Sermon -- 5th Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2024)

JOHN 12:20-33

THE HOUR HAS COME FOR THE SON OF MAN TO BE GLORIFIED.

In the name + of Jesus.

      The Gospel of John records Jesus being particularly focused on his appointed hour.  Throughout his ministry, there were people who wanted to hasten Jesus’ appointed hour.  It began already at his first miracle.  The Virgin Mary informed Jesus that the wedding had run out of wine.  She seemed to think that this was the opportune time for the kingdom of God to burst forth on the world.  Perhaps she had in mind the prophet Joel who had said, “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.  And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.  And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord” (Joel 3:17-18).  Whether she was thinking of that or not, Jesus’ reply was straight forward: “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). 

     Later on, Jesus’ own brothers encouraged him, “‘Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.  For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.  If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’  …Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come…’” (John 7:4-6). 

     Jesus had made several bold claims that he is divine.  These often stirred up the wrath of the Pharisees and the priests.  A few times they had attempted to stone him to death, but Jesus avoided all their attempts.  John explained why Jesus could make such strong claims and avoid their threats.  He wrote, “These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come” (John 8:20). 

     Jesus was always focused on his appointed hour.  And he was firmly in control of it.  Jesus’ arrest did not come as a surprise to him, and he made no attempt to escape it.  Jesus was not surprised by who betrayed him.  Rather, Jesus encouraged him to do what he had come to do.  The Sanhedrin thought that they were in control.  Although the Sanhedrin was determined to kill Jesus, they also wanted to use caution.  They said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people” (Matthew 26:5).  But Jesus was in control of his appointed hour.  When the Passover lambs were to be slain, so was Jesus.  That was his appointed hour.  He was committed to completing the task given to him by his heavenly Father.

     Now we get to the portion of John’s Gospel which we read earlier.  Some Greeks had come to Jerusalem for the Passover.  If they “went up to worship at the feast” (John 12:20), then they were converts to Judaism and they were waiting for the promised Messiah.  They were likely convinced that Jesus was the Christ, which is why they were eager to meet him.  As John records it, it is a strange introduction.  There are no cordial greetings, not even an exchange of names.  That’s not to say it didn’t happen, but John cuts right to the chase in his Gospel.  You want to see Jesus?  Well, this is what you should be paying attention to.  This is what matters.  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23).  After the long wait, the appointed hour was at hand.  It was the beginning of Holy Week, and Jesus was ready to be slain as the chosen Lamb which covers over our iniquities and delivers us from death.

     Jesus explained why his death was necessary.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).  Jesus could have lived his perfect life in peace.  By doing so, he would have earned God’s favor.  Jesus would have been the one holy man who kept the Commandments.  Presumably, he would not have died because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  At some point, the Father would have assumed Jesus bodily into heaven apart from death.  If he had no sin, there would be no death.  Jesus would have been the one perfect man who entered the glories of God the Father.  And if that is all Jesus was, then we can only look to him as an example of how to win God’s favor. 

     But this would make our lives all the more frustrating.  Just because we have an example does not mean we can copy it.  Why not say, “In order to win God’s favor, you need to paint like Rembrandt, compose music like Mozart, and run like Usain Bolt”?  Watching YouTube instruction videos for hours will not get me close.  Just because they excelled does not mean I can. 

     In regard to holiness, it gets worse.  Even when we want keep the word of the Lord, we lose our patience and snap at other people.  We say that we are too tired to carry out our responsibilities and neglect them.  We claim that we don’t have time to read the Bible at home or to pray, but we always seem to have time for scrolling on our phones.  If you decided to wear one of those What Would Jesus Do bracelets and let that guide you, you would still be burdened with fears and doubts because you don’t know what Jesus would do.  When your co-worker decides to blame you for a task that was fouled up, would Jesus shame your co-worker in front of everyone and yell, “Liar”?  Would Jesus give a few bucks to everyone he saw holding up a cardboard sign at an intersection?  How much would he give?  What would Jesus do?  The biggest lesson you will learn from this is that you are not like Jesus.

     When Jesus declared, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23), he did not have in mind another example for us to follow.  Rather, he went there to make an exchange—his holiness for our sins.  By going to the cross, Jesus would make the payment for all of our sins.  That does not mean our sins are excusable; it means that they are taken away from us.  Jesus’ innocent life was given in exchange for our sinful lives.  The righteous one died for the unrighteous.  He took on the curse of God so that we would receive God’s favor and blessings.

     The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  That glory is revealed in Jesus’ sufferings and death.  That is where the Lord atones for the sins of the world.  And upon dying, Jesus’ lifeless body was laid in a tomb.  He was planted there like a seed.  If Jesus did not come to suffer and die for us, he would have remained the only holy man—like a seed that was never planted.  “But if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). 

     When a seed is planted, it germinates and sprouts.  It produces far more than just one seed to replace itself.  Think about a sunflower.  One seed is planted, and a giant stalk comes up.  Then when the flower blooms, you can seek all kinds of sunflower seeds in that blackened center.  If you don’t plant the sunflower seed, you will only have the one seed.  But if that seed is buried in the ground and dies, an abundance of seeds will result.

     So it is with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  The man who overcame the grave shows what is in store for you.  Jesus is the first to rise from the dead and to live forever.  Since Jesus has mastered death and the grave, death and the grave must obey Jesus’ command.  When he comes again on the Last Day, Jesus’ voice will summon all people out of their graves.  Those who believe in Jesus will be raised up to live in glory forever more.  This is the reason Jesus came.

     But there would be a cost for this, and Jesus knew it.  Sins are wicked.  They demand justice.  They have earned God’s wrath because God does not treat his word lightly.  To go against God’s word is to attack God himself.  This cannot be overlooked or go unpunished.  So, Jesus came to take the punishment for us.  And he knew it would be intense torment.  It would mean the eternal pains of hell absorbed by the eternal Son of God.  Therefore, Jesus said, “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” (John 12:27-28). 

     The hour had come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  And in doing so, God the Father was glorified too.  The glory of God is not that he is holy or almighty.  He is those things, but that does not save us.  The glory of God is that he loves and saves sinners.  God the Father revealed his mercy by sending Jesus to redeem us.  The Son of Man secured God’s mercy for us by going to the cross to die for our sins.  This was the whole purpose Jesus came into this world.  This was his appointed hour, and everything in history centers on this moment. 

     God from eternity entered the world at a specific time.  His years of life, his teaching, and everything else he did were focused on this hour.  This is the moment when the Son of Man redeemed us from an eternity of divine rejection and opened up the kingdom of heaven to us for everlasting peace and rest.  The Gospels record many things Jesus said and did, and we do well to be familiar with them.  But like those Greeks who came to see Jesus, we need our focus to be on Jesus’ sufferings, death, and resurrection.  That is where he makes his glory known.  That is where he makes our salvation known.

     The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  We are just a week away from Holy Week.  We have entered Passiontide, and our Lenten fast has intensified.  It is probably unsettling to you to see the walls barren, to see the crucifix veiled, and to have the organ muted.  You might even hate it.  But by scaling back our festive mood and putting away our vivid art, we are highlighting our own lack of beauty and glory.  We are sinners.  We are not worthy to look upon Jesus who suffered and died for us.  If the hour has come for the Son of Man to be slain, it is not appropriate for our worship to be exuberant.  It is subdued as we recognize the solemnity of the hour.

     Our celebration is muted for a while, but not for long.  For the seed was planted in the earth.  It has sprung forth on the third day.  It will produce an abundant harvest of people who will be raised from the dead to live forever.  Then, our celebration will be limitless in its joy and in its duration.  But for now, let’s focus on the appointed hour.  As Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27).

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.