he will be glorified.
This hour has now come, says Jesus.
It's here.
It's right around the corner.
And it's here in John 12, verse 27,
that Jesus tells us plainly
what's going on in the depths of his heart
and what kinds of thoughts are in his mind.
John 12, verse 27, Jesus says,
now my soul is troubled.
And what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour.
Jesus is not often troubled by things.
Have you noticed this?
He's the one with wisdom for every situation,
with the answers for every question.
He's the one who is fearless.
The one who's completely unbothered by the storm on the sea
and even sleeping while his disciples were panicked
and afraid for their lives.
He seems to have no fear of the religious leaders.
even while his disciples were dreading coming back to Jerusalem,
thinking it might end badly for them,
Jesus seemed fearless and unflinching,
going right up into Bethany
and now marching right into the city of Jerusalem.
Have you noticed this?
So now we can't help but take notice
when Jesus says here
that he is troubled.
The last time in John's gospel
that we saw Jesus troubled
was back in chapter 11
when Jesus met with Mary
after the death of her brother,
Lazarus.
He saw Mary weeping
and Mary's friends weeping with her
about Lazarus' death
and John told us there
that Jesus himself was deeply moved in spirit
and troubled.
Same word.
So troubled, in fact,
that Jesus himself burst into tears
and wept with her, with them.
But now here again,
Jesus makes it visible on the outside
what's really going on for him
on the inside.
Now my soul is troubled.
Not just a little troubled,
but deeply troubled.
My soul,
the inmost part of me,
the core.
How come?
What's bothering you so much,
Jesus?
Well, we don't have to wonder.
Jesus tells us what he's thinking about.
He says,
Now my soul is troubled.
And what should I say?
Father, save me from this hour?
Even if we and the disciples
have already moved on in our minds,
are thinking about something else.
Jesus has not.
He is still thinking about this hour
that has now come for him.
About what this hour holds.
And it unsettles Jesus
in his heart of hearts.
It causes him to tremble in his soul.
And thoughts arise in his own mind
of how he might be saved
from this hour.
Think about this for a moment.
Jesus feels in his heart.
Jesus feels in his heart
the desire
for escape.
We've all felt something similar
in the troubles we go through,
haven't we?
At one time or another.
Who of us has not felt
that things are just so hard,
so heavy,
so dark,
so unbearable
that we simply must escape.
I can't do this anymore.
I can't go through this
anymore.
For us,
this is often a key factor
in substance abuse
and addiction.
The desire to escape.
The desire to get out from under
that crushing weight
of our emotions.
Amazingly,
Jesus,
the God-man,
has felt
in his soul
the desire to escape,
to get out from under
the crushing weight
of what's about to come
in this hour,
to be saved from this hour.
And yet,
even as Jesus
gives us these words
to know what he has been thinking,
he also says it in such a way
that it's clear.
He intends to go through
with this hour.
What shall I say?
Father,
save me from this hour?
No.
It was for this very reason
I came
to this hour.
There's a statement here.
It's as though Jesus is saying,
should I pray
and ask God
to spare me
from what's about to happen
in this hour,
what I'm about to go through?
No.
I want to,
and yet,
no,
I will not.
Because for this hour
and what it holds,
it's the very reason
I came.
What's about to happen
to Jesus
is at the very core
of why he has come down
from heaven
to earth.
earth.
It's at the very center
of why
the word
who was with God
and was God
became flesh
and came to live among us.
all of Jesus'
story
and life
is important.
His birth,
his baptism,
his
obedience
to the Father,
his teaching,
his miracles,
his calling
of the disciples,
all of it
is important.
But this hour
and what's about
to happen
to Jesus here
stands above
all the rest of it.
The chief purpose,
not the only purpose,
the chief purpose
in coming
was not to teach us
how to live.
It was not to do
great miracles
and to heal people.
These are all things
he's been doing
up until now.
His chief purpose
in his coming
is what will happen
in this hour.
He came
to die.
As we heard
last Sunday
what he said
in verse 24
right before this,
very truly
I tell you
unless a kernel
of wheat
falls to the ground
and dies
it remains
a single seed.
But if it dies
it produces
many seeds.
Jesus came
to make
this great
exchange.
one for many.
His life
for ours.
There are two things
here for us.
First,
do you see
how truly
like us
Jesus is?
How human.
He wrestles
in his heart
and mind
with his emotions
and thoughts
just like we do.
there's an emotional
struggle here
in Jesus
a deep one
and even though
Jesus prevails
that is to say
he makes the right
choice
in this moment
isn't it a comfort
to know that
Jesus knows
what it's like
to have the deepest
of struggles
and conflicts
in his own heart.
second,
do you see
the depth
of Jesus'
love
for you
here?
First,
notice when
this plan
of love
began.
Notice when
Jesus had a reason
to die for us.
it was not
after he came
down
and saw us
face to face
that he suddenly
realized,
oh man,
I must do
something for
these poor
people to save
them.
No,
it was before
he came
into the world.
In fact,
it was the reason
he came into
the world
to save us
which means
that Jesus
loved you
long before
you even
knew it.
He saw
your need
for his
death
even before
you were
born.
He loved
you
when to
you
he was a
stranger,
someone you'd
never even
heard of.
He loved
you then
enough
to come
down,
to get
to this
hour,
to die
for you.
Next,
notice the
depth of
his love
for you
here in
this moment.
We might
at first
think,
look,
Jesus
seems to
be having
second
thoughts
about going
through with
this in
order to
save me.
Maybe he
doesn't love
me as much
as I thought
he did.
We might
think about
it like a
person who's
made their
vows and
promises on
their wedding
day,
but then all
of a sudden
is having
doubts or
second thoughts,
getting cold
feet about
this marriage.
Is that
what's
happening
here with
Jesus?
No,
I don't
think so.
In fact,
I think it's
quite the
opposite.
Jesus'
inner struggle
shows us
how truly
difficult it
is to
meet the
requirements of
our salvation.
We're
catching a
glimpse here
of just
how costly
it is
for him
to save
us.
he's
feeling
the
weight
of it
in his
own
heart
and that
Jesus
says,
no,
I will
go through
with this
hour.
I will
not ask
my father
to save
me from
it.
It's
the proof
that his
love for
us really
is greater
than we
can ever
imagine.
This is
the hour
of testing.
this is
the hour
in which
we will
see
whether
Jesus
loves
Peter,
James,
John,
Mary,
Martha,
you,
and me
that much.
Enough
to die
for us.
Enough
to receive
the punishment
of our
sins
on himself
as though
he had
done
those
things.
That he's
troubled in
his soul.
It's not a
sign of
cold feet
or second
thoughts.
It's the
measure
of just
how deep
his love
is
for you
and for
me.
Because even
though he
feels that
weight,
that cost,
he doesn't
turn back
here.
That's the
kind of
love that
we long
for,
isn't it?
We're not
looking just
for the
kind of
love that
people give
to us
when it's
easy and
it feels
good to
love us.
We're
looking for
that greater
and deeper
love,
aren't we?
The kind
that loves
us even
when it's
really hard
to love
us.
And that's
what we
see in
Jesus here.
He says,
no.
I will
not pray
that.
I will
not ask
that.
this is
why I
came for
this hour.
And then
he seals
this with
a prayer
to his
father.
He calls
out loud
in the
hearing of
all,
father,
glorify
your name.
Why does
Jesus say
that?
Father,
glorify
your name.
just a
couple
verses
earlier,
we heard
that the
hour has
come for
the son
of man
to be
glorified.
That's
Jesus.
So why
does
Jesus not
pray,
father,
glorify
my name.
Father,
vindicate
me.
Father,
lift me
up and
exalt me
in the
sight of
my enemies.
these are
very deep
waters.
And I
want to
tread
carefully
here.
This hour
is the
hour in
which Jesus
will be
glorified and
exalted and
lifted up,
but not
by seeking
after that
for himself.
As we
heard earlier
in John's
gospel,
it is
God,
the father,
who will
glorify his
son in
this hour.
And for
Jesus to
go through
with this
hour and
be glorified,
he must
do the
very opposite
of seeking
his own
glory,
his own
vindication.
He must
choose instead
to surrender
himself to
the hatred
of his
enemies,
to surrender
himself to
humiliation.
He must
give himself
over to the
shameful trials
and the
mocking.
He must
allow them
to strip
off his
clothes and
execute him
as though
he were
a criminal.
As a
man to
atone for
men,
Jesus must
seek not
to glorify
and exalt
himself in
this hour,
but rather
to glorify
and exalt
his father,
to be
obedient,
and to
give the
ultimate
sacrifice of
worship,
his own
life.
God
is
a
mysterious
thing.
Jesus
raises high
the name
of his
father,
of God,
by allowing
his own
name to
be trampled
in the
mud.
And it
is mysterious.
At the
very same
time,
God the
father is
about to
raise high
the name
of his
son for
doing the
most beautiful
and glorious
act of
love this
universe has
ever known
or ever
will know.
It's
especially
for this
hour in
particular that
we will be
praising the
Lord Jesus
for all
eternity,
saying,
worthy is
the lamb.
Why?
Because he
was slain.
Worthy to
receive power
and wealth
and wisdom
and strength
and honor
and glory
and praise.
It's for
this hour
that Jesus,
the God
man,
is worthy
to take
the scroll
and open
the seals
and usher
in the
final program
for our
world.
Why?
Because you
were slain
and with
your blood
you purchased
for God
persons from
every tribe
and language
and people
and nation.
Revelation 5
verse 9.
It's
mysterious.
It's
wonderful.
It's kind
of upside
down to
how things
go in
our world
and that's
how it
often is
with God
and his
dealings
with us.
Over and
over throughout
the Bible
we're told
that God
humbles
the proud
and at the
same time
that he
exalts
the humble.
It ends
up going
the same
with Jesus.
His being
glorified
comes about
by his
humbling
himself
before the
Father.
And so
that's why
Jesus
prays
Father
glorify
your name
because in
these moments
this hour
ahead
he's about
to give it
all up.
Humble
himself
to the
utmost
to the
scorn
the shame
the ridicule
the pain
of death
on a cross.
So we're
here at the
Lord's
table
again
this Sunday
and there's
a reason
that we do
this every
month.
It's not
an interruption
in the schedule.
It's not
something that
we do
just to
check off
the box
of religious
duty as a
church.
It's because
what we mark
here is the
very heart
and soul
of our
Christianity.
It's the
very center
of everything
and we never
want to lose
sight of that
or leave
that behind.
It's the
very reason
I came
this hour.
There are
no greater
and better
things to
move on
to in the
Christian faith.
there is
only for
us to
go deeper
and deeper
into our
appreciation
of the
love that
we have
found here
at the
table
and at
the cross.
And so
if you've
repented
of your
sins
and put
your trust
in Jesus
as your
Lord
and Savior
as the
one who
died for
you for
your
forgiveness
I want to
invite you
to join
and eat
and drink
with us
from this
table as
we pass
out the
elements
in a
moment.
The bread
represents the
body of
our Lord
Jesus
which was
broken for
us when
he died
on the
cross.
The cup
represents his
blood which
was poured
out for
us for
forgiveness
and to
secure a
new covenant
a new
arrangement
with God
between us
and him.
And us
taking and
eating it
as we're
about to
do in
these next
moments
represents
that we
are those
who believe
from the
heart
that
Jesus
did this
for us
and that
we needed
it.
If you
don't believe
that
I ask
that you
abstain
from partaking
of the
bread and
the cup
when it
comes around
but if you
do please
eat and
drink with
us.
We'll pass
it out
and after
we've had
a few
minutes of
quiet prayer
and reflection
just ask
that you
hang on
to both
the bread
and the
cup
until
everybody's
been
served
and
then
we'll
eat and
drink
all
together
in
unison.
So let's
do that
now.
Let's go
to the
Lord
in
quiet
prayer.
NY
Thank you.