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John 12:30-36 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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We saw last week some Greeks arrive, chapter 12, verses 20 through 22, which signals the movement of Jesus' mission to the nations.
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Jesus responds to their arrival by speaking about his death.
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The grain of wheat must fall into the earth and die in order to be fruitful, verse 24.
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And the son's obedience will glorify the father, verses 27 through 29.
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In our text for today, Jesus explains what his death will accomplish.
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The world's judgment, Satan's defeat, and the gathering of a redeemed people.
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Before I read, beginning in verse 27, let's pray together and ask for God's favor.
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Father, we do ask that you would help us today.
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We humbly recognize as we take up your word that we will not understand it.
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We will not rightly believe its promises or obey its commands or have affection for you as its author without your help.
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So we pray that you'll help us by the power of your spirit to this end.
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And we pray it in Christ's name. Amen.
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So John 12, beginning in verse 27, but our text will begin in verse 30.
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Jesus says,
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He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
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So the crowd answered him,
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We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever.
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How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?
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Who is this Son of Man?
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So Jesus said to them,
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The light is among you for a little while longer.
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Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you.
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The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
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While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.
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When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
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At the center of our text is the cross of Jesus Christ.
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Unmistakably so.
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All roads in the Bible lead to Golgotha.
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But here we see it so very clearly presented.
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This morning I want to make four observations in light of the cross of Jesus Christ.
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I'm going to give them to you very quickly and then we'll walk through each one together as we walk through the text.
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Number one, the cross reveals God's judgment.
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Number two, the cross secures God's victory over Satan.
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Number three, the cross accomplishes the saving of peoples.
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And number four, the cross requires belief.
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Firstly, the cross reveals God's judgment.
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We see this in verse 30 and the first part of verse 31.
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In response to misconceptions about the voice, he says,
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This voice has come for your sake, not mine.
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Now is the judgment of this world.
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Jesus does not need God's confirmation.
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He is not somehow uncertain of the purpose for which he came.
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God speaks for the benefit of the disciples and the others gathered.
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God speaks from heaven, confirming the centrality of the death of the Christ for your sake.
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In the immediate context, again, the disciples and the crowd, but also for us this morning as we take up the text and we read.
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It is for our sake that God the Father confirms the centrality of the cross of Jesus Christ.
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The crowd does not deny that something supernatural has happened.
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This explanation of it thundering.
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Last week I explained I think that this is an allusion to Sinai.
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I think they are rightly comprehending what's happening here.
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Some believe it's an angel speaking.
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But as we have seen all throughout, repeatedly throughout John's gospel, there is a mix of response.
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Rejection and receipt.
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Misunderstandings all along the way.
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And so Jesus teaches on.
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It is just so incredibly merciful as you read through the gospels.
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It just struck me in my reading of John how often people misunderstand and yet he continues.
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He goes on to explain.
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He says, now is the judgment of this world.
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This now refers to a decisive judgment bound to the approaching crucifixion.
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Not merely final judgment, although it does include that as well.
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Hear this, what I'm about to say.
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Adults, young people, what you do with the Christ makes all the difference in the world.
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I have presented to you previously the trilemma of Jesus Christ.
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He says astounding things about himself and about the work that he came to accomplish.
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We take it up now and read as work he has accomplished.
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He states that he is God.
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Unequivocally, he says he is God.
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Now he is claiming that he must die in order to save.
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He puts the cross at the center of his salvific work.
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He says that he is going to be raised again.
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We read later that he is in fact.
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So we can only do one of three things with him.
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This is the trilemma.
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He is either, number one, a liar.
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Nothing he said was true.
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And he didn't believe it to be true.
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He was just lying.
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Or, number two, he's a lunatic.
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Nothing he said was true.
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And he did believe it to be true.
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It wasn't true and he was crazy for saying the things that he said.
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Or, third, everything that he said is true.
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And he is Lord.
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It's your only three options.
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What to do.
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How to respond to Jesus.
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Liar, lunatic, or Lord.
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You must choose one.
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Your judgment at the end of all things will be based on the correctness of your answer.
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He says now is the judgment of this world.
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This world is understood as humanity in rebellion against God.
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The system in which we live.
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Rebelling against God.
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He says now is the judgment.
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It's brought about by.
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It's inaugurated by his soon coming death on the cross.
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I've watched this again and again and again.
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This attempt to explain away the exclusivity of the claims of Jesus Christ.
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Shortly in our text we're going to see in John chapter 14 and verse 6.
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Jesus say, I am the way and the truth and the life.
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Right?
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Emphasis mine.
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But this is what he says.
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I am the way and the truth and the life.
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And in case any of us misunderstands what he means.
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He says, no one comes to the Father except through me.
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By believing in his person and his work.
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We're restored to relationship with God.
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And this just, they labor to explain away this.
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The liberal theologian Frederick Buechner, I believe I'm pronouncing his last name correctly.
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Says this, quote.
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This is an explanation to explain this away.
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Quote.
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Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life.
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No one comes to the Father but by me.
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He didn't say that any particular ethic, doctrine, or religion was the way, the truth, and the life.
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He said that he was.
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Okay.
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Well, he's not totally missing at this point.
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He goes on.
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He didn't say that it was by believing or doing anything in particular that you could come to the Father.
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He said it was only by him.
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By living, participating in, being caught up by the way of life that he embodied that was his way.
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For me, Jesus' way is the way of unconditional, radically inclusive love.
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End quote.
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An ethos embodied by Jesus is the way that you're restored to the Father.
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Not by placing, saving faith in his person and his work.
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And the cross sets at the center.
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Us understanding penal, substitutionary atonement.
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Is at the very center of the way in which we're restored to the Father.
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Our rebellion against God's law deserves infinite punishment.
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It deserves it.
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The wages of sin is death.
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Every one of us guilty before a holy God.
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And so what we need to be restored to God in order for God to uphold his justice while also being merciful.
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Get this.
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Both things need to be true all the time.
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This doctrine of God where he never changes, he's never in flux, is called the simplicity of God.
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God is always who he is at all times.
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So God is just.
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We want him to be just.
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Transgressors deserve punishment.
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But we also, because we're transgressors, want him to be merciful.
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And he is.
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So how does he uphold his justice and his mercy?
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Be just and be justifier?
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He sends his son.
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He sends himself.
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God himself takes on human flesh.
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We're going to spend a bunch of time thinking about this in the coming months.
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The incarnation of Christ takes on human flesh.
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Jesus lives the life that's expected of us.
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Perfectly occupies the law.
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And then dies the death that we deserve.
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In our place.
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Substitutes for us.
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Dies the death that belongs to us.
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An infinite sacrifice to pay an infinite debt.
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Jesus is the way and the truth and the life.
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And it's by believing in his person, right?
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That he is the one that can accomplish this.
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And that work.
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That it is finished work.
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That we can be restored to God.
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And the judgment of the world will be based on whether or not you accept the crucified Christ.
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Christ.
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So the cross reveals God's judgment.
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It is the deciding point.
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Who is this?
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Jesus.
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The cross not only exposes the world's guilt.
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It overthrows the enemy who has exercised influence over the world.
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So our second point.
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The cross secures God's victory over Satan.
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The last part of verse 31.
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Now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
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This ties into the first observation to be sure.
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The ruler of this world is a reference to Satan.
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His influence is evidenced in the rebellious unbelief.
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The spiritual blindness of this world.
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Listen to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 3 and 4.
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There Paul writes.
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And even if our gospel is veiled.
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It is veiled to those who are perishing.
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In their case the God of this world.
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Has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.
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To keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
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Who is the image of God.
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However, Jesus says.
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Now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
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The cross is a decisive blow against the enemy.
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His authority has always been a bridled authority.
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His power has always been subservient to divine sovereignty.
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Even the death of Christ.
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The greatest evil of the world.
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Satan thinks he's working to his advantage.
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But it lies underneath God's sovereign control.
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And works against him.
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Jesus communicating here that his death on the cross.
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Will be the death blow of the power of Satan.
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Satan will writhe in anguish before the end.
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We ought to neither minimize nor maximize the power of Satan today.
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He will writhe.
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He will cause damage.
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He'll try to do what he can.
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But his dominion has a guaranteed demise.
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Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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So the cross reveals God's judgment.
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Second, the cross secures God's victory over Satan.
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The cross defeats Christ's enemy.
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And also gathers the people that he came to redeem.
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So our third observation is the cross accomplishes the saving of peoples.
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Verse 32 and 33.
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There Jesus says that when I am lifted up from the earth.
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Will draw all people to myself.
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Jesus speaks typologically in verse 32.
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And then John clarifies exactly what he means in verse 33.
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He said this as some commentary on Jesus' teaching.
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To show by what kind of death he was going to die.
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Jesus is speaking of his death on a Roman cross.
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By referencing a significant episode in Israel's history.
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You may be familiar with this.
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If you're not, if you want to join me in Numbers chapter 21.
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I'm going to read it just quickly to you.
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Beginning in verse 4.
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Numbers 21 and verse 4.
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From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea.
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So the Israelites, after they've been let out of captivity.
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To go around the land of Edom.
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And the people became impatient on the way.
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And the people spoke against God and against Moses.
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Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
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For there is no food and no water.
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And we loathe this worthless food.
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Proceeding, they've been receiving manna from heaven every day.
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And water has poured forth from a rock.
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So there is both food and water.
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Food from heaven, which they call worthless food.
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They're being rebellious against God.
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And in verse 6, there's a judgment that comes from God.
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Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people.
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Which I just take to mean venomous.
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I think that's what is meant by the text.
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Fiery serpents among the people.
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And they bit the people so that many people of Israel died.
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And the people came to Moses and said,
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We have sinned, for he has spoken against the Lord and against you.
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They repent.
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They turn from their rebellion.
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Pray to the Lord that he takes away the serpents from us.
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So Moses prayed for the people.
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Now you might expect at this point that the serpents just go away.
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God sent them.
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He can take them away.
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But instead, verse 8 says,
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And the Lord said to Moses,
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Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole.
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And everyone who is bitten,
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when he sees it,
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shall live.
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Right?
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So if they're bit by these venomous snakes,
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they're to look to this statue of a venomous snake on a pole.
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And they will live.
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So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole.
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And if a serpent bit anyone,
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he would look at the bronze serpent to live.
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Now again, I said it before,
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Jesus is speaking typologically.
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That is to say,
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the bronze serpent is the type.
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Jesus is stating that he is the anti-type.
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Or, if you're not familiar with that language and you prefer,
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the bronze serpent is the symbol,
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and Jesus is the fulfillment.
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The Bible is most certainly way much more than just literature,
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but it should be read that way,
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and there's all sorts of foreshadowing,
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pointing toward Jesus as fulfillment.
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Now, you would do well at this point to ask,
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how did you get from John 12, 32 to Numbers 21?
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Am I drawing an unfair conclusion at this point?
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I would say, do you know?
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I get there very easily because Jesus does this for us.
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I hope little sparks flew in your mind
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as we've been in the Gospel of John for quite some time.
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Back in chapter 3, verse 14 and 15,
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Jesus says this,
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as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness.
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What's he talking about, this Numbers 21 episode?
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As Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness,
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so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
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that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
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So this whole Numbers 21 episode is typological in this way, right?
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Rebellion against God, just punishment,
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repentance, and faith that delivers them to temporal life,
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and Numbers 21 to eternal life for all who would look to Christ.
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Now, as a side note,
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I think this is why the crowd's questions in verse 34
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employ the title for the Christ,
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the Son of Man.
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I think these questions are being asked by people who heard Jesus
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or had heard that he said this in John chapter 3.
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As Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness,
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so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
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This is a reference to the book of Daniel,
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which we'll point out in just a bit.
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I think that's what's going on here,
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why they shift their language as they're speaking about him.
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So, Jesus says,
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when I am crucified,
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I will draw all people to myself.
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Now, Jesus is not making a universalist claim here.
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It could be easy to do that with this text
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if you don't read the Bible more widely.
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In fact, in the Greek,
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you could translate this,
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I will draw all to myself.
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A pretty simple Greek word there.
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It could also be translated everyone to myself.
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But that's not the claim being made.
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Universalism is the belief that
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all humankind will be saved eventually.
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A bunch of different theories
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how this comes to pass.
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However, John will take time
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in the verses that follow today's text,
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Lord willing, we'll look at next week,
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as he's done many times previously
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to explain the rejection of Jesus
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as the Christ.
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Again and again, we see this pattern.
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Those who will not be saved
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because they don't place
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believing faith in Jesus.
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So that's not possibly what he could mean.
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So what does Jesus mean
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when he says,
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And I, when I am lifted up from the earth,
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will draw all people to myself.
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Well, to comprehend that,
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we do well to remember the context
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of this passage.
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Always.
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Context, context, context.
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Recall the prophecy of Caiaphas
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and John's following explanation
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in chapter 11.
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Do you remember?
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We set this up last week as well.
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Chapter 11, verse 49.
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One of them, Caiaphas,
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who was high priest that year,
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said to them,
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You know nothing at all,
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nor do you understand
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that it is better for you
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that one man should die for the people,
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not that the whole nation should perish.
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He did not say this of his own accord,
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but being high priest that year,
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he prophesied that Jesus would die
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for the nation.
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And not only for the nation only,
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but also to gather into one
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the children of God
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who were scattered abroad.
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Not just Israel,
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but also all of those
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who were not of this sheepfold.
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Also recall the exasperation
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of the Pharisees
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in John chapter 12,
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and verse 19.
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So the Pharisees said to one another,
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You see that you are gaining nothing.
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Look, the world has gone after him.
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And they're not declaring
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that those outside of Israel
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will be saved by the Christ.
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They're exasperated.
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They're exaggerating what's going on.
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But then John places a bit of information
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in the next verse.
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So 12, verse 20.
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Now among those
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who went up to worship at the feast
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were some Greeks.
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Non-Israelites.
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And they come and seek a counsel
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in the following verses
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with Jesus.
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Jesus here is speaking
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of the redemption of people
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who were not just Jewish people.
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Will Israelites believe in Jesus?
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Yeah.
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They will.
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Right?
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We're seeing that happen
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even in the text.
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Right?
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Disciples believe in Jesus.
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They are Jewish.
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Yes, they will.
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But not just Israelites.
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Jesus will draw
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all kinds of people.
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I titled this observation,
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The Cross Accomplishes the Saving of Peoples,
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Quite on Purpose.
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Quite on Purpose.
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You may not like the word peoples.
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The language is fluid.
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And as long as I tell you what I mean
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and you agree,
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then we're communicating.
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Right?
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Because, you might not like it,
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because people is the plural form of person.
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But I love the word peoples.
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Peoples.
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Do you know the vision statement
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for our church?
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I hope that you do.
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It's on the front of your bulletin
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every single week.
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You can see it there.
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Providence Baptist Church
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exists to glorify God
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by experiencing,
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proclaiming,
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and displaying
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the supremacy
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of Jesus Christ
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in all things
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to all
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peoples.
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When we wrote this
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ages ago,
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we had two debates.
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The first was over
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the order that we should put
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experiencing,
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proclaiming,
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and displaying in.
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We had some debate about that.
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The word peoples
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did not go uncontested.
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I made a case for it.
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We had a friendly,
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brotherly argument.
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My argument for it
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went like this.
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When you have
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more than one type of fish
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you call them
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the plural fish.
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Fish, fish.
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You've got a bunch of
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trout in the stream.
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There are fish
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in the stream.
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However,
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when you have
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more than one
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of a bunch of
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different types of fish,
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so imagine yourself
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at a coral reef
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and there's groups
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of schools
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of fish,
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guess what you call them?
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Fishes.
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That's proper English
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to do that.
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So,
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peoples
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communicates
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not just that God
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saves a plurality
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of people,
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but that he saves
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a plurality
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of types
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of people.
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Peoples.
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That's what we're
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communicating there.
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Now,
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if that's not enough
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for you,
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this idea
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is carried
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and the language
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itself
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in Revelation
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chapter 7
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and verse 9.
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This was
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what won me
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the argument
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at the end.
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There John
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records,
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after this
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I looked
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at this vision
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of heaven
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and behold
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a great multitude
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that no one
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can number
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from every nation,
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from all tribes,
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right?
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See,
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these are groups
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of people
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and then I just
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love,
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love that the ESV
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translator said
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and peoples
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and languages
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standing before
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the throne
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and before
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the Lamb
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clothed in
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white rows
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with palm branches
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in their hands.
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And so we have
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in English
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the word peoples
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in Revelation
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chapter 7
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and verse 9
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and I managed
27:14
to sneak the S
27:15
into our
27:15
vision statement.
27:18
The point being,
27:19
the point being
27:20
that God
27:22
sent the Christ
27:24
not just to save
27:25
people of Jewish
27:27
descent.
27:28
And you may be
27:29
of Jewish descent
27:30
but I have fair
27:30
confidence that
27:31
the majority
27:31
of us
27:32
are not.
27:34
I'm not.
27:36
Praise be
27:37
to God
27:37
that when Jesus
27:38
was lifted up
27:39
he drew
27:40
all peoples
27:42
to himself.
27:45
It's a wonderful
27:45
promise found
27:46
here.
27:49
Now before we
27:49
press on to
27:50
my last
27:51
final observation
27:52
I think it's
27:55
worth our attention
27:56
to note
27:57
what or in
27:58
Jesus' statement
27:59
who we are
28:01
drawn to.
28:04
Christ draws
28:05
people to
28:07
himself.
28:09
Not merely
28:10
to an institution,
28:12
some kind of
28:12
a movement,
28:14
some moral
28:15
philosophy.
28:17
Salvation
28:17
brings
28:18
communion,
28:19
relationship
28:20
with God,
28:22
restoration
28:23
to God
28:25
himself.
28:28
So the cross
28:29
reveals God's
28:30
judgment,
28:31
the cross
28:31
secures God's
28:32
victory over
28:33
Satan,
28:34
the cross
28:34
accomplishes the
28:35
saving of
28:37
peoples,
28:38
yet not all
28:40
who hear
28:40
believe.
28:42
The crowd's
28:43
confusion exposes
28:44
the danger
28:45
of biblical
28:46
familiarity
28:47
without submission
28:49
revelation to
28:49
God's
28:50
revelation.
28:52
It's possible
28:52
to know the
28:53
things that I've
28:54
said.
28:55
To hear me
28:56
proclaim the
28:57
gospel and go,
28:58
yeah, yeah,
28:59
I know.
29:01
The fourth
29:01
observation is
29:02
that the cross
29:03
requires
29:05
belief.
29:07
These last
29:08
three verses
29:09
and we'll skate
29:10
through this
29:10
pretty quickly.
29:12
So the crowd
29:12
answered him,
29:13
we have heard
29:13
from the law
29:14
that the Christ
29:14
remains forever.
29:15
How can you
29:17
say that the
29:17
Son of Man
29:18
must be lifted
29:18
up?
29:19
Who is this
29:20
Son of Man?
29:22
So Jesus said
29:23
to them,
29:24
the light is
29:24
among you for
29:25
a little while
29:25
longer.
29:26
Walk while you
29:27
have the light,
29:27
lest darkness
29:28
overtake you.
29:30
The one who
29:30
walks in the
29:31
darkness does
29:32
not know where
29:32
he is going.
29:34
While you have
29:34
the light,
29:35
believe in the
29:37
light, that
29:38
you may become
29:39
sons of
29:40
light.
29:41
When Jesus
29:42
had said these
29:42
things, he
29:43
departed and
29:45
hid himself.
29:45
from them.
29:47
Now the crowd
29:48
isn't wrong
29:50
in their
29:50
understanding of
29:51
Daniel chapter
29:52
7.
29:54
I read some
29:55
of that this
29:55
morning in the
29:56
scripture reading.
29:56
Verse 13
29:58
and 14.
29:59
I saw in the
30:00
night visions
30:00
and behold,
30:01
with the clouds
30:02
of heaven there
30:02
came one
30:04
like a
30:05
Son of Man.
30:06
Every time you
30:07
hear Jesus
30:07
refer to himself
30:08
as the Son
30:09
of Man,
30:09
this is the
30:10
text he's
30:10
talking about.
30:11
And he came
30:12
to the Ancient
30:13
of Days and
30:14
was presented
30:14
before him.
30:15
And to him
30:16
was given
30:16
dominion and
30:17
glory and
30:18
a kingdom
30:19
that all
30:20
peoples,
30:20
nations and
30:21
languages should
30:22
serve him.
30:23
His dominion
30:23
is an
30:24
everlasting
30:24
dominion which
30:26
shall not
30:26
pass away and
30:27
his kingdom
30:27
one that
30:28
shall not
30:29
be destroyed.
30:31
So this is
30:32
what they're
30:32
doing.
30:32
And they're
30:32
saying,
30:33
we heard you
30:34
say this
30:34
before.
30:35
Son of Man
30:36
must be
30:36
lifted up.
30:37
Here you're
30:38
saying it
30:38
again.
30:39
How is this
30:40
possible?
30:40
Because Daniel
30:41
chapter 7,
30:42
which also
30:43
says peoples,
30:44
I just
30:44
noticed,
30:45
says that
30:46
his kingdom
30:46
is one that
30:47
will not
30:47
be destroyed.
30:48
How can
30:49
this be?
30:51
They clearly
30:52
know exactly
30:53
what Jesus
30:53
means when
30:54
he speaks
30:54
of being
30:54
lifted up.
30:55
John gives
30:56
us some
30:56
commentary
30:56
there.
30:57
They know
30:58
that's what
30:58
he's talking
30:59
about.
31:01
What they
31:01
have failed
31:01
to do is
31:02
synthesize their
31:03
understanding of
31:04
the Son of
31:04
Man and of
31:05
Daniel 7 with
31:06
the suffering
31:07
servant of
31:08
Isaiah chapter
31:09
53.
31:09
Verse 3
31:12
and following.
31:14
He was
31:14
despised and
31:14
rejected by
31:15
men, a
31:16
man of
31:17
sorrows and
31:17
acquainted with
31:18
grief.
31:19
And as
31:19
one from
31:20
whom men
31:20
hide their
31:21
faces, he
31:21
was despised
31:22
and we
31:23
esteemed him
31:24
not.
31:25
Surely he
31:26
has borne
31:27
our griefs
31:28
and carried
31:28
our sorrows,
31:30
yet we
31:30
esteemed him
31:31
stricken,
31:31
smitten by
31:32
God and
31:33
afflicted.
31:34
But he
31:34
was pierced
31:35
for our
31:36
transgressions.
31:37
He was
31:37
crushed for
31:38
our iniquities
31:39
upon him
31:40
was the
31:41
chastisement
31:41
that brought
31:42
us peace
31:42
and with
31:43
his wounds
31:44
we are
31:45
healed.
31:46
All we
31:47
like sheep
31:47
have gone
31:48
astray.
31:49
We have
31:49
turned everyone
31:51
to his own
31:52
way and
31:53
the Lord
31:53
has laid
31:54
on him
31:54
the iniquity
31:56
of us
31:57
all.
31:58
They
31:59
failed to
31:59
put these
31:59
two things
32:00
together,
32:01
right?
32:02
They
32:02
loved the
32:03
crown,
32:03
they didn't
32:04
love the
32:06
cross.
32:06
Jesus
32:07
answered
32:08
in response
32:09
to the
32:09
crowd's
32:09
question,
32:10
who is
32:11
this
32:11
son of
32:12
man?
32:13
Jesus
32:14
answers
32:15
metaphorically
32:16
by calling
32:18
himself
32:18
the light.
32:21
I can't
32:22
know this
32:22
for sure,
32:24
but I
32:24
suggest to
32:25
you that
32:25
John's
32:26
use of
32:26
this very
32:27
same
32:27
metaphor
32:27
at the
32:28
opening
32:28
of this
32:29
gospel
32:29
is informed
32:30
by Jesus'
32:31
words
32:32
here.
32:32
Jesus
32:34
says this,
32:35
I think
32:35
that John
32:36
is thinking
32:37
about this
32:38
and under
32:39
inspiration
32:40
he writes
32:40
the opening
32:41
of this
32:42
gospel
32:43
account.
32:45
So turn
32:45
back to
32:45
John chapter
32:46
1.
32:47
There John
32:48
says,
32:48
In the
32:48
beginning
32:48
was the
32:50
word,
32:51
and the
32:52
word was
32:52
with God,
32:53
and the
32:53
word was
32:54
God.
32:55
He was
32:55
in the
32:56
beginning
32:56
with God.
32:58
All things
32:58
were made
32:59
through him,
32:59
and without
33:00
him was not
33:00
anything made
33:01
that was
33:02
made.
33:03
In him
33:04
was life,
33:05
and the
33:06
life was
33:06
the light
33:07
of men.
33:09
The light
33:10
shines in
33:11
the darkness,
33:12
and the
33:12
darkness
33:13
has not
33:14
overcome
33:15
it.
33:16
There was
33:17
a man
33:17
sent from
33:17
God,
33:18
whose name
33:18
was John.
33:18
He came
33:19
as a
33:19
witness,
33:19
to bear
33:20
witness
33:20
about the
33:21
light,
33:22
that all
33:23
might believe
33:23
through him.
33:25
He was
33:26
not the
33:26
light,
33:27
but came
33:27
to bear
33:27
witness
33:28
about
33:28
the
33:29
light.
33:31
The
33:31
true
33:31
light,
33:32
which
33:32
gives
33:32
light
33:33
to
33:33
everyone,
33:33
was
33:34
coming
33:34
into
33:34
the
33:34
world.
33:35
He
33:36
was
33:36
in
33:36
the
33:36
world,
33:37
and the
33:37
world
33:37
was
33:38
made
33:38
through
33:38
him,
33:38
yet the
33:39
world
33:39
did not
33:40
know
33:40
him.
33:41
He
33:42
came
33:42
to
33:42
his
33:42
own,
33:43
and his
33:44
own
33:44
people
33:44
did not
33:45
receive
33:46
him.
33:47
But
33:47
to all
33:48
who did
33:48
receive
33:49
him,
33:49
who
33:49
believed
33:50
in
33:50
his
33:50
name,
33:51
he
33:52
gave
33:52
the
33:52
right
33:52
to
33:53
become
33:53
children
33:54
of
33:55
God,
33:55
sons
33:56
of
33:57
light.
33:58
While
33:58
you
33:59
have
33:59
the
34:00
light,
34:00
believe
34:01
in
34:02
the
34:02
light,
34:03
that
34:03
you
34:03
may
34:03
become
34:04
sons
34:05
of
34:06
light.
34:08
I
34:08
think we
34:09
don't
34:09
really
34:10
comprehend
34:10
light
34:11
and
34:12
dark
34:12
metaphor
34:12
to the
34:13
measure
34:13
that
34:13
they
34:14
may
34:14
have.
34:15
Jesus
34:15
is
34:15
speaking.
34:17
Darkness
34:17
to us
34:18
is fairly
34:19
easily
34:19
resolved.
34:21
We
34:21
have
34:21
switches
34:21
to
34:22
flip.
34:22
we
34:24
all
34:24
have
34:24
phones
34:24
in
34:24
our
34:25
pockets
34:25
that
34:25
have
34:25
flashlights
34:26
on
34:26
them
34:26
now.
34:27
Amazing
34:27
it
34:27
is.
34:27
Light
34:28
can
34:28
be
34:28
produced
34:29
instantaneously
34:30
all the
34:31
time.
34:32
Darkness
34:33
is a
34:34
scary
34:35
thing.
34:35
You
34:35
have
34:36
a
34:36
welcome
34:37
to
34:37
young
34:37
adulthood
34:38
trip
34:38
to
34:39
the
34:39
Okie
34:39
Finocie
34:39
and we
34:40
stayed
34:40
on an
34:41
island
34:42
out in
34:42
the
34:42
middle
34:42
of
34:44
the
34:44
swamp
34:44
and
34:45
we
34:46
had
34:46
lights
34:46
to be
34:46
clear
34:47
but
34:47
it
34:47
was
34:47
very
34:48
dark
34:48
out
34:49
there.
34:49
We
34:51
heard
34:51
a
34:51
critter
34:51
in
34:51
the
34:51
woods
34:52
bigger
34:52
than
34:52
any
34:52
critter
34:53
I
34:53
have
34:53
ever
34:53
heard
34:54
in
34:54
the
34:54
woods
34:54
before.
34:57
I
34:57
was
34:57
trying to
34:57
think
34:58
about
34:58
what
34:58
to
34:58
say
34:58
I
34:58
thought
34:59
it
34:59
was
34:59
but
34:59
everything
35:00
I
35:00
can
35:00
think
35:01
of
35:01
is
35:01
probably
35:01
bigger
35:01
than
35:02
it
35:02
was
35:02
but
35:02
it
35:02
really
35:03
felt
35:03
like
35:03
a
35:04
bear.
35:06
It
35:06
was
35:06
a
35:06
big
35:07
alligator.
35:07
It
35:07
was
35:07
something
35:08
crashing
35:09
around
35:10
in
35:10
the
35:11
woods
35:12
and
35:12
we
35:12
could
35:12
not
35:12
see
35:12
what
35:13
it
35:13
was
35:19
ever
35:19
spent.
35:20
It
35:20
was
35:20
like
35:20
being
35:21
in
35:21
the
35:21
Amazon
35:22
sleeping
35:23
in
35:24
and
35:24
out
35:24
of
35:24
sleep
35:25
in
35:25
that
35:26
place.
35:28
And
35:28
as I
35:28
think
35:28
about
35:29
this
35:29
metaphor
35:29
of
35:30
darkness
35:30
and
35:30
light
35:31
I
35:31
think
35:31
about
35:31
what
35:31
it
35:31
would
35:31
have
35:32
been
35:32
like
35:32
to
35:32
be
35:32
on
35:32
that
35:33
island
35:33
with
35:33
no
35:34
light.
35:35
Zero
35:35
light.
35:37
Perhaps
35:37
we
35:38
could
35:38
muster
35:38
a
35:39
fire
35:39
together
35:39
and
35:40
try
35:40
to
35:40
use
35:41
some
35:41
of
35:41
that
35:41
flame
35:42
to
35:42
light
35:42
the
35:42
place
35:43
that
35:44
we
35:44
were
35:44
at.
35:44
man
35:45
the
35:45
racket
35:46
and
35:46
the
35:47
noise
35:47
and
35:47
the
35:47
potential
35:48
threat
35:49
that
35:49
was
35:49
out
35:50
there.
35:51
This
35:51
metaphor
35:52
it
35:53
should
35:53
elicit
35:54
rich
35:54
feeling
35:55
from
35:55
us.
35:56
The
35:56
darkness
35:56
is a
35:57
place
35:57
of
35:57
danger
35:59
destruction
36:00
demise.
36:03
While
36:03
you have
36:04
the
36:04
light
36:04
believe
36:06
in the
36:06
light
36:06
that
36:06
you
36:07
may
36:07
become
36:07
sons
36:08
of
36:10
light.
36:11
The
36:11
cross
36:12
reveals
36:12
God's
36:13
judgment
36:13
secures
36:14
God's
36:14
victory
36:15
over
36:15
Satan
36:15
accomplishes
36:16
the
36:16
saving
36:17
of
36:18
peoples
36:18
and
36:19
requires
36:20
belief.
36:23
So as we
36:23
close our
36:24
time let me
36:24
give you a
36:25
few
36:25
points of
36:27
application.
36:29
Number
36:29
one
36:29
examine
36:32
whether you
36:32
have embraced
36:33
the Christ
36:34
of scripture
36:35
or a
36:36
Christ
36:37
of your
36:37
own
36:38
making.
36:40
The
36:40
crowd in
36:41
John 12
36:41
was not
36:42
ignorant
36:42
of the
36:43
scriptures.
36:43
they're
36:44
citing
36:44
things.
36:45
They knew
36:45
that the
36:46
Messiah
36:46
would
36:47
reign
36:47
forever
36:47
but they
36:48
struggled
36:48
to reconcile
36:49
that truth
36:50
with Jesus'
36:51
insistence
36:52
that he
36:53
must die.
36:55
The problem
36:55
was not that
36:56
they had no
36:56
knowledge of
36:57
divine revelation
36:57
but that they
36:58
were attempting
36:58
to accommodate
36:59
that revelation
37:00
to their
37:01
own
37:02
expectations.
37:04
They were
37:04
shaping the
37:05
Christ into
37:05
what they
37:06
wanted and
37:07
we must be
37:08
careful that
37:08
we do not
37:09
make the
37:09
same
37:10
mistake.
37:12
It's
37:12
entirely
37:13
possible to
37:13
have an
37:14
impressive
37:14
familiarity
37:15
with
37:16
scripture,
37:16
to possess
37:17
well-developed
37:18
theological
37:18
convictions,
37:19
and even
37:19
to defend
37:20
the authority
37:20
of God's
37:21
word while
37:22
nevertheless
37:23
resisting
37:24
those portions
37:25
of divine
37:26
revelation that
37:27
confront our
37:28
assumptions
37:28
or challenge
37:30
our preferences
37:30
or demand
37:32
our submission.
37:34
The question
37:35
is not whether
37:36
Jesus conforms
37:37
to your
37:37
understanding
37:38
of who
37:38
he ought
37:39
to be
37:39
but whether
37:41
your
37:41
understanding
37:42
of Jesus
37:42
conforms
37:43
to who
37:43
he has
37:44
revealed
37:45
himself
37:46
to be.
37:48
He's either
37:48
a liar
37:49
or he's
37:51
a lunatic
37:52
or he is
37:53
Lord.
37:54
I hope you'll
37:54
join me in
37:55
that last
37:56
assertion.
37:58
Second
37:59
application.
38:01
Let the
38:01
certainty
38:02
of Christ's
38:03
saving work
38:04
produce confidence
38:05
in evangelism
38:06
and a
38:07
commitment
38:08
to world
38:09
missions.
38:11
Jesus does
38:11
not say
38:12
that his
38:12
crucifixion
38:13
will merely
38:13
make the
38:14
salvation
38:14
of the
38:14
nations
38:15
possible.
38:17
He declares
38:18
that when
38:18
he is lifted
38:19
up he
38:20
will draw
38:21
peoples
38:22
to himself.
38:25
What an
38:25
extraordinary
38:26
encouragement
38:27
that should
38:28
be for our
38:29
church.
38:30
The success
38:31
of the
38:31
Great Commission
38:32
does not
38:32
ultimately depend
38:33
upon the
38:34
persuasive
38:34
abilities of
38:35
the preacher.
38:36
praise God.
38:37
The creativity
38:38
of the
38:39
church
38:40
or the
38:41
receptivity
38:42
of the
38:42
surrounding
38:43
culture.
38:45
It rests
38:46
upon the
38:46
promise and
38:47
power of
38:48
the crucified
38:49
and risen
38:50
Christ.
38:52
We proclaim
38:53
the gospel
38:54
because Christ
38:55
has commanded
38:55
us to do
38:56
so but we
38:58
proclaim it
38:58
confidently
38:59
because Christ
39:00
has promised
39:01
to gather
39:02
his people.
39:04
He will
39:04
build his
39:05
church and
39:06
the gates
39:06
of hell
39:06
will not
39:08
prevail
39:08
against it.
39:11
This ought
39:11
to affect
39:12
how we
39:12
think about
39:13
our neighbors,
39:13
our coworkers,
39:14
families,
39:15
and peoples
39:17
at the
39:17
ends of
39:18
the earth.
39:20
We should
39:21
never look
39:21
upon an
39:22
individual as
39:22
beyond the
39:23
reach of
39:23
God's
39:24
saving grace
39:25
nor should
39:27
we look
39:27
upon a
39:27
particular
39:28
people group
39:29
as beyond
39:29
the concern
39:30
of God's
39:32
redemptive
39:32
purposes.
39:34
Third
39:35
application
39:35
point and
39:36
this is the
39:36
last one.
39:38
Do not
39:38
mistake
39:39
proximity to
39:41
the light
39:41
for belief
39:43
in the
39:43
light.
39:45
There's
39:46
something
39:46
particularly
39:47
sobering
39:48
about the
39:49
conclusion
39:49
of this
39:50
passage.
39:52
These people
39:53
had heard
39:53
Jesus teach,
39:55
they had
39:55
witnessed his
39:56
miracles or
39:56
heard tell
39:57
of them,
39:58
they had
39:58
listened to
39:59
the testimony
39:59
of his
40:00
divine
40:00
authority
40:00
and some
40:01
had even
40:01
heard a
40:02
voice from
40:04
heaven.
40:05
Yet Jesus
40:06
warns them
40:07
that the
40:08
light will
40:08
not remain
40:09
among them
40:10
indefinitely.
40:12
And then
40:13
John tells
40:14
us that
40:15
Jesus departed
40:16
and hid
40:17
himself from
40:19
them.
40:21
Consider the
40:21
seriousness of
40:22
that.
40:24
You can read
40:24
right over that
40:25
detail.
40:27
It's possible
40:28
to be surrounded
40:28
by the
40:29
privileges of
40:30
divine revelation
40:31
while remaining
40:32
personally
40:33
alienated from
40:34
the God who
40:35
has revealed
40:35
himself.
40:37
Young
40:38
people,
40:39
children,
40:40
you can
40:41
grow up in
40:42
a faithful
40:43
Christian home.
40:45
Attend a
40:45
church where
40:46
the scriptures
40:46
are carefully
40:47
taught.
40:49
Memorize
40:49
substantial
40:50
portions of
40:50
the Bible.
40:52
Understand the
40:53
doctrines of
40:53
the Christian
40:54
faith.
40:55
Work on your
40:56
catechism,
40:57
all good
40:58
things,
40:58
but all of
40:59
that without
41:00
ever having
41:01
personally trusted
41:02
in the personal
41:03
work of
41:04
Jesus Christ.
41:07
Adults,
41:08
you can attend
41:08
worship for
41:09
decades,
41:10
participate in
41:11
all the
41:11
activities,
41:12
develop an
41:13
impressive
41:13
theological
41:14
vocabulary
41:14
without possessing
41:16
saving faith.
41:17
familiarity
41:19
with the
41:20
gospel is
41:20
not the
41:21
same thing
41:22
as faith
41:23
in the
41:24
gospel.
41:26
Jesus does
41:27
not merely
41:27
command the
41:28
crowd to
41:28
admire the
41:29
light or
41:30
to discuss
41:31
the light,
41:32
accumulate
41:33
information about
41:34
the light.
41:35
He commands
41:36
them to
41:36
believe in
41:38
the light.
41:39
Let's pray
41:40
together.