The Hour of Christ s Glory

Transcription

1 The following sermon was preached at Redemption Baptist Church on Sunday, 26 July, We encourage you to look up the Scriptures that are referenced, and see the context for yourself. May the Lord speak to your heart as you study His Word. The Hour of Christ s Glory John 12:20-27 Most people in our world despise the cross of Christ. Multitudes of people openly mock Jesus Christ, and ridicule the sacrifice that He made on that old rugged tree. The message of the cross is scorned with greater and louder vehemence these days. Yet, this is nothing new. The cross of Jesus Christ has always been offensive to people. Why? Because the message of the cross crushes our pride. It demands that we acknowledge that our sin is so offensive to God, and so utterly damning to our souls, that Christ had to suffer the horrible agony of the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins. Christ s horrific, bloody sacrifice is like a mirror that reflects on our sin. It reveals how vile our sin is in the eyes of a holy God. The message of the cross also insults our dignity (or, what we think is our dignity ). It demands that we look to a shredded, beaten, bleeding Man, dying a criminal s death, and acknowledge that His suffering, as horrible as it is to look upon, is our entire hope for eternity. Few people are willing to humble themselves and acknowledge this truth. Many people are quite willing to bow before a beautifully engraved cross of gold, silver, or marble (which, by the way, God calls idolatry). But to bow the knee to the true Jesus Christ? To admit that His sacrifice on the cross really paid for all my sins? To let go of my pride and self-righteousness? To cast my entire hope upon Him? Very few sinners are willing to do this. Yet, God s Word could not be clearer: The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross is our only hope of salvation. For that reason, Christ s death on the cross is glorious. The world views the cross with scorn and contempt; but God s Word says that both Christ and His Father were glorified on that horrible day. Why? Because on that day, Christ paid the debt of our sins to God, so that we could be saved, and brought back to God. Today, we are going to take a look at what Jesus said concerning the glory of His death on the cross. As you ll remember, we are now coming down to the last 48 hours before Christ s crucifixion. Jesus had just ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey, and had been hailed by most of the people of Jerusalem as the King of Israel. Now, the book of John doesn t give us a lot of detail about what happened in those last two days before the Passover; but we know, from reading the other three Gospels, that during those days Jesus went to the Temple and cast out the money-changers; wept over Jerusalem; taught His disciples many things about the future Tribulation period, His Second Coming, and the Kingdom age; and answered a lot of questions from the religious rulers, who were trying to trip Him up in His words. This morning, we will be reading about an event that happened in the Temple later in the day of Christ s entry into Jerusalem. Now, on the surface, this event doesn t seem very significant. We are told that a certain group of people approached Jesus with some questions; but we are told very little about who these people were. We aren t even told what their question was. However, the answer that Jesus gave them is extremely important. Jesus reply is full of rich truth about salvation. We are going to examine these truths this morning. The title of this message is The Hour of Christ s Glory. Read John 12:20-27 I. The Greeks request of Jesus (vv ) In verses 20 to 22, we are told that some Greeks, who had come up to worship the God of Israel during the Passover, requested to see Jesus. Having an audience with Jesus was probably not easy to do, since there were multitudes of people who were trying to see Jesus all

2 the time. So, these Greeks made their petition to see Jesus through Philip. (They may have chosen Philip since he had a Greek name.) These people were not merely Greek-speaking Jews who lived in a foreign land; they were actual Greeks. They were Gentiles. Now, that raises an interesting question: Why were these Gentiles interested in going to the Jews Temple to worship the God of Israel? Well, by the time of Christ, great numbers of Gentiles were becoming interested in Israel s God. They weren t merely interested in seeing the Temple (although it was considered one of the marvels of the Roman world); they wanted to know about Israel s God. That is, in fact, the way God intended it to be. God raised up the nation of Israel so that they would bring praise to His name, and so that all the nations of earth would hear about His great name, and would come to Israel to learn about Him, and believe on Him. God s evangelisation plan in the Old Testament was Come to Israel and find the true God. King Solomon acknowledged God s plan for the Gentiles in his dedication prayer for the Temple: Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for (1 Kings 8:41-43). Many Gentiles were seeking for truth. They had lived in great spiritual darkness for centuries. Their worship of idols left them spiritually empty. They knew, deep inside, that their gods were no gods at all. They sensed that they did not know the true God, despite all their temples and rituals. Many Gentiles were also weary of their sin. The exceedingly vile sins that our modern societies are just now beginning to embrace (or, at least, tolerate) had been embraced by these people for centuries. Sodomy, paedophilia, prostitution, and bestiality were not only celebrated: they were part of the ritual worship of their hideous gods. They were immersed in unspeakable wickedness. They lived in a sick, twisted, perverted, vile, brutal world. Because of the presence of Jewish communities in their lands, they had heard of the God of Israel; and they sensed that Israel s God was, unlike their so-called gods, a God of justice. They sensed that He was a holy God, a righteous God, and a loving God a God who was worthy of their worship. And so, many Gentiles travelled to Israel to try to find the true God. Sadly, though, most of the Jewish people did not know God, either; and thus, they were not able to lead the Gentiles to Him. They knew all about the true God; but most of them were not saved, because they were trusting in their own righteousness to save them, instead of the grace of God. And because they did not truly know God, they rejected God s Son, Jesus Christ. However, many Gentiles were now hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus fame had spread into foreign lands all around Israel; and the Gentiles were now seeking for Jesus. Jesus had said back in John 10 that He had other sheep (in other words, the Gentiles) whom He would soon bring into His fold (the church). Even during Jesus earthly ministry, a number of Gentiles believed on Him and were saved (although they weren t brought into the membership of the church until about 10 years later). It had been God s plan all along for Gentiles to be saved. Read Isaiah 60:1-3 Ultimately, this prophecy will be fulfilled in the 1,000-year Kingdom, when all nations of earth (including the kings of the nations) will travel to Jerusalem to worship the King of all the earth, Jesus Christ. In this present church age, very few kings or nobles have bowed their knees to Jesus Christ. But for now, we are seeing many Gentiles throughout the world believing on Jesus Christ and receiving eternal life.

3 Jesus came to save all men, no matter their stock, kindred, skin colour, or language. Have you received Him? Like the Greeks, would you see Jesus? You will never see Him if you do not come to Him on the terms He has provided. You must repent of your sin and put your complete faith in Him to save you. II. Jesus answer to the Greeks (vv ) (Read verses again.) We aren t told what the Greeks question to Jesus was; but whatever it was, it wasn t nearly as important as Jesus answer to them. Jesus wanted these Greeks to understand that His time was nearly up. His earthly ministry was drawing to a close. The whole purpose for which He had come to earth was about to be accomplished. That time that He had been talking about from the very beginning of His ministry was nearly upon Him. Now, as we look at Jesus answer to these Greeks, I am going to divide His answer into four parts. In His answer, Jesus told them that He was about to die; He told them why He had to die; He described the character of His followers; and He described the inner turmoil that He was experiencing in His soul. First of all, Jesus told them that He was about to die. He told them that the hour had come. By hour, Jesus wasn t talking about a strict 60-minute interval of the day; rather, He was talking about a time in His life. He was now entering the final hour of His earthly ministry. It was the hour that He mentioned all the way back at the beginning of His ministry when He told His mother, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come (John 2:3). It was the time for Christ to die. Now, think of this! Jesus described His death as the hour when He would be glorified. That s the opposite of how we would think, isn t it? We would think of Jesus resurrection as the hour of His glorification. We would consider the hour when Jesus came back to life, sat up right out of His grave clothes, stepped out of the tomb, caused an earthquake, and knocked out a number of armed guards with His heavenly radiance, as His hour of glorification. Now, the Bible does speak of Jesus resurrection as a time when He was glorified; but according to the Bible, the cross was the hour of Christ s glorification, par excellence. Over and over again, Jesus identified His future death on the cross as the hour when He would be glorified. Read John 7:39 / 12:16 / 13:21-31 Christian, never be ashamed of the image of Jesus bleeding and dying on an old rugged tree. Don t be ashamed to talk of it, or sing of it. This was the hour of His glorification! Because Jesus died on that cross, you have been drawn to Him, and have been saved. Paul said, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14). Now, let s look again at verse 24. (Read verse 24 again.) Jesus compared Himself to a seed; and as a seed, there were two things He needed to do. First of all, He had to fall to the ground. In other words, He had to come down from heaven to earth. He had to become a Man, and live in our world. Time and time again, Jesus said that He had come down from heaven. Jesus said, For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me (John 6:33, 38). Jesus had to fall to the earth and become a Man. However, coming down to our world and becoming a Man wasn t all that Christ needed to do. He also had to die. That brings me to the second part of Jesus answer to the Greeks. Not only did Jesus tell them that He had to die; He also told them why He had to die. Why did He have to die? Let s look at the Scripture

4 again. (Read verse 24 again.) Jesus had to die in order to bring forth much fruit. What fruit is Jesus talking about? He s talking about the souls of those who would be saved because of the sacrifice that He would make for their sins. He was talking about those who would believe on Him, trust in His sacrifice, and receive everlasting life. Folks, if Jesus had not died for us, there would be no fruit! Not one soul would be saved and in heaven today if Jesus had not died on that old rugged cross. Jesus said that unless a seed fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone. In other words, if Jesus had not died on the cross for us, then Jesus would be the only member in the human race in heaven because none of us could have been forgiven of his sins. If Jesus had come down to this earth, and had been made flesh, and had lived His sinless life, and had done all His miracles, and had preached all His sermons, and had done all the marvellous things that He did, yet had stopped short of going to the cross, He would be the only member of the human race in heaven, because none of us would have made it there! It is utterly impossible for us to earn our way to heaven by any effort of our own. (See Titus 3:5.) It is only by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ in our place that we can be saved! Let s take a look at what Isaiah said about this. Read Isaiah 53:7-11 What is Isaiah talking about in verse 10 when He says that Jehovah s Servant would see his seed? What seed is he talking about? He s talking about those who would be saved and become the seed (children) of God because of the suffering that Christ would undergo for their sins. Because Jesus gave His righteous soul as an offering for our sin, we are able to be saved by simply trusting in His sacrifice. As Jesus went to the cross, He knew all this. As a Man, He saw the suffering He was about to undergo; but as God, He was able to see into the future, and see all the souls who would be saved and justified before God because of what He was about to do. Personalise that, Christian. Christ saw your soul. He saw your sin, and your need. He saw that one day, 2,000 years later, you would bow your knee to Him, acknowledge that you are a sinner, confess that He died for your sin, and ask Him to forgive you and save you. He saw the future day when you will stand before Him in heaven in a robe of spotless white, and enter into an eternity of joy and bliss and all because of what He was about to do. He saw all this; and despite all the pain that He was going through, He rejoiced. That is how much He loves you! Jesus fell to the ground and died. Now, 2,000 years later, there is a great harvest of souls who have been justified before God. By the way, if Christ had died for our sins, but hadn t risen from the grave, we still wouldn t have any hope. Jesus resurrection from the grave is the guarantee that all who believe on Him will one day have a bodily resurrection like Christ s. One day, we who are saved will receive sinless, immortal, glorified bodies, fit for heaven. That is why Jesus has a special name. He is called the Firstfruits of the resurrection. Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 What does Paul mean when he says that Christ is the Firstfruits? Well, let s take a look at the Old Testament, and examine the background of it. Read Leviticus 23:9-11, 14 The Feast of Firstfruits was the third feast of the Jewish year. It was held on the day after the Sabbath day, during Passover week. In other words, it was held on the Sunday immediately after the Passover (regardless of what day of the week Passover happened to fall that year).

5 Now, what did they do on this feast day? Well, it was on this day that the Jews began to gather their barley harvest. Until the Feast of Firstfruits, the people were not allowed to cut any barley grain from their fields. On the Feast of Firstfruits, the high priest would cut the very first sheaf of barley grain and wave it before the Lord in the Temple. This was Israel s way of acknowledging that the Lord had given them their harvest. After the first sheaf was cut and waved before God, the people were then allowed to harvest their fields. What does all that mean? It is a prophetic picture. It means that Christ is the Firstfruits of the resurrection. He was the first one to rise again to immortality, and to be presented to God the Father. Because Christ rose from the grave, all those who believe on Him will one day be gathered into the resurrection harvest, as well. All believers will one day receive immortal, sinless, resurrected bodies, just like Christ s. By the way, on what day of the week did the Feast of Firstfruits fall? It fell on the Sunday immediately after the Passover. And on what day of the week did Jesus rise from the grave? He arose on the Sunday immediately after the Passover! (Three days after the Passover, to be exact.) Is that a coincidence? No! Jesus became our Passover Lamb on the Feast of Passover; and He became the Firstfruits of the Resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits. The feasts were only pictures of Jesus; but Jesus was the reality! He was the fulfilment of these prophetic pictures. Now, let s look at the third part of Jesus answer to the Greeks. (Read verses again.) Jesus had told them that He was about to die; and He had told them why He had to die. Now He described the character of His disciples. Jesus died so that He could bring forth much fruit a harvest of souls. But what would this fruit be like? Would it be the same old sinful, rotten fruit that this world produces? No! Jesus came to produce a new kind of humanity a humanity that is freed from the shackles of sin. He came to produce men who are selfless, as He is, and who serve Christ instead of self. Take a look at this. First of all, Jesus says that he who loves his life will lose it; but he who hates his life in this world will keep it unto life eternal. Now, what does this mean? Does this mean that Christ s followers are suicidal, wanting to check out of this life? Absolutely not! It s just the opposite. Those who know Christ wouldn t think of taking their own lives, because they do not look at their lives as their own. They see their lives as belonging to God; therefore, they do not have the right to take it. When Jesus says that His followers hate their own lives, He simply means that they don t love their lives. They do not try to clutch onto their lives at all costs, and live it for themselves; rather, they yield their lives to God. And if they should have to die for the sake of Jesus name? That is no problem for them. Christ s followers will gladly suffer martyrdom, if necessary, for the name of Jesus. Read Revelation 12:10-11 The pleasures of this world whether it be money, land, houses, careers, honour, fame, power, nice food, nice clothing, lustful pleasures, parties, or simply enjoying one s family and friends all these things mean nothing to those who have truly repented of their sin and put their faith in Christ. Some of these things are good things in and of themselves (such as loving and enjoying one s family); but if one love his family so much that he is not willing to offend his family by believing on Christ and following Him, then that person cannot be saved. He will lose his life, and his soul. People who are truly saved desire to follow Jesus Christ, and to serve Him with their lives, regardless of what opposition they may face from friends and family.

6 Most people think that they love their life too much to give it up for Christ, and become a Christian. They think they ll miss out on all the fun and pleasure of life. Little do they realise that life in Christ is a rich, abundant life, far exceeding any pleasure that this world can afford. Even in this mortal life on earth, Christ gives abundant life; but in the life to come, Christ s followers will enjoy the bliss of heaven forever! Jesus told the Greeks that He was about to die. He told them why He had to die (so that He could produce much fruit). He described the character of His disciples. But there was one more part to His answer: He described the inner turmoil of His soul. (Read verse 27 again.) Now, here is the big question: Why would Jesus ask the Father to save Him from His hour on the cross, when He knew that this was the whole purpose of His coming to earth? After all, Scripture tells us in Psalm 40:6-8 that the Messiah would delight to do His Father s will. Scripture also tells us that for the joy that was set before Him Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame. The joy that was set before Christ was the joy of knowing that through His death, many souls would be saved. Read Hebrews 12:2 If Jesus delighted to do His Father s will (which included going to the cross), and if He was filled with joy at the thought of saving sinners, then why did He ask the Father to save Him from the cross, if it were possible? Was Jesus afraid of the physical pain that He would have to go through? Absolutely not! Christ was not a weakling or a coward. So, why did Jesus recoil from the thought of going to the cross? He recoiled because of the fact that our sin was about to be laid upon Him. We must remember that Jesus is not only a true Man; He is a sinless Man. As a sinless Man, Jesus recoiled with dread at the thought of our vile sin being placed upon Him, and of His being separated from His Father because of our sin. It s hard for us to grasp this because we are comfortable with sin. We are sinners. Sin is natural to us; and it doesn t bother us. But Jesus is not comfortable with sin. He is absolutely holy in word, deed, and thought; and sin grieves Him more than we can possibly imagine. Imagine what it would be like for the trillions of sins that have been committed by every man and woman since the beginning of the world being laid upon Jesus, as though He had committed every one of them! Imagine what it would have been like for Christ s sinless, spotless soul to endure that! You see, this is what the Bible calls imputation. Imputation means that our sins were put on Christ s account, as though they were His; and He paid the punishment for them. This isn t just symbolic or figurative; it is real. Our sins were really laid upon Christ. We may have a hard time understanding this; but the fact that we have a hard time understanding it doesn t change its reality. Christ really had our sins laid upon Him. It was as though He had actually become sin itself! Read 2 Corinthians 5:21 Read 1 Peter 2:24-25 / 3:18 There was a transaction that took place during those six hours that Jesus hung on the cross. Our sin was laid on Christ. But, that doesn t mean that we are all automatically saved. You see, there is another transaction that needs to take place. Christ s righteousness needs to be applied to you. Christ took our sins on Himself; but you must receive His righteousness by repenting of your sin and self-righteousness, and putting your complete trust in Him. The moment a sinner acknowledges that Christ died for his sin, and asks Christ to save him from

7 his sin, all Christ s perfect righteousness is put on that sinner s account, as though it were his own. Christ took our sin on Himself on the cross; and in exchange, we receive His righteousness, at the moment we believe on Christ. God now sees the repentant sinner as righteous for His Son s sake even though, in reality, the sinner is not righteous. As Paul said, sinners who believe on Jesus are made the righteousness of God in him. That is how a sinner is saved. It s not by being born into a Christian home. It s not by growing up in a church, and learning all the doctrines of the Bible. It s not by being baptised. It s not by living a moral life. It s not by partaking of religious rituals. It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ, and what He did for us on the cross. Believing on Jesus isn t a good work that makes you worthy of salvation. To believe on Christ is simply to receive God s free gift, which He longs to give you. To be rescued from drowning, a drowning man must stop fighting and trying to swim to shore, and simply let the life guard grab him and rescue Him. So it is with salvation. You must let go of your own socalled righteousness, and trust in Christ s righteousness. You must cry out to Him, Lord, I believe you paid for all my sin. I believe you became sin for me. Please give me your righteousness! Please save me! Conclusion: If you have not been saved, won t you come to Him today? He is waiting and longing to save you. Will you be laughed at if you believe on Jesus? You d better believe it. The world hates and mocks the message of the cross. But the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross is your only hope! Won t you let go of whatever things of this life are keeping you from turning to Christ? If you choose to cling onto the pleasures of this life, and refuse Christ, you ll lose your life eternally! But if you will believe on Christ, and turn your life over to Him, He will give you a wonderful new life, which will last eternally.