When The Hour Had Come

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.