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[0:00] these wonderful words of affirmation and faith words we know quoted by our lord himself on the cross my spirit i commit to you and in verse five and notice the words of verse three we've just sung together you are my fortress and my rock for your name's sake be my sure guide wonderful words of praise with which to turn together to john and chapter 12 to consider that this morning before we share together in the lord's supper what we're told here in chapter 12 of the events that happened as the lord jesus makes his way to bethany it's six days now before the passover feast his his followers are they're nervous they're anxious they know that the enemies of the lord have been circling growing the the opposition is becoming more and more intense more there's been more bitterness and anger being expressed all the time indeed in the chapter we read together here this morning in chapter 12 while we read of the triumphal entry and jesus speaking these wonderful words as we'll consider this morning together between verses 23 down to verse 32 it's a passage of scripture bracketed in hatred and rejection such was the hatred of christ at this time that not only was it enough for them to think of putting jesus to death they wanted lazarus as well they wanted jesus annihilated destroyed and removed from their culture their history their tradition their religion and we notice it was the religious leaders of the day who led this opposition and stirred up the crowds into apathy and loathing and so everything is building up the opposition is building but so too is the tension the anxiety the the the excitement of jesus moving to within a walking distance of jerusalem the very heart of the opposition to him for three years now he's been preaching healing proclaiming he began his ministry as we know declaring repent and believe for the kingdom of heaven is at hand the time of waiting was about to be fulfilled and so jesus begins to proclaim the good news in synagogues in villages towns and cities across israel now however we find him coming into the city the feast of passover is beginning the triumphal entry sets the scene for these next days the week of the passion of christ i just want to consider this morning with you what happens between this request that we're told of from verse 20 onwards and jesus response to it we're told that some greeks non-jewish people being swept along with all this seeing and seeing and hearing they want one thing they want time with jesus and so they come to philip and ask we wish to see jesus philip and andrew come to the lord and as jesus response i'd like us to consider this morning where he says firstly in verse 23 the hour has come the hour has come culminating in verse 32 and i who i am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself the hour has come and this is the great changing moment in the gospel story up until now time and again in the gospels particularly here in john we've been told the hour had not yet come chapter two the hour has not yet come chapter four the hour is coming chapter seven twice my time has not yet come and again in chapter eight twice jesus were told his hour had not yet come now the hour has come the hour has come

[4:08] for the son of man to be glorified in jesus response to this simple heartfelt request from this non-jewish group of people we know nothing about other than their sentiment their longing their wish to see jesus we see a few things and we can consider them this morning first of all we see in jesus his heart for prayer his heart for prayer the hour that had always been future has now arrived the hour that would bring torment darkness judgment that hour has arrived the hour of agony and separation the hour of him becoming the sin bearer for the world that is the hour that has now arrived the hour has come i wonder if the disciples in hearing jesus use that phrase were brought up short if they realized immediately the change that's happened they'd heard time and time again the hour was coming the hour was not yet but now it's here they've just seen the the city in an uproar and turmoil going after him singing and chanting and applauding and crying hosanna hosanna hosanna and now jesus is saying the hour has come the tension grows the excitement is beginning to build but what happens next of course clarifies as we read the gospel story that jesus did not come to be glorified in a human way in a way that we might assume to be glorified for jesus came to give himself for us which is why we shouldn't be surprised when we find his emphasis being one of prayer verse 27 now is my soul troubled what shall i say father save me from this hour but for this purpose i have come to this hour jesus then knowing that the hour has come as chapter 13 begins before the peace of the passover jesus knew his hour had come to depart out of the world to the father having loved his own who were in the world he loved them to the end what a wonderful reflection that is by the apostle in his reminiscing and reflecting in in the holy spirit upon these events and jesus words and what happened but it all centers and turns on the importance and outcome of this hour what's going to happen and as we read through the bible what becomes very clear is the absolute centrality to us of this hour and the guaranteed agony for jesus from that hour jesus went there knowing only he could take up that cross and reconcile god to the world and we know through bible reading and study and fellowship a message you will have heard here many many times down through the years that he did for us what we could not do for ourselves and it cost him everything paul would write some time later galatians to these new christians scattered across modern day turkey christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us the depth of the meaning of these words i find beyond us how do we comprehend the son of god entering this hour and becoming a curse knowing that that curse would fall upon him knowing that in this hour he would render satisfaction for sin in his own perfection is it any wonder we find him in prayer now is my soul troubled what shall i say

[8:08] father save me from this hour but for this purpose i have come to this hour jesus prayer shows us several things it shows us firstly his anticipation of the conflict to come his anticipation of the conflict to come why was his soul troubled what was about to take place we're told in verse 31 now is the judgment of this world now will the ruler of this world be cast out and it would cost him everything to achieve that and so we find jesus anticipating the conflict of this hour in prayer he anticipated the agony of what he was about to give himself to he knew he was about to live what isaiah 700 years earlier had written he poured out his soul unto death he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many making intercession for the transgressors why do we have a table today why do we have a moment of sacrament to remember our savior and remember in his anticipation of the conflict of this hour in his anticipation of becoming the sin bearer of the world he went into that hour in love jesus gave everything the awareness was growing of what he was about to endure the awareness was growing of what he was about to become separated from the father now is my soul troubled we find him in prayer anticipating this conflict we find him secondly also praying for resolution to face this hour father father save me from this hour but for this purpose i have come to this hour jesus in the trouble tearing at his very soul at his anticipation of what is to come and is offering himself a sacrifice for many jesus prays for resolution to face this hour he was totally committed to enter this conflict it was his reason for living it was why he had come for this purpose i have come to this hour this purpose to become a curse for us to become the sin bearer of the world to become our savior our lord and our friend everything makes sense in jesus preaching and ministry and healing and outreach is teaching his the conflict with those around him who opposed him and who rejected him who took issue with everything he said and did everything makes sense and we see it in the context of his giving himself to his father's will and here at the beginning of the week of the week of the passion we find his soul troubled knowing what is to come we find it again in the garden father of it be your will let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but yours be done for jesus he did not come down from heaven to do his own will but the will of him who sent him and before the world began we know from scripture that the lord jesus christ the son of god covenanted with the father to come into this hour and engage in this conflict the picture we have from the new testament is of jesus saying father i will stand in their place i will pay their price and so we find jesus praying for resolve to enter this hour but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him

[12:17] by his stripes we are healed it's little wonder that one commentator on the new testament could say the kind of death he died ought to shape the kind of life we live christian friends when we consider what the lord asks of us we do so in light of the cross we do so in light of his selfless commitment in light of his giving himself a ransom for many in light of him closing the gap that we could not cross and saying now to us come to me and i will give you rest we find jesus in prayer at this simple request from these greeks who we know nothing about and through andrew and philip coming to jesus in the crescendo of the and the pressure the tension the excitement the emotional drama what's going on immediately following the the triumphal entry we find the simple request we would see jesus and it's wonderful to be part of his church on earth is it not where we can bring that wonderful message to everyone and anyone christian friends we don't hesitate we take every opportunity we get we are given every opening that comes our way every question that we're given let us take it and let us try to get into the sentiment of these greeks to bring people to see jesus it's not about us it's not about our denomination it's not about our practices our tradition our history all these things matter and are important and precious but above all it's all about jesus and we want to bring people to him so we find jesus here in prayer we find him struggling in his very soul should he pray to be saved from this hour and taken away from it should this cup pass from him but for this purpose i have come to this hour and here at this moment we find jesus receiving confirmation to enter this hour verse 28 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 heard and said it had thundered others that an angel had spoken this threatening hour this hour that promised darkness and judgment separation and agony is yet the hour of jesus being glorified father glorify your name i have glorified it and i will glorify it again by giving his son for us and because the son entered this hour in perfect willingness sinless and spotless at the very moment his enemies and the devil thought they had won the day and defeated the son of god became the very time he would secure victory that he came to win his becoming a curse was the undoing of the devil and in that hour perfect atonement for sin was made fully satisfying the requirements of god's justice and so today we have a table to remind us of the cost of our salvation to remind us of our redeemer to remind us of what it cost him what he gave that we would have this table to share together this bread and this wine that speaks immediately and most powerfully to us of his broken body and his shed blood for he gave himself for us and he prayed for confirmation to receive it to enter this hour and that's exactly what he received the father spoke from heaven jesus said this voice has come for your sake not mine again showing us his willingness his commitment his covenant love his determination to save a people to himself to purchase the church with his own blood is what he went on to do and what we

[16:20] today remember vividly and very powerfully we find him in prayer we find him secondly this we find him with a very clear sense of purpose his prayer reveals his commitment to his father's will and then what he goes on to say here in verse 32 particularly shows us his clear sense of purpose this voice was for your sake and i when i am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself jesus knew what was coming and the church on earth his church on earth ever since has proclaimed what happened next the cross his death and his resurrection and then what happened there we see just a few things as we consider before coming together to share in the supper his sense of purpose we see here in jesus words in verse 32 the means of our salvation we must never lose sight of this we must never allow the world and the flesh and the devil to take from us the perspective of faith that focuses wholly completely and totally on jesus christ and him crucified for through this man is preached the forgiveness of sins that's been the message of the apostles from their time following jesus ascension it's been a message of the church ever since it's been a message the church has had to battle to to declare to hold on to to assert maintain and defend down through the centuries christ jesus come into the world to save sinners we can come to god today but we must do so on his terms his way the way of the cross jesus clearly told people around him he was going to die and that victory would come through his death he came to seek and to save the lost that happened by his death he gave himself for us that's why today the new testament church rejoices in these words there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus there can't be there can't be condemnation because he's exhausted the condemnation for you so we sit at the table today forgiven forgiven he has covered our condition he has cancelled our debt he has taken our sin from us thanks be to god and we rejoice in that great reality of our forgiveness it is the foundation to everything which is why it's so important we get it right at the cross because if we get it wrong at the cross we're going to be wrong everywhere else we need to be right in our foundation we need to be right at the cross otherwise our teaching our thinking our witnessing everything will be ski whiff will be wrong will be out of kilter so we stay focused on the means of our salvation and we remember there is now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus for he gave himself for us the means of our salvation he would be lifted up and of course he was and it was only then we hear jesus say it is finished it is finished he gave himself to death emptying the cup of god's wrath in doing so one writer put it this way in that hour he was placed in the position of man as the victim of satan's lie with its darkness and in that representative position he lost his consciousness of the father's love

[20:21] how far did jesus go to save us from our sins it cost him everything the means of our salvation is shown to us here i when i am lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself this very language that speaks of the lord being lifted up on a cross of crucifixion also glorifying his name and so we see here the way of salvation the sacrificial death of god's son is the very heart of our message it always has been always will be it's what sets the christian faith apart from every other world religion they've got nothing that comes close to a crucified savior the son of god dead and buried in an israelite there's nothing comes close to the wonder of the finished work of christ so today we declare and rest upon a savior who suffered and died that those who trust in him might live already in chapter 3 of this wonderful gospel where john has been recounting the life and teaching of the lord jesus christ we read in verse 14 as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life whoever whoever the whole of stornoway the whole of leaf everyone in between and around the world would go whoever that's the message we've been given that's the that's the declaration of god and he wanted us to know so much he sent his son to tell us whosoever believes in him shall not perish would have everlasting life what do we say today about the christian message and christian faith we say this that faith is a personal living commitment to a personal living savior jesus then calls us to himself the gospel does not declare eternal life through a ritual through formal dull liturgy we don't profess that sacraments are what saves people no we assert maintain and defend that god is a justifier of those who have faith in jesus it's all about him and that brings us back to that request by these greeks we would see jesus is that not our prayer today our hope our joy today that through the word we would all the more understand and gain insight of christ and by sharing together in this bread in this wine as we remember and reflect upon the cost of our salvation we remember the means and the way of salvation we remember this wonderful offer that those who have faith in jesus are saved do we not then rejoice and give thanks for that deeper understanding as we remember there is no condemnation on those who are in christ jesus finally this the offer of salvation i will draw all men to myself verse 32 all people the depth and beauty and mystery and wonder of what the bible says does indeed require a lifetime of study but the offer of salvation is clear because he suffered and died because he became the sin bearer because he entered that hour we today can know forgiveness we say in our hearts thanks be to god who gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ the victory from what the wages of sin is death but the free gift of god is eternal life through christ jesus our lord so we say in our hearts the life i now live i live by faith in the son of god

[24:22] who loved me and gave himself for me because he became the sin bearer because he entered that hour today we can speak of being new we can speak of being forgiven this is not a discussion it's not a debate the gospel is an announcement the hour of darkness that here descended upon jesus christ also became the hour of glorification for there the savior fulfilled his mission fulfilled his purpose and coming into this hour for this purpose i have come to this hour and so today we have a table to join together as brother and sister in the lord giving thanks that he did for us what we could not do that he has covered our sin and cancelled our debt blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven that's the song of the old testament scripture today we speak of being blessed today we give thanks for all that jesus is for all that he achieved we see here in this simple request to see him a heart for prayer and we see also here his sense of purpose may god bless his word to us as together now we share in the sacrament instituted by christ to remember him as the means of our salvation and the way to be saved we'll pray together almighty god we bow before you this morning we ask that as we humble ourselves as we bow the knee as we seek lord that place of teachableness that lord we would receive from the spirit the truth of your word we pray lord by grace that we would grow today that somehow we would be nourished today encouraged today that we would receive a blessing by your word taking root in our hearts and running free lord as we gather today in worship praise and prayer as we share now in this sacrament we pray especially for your blessing we remember finley and john today joining their brothers and sisters this first time to profess the lord's death until he come again bless them lord in their witness bless all your people here as we gather in this way in this moment of remembrance in this moment of giving and receiving in this moment of reflecting upon the truth that it cost christ everything to save a people to himself we thank you for such a savior and pray lord your blessing for jesus sake amen well we'll sing at this point in our service from psalm 105 in the psalter psalm 105 singing from the beginning of the psalm psalm 105 singing from the beginning of the psalm give thanks to god call on his name to men his deeds make known sing ye to him sing psalms proclaim as wondrous works each one see that ye in his holy name to glory do accord and let the heart of everyone rejoice that seeks the lord we'll sing together we'll sing together we'll sing together uh one song 105 to verse 5 to god's praise amen give thanks to god give thanks to god for on his name to men his deeds make known sing ye to him sing psalms proclaims

[28:41] sing he to him sing psalms proclaims his wondrous works each one sing psalms proclaim his wondrous works each one sing psalms this one sing psalms this one Holy name, to glory, to accord.

[29:14] And let the heart of everyone. And let the heart of everyone rejoice and seek the Lord.

[29:38] The Lord Almighty, come to strength, with steadfast hearts seek ye.

[29:54] His blessed heart, His gracious face, His blessed heart, His gracious face, seek ye continually.

[30:18] Think of the works that He hath done, which at many should breathe.

[30:36] His wonders and the judgments all, which from this might proceed.

[31:00]  God bless you.