Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Is that thunder?
[00:00:03] I've checked the radar. I think it's going to miss us.
[00:00:08] I don't think that's thunder. I think they're blasting over at the depot today.
[00:00:14] No, no, no. That's thunder.
[00:00:17] I know that's thunder.
[00:00:21] It's going to rain.
[00:00:23] We need to get these kids off the field. Now, I've had that conversation maybe 100 times as a baseball coach here in Kentucky, and specifically more recently in Madison county, when you think about the depot and the sounds that come from over there. But I can't count the number of times where we've been on a baseball field and you've been working and scheduling games and you've got all the players out there and the families are there, and. And you realize it's about to rain. You see it in the distance. You can see the clouds.
[00:01:00] And yet you try to deny what's happening, because you need to get this baseball game in. And everyone knows it's going to rain. Chris Bailey told them that it's going to rain. It's about to storm. But everyone there looks at the sky and denies reality because there's something they want to do. Maybe you've experienced that. Maybe your kids have been in the pool or you've been in the pool and you don't want to get out. You know a storm's coming, and you just don't look toward the lightning. You look the other way. That wasn't lightning. I think that's a plane going by. And you try to ignore what's going on. Well, the same thing's going on in the text before us today.
[00:01:44] Folks see a storm coming, and yet they are denying what it really is. They don't want to see what is before their eyes.
[00:01:56] We see in chapter 12 of John that the crowds are coming out to Jesus. He is the latest, greatest preacher of the day. He has preached with authority, and there have been signs and miracles that have accompanied his ministry. And everybody's hearing about Jesus, and they've heard that he actually raised a man from the dead, Lazarus, and they want to hear what this man has to say.
[00:02:31] But all of these miracles, all of this fame infuriates the religious leaders of the day to the point that they are plotting to kill Lazarus, the man he raised from the dead. People are talking. Yeah, he's walking around. I saw him at the market the other day. Lazarus, he was dead. And Jesus raised him from the dead. And the religious leaders who hate Jesus and his popularity say, let's kill him. Let's get rid of him. And then people cannot say that he is such a powerful sent from God, prophet of the day who raises the dead. And Jesus understands that things are getting tense and he sees all the commotion and he knows his time is drawing near. He knows why he has come and he knows the cross is getting closer. And notice what he says in verse 27. First of all, we see the trouble with glory. Notice verse 27. Jesus, knowing what is before him, says, my soul, the deepest parts, who I am is troubled.
[00:03:48] Now that's not. I'm just a little bit concerned. That's not. I'm stressed out.
[00:03:55] That is, I am deeply terrified and shaken about what is about to happen to me. Now if we're honest, that doesn't seem very heroic. That doesn't sound very Messiah ish for him to be scared, terrified, horrified of what he is about to face. And so ask the question, why is Jesus troubled kids today? Why would Jesus, who created everything ever be scared?
[00:04:37] Why would Jesus be scared? Well, first of all, Jesus isn't a robot.
[00:04:45] Jesus was fully human. And that means that Jesus felt real emotions. We see that in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is sweating drops of blood from the agony, the stress that is upon his soul as he is about to face Golgotha as he is about to die for our sins. He's not a robot.
[00:05:13] And Jesus understands God's wrath better than we do.
[00:05:19] He understands what it would mean for him to endure the judgment for our sins. You see, Jesus understands this story isn't just like a horror film where you're trying to see, can I watch to the end?
[00:05:35] About to get really graphic. It's about to get really gross. Can I peer in on this horror film?
[00:05:44] This is what we try to do so often with the cross, is we try to really visualize the horror of Golgotha so we might feel sorry for Jesus. And that's not the point of the cross. There was physical pain.
[00:05:59] John, who writes was there, he saw the flesh ripped. He had warm blood fall upon his face.
[00:06:11] He heard Jesus agonizing, trying to gasp for another breath as he was suffocating to death on the cross. John, who writes heard him gurgling on his own blood as he died and suffocated. He saw the pain.
[00:06:34] But Jesus knows that it's not just about physical pain. There is something way more that is happening here. And the physical pain would be meaningless apart from the divine justice that he is about to face. For your sin. For my sin. You see the reality here today Is is you don't understand the glory of the cross. If you're not troubled by the cross, you don't understand the trouble of the cross. Meaning Jesus is about to endure the very justice and wrath of God for your sins. He is about to be forsaken, forsaken by the Father. This divine fellowship, this divine union for moments on the cross will be severed. And he understands what is at stake in this justice that he is about to face for your sin wrath. He is about to know just God's displeasure, the Father's displeasure for him for your sin. He is to endure. And he knows what's at stake. The question is, do you.
[00:07:51] Do you fear hell the way Jesus does?
[00:07:55] If we did, our lives would be more purified.
[00:08:02] If we really considered what happened at the cross, our lives would be a lot different, right?
[00:08:10] As we think about the sin we're engaged with and we considered Jesus endured wrath for this sin that I love so much, would we not turn from it? Jesus agonized, agonized in sorrow and agony for this sin. Would that not purify us? Would that not make us clean? Would we not fall more deeply in love with the cross if we really considered what was at stake before us? As Jesus heads to face divine wrath for us, we see the trouble with glory here. And we notice Jesus's prayer for glory. Next, notice as the text continues. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. I know what's at stake, Jesus says, and I feel like praying, God, save me from this hour. We know he prayed that in the garden of Gethsemane, take this cup from me.
[00:09:19] He prayed, take this from me. I don't want to do this because I understand the reality of it all. And am I going to ask, father, save me from this hour. And then he stops himself and notice. But for this purpose, for this hour, I have come. This is my mission in the world, Father, this is why you sent me into the world, that I would endure wrath for the sins of your people. And knowing what's at stake, he presses forward. Verse 28, Father, glorify your name.
[00:09:59] That's his prayer as he faces crucifixion, torture, wrath, bearing. I want your name to be glorified. One of the ways that the Father will be glorified is that Jesus obeys the Father.
[00:10:14] And he.
[00:10:15] He obeys the will of the Father in dying for your sin. He glorifies the Father in that way, in his obedience. But notice then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it. And I will glorify it again. And this is the. The voice of the Father who says, I have glorified my name in you, and I will glorify my name in you again.
[00:10:41] So what does this mean, glory, Glorify, glorified.
[00:10:47] What does that mean?
[00:10:49] Well, at the heart of that word is gravity or weight.
[00:10:56] And what it means to glorify God. It is as though we had a set of scales before us and we want to place God's name in the scales and show that it outweighs everything else. And Jesus is saying, as I go to the cross, Father, I want everyone to know and see that your name and your glory means more than anything else to me. I want your name to weigh more. I want your name to have more gravity. I want your name to be more made big and large and weighty. And the Father says, this is what I always do. I've always done this.
[00:11:41] And one of the things we see here is that this is the prayer the Father always answers. Jesus teaches us that here. God always answers the prayer to glorify his name in Jesus. How often do you pray that prayer, Father? Glorify your name.
[00:11:59] Glorify your name. And we see Jesus praying at the cross. Maybe you pray, father, glorify your name in my life through making much of Jesus, making much of the cross. The Father says, I always answer that prayer. I have and will again. And we see that's what God has done in Jesus life. Moses asked to see God's glory. Remember that story where Moses goes to God and he says, I want to see your face.
[00:12:30] And God says, you can't fully or you'll die.
[00:12:35] And he hides Moses in a rock and he shows him the backside of his glory, just a glimpse of his glory. And then when Jesus comes, John says, now what Moses prayed for, we have seen fully and finally in Jesus, seen the glory of God face to face in Jesus Christ. And God says, here, I've done that in your life.
[00:12:59] We've seen the glory of God as Jesus has cast out demons, as he has healed the sick. Jesus has spoken to body parts that would not move and function, muscles and tendons that were. That were atrophied and had not been used. And he speaks. And the curse of death is reversed. And people get up and walk.
[00:13:27] People who can't see and have been blind their whole life begin to see. Jesus stands on the side of a boat and he speaks to wind and he speaks to waves. And it does exactly what he says. God is saying to Jesus. Here the Father to the Son. Have you not seen how I've glorified my name in you? He even took Jesus up on the Mount of Transfiguration and unveiled his glory to disciples who went up with him. I have glorified my name in you.
[00:14:02] But Jesus knows what's at stake at the cross.
[00:14:06] And what God is saying here is at the cross and in the resurrection. This will be the climax of my glory. This will be the apex of the glory of God in Jesus at the cross. Jesus will be lifted up as the sufficient payment for sin, the only one who can pay for sin at the resurrection. He will be lifted up as the only one who has defeated death. The apex of God's glory is before him. And the Father promises, I will answer this prayer again. I will glorify my name as I always have.
[00:14:43] If this is the prayer God answers, how often are you found praying that? I want to encourage you to pray that this week, Father, glorify your name by exalting Jesus as you always have and as you always will.
[00:14:59] Begin your day praying that you see the glory of God, the weight, the gravity of God in your life. It's not abstract. We often think of glory as this bright, abstract light.
[00:15:11] It is the weight of Jesus that weighs in on everything in your life. And so you pray to God. Help me boast in Jesus today.
[00:15:22] Today as I receive accolades and people say good things about me, and I crave that from others.
[00:15:29] No, no, no. Help me glory in the cross and boast in the cross. Help me leverage all of that to say. You may say a lot of good things about me, but I am nothing apart from the work of Christ at the cross.
[00:15:44] It is the cross of Christ that gives me worth and value. It is the cross of Christ that is my ultimate reputation. God, help me turn from my sin and magnify Jesus who died to make me free. Father, help me as I struggle with guilt in my own heart. Exalt Jesus. He received every ounce of damnation that I deserve at the cross. And so as I'm struggling with guilt, help me boast in the cross. Glorify your name, Father. Glorify your name by making much of Jesus. As I turn and confess this sin and trust the cross alone, help me as I witness the gospel, to see the cross as worth it all. As I have awkward conversations at work and the unbelieving world and unbelievers that you work with and that you're around, they just don't process your starting point.
[00:16:45] You start from Christ and you make sense out of the world through Christ. And there are people around you and you got to just get used to this. They're going to think you're weird and they're going to think you're awkward. And when you begin to talk about the gospel, you're going to be alienated, shunned just a little bit as a weirdo.
[00:17:04] What do you do? Well, you pray, Father. Glorify your name.
[00:17:10] Help me to make much of the cross and prove its glory in these moments and share the gospel. But one of the things we see here as Jesus, Think about this. Jesus is standing there and he is fearful, terrified of the cross, pushes through in prayer, and the Father speaks to him.
[00:17:33] And when God speaks, there are sounds that occur.
[00:17:37] But notice what happens. We see an unheard and unseen glory. In verse 29, the crowd that stood there and they heard it, they said that it thundered. God speaks from heaven. And the crowd says, what in the world was that?
[00:17:54] Oh, that was thunder. They've been talking about rain.
[00:17:58] I'm pretty sure that was thunder. And then others said, no, no, no, it's not thunder. An angel probably spoke to him. We've seen all the spiritual stuff that accompanies this guy. He's probably speaking to something in another realm.
[00:18:18] But notice what they're doing. They've heard the voice of God, but they have not heard the voice of God. It is irrelevant. It's distant thunder. It's an angel, but it has no effect on them.
[00:18:34] And so Jesus presses the issue. Verse 30. Notice this voice has come for your sake, not mine.
[00:18:42] You heard something you didn't hear.
[00:18:45] And the voice you heard wasn't for me. It was actually speaking to you so that you would know who I am. I am the Son of God. The Father is speaking to me. That's what Jesus is implying here. And he says, verse 31. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out? What you are about to see is cosmic warfare. You are about to see one judge the world.
[00:19:16] Now, the world deserves judgment. There is sin and there is death. But how will the world be judged? The world will be judged at the cross, where Jesus endures the consequences for sin and death. And that is the judgment of the world.
[00:19:33] That is the judgment that gains everybody access to heaven. You will get to heaven because you were judged at the cross. The world will be judged at the cross, in the flesh of Jesus. And he says this. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out? I have come to do warfare with Satan himself. The ruler of this world, the one who holds sway. And I have come to defeat sin and death and throw him out in verse 32. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself. You are about to see cosmic warfare at the cross. You are about to see me defeat Satan and then the world. For God so loved the world that whosoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. You are about to see the world, all types of people, come into the kingdom of God. You're going to see a man like Nicodemus that we see in chapter three, who was a religious leader who came to Jesus at night because he didn't want anybody to know he was associating with Jesus. You're going to see people like the Samaritan woman at the well who was marred in all kinds of sin. You're going to see me draw all types of people to myself from all types of different backgrounds. You're going to see the nations come in, whosoever will believe, throughout the whole world. You are about to see me release them from bondage by conquering Satan. Sin and death. And he says in verse 33, he said all this to show what kind of death he was going to die. So think about this. He's talking about warfare. So in their minds, they're thinking, we're about to go to battle.
[00:21:23] But when he begins to talk about being lifted up, they understand something. He's talking about being lifted up in death. What type of death he's going to die. And so the crowds answered him. We've heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. They're talking about the Old Testament. You're talking about dying while you're talking about being the Son of man. We've read in the Old Testament that the Messiah lives forever. How can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up in death? Who is the Son of Man? You see, they cannot fathom a Messiah that dies, and they cannot fathom a Messiah that dies lifted up in this cruel, torturous way. You see what the crowds wanted, the poor folks there, even the Jews there, they wanted a Messiah who would come in and overthrow the Roman government and give them everything they desired, release them from poverty, release them from bondage. And here Jesus says, well, I am that Messiah. But what I'm going to release you from is something you're not hearing. It's something you're not seeing. It is cosmic warfare on sin and death. And you need that more than you need Caesar defeated.
[00:22:50] You need Satan to feed it. You need sin and death defeated. But they say, who in the world is this Messiah? We've never heard of this Messiah. And Jesus in the rest of this chapter begins to explain what is going on. And the question for us today is, how could people stand in front of Jesus and not see Jesus?
[00:23:15] We often think when we read our Bibles, if I was there, I would have believed.
[00:23:21] How in the world could you see him turn water into wine? How in the world could you see him heal little children? How in the world could you hear his preaching? How in the world could you see his kindness and his love and his compassion and not believe in him?
[00:23:41] Most did not.
[00:23:44] Why?
[00:23:46] Well, the first answer Jesus gives is because they're being judged.
[00:23:50] In verse 40, if you move on down, he says, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and I would heal them. He refers to the ministry of Isaiah. Remember Isaiah. He saw Jesus high and lifted up. Isaiah, chapter six in the temple. He saw the glory of Christ in the temple. And you know what God called him to do? Go tell my people about my glory. And as the prophet Isaiah goes to Israel and tells them that you have a king lifted up in glory and you don't need an earthly king. There is an eternal kingdom coming. You know what Israel did? They rejected the message. Why God was judging them for their sin. That they could hear the message and not believe was a form of judgment. And it's the same thing that we see here. When Jesus, after he had said those things, notice the text. He departed and hid from him. Hid himself from them. Think about that. After Jesus does all of this and says all of this refers to Isaiah, then he just goes away and hides himself. It's a parable.
[00:25:01] It's a parable to the religious leaders and the crowds who will not believe in him. You are hearing, but you're not hearing. You're seeing, but you're not seeing. And it's a form of judgment. That you can hear the gospel message and not believe it.
[00:25:17] That you can see the work of God and not believe it.
[00:25:22] That you can hear the voice of God and say, it's thunder angel. But why is this? Notice verse 43 on down.
[00:25:33] Why would they not believe? And why are they being judged?
[00:25:38] For they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. Think about that. At the heart of unbelief is pride in yourself and man, which you will not exchange for the glory of God. You will not say, God's glory is greater than my glory. God's glory is greater than any other glory that I could receive. There are people that are hearing Jesus, seeing Jesus. They've seen him raise a man from the dead. Think about this. But they will not identify him because they love their glory too much.
[00:26:20] They don't want to be associated with a crucified loser. They want another Caesar. They want another emperor. They want someone to rule and reign. That's what they want. Despite all they have seen, they don't want a crucified glory. And this is why Jesus says, if you want any part of my glory, I'm going to the cross to be crucified. And then you take up your cross and you follow me. And they don't want that kind of glory.
[00:26:52] They want glory now. They want temporary glory. And what Jesus is explaining, get this, is that they can hear these things and see these things and be blinded by their own glory. And that is a form of judgment.
[00:27:07] And it's a judgment that is happening all across this room right now.
[00:27:13] Think.
[00:27:15] The gospel message has reverberated in this room today and has bounced across eardrums in this room today. The same message. And there are folks here today who will receive it because they love the glory of Christ. And there are folks here today rejecting it because they love their own glory. There are college students here today who love the glory of the folks that you hang out with and the people that you associate with and the places you go and the things you do. You love that glory more than you love the glory of taking up your cross, repenting of your sin, and being alienated for Christ. You love that glory, and it's a form of judgment that you can hear the gospel message over and over but still cling to your glory.
[00:28:08] There are folks here today that know what following Jesus would mean for their life. If I follow Jesus, I got to confess that sin, and people are going to think I'm weak. Do you know who I am? Do you know the things that I have accomplished? Would you look at my life? And then I have to walk up here and say, I don't have it together. That's not a glory that I want anything to do with. I want my own glory.
[00:28:39] And that's judgment because you are rejecting the gospel for yourself. There are folks here today that do not want to go to work tomorrow.
[00:28:51] And folks ask, what'd you do this weekend?
[00:28:55] Well, I had a BFG fellowship. What is a bfg?
[00:28:59] Well, it's this Thing we got at church, and it's a small group, and we went and we did this. And then I went to church.
[00:29:06] You went to church on Sunday morning? Yeah. And then guess what I did after church? I went and we did another BFG thing that evening. And then on Wednesday night, we're going to Awana, and we got this going on at church. And church. You don't want any part of that kind of reputation.
[00:29:23] And I'm not saying you have to go to church to identify with Jesus every time the door's open.
[00:29:29] But there are some of you that will just not identify with the things of God because you love your glory too much, and you don't want to be seen as kooky and weird at work.
[00:29:41] You love the status that people give you. And if you start talking about being a Christian, there's just things in this culture that people will start thinking about you. And you don't want to associate with that because you love your status more than you love the glory of Christ. And that is judgment. Understand? Today, by the spirit of God, we pray that your eyes are open right now. But understand, if you are rejecting that, that is judgment upon you. That is God's judgment that you see but don't see, that you hear but don't hear. And so what do you do?
[00:30:18] Well, you believe.
[00:30:20] Notice verse 48, as Jesus kind of begins to sum all of this up.
[00:30:26] The one who rejects me does not receive my words. He has a judge. What is the judge? Think about this. When we stand before God, what will judge us? Not who Jesus will be our judge, but what will judge you? Notice the text, verse 48. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
[00:30:57] The Word. It is the word of Christ that is your final judge.
[00:31:03] Did you believe the word of God about Jesus Christ? That is what will judge you on the last day. And you're saying, I just need more. I need more of an experience.
[00:31:17] I need signs.
[00:31:20] The reality is, we see in this passage that you can be around Jesus, you can have signs and you can have experiences, and you can have emotions and go to hell if you do not believe his word that he is who he said he is. And until you believe the gospel, you will not. You cannot see the glory of. Of Christ.
[00:31:45] You must believe what God says about Jesus. And this must be your only hope, your only boast.
[00:31:53] Some of you are saying today, I would believe if God just made it more real.
[00:31:59] You're saying, God, give me a sign.
[00:32:03] Well, let me show you the sign.
[00:32:05] You want a sign to believe in Jesus. Today, you're not in hell.
[00:32:11] You're alive.
[00:32:14] You're here. You're not dead in hell. And you're hearing the word of Christ to you in this moment saying, come, come.
[00:32:24] Just as you are, without one plea but that his blood was shed for me. Come. That's what you're hearing right now. That's grace and that's mercy. And that is a sign from heaven that you must come and believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Come as you are. But some of you in this moment, you're going to say, was that thunder?
[00:32:53] It's supposed to rain tonight.
[00:32:56] Where are we going? To lunch.
[00:32:59] And what I'm here to do, what I'm here to say to you is that is thunder.
[00:33:04] It's the word of God. And that thunder means a storm is coming and it will be game over for your kingdom. But as the apostle John says, blessed are those who have not seen and believe.
