How Much Did Your Salvation Cost?

“How Much Did Your Salvation Cost?”

John 12:27-36

God’s grace is freely given but it certainly is not cheap! I really don’t think that it is possible for human beings to fully understand what it cost God the Father and Jesus Christ His son to offer forgiveness for our sins. We do not often reflect on just how costly it was for God to affect our salvation. Those who are not Christians certainly do not appreciate it fully and some even mock it.

As we come to this passage in our study of John, it is now “Passion Week” so called because it is the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. He is in Jerusalem for the Passover, after making His triumphant entrance to the city. Jesus has just entered Jerusalem to the shouts and praises of a huge crowd present in the city for the Passover celebration. The people were anxious to proclaim Him king, but the Lord refused to be the kind of king that they wanted.

Some Greeks have come seeking Jesus, which causes Jesus to respond saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” (v. 23) The coming of the Greeks in some way communicated to the Lord the fact that the climax of his work on Earth was at hand.

Read with me beginning in verse twenty-seven, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. (28) Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” (29) Therefore, the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”(30) Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. (31) Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (32) And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” (33) This He said, signifying by what death He would die. (34) The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

(35) Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in 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.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.”

Notice with me four things about this special time in the life of our Lord.

First, The Reason Jesus is Troubled. (12:27a) “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?...”

We begin to see what a great cost our salvation placed on the Lord in verse twenty-seven when we are told Jesus said, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?” We need to recognize that being “troubled” is not the same as being afraid, because that would have been completely out of character for the Lord. But we do not need to fail to recognize that the struggle for Jesus was very real. The Gospels agree in telling us that as the Cross approached Jesus began to tremble and was “deeply troubled” (Mark 14:33). The other Gospels tell us of His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is revealed that Jesus was in deep emotional distress and that as He prayed His sweat became “as great drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44). He prayed three times that the cup He was about o drink would pass from Him. But at last, He concludes saying, “Father, if it is your will, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) John does not tell us of Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethse-mane but we should probably see this passage as comparable, but John makes the point in his own way.

As Kent Hughes points out, we find the reaction of Jesus “startling in the light of who He is. After all, He is the one who holds the world together. He is the One who healed the leper with a touch, who with a word cast out demons and calmed the seas. He is the One who walked right through the crowds intent on His murder. Some say the reason our Lord was troubled was he was contemplating the physical horrors of the cross, - …his severely beaten (flayed) back unevenly pressed against the stake, the nails through the nerves of his hands, the agony of constantly pulling himself up to get a breath. But if that is what we think the Lord is fearing, we do him an injustice, because men in our own time have died more painful and prolonged death than that. If it had only been physical pain he faced Jesus would have received it with amazing calm.” [R. Net. Hughes. “John: That You Might Believe.” (Wheaton, ILL: Crossway Books, 1999) pp. 305-306]