The Hour Has Come

My heart pounded and my hands were clammy. It must have been over one hundred degrees in that room, though most everyone else looked pretty comfortable. The lump in my gut grew with each passing moment and I thought for sure I would soon see again the lunch I ate an hour ago. I was next in line to give a speech in my ninth grade English class and my classmate speaking now was going way too fast; no way she would take the rest of the class period. Perhaps you have a similar memory. Maybe it wasn’t public speaking that rattled you; maybe it was waiting for some results from the doctor’s office or a meeting with your boss. Maybe it was sitting in your car with those red and blue flashing lights in your review mirror. Whatever the particulars, these times come upon us humans periodically.

Unlike Matthew, Mark and Luke, the Gospel of John tells little about the week between the Triumphal Entry that we celebrate today, Palm Sunday, and His Resurrection Day the following Sunday. Actually, there are six chapters in John that tell of that one week, but five of them, chapters 13-17, tell of the Passover Jesus shared with His disciples the night He was betrayed and only one, chapter 12, tells of the week leading up to that night. That’s five of the twenty-one chapters of John devoted to that Passover, and those chapters are absolutely amazing.

Last week’s blog was about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The affects of that carry over into John 12 where we see that many came to see Jesus on the day He entered Jerusalem on the colt. They came in large numbers to see the Man who raised the dead back to life. As they gathered, John 12:13 says they began to cheer and shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!” By the way, “Lord” in this quote from Psalm 118:25-26 is the holy name for God, YHWH. As they did, others from Jerusalem who had come for Passover, came out to meet Him also, and joined the shouts of, “Hail to the King!” Read John 12:12-18.

Meanwhile, the Pharisees were further enraged by their jealousy of Jesus. All of their plotting and planning to kill Him amounted to nothing thus far. Now, as they stood fuming, watching the masses cheer Him, they realized they had much to do if they were going to be rid of Him. The evil and murderous intentions of the Jewish religious leaders makes a striking contrast to the Greeks, gentiles that is, who came to worship at the Passover and desired to see Jesus.

Jesus then declares that, “the hour has come.” The hour that He should be glorified, that is. It is clear by the following statements that Jesus is talking about His sacrificial death, burial, and glorious resurrection later that week. He illustrates with a grain of wheat that dies in the ground, it breaks open, ceases to be a seed and becomes a plant which then produces more seeds. That is what Jesus came to do: to die, be buried and then burst forth in Life, giving Life to many others. Jesus came to die as the sacrifice for our sin so that, though faith in Him, we could be redeemed to the Father. The fact that Jesus left His place in Heaven at the right-hand of the Father’s Throne for the sole purpose of dying on the Cross to free us from the penalty of sin and death is evident when He says, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father save Me from this hour?’ But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name” (John 12:27-28). Glorifying the Father by redeeming sinful mankind by grace through faith is the reason He came.

We must not, however, neglect the statements Jesus made in John 12:25-26, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me, and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone loves Me, him My Father will honor.”

The obvious questions for each of us are these:

1.   Do you understand that Jesus is the only one through whom we have access to the Father, for He alone is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Jesus” (John 14:6)? That means you cannot be forgiven of your sin or have victory in death by your own “good merits.”

2.   Do you understand that Jesus, God the Son, is the only One who could accomplish your redemption because He alone was sinless perfection? He is fully God so that His death could make redemption available to all mankind, and He is fully man so that He could die and understand the temptations we all face, thus being the perfect High Priest.

3.   Do you understand that, having put your faith in Jesus as your Saviour, you are to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength? That having died to sin through Him, you are also raised to new life through Him. You are set free from your former slavery to sin and now give yourself to righteous living through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. Your old life is to be done way with so that you now live for Him.

4.   Do you believe?

5.   If you do believe, are you doing your all to be faithful to Him, which involves following His example. He came to glorify the Father by redeeming those enslaved to sin and death who Trust in Him. We are called to be His ambassadors, bringing glory to the Father by telling others of the redemption accomplished by Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

Jesus did not look forward to taking upon Himself the sins of humanity when He went to the Cross. According to Luke 22:42 He prayed to His Father, “take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus was sinless, but He knew the hour was upon Him that He would take all our sin and pay the price that was due: death. Our forgiveness is only possible because the price was paid through His blood.

You and I can still be a witness of that truth today, even with quarantines and instructions to remain home. We still have the world at our fingertips through cell phones and social media. We can still talk with our Heaven Father through reading the Word, prayer and interaction with each other, even if it is within the guidelines of “social distancing” right now. My prayer is that all this time of separation, let’s call it germination time, will blossom into a bounty of opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus this summer.

One more question, do you refuse to be a witness of the Life-giving Gospel of Christ because of fear? Is it like sitting at that desk in ninth grade, fearfully waiting your turn to give a speech? Does that fear keep you from witnessing to friends, family and strangers?

In those moments, do you, by contrast say, “Father, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not Your will, but mine be done?”

May the Lord give you boldness as you yield your life to Him, for “he who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” The hour has come for us to germinate.

Grace, Peace and Boldness,

Pastor Mark