If you knew your time on earth was winding down, I think you might say some meaningful things to those you love. Jesus spent around forty months publicly teaching. Now, Jesus speaks in what was to be His next-to-last sermon that He will deliver in His life.
The date is Sunday, March 29, 33 AD. It’s likely that it is Palm Sunday when our story happens.
Today’s Scripture
“Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 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. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 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’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a 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 is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them” (John 12:20-36).
This marks the fortieth message in the series on the Gospel of John.
Moving through a book of the Bible is a time-honored practice that generations of believers have practiced for centuries.
So, we return back to the gospel of John today.
We began our study of the Gospel of John in late 2023.
An accountant will implement internal controls to ensure a business prevents fraud. A nurse will double-check before administering medicine. A building inspector will ensure that a building adheres to building codes to ensure that fires are rare. Just as this, a pastor walks through a book in the Bible, so the Bible takes over our minds and hearts.
Many believers and many churches seek to pick and choose the passages of the Bible that confirm our beliefs. But slowly moving through an entire book of the Bible will conform our beliefs to the mind of God. Look forward to studying the gospel of John for much of this year and the early part of next.
Sermon Preview
1. Look What Time It Is
2. Sense What’s Happening
3. Feel What’s at Stake
1. Look What Time It Is
“And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’” (John 12:23).
On the surface, some people wish to meet Jesus and approach His disciples to secure a meeting. These Greeks approach Philip, and he, in turn, approaches Andrew, who both go to Jesus. Philip and Andrew are two of Jesus’ twelve disciples. They are the only two disciples with Greek names, so it’s natural that the Greeks approach them, hoping for an audience with Jesus. When these Greeks want to meet Jesus, we would expect Jesus to say something to the effect, “I’d love to meet these men.”
1.1 My Hour Has Come!
Instead, Jesus seemingly looks at an invisible watch on his wrist to announce to all, “My hour has come.”1 In fact, verse 23 could be translated this way: “It has arrived!” with an exclamation point at the end.2 The very first word out of Jesus’ mouth in the original is the word “arrive.” Just as Jesus shouted from the cross, “It is finished,” Jesus now shouts, “It’s here! My time has come!”3
This is a head-scratcher for many. There’s no evidence that Jesus ever met or even spoke with these Greeks. Why would Jesus act this way?
1.2 The Gospel of John’s History of “The Hour”
When you begin reading the Gospel of John, you hear as if it were a quiet musical score underneath all the stories, which grows increasingly louder and more frenetic as you turn the pages. Beginning piano students will know the importance of keeping time to the metronome. John’s gospel works like a drumbeat that starts low and slow and only increases in volume and in tempo. It seems that Jesus is listening to a drumbeat from another place. Like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs, the reference to “the hour” is an important clue to understanding Jesus in John’s gospel. The hour was always in the future UNTIL NOW.
When Mary, Jesus’ mother, asked him to do something about a possible embarrassing situation at a wedding several years before, Jesus said, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4b). Jesus spoke of the hour again when He told the famous “Woman at the Well” about a future hour that was coming when people would worship God everywhere (John 4:21). Jesus also spoke about a future hour when every dead person will hear His voice and come out of their graves (John 5:28). And while in Galilee, Jesus’ stepbrothers approach Him. They advise Him to go to a religious festival in Jerusalem so He could attract more disciples. But, Jesus mysteriously declined their request and refused to travel south to Jerusalem, saying, “My time has not yet come…” (John 7:5; 8). And then we read how people sought to arrest Jesus twice, but to no avail, because “his hour had not yet come” (John 7:30; 8:20). Now, Jesus shouts, “My hour is here!”
1.1.1 What is “The Hour”?
If peek ahead into the next chapter, we find out what this mysterious hour is: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).
In John’s gospel, glorification = crucifixion. Jesus calls His death on the cross His hour of glory. Jesus isn’t glorified despite the cross, but because of the cross. Jesus always had an eye for time, for He knew when the hour was and when it was not.
His enemies could not kill Him, His brothers could not convince Him, and even His mother could not understand Him, all because Jesus was following a clock that no one else could read. Again, Jesus seems to be following a metronome that no one else can hear. Jesus knows the exact right moment when He is to die. Not a moment too soon and not a moment too late.
1.2 How Did Jesus Know?
“And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’” (John 12:23).
How did Jesus know that the decisive moment had arrived?
1.2.1 Did the Father Reveal It?
Did God the Father reveal to Jesus the significance of this precise time? John shares many insights on how the Father and the Son have this unique and special relationship. Only eternity will begin to explore the depth of their relationship. Perhaps the Father communicated with the Son that the time was at hand when Jesus spent so many hours alone in prayer.
1.2.2 Did Something Signal It?
Or, did Jesus know the time was at hand because of certain events that had transpired in the past few days? There were many to pick from: the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, or His chasing the money changers out of the Temple. All of these significant moments seem to combine to initiate something in Jesus that functions like a dog whistle, for only He perceives the climactic moment. Jesus is wearing a watch only He can see. He now knows the hour has come.
1. Look What Time It Is
2. Sense What’s Happening
“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” (John 12:24-25).
Again, this will be Jesus’ next-to-last sermon that He will deliver in His life. Jesus speaks on Sunday, March 29, 33 AD. It’s likely Palm Sunday when our story happens.
2.1 A Grain of Wheat
Wheat is a bigger deal than you think it is. Pasta, bread, flour, crackers, and cereal all come from wheat. Your birthday cake and your Saturday morning pancakes are made from wheat. Even your flour tortillas are a byproduct of wheat. Wheat shows up in surprising places, as it shows up in Lip balm and shampoo. Wheat grows in more climates than any other grain. It can even grow in deserts. Wheat comprises an estimated 20% of the world’s calories. Everything needed to grow a new wheat plant is inside that one tiny grain. It’s a full “life kit.”
Jesus takes a grain of wheat, which is ¼ of an inch long and 1/10 of an inch long, and teaches us about the death and resurrection. Jesus likens His death on the cross to a grain of wheat falling on the ground. If the grain of wheat doesn’t touch the ground, it’s isolated and sterile. The grain of wheat only does you good when it dies.
2.2 Double Amen
Did you know that Jesus said amen? The word amen isn’t a “Christian” way of saying, “My prayers are over now. I’m signing off.” Instead, the word amen has a long, rich tradition dating all the way back to the ancient Jewish believers of our Old Testament. The word “amen” means “ truth,” “trustworthy,” or “truly.”4 When Jesus drops a double amen, what comes next is graveyard serious.
2.3 I Am a Grain of Wheat
Jesus speaks of Himself here. Jesus’ death is the grain of wheat that had to die. Jesus is the grain of wheat that had to be multiplied.5 Jesus’ death generates a huge harvest.6 The path to glory is HIS death; again, the roadway to Jesus’ glory is His death.
Jesus had to die if He was to produce a great deal of fruit. Jesus uses a farming analogy because just about everyone was involved in farming.
Jesus’ death is necessary to generate life. Jesus’ death is not in vain. A thousand times no! Jesus is the grain of wheat that falls into the ground to die. Jesus is saying, “That kernel of wheat is Me. If I had not died, I would have stayed alone. I’d be the only child of God in the world. I’d be the only one who knew the Father intimately. I’d be the only one who basked in His presence. Because I died, there are multitudes who can know him and do know him.”7
It’s only when He dies that He produces more success than you thought was imaginable.
Unless a kernel of wheat disappears, goes into the ground, buried, dead, it remains alone.
1. Look What Time It Is
2. Sense What’s Happening
3. Feel What’s at Stake
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27).
If you had been with Jesus and asked Him, “How do you feel right now?” He would have said, “My soul is troubled.”
3.1 Garden of Gethsemane in John’s Gospel
Unlike the other three gospels, the Gospel of John doesn’t have the Garden of Gethsemane account. Remember, it’s in the Garden that Jesus prays the same prayer three times. Luke’s gospel gives the play by play: “And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:41-42, 44).
Had you taken Jesus’ blood pressure at this moment, it would have been off the charts! Now, Jesus isn’t in the Garden yet. He’s preaching to His disciples. It’s either Sunday or Monday when Jesus says, “I am the grain of wheat that dies,” but Thursday is just around the corner. Thursday, He will enter into Gethsemane. This is Jesus’ hour of great glory! On Friday, Jesus’ body descends into the ground, but on Sunday, His body emerges from the grave so He can give life!
3.2 Jesus is Tormented by the Hour
How does Jesus feel now that this hour has finally come? He’s scared of it; He lives in dread of it. The horror and misery that He fully knows awaits Him in the coming days makes a deep impact upon Him – it torments His very soul. No sooner has He spoken about His hour coming than he blurts out a prayer: “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27). The Disciples could sense the very voice of Jesus tremor at this moment. Do you have any idea what it took to share the inner confidence of Jesus?
3.3 Unshaken
It was really unusual to see Jesus shaken. For you veterans out there, you probably have known some soldiers who were made of steel. My dad talked about Marine pilots in Vietnam who were his heroes. While soldiers and first responders are our heroes, Jesus is on a different level. No one and nothing could phase Jesus.
3.3.1 Movie Star Courage
John Wayne portrayed courage on the big screen for one generation. Russel Crowe played the courageous Gladiator for another. While Denzel Washington plays “Mr. Cool and Collected” in all his roles.
Jesus didn’t play a role, and He isn’t showcasing heroism for Hollywood.
3.3.2 Pilate
He could look Pilate in the eye as Pilate threatened Jesus with death. Pilate said in effect, “Should you be talking to me that way? You know I hold the power of life and death over you.” Jesus looked at Pilate with steely eyes to say, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37b). Pilate didn’t faze Him.
3.3.3 Herod
At one point, some of the leaders of Israel warned Jesus to get out of the city because Herod wanted to kill Him.
“And he said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course’’” (Luke 13:32).
Jesus didn’t back down from the threat of Herod but instead said, “You tell that fox I’m going nowhere. If he wants me, He knows where to find me” (Luke 13:32). Jesus’ knees didn’t knock, and His lip didn’t quiver when He told Herod the equivalent of “Come and take it.” Herod didn’t faze Jesus.
3.3.4 The Sanhedrin
And Jesus doesn’t fear even the Sanhedrin at his trial. The Sanhedrin was the Supreme Court of Jesus’ day. When the high priest questioned Jesus with Jesus’ very life on the line, Jesus boldly spoke this: “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” (John 18:20b-21).
It’s as if Jesus says, “I didn’t stutter. You’ve heard me clearly. I am not backing down and not backing up even an inch.” I bet if you spoke before the Supreme Court, your knees would knock a bit. The Supreme Court of his day didn’t faze him.
3.3.5 Jesus Feels It
Yet, in contrast to all this, Jesus feels a certain turmoil here: “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27).
Right in the middle of Jesus’ sermon, He admits, “My soul is troubled.” Yes, Jesus stood at the crossroads. He was horrified by the preview of His death, but the thought of following anything other than God’s path for His life equally appalled Him. And just three days later, Jesus will pray at Gethsemane, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). Jesus’ soul was shaken because He was taking on Himself the crushing judgment of God’s wrath on His lips. Only days from our story, John would be holding Jesus’ mother while Jesus’ very blood was splattered over his face. He would watch his friend and his Master’s muscles spasm to gather air on the cross.
3.4 The Path to Glory
Right in the middle of all this, the voice of God the Father cracks open the heavens: “Jesus prays, ‘Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’” (John 12:28). Jesus says at the end of verse 27, “For this purpose I have come to this hour.” What purpose? The answer is at the beginning of verse 28, Father, glorify your name.” Jesus says, “That is why my death approaches. I will honor the name of My Father with my death.”
3.5 Jesus Saw the Hour Coming
Jesus was conscious from the start of eternity that everything was moving to this hour. Something inside Jesus could feel the divine time clock moving forward at this moment.
Remember, Jesus already knew. He knew when He entered the Garden of Gethsemane that the soldiers were on the way. He knew when He entered the Garden of Gethsemane, there was going to be torture. He knew when He entered the Garden of Gethsemane, there were going to be nails splintering His bones. He knew when He entered the Garden of Gethsemane, there were going to be thorns in His scalp and there was going to be a spear in His side. He knew when He entered the Garden of Gethsemane, there was going to be the slow death of suffocation awaiting Him on the cross. And He knew in the Garden what He was presently experiencing was nothing more than a mosquito bite compared to the pain and torment of the rejection of the Father. Jesus knew this hour was coming before He stepped off the porch of Heaven to step into the manager at Bethlehem.
1. Look What Time It Is
2. Sense What’s Happening
3. Feel What’s at Stake
4. Grasp What’s Going Down
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:32-33).
Be ever so thankful for the death of Jesus for sinners.
4.1 Satan Defeated
Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). Satan is stripped of all his powers at the cross. He is final defeat is coming, but his defeat at the cross is the one that secures and guarantees his final defeat. Jesus stripped Satan of the one weapon that he had that could damn us: namely, the valid accusation of our unforgiven sin. That weapon is taken from his hand. He is disarmed. We have no unforgiven sin. The blood of Jesus covers our sin—all of it!8
4.2 The Death of Jesus Draws You
Jesus lifted up on a cross is the most significant hour in world history. Have you made your most significant hour in your personal history? Will you say, “I believe that my judgment is over, and I have passed from death to life.” Will you say, “And I believe that Satan has no claim on me, but is cast out of the courtroom of my vindication.” Will you say, “And I believe that Christ purchased me and secured me invincibly by his blood, and I am not my own. I belong to him, my Savior and my God.” You know if you believe, he says in verse 36, you don’t just see the light of Christ; you become children of the light.9
EndNotes
1 In determining what John precisely means by “the hour,” Fernando F. Segovia is helpful here: “is used to characterize the final stage of the Word of God’s journey into the world, a period of time which comprises a rather wide number of constitutive events or components.” Fernando F. Segovia, “The Journey(s) of the Word of God: A Reading of the Plot of the Fourth Gospel,” Semeia 53 (1991): 37.
2 Murray J. Harris, John, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. (B&H Academic, 2015), 231.
3 Frederick Dale Bruner, The Gospel of John: A Commentary. (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2012), 713.
4 Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, “?????” Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977).
5 Philip Schaff, Ed., St. Augustin: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1888), 285.
6 D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 438.
7 Timothy J. Keller, “Fall into the Ground,” The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
8 I owe this language to John Piper, “For This Purpose I Have Come to This Hour,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014). (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
9 I owe this language to John Piper, “For This Purpose I Have Come to This Hour,” Sermons from John Piper (2000–2014). (Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014).
