200415.ser
“The Attractive Nature of Christ’s Death”
CLBC March 21, 2004 a.m.
Subject: The death of Christ
Theme: The Means of Bringing the Gospel to the World
Passage: John 12: 20 - 36
Their coming appears to have been a signal to Jesus.
In preparation for Easter, I have been preaching to you about “The Liberating Purpose of Christ’s Death”, that his death set slaves from the bondage of sin; “The Voluntary Nature of Christ’s Death” that his life was freely laid down for us according to an eternal plan to save His people ; and about “The Substitutionary Nature of Christ’s Death” that in his death he bore our griefs; our sorrows; our transgressions; our iniquities; our peace. Now this morning, I want to speak to you about “The Attractive Nature of Christ’s Death”
It was the week of Passover, and Jesus had come back to Jerusalem after a few months of quiet ministry in outlying areas. He came to Bethany to the house of Mary and Martha. Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, was there, and Mary anointed his feet with a pound of precious perfume. When Judas Iscariot complained about the waste, Jesus rebuked him. “Let her
alone; she has kept this for the day of my burial.”
And then in John12:20 we read that “certain Greeks came to Phillip and said, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” and their coming appears to have been a signal which Jesus was expecting.
I suggest to you that
1. The coming of these Gentiles was a signal that the hour of His Passion had come. 12: 23 - 29
2. The coming of these Gentiles was a signal that the time for the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom had come. 12: 31
3. The coming of the Gentiles was a signal that the time for the spread of Christ’s gospel to the whole world had come. 12:32
1. The coming of these Gentiles was a signal that the hour of His Passion had come. 12: 23 - 29
a. His hour had come. v. 23
“My hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” Imagine using that term for what was about to happen. You folk who saw the Passion movie, would you describe what you saw as Jesus being glorified? I doubt that you would use that expression. Jesus was under no delusions about what was about to happen. Over and over again he had told the disciples that he
was going to die. So if he knew that he was going to die and had some understanding of the brutal nature of the trial and the scourgings, and the crucifixion, how would he describe what was coming as being glorified?
I believe the answer lies in the fact that he never saw the crucifixion as separated from his
resurrection and the result which would come from his Passion.
Luke 9:22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." Luke 18:31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.
Luke 18:32 "For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. Luke 18:33 "They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again."
Look at the next verse in John 12: 34 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
In this little parable, you can see again that he clearly sees the relation between his death (like a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies) and the results that would be produced by his death
(if it dies it produces much grain.)
b. His soul was troubled 12: 27
As Jesus sensed that his hour had come, he also began to feel the pressure of His coming death.
John 12:27 "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.”
Is this not the same thing which he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane? “Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done”
There was no escaping the cross for Jesus. I believe that Jesus could already feel the sin of the world pressing in upon Him in all its horror. Yet He cries out to His Father, “Father glorify Your name!”
And now comes that phenomena that was repeated three times during the earthly life of Jesus. A voice spoke from heaven, “I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again.”
Do you hear what this is saying? The death of the Lord Jesus Christ brought glory to God. This is no chance happening. This is an eternal plan.
2. The coming of these Gentiles was a signal that the time for the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom had come. John 12:31 "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
I won’t spend long on this point this morning, but oh, dear ones, it is worth the most intense Bible study that you might understand the full meaning of these words. I would urge you to spend time with your Bible in personal study on this matter. Look up Matthew 12:29 in which Jesus speaks about binding the strong man and robbing his house. Look up Luke 10:17 - 19 about Jesus watching Satan fall from heaven. Look up Revelation 12: 9 - 11 about Satan being cast out
of heaven.
Sufficient for this morning that we look at two verses: Hebrews 2:14 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” and 1 John 3:8 “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
The film showed fairly clearly Satan’s sense of triumph in seeing Jesus on the cross; and his utter terror at Christ’s resurrection.
Dear ones, many sincere Christians have never fully understood the impact of Christ’s death upon Satan and his kingdom of darkness. We are too prone to look around us at the terrible things happening in this world and to walk by sight, rather than walking by faith.
Prior to the crucifixion of Jesus, the gospel was largely confined to the nation of Israel. There were always those Gentiles who were led to the God of heaven through their exposure to Israel and the scriptures, but by and large the Gentile nations were under the full deception of the evil one. But with the cross of Jesus Christ, all the Old Testament prophecies about the light going forth to the Gentile, and about the Gentiles streaming into the Kingdom of God found their fulfillment.
Satan’s house was plundered; the blindness which he had cast over the nations was broken and the way was opened for the release of many of his prisoners.
3. The coming of the Gentiles was a signal that the time for the spread of Christ’s gospel to the whole world had come. John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [peoples] to Myself."
a. The necessity of Jesus being lifted up
Do you remember the fiery serpents in the wilderness. When the people of Israel murmured and complained God released among them fiery serpents whose bite brought certain death. But when they cried out to God, he told Moses to make a brass model of the fiery serpents and lift it up on a pole in their midst, and everyone who looked by faith at that representation of the serpent was healed and lived.
We have seen this illustration before in John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,”
The cross did not catch Jesus by surprise. From the beginning he knew exactly how he would die - that he would be lifted up on a cross, bearing the curse of sin in his own body.
b. His being lifted up on the cross would bring salvation to the whole world.
When Jesus speaks about drawing all to Himself, he is not predicting a universal salvation.
When he told the Jewish leaders that he was going away and they would search for him and not find him, but would die in their sins, he certainly made it clear that not everyone would be saved.
The reality is that there is no salvation for anyone apart from faith in Jesus Christ.
So what then did he mean by speaking of drawing all to himself?
Well in the first place the word “peoples” is not in the text. He was speaking about drawing manner of people, from all the earth to himself.
This is what Jesus saw, when he looked upon these Gentile who came, asking to see Jesus. He saw in them a signal that the time had come for the temple curtain to be torn open, for the gospel to be taken from the Jews and given to a nation bearing the fruit of it. As Isaiah says about the results of His death, He shall see His seed, and be satisfied.
Dear ones, this was the hour at which the gospel passed over from the Jewish race to the
whole world.
This is why the gospel has come to Canada. This is what has allowed you to be saved.This is why we send missionaries to other lands. This is why we anticipate a positive result from the preaching of the gospel, in whatever land it is preached, in whatever language it is proclaimed.
Dear ones this is the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing
that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’"
This is the reason that Revelation 5:9 tells us “And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,”
This is the attractive power of the Death of Christ.
“Father, glorify your name? I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Throughout these 2000 years God has been glorifying his own name and the person of His Son. He is glorifying His Son this morning through the preaching of His Word.
Have you glorified His Son by receiving Him and by believing in Him as your Saviour and Lord?
Amen
