RUNNING INTO THE WALL
John 12:27-50
S: Jesus
Th: Believing in Jesus
Pr: NOW IS THE TIME TO BELIEVE IN JESUS.
?: How? How do we connect with belief?
KW: Issues
TS: We will find in our study of John 12:27-50 three issues that we approach in order to connect with belief.
The _____ issue is…
I. IGNORANCE (27-36a)
II. INCREDULITY (36b-43)
III. INVITATION (44-50)
Version: ESV
RMBC 18 April 04 AM
INTRODUCTION:
What is your method when it comes to making decisions?
ILL Notebook: Decision (toss 14 times -- modified)
By the time Ted arrived at the Bills game, the first quarter was almost over.
"Why are you so late?" his friend asked.
“I had to toss a coin to decide between going to church and coming to the game."
"How long could that have taken you?"
"Well, I had to toss it 115 times."
It is interesting that our methods often reflect our desired outcomes, don’t they?
TRANSITION:
This was certainly true for the Jewish leadership when it came to the subject of Jesus.
As you may remember in our previous studies in the gospel of John, the leaders had already determined to kill Jesus.
It was a “done deal” in their minds, but the “how” it was going to get done was still undecided.
They had decided that they were going to wait until after the Passover, but then an event happened that forced their hand, so to speak.
It was the Triumphal Entry.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem, on the back of a donkey, thus proclaiming Himself as King and Messiah.
This was just too much for the leadership.
Thus…
1. After the “Triumphal Entry,” panic sets in among the leadership.
It was their conclusion, “Look the whole world has gone after Him.”
It certainly was an overstatement.
The whole world had not, but this event was too much for the Jewish leadership.
They had to do something now.
The wait was over.
They just could not let this rising popularity of Jesus go unchecked.
He was going to destroy everything they stood for if they didn’t stop Him.
So…
2. The time had come.
They were going to do it.
But, they may have felt it was going to be a surprise to Jesus, but it wasn’t.
Do you know why?
It was because the time had come.
Jesus knew the hour had arrived.
He knew He was facing death.
And in so doing, He makes a final appeal.
It is an appeal that reaches down to the ages of us today.
It is time to believe.
Jesus knows that we will wait and wait.
He knows we will put it off.
He knows we will wait until a more convenient time.
But now is the time…
3. NOW IS THE TIME TO BELIEVE IN JESUS.
The challenge before us today is “how.”
How do we do this?
How do we connect with belief?
Well…
4. We will find in our study of John 12:27-50 three issues that we approach in order to connect with belief.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first issue is IGNORANCE (27-36a).
Jesus was faced with those that were ignorant of the urgency of the situation.
(27) "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. (28) Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." (29) The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." (30) Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. (31) Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. (32) 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. (34) 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?" (35) 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. (36) While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
As we read through this passage, we see that…
1. Jesus anticipates the trouble that is coming.
The text here tells us that because of what is looming ahead for Jesus, He is in a continuous state of turmoil.
His soul is continually troubled.
You see, Jesus had no illusions about what was coming.
This was going to be a terrible ordeal.
The horror of hell was coming, and He knew it.
It was inevitable.
It was inevitable because it is why He has come.
This is His commission.
This is the hour that must be faced and passed through.
We see, though, that Jesus understands the priority.
He knows that His role belongs to the loving, sovereign plan of God.
He will glorify the Father.
He will bring honor to the Father.
So, He prays to the Father, knowing that His daily strength has found its source in Him.
So, as Jesus prays, the Father answers.
He encourages the heart of Jesus by affirming His pleasure.
He is the beloved son who was willing to endure what lay before Him.
Interestingly, no one else really understands what is going on.
It was heard as a sound, but not as words, so as a result, the event received various interpretations.
And though it certainly would have been an encouragement to the heart of Jesus, He tells them that it was for their sake, and not His.
Why?
Because something huge was on the verge of happening.
They were being given the evidence that they were about to experience something out of this world.
It is at this point that we are confronted to understand we live in a world that is deluded by Satanic values.
We are manipulated by them.
And we have no idea how helpless we are to change.
Thankfully, though, Jesus is determined not to leave it that way…then and now.
For…
2. Jesus looks forward to the defeat of Satan.
The mechanism for this defeat was the cross.
Jesus knows that the cross is coming.
And so does Satan.
But because Satan is neither omniscient, nor omnipresent, it is apparent that he does not fully understand the consequences of the cross.
To him, the cross looks like a victory.
ILL Notebook: Win (Switch hit -- modfied)
With the scored tied, Wendy was at bat for her softball league when her coach gave these instructions:
“As soon as you get on first, prepare for the next batter to bunt. There won’t be a signal, so be ready. We want to get you into scoring position to win this game!”
The pitcher threw the ball, and Wendy hit a home run. As she crossed the plate to win the game, her coach yelled, “Well, you sure blew that play!”
The cross hardly looks like a winning play.
But, if you will pardon the analogy, Jesus is going to hit it out of the park and win the game.
So, what is meant for evil, and what is evil, turns out to be for the greatest good of all time.
Satan will be a huge loser when Jesus is lifted up.
Jesus again is referring to the cross.
He was going to take the sin of the world upon Himself.
There are those, of course, that simply don’t understand what is going on, or what Jesus is about.
They think that the Messiah is going to live forever so this talk about death is confusing to them.
Not only that, they want a conquering hero.
They want all their troubles with Rome to disappear.
They are right in one sense, of course.
The Messiah is eternal.
But their preconceived notions of what Jesus must be like leaves them confused and perplexed.
Nevertheless…
3. Jesus communicates that opportunity is waning for His listeners.
Now is the time to believe.
Time is short.
They should not wait.
They should take the opportunity to believe while the light is clearly shining.
II. The second issue is INCREDULITY (36b-43).
Jesus was faced with those that refused to believe.
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. (37) Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, (38) so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
"Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
(39) Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
(40) "He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them."
(41) Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. (42) Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; (43) for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
ILL Notebook: Disbelief (celebrating the raise -- modified)
Heather landed a good job with an accounting firm, and after a while she got a generous raise.
The day she found out about it, her husband picked her up from work, and they stopped for ice cream.
As they continued home, Heather blurted out, "Isn’t it hard to believe that I have a job that pays this much money?"
Just then, she went to toss the last of her ice cream cone out the window. However, the window was closed, and it smacked against the glass.
Her husband replied calmly, "Yes."
Well, there truly are things that are hard to believe.
But, the disbelief in Jesus should have left heads scratching.
For…
1. Even though there was plenty of evidence, Jesus was surrounded by disbelief.
The refusal was stunning, so Jesus hides Himself.
He knows what is coming, but He will not die until the time is absolutely right to die.
He will not be seized before His time.
He will die when He wills.
The text reveals to us the guilt of His opponents.
They did not believe, and yet John wants us to understand that we should not be fully surprised.
Prophecy from Isaiah demonstrated this unbelief.
God was in their midst.
He was in human flesh.
Yet, they failed to see it.
But it’s not that they couldn’t.
They wouldn’t.
And it was because they wouldn’t, that they eventually couldn’t.
Then the text clues us in on that…
2. There were some that believed Jesus, but they lacked courage to act on it.
As we look at the grammatical construction of this text, John presents us a paradox.
He points to a genuine faith.
There were some men in the highest circles of the Jewish leadership that believed in Jesus.
It is apparent, then, that the ministry of Jesus was not without its effect even in the highest circles.
But the faith of these men was apparently immature.
They were not ready yet to face the opposition because they feared excommunication from the temple.
Now we come to…
III. The third issue is INVITATION (44-50).
Jesus now faces His listeners with one last tender appeal.
(44) And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. (45) And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. (46) I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. (47) If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. (48) The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. (49) For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment — what to say and what to speak. (50) And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me."
These last verses are really a summary of the whole of Jesus ministry.
The author John gives them to us so that we might not miss the essence of Jesus’ ministry as He prepares for the cross.
For…
1. Jesus has come to do the work of the Father.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus has been revealing God.
Jesus has been uncovering the reality of the supernatural world.
He is unveiling things as they really are.
So, when you trust in Jesus, you trust in God the Father.
And when you trust in Jesus, He helps us out of the darkness.
Do you like walking around in the dark?
It is a challenge, isn’t it?
You stumble around.
You walk into walls.
You bump into furniture.
Sometimes, you really get hurt.
And this is the picture of the world without Jesus.
People don’t know where they are going.
And, the truth is, if they don’t find the light, they really are going to get hurt – eternally!
ILL Notebook: Light (no darkness here)
There is an old tale about a cave which lived under the ground, as caves have the habit of doing. It had spent its life in darkness. One day, it heard a voice calling to it: "Come up into the light; come and see the sunshine."
The cave retorted: "I don’t know what you mean; there isn’t anything but darkness."
Finally the cave ventured forth and was surprised to see light everywhere. Looking up to the sun, Cave said: "Come with me and see the darkness."
The sun asked: "What is the darkness?"
The cave replied: "Come and see."
And so one day the sun accepted the invitation. As it entered the cave it said: "Now show me your darkness." But there was no darkness!
Well…
2. Jesus has come to bring light to darkness.
Jesus does not want people to continue in darkness.
He has come to deliver them from it, not to imprison them.
So Jesus exhorts us to go to the light while we can.
He gives us opportunity over and over again to believe.
For…
3. Jesus has come to save.
Jesus has come to save us from ourselves.
He has come to save us from our sin.
As the apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:13…
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written,"Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"
And again Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:21…
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He did this because of His great love.
He would not leave His creation helpless and hopeless.
He has come to help.
Now, all we need to do is respond.
APPLICATION:
So…
1. Do you think you have all the time in the world?
You see, anytime you understand that God is speaking to your heart, that is the time to respond.
If God is speaking to your heart right now…now is the time to believe in Jesus.
For when God is speaking, when His word is illuminating your mind, and touching your heart, this is the time to move.
When you are seeing reality from God’s perspective, it is the time to seize the moment.
Don’t let it pass.
Act on it.
For it is so very dangerous to pass on the opportunity!
2. Are you staring at the evidence instead of moving on it?
God’s Word, over and over again, ushers us a warning.
If we keep saying “no” to God in our life, we will become hardened to the truth.
And we won’t recognize it anymore.
Don’t let this happen to you!
If God is working in your heart, now is the time for decision.
ILL Notebook: Decision (Antiochus)
When Antiochus invaded Egypt, the Romans delivered an ultimatum to the ambitious Syrian who would be a king. Hoping to gain time, he told the Roman tribune that he needed to think over their demands. He would give them an answer later. The tribune took swift action. He drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus and said, "Decide before you step out of that circle."
God is holy, almighty and glorious.
His throne is the immovable center of the universe.
He rules over all.
And lovingly, He graciously offers humankind salvation and forgiveness through His Son, Jesus.
So…
3. God draws a circle around us called life, and he tells us to make our decision concerning Him before we step out of that circle.
So, what is your decision?
Do you believe?
PRAYER
"Thank You, God, for speaking to my heart. I confess my sin against You. I want to give you the key to my life, Lord Jesus, and I acknowledge You as my Savior forever. Thank You for giving me a clean heart and a new life. Thank You, God, for making sure I heard about You today."
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
It is time…it is time to put away your ignorance and learn about Jesus.
It is time…it is time to put away your disbelief and examine the evidence with both your mind and your heart.
It is time…it is time to hear the invitation of Jesus and respond.
Now to him who is able to establish you by the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
RESOURCES:
Morris, Leon, The New International Commentary: The Gospel According to John
Hughes, R. Kent, Preaching the Word: John
Sermoncentral.com
Things Are Looking Up, Mike Rickman
Looking Into the Barrel of Judgment, Bruce Goettsche
Two Roads, Two Different Destinations, Bruce Goettsche
Faithful Belief and Fatal Unbelief, Ray Stedman
John: The Trial, David Petticrew
Playing to am Audience of One, Joel Smith
