We begin our reading, as I said,
in verse 20 through verse 33. We could read a lot more, but
for the sake of time, we'll shorten it. Verse 20, and there were
certain Greeks among them that came to worship at the feast. And by the way, the feast is
the Passover, the yearly Passover kept by the Jew, that had come
to worship at the feast. The same came, therefore, to
Philip, which was of Bethsaida, of Galilee, and desired him,
saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip comes and tells Andrew,
and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. Jesus answered them, saying,
The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, It abides
alone, but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves
his life shall lose it. He that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me,
let him follow me. Where I am, there shall also
my servant be. If any man serve me, Him will
my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled. What shall I say? Father saved
me from this hour, but for this hour came I into this world. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then there came a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood
by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said an angel
spoke to him. Jesus answered and said, this
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the
judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all unto me. This, he said, signifying
what death he should die. These things had to do with the
death that our Lord was to die. I hope you don't grow weary of
me emphasizing the fact that it is better to get our contextual
bearings when we are looking at a passage of the scripture,
because most scripture is easier and is best understood when we
put it in its historical setting and we understand the situation
that existed at the time, the subject under discussion, and
the ones that the Lord was speaking to. John lays out his gospel
and the events in our text occurred when the Lord and his disciples
had come to Jerusalem for the celebration again of the Jewish
Passover. Now, this is one of the major
Jewish feasts that they celebrated in their religion, and they kept
it yearly. And it was a feast unto the Lord,
and the Lord Jesus, being made of a woman, Galatians 4, being
a Jew after the flesh, Romans 9 and 5, and being made under
the law, Romans 4 and 4, did therefore up until his death
observe those rites and ceremony and feast days that were given
unto the Jew, and then he abolished them His death because the Lord
is our Passover 1st Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7 now let's
back up a little bit into the 11th chapter of John for just
a bit where John records what I call the crowning miracle of
our blessed Lord Jesus in his public ministry. And that is
the raising of Lazarus from the dead. He went to the grave and
he brought Lazarus back to life again and presented him unto
his family. And this is such a miracle because
of the following reason. He did not raise Lazarus while
he was yet upon the bed where he was sick and where he died. This was the case with the daughter
of Zorias, that the Lord went soon after she died while the
body no doubt was still warm and raised her from the dead.
On another occasion, our Lord met a funeral procession The
young man had been prepared for burial and was being carried
to the grave, the only son of a widow of Nain, and our Lord
raised him again unto life. But here in the case of Lazarus,
not on the day that he deceased, but on the fourth day of his
death and having been in the tomb. And the sister of Lazarus
expressed the fear that he had already began to see corruption
laying in the grave. Nevertheless, the Lord went where
he lay, raised him to life again, and that in the sight of many
credible witnesses who attested to this undeniable miracle and
resurrection. Now, you can see why we call
this, therefore, the crowning miracle of the Lord. The miracle
of miracles. A man brought back after he had
been dead four days and buried in the grave. And two things
about that in John chapter 11. First of all, in verse 53, the
Jews determined to kill Lazarus, that he die again, that they
might take away this obvious testimony of the miracle of our
Lord. And the second thing, chapter
11, is in verse 54, and that is, from this time forth, in
John's gospel, the Lord walked no more publicly among the people,
among the Jew. Then we come into chapter 12,
and in chapter, or rather verse 12, through verse 19, we have
John's account of what we usually call the triumphal entry of our
Lord Jesus into Jerusalem. Now you read there, John 11,
56 and 57, many wondered if Jesus would appear this year at the
Passover since the Jew had put a bounty on his head that if
any see him, they were to report it under the official. I think
it's a good point made by John Brown, an expositor, that at
the time of our Lord's entry here, into Jerusalem for the
Passover, the Lord's popularity and his fame seemed as high as
it had ever been at any other time. And the expectation, rather
the public expectation of him was very high. Coming after that
crowning miracle in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. And
the news spread ahead of him that the Lord was coming to Jerusalem. And as he entered the city, one
of the most unusual things of all of his ministry occurred. And that is there was a spontaneous
movement among many of the Jews. And they went out to meet the
Lord, some of them with branches of palm trees, and others actually
spread their garment in the pathway before our Lord. And they began
to cry, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name
of the Lord. Hosanna is an expression of adoration,
and it can also mean Oh, say, Hosanna, Hosanna. They cried
before Him, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the
Lord. This even amazed His disciples,
and they did not understand it at the time. But it fulfilled
the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 9 And as John put
it, his friends were filled with hope and his enemies were filled
with fear. Because you see, could it be
that the Lord, being welcomed and honored in this way, would
declare himself a king and assume reign over the nation. This would
be, it would seem, the most favorable time and occasion for it, if
that had been the Lord's intention in coming into the world and
Jerusalem. But in John 12 and verse 19,
Some said the world is gone after him. Yes, his fame and popularity
was at an all-time high. But it was not to be that our
Lord become a king over an earthly kingdom, but to be delivered
up to the death of the cross, to give his life a ransom for
many. For he said, For this cause came
I unto this hour. You look at verse 20 then, John
tells of certain Greeks who came among them and sought an audience
with the Lord and made their desire known unto Philip. Greeks from some distant, not
city dwellers there, but from some distant. And their request
is simple. Sir, we would see Jesus. Not to just view him, not to
meet him, not to shake his hand, but to be in his presence and
converse with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as we know, the
Passover was a Jewish feast that it was kept to commemorate the
deliverance of the children of Israel out of their Egyptian
bondage. And by far, the majority of the
celebrants at the peace of the Passover were Jews. They were
Jews who came from all quarters, Jews who came from all over the
country, Jews that came to Jerusalem to purify themselves and to observe
the Passover, and that the Passover This would be the last time that
the Jewish Passover would be legitimately and genuinely observed
as a part of Jewish worship because Christ's death put an end to
it and Christ is our Passover. 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 7. Be that as it may, let's imagine. The city was filled with thousands
of visiting Jews, people by the hundreds milling around in the
city from every quarter and from every distant place. But John
focuses on a few Greeks, some Greeks who were in the city,
not as residents, Nor were they there by accident, nor were they
there upon a business. But in verse 20 and the last
part, they had come up to worship at the feast, that is, the Passover
feast, the Jewish Passover. Now, you might compare that what
you read in the eighth chapter of the book of Acts when the
Ethiopian unit had also come to Jerusalem for to worship and
was returning. There was a considerable number
of Gentiles who had become proselytes having confessed the God of the
Jew, Jehovah, and put aside their false and pagan gods, at least
to some degree, such as Cornelius in the 10th chapter of the Book
of Acts, an Italian, a Gentile, but nevertheless a believer in
God. And these Gentiles are Greeks. courteously ask a meeting with
Jesus. Sir, they said very respectably. And in verse 23, we read that
Jesus answered them. Answered them. And this raises
some questions. Who are these them? Does he mean the disciple? Does
he mean the Greeks? Does he mean the whole body of
people that were present upon that occasion. Those gathered
there, wherever the Lord was. Did the Lord meet with the Greeks
in a meeting? Did he send them word? John does
not give us any great particular account of this incident. Or could it be that the Lord
knew their mind, knew their heart, and detected their mind that
from what occurred by the entering in into the city and he would
raise their awareness to a more glorious manifestation that would
be ushered in by and after his death and resurrection. George
Hutchison, a commentary on the Gospel of John, noted, they ought
to base acquaintance with him, not because of recent popular
applause, but as crucified and triumphant, exalted to the right
hand of the Father. My, how people love exuberance
and how they love excitement in the place where they go worship.
And if they hear about it, they flock in great number. But they
fail to look yonder at the glory that our Lord would enter in. And in the 23rd verse, we read,
the hour is come. The hour is come that The hour
has come, a specific one, a particular hour has arrived. It is near at hand, which was
that the son of man should be glorified. The hour has come. when the Son of Man would be
glorified. Of course, he speaks of himself,
and he more often referred to himself by this title than by
any other that you'll see in the New Testament. Son of Man. He seldom called himself Christ
or Jesus, but so often described himself as the Son of Man. And verse 33 tells us that he
spoke these things to describe the kind or the sort of death
that he was about to die. And back in verse 16 of the chapter,
when Jesus was glorified, then these things became clear unto
his disciples. How does the Lord speak of glory? Of what is this glory? to endure. What kind of glory is our Lord
talking about? What is this glory? For he was
about to die, one of the most shameful, one of the most painful,
one of the most degrading and humiliating deaths that could
even be imagined or devised. And yet he speaks of being glorified,
of entering into his glory. Perhaps he would have those who
saw the manifestation at his recent entry into the city to
not take what was done by man to be his glory, but a greater
glory to be bestowed upon him by the Father when he had given
himself He told those two on Emmaus Road in Luke chapter 24
and verse 26 that his suffering preceded his glory. The Son of Man must suffer these
things and then enter into his glory. So says Paul in Philippians
chapter 2 and verse 6 through verse 11. that when he had given
himself to the death of the cross, then he would be highly exalted
and given a name that was above every name. Later, in the Lord's
Prayer in John 17 and verse 5, the Lord prayed that the Father
would return unto him the glory that he had with him before the
world ever was. And in verse 24 of our text,
because the thought of his being put to death was a stumbling
block to many that heard it, many who had their expectation
arise that Messiah, the Deliverer, had come. And because of that
being a stumbling block, he uses a simile here to declare the
necessity of his dying. It is a simile from nature or
from agriculture. Let me read it again. Verse 24.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat, fall
into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit. Now the picture is so clear,
so clear unto our mind. And it is a good illustration
both of the necessity and of the effect of the Lord's day. So our mind and our eye is upon
a corn of wheat. A single seed, if not planted,
will abide alone. Now, you can keep a seed in a
jar on the shelf for years and years It will not germinate and
it will not produce unless and until it is put in the ground
and it is watered and it lie there and go through that process. You can see this figure again
from the Apostle Paul in the chapter on the resurrection.
1 Corinthians chapter 15, 36 through verse 39. that body that is raised is not
the same that is sown. Except there Paul is talking
about or emphasizing the kind of body in the resurrection. John Brown I believe has dealt
with John 12 and verse 24 better than any other expositor that
I have read. And that upon these accounts.
Number one, as a seed must die. Now we get that point. The seed
must die. It must die in order to bring
forth many more like itself. Not one more, but many more. If it not die, fall into the
ground, it abideth alone. It will not reproduce unless
it is put into the ground dead and then. Secondly, Christ must
die and be buried and by such Will he bring many sons unto
glory? After being lifted up, he will
then draw all kinds of people unto himself. He said in the
text that we read. But let's go back to the simile
of the corn of wheat or the seed of whatever sort. Brown wrote,
the seed must become what we call dead ripe. Now you need to get that phrase.
The seed must become what we call dead ripe. To quote Brown,
quote, it is not the green living grain full of succulents that
is productive, unquote. If it is put in the ground in
that state, If it is put in the ground when it is yet green and
ripe and succulent, it will perish and not produce. It would make good food for the
table, but it would not germinate in the ground and reproduce itself. Plants must be, let me give you
another country expression, you must let them go to seed. You
must let them go to seed, those that you'll use for the crop
next year. planting and the harvest. The
pod must first wither, the seed dry, open up, and then fall out. The vine must then lose its vigor
and its greenness. The point being, the seed put
in the ground is dead right before it is planted in the ground. You take a butter bean or whatever
and throw that soft butter bean in the ground and it will perish
rather than reproduce. Even so, the Lord bringing forth
a bountiful harvest of soul required that he die. that he be put in
the grave, that he stay there three days. This cannot be unless
he die. The son of man must taste of
death. He must suffer many things and
be crucified dead and put in the grave. It will not be if
he continued to live, or even if he were to become king of
all of the nation. Only if he die and be glorified
will our Lord bring many sons under glory. He will soon speak
unto us in this text more of his death. But now let's look
at verse 25 and verse 26. He says not only must he die
in order to give the increase but that his followers must die
to their love of this world and of this life. He that loves his
life will lose it. The life of a disciple is swallowed
up in service and devotion unto Christ. What a paradox! For a long time, I thought a
paradox was two doctors. But he that loves his life loses
it, he said here, our blessed Lord. He that hates his life
in this world keeps it unto life eternal. but also in verse 25
and verse 26, might be spoken again for the sake of the Greeks
who had asked or inquired after Jesus. That is, that if any would
be inclined to follow the Lord, they must serve Him. They must
follow Him, owning Him as their Lord and Master, and they will,
in time, be with him where he is, not only so, but those that
serve him, the Father will honor such a one." The point could
be made from verse 25 and verse 26, J.C. Ryle made it, the intention,
or at least one intention of the Lord was to dash what Ryle
called, quote, the carnal and earthly expectation of the Jews,
unquote. And we might add to also let
the Gentiles know that they must put away every semblance of their
paganism, every bit of it. They must put away every false
god completely and cleave only unto Jehovah and to his son Jesus
Christ. No paganism must they bring with
them when they believe on Christ and follow him. And in verse
27, the Lord turns his eyes upon the cross facing this hour. And in the face of it, his soul
was troubled. Now is my soul troubled, are
the words of our Lord. And this would, the more, intensify
as he neared the hour and the cross, and intensify it did in
Gethsemane. In Matthew 26, verse 38, we hear
him cry, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Now, of course, the sufferings
of the Lord were of two sorts. The Lord endured suffering from
two sources, two sorts, inward and outward, soul and body. the first from God, the second
from men. And the first he mentioned are
those in his soul, by which he means, brothers and sisters,
his human soul. For his soul was not a part of
his divine nature, but a part of his assumed humanity. William Huntington wrote at length
on this. He said, and I want to quote
him, the son of God took a whole human nature into union with
his divine person, unquote, and later added that consisted of
a human body and a reasonable soul. that the Lord had not only
a human body, but also a human soul. And as the hour drew near,
His soul was troubled. His soul would be pierced in
that time. It would make an offering for
sin. It would feel the sword of divine
justice smiting it. And in verse 27, The last part,
remembering from verse 24, except a corn of wheat fall in the ground
and die. It abideth alone, but if it die,
it brings forth much fruit. The words of our Lord, my soul
is troubled, my soul is sorrowful. What shall I say? What shall
I say at that? Shall I say, Father, save me
out of this hour? Why, for this cause I came unto
this hour. John speaks frequently of this
hour, of his hour, the hour, this hour. John 13, 1. 17 and 1. Of course, being the
appointed time when he should give himself in debt as the great
sacrifice for sin, which the son agreed to when he became
the surety of the everlasting covenant, Hebrews 7, All along
in his life, our Lord was a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. But as the hour drew near, his
soul was troubled as God began to make him to be sin for the
people. And in verse 28, he prays the
Father, glorify thy name. Rather than saying, Father, save
me from this hour, he says instead, Father, glorify thy name. And of course he means in him
and by his death. And the father breaks again his
silence in regard to the beloved son, answering in an audible
voice, I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again. The Father would be glorified
in the suffering and the death of His beloved Son, who became
obedient even under the death of the cross. Philippians chapter
2 and verse 8, they that were present heard a voice from heaven. They heard a distinct sound. They heard an audible sound. Verse 29, they heard it, but
they interpreted it differently. Some of them said it thundered. Some of them said it thundered,
simply an act of nature. Others thought that an angel
had spoken unto our blessed Lord. For other instances of the Lord
God speaking from heaven, you have it in Matthew 3 and 17 at
His baptism. Matthew 17 and 5 at His transfiguration,
nearing the crucifixion here. our tech hearing the voice a
miracle that must have been overwhelming and beyond Comprehended the people
were divided as to the source of it Wherefore the Lord tells
them in the 30th verse this voice came not because of me but for
your sake the speaking by God in an audible voice to the Son
of or about the Son, and this is about the third time that's
occurred in the ministry of our Lord, but it was not for the
sake of the Lord, not to assure Him or to confirm His relationship
unto the Father. It was not to build up the confidence
or the faith of the Lord. It was not because Christ needed
in this hour to hear the Father speak unto them. Why then this
great manifestation? Well, the Lord said, for your
sake it came, for the sake of those that were there and that
were present. So let's do this. Consider the
other places where the same thing Number one, in Matthew 3 and
verse 17, at his baptism, a voice said, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased. Number two, in Matthew 17 and
verse 5, at his transfiguration, this is my beloved son, hear
ye him. receive His words, listen to
what He said, because these were divine attestation of the Father
about the Son. The Apostle Peter writes of this
in his second epistle, chapter 1, verse 17, He said, For he
received from the Father honor and glory when there came such
a voice to him in the excellent glory. And in verse 18, This
voice came from heaven and it said, this is my blessed son
in whom I am well pleased. And this manifestation added
nothing to Christ, nothing at all. But it was a strong, unforgettable,
sustaining attestation and manifestation to Peter and James and John who
saw it on the Mount. So look at the words, for your
sake. It is for your sake, on your
account, for your benefit, that this voice has come. Let's compare. In John chapter 11, verse 41,
At the grave of Lazarus, we read, Jesus lifted up his eyes and
said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that
you hear me always. But because of the people which
stand by, I said that they may believe that you have sent me. Not for my sake, but for their
sake who are standing by. Then he raised up Lazarus in
a great miracle. Back to John 12, 31 through 33. He speaks more particularly of
his death and its effects. Says it, now is the judgment
of this world. Now is, or shall, the prince
of this world be cast out. No doubt look at the two emphatic
nouns. Noun. Refer to something at hand. In a few days, the judgment of
the world. A.T. Linsky note that there is
no article here before the word judgment in the Greek. Not the
judgment, but judgment. A judgment, this in regard unto
the world. Commentators are all over the
place with their interpretation of this meaning, the judgment
of this world. Did he mean the Jewish system,
as some say? The pagan Gentiles, as others
say? The world system, as some say? The unregenerate, as some say? Those responsible for putting
him to death, as some say? But it seems that the two things
are related And they are connected. Judgment of the world and the
prince of this world cast out. Now, number one, how is Satan
cast out? He'd already been cast out of
heaven down into the earth. Secondly, cast out of what and
how? So let's connect some dots. In
the 23rd verse, The hour has come that the Son of Man should
be glorified. Verse 28, the Father will glorify
His name again. Verse 31, now is the judgment
of the world and the prince of the world cast out. The death
of Christ was to have a profound effect upon all things. It being the most important event
in all the history of the world. By that death, all things made
new, the shadows gone, the realities come, the types fulfilled, the
prophecies met and fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
usurper, like old Saul, had lost its place. The King of kings
and Lord of lords has set up a spiritual kingdom and rules
in the heart of his subjects. He has bound the strong man and
has spoiled his goods. Another thing in verse 32, the
drawing of all unto the Lord, the expanding of the favors of
grace beyond that one race of the Jew. This may reflect back
upon the Greek seeking an audience with the Lord. When I'm lifted
up, I will draw all men, all kinds of people of all nations,
creeds, and tongues unto me. What does he mean by being lifted
up from the earth? If I be lifted up from the earth,
Is he talking about his resurrection? Is he talking about his ascension
to the right hand of the Father? Or is he talking about his death
on the cross? Verse 33 confirms it is the latter. Remember John 3 verse 14, the
Lord said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That is, Moses lifted up
the serpent on a pole. And there is a likeness between
that and the Lord being lifted up. Many serpents had bitten
the people. Moses made a serpent of brass,
put it on a pole, set it up between them, and any that looked upon
it was healed of the deadly bite. And the Lord said, as Moses lifted
up the serpent, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting
life. It's interesting to notice in
the gospel that the Lord specified the very manner by which he would
be put to death. He would be lifted up on a stake. He would be crucified, to use
his word, Matthew 20, 19, 26 and 2, Luke 24 and verse 7. And of course, he speaks of the
Roman crucifixion, not by Jewish stoning, not by hanging, nor
the guillotine, Often the Jews intended to stone him, but they
were foiled. For Christ must die according
to the will, design, and purpose of God. He was to be numbered
with the transgressors. As Isaiah 53 said, providence
carried the day. When before Pilate, in John 18,
28 through 32, they bring Jesus to Pilate, wanting him
to judge him. Pilate, thinking it's a Jewish
squabble about religion, says to them, take him and judge him
according to your law. And they answer, we do not have
the authority to put anyone to death. They wanted him to be
put to death. by that, John 18, 32, that the
saying of Jesus might be fulfilled according to the death that he
would die. And that would be by crucifixion. And the Lord Jesus Christ died
bearing the sin of his people, and God punished them to satisfaction
in the Lord, in soul and in body. That old Passover lamb was cooked
within and without back over in Exodus chapter 12. And our
Lord suffered those pains in the soul from the sword of God's
divine justice being plunged into him and suffered in the
body from those things done to him. by the hands of wicked men. Yes, our Lord is lifted up and
in that he will be glorified and in that God is glorified
and in that much people shall be saved and brought to everlasting
glory. Except a corn of wheat fall into
the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit. We see that in the death of our
Lord.