The Calling Of The Passion Of Christ

Jesus Predicts His Death

John 12

23Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ’Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!"

29Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

30Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."

33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

I. The Cost of the Passion (John 12:23-24)

John 12

23Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ’Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Why was His heart troubled? Not only would he face the physical horrors of crucifixion, but also the horror of being separated from God on the cross. When God placed all of the sins of mankind on the sinless Christ. We are reminded in 1 Peter 2:24:

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

While Christ bore our sins, He experienced separation from His heavenly Father. This separation occurred during the three hours of darkness on the cross. This darkness during the crucifixion represents God’s divine judgment. The cross became the place for the pouring out of His wrath.

Jesus Christ was not merely one man many crucified; He was the recipient of God’s wrath. God was pouring out His divine fury on His son, so He pulls the blinds. The darkness at the cross is God judging the sins of the world.

Christ is often associated with light. When Christ was born, a great light appeared. It says that the “the glory of the Lord shone” around the shepherds. Christ was associated with light throughout His life and ministry.

It says in John 1:4-5:

”In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

For the first time, however, Christ becomes associated with darkness. Where His birth is associated with life, His death becomes associated with darkness.

Consider 2 Corinthians 5:21:

2 Corinthians 5

21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Some of us have seen the movie, The Passion of Christ. We see in this film a graphic portrayal of the physical death of Christ.

From seeing this film we got a greater appreciation of the physical horror Christ experienced. Even in seeing this film, we cannot comprehend the physical horror He experienced.

Beyond the physical horror, however was the spiritual horror. This represents an even greater dimension beyond the physical suffering of Christ we will never grasp. We see a glimpse of the horror He experienced when He cried out to God in Matthew 27:46:

Matthew 27

46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (New International Version)

Until that point, He had always spoken of God as His Father, but now see that that intimacy was gone because "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us." (2 Cor. 5:21)

John Mac Arthur points out that this is a “miracle in reverse”—a supernatural happening beyond our comprehension. For the first time in eternity God becomes separated from God. God the Father turns His back on God the Son. This blows my mind! This has also blown the minds of many theologians throughout the ages!