This evening to John chapter
12. John chapter 12. This evening
we will be looking at verses 27 through 33. And in these verses
we will see in just a moment we have a prayer. A prayer that
our Savior prayed. I read this prayer this past
week, not our Lord's prayer, but this prayer that I'm going
to read to us tonight. Dear God, so far today I've done
all right. I haven't gossiped. I haven't
lost my temper. I haven't been greedy, grumpy,
nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But
in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed. And from then on, I'm probably
going to need a lot of help. Amen. John chapter 12, verses 27 through
33. Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour,
but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name. Then came there 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 spake 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. In these verses,
I want us to see three things. First of all, the Lord's soul
was troubled. Second, the Lord's prayer answered. And third, the Lord's assurance.
And if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. So first, the Lord's soul was
troubled, verse 27. Seems obvious to me, and I believe
to all of us here tonight, that the reason his soul was now troubled
as it was, is because his hour had come. Just before this, he
confessed that his hour had come. Verse 23, And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come. that the Son of Man shall be
glorified. The hour in which he would give
his life a ransom for many had come. His physical sufferings,
the sufferings that he endured physically upon the cross and
even on the way to the cross were immense and there's no way
that any of us could properly understand how great those sufferings
were. But I do not believe it was the
prospect of his physical sufferings that caused his soul now to be
troubled. I say that because over the years
I've read the testimonies of a number of Christian martyrs
who have approached the stake to be burned alive. And yet,
when they reached the stake, they kissed the stake and looked
forward to departing from this world, even though physically
they were going to suffer. I do not believe it was his physical
sufferings which caused him to now be troubled as he was in
his soul. We have an example of this. If
you look over in Acts chapter 12, An example of how God's grace
is sufficient even for physical sufferings. In Acts chapter 12,
the apostle Peter, the scripture says, was put in prison. Now
about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to
vex certain of the church, and he killed James, the brother
of John, with the sword. And because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were
the days of unleavened bread, and when he had apprehended him,
he put him in prison, delivered him to four quarterians of soldiers
to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to
the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison,
but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Now notice this, and when Herod would have brought him forth
the same night. In other words, the next day
Peter was expecting to be executed just like James had been. The
scripture says when Herod would have brought him forth the same
night, what do you think Peter was doing? Think he was walking
his cell, wringing his hands, wondering what was going to take
place? No, he was sleeping. That's what the Scripture says.
Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,
and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And behold,
the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the
prison. And he smote Peter on the side,
and raised him up, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell
off from his hands. The angel said unto him, Gird
thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto
him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out
and followed him, and wished not that it was true which was
done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision. When they were
past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron
gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of his own
accord. And they went out and passed
on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him.
And when Peter pinched himself, no, it doesn't say that, does
it? When Peter came, was come to
himself, he said, now I know of a surety that the Lord has
sent his angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod. Notice that the Lord sent his
angel. In Hebrews chapter one, we are
reminded that The angels are ministering spirits unto those
who are the heirs of salvation. Our Lord, he was now troubled
in soul, but the point I'm making, it wasn't the physical sufferings
that he saw before him that caused him to be troubled in his soul. Over the years, some have told
me, well preacher, I just don't believe I have dying grace. Well,
the people that told me that at that particular time were
not dying. And they didn't need dying grace.
But thank God I have seen some who were dying and knew they
were dying. And what grace, what amazing
grace was administered unto them. in the last days of their lives.
God's grace is sufficient. It was not his physical death.
We all recognize that. It was not his physical death
that caused his soul to be troubled. But it was this, I'm convinced,
what was foretold in Isaiah 53 in verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him, he hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. This we know, this we know, when
his soul was made an offering for sin. Then that abominable
thing, yes, that abominable thing which he hated and which was
so contrary to his pure, holy person, sin would be made to
meet upon him. He would experience, we know,
he would experience what men in hell are experiencing tonight. What is that? Forsaken of God. When he cried out, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? He experienced that forsaking
of God that all of us and all of his people, that we all merit
because of our sin. We all deserve. He was experiencing
that in our place and in our stead. The fact that you and I are born
sinners. We've never known anything but
sin. from our earliest remembrance. And before we could remember,
we were guilty of going astray from the womb, speaking lies.
We've known nothing but sin. So for us, it is impossible to
imagine what the prospect of being made to be sin was for
the Holy Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God. And let's not
forget that it was our sin. You and I who know Him tonight
as our Savior, it was our sin that was laid upon Him. Now you
know that John doesn't include in his gospel what the other
three gospel writers do, what they tell us about what took
place that night in Gethsemane. But remember this passage we're
looking at was taking place in the last week of our Lord's life. Either on the Monday or the Tuesday
of the last week of His life. And think about this as you read
what John does record. Here he says, now is my soul
troubled. In Matthew 26 and verse 38. My soul is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death. Here we read, Father, save me
from this hour. In Matthew 26, 39, it is, O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. And
here we read, for this cause came unto this hour. And in Matthew
26, we read, O my Father, If this cup may not pass away from
me, except I drink it, thy will be done. So while John does not
record our Lord, his agony there in the Garden of Gethsemane,
the night he was taken to be crucified, we see the very same
thing here in this passage of scripture. Now is my soul troubled. What shall I say? Father, save
me from this hour, for this cause came unto this hour. So the first thing we see tonight
in this passage is the Lord's soul was troubled. And again
I say it was troubled over the prospect of Him being made to
be sin for us. Second, We see the Lord's prayer
answered in verses 28 and 30. The content of his prayer, Father,
glorify thy name. Now that was the purpose of his
whole life. From the cradle to the ascension,
this was the purpose of his whole life. It was to glorify his father. When he later prayed, I have
glorified Thee on the earth, I have finished the work which
Thou gavest me to do. This was what his life was all
about. It was all about glorifying the
Father. It was about always doing those
things that pleased the Father. It was about doing what the first
Adam failed to do. He failed to glorify God. And you and I, we too, have miserably
failed. But the last Adam, he didn't. He didn't. God declared this,
I have glorified it and will glorify it again in answer to
our Lord's prayer. Father, verse 28, Father glorify
thy name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. To this point, to this point,
everything about the Lord Jesus Christ, His incarnation, His
miracles, His words, His works, everything had glorified the
Father. He would yet, as God said here,
He would yet glorify the Father in His death, in His resurrection,
and in His ascension. The Lord Jesus Christ, even now,
at the Father's right hand, glorifies the Father. He does for us what
we have never done for ourselves. He glorifies the Father. The
gospel records three times that the father spoke from heaven
concerning Christ. At his baptism, at his transfiguration,
and here now when he would give his life. Arthur Pink pointed
out that each time, each time of these three times I just mentioned,
it was in view of his death. At his baptism, Christ went down
into the water, and that's a symbol of our death, being placed under
the water and raised again to walk in newness of life. Now, no one should be baptized
who has not experienced the new birth, who has not believed in
the Lord Jesus Christ and received a new life. Christ, who is our
life, and who can confess in baptism, I'm dead to the world,
and I'm raised to live, to walk in newness of life. That old
life, it's behind me. It's buried with me in the waters
of baptism. And now I'm raised to walk in
newness of life. Those of us who are here tonight
who are saved, I know I speak for all of us. I'm so thankful
that old life is buried, aren't you? That old life of sin, that
old life of serving self, that old life is buried with Christ
in baptism. And we've been raised by the
power of God to walk in newness of life. But every time that
the Lord God The Father spoke from heaven, it was in reference
or in view of our Savior's death. As I said, first at the baptism,
second on the Mount of Transfiguration. You remember on that mount there
was also with our Lord who was transfigured, His glory which
had been veiled The glory which had been veiled when He came
here in the flesh as the eternal God, it broke through, didn't
it? And His face, the scripture says,
it was as bright shining, as bright as the sun in its noonday
strength. And His clothes, they were whiter
than any bleach could ever bleach material. But with him there
was Moses and Elijah. Moses, he represented the law,
didn't he? God gave his law to the nation
of Israel through Moses. Elijah, he represented the prophets. And what were they speaking about?
They were speaking about his death, his exodus, that he should
accomplish at Jerusalem. Every time I read that, I think
of the fact that over the years I've read the obituaries of men,
famous men, wealthy men, and you know, sometimes there'll
be a whole page of what they've accomplished, and some people
have accomplished a lot. But I have never read anyone's
obituary where they tell what that person accomplished in death. I know what I'm going to accomplish
in my death. This world will be rid of one
less sinner to breathe God's air and drink his water. That's
what my death will accomplish. But his death, it accomplished
the salvation of his people. That's what they spoke of, His
death, which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. And now here we
read that He is speaking of His death, His hour had come. The Father, He spoke not for
our Lord's sake, but for those around Him, His disciples. And It seems to me that those
who were farthest away, they heard a sound, and they said,
it thundered. Those who were closer in, they
heard what was a voice, but they considered it to be the voice
of an angel. It's kind of like when Paul,
Saul of Tarsus, was struck, when he was taken down on the road
to Damascus, quite a few people saw a great light and they heard,
but they didn't hear the audible voice of the Lord. The Lord spoke to Saul. And so
here, the Lord God from heaven spoke, declaring, I have both
glorified it and will glorify it again. How are we to understand verse
31? When our Lord said, now is the
judgment of this world, now shall the prince of this world be cast
out. There's no doubt and there's
no difficulty in knowing for certain that the prince of this
world refers to the devil. At the cross he was defeated.
He was defeated so that, this is the way I understand this,
he was so defeated there at the cross. that from that point,
from that point he lost his power that he had held over the nations. He lost that power. He was defeated
at the cross. Think about this. When the Lord
Jesus Christ died on the cross, except for a very small place
in this world, Palestine. Have you ever looked at the nation
of Israel? The land area there in Palestine,
a very small area. I think at one point it's less
than a mile in width, but it was that one place where idolatry
was not practiced and polytheism was not believed. in that one
place, but when Christ defeated Satan at the cross from that
point till tonight, all over this world, you might go to Greenland,
to Europe, to Asia, to South America, to Australia, anywhere
and everywhere there's some people who are worshiping God, the true
God, the prince of this world. He lost that power which he had
had over the nations until that point because the world was engrossed,
involved, enveloped rather in idolatry. You know, we tend,
you and I, we tend to judge the condition of the world at the
time Christ died by its condition today. And we see the condition
is bad. There's no question about that.
But at the same time, there are believers all around God's world. There are people tonight, just
like us, to whom Christ is precious. in China, New Guinea, all around
the world. And they do not practice idolatry. Now here's the third point. The
Lord's assurance, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all
unto me. Now John tells us that the lifting
up here that our Lord speaks of refers to his death. Notice
that in the next verse. This, he said, signifying what
death he should die. You remember he told this to
Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Look back, if you will, John
chapter 3, verses 14 and 15. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. The fact that he was lifted up,
that he was lifted up from the earth, the very position in which
he was placed to die, shows that he is that one mediator
between heaven and earth, between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. How are all drawn to Christ? And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw, you notice the word man is in italics, it
has been added. How is it? If I be lifted up
from the earth will draw all unto me. We know that not everyone
is drawn to Christ. There's multitudes of people
who are not drawn to Christ. And yet he says all. All refers
to the all who were given unto him by the father in that everlasting
covenant. Not one of them will not be drawn
to him. This drawing is both the work
of the Father, remember what he said in John 6 and verse 44, no man can come to me except
the Father, except the Father which has sent me draw him and
I will raise him up at the last day. And now tonight in our text
We have the Son of God, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all unto me. The drawing is both the work
of the Father, of the Son, through God the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit works in those He draws, first by convincing us of our
sins. The only ones who ever come to
Christ in true faith are those who have a need. You see that
all through the four Gospels, don't you? The only ones who
came to Christ, the lepers, they had a need. The blind, they had
a need. The crippled, they had a need.
Only those who are needy come to Christ. But the problem is,
Apart from the work of God the Holy Spirit, men do not see themselves
as needy. If you see yourself tonight as
needing a Savior, I mean you need a Savior. You need someone
to save you from your sins. Who taught you that? Who revealed
that to you? The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him." The Holy Spirit, His work in
drawing all to Christ begins by convincing us of our need,
of our sin. And then, remember He said, I
came not to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. They that are whole need not
the physician. I need a physician, don't you?
I need a doctor. Because I have a sickness, there's
no medicine that can cure the sickness that I have. The sickness
is called sinfulness. I need the great physician. He came to cause sinners to repentance,
not the righteous. He convinces of sin, of our need,
of our guilt, and then we come freely. We come freely. We come earnestly. The kingdom
of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. We must get to Christ. We must touch the hem of His
garment. And we not only come freely,
earnestly, but I made up this word, we come desiringly. We desire to know Christ. To be found in Him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is according to the law, but
that which is of the faith, the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Now let me close with this. I
read this a long, long time ago. And I'm calling on my memory
to get this right. And it may not be exactly right,
but the gist of it is right. When a person is drawn to Christ,
he enters the door. Christ said, By me, I am the
door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, shall go in and out. Go out of sin, go into Christ. When a person is drawn to Christ,
he enters the door, and over that door he sees whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. And he willingly, freely enters. And just as soon as he gets inside,
he turns around and looks back at the door. And over the door
he sees, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And I, if I be lifted up, and
he was, shall draw all unto me. All of those who were given unto
him in that everlasting covenant of grace. So that when he stands
before his father, he'll be able to say, here am I and the children
which thou gavest me. And not one will be missing. I pray the Lord would bless this
message to us here tonight. Let's sing a couple of