Jesus proclaims His death

28 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

Who heard what (v.28-29)?

Why did they hear what they heard (v.30)?

Why do you think it is important that we know this before we move on to our passage tonight? (context, context, context) really we could back up further, we start there just for the lead into our passage tonight.

Our passage

Read, glean and take note from the passage.

John 12:31–32 NASB95

31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

John 12:33 NASB95

33 But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

John 12:34 NASB95

34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

John 12:35 NASB95

35 So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.

John 12:36 NASB95

36 “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.

John 12:37 NASB95

37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.

John 12:38 NASB95

38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

John 12:39–40 NASB95

39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”

John 12:41 NASB95

41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.

How about we start with a couple of very challenging questions this evening. So, put on your thinking caps, and really listen and ponder these two questions:

What is the central theme in this passage?

Knowing now the central theme, look again, why? give a verse that proves the theme?

What is upon this world, and when (v.31)?

What will be the results of Jesus being lifted up (v.32)?

Where did they hear that the Christ would remain forever (v.34)?

What is the instruction given (v.35-36) and why?

Even though they had proof what did they not do, and why (vv.37-38)?

Why could they not believe (vv.40)?

Such a rich section of scripture with rich meaning on many levels here and we will see how we get through this tonight.

Jesus proclaims His death and nature of it

JUDGEMENT ENTERED PICTURE HERE

Judgment is entered and the guilty party is taken away, and that is exactly what happens at the cross. the world and the worlds power (Satan the power, the ruler of this world) is cast out.

On the cross Jesus shed His blood that cleansed then and continually cleanses now (1Jn1:7); so he (Satan) has no hold, no grip, so he is cast out!

The ruler of this would, the great adversary to God (Jn14:30; 16:11) Eph2:2) was cast out because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross. He was cast out of any rightful authority over God’s people.

Tasker said: “It was because of the disobedience that man was driven by God out of the Garden of Eden for having submitted to the prince of this world (Jn12:31); now by the perfect obedience of Jesus on the cross the prince of this world will be deposed of his present ascendancy.”

Something to consider the defeat of the cast out one, Satan, described (Col2:14-15)

Colossians 2:14–15 NASB95

14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Sin, Satan had sin held over us

He was the ruler, and the sin was taken out of the way at the cross, so the thing he ruled with was gone!

We have triumph because of the cross!

A couple of quick things before moving on regarding the quickened time frame. We are picking up the pace now:

Jn12:23 - the hour has come:

Jn12:27: Now my soul has become troubled

Jn12:31: Now judgment is upon; now the ruler of this world will be cast out

Do you get the sense that everything is imminent now? Before it was “My hour has not yet come.” Now it has. The whole reason He came is about to be fulfilled. He is to be lifted up.

John 12:32 HCSB

32 As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Myself.”

Do you think the “if” is a possibility, or is it since I am going to be lifted up?

Lifted up had a double meaning here

Elevation as from the ground on the cross itself

Exaltation (being raised in rank or honor) - exalted (Php2:9; Act2:33, 5:31)

When you look at the term “all men” what do you think the term means? maybe consider (Gen12:3) first.

Genesis 12:3 NASB95

3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

OK, now I will put the other back on the screen

John 12:32 NKJV

32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

So, what do you think “all” means?

All is bigger than the Jews

All is bigger than the the believing Jews

All is the fulfilling of the Abrahamic promise of “all nations.” but the requirement is belief and it comes through the cross. And that starts with the lifting up

All men can be drawn by the cross. The cross is the magnet, it does not care about heritage, it does not care about history, it does not care about age, it care about belief that Jesus paid the price and the price for sin was nailed to the cross and the ruler of this world was defeated and will be cast out, he has been disarmed already.

As Christians we need to teach the cross, Share the cross, Walk in the light of the cross, revel in the cross and the riches of the cross and see how it can draw all men to it!

Have not used a quote in a bit, here is a good one from Spurgeon

“There is no exclusion of any class or creature from the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, ‘I, if I be lifted up, will draw all ment unto me’; and the history of the church proves how true this is: the muster-roll of the converted includes princes and paupers, peers and potmen.”

Jesus knew what was coming, the manner of death, the pain, the suffering the humiliation He was going to go through, not for Him, but for “the world” for “all” men. He needed to obey God’s command.

In (v.33) there is no doubt left on the interpretation of the previous verses, it is plainly told. the manner of death was what was told before.

Won’t He live forever?

According to (2Sam7:16) there was going to be an eternal king, an eternal kingdom, that is what the people were looking for, so the question was not out of the question.

John 12:34 NKJV

34 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?”

Well, it sounded good, but they had forgotten other scripture that spoke of His suffering (Ps22, Isa53); they could not image the Messiah would really suffer.

Clarke said:

“There are several passages that spoke of the perpetuity of his reign, as Isa9:7; Eze37:25; Dan7:14, they probably confounded the one with the other, and thus drew the conclusion the Messiah cannot die; for the Scripture hath said, his throne kingdom, and reign shall be eternal.”

Le’ts look up a few of those passages together (don’t put on screen, turn in bibles.

Isa9:7 “7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”

Eze37:25 “25 “They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.”

dan7:14 “14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

I think this is a far as we are going to get tonight, a closing thought then call it quits.

The crowd that enthusiastically greeted a political conqueror, deliverer (Jn12:13) didn’t want to consider His sacrificial death. It didn’t fit in with their idea of what the Messiah, the Savior, the deliverer of Israel should, would be.