I Did It My Way

John 12 (3)

- Read John 12:12-36

And now, the end is near

And so I face the final curtain

My friend, I'll say it clear

I'll state my case, of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full

I traveled each and every highway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way

Regrets, I've had a few

But then again, too few to mention

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course

Each careful step along the byway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew

When I bit off more than I could chew

But through it all, when there was doubt

I ate it up and spit it out

I faced it all and I stood tall

And did it my way

And so one of the songs, for which Frank Sinatra is best known. The end is near, And so I face the final curtain. . . let the record show, I did it my way.

What a sad commentary on one’s life, to leave behind nothing more than that, a statement that you did it your way. How very different from the way we see Jesus responding in this passage, as He sees His final days approaching.

Oh, yes, He knows His time is short. Again and again through the pages of the Bible Jesus tells folks that His time has not yet come, it’s not the right time.

In John 2:4, Mary, the mother of Jesus, comes to Him at the wedding feast telling Him that they have run out of wine. Jesus answers her, ““What has this concern of yours to do with me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”

In John 7:8, Jesus’ brothers want Him to go up to the feast and show Himself. Jesus answers, “Go up to the feast on your own. I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet come.”

In John 7:30, the religious leaders try to seize Jesus, and the Bible tells us in John 7:30, “but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”

In Matthew 26, Jesus tells His disciples to go into the city and to make preparations for the Passover because, “My time is near.”

But now, having experienced the worship of many people in the city of Jerusalem, and after now having some Greeks coming to see Him; not because they want Him to heal a child, and not because they want something from him, but just because they want to spend time with him, Jesus says in verse 23, “The hour has come.”

The hour has come. Jesus knows that His death is imminent. His death is close. And so how does Jesus respond to this realization? Does He tremble in fear? No. Does He pound His chest and say, “I did it My way?” No! Does He start naming off a list of His accomplishments? No. Does He tell the disciples to erect a building with His name on it so no one would forget? No.

1. He mentions the goal of His life. - verse 28

My goal is God’s glory. If your goal in life is to give glory to God, to bring God glory, you cannot fail. Several years ago, they interviewed a quarterback just after winning his second super bowl. The interviewer asked the quarterback what he thought about winning his second super bowl. The quarterback answered, “I thought it would mean more.”

What a sad commentary on life. To reach the end, to look around at the jobs you’ve had, the things you’ve seen, the things you’ve accumulated, and the things you’ve accomplished and feel that it should mean more.

We spend the first half of our lives accumulating things and filling our homes with things. We spend the second half of our lives trying to give away those things that once meant so much to us.

King Solomon did this and he recorded his quest in the book of Ecclesiastes. In the beginning of his book he writes, “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.

“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

3 

What does a person gain for all his efforts

that he labors at under the sun?

4 

A generation goes and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever.

5 

The sun rises and the sun sets;

panting, it hurries back to the place

where it rises.

6 

Gusting to the south,

turning to the north,

turning, turning, goes the wind,

and the wind returns in its cycles.

7 

All the streams flow to the sea,

yet the sea is never full;

to the place where the streams flow,