Now My Soul Is Troubled

he will be glorified.

This hour has now come, says Jesus.

It's here.

It's right around the corner.

And it's here in John 12, verse 27,

John 12:27

that Jesus tells us plainly

what's going on in the depths of his heart

and what kinds of thoughts are in his mind.

John 12, verse 27, Jesus says,

John 12:27

now my soul is troubled.

And what shall I say?

Father, save me from this hour.

Jesus is not often troubled by things.

Have you noticed this?

He's the one with wisdom for every situation,

with the answers for every question.

He's the one who is fearless.

The one who's completely unbothered by the storm on the sea

and even sleeping while his disciples were panicked

and afraid for their lives.

He seems to have no fear of the religious leaders.

even while his disciples were dreading coming back to Jerusalem,

thinking it might end badly for them,

Jesus seemed fearless and unflinching,

going right up into Bethany

and now marching right into the city of Jerusalem.

Have you noticed this?

So now we can't help but take notice

when Jesus says here

that he is troubled.

The last time in John's gospel

that we saw Jesus troubled

was back in chapter 11

when Jesus met with Mary

after the death of her brother,

Lazarus.

He saw Mary weeping

and Mary's friends weeping with her

about Lazarus' death

and John told us there

that Jesus himself was deeply moved in spirit

and troubled.

Same word.

So troubled, in fact,

that Jesus himself burst into tears

and wept with her, with them.

But now here again,

Jesus makes it visible on the outside

what's really going on for him

on the inside.

Now my soul is troubled.

Not just a little troubled,

but deeply troubled.

My soul,

the inmost part of me,

the core.

How come?

What's bothering you so much,

Jesus?

Well, we don't have to wonder.

Jesus tells us what he's thinking about.

He says,

Now my soul is troubled.

And what should I say?

Father, save me from this hour?

Even if we and the disciples

have already moved on in our minds,

are thinking about something else.

Jesus has not.

He is still thinking about this hour

that has now come for him.

About what this hour holds.

And it unsettles Jesus

in his heart of hearts.

It causes him to tremble in his soul.

And thoughts arise in his own mind

of how he might be saved

from this hour.

Think about this for a moment.

Jesus feels in his heart.

Jesus feels in his heart

the desire

for escape.

We've all felt something similar

in the troubles we go through,

haven't we?

At one time or another.

Who of us has not felt

that things are just so hard,

so heavy,

so dark,

so unbearable

that we simply must escape.

I can't do this anymore.

I can't go through this

anymore.

For us,

this is often a key factor

in substance abuse

and addiction.

The desire to escape.

The desire to get out from under

that crushing weight

of our emotions.

Amazingly,

Jesus,

the God-man,

has felt

in his soul

the desire to escape,

to get out from under

the crushing weight

of what's about to come

in this hour,

to be saved from this hour.

And yet,

even as Jesus

gives us these words

to know what he has been thinking,

he also says it in such a way

that it's clear.

He intends to go through

with this hour.

What shall I say?

Father,

save me from this hour?

No.

It was for this very reason

I came

to this hour.

There's a statement here.

It's as though Jesus is saying,

should I pray

and ask God

to spare me

from what's about to happen

in this hour,

what I'm about to go through?

No.

I want to,

and yet,

no,

I will not.

Because for this hour

and what it holds,

it's the very reason

I came.

What's about to happen

to Jesus

is at the very core

of why he has come down

from heaven

to earth.

earth.

It's at the very center

of why

the word

who was with God

and was God

became flesh

and came to live among us.

all of Jesus'

story

and life

is important.

His birth,

his baptism,

his

obedience

to the Father,

his teaching,

his miracles,

his calling

of the disciples,

all of it

is important.

But this hour

and what's about

to happen

to Jesus here

stands above

all the rest of it.

The chief purpose,

not the only purpose,

the chief purpose

in coming

was not to teach us

how to live.

It was not to do

great miracles

and to heal people.

These are all things

he's been doing

up until now.

His chief purpose

in his coming

is what will happen

in this hour.

He came

to die.

As we heard

last Sunday

what he said

in verse 24

right before this,

very truly

I tell you

unless a kernel

of wheat

falls to the ground

and dies

it remains

a single seed.

But if it dies

it produces

many seeds.

Jesus came

to make

this great

exchange.

one for many.

His life

for ours.

There are two things

here for us.

First,

do you see

how truly

like us

Jesus is?

How human.

He wrestles

in his heart

and mind

with his emotions

and thoughts

just like we do.

there's an emotional

struggle here

in Jesus

a deep one

and even though

Jesus prevails

that is to say

he makes the right

choice

in this moment

isn't it a comfort

to know that

Jesus knows

what it's like

to have the deepest

of struggles

and conflicts

in his own heart.

second,

do you see

the depth

of Jesus'

love

for you

here?

First,

notice when

this plan

of love

began.

Notice when

Jesus had a reason

to die for us.

it was not

after he came

down

and saw us

face to face

that he suddenly

realized,

oh man,

I must do

something for

these poor

people to save

them.

No,

it was before

he came

into the world.

In fact,

it was the reason

he came into

the world

to save us

which means

that Jesus

loved you

long before

you even

knew it.

He saw

your need

for his

death

even before

you were

born.

He loved

you

when to

you

he was a

stranger,

someone you'd

never even

heard of.

He loved

you then

enough

to come

down,

to get

to this

hour,

to die

for you.

Next,

notice the

depth of

his love

for you

here in

this moment.

We might

at first

think,

look,

Jesus

seems to

be having

second

thoughts

about going

through with

this in

order to

save me.

Maybe he

doesn't love

me as much

as I thought

he did.

We might

think about

it like a

person who's

made their

vows and

promises on

their wedding

day,

but then all

of a sudden

is having

doubts or

second thoughts,

getting cold

feet about

this marriage.

Is that

what's

happening

here with

Jesus?

No,

I don't

think so.

In fact,

I think it's

quite the

opposite.

Jesus'

inner struggle

shows us

how truly

difficult it

is to

meet the

requirements of

our salvation.

We're

catching a

glimpse here

of just

how costly

it is

for him

to save

us.

he's

feeling

the

weight

of it

in his

own

heart

and that

Jesus

says,

no,

I will

go through

with this

hour.

I will

not ask

my father

to save

me from

it.

It's

the proof

that his

love for

us really

is greater

than we

can ever

imagine.

This is

the hour

of testing.

this is

the hour

in which

we will

see

whether

Jesus

loves

Peter,

James,

John,

Mary,

Martha,

you,

and me

that much.

Enough

to die

for us.

Enough

to receive

the punishment

of our

sins

on himself

as though

he had

done

those

things.

That he's

troubled in

his soul.

It's not a

sign of

cold feet

or second

thoughts.

It's the

measure

of just

how deep

his love

is

for you

and for

me.

Because even

though he

feels that

weight,

that cost,

he doesn't

turn back

here.

That's the

kind of

love that

we long

for,

isn't it?

We're not

looking just

for the

kind of

love that

people give

to us

when it's

easy and

it feels

good to

love us.

We're

looking for

that greater

and deeper

love,

aren't we?

The kind

that loves

us even

when it's

really hard

to love

us.

And that's

what we

see in

Jesus here.

He says,

no.

I will

not pray

that.

I will

not ask

that.

this is

why I

came for

this hour.

And then

he seals

this with

a prayer

to his

father.

He calls

out loud

in the

hearing of

all,

father,

glorify

your name.

Why does

Jesus say

that?

Father,

glorify

your name.

just a

couple

verses

earlier,

we heard

that the

hour has

come for

the son

of man

to be

glorified.

That's

Jesus.

So why

does

Jesus not

pray,

father,

glorify

my name.

Father,

vindicate

me.

Father,

lift me

up and

exalt me

in the

sight of

my enemies.

these are

very deep

waters.

And I

want to

tread

carefully

here.

This hour

is the

hour in

which Jesus

will be

glorified and

exalted and

lifted up,

but not

by seeking

after that

for himself.

As we

heard earlier

in John's

gospel,

it is

God,

the father,

who will

glorify his

son in

this hour.

And for

Jesus to

go through

with this

hour and

be glorified,

he must

do the

very opposite

of seeking

his own

glory,

his own

vindication.

He must

choose instead

to surrender

himself to

the hatred

of his

enemies,

to surrender

himself to

humiliation.

He must

give himself

over to the

shameful trials

and the

mocking.

He must

allow them

to strip

off his

clothes and

execute him

as though

he were

a criminal.

As a

man to

atone for

men,

Jesus must

seek not

to glorify

and exalt

himself in

this hour,

but rather

to glorify

and exalt

his father,

to be

obedient,

and to

give the

ultimate

sacrifice of

worship,

his own

life.

God

is

a

mysterious

thing.

Jesus

raises high

the name

of his

father,

of God,

by allowing

his own

name to

be trampled

in the

mud.

And it

is mysterious.

At the

very same

time,

God the

father is

about to

raise high

the name

of his

son for

doing the

most beautiful

and glorious

act of

love this

universe has

ever known

or ever

will know.

It's

especially

for this

hour in

particular that

we will be

praising the

Lord Jesus

for all

eternity,

saying,

worthy is

the lamb.

Why?

Because he

was slain.

Worthy to

receive power

and wealth

and wisdom

and strength

and honor

and glory

and praise.

It's for

this hour

that Jesus,

the God

man,

is worthy

to take

the scroll

and open

the seals

and usher

in the

final program

for our

world.

Why?

Because you

were slain

and with

your blood

you purchased

for God

persons from

every tribe

and language

and people

and nation.

Revelation 5

Revelation 5:9

verse 9.

It's

mysterious.

It's

wonderful.

It's kind

of upside

down to

how things

go in

our world

and that's

how it

often is

with God

and his

dealings

with us.

Over and

over throughout

the Bible

we're told

that God

humbles

the proud

and at the

same time

that he

exalts

the humble.

It ends

up going

the same

with Jesus.

His being

glorified

comes about

by his

humbling

himself

before the

Father.

And so

that's why

Jesus

prays

Father

glorify

your name

because in

these moments

this hour

ahead

he's about

to give it

all up.

Humble

himself

to the

utmost

to the

scorn

the shame

the ridicule

the pain

of death

on a cross.

So we're

here at the

Lord's

table

again

this Sunday

and there's

a reason

that we do

this every

month.

It's not

an interruption

in the schedule.

It's not

something that

we do

just to

check off

the box

of religious

duty as a

church.

It's because

what we mark

here is the

very heart

and soul

of our

Christianity.

It's the

very center

of everything

and we never

want to lose

sight of that

or leave

that behind.

It's the

very reason

I came

this hour.

There are

no greater

and better

things to

move on

to in the

Christian faith.

there is

only for

us to

go deeper

and deeper

and deeper

into our

appreciation

of the

love that

we have

found here

at the

table

and at

the cross.

And so

if you've

repented

of your

sins

and put

your trust

in Jesus

as your

Lord

and Savior

as the

one who

died for

you for

your

forgiveness

I want to

invite you

to join

and eat

and drink

with us

from this

table as

we pass

out the

elements

in a

moment.

The bread

represents the

body of

our Lord

Jesus

which was

broken for

us when

he died

on the

cross.

The cup

represents his

blood which

was poured

out for

us for

forgiveness

and to

secure a

new covenant

a new

arrangement

with God

between us

and him.

And us

taking and

eating it

as we're

about to

do in

these next

moments

represents

that we

are those

who believe

from the

heart

that

Jesus

did this

for us

and that

we needed

it.

If you

don't believe

that

I ask

that you

abstain

from partaking

of the

bread and

the cup

when it

comes around

but if you

do please

eat and

drink with

us.

We'll pass

it out

and after

we've had

a few

minutes of

quiet prayer

and reflection

just ask

that you

hang on

to both

the bread

and the

cup

until

everybody's

been

served

and

then

we'll

eat and

drink

all

together

in

unison.

So let's

do that

now.

Let's go

to the

Lord

in

quiet

prayer.

NY

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.