Decisions — Bible — Andrew Forrest

John 12:27-36a

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36a While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

Remember that we have broken up longer passages for easier daily reading. So, today’s reading is part of a longer passage (see last Friday) in which Jesus, having been told by Philip and Andrew that some Greeks want to see Him, says:

23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him [John 12:23–26].

He goes on to say:

27a “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? [John 12:27a].

Jesus has been speaking of death, and He is troubled by the thought. So, should He pray that He doesn’t have to die? No, He rejects this idea:

27b But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28a Father, glorify your name.” [John 12:27b–28a].

Instead, He prays a version of the Lord’s Prayer: “hallowed be thy name.” This prayer prompts the Father to reply audibly from heaven:

28b Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” [John 12:28b].

The people hear the voice but are confused.

29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die [John 12:29–33].

In John’s Gospel, the phrase “lifted up” means “crucified” when applied to Jesus. So, Jesus explains here how He is going to die.

All of this connects back to His earlier statement about the seed falling to the ground to die. Rather than “falling,” Jesus explains that He will die by being “lifted up.” And just like the grain of wheat, His death will yield a rich harvest:

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself [John 12:32].

This is a puzzling verse. Does Jesus imply that everyone will be saved? The entirety of the Gospel of John makes that interpretation an impossibility, as many people throughout the Gospel account will come to Jesus and then turn away from Him. (See John 6:66, e.g.). No, what Jesus means is that, by way of the cross, Jesus confronts the world, and the world has to respond—the only way to have life is to have faith in Jesus as the crucified Messiah.

The reason we know about Jesus is because of His crucifixion and resurrection. It is Jesus, “crucified under Pontius Pilate” who is Lord of the world.

After the crowds on Palm Sunday, the Pharisees imply that the whole world is paying attention to Jesus.

19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him” [John 12:19].

Then, some Greeks want to see Jesus:

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” [John 12:20–21].

Jesus’s response is that the Pharisees are right. The whole world will be drawn to Jesus, but not as Jesus the teacher, but as Jesus the crucified Lord:

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself [John 12:32].

So, in v. 32 we get a response to the desire of the Greeks to see Jesus, mentioned in 12:21, that they want to see Jesus. Jesus tells them they will see Him—the world will see Him—but only when He is lifted up on the cross.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sooner or later and in one way or the other, everyone must respond to Jesus. (If you choose not to respond, that’s still a response.) Sooner or later, Jesus says, “all” will have to decide how they will respond to the crucified Lord.