Lesson 75


The Gospel of John

World English Bible translation

 Today's Scripture

12:27 "Now my soul is troubled. What will I say? 'Father, save me from this time?' But for this cause I came to this time. 12:28 Father, glorify your name!"

Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."

12:29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

12:30 Jesus answered, "This voice hasn't come for my sake, but for your sakes. 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out. 12:32 I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 12:33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.


 Today's Lesson 

Today's Scripture is an interesting passage that follows the conversation that Jesus had with "certain Greeks" after He had entered Jerusalem on Psalm Sunday. Jesus begins by saying that His soul is troubled. He clearly knows what will soon take place. He knowingly hands Himself over to His enemies by returning to Jerusalem.

 

But, even knowing what His fate will be, He is unwilling to ask that God save Him from the end that will occur. Why is He unwilling to ask? Because it was for this very purpose that Jesus came into the world. Jesus came as the Lamb of God. He proceeds to the cross knowing that by His sacrifice, the sin of the entire world will be crucified with Him. The Father will be reconciling Himself with His creation through His death on the cross.

 

Jesus calls for the Father to "glorify your name!" There is a voice from heaven that answers Him, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The people that were in the multitude were amazed. Some thought that they had heard thunder. Some thought that they had heard the voice of an angel.

 

Jesus tried to explain to them that the voice that they had heard was for their own sake that they might believe in His words. And He goes on to tell them, "Now is the judgment of this world." The world was coming into judgment because it was coming into conflict with the plan of God. The Father had sent His Son into the world and the world did not know Him. Soon, the religious leaders would crucify Him. Such actions are a judgment in themselves. We judge ourselves when we continue to sin and refuse to repent and turn to the Lord. This world was being judged because it refused to acknowledge the Word who spoke it into existence.

 

"Now the prince of this world will be cast down." When this world was given over to sin and death at the fall of man, Satan became the prince of this world. He is called by this title in several places in the New Testament. The conflict that Jesus was provoking was not just with the religious authorities of Jerusalem. It was also with the powers of evil and sin in the spiritual realms. Now would be the moment of their judgment and defeat as well.

 

"I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." The author tells us that by this saying, Jesus was signifying the kind of death he should die. Jesus knew that the Roman method of execution was crucifixion. He knew that during the Feast the Jews would be forced to involve the Romans in their schemes. They could not afford to have Him stoned for heresy at the Feast. The political cost would have been too high.

 

Jesus is surrounded by the multitude and yet only His Father fully understands what He is doing there. He is comforted only by the words of the Father, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." He is alone in this multitude, but He is in the hands of His Father. The Father has glorified Him for what He is about to accomplish; can we do anything less?

 

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