Now is the Time

So I do invite you to turn in your Bibles to the Gospel according to John. The Gospel according to John, in John chapter 12. If you're using the Pew Bible, that's on page 1143. John chapter 12. But we will turn to the account of what happened on the Sunday prior to Jesus' crucifixion. We call it Palm Sunday because of what the people did when Jesus entered into the gates that day. They took off palm branches and waved them before him in praise and in joy and rejoicing in the triumph that was promised by his coming. And so we will begin by reading from verse 12 through 22 to set the stage for our text this morning, which we'll take up at verse 23. Hear now the word of God. John chapter 12, beginning at verse 12. The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness the reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign so the Pharisees said to one another you see that you're gaining nothing look the world has gone after him now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks so these came to Philip who was from Bethsaida in Galilee and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. We'll suspend reading for a moment. It's interesting, as John tells us, that right after the Pharisees observe and lament that the world are going after Jesus, that we turn and see that some Greeks are coming to look for Jesus. These are not pagan unbelievers. These are those who have converted, in a sense, to Judaism. They worship with the Jewish people. They're not circumcised that they would become part of the people, but they worship with them, and they're at the feast there that day, worshiping God. They approached Philip, and they requested to see Jesus. Now, this doesn't mean they just wanted to get a look at him. It's probable that they'd seen him come in. It wasn't that they were looking to see him like a photo op. They wanted to be with Jesus. Sir, we would see Jesus. We want to meet with Jesus. We want to be with Jesus. We want to see him face to face and fellowship with him. And when their request finally got to Jesus, Jesus answered them, which is what we'll read in our text today, verse 23 and on. But as soon as he starts to give his answer, these Greeks disappear. They're lost in the crowd. We never see them again because the answer that they need is the answer that everyone needs. It's the answer that we need. And so in verse 23, when Jesus will say, the hour has come, he's speaking to all. He's not referring to a time of day. He's not looking at the clock. He's not looking even at the calendar. He's looking at history and where he fits in history and where he stands on that day at that time and what he faces in the coming week. Now is the time, is what he's saying. And that, to fill in the blank, is your sermon title today. Now is the time. Are you taking notes? Now is the time. The time for what? These are our three points we'll derive from this text. First is that it's the time for Jesus to be glorified. The hour is now for the Son of Man to be glorified. Now is the time the Father is to be glorified. Again. Time for the Father to be glorified again. And third, now is the time for judgment on this world. That's what Jesus has to say in response to this request. We would see Jesus. This is what we need to see. So we take up the text again now at verse 23, where Jesus now answers their request. Hear now the word of God. And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 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. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, and for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. And the voice came from heaven, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered, Others said, an angel has spoken to him. Jesus answered, this voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 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? 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's going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. Jesus had said these things. He departed and hid himself from them. Here ends the reading of God's Word. We pray that he will bless it to us. Now is the time. Jesus makes it plain throughout this answer. Now is the time. In verses 23 through 26, Jesus was speaking of himself when he says, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. He was speaking of himself. Now is the time for Jesus to be glorified. In the Gospels, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man more often than by any other title, over 80 times. And by and large, he's the only one that says it. He refers to himself without explanation in this way as a way to reveal to his listeners, to reveal to us aspects of who he is and what the work he's doing. He's the Christ, the one promised of God to come and save his people. And so we think of Christ, we should think of the Son of Man. And we heard in here when the crowd heard the voice from heaven and Jesus answered, I lost my place, I'm sorry. Anyway, the crowd answered back to Jesus, who is the Son of Man? They were asking him what they'd heard from him. They didn't come up with this on their own. Who is this Son of Man? This hour, this appointed time had long been on Jesus' mind. This wasn't something that struck him when he woke up that morning. This hour had not yet come when he did his first sign in Cana of Galilee. This hour had not yet come for him when the people, after he'd fed the 5,000, wanted to make him king by force. He said, my time is not yet. The hour is not yet. But now things have changed. Jesus has entered into Jerusalem as the King of Israel. He has identified Himself as the King of Israel. He came in in fulfillment of Psalm 118, which the people sang and which we are singing today. He came in a way that promised that He came in peace, fulfilling Zechariah 9, verse 9, that He came in on a donkey's colt. He identified Himself to the people. I am the King of Israel. When the people saw that, they were ecstatic. They were excited. They expected Jesus to come in and to be glorified, to take up the throne of David, to rule over the nations, to drive out the Romans, to establish the borders. And they expected to be with Jesus when he did it. Part of his entourage, wearing his uniform, basking in his glory, riding on his coattails. They wanted to be with Jesus because Jesus was going places. And Jesus immediately dashed their hopes. Their hopes were false. We hear it in verse 24. He says, 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. Truly, truly. Make no mistake, this is certainly true. Just like a seed must be planted in the dirt and die before it will produce a crop. the Son of Man must die. That's not what they wanted to hear. And Jesus goes on, He says, and if you want to be with Jesus and share in this glory, this glory that will come through His death, it's going to require more than hanging around with Jesus and wearing Jesus' gear. It's not going to be an easy thing to be with Jesus. It requires loving Jesus more than you love your own life. Verse 25, he says, whoever loves his life will lose it. And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. To be with Jesus requires loving Jesus more, loving him enough to serve him and to follow him. Verse 26, if anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there will my servant be also. No matter where I am, my servant will be with me also. And those who serve me, the Father will honor. Jesus had told the apostles what this looked like in Matthew chapter 10. And you know this, you've heard it before. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. that's what it means to see Jesus that's what it means to be with Jesus so now Jesus is announcing now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified and that glorification is going to come through death so if you want to see Jesus if you want to be with Jesus it will cost you more than you can pay it will cost you not only your life that won't be enough it will cost Jesus his life in your place. And he knew it. Even then. And it's that realization that has come across him as he sees this Greek's coming that in verses 27 to 30 draws Jesus inside himself so that he turns to God the Father in heaven. Now is the time, he says, in effect, for the Father to be glorified. Again, our second point. The Greeks who came looking for Jesus came as living representations to him of the other sheep he had told his apostles that he would lay down his life for. Just as he was laid down for his life for the people from Israel, he would lay down his life for sheep from another fold. And here they come. Jesus is fully God. And he knew at that moment, as he knew all through his life, what it would take to lay down his life for these men. What it would take to lay down his life for you and for me. And being fully human, he felt overwhelmed. He felt the weight of it. Now all of us have some sense of what it feels like to be overwhelmed. At some time or another, if we haven't, we will. We'll be weak in the knees, sick to our stomach, Unsettled in our spirit and weighed down with anguish. Jesus was feeling as a man feels. The weight that he saw in front of him. And he was shaken to his core. So in the hearing of all, Jesus cried out in verse 27, Now is my soul troubled. That seems so understated. Perhaps you can remember the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus' sweat as with drops of blood he was so overwhelmed. That's the picture. That's the sense. That's what Jesus is experiencing in his person. Unlike everyone around him, his disciples, everyone, Jesus knew that he was going to be rejected by the Jews. He was going to be betrayed by Judas, abandoned by his disciples, denied by Peter, convicted on false charges, mocked by Herod, scourged by centurions, sentenced to death. forced to carry his own cross, the tool of his own torture and death, stripped of his clothes, nailed hands and feet, lifted up on that cross for sins not his own, to be humiliated before a watching world, to be forsaken by God who would turn his face, to suffer the wrath of God in the torments of hell, and to give his life there as a ransom for many. That's what Jesus faced on Palm Sunday and in the following day. Is it too much to say that Jesus was tempted to reject God's will as we are when we suffer? Is that too much to say? I don't think so. Listen to Jesus in verse 28. He says, And what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour? We know this very temptation. and even though we often give in and pray Father save me from this and save me from that and don't make me go there and don't make me do this Jesus didn't pray save me from this hour Hebrews chapter 4 is right to say that in Jesus we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are but without sin Jesus was tempted but instead of keeping away to sin he confirmed to himself and he confirmed to his father in the presence of everyone to hear for John to record for you to know that he was committed to his purpose he knew why he had come to this hour he knew where this hour would take him he knew what this hour would accomplish by his death and he was committed. What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour but for this purpose I've come to this hour. What purpose? To glorify his Father. How? By pressing on to the cross in perfect obedience to his Father's will even unto death. The accursed death of a cross. And that's what Jesus said He would do in John chapter 6. There He said, I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise them up on the last day. That's His purpose. And so the Father was to be glorified when the Son of Man was glorified at the cross. And so when Jesus prayed aloud in verse 28, Father, glorify your name, that's his prayer, that's his petition. Father, glorify your name. He was calling upon his Father to uphold him as he had upheld him, all the way, all the way to the end. Children and young people, you know what it is to be in a race that's a long race and you're tired out and it's a rough finish. And that finish line seems a long ways away. That's how Jesus felt. And he turned to his Father for sustaining grace, for sustaining power in the Spirit to carry him through, to do his Father's will for you and for me. And as soon as he raises this prayer in verse 28, immediately he's answered in verse 29, then a voice came from heaven. A voice came from heaven. Most people, earthly-minded, must have been thunder. Some a little more spiritually-minded said, well, an angel must have spoken to him. We don't know what he said, but something's going on here. Some evidently heard and understood. Jesus turned and said, this voice has come for your sake, not mine. He's speaking to those who have heard and understood. We don't know who they were, but we know that it was more than one. He was speaking to you as in you all. And we know that it included John because John wrote it down. He tells us what the Father said. He wrote it down so that we can hear. This voice came for your sake, Jesus says, not mine. This is the third time the Father has spoken into this world audibly for men to hear and bear witness in the Scripture that He has spoken on behalf of His Son. At the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, when Jesus had been baptized by John, the Father spoke from heaven, This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. And in the middle of Jesus' ministry, At the Mount of Transfiguration, when His glory was exposed to His disciples, from the cloud the Father spoke, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him. And now at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, when the hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified, in answer to Jesus' prayer, the Father spoke again. One last time. I have glorified it. And I will glorify it again. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. We have to look outside this episode to understand what he's getting at, because that's pretty cryptic. What's he mean? I think we get a little clue to this if we look at Luke's Gospel. It's interesting that Luke's Gospel opens and closes with the name of God the Father, God in heaven being glorified. Luke suggests that the Father is glorified throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus. From the beginning, when he was born, we read that the heavenly host praised God, saying, Glory to God in the highest. His name was glorified. And at the end, in Luke's account of when Jesus entered in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people praised God, saying, Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And if they had not done it, the very stones would have cried out, Jesus said. that the Father's name would be glorified. Bookends. I think that's a clue. And I believe that the Father had been glorified, His name had been glorified in and through the ministry of Jesus Christ throughout His life in this world. Up to that point, He'd never been apart from the Father. The Father had been glorified by all that He did, and He would be glorified again. Even in this, His passion, His death, His burial, His resurrection. now is the time for the Father to be glorified again and finally in verses 31 through 36 Jesus once again turns his attention to the crowd in order to give them a warning now is the time of judgment on this world now is the time of judgment on this world Jesus pressed them now is the judgment of this world now will the ruler of this world be cast out. Now, in this hour, as the Son of Man is glorified and the Father's name is glorified, the kingdom of this world, this world will be judged and the ruler will be cast out. Because in passing judgment on the Son of Man, the world was calling out judgment on themselves. In waging war against Jesus, the ruler of this world would accomplish his own undoing. At the cross, Satan would strike the Son on the heel, just as had been promised from the beginning. And Jesus would crush his head. In what would look like defeat, Jesus would be the victor. And so he says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. That's the victor's speech. This world will be judged, Satan will be cast out, and I, when I'm lifted up, will draw all men to myself. You need to know whose side you're on. You need to know who's going to win. Now when he said that he would be lifted up from the earth, John explains in verse 33 that he did this. He said it this way to show what kind of death he was going to die. It's an image with lots of richness. And it's very basic. It means he's going to be lifted up from the earth on a cross to be beheld. But of course, beyond that, he's going to be lifted up from the earth to heaven where he's going to reign on the throne of heaven and he's going to come back in glory one day for his people. All that's here, but the people heard he's going to be crucified. And they were confused. That seemed to contradict Scripture. We have heard from the law, they said, that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? We don't understand. What kind of Son of Man is He if He's going to come and die? Well, their expectations, false as they were, were based on truth. Truth that was incomplete. It's true that the Son of Man will come one day. in the fullness of His glory to dwell with His people forever. That's true. It's not yet. First, He had to come in humility. He had to come to suffer and to die and to be raised and then to be glorified in the flesh for His people. They jumped the gun. And then suddenly Jesus changes His imagery here. It's a little bit startling. but if we remember what Jesus has said before in Jerusalem we can see where he picked up this imagery of light the last time he was in Jerusalem chapters 7 and 8 of John's gospel he had spoken a lot about himself as the light of the world and contrasted himself with the darkness that was here John recorded that in fact John liked that imagery a lot it's how he opens the gospel it's how he writes in his letters It's a very powerful image, and Jesus brings that up. It's out of context for us, but not in Jerusalem. And he said of himself, in John chapter 8, he said, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world. I am the Son of Man. The Son of Man is the light of the world. These are all me. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. That's what he had taught them when he was there last time. Now he picks that up, and he uses this imagery to make it very clear to them that he's not going to remain with them forever, at least not this time. They had their hopes fixed in the wrong place, in the wrong time, in the wrong coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He'd be leaving soon. The time was short. The light is among you for a little while longer. only a little while longer. Friday's coming, he's going to be crucified. Sunday's coming, he's going to be resurrected. Forty days hence, he's going to be ascended to glory and gone from this world. If they want to see Jesus and be with Jesus, he urges them to respond to him now. He pleads with them. He says, walk, walk while you have the light. And while you have light, believe in the light so that you might become sons of light. Because if you don't, darkness will overtake you. And you'll be lost. The one who walks in darkness does not know where he's going. If you don't, come to the light. If you don't come to Jesus, you're lost. That was a very stark warning, and we need to hear it the same way. Although we're not in their place and their time, Jesus wants to get their attention. This is here and now, and you need to respond now. This is not pie in the sky by and by where you can figure it out later. This is now. Respond now. I'm here now. And I'll soon be gone. And with that, we read in verse 36, when Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. He showed them what he meant. I'm gone. I'm out of here. Think on that. In Jesus' answer to the request of the Greeks, Jesus has revealed that the hour had come for him. And we look back on that hour as an hour fulfilled. The Son of Man was glorified through death and resurrection. The Father's name was glorified, again, at the conclusion of Jesus' earthly ministry. And the judgment of this world and its ruler was accomplished once and for all. All that Jesus looked forward to in the earth is done. And then the Son of Man ascended. The light of the world departed. And Jesus Christ will not be seen on this earth again in the flesh until He comes back in glory. You can understand a little better why the disciples were concerned when Jesus said He's going away and where He's going, they can't come. You're the light of the world. What are we going to do if you're gone? And Jesus affirmed to them. He consoled them and He promised them, I'm not leaving you alone. I'll not leave you as orphans. And we live in this time, as the disciples after Jesus returned to heaven, we live in the meantime waiting for Jesus to come back, not alone. He's left us his word. Even the testimony of John that we've considered today, he left this for us. And he poured out his spirit on the church. And by his spirit, through this word, the light of the world still shines. He still shines to draw sinners to himself and to work in those sinners he redeems to prepare us for glory. Jesus is at work. The light of the world still shines through the word, by the spirit, but the warning still stands. Walk while you have the light. Believe in the light, that you might become sons of light. Because Jesus, the next time we see him, It won't be because he's departing. It's because he's coming. And that's the end. The door's closed. Opportunity lost. Day of salvation over. We're to look at this episode and realize that we can learn from what he warned that day. By his spirit, through his word, given to his church. He draws sinners to himself and he prepares saints for glory by the preaching of the gospel, which he has done today, right here, right now, and by the display that is given in the sacraments. We saw the sacrament of baptism this morning. That pointed us to the cross of Jesus. That pointed us to this hour that we considered today. And he'll do it again on Friday when we come to the Lord's Supper. And he'll point us to the cross again. Because this hour in which the Son of Man was to be glorified, in which the Father was to be glorified, in which the kingdom of this world is to be undone, is the pivotal moment of history and it is where we must always look to Jesus Christ for our hope and our strength, our purpose in this life. We've been called today to come on Friday to worship and to participate in the Lord's Supper. And I would encourage you to do so in light of all that we have seen today and heard today from Jesus Himself. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we must confess that when we read the accounts of the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ as letters on a page, it's so easy for us, Lord, to gloss and to skim and to not really see what you want us to see. We thank you for this testimony of John today. in which he captures that moment in the life of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior, when he stood at the threshold of his own death. And through that death, stood at the threshold of glory. And all that that meant, all that it would accomplish, all that he would save, all that he would call to himself in the ages to come, he saw it all. He felt the weight of it all. And He persevered in that hour for us. Lord, help us not to miss this pivot in history, this focal point of the history of this world and the history of redemption. We thank You, Father, that You provided for us in Jesus and You've shown us Him today. Thank You that in Your Word we see Jesus and that by Your Spirit through the Word we can be with Jesus. It's in His name that we pray. Amen.