Please take your Bibles in hand and turn to John 12. John 12. Our passage this morning is from v. 20-50, but we will read up through v. 43 to begin. And after the reading of God's Holy Word, we will sing the Gloria Patria which is printed in your bulletin should you need it. Please stand as we read. This is the word of the Lord God. Pay attention to it. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 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. 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. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven, I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said an angel has spoken to him. Jesus answered. This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 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? 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. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, they could not believe. For again, Isaiah said, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Amen. Let us sing. Let us bow our heads once again for the preparation of preaching God's holy word. Our God and Father in heaven, you are mighty and above all, righteous, holy. You adorn yourself with justice. And yet even so, you have looked upon us, offenders of your holy law, and you have had compassion upon us. You have given us your holy word. You have met our needs, that we might know you truly and believe in Jesus Christ whom you have sent to die for our sins. We thank you for the compassion and mercy and abounding love which you poured out so lavishly upon us in Christ Jesus. And we thank you for this reading of your word which we have just heard. We ask that you would add your blessing to it. And we ask that you would add your blessing to me as I preach your word, that I would say that which you would have me to say and speak in the manner in which you would have me to say it. Not, O Lord, for our sakes, but for your name's sake, that your name and your word would be exalted and that you would be glorified. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Well, this passage begins with the introduction of the Greeks immediately following the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. And it's kind of interesting that the Apostle John included the Greeks here because after this brief introduction, the text says nothing further of them. But they came to Philip, and Philip and Andrew went to Jesus and told him that the Greeks were seeking him. And Jesus answered them quite unexpectedly. And just so you can follow along well, we're going to consider Jesus' words throughout this passage, and then, towards the end, look to our response of these things. Jesus says, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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." So in order for there to be life, Jesus is saying, something must die. In order for this grain of wheat to bear, this grain must die. It is the necessary condition for a fruitful harvest. And of course, what Jesus is speaking about here is Himself. He is saying, I must die in order for there to be a fruitful harvest, in order for all my people to be saved. I must die. And so what Jesus is foreseeing here is Himself entering into the grave, the suffering through death. And as we've heard earlier in John, it is better that one man should die for the many than that many should die. And so this is the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified. And so Jesus is placing particular emphasis here on His passion, on His sufferings and His death. We see that is the manner in which Jesus is glorified, and yet from the broader context of this passage, We also see that it is not merely His passion, but the whole event of the cross, His agony, His sufferings of death, His resurrection, His ascension, and even from this passage, His proclamation of this good news of Jesus unto every corner of the earth. That is how He is glorified, this whole complex of the crucifixion. And yet there is particular emphasis here on His obedience unto the Father unto death. And we will come back to the proclamation of that news later on in the passage. And we will see that the name of God will be praised by all, not only His people, but every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But as Jesus considered this hour, what does the text say of Him? That He approached it gleefully, saying, now is my hour here. My purpose has come. Let me enter into obedience, gladly accepting the work of my Father. No, the text says, Jesus says, now is my soul troubled. My soul is troubled." This word in the English does not convey the extent of what Jesus is saying. This word means inward distress of the soul, which is expressed violently and outwardly. He was in horror of what he was about to face. And should He not have been? The world around us speaks so flippantly and foolishly of hell. We speak so foolishly of the judgment of God, even saying that No man should judge us because of our wicked deeds. They recklessly throw out the phrase, only God can judge us, as though the judgment of God were a welcome reprieve from the judgment of man. And they express their ignorance. But when Jesus considered his death, his sufferings, He knew precisely what it was. He knew precisely what the judgment of God meant for him and it was horrifying. Because he was soon to endure the full weight of the wrath of God, not for any sin which Jesus himself had committed. Not for anything he had done. but the full weight of God's wrath for our sins. For our sins. This is what Jesus entered into. And this is how He, the Son of Man, was glorified. It was in His passion, through His suffering, because He was obedient unto death. Even becoming a curse for our sakes. that the Father honored him. It's written in the book of Hebrews that Jesus was crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. It is through his death that he would destroy the one who has power the power of death, that is, the devil. For it is only through this grain dying in the ground that there should be a reward of life reaped from it. The grain has to die in order to bear much fruit, in order to give life abundantly. The point here that I would say to you is that your salvation did not come cheap. When Jesus looked at the cost of your souls, his soul trembled. He was horrified at what he was about to endure. Your salvation did not come cheap. You were bought with a price. And as the Apostle Paul says, therefore, honor God with your bodies. Honor God with your bodies. You were bought with a price. Follow Christ. Where he goes, follow him. as faithful servants of Jesus Christ, as He was obedient unto the Father, let us too be obedient unto Him. But when Jesus considered His death and the sufferings He was about to endure, He did not forsake it. He did not follow through on that prayer to His Father in Gethsemane. Father, if at all possible, let this cup pass from me. He did not call down those twelve legions of angels, but He was obedient. And so He prayed not for His glory. He prayed, Father, glorify Your name. And the people there bore witness to the voice of the Father coming down from heaven, though there was much confusion in their midst. And as I said before, the Son of Man is glorified not only in His sufferings. but also by the expansion of His kingdom unto the ends of the earth with the proclamation of His Word. For it is by this Word that the Father draws people unto Christ, that Jesus Christ draws people unto Himself. As Jesus says, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself. And this all people here is certainly referring to His children, to the Father's children, to the elects in Christ. And the word here to draw or to drag means that quite literally, to draw with a rope, to draw something unto yourself. And so what it means for Jesus to draw us is that He is opening our eyes and unclogging our ears. He enlightens our minds by the power of His Holy Spirit so that we do respond to the Good News, to the Gospel. He changes our wills so that our corrupt nature, the fallen nature of man is changed so that we can actually see God for who He is. This is one of the great purposes of the Gospel of John, is to portray Jesus Christ in all His splendor and glory. for us to look at Christ as the One who is worthy of all praise, who is beautiful and delightful beyond compare, so that when He changes our nature, we see Him in all His splendor, and we begin to see from a new perspective. As Jesus said in this first portion of our passage, whoever loves his life loses it. And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever loves his life loses it. But whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternity. What Jesus is speaking of here is not some morbid disdain of life on earth. There are those who have a disdain and a weariness of life on earth that leads them to harm their own bodies or even to commit suicide, but that is not at all what Jesus is speaking of here. The hate that believers have of this life is by comparison. It's by comparison. The hate of this life is derived, as one author says. by contemplation of a better life. It is by contemplating that better country promised in Hebrews 11, that city whose builder and founder is God Himself. It is by contemplating that beautiful city arrayed in all of its splendor, that place where Revelation says there will be no more need of sun nor moon for light, because God Himself will be our light. His glory will be on full display. And so it is when we contemplate that spiritual reality, the things that we see now, that we hear, that we taste, that we touch, this life grows dim. And that hope grows all the more delightful in our souls. Those things that we see by faith, that better country, grow all the more desirable. And so it is by comparison that we begin to hate this life and desire that better country. But that's not the case for all who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed to them. Jesus said of those who were there, even those who saw Jesus, who heard Jesus could not believe. All those, many of those there who saw Jesus Himself, who saw Him performing miracles, saw the power of God on glorious display. The dead were raised to life. The eyes of the blind were opened. Water was turned to wine. The sick were healed before their very eyes. They would know without a doubt this could surely be nothing but the power of God they refused to believe, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. And so what we see on display here is the hardness of man's heart against God. Even when we see God and we know this could be nothing other than God Himself, they refuse to believe because their hearts were hard. And so when they hear the Word of God, they have a further hardening of their hearts. One of the great words from Isaiah that I find great confidence in is from Isaiah 55. The Lord says, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish all that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. I find great confidence in this passage, but the hard reality is that God's purposes are not always to save. The purpose of God's Word going out very well may be a further hardening of an already hard heart. And so it was with many of those who heard Jesus speaking these 2,000 years ago. But the text says some did believe. Even of the authorities, some believed. But it was a superficial belief. It was a mile wide and an inch deep. They did not confess Jesus Christ as Lord. They did not confess that Jesus Christ was their Savior before men. And we know that Jesus says elsewhere in Scripture, He says, those who are ashamed of me, I too will be ashamed of before my father in heaven. Those who deny me before men, I will deny before my father in heaven. These men loved the fleeting glory which comes from man. more than the glory which comes from God. And those men who sought the glory of man received their reward. Momentary praise, momentary acceptance that is here for a moment and gone the next. It is fleeting as a breath. It is vanity. But the reward which comes from the Father is eternal. And so the question before us is, where do your affections lie? Are you ashamed of Jesus? When you meet Someone who does not profess to be a Christian, are you ever so mildly shy to profess Christ? Are the things of this earth more appealing to you than that better country? Or do you boast in Jesus Christ? Do you have that confidence that Paul had to say, I know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified? If we proclaim this out in the world, the world sees it as utter foolishness. But it is the hope of the Christian. When you think of Jesus Christ, is He more precious in your heart and in your mind than all else? Do you hold Him in that place in your head, in knowledge with understanding, in a place of lofty exaltation? I would add that if your affections are set on Christ, this should affect your life. It will. I would simply ask this question or just to think about this. When you love someone, does that make you want to spend more time with that person or less? When you love that person, When Lobo and I were dating, I didn't say, oh, you know, I spent an hour with her. I'll go find something else to do now. We're engaged. You know, I've spent a day with you this week. I'll move on to something else. See you again in a week. When you gather here for worship, when you think about gathering for worship, is it a time of joy? Is it a time that you expect with joy that I'm going to gather with God's people and to sing praises to my God, to delight in Jesus Christ? Or is it more burdensome? This should be a time of rest in the Lord God. A time of joy. And so I would urge you as you go about your week to consider this and to consider Jesus and ask where do your affections lie. We'll take your Bibles in hand and we'll read this last portion beginning with verse 44 to the end of the chapter. And Jesus cried out and said, whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me." Jesus cried out these words. Don't pass over that. He cried out to the crowd around Him. He desires that all would receive this good news and delight in Him. It is His will that all would walk in the light. For He has written His law on the hearts of all men. He has given His word. And it is by that standard that all will be judged. And so when He came these 2,000 years ago, it was not for judgment, but to give life, to save. And when he was considering being lifted up out of this world, he gave that warning to those who were before him, to walk in the light while you have the light. There was an urgency to his message. You will not always have the light in your midst. And that same urgency is before us now. Jesus Christ is coming again. and He is coming to judge. We do not know the time or the season, the hour in which He is coming, but it is approaching. And so when you hear His word, how will you respond? How do you respond now? There's further warning that if you have received His good news and fail to respond, you have accrued to yourself a harsher judgment. For to those to whom much is given, much is required." These questions are not meant to shake your confidence in Christ. If you believe in Christ, go in that confidence. But that better country, that city is safe and secure for you. Your soul is saved by Christ. But if you refuse this gracious invitation, your only expectation is judgment. But if you follow Christ, the Father will honor you. and you are rewarded with everlasting life in the glorious splendor of the presence of God forevermore. That is our hope. His Word, the work of Jesus Christ, will not fail us. So if you trust in Him, go in that confidence. And if you have yet to believe, There is urgency for you now. He is a gracious Savior. Cry out to Him. Amen. Let us pray. Our God and Father in heaven, We confess that we are sinful creatures, even we who have known Jesus Christ, who put our trust and confidence in Jesus Christ alone, yet our hearts are prone to evil. Our minds and our flesh are weak. We do not hold you in that place in our hearts and minds that we ought to. And we pursue those fleeting pleasures of the world, the lusts which lead only to death. We ask that You would forgive us and work in us mightily by Your Word and by Your Holy Spirit, that every day we would die more and more unto sin and live, enabled more and more to live unto You in Christ Jesus as new creatures purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. And as we go out about this coming week and the daily chores you have given us, let us rejoice in the work you have given. Let us rejoice in the families you have given us, that we would love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, that husbands would love their wives and wives their husbands. that we would, each parent here, would love the children you have given us, raising them with gentleness, tenderness, and knowledge and wisdom. We ask that you would be with us in every matter that you have given, that we would address every issue with wisdom, and that our lips would be covered with grace, that your name would be proclaimed. and that your name would be glorified. For this we ask in Jesus' name, amen.