John 12.20-36a
John 12:20-36
The hour has come [draft sermon outline]
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Published October 13th, 2021
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John 12:20-36
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Some Greeks Seek Jesus 20 Now e among those who went up to worship at the feast were some f Greeks. 21 So these came to g Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told h Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, i “The hour has come j for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, k unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 l Whoever loves his life loses it, and m whoever n hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must o follow me; and p where I am, there will my servant be also. q If anyone serves me, r the Father will honor him. The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up 27 s “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, t save me from u this hour’? But v for this purpose I have come to u this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then w a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, x “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, y “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 z Now is the judgment of this world; now will a the ruler of this world b be cast out. 32 And I, c when I am lifted up from the earth, d will draw e all people to myself.” 33 He said this f to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that g the Christ remains forever. How can you say that h the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, i “The light is among you j for a little while longer. k Walk while you have the light, lest darkness l overtake you. m The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become n sons of light.” The Unbelief of the People When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
John 12:20-36
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20 ῏Ησαν δὲ Ἕλληνές τινες ἐκ τῶν ἀναβαινόντων ἵνα προσκυνήσωσιν ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ• 21 οὗτοι οὖν προσῆλθον Φιλίππῳ τῷ ἀπὸ Βηθσαϊδὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ἠρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες• κύριε, θέλομεν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἰδεῖν. 22 ἔρχεται ὁ Φίλιππος καὶ λέγει τῷ Ἀνδρέᾳ, ἔρχεται Ἀνδρέας καὶ Φίλιππος καὶ λέγουσιν τῷ Ἰησοῦ. 23 ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀποκρίνεται αὐτοῖς λέγων• ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. 24 ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου πεσὼν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀποθάνῃ, αὐτὸς μόνος μένει• ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ, πολὺν καρπὸν φέρει. 25 ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολλύει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ μισῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον φυλάξει αὐτήν. 26 ἐὰν ἐμοί τις διακονῇ, ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθείτω, καὶ ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ διάκονος ὁ ἐμὸς ἔσται• ἐάν τις ἐμοὶ διακονῇ τιμήσει αὐτὸν ὁ πατήρ. 27 Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται, καὶ τί εἴπω; πάτερ, σῶσόν με ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης; ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην. 28 πάτερ, δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα. ἦλθεν οὖν φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ• καὶ ἐδόξασα καὶ πάλιν δοξάσω. 29 ὁ οὖν ὄχλος ὁ ἑστὼς καὶ ἀκούσας ἔλεγεν βροντὴν γεγονέναι, ἄλλοι ἔλεγον• ἄγγελος αὐτῷ λελάληκεν. 30 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν• οὐ διʼ ἐμὲ ἡ φωνὴ αὕτη γέγονεν ἀλλὰ διʼ ὑμᾶς. 31 νῦν κρίσις ἐστὶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, νῦν ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω• 32 κἀγὼ ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν. 33 τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν. 34 Ἀπεκρίθη οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ ὄχλος• ἡμεῖς ἠκούσαμεν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ὅτι ὁ χριστὸς μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ πῶς λέγεις σὺ ὅτι δεῖ ὑψωθῆναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; 35 εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς• ἔτι μικρὸν χρόνον τὸ φῶς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστιν. περιπατεῖτε ὡς τὸ φῶς ἔχετε, ἵνα μὴ σκοτία ὑμᾶς καταλάβῃ• καὶ ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ οὐκ οἶδεν ποῦ ὑπάγει. 36 ὡς τὸ φῶς ἔχετε, πιστεύετε εἰς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα υἱοὶ φωτὸς γένησθε. ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐκρύβη ἀπʼ αὐτῶν.
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The hour has come Intro : Cf. our idiom, 'the time has come!' Backdrop to the 'hour' in John so far. Masterful writer. Reading forward, the anticipation builds. Reading again, you see more and more detail about this 'hour'. How glory and shame are matters, in one sense, of perspective. The moment of greatest shame can be the moment of greatest self-giving love. 1. Greeks seeking Jesus triggers the 'hour' (v20-23) Greeks, likely from the Decapolis. B ackground to the Decapolis. And map. Hence the mention of Philip and Bethsaida. Background of the 'dividing wall of hostility' between Jew and Gentile, eg the outer court of the temple. At the very moment when hostility from the Jewish authorities is at its highest and most hardened, the nations are coming to him. So Jesus knows, now is the hour for the Son of Man to be lifted up - on the cross, in both shame and glory. 2. Jesus' followers must follow him in self-giving shame and glory (v24-26) Jesus' life and death give life in an unrepeatable way (v24) But his death and glory provide the shape for our lives (v25-26). Hating vs loving. Terms of comparison cf. Genesis 29.31 ; Deuteronomy 21.15. 'If anyone serves me, he must follow me'; not mere self-denial, but self-denial that comes in the path of following Jesus in real-time. God's glory . He glorifies his name, in glorifying the Son of Man. FCF. Whoever loves his life loses it. H1. Outright living for myself and this world's values. H2. Using religion as a cover for living for myself. A cold denial of self, rather than an actual following of Jesus. Because we love our lives, our self-rule too much. Specific examples. We don't believe that the Father sees the pain and shame of true self-sacrifice, and that he really does treasure it and will honour it. 3. The end-time events are now happening, at Jesus' 'hour' (v27-33) Voice from heaven is the prospective confirmation, a key point in the redemptive storyline. The disciples will look back and remember this voice confirming the significance of the hour, as it kicked into action. Now is the judgment of this world. In one sense the world passes judgement on Jesus in his crucifixion; yet this is the ultimate judgement of the world, shown as guilty God-haters. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out (cf John 16.11). As sin and death are overcome, Satan is de-throned. While he still prowls, he has been bound. The Messiah will be lifted up. cf Isaiah 52-53. On the cross, the cross as the supreme manifestation of God's glory, and also the route to the Father. When lifted up, he will draw all people to himself. Starting with the centurion, and all those in Acts, and on and on around the world. Person of Jesus. He is the Son of Man, lifted up. In shame, yet that shame is the revealing of the glory of his self-giving love. In his hour he brings about the end times. Work of Jesus . He is the grain of wheat that died, and out of his life gave a harvest of life. Union with Jesus . We find our life in his death. We follow his steps of self-sacrifice. Not just doing lots of 'good' things, but actually following Jesus in real world in real time. Hate your life and so keep it for eternal life. Invitation . This is true life, knowing God as Father and Jesus as Lord, and following him in complete self-surrender. Confrontation . Stop the fake following. Consolation . The Father sees and knows all Jesus' followers, and 'he will honour them'. 4. Jesus urges those who misunderstand to walk in the light (v34-36) v34 Misunderstanding rests upon the idea of a Messiah who dies. In other words, believe in him right now, from what he has just said Don't just see the shame and curse - see the glory He hides himself as a kind of acted parable; you are about to lose the light. Wrap up: Finally, the 'hour' has come. As the nations seek Jesus, he knows he will now be lifted up in shame and glory, and the end time events are now happening. Jesus' followers will live out of his death. And we are called to follow him in self-giving love.
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