John 12:27-36 - Caleb Richardson

see even a bigger picture of who you are. So

Lord, we just ask that you'll make this text

come alive to us today. In your name we pray,

amen. Okay, as we get into this text today, I

want you to pretend with me that it's an opening

scene like a movie, of a movie, okay? The opening

scene, you've got all the... Music's come already.

Now you're kind of into the intro music scene.

I want you to picture this. Jesus has already

been with the people he's with for three years.

Three years of his ministry. And they have just

come through this. And then the people are excited

about him. There's a sense of energy. And Jesus

has been coming in. They're celebrating. They're

wanting a king, a revolutionary, to come in to

be raised up. And they think Jesus is it. And

so Jesus comes in in this triumphal entry, but

he comes in on a donkey. But the people still

don't fully understand what's going on, but they're

excited. And now there's this large crowd. It

kind of pans to a movie scene. There's a large

crowd stands there with Jesus. And Jesus has

some really, he's going to say something that's

really heavy. But this, as we look at these verses

today, this is, Jesus is at a very strategic

point in his life on this earth. The crowd, the

cross, in midst of that, the cross not only We

haven't unwrapped the cross yet, but Jesus, as

he's looking at the crowd, he's also looking

at the cross that's about to come. Three days.

I want you just to kind of pan out in the movie

scene and see the crowd, but then in the backdrop

you see this really ugly cross that has killed

many people before. And Jesus is looking at that

cross. And it stands there in three days from

this moment. He will be hanging on that cross.

And so, as Jesus is looking at the crowd in verse

23, he shifts gears and he says, and Jesus replied

to them, the hour has come for the Son of Man

to be glorified. A couple things on this. We'll

get into this. But somebody asked me a question

last week. You've got to tell me more about this

son of man statement. And the son of man here

is an interesting statement. Jesus uses it 80

times in the Gospels. It's the term he uses for

himself. And it's basically, on the one hand,

the son of man means basically, Jesus' humble

humanity. But it also means this divine ruler.

And that goes all the way back to Daniel chapter

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

7, if you want to read a bizarre section in there.

But there's this reference to the Son of Man.

And so it's in both Jesus' total humanity and

total divinity is being presented. And so when

he refers to the Son of Man, he's referring to

himself as the incarnate God that's come to us.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was

with God, and the Word was God. That's John,

beginning of John. He says that. He says, I have

come, the creator of all the universe, the divine

ruler, is now walking in the lowest of low, humble

state of humanity. And so that's what it means.

And so as he's standing there looking at this

crowd and he's looking at the cross coming, he's

looking at it from two perspectives. One, from

a weightiness of what's going to hit him as a

human, but also his divine side. All of Scripture

has been pointing, all of this Bible, all of

it has been pointing to Jesus. Up to this point.

And this is the critical moment in history. And

you'll hear us say this probably for the next

several weeks. Because that's what's happening.

The Old Testament has been pointing to this great

Redeemer. A Messiah. That would rescue us from

the power of sin and the effects of sin. Sin

has got its nasty entangled claws all up in our

life and in our world. And it's just so... broken.

And everything is pointing to Jesus to be the

great redeemer, the great rescuer. Our sin has

separated us from the holy God that we were designed

to be in relationship with. It's ripped us apart.

And there is nothing you can do to earn a good

or right relationship with God. We needed God

to step in and rescue us. And this is the moment

That that begins. Now, he's come and he's walked.

This is moment. This is critical moment where

God said, my hour is here. This is the hour.

In John 1, in verse 9, we already looked at this,

but let me just, God's rescue plan begins to

be unfolded. And he says this, the true light,

that's Jesus. This is John 1, verse 9. The true

John 1:9

light. which gives light to everyone, was coming

into the world. He was in the world, and the

world was created through him, yet the world

did not recognize him. He came to his own, and

his own people did not receive him. But to all

who did receive him, he gave them the right to

be children of God, to those who believe in his

name. Who were born not of natural descent. Or

of the will of the flesh. Or the will of man.

But of God. The word became flesh and dwelt among

us. And we observed his glory. Glory as the only

son. From the father. Full of grace and truth.

Jesus had come. And for the last three years

he had. He'd gone public with his mission to

rescue and redeem us. And now his hour is here.

He's facing the cross. I wish we had this really

big, ugly cross that you could look at. Because

I think you need to keep that front and center

as we go through not only this section, but the

weeks to come. This ugly, nasty cross. Old, rugged

cross. In these 10 verses, Jesus is facing the

cross and he's facing the effects of the cross

and what the cross means. So really two things,

the effects of the cross and what that cross

actually will mean. So as we go through these

verses, I want us to ask this question this morning.

What was the effect of the cross and what does

it mean? I mean, I know that a lot of you have

heard this story. You've read this stuff. If

you've grown up in church, man, you've heard

this so many times. But ask yourself, what is

the effect of the cross? Like, really jump into

that feel. And say, okay, what does this mean?

It's kind of like a heads and a tail of a quarter.

One side, it's the same quarter. But ask the

question on one side, what's the effect of the

cross? And what's the, what does it really mean?

Okay? So the first question is, how the cross

would affect Jesus? How did this cross that he's

looking at, his hour is coming, how is it going

to affect Jesus? What did it mean for Jesus?

Not just for you and me, but what did it mean

for Jesus? Look at verse 27. Now is my soul troubled.

What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?

That is why I've come to this hour. How is the

cross affecting Jesus? Jesus bared his heart

with us right there in that little line. He starts

off and he says, oh, my soul is troubled. This

word troubled in there is not just like, oh,

it's kind of a rough day. No, this word troubled,

you've got to picture like an ocean with a hurricane

approaching. turmoil stirred up. This is literally

how they would describe this word. The water

stirred up becomes so violent. It's in turmoil.

So when Jesus says, my heart is troubled, he's

saying, my heart, my whole existence is like

a hurricane inside of me. It's just churned up.

Jesus' heart, his soul is in great distress.

Why? It's in this moment that we see Jesus, his

undiminished deity and his perfect humanity in

tension. We see Jesus in his humanity about to

face the most severe trial ever. A trial no one

has faced before. Jesus' trial would involve

standing in our place as our substitute. I mean,

that's the one thing that should blow you away

every time you think about Jesus. That he stood

in your place and paid for your sin. He covered

your junk. The sin that you've done in the past.

The sin that you did right now or recently. And

the sins you're going to do in the future. He's

going to say, I'll take it all. I'm going to

bear the burden of that. You ever just feel guilty

when you sin? You feel like, oh, yuck. I did

it again. Now, put that times a trillion, quadrillion

or whatever the number is, and say, put that

on you. Troubled. That's what he's talking about.

The weight of our sin is being loaded onto Jesus.

That's what's coming. And he's looking at it

and going, oh. See, Jesus is going to be our

substitute. He would be falsely accused. He would

be mocked and spit upon. He would be beaten and

whipped and stripped of any kind of dignity for

you and me. And he's carrying that. The king

of all creation, what we just read about, the

one who made you and I, is stepping in our place

and becoming our substitute. And the only way

he can do it is to live a perfect life so that

his payment would suffice. He would become our

atoning sacrifice, his substitutionary atonement.

That's the theological term. He becomes that

for us. He takes and substitutes himself for

our brokenness. He will take it all. So Jesus'

heart is troubled. Don't just breeze over that

thought for a second. Just think about how much

it cost Jesus. His heart is troubled because

he has arrived at the place where he is going

to be sacrificed for you and me. He would bear

the world's sin and suffer, but that wasn't just

the issue. He was also going to be ripped apart

in separation from a perfect relationship with

the Father. So he's not only carrying all of

our sin, but he's being pulled apart from that

eternal relationship with the Father. 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:21

5 verse 21 says, He made the one who did not

know sin to be sin. That's Jesus. So that in

him we might become the righteousness of God.

The weight of what Jesus was about to go through

has put him in deep turmoil. So as Jesus is looking

at what is about to happen to him and the agony

of it, he says, no way am I going to turn away

from the cross. So in that statement, he goes,

yes, the agony is there, but there's no way I'm

going to turn away from why I've come. Jesus

knew his purpose. He was the Lamb of God slain

for eternity. He was going to happen. It was

going to happen on the cross. He knew that's

what he was coming for. But why did he do it?

And I think this is the big one. He was fueled.

His whole life, his purpose was fueled by giving

glory to God. Why did he do that? Because he

loves you? Yes, he loves you. But his main motivation

was to give glory to God. John 12, verse 28 says,

John 12:28

Father, this is the next part in this. He says,

I would not turn away from him. Then he goes,

Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came

from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will

glorify it again. Jesus, as he faced the cross,

It meant anguish and turmoil and suffering, carrying

the sins of the world. It meant separation from

the Father, but it meant the glory is given to

the Father. Now, that's how we're supposed to

live. This one really blew me away. This is not

even the main point of this whole thing, but

one of the things I took away from this is like,

if Jesus' biggest motivation was to give glory

to God, That's actually my biggest motivation.

That's what he's calling us to. And so I've been

thinking, like, how does that work for Caleb?

How does it work? Like, what is my motivation

to get up here and speak to you like I'm naked

every week? Metaphorically. I just bury it all

out there. Why do I do that? Not for you. For

the glory of God. Why do I get up and serve my

wife? Why do I love, why do I, put my deny myself

but because i love her yeah i love her but it's

that second it's for the glory of god that's

your motivation it changes everything how are

we living are we living in such a way that our

lives our biggest motivation is to give glory

to god now glory means weight doesn't it means

weightiness And he says, I want you to live in

such a way that God is the weightiest thing and

his glory and his fame become most important.

And this is what Jesus is doing. He says, I'll

go to the cross. I'll take the worst kind of

suffering ever known to man. I'll bear all the

sins. Why? Because he is committed to giving

glory to God. That is his motivation. It's bigger

than just love. It is love. It's all wrapped

up in that. But it's for the glory of God. And

as God the Father looked at Jesus, whose heart

is troubled, he shares his heart. We see it in

the verse. I have glorified it, he says, and

I will glorify it again. Now the crowd hears

something. In verse 29 it says, the crowd standing

there heard it and said, it was thunder. Others

said, an angel has spoken to him. And Jesus responded,

this voice came not for me, but for you. He says,

I get it. He says, that noise you just heard,

whatever it was, must have been pretty bizarre.

It must have been pretty overwhelming because

all of a sudden they're going, what was that?

The crowd's like, wow, what just happened? And

Jesus says, This one, that was for you. I want

you to see that this moment, you need to see

it. You need to understand it. That's why God

spoke up. God the Father spoke up so you could

heard the thunder. Something, it might have shook

the room. I don't know. But whatever it was,

Jesus just says, that's so you'll pay attention.

Now he shows us the effects of the cross of Christ

on this world. Look at verse 31. Now is the judgment

of this world. Now the ruler of this world will

be cast out. As for me, if I'm lifted up from

this earth, I will draw all people to myself.

He said this to indicate what kind of death he

was about to die. So what does the cross mean

for the world? Three things. The first thing

is, it means judgment. The cross means judgment.

And that's what he's looking at. He sees the

judgment coming. Now is the judgment of the world,

it says. What does this mean? It means that the

death of Jesus becomes a decisive dividing line

between the condemned and the redeemed. There's

a drawing a line in the sand. He says, now that

I've hung upon this cross, there is a dividing

line you must choose. If you trust Jesus, you

are united to him in his death. His death becomes

your death. Galatians 2, verse 20 says, this

Galatians 2:20

is out of the ESV. It says this, I have been

crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who

live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life

I now live is in the flesh. I live by faith in

the Son of God who loved me and gave himself

for me. He says, the judgment's gonna come, but

if you are in Christ, this is for you. But if

you've never trusted Jesus, I don't care if you've

been in church your whole lives, if you've never

put Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, trusting

him, if that's where you stand, You stand condemned

by your sin and also by your rejection of the

offer that Jesus has for forgiveness. So what

does the cross mean? It means judgment. But if

you're in Christ, Jesus took that judgment. But

if you're not in Christ, you're not a follower

of Jesus, then that judgment is given to you.

The second thing the cross means to this world,

is that Satan will also face judgment. On the

cross, Jesus is victorious over Satan, sin, and

death. Not on the cross, in the resurrection.

But he's victorious over Satan and sin. He judges

them both. Kent Hughes, one of the commentators,

said this, the cross administrated the blow that

will ultimately steal the movement of Satan.

And you say, well, Satan's still around. Yep.

but he's been defeated. He's still around, still

has influence, but he has been defeated by Jesus

on the cross. The third thing the cross means

to this world, as you see this in verse 32, it

says this, as for me, if I'm lifted up from the

earth, I will draw all people to myself. John

Piper says this, he says, I think it means that

when Christ died, When he was lifted up on the

cross, he actually secured, obtained, guaranteed

a homecoming for his sheep and ingathering of

his children from all the nations. All. It wasn't

just the Jews. It was for all. And so the cross

meant that God was drawing people to himself.

The cross means for us today, as you look at

the cross in your mind, it means a new Savior.

It means a new identity. It means a new purpose.

It means a new future. Let me say that again.

What the cross should mean for us is we have

a Savior, a new Savior, a new identity, a new

purpose, and a new future. My question is, will

you embrace? What Jesus has for you. He's calling

us to embrace that. He's calling us because of

what the cross has done. He's calling us to embrace

a new identity. You don't live for your past.

You don't live. You live with who God has made

you to be. You live with a new purpose. And that

purpose is to give glory to him in everything

you do. Not glory to yourself. Not to make yourself

happy, but to give glory to him. That is where

satisfaction and joy are found. And then he says,

but don't lose sight of what's coming. There's

a new future. My wife was talking to the widow

of Mike Donaldson. She's up doing the equinox

and they met and she was telling me, she says,

As they were talking about Mike was the very

first elder we had at Radiant Church. She died

just recently. And in fact, end of this month,

we're having his memorial service. But she was

sharing with Tracy like, and just how at the

end of Mike's life, how everything was focused

on this new future. And she was describing to

Tracy how excited she was for her husband who

now stands and gets to see not. The glory of

God. Not just, and his whole purpose, and I told

you this before, the last conversation I had

with Mike was I was asked him, I said, what do

you want? What's your prayer to God before you

exit and leave this world? He says, Dan, I'd

have every opportunity I could to tell people

about him. I want them to experience the glory

of God. And now he's experiencing the glory of

God. That's a new future. That's what he's saying.

But like the crowds around Jesus, we didn't always

get it, did we? We didn't always get our new

identity, our new purpose, our new future. We

don't get how big a deal this is. That's why

we've got to talk about it every week. We've

got to be reminded about how important the gospel

is every week. Look at verse 34. Then the crowd

replied to him, 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

the Son of Man? Jesus answered, the light will

be with you for only a little longer. Walk while

you have the light so the darkness doesn't overtake

you. The one who walks in darkness doesn't know

where he's going. While you have the light, believe

in the light. so that you may become children

of light. And Jesus said this, he went away and

he hid from them. What's that mean? That's transition

language right there. Jesus says, one last thing

you need to understand, the one big thing you

need to see, that Jesus is the light in this

jacked up dark place. But what really stuck out

to me in these verses as I was going through

this is how much, You and I are loved. You can't

read this and go, all of what's happening, the

trouble that Jesus has been facing, if you miss

how much He loves you, you're missing it. God

the Father loves us so much that He sent His

one and only Son that whoever believes in this

Son should not perish. but have eternal life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to

condemn the world. That's what John 3 .17 says.

But in order that the world might be saved through

Him. That's love. Now first and most important

thing Jesus says is I'm doing this for the glory

of God, but I'm also doing it to love you. Let

me show you how much I love you. He loves you.

Jesus loved us so much that he stepped into the

agony for us. Jesus again invites the crowd to

follow him. One last time. Come on. You can do

it. Jesus says he is the light. Believe in the

light that you may become sons of light. It's

not too late. Believe in the light. Put your

faith in Jesus. As we close this morning, one

final thought. What Jesus did for you and for

me is mind -blowing. Here's the thing. All he

did for you was amazing, but it's not about you.

What he did for you is awesome, but it's not

about you. All that Jesus did was for the glory

of God. He has called you out of darkness and

into his light to become sons of light, to shine

his glory. Your motivation is to give glory to

God, but he's called you out of darkness not

to just live passive lives. He's called you out

of darkness. He says, look, if you understand

the gospel, if you've embraced the gospel, live

for his glory, not for yourself. Live with light

at the center. Your purpose is to give glory

to God. So guys, when we think about serving,

which we've talked about in a number of weeks,

If you're serving back in the kids or you're

up in the band or you're helping set up or you're

bringing food for your GC or you name it, whatever

areas of service, which we're going to talk more

about, we're going to see in weeks to come that

he keeps unpacking this idea. Don't do it for

yourself. Don't do it just because we have a

need. Do it for the glory of God. It changes

everything. When you look at the cross of Jesus,

what does it mean to you? How has it affected

you? And we always say this, our vertical, if

it's there, will begin to affect our horizontal.

So as you fix your gaze on the cross, how is

it affecting you? Why do you think we are called,

the Bible says that every time you gather together,

we believe in these kinds of settings, that we

are to remember. the cross of christ and we do

it and he gives us this installation called the

lord's supper or the communion or and and we

do it it's calling us to a response the band

you can come up right now but i want you i'm

gonna we go to communion it's a picture that

jesus says don't lose sight of what happened

what i did for you on that cross and how i gave

was giving glory to god Don't lose sight of that.

Remember that. Every time you gather, it's the

center point of radiant church, what Jesus did

in his death, burial, and resurrection. Luke

Luke 22:19

22, verses 19 and 20 says this, and this is coming.

He's sitting at the Last Supper. He's about to

go. The cross is right there. This is just like

a day or so before or after. And he took the

bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke

it and gave it to them saying, this is my body,

which is given for you. Do this in remembrance

of me. And likewise, he took the cup and after

he had eaten, saying, this cup is poured out

for you, is the new covenant of my blood. I want

to invite you. This morning, just to wrestle

with the heart motivation that's going on in

you, like you and me both. Is the motivation

for how you live your life in response to what

Jesus has done for you? Not in like burdensome,

from a place of like, wow, of wonder. of amazement

for what he has done for you and as you pick

up that little piece of bread and you dip it

in the in the juice that's a picture of his love

for you but also his glory showing back to the

father that's what he's doing so as you take

that really wrestle with like where how's my

heart is my heart ready to begin to grab a hold

of serving and loving and living my life with

the purpose of saying, God, it's for your glory.

Let me pray. Lord, I can stand up here and preach

about this stuff and I know that I struggle with

it too. So forgive me for being self -centered.

Even looking at my relationship with you as being

about me. Lord, I repent of my selfishness. Lord,

I want to fix my eyes on you. On the cross. For

what you did on that cross. And what it cost

you. Lord, I pray for our church. I pray for

us as a community of people. That you will grip

our hearts. Blow us away with how awesome you

are. And how weighty the gospel is. And you will

help us live in response to that. Not out of

like just duty, but out of joy for what you've

done. Lord, take over. I ask that you work by

your spirit in our hearts right now as we sit

here. In your name we pray. Amen.