Lesson 36

The Hour Of Decision

John 12:23-50

John 12:23-50 is John's record of the conclusion of Jesus' public ministry. Chapters 13-17 takes place in the upper room and involves only Jesus and His disciples. Chapter 18 is the arrest and trial, chapter 19 the crucifixion and chapters 20 -21 the resurrection and appearances that followed. Virtually half of the book of John takes place during the final week. We have come then to the end of a three year public ministry. Three things take place.

An Announcement - "The hour is come", 12:23-34

This statement seems to have been specifically directed at the disciples, particularly Phillip and Andrew, (they are the "them" in v. 23) but it was public enough to be heard by all present.

"The hour is come". Not just any hour, but the hour. Jesus is not referring to a sixty period but a specific time in His life. Often, in the Gospel of John, this hour has been referred to, see 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 13:1; 16:21, 32; 17:1.

According to our text, this hour would mean three things. First, it would mean Jesus crucified. In that sense, then, this was going to be a painful and difficult time for Jesus. He faced the cross, humanly speaking, with dread. Notice His words in verse 27. Jesus was troubled in His soul. In Gethsemane He prayed, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." And here, Jesus said, "What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?" That is the human side. It is dreadful. And yet, Jesus also shows us His divine side when he adds "for this cause came I unto this hour." He understood fully what was going to happen and that this was the eternal and divine purpose and plan through which man would be saved. All of human history was headed for this hour. And, even, in eternity Jesus stood as a Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. And so, even though, in His humanity Jesus was dreading the cross and praying, "If possible, let this pass" in His divinity He could add "Nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done." The hour means that Jesus will be crucified.

The hour also means God glorified. "Now is the hour that the Son of man should be glorified" (v. 23). Verse 28 - Father, glorify thy name. And at that, in an audible voice God spoke, v. 28. This is the third time in Jesus' ministry when God spoke audibly from heaven. At the baptism, at the transfiguration and now. There was some debate among the people as to whether this was a natural phenomenon (thunder) or supernatural (angels), v. 29-30. The point is that this hour is for the purpose of glorifying both the Father and the Son. How? Notice carefully verses 31-33. Jesus is going to be "lifted up". What does it mean to be lifted up? It refers to the way in which he would die, v. 33, see also 3:14. If Jesus dies, it looks like the His enemies win! After all, that has been their goal for a long time (5:18; 11;53). And so, the wicked world wins if Jesus dies; Satan wins if Jesus dies! Or not? Jesus said that by his death, the wicked world would be condemned and Satan, the prince of this world, the spiritual force behind the wickedness of the world would be defeated ("cast down"). And all men would be drawn to Him. It doesn't mean that all men will be saved. It does mean that all men will experience the work of the Holy Spirit in their heart which draws men to Christ. Jesus dies and Satan loses. Jesus dies and the world is judged. Jesus dies and men are saved. Jesus dies and God is glorified..

The hour also mean fruit multiplied, vs. 24-26. Just as a seed is planted in the ground and through a process which we call germination, the seed itself dies but fruit is produced so also the death of Christ would ultimately produce much fruit. In fact, I am 2000 years later part of that fruit. And so are you if you are a Christian. There is a sense in which verse 24 speaks of Christ. But there is also a sense in which this verse speaks about us. For. like Christ, we must die, die to self and sin that we may bring forth much fruit. Verses 25-26 are directed to us. We are like God's seeds. We must die to self that we may live unto God. Galatians 2:20 says that we are crucified with Christ. Romans 6 says we are dead and buried and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life. Jesus challenges those (perhaps those Greeks who wanted to see him) and us that they/we must surrender our lives to him. There is a contrast here between lonliness and fruitfulness; losing your life and keeping it; serving yourself or serving Christ; pleasing self or receiving Christ's honor. This is the equivalent of Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? and Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. The hour then mean Jesus crucified, God glorified and fruit multiplied.

The people are surprised to hear this. They knew enough of the Old Testament to know that Messiah (Christ, the Son of man) was going to be established forever. Psa 89:4,29, 36,37 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. But now, Jesus was telling them that Messiah was going to die. They didn't understand and couldn't accept this. They didn't know Psalm 22 or Isaiah 53. Is Christ going to live and reign forever? Yes! Is Messiah going to die? Yes! How can both be true? The answer is in a word which they hadn't thought of and Jesus didn't mention here. He spoke of His death but, right here, He did not make mention of His resurrection.

An Appeal - "While ye have light, believe", 12:35-43.

"The light" is illumination personified. Jesus is the light of the world, 8:12; 9:5. Here, Jesus appeals to them that their opportunity to respond to the light that they have will not last forever. "Yet a little while is the light with you." And so the invitation is to walk in the light while they have light to walk in. It is to believe in the light. Jesus gives two reasons for why they should respond to the light. The first is negatively stated Verse 35 - you will be engulfed in darkness and you won't know where you are going. The second is stated positively. Verse 36 - You will become the children of light. And then, as if to illustrate that the light would soon disappear, Jesus disappeared, he "hid himself from them".

How did they respond to Jesus' invitation? Verse 37 says that in spite of all the miracles which they had witnessed, they would not believe. Their rejection of Jesus had been prophesied by Isaiah (53), v. 38. And because they would not believe, they reached the point (v.39) where they could not believe. By rejecting the light and staying in darkness, the time came when they were blind. I once read where zoologist had discovered fish a cave with an underground lake and fish within this lake which had no eyes. Their eyes had atrophied from not being used. Non-use leads to atrophy. And if you refuse to believe, the day will come when you cannot believe. This too had been prophesied by Isaiah (6:10) according to verse 40-41. Verse 41 is an interesting commentary on Isaiah 6. Remember, Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. According to John, who did Isaiah see and speak of? It was Jesus! Isaiah records what theologians call a theophany and a Christophany. An Old Testament appearance of ...

The majority would not / could not believe. But notice another group which John speaks of in verse 42-43. The "chief rulers" were members of the Sanhedrin, the council of 70 men who religiously ruled the Jewish religion. Among this group there were some who in their heart believed but would not confess (publicly identify with) Him. Romans 10 says that we must believe in our heart and we must confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus. Here are some who have been convinced in their heart but will not publicly acknowledge Christ. Why? Because of what they feared. Were they to identify with Christ, they would endure the harsh criticism of the Pharisees and would, like the man who confessed Christ in chapter 9, be put out of the synagogue - which in Jewish culture was the center not only of one's religious life, but the basis of one's family's life, social life, even economic life. The Pharisees had made it crystal clear that anyone who confessed Jesus was going to pay a severe price in the community. John tells us a second reason for their refusal to confess Christ. Because of what they loved. They loved the acceptance of men over the approval of God. We are often controlled by what we fear and what we love.

I think that one of the men that John has in mind was Nicodemus. He had come to Christ in search of answers, 3:1ff. He had defended Jesus in 7:50-52. Later, Nicodemus would identify himself with Christ, 19:39-40.

A Summary - "Hear my words", 12:44-50.

The chapter ends with the last words of Jesus to the Jews in John. In a sense, these words summarize the basic themes of John's gospel:

God sent his Son.

To see the Son is to see the Father

Jesus is the light of the world

His words are the very words of God

The very word that Jesus spoke will judge those who reject

Faith in Him brings salvation

To reject Him is to face eternal judgment

You, who have been here will I have preached through the first twelve chapters of John have seen the evidence in His life, His ministry, His miracles, His message, His desire to save lost sinners. Do you know who Jesus is? Have you come to the conviction that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world? Have you trusted him for eternal life and confessed Him publicly as your Lord? "While you have light, believe in the light, they you may become a child of the light" (John 12:36).