. Only then will we see complete change in our lives.

Hope is a Decision of Purpose. - 12.27-28a

“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name.” 

We often look backwards, thinking of the incredible love the Father and Son had for us.  We marvel at the resolute determination Jesus portrayed while on earth.  We remember often the part of Hebrews 12.2, which states: 

. . . who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame . . .   

At the beginning of that portion of the verse, we smile.  We are so thankful that Christ had joy as He looked forward.  But then we run into those harsh verbs like “endured” and “despising;” both of which are tied into “the cross” and “the shame.”

This last part is what fits best with the wording in John 12.27.  The word for troubled is a very intense word.  It is even more so because we find it here in the perfect tense in the Greek.  Literally, it means “to shake” or “to stir up.”   In the figurative sense, which is what we find here, as he is not speaking of a recipe; it carries the idea of extreme agitation, mentally and spiritually.  English words we could use that would be interchangeable would be words such as horrified, upset, disturbed.  I think you get the idea.  Since it is in the perfect tense, it signifies that this was an ongoing battle.  

This would seem obvious, simply from the fact that Jesus had no sin, yet was about to become guilty of all of the sins of all mankind for all time.  We understand that Jesus is God.  But the reality is that this affected Him tremendously.  Remember, Jesus is also fully man.  Galatians 3.13 reminds us of this as Paul reminds us that Jesus became a curse for us.

As we look at verse 27, we need to understand that Jesus is asking a hypothetical question.  He is not making a request to get out of the situation.  He is showing us the reality of the brutality and harshness of the situation within the context that He knows exactly why He came to this point in time.  He came as the holy, sinless Son of God, in order to become sin for us and to become the curse in our place.  In all of this, His heavenly Father will be glorified.  

It is also good to recognize that John gives a vivid glimpse into the humanity of Jesus.  It makes sense that being under such turmoil, a person would ask deep, probing questions.  I would suggest that as one looks at the entirety of Scripture, we see that questions are never forbidden.  However, it behooves us to go to the only One Who can answer our questions, our Heavenly Father.  

Now we get ready to hear the Father’s response to Jesus.

Hope is Defined by a Pronouncement. - 12.28b-30

Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”  Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.

We have read in the parallel Gospels that the Father’s voice was noticeably heard two other times.  One was at the baptism of Jesus.  Another time was when the closest disciples of Jesus (Peter, James, and John) were on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured.  

Interestingly, when the Father’s voice was heard, those in the crowd had different perspectives. Some thought it thundered; others thought an angel had spoken to Jesus.  In the Old Testament, it was common for people to associate thunder at different times with the voice of God.  Those who thought it may have been an angel would have recognized this as a voice, at the least.  The other two times, the Father spoke of being pleased with His Son.  Now, He responds positively to Jesus’ request that the Father be glorified.  

Sadly, the people’s lack of understanding and discernment was probably because the people were not listening to God anyway.  As a result of their hard hearts, they could not understand what was being said.  That is the way it still is.  For the one who does not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, spiritual things are meaningless and incomprehensible.  

We might wonder why this needed to be done.  Obviously, since this is in answer to Jesus’ prayer, it was for Jesus’ benefit; though it was not only for Jesus. You and I recognize that Jesus did not have to personally hear His Father’s voice to know that the Father heard Him.  Maybe it’s possible that the Father needed to encourage the disciples that Jesus’ upcoming death was necessary and glorifying to the Father.  This is also a bit of a preview of the reality that Jesus’ death on the cross will satisfy God’s demands and it will be successful.  The only way for Jesus to return to the Father is for Him to accomplish what the Father sent Him to do.   

Hope is Declared by a Prediction. - 12.31-33

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”  But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

Most people are not overly reflective about what their death will do for the world.  In these few verses, Jesus comments on three different results of His death.   

He begins by stating that His death will bring judgment upon this world.  We need to understand again that Jesus is not referring to the world in a generic sense.  John often uses this term, world, to describe the evil, philosophical system which reflects Satan’s rebellion and that of all humanity.  Though Satan and those serving him may think that once Jesus is out of the picture they will have become victorious, that is the furthest thing from the truth.  The reality is that because of their killing Jesus, that is the final rejection of the Messiah for them and that will seal their condemnation.  The reality is that humanity condemns itself for rebellion and rejection of Jesus Christ.  The cross seals that.

The second result is that Satan will be cast out.  Interestingly, Satan is supposedly the ruler of this world.  However, if judgment has been passed upon this world through Christ’s death, then Satan’s world is condemned and he has nothing to rule.  No longer does he have power over those who follow Jesus.  Satan’s allies were death and the grave.  Jesus in His death and resurrection became victorious over death and the grave.  Even though Satan has fought for centuries to destroy God, his supposed victory at the cross also sealed his own doom.  Hebrews 2.14 states: 

through [His] death [Jesus would] render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Finally, we see that Jesus will draw all men to Himself.  This is the positive part from this sentence.  However, the first part describes the crucifixion:  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth . . .   Let’s look specifically at the promised result of Jesus’ death in this sentence.  . . . will draw all men to Myself. There are those who suggest that it doesn’t matter what a person does, every single person who has ever existed is going to heaven.  However, that cannot be true if Jesus is truly righteous and just.  Nor can it be true since He states that those who do not believe, they are condemned.  However, for those who do believe, regardless of their background, they will be drawn by Jesus to Himself.  This can only happen because of what Jesus did on the cross.  One cannot have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ without the cross.

Hope is Dismissed by People. - John 12.34

The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Here we see the conflict in the mind of the crowd.  They thought that the Messiah would be here on this earth forever and would set everything straight.  So Jesus’ comments about having to die made absolutely no sense.  For some reason they did not understand from the Old Testament writings that the Messiah would have to die.  They did not understand that the Messiah would come a second time in order to establish His kingdom forever.

They would not accept God’s way and insisted upon their own way.  They would not reconcile that the Christ and the Son of Man were one and the same and had to die.  They did not understand their own need for a savior.  Most did not see themselves as sinners, but as God’s chosen who found themselves under an oppressive anti-God government.

Reflections

I am so glad that Jesus was set on doing His Father’s will in total, absolute obedience.  He knew why He came in the flesh to this world.  He was born for the purpose of dying for a humanity that was dead in our trespasses and sins.  And by His dying, you and I can say, He gave new life to this dying person.  But, for today’s message, we must stay here with a crucified Jesus. However, we must understand that what was done on the cross is legitimate, because Jesus did not stay in the grave; He is not dead.  He was raised from the dead and is alive forevermore.  

Warren Wiersbe comments on the interesting perspective Jesus had on “His hour.”  It is the hour of His death, but [God] calls it the hour of His glory!

We are given a glimpse into the internal struggle which Jesus experienced in this prelude to the cross. We are reminded of the reality that were it not for the cross, we would be a people of no hope.  Before the resurrection can take place, before new life begins, there has to be death. For Jesus, it meant that he had to die in our place on the cross.

For anyone to experience true hope and change, they must believe that what Jesus Christ did on the cross is sufficient.