You may turn in your Bibles to John chapter 12 for our meditation this evening before the Lord's Supper. John chapter 12, our focus will be on verses 27 to 36, specifically the lifting up of the Son of Man, language that our Lord Jesus employs in this particular gospel to indicate his crucifixion. He refers to the lifting up of the Son of Man in John chapter 3 at verse 14, again in John chapter 8 at verse 28. and here in our particular text. But I do want to read to set the larger context beginning in verse 12 of John's Gospel, chapter 12.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! Then Jesus, when he had found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him.

Therefore, the people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. For this reason, the people also met him because they heard that he had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, you see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.

Now, there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

Most assuredly, I say to you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 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 serves me, him my father will honor. 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. Then a voice came from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Therefore, the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, an angel has spoken to him.

Jesus answered and said, this voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.

This, he said, signifying by what death he would die. The people answered him. We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. And how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up?

Who is this Son of Man? Then Jesus said to them, a little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.

While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them. But although he had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Therefore, they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand with their hearts in turn so that I should heal them. These things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and spoke of him. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Our Father, we thank you again for the written word and we pray for the ministry of your Holy Spirit. We pray that as we focus tonight on the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, you would strengthen our faith, you would confirm us, you would cause us to reflect upon the Gospel, and may these things truly grant us great joy, and great comfort, and great hope. And may you be glorified in this meeting together, and may you be worshipped and exalted. And we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Introduction

Well, there are some similarities to this particular passage and to what we find in the Garden of Gethsemane in the synoptic Gospels in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus undergoes trouble. Soul trouble is what He endures here. As I said, this is not John's version of Gethsemane.

While there are similarities, are we not to suppose that on various occasions, as Jesus is getting closer to the cross, that this soul trouble would affect Him? Certainly. He was true humanity. He was, in fact, a man.

As we get closer and closer to various trials and difficulties and issues, that trouble begins to infect our soul. And that is precisely what is going on in this particular passage of Scripture. There are two primary elements I want to focus on this evening by way of meditation. It is, first of all, the soul trouble of the Son of Man, verses 27 to 30.

And then secondly, the lifting up of the Son of Man in verses 31 to 33. And if we have some time, we'll sort of look at the response of the people in that context there.

The Soul Trouble of the Son of Man

But first of all, notice his trouble. He speaks of this in verse 27. Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say?" The word is a strong one, and it means agitation, or it means horror, or it means convulsion. There is a shock of spirit.

It is also used in the Gethsemane accounts, in Matthew 26, in Mark 14, and in Luke 22. as well we see a parallel thought in Hebrews chapter 5. The Lord Jesus Christ, as He got closer to the cross, understood, not in the first place, the shame of enduring crucifixion at the hands of men, but it is the wrath and the fury of God Most High that He is going to be facing. When He is in Gethsemane, As true man, he prays, if it is possible, let this cut pass. That is truly indicative of his manhood.

Any man, in his mind, knowing that he is going to suffer the wrath of God, would pray thus. So the idea here is that his soul is in straits. Psalm 6 verses 3 and 4 is probably background, where the psalmist says, My soul also is greatly troubled, but you, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me, O save me for your mercy's sake.

It's the same expression of trouble that he reveals at Lazarus' tomb when he's agonizing over the fact that his good brother and his good friend has died. The Lord will be troubled in soul as he speaks of the betrayer in the upper room in John 13 at verse 21. Here He is facing the prospect of the cross. Here He understands that His time is coming for Him to be lifted up in terms of crucifixion.

And this is precisely what He says, Now my soul is troubled. What triggered this is verse 23. Jesus answered them saying, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. And then He gives that illustration of the death of the grain and the life that sprouts as a result of this.

Calvin comments with reference to the trouble that our Lord underwent, says, Let us therefore know that death was not a sport and amusement to Christ. Death was not a sport and an amusement to Christ, but that he endured the severest torments on our account. A lot of weight in that statement and I wonder at times if we truly ponder what is written in the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53 or if we enter into what we find revealed in these gospel narratives concerning the soul suffering and the trial and travail and the difficulty that the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief underwent, not because of his sin, not because of his crimes, not because of His insurrection, not because of His rebellion, but because of ours. God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Christ's Resolve Toward the Cross

So He speaks of His trouble, verse 27, and then He indicates His resolve. Verse 27, He continues, 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." Jesus Christ is resolved.

Jesus Christ is resolute. In the prophet it says that he sets his face like a flint. In the book of Luke, when Jesus makes his trek to Jerusalem, He is steadfast. He sets his face like a flint.

He will not be deterred from this particular task. It is the mission. It is the objective. It is the reason for which God has sent him into this world.

So he is troubled. What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. No, he resolves.

No, he determines. No, he states the very specific purpose. For this purpose, I came to this hour. Remember that the apostle Paul in first Corinthians one.

He says, the Jews, they seek after a sign. And the Greeks, they seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ and Him crucified. He is not simply a new teacher of religious truth.

He's not simply a philosophy teacher. He's not simply trying to garner men to follow Him. But the resolute purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ in coming into this world in His first advent is to die. It is to offer Himself as a spotless sacrifice to His Father, to bring glory and honor to His Father, and to bring redemption and reconciliation to the miserable, wrath-deserving sinners that God the Father had given unto Him.

He is resolute. He is resolved. He is determined. He is going to go to the cross.

Thirdly, notice His desire.

Christ's Supreme Desire: The Father's Glory

He says, Father, glorify Your name. Verse 28. This is the supreme desire of the Savior's heart. Just look back in the context at 11.4 and at 11.40. 11.4 it says, When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

And then in verse 40. Jesus said to her, did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? Several other places in John's Gospel, John 2 at verse 17, John 4 at verse 32, John 4 at verse 34, and 638, 718, and 829, the chief desire of the Savior is to bring glory to the Father. You see, that's not our chief desire.

That's not what animates or motivates us. That is not what moves the sons of man. Therefore, the Son of Man had to come and execute this perfectly in obedience to the Father and then die as a sacrifice and rise again to save us from our sins. Praise the Lord God Almighty that His Son His champion, His Redeemer had this resolution and had as His chief desire the glory of God Most High.

One man says, the obedience is, or this obedience is the glorification of the Father's name and constitutes the foundation of the Christian religion. So he desires this. Father, glorify your name.

The Father's Voice from Heaven

And then an answer comes from heaven in verse 28. Then a voice came from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. This is the third time that a voice came from heaven from the Father to the Son at his baptism. When Jesus comes up, out of the water, the spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove, and then the father says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

That marks his public ministry. He is fit, he is equipped, he is ready, he is spirit-filled, and now he goes about preaching and teaching and doing those things we're studying in Matthew's Gospel. The second occasion is at the Mount of Transfiguration. there Moses and Elijah appear, and the Lord God again says, this is my beloved son, hear him. He's not saying resist Moses, he's not saying don't listen to Elijah, but he is saying that Moses and Elijah prophesied and pointed forward to this one, the Lord of glory, my beloved son.

You need to hear him, you need to listen to him. And again, this voice comes as the Lord Jesus Christ is troubled in his soul, He is getting close to the cross and he says to the father, glorify your name. And the father with that probation says, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. And then they misunderstand or the people there don't get it.

So Jesus explains in verse 30, this voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. So that's the soul trouble of our blessed Savior. That is the soul distress, the agitation, the horror, the convulsion, the shock of spirit. Remember, he knew what lied on the side of Calvary.

He knew what was awaiting him in terms of the wrath of the Father. He knew God's holy revulsion against sin. He knew it like you and I do not know it. We just don't understand.

I mean, we read these glimpses in the scripture. We read of the wrath and the fury of God. We read statements like Matthew 11, 20 to 24. It'd be more tolerable for Sodom on the day of judgment than it will be for Capernaum.

And we understand that what is in view there is something very severe, something very incredible, something full of wrath and fury. But we can't fully enter in. Let me face it, we don't understand the full weight of God's wrath. I suppose that if we did, we'd be far more evangelistic than what we are.

Remember the Apostle says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. If we really understood what the wrath of God and the fury of his majesty was all about, we would probably run down the streets with a bullhorn, calling on people to repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Christ knew, Christ understood, Christ realized what awaited Him. And certainly understanding that promoted this soul trouble in the suffering of the Son of Man.

The Lifting Up of the Son of Man

Now notice secondly, He speaks of His death in verses 31 to 30. He says in verse 31, now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.

This, he said, signifying by what death he would die. So the hour had come. He's already referred to this in verse 23. Verse 32, he refers to this hour, or this idea, this concept of being lifted up.

And we see in verse 33, this he said signifying by what death he would die. He is speaking about the crucifixion. He is telling the people that he's going to die. He is rehearsing that redemptive fact and now he draws out from that statement various benefits accrued as a result.

And this is where I want to spend the rest of our time tonight. The results of his death As we come to the table, as we come to the supper, as we consider the bread, as we consider the cup, as we consider Him in His sufferings on our behalf, it is good to associate that with what He has accomplished. Because it helps us to return praise and glory and honor and worship unto Him. And as well, it helps us to value and to prize The Apostle says, as often as you eat this bread and you drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

We need to understand just what it is we're proclaiming. We need to understand just what it is we're remembering. We're not just remembering some moral tale of a good man who died a martyr's death. We are remembering a transaction that occurred. between heaven and earth, wherein the Father laid upon the Son the justice due us.

And the Son spent it, He took it, He exhausted it, He drank the cup of God's wrath. on behalf of his people. Certainly, his people can spend a bit of time meditating upon, searching the scriptures, and understanding the implications of that blessed, redemptive death on our behalf.

Four Results of Christ's Death

He indicates four blessed results of his death. The first, and this is not in order per se, the first is the judgment of the world.

First Result: Judgment of the World

Notice in verse 31a, He says, now is the judgment of this world. He refers to this in John 3 at verses 17 to 21 and in John 5 at verses 22 to 23. This was God's means, this was God's plan, this was God's way of dealing with the sin issue. D.A.

Carson says it this way, the world thought it was passing judgment on Jesus, not only as it perpetually debated who he was. I mean, just read John's gospel up to this section. In fact, when they ask, in our own context, who is this son of man? Essentially, they're saying is, what kind of Son of Man are you talking about?

Jesus answers rather enigmatically, in sort of a puzzle way. He doesn't just say, I'm the Son of Man, consistent with the Old Testament prophecies. He talks about life, and walking in the light. He talks about being in the light.

The essence of the argument is this, I have told you, several times who I am. I have pronounced several times that I am the fulfillment of the written word. I have told you and I have confirmed before you that I am the Messiah sent by God to Israel for the salvation of sinners. The time for explanation is over.

You need to follow, you need to get in the light, you need to hold on to the light, and you need to believe. That's why He answers the way that He does. Carson says, in reality, the cross was passing judgment on them. Since Jesus was sent as His Father's representative, His agent in the supreme divine revelation, rejection of the Son is rejection of God Himself.

Now is the judgment of this world.

Second Result: Casting Out of Satan

Secondly, one of the blessed results that our Savior accomplishes in His redemptive death at Calvary when He's lifted up in the crucifixion is the casting out of Satan. Notice in verse 31, now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out. The devil is a defeated foe. There are battles, there are skirmishes.

He roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, according to Peter, in 1 Peter chapter 5. But the war has been won. It was prophesied in the garden. Remember that statement of God to the serpent that he would send his son.

I mean, he doesn't say it quite that clearly, but he speaks of the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. He would crush the head of the serpent. And in that transaction, the serpent would bruise his heel. It's an issue of comparison.

In the death of Christ, comparatively speaking, he sustained an injury to his heel. In the death of Christ, comparatively speaking, with reference to the devil, he crushed his head. So when we come to the passages that describe benefits concerning Christ's redemptive death, the casting out of Satan is certainly one we ought to stand amazed in. The devil is referred to as ruler in John 14.30 and John 16.11. 2 Corinthians 4, Ephesians 2, and Ephesians 6.

If not ruler, that idea is present. The earthly ministry of Christ was the beginning of Satan's overthrow. Remember, Jesus spoke of this. The binding of the strong man.

The fact that he would deal this death blow to the devil himself. And then the death of Christ sealed his doom. Not only do we have this statement in John 12, but we have Paul in Colossians 2. I just want to read some of these passages because I think at times we almost deify the devil.

We need to be aware of his prowess, we need to be aware of 1 Peter 5, we need to be cognizant of the fact that he is a real foe, he is a real adversary, he roams about seeking whom he may devour. But you know there are conferences and there are books and there are almost you know, magical approaches to how do we deal with the devil. Do you know what the admonition of the believer is to deal with the devil in James and in Peter? It's not to throw salt behind your shoulder.

It's not to engage in holy incantation. It's not to hang holy horseshoes up in your office or in your kitchen. It's not to throw inkwells at the wall. Remember, Martin Luther did that one, right?

That famous inkwell in the castle. Do you know what James and Peter says when the devil comes a-knocking? Really? Do you know?

I remember going to a conference once where it was about an eight-hour in-depth session on what to do when the devil comes a-knocking. We could have saved eight hours by just reading James and just reading Peter, and it wouldn't even have taken eight seconds. You know what James and Peter say? Resist him.

Resist him. When you say, oh, I couldn't help it. Yeah, you could. The devil didn't make you do it.

You wanted to do it. Your sinful or your remaining sin urged you on. Resist him. That's it.

No holy incantations, no spells, no charms, no DVDs. No conferences, no posters, no 1-800-CASTOUTADEVIL, no castoutadevil.com. This is the kind of stuff that's out there. It is laughable, but it's unfortunate because people subscribe to this.

I've got to learn ten ways to deal with my demons. Well, if you're a Christian, you don't have demons because greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. The Spirit of God will not allow a demon to inhabit his holy temple. But when we come to this whole idea of Christ's redemptive death, we do see the crushing of the devil's head.

Colossians 2, verse 15, having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. The point, brethren, is that you need to be aware and alert to the reality of your adversary. But you mustn't be paralyzed. You mustn't be submissive.

You mustn't say that he is on par. We've got the good God and we've got the bad God. That's almost how people treat the devil. He is not deity.

He is a created being. As Luther said, he is on a chain. He is like your dog chained up in the yard. He can go so far and not any further.

The Lord God just jerks that chain right back to keep him from destroying his people. Hebrews chapter 2, another passage that highlights this particular truth. It is repetitive in the New Testament documents, probably because God wants us to understand, yes, be cautious, yes, be aware, yes, understand that there is an adversary who roams about like a lion seeking whom he may be devoured, but don't be paralyzed, don't be crippled. Don't be with a trepidation not even willing to leave your own house because of the fear of the devil.

Hebrews 2.14, "...inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death. That is the devil." Notice, these two passages connect the crushing of the head of the devil with the first coming of our Lord Jesus. It is through his crucifixion, it is through his death that he deals this death blow. There is this concept, this idea out there that it's not until the second coming when he comes as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in all of that glory and majesty and then he will crush the head of the serpent.

No, it's done. He has crushed the head of the serpent. I'm sorry, 1 John chapter 3 and verse 8. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 8. Little children, verse 7, let no one deceive you.

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil is sin from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. He was manifested when?

At his first coming, at his first advent to destroy the works of the devil. In Revelation chapter 12, Pastor Cam referred to that in Sunday school this morning. You remember, in Revelation chapter 12, the devil first seeks to destroy Christ. and he loses. He tries to destroy the church, and he loses.

He is a beaten enemy. Again, he's still around in terms of mop-up and battle. Be aware, be on guard, be cautious, but do not fear the way you fear God. And then Carson again, I think, comments well before we move from this point.

He says, although the cross might seem like Satan's triumph, You see, probably if you were standing there at the foot of Gethsemane on that day, you wouldn't think winter, right? You saw the son of God in all of his gore, bloodied, beaten, crown of thorns pressed into his head, blood pouring down his face, being treated like a common criminal. No, not a common criminal. You see, the empire didn't use crucifixion for the common criminal.

A Roman citizen could not be crucified apart from a special act of permission from the emperor. Crucifixion was so severe and so brutal that they reserved it for the worst sorts of criminals. So when you were standing at the foot of Gethsemane, you were looking up, I'm sorry, at the foot of Calvary, and you were looking up at the Christ on the cross, you probably weren't thinking victory. You probably weren't thinking triumph.

You probably weren't thinking Genesis 3.15. I mean, we're just not that sharp, brethren. We're not tracking that quickly in some things. Carson says, although the cross might seem like Satan's triumph, it is in fact his defeat.

In one sense, Satan was defeated by the out-breaking power of the Kingdom of God, even in the ministry of Jesus. Look at the context this morning. But in Luke chapter 10, when those 70 return, when they start to speak about what they have accomplished by the grace of God in the name of Christ, what does Jesus say? He says, Behold, I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

So the outbreaking of the kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus Christ the Lord is the beginning of His overthrow. The finalization of His overthrow is at the death of Christ at the cross. He says, but the fundamental smashing of His reign of tyranny takes place in the death and the exaltation of Jesus Christ. So with reference to the redemptive benefit of our Lord Jesus Christ, the judgment of the world, the casting out of Satan, and thirdly, the drawing of all men.

Third Result: Drawing of All Peoples

Notice in verse 32, and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. Notice the implication of the text. If Christ is crucified, he will save his people from their sins. It is glorious, it is wondrous, it is most blessed.

The verb draw means to draw by inward power. John 6, 44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. We call that the effectual calling. The psalmist refers to it as God making men willing in the day of His power.

This verb is used to fish in 21.6 and in 21.11. They drew in this net, they impelled it to come through power. It is used in a compulsory sense in Acts 16 when they drew Paul and Silas to the prison because of their preaching of the gospel and after having cast out the demon from the slave girl. This is not speaking of the general call.

This is speaking of the effectual call. This is not speaking of all men without exception. It is speaking of all men without distinction. It is consistent with our study in 1 Timothy 2, 4-6, last Sunday night.

When he says, I will draw all men to myself, he doesn't mean every single human being. He is not a universalist. The Bible does not present universalism. The context is riddled with clues that that is not what he means.

Notice the scribes, or rather the Pharisees, complain in chapter 12 at verse 19. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, you see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. Verse 20, now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.

This is, again, in John's Gospel and in the book of Revelation, this theology of a comprehensive Savior. He doesn't just save Jews. He hasn't just come for the lost tribes of Jacob. He has come to be a light unto the Gentiles.

This is a recurring theme in this Gospel according to John. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That doesn't mean that every single human being in the world will be saved. It means that all kinds of men that inhabit the world will be saved.

What's the lesson in that whole narrative where Jesus comes to that Samaritan woman. Notice in John chapter 4, you remember the scene. The Lord Jesus is thirsty, he asks the woman to give him a drink, and they start to dialogue. They start to discuss eternal truth.

She starts to get a little bothered by his particular line of questioning, when he says, go and call your husband. She says, I have no husband. He says, you're right. You've had five, and the one you're currently with is not your husband.

And then she says, Sir, I perceive that you're a prophet. And she changes the subject to talk about worship. The Lord Jesus goes with her and begins to talk about worship. He truly is an amazing Savior.

But then this woman goes back to her village. And she testifies and she says, come and see a man who told me all things I ever did. It's as if he looked right into my heart. He knew me.

He understood me. And he didn't throw me out. Rather he was gracious and kind and merciful. So he goes back, or she goes back and fetches her particular village.

And then notice in verse 39, and many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified, he told me all that I ever did. So when the Samaritans had come to him, now remember Samaritans, don't forget this. Samaritans were bad. Samaritans were mongrels.

Samaritans were sort of a hybrid mixture of a bastardized people. The context, when a Jew would hear of a Samaritan, they didn't think, wow, that's one of our brethren. That's one of our friends. That's one of our close associates.

No, rather, when they heard Samaritan, they got upset. They didn't like these particular people. The very thought that Jesus would sit at a well and speak to a woman, and a Samaritan woman no less, really shocked his disciples. Those were two things that a Jewish man prayed.

Thank you, God, that I'm not a woman. Thank you, God, that I'm not a slave. Probably they thanked God they were not Samaritans, too. There was a lot of bigotry in this context, and here Jesus comes and deals graciously with this Samaritan woman.

So back to the narrative. Verse 40. So when the Samaritans had come to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his own word.

Then they said to the woman, now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard him, and we know that this is indeed the Christ, who is the lesson, the Savior of the world. Not just the Jews, but Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans. When Jesus says, I will draw all to myself, he means men from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation. In John chapter 11 at verse 49, as they have plotted to kill Jesus, the high priest, verse 49, Caiaphas said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish.

Now this he did not say on his own authority, but being high priest that year, He prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. In other words, the Savior comes to cast His net on the world. The Savior comes not just to the Jew. The Savior comes to the Gentile.

The Savior commissions His church, go first to Jerusalem, and then to Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. That's what's beautiful about the book of Acts. The Lord Jesus outlines it for us right there in Acts chapter 1 at verse 8. What do you have after they tarry in Jerusalem?

They stay there until about chapters 7 and 8. They go into Judea and Samaria because of the persecution under Saul of Tarsus. They then are dispersed and they go to the uttermost parts of the earth. That was always the mission of the Messiah.

It was announced in the Servant Song in Isaiah 42. It is too small for you. This is the Father talking to the Son. It is too small for you simply to redeem the tribes of Jacob.

But I will give you as a light unto the Gentiles. The Savior is the Savior of the world. That's what he means when he says, and I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. Men inclusive, women, you're included there too.

Fourth Result: Glory of the Father

And then finally, in terms of a blessed result, and this probably should be first, but I wanted to end on this one, the glory of his father. You see those other three are basically manward in their focus, in their thrust, in their emphasis. It's the glory of God. You see, when you read John's Gospel, you cannot miss the fact that Christ is on a mission.

You cannot miss the fact that Jesus is the obedient Son. You cannot miss that He is submissive to His Father. In fact, that context, or that scene in John chapter 4, they're hungry, the disciples want to eat. Jesus says, I have meat to eat which you know nothing of.

It's a terrible indictment upon us, isn't it? We have no clue what the will of God even is. I have meat to eat. I have the will of my father to do, which you know nothing of.

Christ was the obedient son every step of the way. When he says in verse 28 of John 12, Father, glorify your name, then a voice came from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. It is in the life and in the death and in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ that the Father is praised, that the Father is glorified, that the Father is honored. You see this fleshed out in Philippians 2.

Philippians 2, beginning in verse 5. I just want to illustrate this from a Pauline passage. Philippians 2 at verse 5, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Now notice, therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Father, glorify your name. I have both glorified it and will glorify it in the life, the death, and the resurrection of his beloved son. The Father is well pleased in him. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, one of the clearest passages on biblical eschatology or on the end times. or what is the next great event in redemptive history. 1 Corinthians 15, 20, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at his coming. Notice, His coming. This is referring to the second coming, the second Advent, His return in glory.

So what happens when Christ comes? Then comes the end. You have to insert a thousand years there, if you are a premillennialist. You have to bring it from another place in scripture and put it in this passage, because it's not there.

Now, if you bring it and put it, you need to be able to justify it. But in terms of this clear passage, narrative passage, it says that the end follows the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then comes the end when, notice, he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when or after he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when he says all things are put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under him is accepted. Notice in verse 28, now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him, who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. You see, the chief purpose, the chief focus, the chief objective in God's redemptive plan is the glory of God Himself.

The Christian ought to rejoice in that, that we are not first on God's order of priority, but God is first on His order of priority. That ought to be the way we mirror ourselves, God's honor, God's glory, God's praise, God's exaltation. The shorter catechism says, what is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

I remember hearing Pastor Elliot preach this one time. What is the chief end of God? God's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Some would say, well, that sounds a bit egocentric.

No, it is consistent. If God is the highest, loftiest, most excellent being, then for him to direct his attention to someone prior to himself would be idolatry, and it would be defection, and it would ungod god of his deity. Jesus was about the glory of his father.

Application

Well, brethren, in summary, we have seen in our passage the sole trouble of our Lord Jesus Christ. It demonstrates his true humanity. and it should demonstrate to us the great lengths that He went to on our behalf. He was indeed the mediator of the New Covenant, tasked with being the federal representative, representing those whom the Father had given Him. And as a result, it meant that He would go to the cross on their behalf.

When we eat this bread, When we drink this cup, we need to remember the great lengths that our Lord of glory went to on our behalf. As well, we see in this passage Christ's desire to bring glory to His Father. It is in bringing glory to His Father there is benefit for His people. It is in bringing glory to His Father and satisfying the divine will and satisfying the divine plan that we find our blessing and that we find our hope.

Closing Prayer

Well, brethren, let us pray to God and thank Him for this blessed, blessed event that took place on behalf of His people. Well, let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for this, Your Word. We thank You for the living Word, the incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How we thank You for His resolve, how we thank you for his life, his death, his resurrection, all of the benefits he secured on our behalf, all of the blessings you've given us. As Paul says, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ has been conferred upon his people. In this, we greatly rejoice. In this, we want to praise and honor and glorify you.

And God, help us now as we eat this bread, as we drink this cup, to do so in remembrance of the Lord of Glory who gave himself on our behalf. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 3:15
• Psalm 6:3-4
• Isaiah 42; 53
• Matthew 11:20-24; 26
• Mark 14
• Luke 10; 22
• John 2:17; 3:14; 3:17-21; 4:32; 4:34; 4:39-40; 5:22-23; 6:38; 6:44; 7:18; 8:28-29; 11:4; 11:40; 11:49; 12:12; 12:19-20; 12:23; 12:27-36; 13:21; 14:30; 16:11; 21:6; 21:11
• Acts 1:8; 16
• 1 Corinthians 1; 15:20; 15:28
• 2 Corinthians 4
• Ephesians 2; 6
• Philippians 2:5-11
• Colossians 2:15
• 1 Timothy 2:4-6
• Hebrews 2:14; 5
• James 4:7
• 1 Peter 5
• 1 John 3:7-8
• Revelation 12