John 12:27-50 “The Quest for Glory”

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Before we jump back into John's gospel today, let me give you a heads up that next week

we are beginning a summer break from our study of John, which by the way we are over nine

months into and over halfway through.

I think that's pretty good.

We're going to get back to the events of the final week of Jesus' life leading to the cross.

But as we've been seeing in John the person of Jesus lifted up over and over as the one

in whom we are to find life, I want us to spend a few weeks talking about what it actually

looks like for us to live with Jesus, to depend on His grace, to walk with Him day by day.

So that's what we're going to do this summer.

I'm excited about that series.

But before we break for that next week, let's see this morning Jesus in His glory held up

before us again.

Jesus has just entered Jerusalem where He's hailed as the coming King, but on a humble donkey,

not a mighty war horse.

And then as the Gentiles come to see Him, He begins to recognize the hour of His death has

come.

The hour, John has so often pointed out to us, is not here yet, is now upon Him.

God has made that clear to Jesus' spirit.

And we'll pick up the reading at verse 27, where as He discusses His coming death, Jesus says,

Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?

Father, save me from this hour?

But for this purpose I have come to this hour.

Father, glorify Your name.

Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.

Then the crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered.

Others said an angel has spoken to Him.

Jesus answered, This voice has come for Your sake, not mine.

Let's pray.

God, might we gathered here this morning hear Your voice.

Would we see Your glory?

Oh, Holy Spirit, we need Your help for that.

So would You speak to us clearly?

By Your Word, we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You and I are on a quest for glory.

We long to make a difference in the world, don't we?

To have a lasting, memorable impact on those around us.

To be significant to someone.

In the Bible's terms, as we'll see, we are seeking glory.

In fact, every person who has ever lived since the beginning of history

has been doing this all of our lives.

As I track this quest through different seasons of life here for just a minute,

you see where you recognize or remember yourself.

As kids, we desperately want to fit in, don't we?

Not to be left out or ignored, overlooked or picked last.

To be valued by a group of friends or eventually by that special someone who will tell me that I matter.

Or failing that, I'll have to stand out so that they'll call my name and I get a diploma at graduation

or a trophy at the end of the season or a medal at awards day and I'll hear my name and that will tell me that I'm important.

The quest for glory.

It's why young adults often go on a journey to find themselves, right?

It doesn't always happen in that season of life, but I've met with several people in their 20s recently

and heard a very similar theme from several of them.

I've chased money, women, career, and as one of them told me, quote,

I'm trying to decide what really matters.

Or in the words of another, I just want to settle down and focus on what's really important in life.

So can we talk about God?

The quest for glory is why parents of teens hurt so deeply when they feel ignored or unappreciated

by someone that they've spent day after day for years pouring their lives into.

That's why many people around my age hit a midlife crisis, right?

They wonder if they're really investing their lives in something worthwhile

or if their investments are actually going to last or if they should do something entirely different.

The quest for glory causes many in retirement to struggle with what to do with themselves

because their work has made them feel significant like they mattered for so long

and now, well, what am I going to do now?

It's especially challenging as we get older and we fear being alone.

Who will care for me?

We fear being forgotten.

Will I matter to anyone?

Or we even fear forgetting.

What if I can't remember why I'm important?

Or who values me?

See, the lifelong quest for glory is one that God created us for, but it is fraught with failure.

Trying to get my significance from other people or, as many have tried more recently,

to give value to myself.

I'll matter because I believe I matter.

It just doesn't seem to work.

Wherever you are in that quest today, and I'd say we're all somewhere,

look at how Jesus guides us.

It is really hard and yet so hopeful at the same time.

Jesus' soul is troubled.

Just as at Lazarus' tomb, he's stirred up, unsettled, deeply emotional in the face of death.

It's like that moment in Gethsemane when he prays that this cup would pass from him,

and then he prays,

Father, not my will, but yours be done.

It's that kind of moment here.

Look at the beautiful submission as he wrestles with God,

asking him to deliver him from this hour, this death,

this agonizing separation from his Father.

And then Jesus says,

What?

No, this is the hour I came for.

It's why I've obeyed at every turn.

And he concludes,

Father, glorify your name.

Wow.

Wow.

The biblical words for glory bring the idea of weight, heaviness.

Something like a mountain or an ocean has glory because it has matter.

It literally matters, right?

You don't ignore it when you're considering getting from one side of it to the other.

It is glorious.

There's a weight to it.

Nick Saban's opinion about football matters more to you than mine does.

I'm confident of that.

If it's overtime and the game's on the line and you run his play rather than my play,

you're giving him the glory.

If that's what glory means,

to carry weight like that,

Jesus shows us who has it,

doesn't he?

Jesus is troubled,

but in the midst of that overwhelming emotion,

he is deeply committed to God's glory,

no matter what it costs him, right?

Let's run your play, Father.

Let's do it your way.

Nothing and no one matters more to me than you.

God's glory, see, weighs so heavy for Jesus.

God's will is so primary for Jesus.

God's person looms so large for Jesus

that it produces costly obedience.

In Jesus' case, all the way to death on a cross.

Father, glorify your name.

Then all of a sudden,

the people around Jesus are startled by a thunderclap, they think.

A voice that says,

I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.

Oh, there are many, many ways that God has glorified his own name,

aren't there, in creation.

And displaying his power and his majesty for us to marvel at.

But I think especially here,

God is speaking of the signs.

The signs he's been showing the people through Jesus

as he has become flesh to reveal God's character.

And then displaying his glory over creation,

over sickness, over death itself.

That's what he's talking about.

And he will, as Jesus asks,

glorify his name again,

specifically through the cross

and the resurrection of Jesus.

As Jesus seeks God's glory,

rather than valuing his own comfort or peace,

God's glory is ultimate.

He is the weightiest,

the most important.

We glorify God because he glorifies himself,

doesn't he?

Glorify your name.

What matters to you?

What carries more weight?

God's name being shared with your neighbors

or your comfort being maintained.

God's design for your sexuality being followed

or your desires being satisfied.

God's command to love your uncool neighbor being obeyed

or your longing to fit in with the cool kids being achieved.

See, those are glory issues.

Not just day-to-day decisions.

Those are glory issues.

God has true glory.

Will God be significant, big, weighty to us?

Well, maybe you say,

I'm not exactly sure yet, pastor.

How do I even engage with this true glory?

John has a consistent answer to that question.

It's echoed in this passage.

We engage with God's glory by seeing God

and believing who he is.

It's why Jesus is here, right?

To show us the glory of God

since we haven't seen God.

Remember chapter one?

Jesus says this thunderous voice has just spoken.

Why?

For your sake.

So you will see true glory

and that you'll believe.

And so Jesus then talks about both unbelief

and belief connected to glory.

That's the rest of the chapter.

I'm gonna read now first the unbelief part

at verse 37.

Though Jesus had done so many signs before them,

they still did not believe in him.

They meaning many of the Jews

who had seen these signs.

So that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah

might be fulfilled.

Lord, who has believed what he heard from us

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Therefore they could not believe.

For again, Isaiah said,

he has blinded their eyes

and hardened their heart

lest they see with their eyes

and understand with their heart

and turn and I would heal them.

Isaiah said these things

because he saw his glory

and spoke of him, Jesus.

Isaiah spoke of a Messiah.

That's the first quotation here.

A Messiah who would not be attractive

to people.

No beauty or majesty.

We esteemed him not.

God's arm, God's strength

is gonna be revealed differently

from what most longed for their Messiah to be.

So just as in Isaiah's day

when people didn't believe God's message,

part of what was going on there

was a divine hardening

so that the Jewish rejection of Jesus,

this so-called Messiah,

would take him to the cross.

God's plan, right?

And share then the riches of his grace

with Gentiles.

God's glory would be spread as a result.

But then as always,

there's a human responsibility

for unbelief

held right there

alongside divine sovereignty.

People motivated

by what they consider

to be most weighty.

Verse 42.

Nevertheless,

many even of the authorities

believed in Jesus

but for fear of the Pharisees,

they did not confess it

so that they would not be put out

of the synagogue

for they loved

the glory that comes from man

more than

the glory

that comes from God.

They saw God's glory, right?

Intellectually,

what Jesus claimed

appealed to them.

But they loved glory from man

more than glory from God.

Their position,

their comfort,

their reputation,

their way of life

was bigger in their eyes.

It mattered more

than God did.

So they couldn't live

for his glory

as Jesus did.

It's unbelief here,

not from some atheistic philosophy,

but from a lifestyle

of self-focus.

Don't let God

get in my way

of my life.

Friends,

if you know that feeling,

one of the most

significant things

is that you listen

now to Jesus' appeal

to everyone,

especially those

who are unbelieving,

who are seeking glory

but missing this

true glory.

What does Jesus say?

He says,

believe in me.

I am showing you

the very glory of God.

Verse 35,

the light is among you

for a little while longer.

Walk while you have the light,

lest darkness overtake you.

The one who walks

in the darkness

does not know

where he is going.

While you have the light,

believe in the light

that you may become

sons of light.

Again,

verse 44,

when he's faced

with the unbelief again,

Jesus cried out loud

for emphasis.

A summary here

before he goes away

from the people,

his final appeal to them,

what is it?

Whoever believes in me,

believes not in me

but in him who sent me.

And whoever sees me

sees him who sent me.

I have come into the world

as light

so that whoever believes in me

may not remain in darkness.

If anyone hears my words

and does not keep them,

I do not judge him

for I did not come

to judge the world

but to save the world.

The one who rejects me

and does not receive my words

has a judge.

The word that I have spoken

will judge him

on the last day.

For I have not spoken

on my own authority

but the Father who sent me

has himself given me

a commandment,

what to say

and what to speak

and I know that his commandment

is eternal life.

What I say therefore,

I say as the Father

has told me.

Whoever believes,

whoever believes in me,

believe in the light

while you have it.

You, even you

who have heard before

and not believed,

even now can become

children of God

who experience his greatness,

who rest in his love

and so live your life

as you were created to

for his glory,

that can be you today.

Jesus couldn't be more urgent

in this plea, could he?

It's an invitation to you.

It is in fact a command

to believe.

Listen, friends,

believe in the light

while you have it

to point you

to the true glory.

While you sit today

under the preaching

of God's word

to reveal his glory,

today is the day

of salvation.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed

to any of us,

not a one of us.

The story is told

of Satan calling

some demons together

to pick one of them

to send to earth

with a message

that will ruin

human souls.

What do you got?

One says,

I'll go and tell them

there's no heaven.

Satan said,

nah,

they won't believe you.

There's a bit of heaven

in every human heart.

In the end,

everyone knows

good will triumph.

Another demon said,

oh,

I'll go and tell them

there's no hell.

Satan said,

nah,

they won't believe you.

Every human heart

knows not only

will good triumph,

but also evil

will be defeated.

And then one other demon

said,

oh,

I'll go

and I'll tell them

there's no hurry.

And Satan said,

you go.

Distract them

with the notions

of human capability,

of worldly fulfillment,

of living for self,

of busyness all the time,

of the tyranny

of the urgent,

the weight of the world

all the time

until they neglect

the weightier matters

of God,

the true glory,

the lasting issues

of life eternal,

and they start to treat

those weighty things

lightly

to give them attention

once a week,

to make them sidebars

in their life.

Friends,

the God of the mountains

and the oceans,

the God of your life,

of my life,

the God of all glory

came to us

in the person of Jesus

to speak words

of eternal life,

to tell you

what really matters

so that we would know him

and trust him

and find life in him.

I don't want one of you

to miss out on that

for one more day.

He is where life is found.

He's calling for you

to come believe

in him

and have life.

You say,

well,

Pastor,

I like that,

but I'm just not sure

I've got so many questions.

There's so many things

you haven't answered yet.

I'm willing to consider it,

but there's a lot of evil

in this world.

You're right.

I believe there's a God,

when I look at the oceans

and the mountains,

he must be powerful

and creative,

but I can't imagine

I could have a relationship

with him.

I see that.

Pastor,

I'm interested,

but I don't want my life

to change so much

when I start saying

that he matters the most.

That's scary.

Yeah.

So what one place,

if I'm trying to decide,

where can I look?

If I'm really wrestling with this,

if I'm brave enough

to test God out,

what's the one place

I can look to really get

the best glimpse

of his glory,

to know what he's really like?

Give me one vista

that I can look out over

and ponder for a while.

Should it be the Grand Canyon?

I mean,

that is a glorious place.

Maybe it's the Gulf of Mexico.

I got summer vacation coming up.

I go to the beach

and I'll think about it.

It's beautiful.

I want to encourage you.

I want to urge you

to go to the cross of Jesus,

to gaze on Jesus there

for just a little while.

Remember,

the way that we glorify God

is by seeing him

and believing who he is.

God is glorified

when his character is revealed.

And he says,

there is no better place

to get a glimpse of me

than the cross of Jesus,

to let the weight

of who I am

really sink in

to your soul.

This is what Jesus

tells us here.

You can hear the power of God

and the thunder,

the voice,

but that voice says

that he's actually going

to show his glory again.

Jesus explains

that this is where

it comes from.

Now is the judgment

of this world.

Now will the ruler

of this world be cast out.

Here's where it's all happening.

And I,

when I am lifted up

from the earth,

will draw all people

to myself.

He said this

to show by what kind of death

he was going to die.

The Gentiles,

even.

Everyone,

everywhere,

drawn to a dying king?

The people listening

understand what Jesus means,

what he's talking about.

They say,

can you really be

the divine Messiah

if you're about to die?

And what does Jesus say?

Believe me.

Now,

I'm headed to the cross

to die

and so many won't believe,

but you

can still be sons of God

simply by trusting me.

Trust yourself to me.

I'll take you to the cross

and then you'll rise

with me too.

That's where to look.

Look at the cross.

Okay,

well how does the cross

show me God's glory?

I'm looking,

I'm looking,

what do I see?

What does it reveal

about who he is?

Let me give you

three pairs

of character qualities

for God

that I think

will allow us

to marvel together

for a couple minutes

here as we wrap up.

First,

we look at the cross,

we see God's holiness

and his nearness.

The cross shows us

God is holy,

completely other,

different,

set apart,

totally pure,

far from sinful people.

He can't stomach sin

and

he is near

to broken sinners,

isn't he?

Weeping with us,

bleeding for us,

agonizing in our place

the way only a sinner

deserves to hurt.

Do you see him

like that

on the cross?

believing

that that's

who God is

means in your life

when you suffer

or you hurt,

you embrace

the truth

that you're not alone,

are you?

Because God

is near

the brokenhearted.

If the sin

of the world

didn't keep him away,

neither will your

failure,

right?

Believe that.

What glory

there is.

Can you believe

that even the worst

you could do

can't keep God

from you?

Believe him.

Next,

God is self-exalting

and self-sacrificing.

The cross

is the moment

of great

divine victory

over his

arch enemy.

It's the moment

that Jesus says

he is lifted up.

It's the moment

that God

through darkness

in the middle

of the day

draws the spotlight

of all of creation

on himself

to show what?

Some amazing act

of grandeur,

some miracle,

some powerful sign

to show that he's

sacrificing himself,

enduring pain,

standing apparently

defeated

in the place

of his creatures.

Paradoxically,

God is so far

beyond us

that he's not

too good for us.

Do you see that

at the cross?

Do you believe

that in the sacrifice

of himself,

God displays

his highest

and greatest glory?

glory?

Do you see

how important

his glory

is to him

and how tremendously

valuable you are

at the same time?

Too good to believe

that those things

could be true together?

Yes,

he is

that good.

You gazing at the cross

with me?

There's Jesus.

He's crying out

with the only breath

that he can muster.

My God,

my God,

why hast thou

forsaken me?

What's happening?

The justice

of God

is crashing down

on the sin bearer.

God,

in his justice,

is punishing sin

as it deserves

even a glimmer

of God's glorious

justice

should make us

quake in our boots

at the seriousness

of sin.

Is the weight

of sin's

just desserts

reflected in our lives?

Or do we live

like we think of sin

but lightly

nor suppose

the evil great?

We tremble

at God's justice

and we also rest

in a God

who will judge

evil,

who will make

things right.

We need

his justice,

don't we?

He is a God

of justice

and yet the God

of justice

is a God

of grace.

Even as he totals

the unimaginable

debt of sin,

he pays it all.

The enormous price

to have us

in relationship

with him,

doesn't he?

The curtain

is torn.

You are welcomed

into God's presence.

You are set

free from all

of your sin,

past,

present,

and future

into relationship

with him.

You'll never pay

for it.

God is that

gracious.

Do you believe

that

when Satan

tempts you

to despair

and tells you

of the guilt

within?

Do you know

it glorifies

God

when you

respond,

Jesus

paid it all.

In the cross

be my glory

ever.

My faith

has found

a resting

place.

His wounds

for me

shall plead.

It is enough

that Jesus

died

and that he

died

for me.

He's holy

and he's near.

He is

self-exalting

and he's

self-sacrificing.

He is a God

of justice

and a God

of grace.

This

is the

glorious

God

Jesus

is calling

you to trust

and no other.

Seeing him

and believing

who he is

is what you

were made

for.

It's your

chief end,

your highest

purpose,

glorifying

God.

The relationship

that you

long for

is with

him,

the one

with true

glory.

Give weight

to his

view of you.

Know that

his words

matter more

than any

others.

Marvel at

him until

your heart

says,

to God

alone

be the

glory.

And when

you do

that,

you will

actually find

glory.

glory.

Your

quest

for glory

will

culminate.

And you

may ask

how?

How does

God's

having

glory

actually

help me

to find

glory?

That doesn't

make any

sense.

Listen,

I need to

connect this

dot.

Don't miss

this.

When you

soak in

the love

of God

for you

on display

most

extravagantly

at the

cross,

you

will

know

that you

matter

forever.

And it

won't be

from some

other person

who gave

you a

trophy

or someone

else who

promised to

be faithful

to you

and broke

your heart.

It won't be

a career

you threw

yourself into

so that no

matter what

anyone else

said,

you could

tell yourself

that you

were valuable

and have a

bank account

and a house

and a car

to back

it up.

It won't

be your

own beauty,

your own

capacities,

your own

performance,

or anything

at all,

which is so

wonderful because

all of those

glories can be

easily lost,

can't they?

You will

have glory.

You will

matter.

You will

be valuable

because the

God of the

universe,

the Lord

of all

glory,

gives

himself

in exchange

for you

at the

cross.

Can you

believe it?

You are

precious.

You are

valuable.

You matter.

you have

glory.

No one

and nothing

can ever

take that

glory away

from you,

even if the

person you

love dies,

or you get

to where you

can't remember

their name.

Even if you

lose your

job,

you have an

accident,

you can't

work.

You can't

care for your

kids anymore.

You will

still have

glory.

Glory from

the one who

has and

shares true

glory.

It's the only

way to have

it.

And he gives

it to you.

And Jesus

wants you to

believe this for

the first time

this morning,

or for the

thousandth time.

He wants it to

come home to

your heart.

So he gave

this sacrament

to his

followers as a

memorial of

his death.

In fact,

as more than

a memorial,

as a spirit

empowered

assurance that

he has shared

his glory with

you.

That's what you're

going to taste.

It's why he sat

with his disciples

on the night he

was betrayed

and took bread

and he broke

it and he gave

it to them.

As I'm

ministering in

his name,

give this bread

to you.

Jesus said,

take and eat.

This is my

body given

for you.

Do this

in remembrance

of me.

And in the

same way after

supper,

he took the

cup and

said,

this cup is

the new

covenant in

my blood,

which is shed

for many for

the forgiveness

of sins.

drink from

it,

all of you.

For as often

as you eat

this bread

and drink

this cup,

you proclaim

the Lord's

death

until he

comes.

God sets

this table

to eat

with us

and he also

warns us

to examine

ourselves as

we see

this table

before us

and consider

coming to it.

If you come

here glorying

only in the

cross of

Jesus,

repenting

of other

sources of

glory your

heart often

chases after,

living in

glorious peace

with his

brothers and

sisters,

then come

and celebrate

with us.

If you

examine yourself

this morning

and you find

that actually

other things

carry more

weight

than God

for you,

that other

people that

you refuse

to love

or forgive

as he has,

that there's

other hope

besides the

blood of

Jesus that

you are

holding on

to,

then don't

come take

this sacrament.

But Jesus

invites you

to believe

in him.

He invites you

to come.

You can come

up to these

tables this

morning and

have a front

row seat

to see

his love,

his sacrifice,

what he

would do

for you

to give

glory and

to show

you how

precious you

are to

him.

Come and

see his

love,

believe in

him and

have life

eternal and

glory eternal

that will

never be

taken from

you.

Let me pray

and then we'll

come celebrate

together.

Lord Jesus

whether we

know you

and come

to taste

your body

and blood

again or

whether we're

not sure

what you're

about but

we're watching

a picture of

something that's

unlike anything

we've seen

before.

Would you

work by your

spirit faith

in our hearts

that we might

believe something

we didn't even

come here to

believe this

morning,

that we might

remember our

value comes

from you,

the Lord of

glory.

We might

rest in a

God who would

give himself

for us.

Meet us in

this time,

use common

elements for a

holy purpose we

ask in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

For more

information visit

us online at

southwood.org.

bater