“‘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.’ 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. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 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. So the crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘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.’ When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 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. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, 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.”

Jesus is God. Because Jesus has a uniquely identifiable character, because He exemplifies the Son, and gives us a literal image of God made flesh, we sometimes say that Jesus is God, but it doesn’t fully sink in because of our idea or perception of the person of Christ. Two of the most pivotal pieces of John’s gospel are its beginning and end. John 1:1–5 makes the deity of Christ crystal clear from the start,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 20:30–31 reminds us the underlying purpose behind this gospel account,

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

“So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” the only Son, given all authority by the Father, made equal, speaking with His voice, and fulfilling His will. The Son of Man who, from the prophecy in Daniel 7 is given dominion and eternal rule by God the Father, the Ancient of Days. Jesus is God. If we look at John’s gospel, we can watch as he declares this from the beginning, then sets about building a case to support it. We watch as Jesus’s ministry builds, as more people flock to Him – some for the right reasons, and some for the wrong ones. We watch as the Truth stokes the fury of the blasphemous and broken religious establishment, as the evidence to support Jesus’s identity as the Christ grows exponentially, going from speculation and muttering, to being truly undeniable. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says,

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

When I read passages where Jesus is denied, misrepresented, or contested, I’m always stricken by the tragedy of it, but what I’m not is surprised. Humanity has been choosing war with God since the fall, and the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the arrival of the Messiah, of God made flesh, on earth to shepherd His people did not end this – though it did seal our eventual victory in Him.

The War of This World: The Light and the Dark

1.      Jesus is the Son of Man

“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.”

If we read the text honestly (and presumably know something of the gospel before diving in), we can see that the coming sacrifice of Christ is not exactly a secret. John the Baptist’s declaration from John 1:29 is our earliest indicator,

“… Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Lambs were part of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, and a very key part of the original Passover in Egypt, as well as the Passover Feast that commemorated that event. The role of the lamb was to die, and in shedding its blood, to offer protection, and a temporary forgiveness of sins. In calling Jesus “the Lamb of God,” we know from the beginning that Jesus is to die, but to an end much greater than any number of animal sacrifices could achieve. Jesus told the crowds in John 6:53,

“… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

This spoke to His coming sacrifice. In John 10 He tells the people that He is the Good Shepherd, and that the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. At the start of John 12, when Mary anoints Jesus, He says, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” And in last weeks passage Jesus said, “… unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit,” foreshadowing His death and the exponential glory that would come from His resurrection. Looking to the other gospels, Jesus outright teaches the twelve that He was to suffer and die and be raised again on the third day, though the message never exactly clicks. Putting all this together, we can see that Jesus has actually addressed the matter of His coming crucifixion and resurrection many times in a variety of ways, and that in these cases, He seems to carry a degree of peace concerning what is coming. Jesus is fully and completely in line with the will of the Father, and though that has in no way changed, this is the first expression of anxiety that we see from Him. Jesus has perfect peace in the perfect will of the Father, but in today’s passage we can see the beginnings of His prayers in the hours before His crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthews and Mark’s accounts are similar, with Mark 14:34–36 saying,

“And he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.’ And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’”

Luke’s gospel provides some additional details of this event, saying in Luke 22:41–44,

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Jesus, as always is both King and leader, and also our model to emulate. He doesn’t necessarily delight in the suffering that is coming, in having the wrath of God poured out on Him, despite being blameless – and yet there is peace and a sense of joy in the rightness of desiring the will of the Father. It bears remembering that Jesus wasn’t carted off helplessly to be crucified. At the time of His arrest, after Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Matthew 26:52–54 says,

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?’”

Jesus was in control, and out of obedience to the will of the Father, and out of love for us, He went to His hour of glory on the cross willingly.

“Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’”

This isn’t the first time that God has directly spoken from heaven to validate the station of Jesus as His Son. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all show God speaking from heaven after Jesus is baptized, calling Him His, “beloved Son,” with whom He is well pleased. Again, all three synoptic gospels show God speak at the transfiguration, with Matthew saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him,” Mark saying, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him,” and Luke saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” While the wording may vary slightly from account to account, the sentiment of all three is identical – God validates Jesus as His Son, as the One who holds authority and is to be obeyed. We’re not told what the public response after Jesus’s baptism was, but Matthew 17:6 does show us Peter, John, and James’ reaction to the voice of God at the transfiguration,

“When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.”

To be fair, this is not an inappropriate response to hearing the voice of God call down from the heavens – but it’s not the response of the crowd in todays passage. My first thought was to compare this to the group of men that Saul is traveling with, when he is converted on the road to Damascus. As a light from heaven shines, blinding him, Acts 9:7 says,

“The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.”

When Paul retells this story before a crowd of angry Jews in Jerusalem, he says in Acts 22:9,

“Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.”

This was where my mind went initially, but this doesn’t seem to be a valid comparison. The men who were with Paul may not have seen Jesus, they may not have understood what He said, but we don’t see a denial that anything happened. They were speechless, seemingly stunned by what was unfolding before them, despite their lack of understanding. What the crowd in John 12 attempts to do is take God speaking from heaven, validating what He has done, and affirming what He will do, and explain it away as a natural occurrence. This shows us the mindset and spirit of the crowd. True, it does say that others credit this to an angel speaking to Jesus, but that’s the thing, it specifically says this was other people than those who made up the crowd. We’re not told specifically who this was who attributed the voice to be of heavenly origins, if it was the disciples or a certain group of onlookers, but it wasn’t the consensus of the crowd at large. I wondered if even those who attributed the voice to an angel were missing the point, not crediting it to God Himself, but this may be doing them a disservice. Throughout the Bible, if we see an angel of the Lord speak, they are speaking, as a prophet would, with the words of God. While we should appreciate a distinction between God speaking through a messenger, and God speaking directly, it’s not as if attributing the words to an angel means they can be disregarded. This affirms the idea that the vast majority of those who clamor around Jesus still don’t grasp who He truly is.

“Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 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.”

Before Jesus raises Lazarus, He says in John 11:41–42,

“… Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Jesus does not need to hear the voice of God calling audibly from heaven in order to know or take assurance from the Father’s will. What’s more, the message, that God has already glorified His name, and will do so again, is not for Jesus, but for those who might be saved. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, He tells him in John 3:17,

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

He elaborates however that while He is not there to condemn the world, there is a judgement that comes along with the Light. Light, by its very nature, drives out darkness and exposes the reality of things. You can pretend that everything is fine in the darkness, you can lie and twist what you say about the condition of the world, and your own heart, and there’s no way to verify the truth – but what the light exposes is undeniable. What Jesus says in John 12 shows us that just as this judgement is applied to mankind and the world, it also falls on Satan, who is called “the god of this world,” in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,” in Ephesians 2:2, and who Jesus calls “the ruler of this world,” both in today’s passage and in John 14:30. Something to take into consideration here is that God does not need to declare His victory over Satan. This was already established, as God cast him down from heaven, cursed him in the garden, and Jesus defeated him personally when He was tempted in the wilderness. Jesus didn’t go to the cross in order to allow God to have victory over the enemy – He did it to grant this victory to us. Satan is still active in our world today, his sway on this sin-stained earth is as prominent as ever, but he fights in a war where the outcome has already been firmly decided. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:56–57,

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus is our victory, and He delivered this victory through His sacrifice on the cross, lifted up and broken for the sins of man, taking up His life again to overcome death.

“So the crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’”

Cherry picking scripture isn’t new. One of my favorite examples of seeing the Bible the way we want to instead of in context is Philippians 4:13,

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

It’s on t-shirts, coffee cups, tattoos, and Bible covers. It’s a simple, beautiful verse, but we see it a lot when we’re facing challenges and we want to remind ourselves of victory. Your team is playing their rivals? Philippians 4:13. Taking a test that you’re nervous about? Philippians 4:13. Sitting an interview for a job you desperately want? People will quote this verse, and it’s in a way of, “you’re going to prevail, you’ve got this, God can and will deliver you the good outcome that you’re seeking.” For context, Philippians 4:11–12 says,

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

Let me paraphrase. Whether I am seated on a golden throne, or lying in the gutter with my teeth kicked in, I can do all things, not by my own power, but by Christ, in whom lies my victory. This doesn’t mean that your team won’t win, that you won’t ace your test, or that you won’t crush your job interview – but God’s provision is not relegated to just what we think of as “good” times, but is always abundant. This correlates with the response of the people in today’s passage, as they’re not looking at all of scripture, but focusing on the principles of the Davidic Messiah that they want to see fulfilled. The gaps in their knowledge could certainly be attributed to the poor religious instruction of the day, but context also supports some selective hearing on the part of the crowd. They have consistently shown that their hopes are laid, not in what Jesus has shown and taught them, but in the promise of an eternal kingdom, one they believe will cast off their Roman oppressors and grant them dominion as God’s people. They might focus on a passage like Isaiah 54:4–8,

“‘Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the LORD, your Redeemer.”

But they’re missing or ignoring teachings like Isaiah 53:4–6,

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The people do not truly grasp who Jesus is, what it means to for Him to be the prophesied Son of Man, and how He has come to save and deliver by way of the ultimate sacrifice.

2.      Jesus is the Light of the World

“So Jesus said to them, ‘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.’”

We know that the religious teaching of the day was largely substandard in Jesus’s time. This wasn’t because this information was unavailable to those who held the positions of teachers, but because of rampant corruption. The religious institution had abandoned the spirit of their worship, turning the Law itself into an idol, and prizing the social station they were given, over service to the Lord. Jesus shows us the contrast in where the religious rulers are spiritually, verses where they should be in the midst of a tirade against them in Matthew 23:16–22

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.”

While we can imagine the repercussions of being led by a “blind guide,” Jesus tells us explicitly in Matthew 15:13–14,

“… Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Teachings that are not of God, not established by His Word and Truth, will be dug up and destroyed. If the blind lead the blind – those who teach wrongly, and those who receive wrongly – then both will come to destruction. But God has sent Jesus, who is the Truth and the Light of the world into the world. Jesus, who doesn’t distract His ministry with doctrinal squabbles between one rabbinic school and another, but teaches directly from the scriptures. Jesus, who gives true understanding, and points the hearts and minds of the people toward God, instead of after the religious institutions, or the worldly gain of their nation. Jesus tells them that while they have the light – His light, to believe that they “may become sons of light.” If we jump back to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says during the beatitudes in Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

To be a peacemaker is to be called a son of God – a son of the Light. This instruction is again opposite to the dreams and aspirations that the people hold, craving insurrection and revolution against the Romans. To walk in the Light is to see, to understand, and to seek the kingdom of God above any and all earthly pursuits – and to deny the light is to walk, blind and ignorant, stumbling after whatever your flesh imagines is before you, to your own peril.

3.      Jesus is the Glory of God

“When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 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. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, 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.”

In Numbers 13, spies are sent into the land of Canaan that God has brought His people out of Egypt to deliver them into. The men are sent to scope out the land, which they do for forty days. At this point, the people have witnessed the plagues in Egypt, culminating with the Passover. They’ve been delivered through the Red Sea, they’ve been watched over by the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God has given them bread from heaven, water from a rock, and delivered His Law to them through Moses at Mt. Sinai. God has provided, but He has also chastised His people for their wickedness and lack of faith, bringing a plague against them in Numbers 11, and temporarily causing Miriam to become leprous. While the time from leaving Egypt up to spying out the promised land hasn’t exactly been smooth for the people of Israel, it is beyond questioning that God’s power and ability to provide for them has been on display. Yet the report of the spies leads the people to rebel. After hearing that the land is well fortified, and inhabited by giants, they seek to depose Moses and Aaron, and select a new leader that will take them back to Egypt – choosing a return to slavery over the path God has provided them with. Numbers 14:6–10 says,

“And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ‘The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.’ Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.”

God’s response shows us how the people’s rejection of Jesus is in many ways the same as it has always been. Numbers 14:11–12 says,

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.’”

After Moses intercedes for the people, God relents, not wiping them out in their entirety, but beginning their forty years in the wilderness, barring any of the rebellious generation, save for Joshua and Caleb, from entering the promised land. After God has pronounced this judgement, many of the people gather and head into the promised land, despite Moses’ warning that the Lord does not go with them, and they are crushed by the Amalekites and Canaanites. This again is an example of the people not listening to God, as they do not listen to Jesus, and it allows us to see the pathways through which God operates. This is supported by John giving us the frames of reference for prophetic fulfillment, first from Isaiah 53, and next from Isaiah 6. Isaiah 53:1 says,

“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

If you put these pieces together, we can see that to reject the message of God causes blindness as it relates to seeing the arm, the work, the glory of the Lord revealed. Isaiah 6:9–10 shows God commission Isaiah to deliver a message to the people of Israel,

“And he said, ‘Go, and say to this people: “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’”

This is not a matter of God cursing people so that they are blind and doomed from the start, but of Him giving the people over to the ways that they’ve already chosen, as Romans 1:24–25 says,

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Jesus came to save the world, to die in an act of ultimate atonement, to fulfill promises made to God’s people, and to expand the Lord’s flock to include the gentiles – drawing all people to Him. Jesus is the manifested glory of God, He is the answer to every need we could ever have – and yet we have a choice. We are free to deny this glory, to acknowledge it, and yet close our eyes to it, so that we may pursue what we long for in our flesh, and deny the God that made us. We are free to persecute the Light, to glory in the darkness, to wander blindly until we fall into a pit, where we will be consigned for eternity. Jesus is the glory of God, the Prince of Peace, and the hope and savior of humanity – and we reject Him to our eternal peril.

Pastor Chris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovCf4LarsLo