And we open our Bibles together today to the
Gospel of John. We'll begin in chapter 1 and
then move on to chapter 12. When you get a new
appliance or a tool perhaps, are you the kind
of person who reads the instructions before you
use it? Or do you put them away until you get
into trouble? That tells something about you,
you know. I well remember the days when I stayed
up half the night, Christmas Eve, putting toys
together. I prided myself in doing that without
looking at the instructions first. After all,
isn't that the test of real manhood? And usually
I learned about two hours into the process that
I needed a little help. I remember when a bicycle
I put together looks something like Ezekiel's
vision of a wheel within a wheel. And I learned
how important it is to look at the instructions
along the way. The Bible is also an instruction
book for human life. God has given it to us so
that we might discover the meaning of life and
come to a personal relationship with Him. So
that we might know him as fully as possible,
he took an extraordinary step. He came into this
world, this world of humanity, becoming a man
himself, and lived among us. That's what we celebrate
this Christmas season. John, in his writing of
Jesus' life, his gospel, does not give to us
the Christmas narrative. He strips away the narrative,
but provides for us the substance of what happened
when God the Son came. We've looked at verses
one through three on previous occasions. Let's
begin in verse four. You will notice the positive,
expectant tone that suddenly turns. In him was
life, and that life was the light of men. The
light shines in the darkness. Now notice how
it turns. And the darkness has not understood
it, or perhaps better, has not overcome it. Although
it begins with a positive tone, there is a negative
word that is inserted, at least an implication,
in the word overcome. There is a struggle that
is implied when the light shone in the darkness.
But victory had been achieved. He goes on in
verse 9 to say something very positive. He says,
the true light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world. He was in the world.
And though the world was made through him, the
world did not recognize him. Notice again the
positive immediately followed by a turn in the
tone to the negative. God was in the world and
the world was made by him, but the world did
not recognize him. He came to his own, but his
own did not receive him. Yet to all who received
him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God, children
not born of natural descent or of human decision
or husband's will, but born of God. These themes,
the theme of the sun coming and what a positive
thing that is, and then the turning of the tone
to his rejection, these themes are fleshed out
in the Gospel of John. Ultimately, Jesus' ministry
leads him to the cross where he died. The climax
of the end. The turning of the gospel of John
from Jesus presenting himself To the time of
his death really begins in earnest in chapter
12 And that's where we're going to turn today
as we think about the glory of Christ's sacrifice
John chapter 12 Verse 23 Jesus replied the hour
has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat
falls to the ground and dies, it remains only
a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it,
while the man who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves
me must follow me, and where I am, my servant
also will be. My father will honor the one who
serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what
shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?
No. It was for this very reason I came to this
hour. Father, glorify your name, that a voice
came from heaven. I have glorified it and will
glorify it again. The crowd that was there and
heard it said it had thundered. said an angel
had spoken to him. Jesus said, this voice was
for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for
judgment on this world. Now the prince of this
world will be driven out, but when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.
He said this to show the kind of death he was
going to die. The glory of Jesus Christ is realized
in his sacrifice of himself on the cross at Calvary.
You say, it seems strange that you speak of glory
when you speak of a cross, for it's more gory
than glory. My friend, in the midst of the gore,
the blood, and the suffering of that cross, there
was glory revealed. You say, how was that glory
disclosed? Let me suggest to you this morning
three ways. In the first place, His glory was
disclosed in His obedience demonstrated to the
Father. Jesus says in verse 27, Now my heart
is troubled, what shall I say? Father, save me
from this hour? No. It was for this very reason
I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.
we can only imagine the departure of the Son
of God from the glories of heaven as He came
to the earth. What might have been the thoughts
of the Father as He watched His Son leave? Did
He say, Son, I love you? Go son and do the work
that I've sent you to do and remember I am with
you. I love you And what were the words of the
Sun as he left the glories of heaven Knowing
what was before him on the earth Well these words
we don't have to guess at the writer of Hebrews
tells us in the 10th chapter verses 5 through
7 The essence of that conversation from the Son
back to the Father can be found in these words,
Lo, I come to do your will. Jesus said, Father,
I'm going to do what you have sent me to do.
We don't know exactly when, as a man, He understood
his mission. But Jesus was conscious of his unique
identity and committed to the Father's things,
the Father's business, even in his childhood.
As Luke tells us, Luke 2, verse 49, when at the
temple Jesus said, Don't you know I must be about
my Father's business? And we ask ourselves the
question, did John and Jesus, John the Baptist
that is, and Jesus, his cousin, humanly, do they
ever discuss what was ahead of them as they played
together in childhood? How did John come to understand
the special role that he was given? Was it through
his mother and father? Perhaps. Nonetheless,
John, the writer of the Gospel, records that
when John the Baptist was baptizing out there
in the River Jordan, he saw his cousin, Jesus,
and on that occasion he said, The Lamb of God
who comes to take away the sin of the world.
So he knew who Jesus was. Maybe they had discussed
that at some time in their young adulthood. Now
the hour had come as we come to the 12th chapter
of John. Jesus calls it the hour. This is an
hour that up to this point had not yet come.
Now Jesus says the hour has come. He calls it
the hour when He would be glorified. Notice that.
That is when His glory would be revealed. And
so I ask again the simple question, how is it
revealed? By His obedience to the will of the
Father. We notice that we notice as man he says
My heart is troubled Do you have a troubled heart
this morning? Do not think that Jesus escaped
a troubled heart He himself says my heart is
troubled The word literally means my heart is
thrown into confusion What he is saying is that
the danger, the strain of what lay ahead of him
was beginning to press on his soul. This trouble
that he felt within him continued as much as
we know all the way through the Last Supper with
the disciples when he said to them, let not your
hearts be troubled. But his own heart was troubled,
and it seems to have culminated in the Garden
of Gethsemane when he said, Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not what I will, but what you will. Thy will
be done. And so we see his glory. The glory of
perfect obedience. We see the struggle of the
God -man. with the circumstances that were hours
before him. And yet we see the glory of his perfect
obedience, his righteousness, as he prepares
to lay down his life for sinners. Never does
the glory of who he is shine more clearly, more
visibly, than in this hour, as he calls it, when
he faced the cross. The glory of Jesus Christ
is revealed and disclosed in His sacrifice on
the cross. We see it disclosed in His perfect
obedience to the Father. Secondly, His glory
was disclosed in the judgment that He delivered
to the Prince of this world. In verse 31, He
says, Now the prince of this world will be driven
out. Have you ever noted in your mind that John
in his gospel does not include a record of the
temptation in the wilderness? And yet here he
makes it very clear of the battle that occurred
between light and darkness, between Christ and
Satan. He makes clear the reality of Satan's
role in the darkness of the world and in the
rejection of the world of the Savior. After months
of uncertainty, now decisive action will take
place. This is not only the time for his own
glory, but now is the time for judgment, as he
calls it, on this world and its prince. It's
Prince who will be driven out. Now judgment here
does not mean final retribution is going to come
fully or immediately at this point. What Jesus
is saying is events are now going to unfold which
will set in motion judgment. God had made His
final revelation in His Word and now all the
world will be held responsible for whether they
have obeyed or disobeyed that revelation. And
Jesus makes it clear that this judgment includes
the one who originated sin and who brought it
into the world and who orchestrates its advance.
And he says this prince who is Satan will be
thrown out literally. Again, this is not to happen
immediately. But the sentence was pronounced
at this point and it will be carried out. Jesus
is reminding us here by these words that Satan
the prince of this world is a usurper. That he
has no legal claim to reign. That the Lord Jesus
was through his cross going to strip Satan of
his weaponry and his powers. Through the cross
he would lead Satan in a triumphant march. Satan
being the defeated one, Christ the victorious
general. He would make an open show of Satan
and his forces of darkness. He is going to be
thrown out. His doom is sure. The glory of Jesus
Christ's death is seen in the cross where he
defeated his enemy. Satan. In Hebrews the second
chapter and the fourteenth verse we have a further
word regarding his coming in flesh and blood
and why he did. It says, since the children have
flesh and blood, he, that's the son, he too shared
in their humanity so that by his death He might
destroy him who holds the power of death, that
is the devil, and free those who all their lives
were held in slavery by fear of death. That is
one of Satan's tools to hold people. He enforces
his orders, his mastery in their lives by holding
over them the fear of death. Jesus says no longer.
I am coming that I might take away that power
from him. That I might destroy him. He was manifested
that he might destroy the works of the devil,
writes John elsewhere. The glory of Jesus Christ
was disclosed in his cross -suffering because
there he delivered judgment to the Prince of
this world. You say, well then we need not worry
about Satan. No, that isn't the case. He's still
a very real enemy. We need not be terrified of
him. We need not fear him. But we do need to
be cautious of him. Peter says he is like a roaring
lion walking about seeking whom he may devour.
I read a story about Carl Armending, who recounted
an experience one time of watching a wild cat
in a zoo. And as he stood there watching this
wild animal, an attendant entered the cage on
the opposite side from where he was standing.
And he had nothing in his hands except a broom
that he was carrying. Closing the door behind
him, the attendant began to sweep the floor of
the cage. He observed that the attendant did
not have any weapon with him to ward off an attack.
And in fact, when he got over to the corner where
the cat was lying, he poked the cat with the
broom. So the cat got up and moved away, and
he swept where the cat had been. The cat hissed
at him, but that was about all. So when he got
out of the cage, Armending went over to him and
said, you certainly are a brave man. He said,
no, I ain't brave. Well then, said Armending,
that must be a tame animal. No, no, said the
attendant, he ain't tame either. Well, he said,
if you aren't brave and the wild cat isn't tame,
then I can't understand why he doesn't attack
you." Well, the attendant chuckled and he replied,
Well, mister, he's old and he ain't got no teeth.
Makes a little difference. Jesus extracted the
teeth from the devil. He still walks about like
a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But
he ain't got no teeth. Because Jesus at the cross
of Calvary took his teeth away and we have to
be wary But we don't have to be afraid because
Satan is conquered He is still active He is still
very much an enemy that we have to be on guard
against and against whom we wrestle as Paul puts
in Ephesians 6 But don't you ever think? as Satan
is going to gain a victory. He's already defeated
at the cross because the Son revealed His glory
by destroying the devil and pronouncing judgment
upon Him and His whole system. And though we
live in the midst of a sort of a revival of His
system today, when we see overtly satanic principles
being placed in position in the culture in which
we live. Ultimately, friend, this world cannot
stand before God because Jesus Christ has already
delivered His judgment 2 ,000 years ago and it
is going to be carried out. The glory of the
Son. Why did He come into the world? in human
flesh as one of us so that he might destroy the
devil and his whole system. But there is a third
way in which we see the glory of Jesus Christ
revealed at the cross in his suffering. His glory
as the eternal Son of God was disclosed in the
salvation that he determined for humanity. Notice
that he says in verse 32, when I'm lifted up
from the earth. I will draw all men to myself."
This term, lifted up, was used elsewhere in the
Gospel of John, chapter three, again in chapter
eight, and each time it is John's expression
of Jesus suffering on the cross. And in fact,
he notes here, this he said to show the kind
of death he was going to die. Jesus said, when
I am lifted up between heaven and earth, The
result of that is that I will draw all men to
myself. This is not a word about universal salvation.
As though in the end everybody is going to be
saved. But what he is saying is, when I am lifted
up, I will draw from all men without distinction.
The poor, the rich, the Jew, the Gentile. I will
draw from them. They will come to me. In fact,
you notice in the more broad context of John
12, Jesus is making all of these statements in
response to some Greeks who had come wanting
to see him. And this seems to be the closest
point to the answer that Jesus gave to that desire
that they had to interview him. He said, when
I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.
He is glorified. in that he redeems a remnant
of Adam's race to inhabit a new heaven and a
new earth. He himself was raised from the dead
and returned to heaven and is today gathering
his own to himself. And one day he is going to
redeem us entirely including our bodies and we
will be with him forever. That was the joy that
was set before him when he endured the cross.
And so Messiah is glorified as the Lord of redeemed
humanity with whom he chooses to share his kingdom.
Now in the midst of all of this teaching regarding
his glory, there is an application that we do
not want to miss. It is an application that is
given in a picture in verse 24. Jesus is talking
primarily about Himself, but there is a very
clear application to you and me. There's an application
from agriculture and He says the seed is just
a seed as long as you hold it in your hand. But
if you place that seed into the ground and it
dies and goes through the process of germination
therefore, it sprouts a new plant which produces
a whole new head of grain. So, where there was
one piece of grain before, now you have many
pieces of grain. There's the picture. His point
is that I am going to lay down my life and as
a result of doing that, there will be many who
will be called the children of God. Then we see
the principle in verse 25 applied to us. The
man who loves his life will lose it, while the
man who hates his life in this world will keep
it for eternal life. To love our lives means
to put ourselves before him. He who loves his
suke, that's what he says here. If you could
see that spelled out in English letters, you
would see that it is the word from where we get
psychology, psyche, psychologist, psychiatry,
psyche. He who loves his psyche. By that the
Greeks meant who love themselves, their individual
personalities, who they are with all of their
experiences and all of their attainments. That
was the psyche to the Greeks. Jesus says the
one who puts himself first will end up losing
his life. But the one who's willing to lose his
life, who's willing to lay it down, who's willing
to say, as I am, thy will be done, that one will
experience eternal life. There was a proprietor
of a dry cleaning shop who also, as a part of
his business, dyed clothing. And so he hung this
sign in his shop window. And remember, he's using
die here, D -Y -E. He says, we die to live and
live to die. The more we die, the more we live,
and the more we live, the more we die. It's also
true of Christians. The principle of laying down
ourselves for the will of God. George Mueller
was asked the secret of his prayer life and his
fruitfulness as a Christian. He replied, there
came a day when George Mueller died, utterly
died. No longer did his own desire, preferences,
and tastes come first. He knew that from then
on Christ must be all in all. There's a precept
in verse 26. Jesus says, whoever serves me must
follow me." And I ask you, where was he headed?
He was headed to the cross. And so the precept
that he lays down here is that we cannot serve
him without following him to the cross. And they're
dying to ourselves, dying to our self -interests,
dying to our rights. Jim Elliot was martyred
in 1956. As you probably know, he was trying
to reach the Oka Indians in South America for
Christ when he was killed, along with four other
missionaries. Just three years earlier than that,
after watching an Indian die in a jungle hut,
Jim Elliot was moved to die if necessary, he
said in his writings, to help these people come
to Christ. Little did he know at that point when
he wrote, Lord, let me live until I've declared
thy works to this generation. Little did he know
when he wrote his willingness to die that three
years later, before he was 30 years of age, he
would die. As a result of his death, his laying
down his life literally for Christ, thousands
of Indians in that part of South America have
come to faith in Christ. And beyond that, thousands
of Christian workers around the world have gone
into the Lord's work because of his example and
testimony in his writings. Whoever serves me
says Jesus must follow me. to the cross. Then
we have a promise. Where I am, my servant also
will be. My Father will honor the one who serves
me. Jesus said it is worth laying down your life
because I want you to know that if you do, if
you're willing to die to yourself and thus live,
one day you'll be in heaven with me. And my Father
is going to honor you. He says we will be with
Him and be rewarded because we lived and died
as did He. Let's keep that before us this Christmas
season. That the Son of God came into the world
that He might die. And He has called us to Himself
that we might have life and then offer it for
Him. and not live it for ourselves. We are pushed
and cajoled and exhorted and commercialized into
the idea that we deserve it all and we ought
to live for ourselves and get it while we can.
Jesus says, lift up your eyes from the world,
get a picture of things as they really are, understand
that eternity is real and lay down your life
in this world for my sake. Be willing to put
your self -interest behind you. Be willing to
die to the rights that you claim and lay them
aside. One day you'll be with me and my father.
My father is going to honor you. Wendell Phillips
was an advocate of human rights 125 years ago.
He was one of the strongest of the leaders of
the abolitionists in the United States, that
is, those who wanted to get rid of slavery. And
once that had happened legally, he went on to
other aspects of human rights. The story is told
of one night when he was many miles from his
home in Boston, had finished one of his fiery
lectures, and his friends urged him not to attempt
the journey back home until the morning. But
he was a man who was utterly devoted to his invalid
wife. Well, they said the last train has left
and in order for you to get back to the city
you're going to have to make some kind of special
arrangements now and it's very cold and it's
sleeting. And you face several miles of rough
riding before you get there. The story is told
that Wendell Phillips simply smiled and said,
but at the other end of those miles I shall find
my beloved Anne. Isn't that a great story? My
friend, it may be sleeting, it may be tough.
Life may be hard now, but I want to tell you
something, at the end of it all is our beloved
Jesus. And whatever we pass through in this world
for His sake is well worth it, because one day
we'll see Him and share in His glory, the glory
that He revealed. in His sacrifice at the cross.
Let's pray. Friend, have you trusted Christ?
Do you know Him as your Lord? Do you have eternal
life? Are you sure your sins are forgiven? At
the end of the miles of your life, is Jesus going
to be standing there waiting for you? Will you
trust Him today? Do not delay or put off any
longer. This Christmas season, will you receive
God's gift in His Son, a gift given for you,
a gift paid for, the cross on your behalf? Dear
child of God, are you living for yourself? Who's
first in your life? Listen to the words of Jesus,
the one who loves his life will lose it. And
the one who hates his life in this world will
keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must
follow me. Will you surrender yourself to him
and say as he did to the father, thy will be
done, Lord. Whatever it cost me, Whatever the
sacrifice, Jesus, your will be done. I hope you'll
do that today. Give him your gift of surrender.
Lord Jesus, how wonderful you are, how glorious.
And we see your glory demonstrated at the cross,
where you conquered Satan. and where you purchased
us. Lord, because of what you've done on our
behalf, in laying down yourself, we lay down
ourselves for you. And we ask you to fill us
and to use us as a people. to further demonstrate
your glory in this dark world in which we live.
May your glory be seen in our lives as we live
out your life in the strength of the Holy Spirit.
Let's stand together with our heads bowed and
just sing quietly, have thine own way. Thou art
the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me
after thy will, while I Live it out, Lord. Live
out your life through us. This week may we walk
in your glory, knowing that whatever our road
entails, you're standing at the end of it. And
it'll be worth it all when we see you face to
face in your glory. Amen.