SERIES: The Gospel of John
The Hour Has Come
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: On this wonderful Easter Sunday, will you please turn in your Bibles to the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John? It is Passover. As Jesus enters the Holy City on Palm Sunday, great crowds hail Him as King of Israel, and His enemies are driven to despair, as verse 19 indicates: “Look how the whole world has gone after him!” We pick up the story in verse 20 and read through verse 36.
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, 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. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever 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 soul 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. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince 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 show the kind of death he was going to die.
34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
We come this morning to the last public discourse of Jesus, the last time He addresses the multitudes before His crucifixion. A curious incident occurs in verse 20, where we find certain Greeks who have come to the temple in Jerusalem to worship. We don’t know where they come from or who they are, but it was not uncommon for Gentiles to be attracted to Judaism because of its high moral standards and lofty ideals.
These particular Greeks have come for the Passover feast and have undoubtedly been witnesses of the Triumphal Entry. I further suspect they were in the Court of the Gentiles when Jesus terminated His procession there by casting out the moneychangers and the merchandisers, as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Immensely impressed by the character and authority of this Galilean, they come to Philip, probably on the day after Palm Sunday, and say, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Why these Greeks came to Philip we don’t know, but perhaps it was because “Philip” is a Greek name. But Philip isn’t sure what to do with them, perhaps because Jesus had earlier told His disciples, “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.” So, Philip goes to Andrew and then together they decide to tell Jesus that some Gentiles want to see Him. His response, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,”seems rather strange, but, in fact, it may be the most significant statement in the entire Gospel of John.
I want you to remember with me some earlier references to this “hour” in John’s Gospel. First, 2:4, where at the wedding feast of Cana Jesus’ mother informs Him that the host has run out of wine, implying by her tone of voice that He should do something about it. However, He answers, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”
Then in chapter 7, verse 6, Jesus’ unbelieving brothers urge Him, perhaps sarcastically, to go up to the Feast of Tabernacles so He can get more publicity in His campaign to be the Messiah, and He answers, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.” A few verses later He says, “You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” Chapter 7:30, the enemies of Jesus try to seize Him, but we read, “no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.” Chapter 8:20: “No one seized him, because his time had not yet come.”
Again and again, we are told, “His time had not yet come,” “His time had not yet come,” “His time had not yet come.” Now suddenly, as the Greeks request an audience, we find Jesus saying, “The hour has come.” The divine redemptive clock has reached a critical hour, and Jesus sees the seeking Greeks as the key. Why? Let’s consider four aspects of this “hour.”
Jesus sees the seeking Greeks as an indication that “His hour has come.” (20-23, 27-36)
It is the final hour for Jesus. He calls it “the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified,” and I’m certain that raises, in the minds of His disciples, images of military triumphs and political power, but to Jesus it means something quite different. It refers to the hour of His death. For Him death is His glory, for by means of death He can provide redemption for the whole world. If you wonder why I say verse 23 is referring to His death, look at verse 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. Father, glorify your name!”
John does not record the agonizing experience of Gethsemane, as do the other Gospel writers, but here he does show agreement with them that Jesus went through deep soul-searching as He faced the Cross.
It is His final hour. But it is not the final hour for Jesus only. It is also
It is the final hour for Satan. In verse 31 Jesus says, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.” The “prince of this world” is one of over 30 names and titles which the Scriptures give to Satan. So much does he control the minds of unbelievers that he is justly called their “prince” or “ruler.” Jesus’ imminent death represents a judgment upon this world and in some sense a driving out of Satan. But a driving out from what to where?
If I may take a few moments to do so, I’d like to review for us the fact that six different judgments are laid upon Satan in the Scriptures. First, way back before time, he was cast out of his original position as one of God’s choice angels (Ezek. 28:16). Secondly, judgment was pronounced upon him in the Garden of Eden, according to Gen. 3:14-15. “He (Messiah) shall bruise you on the head. You (Satan) shall bruise him on the heel.” Thirdly, he was judged at the Cross, which is the judgment of which John 12 speaks. Fourthly, he will be cast to the earth in the middle of the Tribulation (Rev. 12:13). Fifthly, he will be confined to the Abyss at the beginning of the Millennium (Rev. 20:2). And finally, he will be cast into the Lake of Fire at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:10). So, the Scriptures trace his fall from the very throne room of God to the heavens to the earth to the bottomless pit to the Lake of Fire.
Now we do not have time this morning to expand upon these judgments. But I would like to say that the most critical of all of them is this one in John 12:31. For it was the Cross which the earlier judgments predicted; it was at the Cross Satan’s power was broken; it was at the Cross he was sentenced; it was at the Cross his fate was sealed. Yes, he’s still alive and seemingly well on planet Earth, but he is in fact like a condemned man enjoying his final meal before facing the firing squad.
Isn’t it ironic that Jesus’ death would usher in Satan’s final hour, for humanly speaking, Jesus’ death seemed to be Satan’s victory? It seemed to be a great triumph of evil over good. But in fact, the Cross was Satan’s downfall, for Jesus’ death was the source of man’s redemption, of his forgiveness of sins, and of eternal life. What caused this grave miscalculation on Satan’s part? He didn’t figure on the resurrection. The resurrection rendered death powerless over Jesus, as 1 Cor. 15 says, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” This is the final hour for Jesus and the final hour for Satan.
It is the final hour for the Jewish nation. Jesus has come to His own people and His own people have not received Him. He has made a bona fide offer to become their King and they have refused Him. They are, in fact, going to put Him to death in less than 100 hours. But Jesus, it seems, here makes one last appeal to them as a nation. He speaks to them in verses 35-36:
“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”
The Jews have just asked Jesus to justify His contention that Messiah must die. You see, they thought Messiah would remain forever, being ignorant of passages like Isaiah 53, which teaches that Messiah must suffer and die before He reigns. So confused are they that they ask, “Who is this Son of Man you are always talking about?” But instead of answering them directly, Jesus urges them to respond to the light in their midst. Let them give up their preconceived notions of a political messiahship and act upon the revelation He is giving them, and their question will be answered.
The light is only here for “a little while.” This applies primarily to Jesus’ presence, for He is about to leave this earth, but it also points to the timeless truth that if we do not use the light, we lose it. I have known individuals who have heard the truth of the Gospel, have experienced the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, have in effect “seen the light,” but have turned away and said, “I’ll consider that later.” Unfortunately, sometimes there is no later. The conviction may pass and never come again. The person may die unexpectedly. It is a very dangerous thing to neglect the light or to procrastinate in accepting it. And it is a very dangerous thing to flirt with darkness.
The Bible says that people love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil, but darkness has a way of overtaking a man and blinding him. Friend, you are hearing the Gospel this morning. The Light, who is Jesus Christ, is being lifted up. Do not turn from the light to the darkness of this world. As Jesus said in verse 36, “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”
Tragically, the Jews will reject the light despite Jesus’ hint here that it is their final hour. Before the generation listening to Him has passed off the scene, the nation of Israel will have gone out of existence. (By the way, to be perfectly accurate I should have put “final” in quotation marks here, because after 19 centuries God began in our lifetime to write one more chapter in Israel’s history, but we cannot speak of that this morning). It was the final hour for Jesus, for Satan, and for the Jewish nation.
It is the hour of opportunity for Gentiles. May I take you back to the Greeks in verse 20? It is no accident that Jesus connects “the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified” with the seeking of the Gentiles. If Israel does not want Him as their Messiah, that will not stop Him from being the Savior of the World. If His own people will not receive Him, then let the pagans come. And come they will by the scores, the hundreds, and the thousands to bathe in the light of the Gospel. And what is that will draw them? Look at verse 32: “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
Sometimes we use the term “to lift up” to mean “exalt.” And in that sense, we should always be lifting up the Savior. But here Jesus is clearly speaking of being lifted up on a Cross. In what sense is the Cross an attraction? Remember the words of “The Old Rugged Cross?”
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
When Jesus says, “I will draw all men to Me,” He isn’t promising that every human being will be saved, for it is made abundantly clear in this Gospel and throughout the NT that many refuse to believe and thus are condemned for eternity. But He is saying that all kinds of people—people from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation—will be drawn to Him by the Cross. The Cross is a great spiritual magnet which draws to Jesus all people of true metal.
It is the final hour for Jesus, for Satan, and for the Jews, but it is the hour of opportunity for us, and it still is so long as Jesus tarries. We hasten on to the second theme of Jesus’ last public discourse.
Jesus reveals the significance of the hour through three amazing paradoxes. (24-26)
May I read 24-26 again?
“I 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. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
I see here three simple and yet profound paradoxes that every disciple of Jesus Christ must confront. A paradox, you know, is a statement that is seemingly opposed to common sense, yet true. Here they are:
Only by death comes life.
Only by spending life do we retain it.
Only by service comes honor.
Only by death comes life. The illustration Jesus uses of the kernel of wheat introduces us to the paradoxical thought that the way to fruitfulness lies in death. Think about it: you can take a seed and let it sit in its package till the sun comes up in the west, but you will never have anything but a seed. The only way that seed will ever sprout and produce new life is if it is buried and dies and decays. In a sense every stalk of wheat or corn stands in its own grave. This principle from the world of horticulture also applies to Jesus. If He does not die, there will be no life for us, for there would be no payment for sins and no future resurrection.
But this principle applies not only to Jesus, but also to His body, the Church. Church history has fostered a famous phrase: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Every time in history there has been a wave of persecution and death because of faith in Jesus Christ, there has been a corresponding outbreak of new life and revival. When I see what is happening morally to our own nation right now, I want to ask, “God, when are you going to send revival and new life to your Church?” But then I stop and realize that death must come first—death to our sin, death to our selfishness, death to our materialism, death to our apathy.
Paul speaks of the believer as actually crucified with Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live; but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself up for me.” No wonder revival has not come—there is so little evidence of that kind of understanding. Only by death comes life.
Only by spending life do we retain it. Verse 25 says, “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” The words “love” and“hate” here are not intended in their absolute sense, but rather they are used figuratively to set up a contrast in priorities. The one who loves his life is viewed as the selfish person who is constantly seeking to make his own life comfortable and secure. The one who hates his life is the person whose priorities are on God’s will, on seeking other people’s health and security, on seeking truth, and on standing up for righteousness despite the personal consequences.
Jesus is saying that the one who selfishly loves his own life is involved in a self-defeating process. Why? Because life is a quantity God has given us to spend, not to horde. You wouldn’t know that by our vocabulary, which includes so many expressions related to hording life: life preserver, life belt, life raft, lifeboat, lifeline, lifeguard, life insurance (which is a bit of a misnomer since it only pays off at death). But when we stop to think about it, our nation would not be here were it not for key individuals at critical junctures who were prepared to spend their lives instead of hording them—forgetting their personal safety and security, their selfish gain and advancement. We owe everything as a nation to their ultimate sacrifice. The same is true throughout the history of God’s Church.
Yet there are many today who call themselves Christians who spend virtually all their time and effort on advancing their careers, buying things to make their lives more comfortable, pampering their bodies, making sure they keep in shape through overindulgence in sports, stashing away a huge nest egg for retirement, and expecting God to be pleased when they graciously give Him an hour in church when it’s convenient.
These have no time for service because their energies have been consumed by materialism. They have no time for daily Bible study and prayer, because life is too busy. If you tell them of a need, they’re glad to contribute a check, but don’t ask them for a part of their life, for that they cannot spare. They are like the ones mentioned in verse 43: “They loved praise from men more than praise from God.” But God is looking for people willing to abandon their own comforts, their ambitions, and their security to become sold out to Him. He is looking for people willing to spend life. To them He shall grant the keeping of it. The third and final paradox is this:
Only by service comes honor. Every human being loves honor. It is part of our very nature and there is really nothing intrinsically wrong with it. The problem is we so often seek it in the wrong places or from the wrong persons. There is the honor of wealth. If you are rich, people will grovel before you; you will have much attention and many friends (at least so long as you are rich). But can the rich man ever know that he is honored for himself and not just for his money?
There is the honor that comes from intelligence. The college professor can exploit this honor as he overwhelms his students with his brilliant vocabulary and his photographic memory. And the students are impressed and call him “Dr.” and treat him as a god, at least until final grades come out. But what are they saying to one another?
And there is the honor that comes from athletic ability, perhaps the finest honor in our society. Few people ride higher than the college superstar or the pro athlete. But few people ride for a shorter time or more precariously. And then there is the honor of beauty, and the honor of position, and the honor of musical ability.
But there’s only one honor that lasts forever and is worth pursuing. And that’s the honor that comes from the Father. Jesus said in verse 26, “Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” Only by service comes real honor. Do we really believe that? What are the implications for the way we live if we really believe it? Do we realize that our wealth will count for absolutely nothing on our deathbed or beyond? Our brilliance or good looks or musical ability or high position or degrees or medals will also be in the same category. Here’s how Paul expressed it in Phil. 3:
“If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”
The writer of Hebrews describes Moses in similar words:
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
In the Tate Gallery in London hangs one of the last and most notable of the paintings of Frederick Watts, his “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” (Thus Passes the Glory of the World). A shrouded form lies upon a bier in the middle of the room. On a table nearby is an open book, and against the table lies a musical lyre. In one corner of the room is the rich mantle of a nobleman, and in the other corner a lance and shield and various pieces of armor, with roses strewn over them to show that the arts and tastes of life were mingled with the sterner duties. But now all is over. The still form cannot read the book, nor seize the lance, nor play the lyre, nor catch the scent of the roses. On the wall in the background are three sentences of a German proverb: “What I spent I had. What I saved I lost. What I gave I have.”
Whatever we give for the cause of Christ—our hopes, our enthusiasm, our time, our talents, our labors—that and that alone is ours and ours forever.
Conclusion: The message this morning has been for believers and unbelievers alike. For those who have never committed their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, the message is simple: you may be nearing your own personal final hour. “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” The consequence of failing to heed Jesus’ plea is given very clearly in verse 48: “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” I n other words, you will someday stand before the Great White Throne judgment to answer for your rejection of the risen Christ.
For those of us who have committed our lives to Jesus Christ, these amazing paradoxes speak with conviction and challenge us regarding the level of our commitment. If we really believe that Jesus died in our place, that He rose from the dead, and that He is one day coming again, then can any task be too difficult to undertake for Him, can any sin be too pleasant to forsake for Him, can any sacrifice be too great to make for Him?
Only one life, twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.
Prayer. Father, we would see Jesus today. We would see Him in all His glory. We would see Him as the Savior who died in our place, forgiving our sins. We would see Him as the Risen One who gives us life and gives it more abundantly. We would see Him as Lord and Master of our lives to whom we owe total allegiance. Amen.
DATE: April 11, 1993
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Paradoxes of the Christian life