WHEN THE HOUR HAD COME
Text: John 12:20-33
John 12:20-33 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. (21) They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." (22) Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. (23) Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. (24) Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (25) Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (26) Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. (27) "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that 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 standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." (30) Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. (31) Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. (32) And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (33) He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
(NRSV).
“A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday School presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son’s memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world." The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world!" Jesus is the "Light of the world," but He certainly uses Christian mothers to let His light shine in this world.” https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/7579/parenting-by-a-todd-coget In today’s text we see that Jesus was right on cue. What was the cue? The cue was that He said His hour had come.
In the game of football, the play does not start until the quarterback has given the cue. The quarterback usually tells his fellow players in the huddle the necessary cue. The first thing that he will do is to call the play and then mention the cue for motion, when the center is supposed to hike the ball. The play does not officially start until the ball is moved. The moment the ball moves the play begins.
Think about the movement of the ball starting the play in a game of football. When Jesus said that the hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified, the play had begun because the metaphorical ball was now in motion. Jesus has given the cue that the hour has not come a few times before in The gospel oh John but now the hour finally arrives in John 12:23. Jesus knew the cue for the coming of this hour. The cue seems to be the arrival of the Greeks at this festival.
The three things we want to talk abut this morning are the cue, the kernel and the magnetic motion.
THE CUE
How is it that the arrival of the Greeks serves as a clue?
1) Building momentum: Jesus had been in His earthly ministry for at least three years. Momentum against Him had been building. “It was month since Jesus healed Lazarus and six days from Passover, Friday March 27, 33 A.D.”). when the vents of John 12 began to unfold. (Michael Card. John: The Gospel of Wisdom. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP books, 2014, p. 141). Healing Lazarus and bringing him back from the dead had added to that momentum.
2) The unexpected cue: This cue was unexpected by Jesus's disciples. This cue seems to be the one that Jesus was anticipating that would indicate to Him that His hour for suffering had begun. The coming of these Gentiles to worship at this feast appears to have been the cue. Phillip had told Andrew and Andrew had relayed the message about the arrival of the Greeks to Jesus. Jesus responded by saying that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified (John 12:23). What Jesus meant was that His hour of suffering had finally come. Verse 27 points out how Jesus was distraught abut this time of suffering.
3) Promise of endless reign?: Psalm 89:36 mentions “His [David’s] line shall continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun” (NRSV). How could this promise be fulfilled by the moment of suffering and death approaching for Jesus? Does God break His promises? We are reminded in one of Luke’s verses during the season of Advent that Jesus’s kingdom is forever! Luke 1:33 says “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (NRSV).
4) A defining moment: There was a hint of Gentiles seeking Jesus when He was born. Remember the Magi aka the Wisemen? The arrival of these two Gentiles seems to have been a cue that the defining moment---His hour had come. Things were now in motion when Christ's hardships would intensify and become increasingly more severe on His way to the cross.
What did these Greek seekers represent?
1) Proselytes? We do not know if they are proselytes or not. But, we do know that they represent the future harvest of the Gospel. Jesus had come to His own first and they did not receive Him. Jesus’s own did not accept Him when He began His ministry (John 1:11). The presence of the Greeks there was evidence of the “other sheep that were not yet part of the fold” (John 10:16). They were like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36) while seeking the one and only Shepherd----the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greeks represent the Gentiles who were other sheep who were to join the fold (John 10:16). For the day had come when there would be one flock and one shepherd---Jesus (John 10:16b). The Greeks represent the Gentiles who were other sheep who were to join the fold (John 10:16). For the day had come when there would be one flock and one shepherd---Jesus (John 10:16b).
2) Nostalgic: God never meant for us to stand still and live in the past. Thomas Wolfe who coined that expression “You Can’t Go Home Again” in the title of his book was on to something. You can never go home again means the people are not the same and neither are you when you go back home. We can say the same of the old life we left behind when we got saved. How can we be new creature in Christ, if we do not truly allow Jesus to make us new? How can the new life in Christ be compatible with the old life of the flesh? Jesus made the same point when He said in a parable that you cannot put new wine into old wine skins expecting to preserve both because they are not compatible with each other (Matthew 9:17).
3) Partition wall removed: Did you notice how Jesus spoke to His disciples about the request of the Greeks? Adam Clarke described Jesus’s response answer as the “tearing down of the partition wall meaning that His disciples were the first fruits of the Jews people and the Greeks were going to be the first fruits of the Gentiles”. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary one the Bible). The Apostle Paul describes it this way in Ephesians 2:14 For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us,” (Amplified Bible). The presence of the Greeks there were the cue that Jesus’s hour had come as “the lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).
THE KERNEL
What was the meaning behind the parable about a kernel of wheat?
1) Obedience: Jesus tells us this parable to illustrate that life is fruitful only when it is planted in the soil of humility that denies self and serves others in His name. Jesus had left all the gory of heaven and humbled Himself and became obedient even to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Jesus had come to seek to save the last, the least and the lost and to destroy the work of the devil.
2) Humility: Jesus humbled Himself, came to us and planted the seed of His own life. Jesus planted the seed of His own life as He came to preach the gospel, help the lame to walk, the blind to see, to heal the sick, set all the prisoners of sin free and ultimately to offer Himself as the sacrificial lamb of God (John 1:29) whose sacrifice would pay the price for our sins. As the seed of His life died, it yielded the fruit of resurrection. "If we have been united with Him like this [through our baptism] in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection" (Romans 6:5 NIV). "The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (I Corinthians 15:42-44 NIV). Now all of these things are a stumblingblock to those who will seek signs and foolishness to those who desire to acquire wisdom (I Corinthians 1:23) before they will believe.
Does the way that Jesus speaks about the planting of a kernel of corn make us question our motives? Those who choose not to plant the seeds of their lives after the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will end up losing their lives. What is born of the flesh is flesh, but Spirit gives birth to Spirit (John 3:6). "A man reaps what he sows" (Galatians 6:7b NIV).
1) Christ-like humility: We plant the seed of our lives in Jesus by picking up our crosses and following after His example. It is as Jesus said, those who follow Him must serve Him (John 12:26). "The process of dying is the process of yielding up everything to those forces that are opposed to stationary barreness. … What was true of the Christ as a "corn of wheat" is also true of the Christian, except he die to the old self-life---he abideth alone". (James Smith. Handfulls On Purpose. Volume VII. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997, reprint, p. 181). Our dying to self comes by the way that we serve Jesus as our Lord and Savior, picking up our crosses as we follow after Him.
2) Conceit buster: C.S. Lewis recounts that when he first started going to church he disliked the hymns, which he considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music. But as he continued, he said, “I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots. It gets you out of your solitary conceit. https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/5106/c-s-lewis-recounts-that-when-he-first-started-by-sermon-central
MAGNETIC MOTION
How is the cross magnetic? The cross is magnetic for ____ reasons.
1) Priceless price: The cross is magnetic because it illustrates the unconditional love of God, through Jesus Christ His only begotten Son who paid a price no one else would ever be able to pay.
2) Atonement: Jesus paid the price for our sins and made it possible for us to be reconciled to God through His redemption. Jesus took our sinfulness to the cross in exchange for the righteousness that He gives to all who will receive it (II Corinthians 5:21).
3) Not an amulet: The cross is not a good luck charm! “A young soldier who was fighting in Italy during World War II jumped into a foxhole just ahead of some bullets. He immediately tried to deepen the hole for more protection and was frantically scraping away the dirt with his hands. He unearthed something metal and brought up a crucifix, left by a former resident of the foxhole. A moment later another leaping figure landed beside him as the shells screamed overhead. When the soldier got a chance to look, he saw his new companion was an army chaplain. Holding up the crucifix, the soldier gasped, “Am I glad to see you! How do you work this thing?” (James S. Hewett. ed. Unlimited illustrations. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988, p. 254). The cross is not magical! It is a reminder of great sacrifice that Jesus made for our redemption.
How does the way we carry our crosses draw others to Jesus? Carrying our crosses is about self-denial, sacrifice and surrender.
1) Putting others first: Carrying our crosses means we put the needs of others above our own. “Kevin and Ryan, ages five and three, were waiting for breakfast one Saturday morning. As their mother was preparing some pancakes, the boys began to argue loudly over who would get the first one from the griddle. The mother saw an opportunity for a moral lesson and said, “If Jesus were sitting here he would say “Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait”. Kevin immediately turned to his younger brother and said, “Okay Ryan, you be Jesus”. (Michael E. Hodgin. 1002 Humorous Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 318). Doesn’t that sadly reflect the selfish attitude of many in our world today? How can a witness like that magnetically draw others?
2) True greatness: Matthew 20:26-27 says “… whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. (27) And whoever desires to be chief among you, let him be your servant; (MKJV). True greatness is about humility, serving others with unconditional love and picking up our crosses to follow in His footsteps!
3) Service until the next cue: How many countless stories do we hear about someone whose sacrificed their lives to save another? Jesus did the same thing for us. Not all of the ways we serve will put us in danger where we could loose our lives to help another in the name of our Lord. Jesus wants us to carry our crosses in serving others until the next cue when He comes back. Jesus died on the cross to conquer sin, death, and the fear of death. Jesus also said He was coming back some day and He wants us to serve until the next cue when He comes back.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
