Trevor S Ferguson
March 29, 2024
John 12:23-27 KJV
[23] And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come,
that the Son of man should be glorified.
[24] Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit.
[25] He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that
hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
[26] If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I
am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father
honour.
[27] Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Hebrews 12:1-2 KJV
[1] Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us,
[2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
INTRODUCTION
Jesus’ death,
burial, and resurrection is the most pivotal period in human history! It is
through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary that humans
today have the hope of salvation. God had determined from the time of Adam’s
sin that through the seed of the woman He would bring redemption for man, but
to accomplish this there was no simple mechanism. Sin required the penalty of
death and justice required that the penalty be paid. One solution rested on the
principle of redemption, where a redeemer could pay the price required to
liberate someone from enslavement or a binding obligation. In the Old Testament
religious system, however, the redeemer was required to be a near kinsman; so,
in addition to being willing and able to pay the redemption price, the redeemer
needed to be a close relative of the person needing redemption. When this
principle was applied to humanity and sin, there was a requirement to have
sinless human being who was willing to suffer death on the behalf of all
humanity. No human being on earth met these criteria, so God had to devise
another plan, thus necessitating the entry of Jesus Christ into the world. God
had to robe himself in flesh, enter the human race as a regular baby, fully
human and limited by human frailties; endure the normal growth processes, all
for the ultimate purpose of laying down his life on the cross, to pay the price
of man’s sins. The suffering on the cross was excruciating; but the challenges
were not limited to the time on the cross. Jesus knew from He entered the human
race, that he came for one purpose, to lay down his life for the sins of
mankind! In the gospel of John, John referred to this time as “his hour.” Today
I will explore the problem of suffering by examining Jesus’ use of the concept
of “his hour.” I will share with us that has we face various test and trials,
our focus should not be on the hour of testing, but more on the victory that
comes after enduring or overcoming our test and trials. Hence, the title of the
message today is: After this hour! There is victory after this hour.
Here at South
Camp Road, we are going through an hour of testing! Many of us in our personal
lives are going through our personal hours of tests and trials, but God’s word
today reminds us that there is victory after this hour!
EXPOSITION
The concept of ‘his
hour’ was first introduced in John 2:4 when Jesus responding to his mother’s
statement that there was no wine at the wedding stated that his “hour was not
yet come.” Commentators assert that this statement suggested it was not yet
time for him to begin his public ministry, or not yet time for him to begin
working miracles, but here we begin to see this concept emerging. In John 7:30
and John 8:20, again Jesus again refers to “his hour” being not yet
come, but this time more clearly referring to a time of adverse experiences
associated with His passion. Let us look at these verses for further clarity.
John 7:30 “Then
they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not
yet come”.
John 8:20 “These
words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid
hands on him; for his hour was not yet come”.
In John 12:23
Jesus now states that the hour had come! That the hour had come is again stated
in John 13:1 and John 17:1. That the hour had come meant that it was now time
for Jesus to go through a period of intense suffering. His willingness to go
through with this hour represents a great triumph over the flesh and brought
for us the hope of salvation.
No human being
likes suffering. In fact, times of expected suffering are viewed with dread and
fear. Most people would go to great lengths to avoid pain and suffering. The
passage in John 12:23 -27 gives as a picture of how Jesus, in his humanity,
struggled with the expected pain and suffering as he anticipated going to the
cross. He fully recognized that the price of the cross was his very life, but He
was also cognizant that laying down his life would open the door the better
things as we see in verse 24 and 25. Look again at what he says:
Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his
life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it
unto life eternal.
Therefore, there
was a clear benefit to him laying down his life, but that did not make it easy!
In verse 27, Jesus posed a question, and provided an answer which serves as key
verse for the message today.
Now is my soul
troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this
cause came I unto this hour.
The central
thought here is that the hour was necessary and was indeed the whole purpose
for which he came! If Jesus were to be delivered from this hour, then the whole
purpose of saving humanity would be thwarted! Rather than seeking deliverance
from his hour, he sought that God would glorify his name through the sacrifice
that he would make on the cross. Ultimately, He endured the cross and brought a
great victory for humanity! Hebrews 12:2 relates the final result of him going
through this hour:
Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
We thank today
that Jesus was willing to suffer through his hour of testing and thus bring
hope and salvation to humanity! Out of suffering can come great victory! After Crucifixion
Friday comes Resurrection Sunday! The disciples on Crucifixion Friday were
despondent and scattered in fear; but this was because they did not have a full
view of Resurrection Sunday! After this hour of suffering, there is a bright
new day filled with hope and great victory!
How does this
apply to us and the sufferings we experience today? I would like to share with
us four principles that we learn from Jesus enduring his hour. If we apply
these principles, it will help us endure our personal hour of testing so that
we can experience the victory after this hour.
PRINCIPLE #1: THERE
IS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR TEST!
Jesus was not
called to go to the cross because of God’s displeasure, or to punish him for
sins he had committed. In fact, he knew no sin! 2nd Corinthians 5:21,
tells us: 'For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.' The whole purpose of his
hour of testing was to save humanity from sin.
Similarly, Job
did not suffer because he had committed great sin, but the purpose of Job’s
suffering was to prove to Satan that man could serve God because of God’s
intrinsic goodness, and not only for things which he could receive from God. During
his time of suffering Job did not know that, but despite his lack of
understanding of the purpose of his suffering, Job still held on to his
integrity. We too can endure and overcome even if we do not understand the
purpose of our test.
In John 9, we
meet a man who was born blind. The assumption of many was that the cause of
this misfortune was that someone had sinned – either the man or his parents! Jesus
however points out that there was a greater purpose for the man’s dilemma. In
John 9: 3 we read:
“… Neither
hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him.”
The man who was
born blind to provide an opportunity for the works of God to be manifested in
him.
Today the purpose
of your suffering may not be made plain to you, but rest assured there is a
purpose for your suffering.
PRINCIPLE #2: THERE
IS A TIME LIMIT ON YOUR TEST
Most of us have
taken tests in various examinations. One common feature for almost all tests is
that there is a time limit. Similarly suffering is for a defined time. The word
‘hour’ as used in these passages may be defined as “a certain definite time or
season fixed by natural law (Thayer Dictionary in Strong’s Concordance). Job declares
in Job 14:14
“… all the
days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.”
Trouble will not
last always! It has a set time. Your problems are not permanent. Your change
will come! God will show up; It may take long but God will show up. I am always
impressed by Job 38! After all the arguments, after all the despair, the
scripture simply says: Then the Lord answers Job out of the whirlwind …! God
will show up. There is a time limit on your test!
PRINCIPLE #3: YOU HAVE THE
CAPACITY TO PASS THE TEST
This principle is
based on the passage in 1st Corinthians 10:13. God always provides a
way of escape so that we can overcome in our hour of testing. Look at the text:
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it. If God allows it, you can bear it.
Going back to
Job, we see that it was God who raised the matter of Job’s faith in the
conversation with Satan. If God was not confident that Job as able to endure
his period of testing, he would never have allowed Satan to touch him. We also
recall the episode when God tested Abraham faith in Genesis 22. While God had
asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac, he simultaneously prepared a ram, to be
in place when Abraham was ready to make a sacrifice. At that time Abraham was
unaware if the ram caught in the thicket, God had already made preparation! There
is a way of escape. You may not see it, but it is there! God will not allow you
to be tested beyond your capacity. You have the ability to pass this test.
PRINCIPLE #4: AFTER
THE TEST COMES THE REWARD.
Finally, today, I
want to remind us that after the test, there comes the reward. Let us look at Hebrews
12:2:
Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
Let us look also
at Philippians 2 :8-11:
And being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and
given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
Now, let us look
at 2nd Timothy 4:7-8:
I have fought
a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing.
The rewards are
not only for eternity, but also for the present time. Let us look at Mark 10:
29-30:
And Jesus
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this
time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
After the test
comes the reward! Let us endure because our reward is sure.
APPLICATION & CONCLUSION
So, we see today
that Jesus struggled with the anticipation of the suffering that he would
endure on the cross, but pushed ahead as he realized that his suffering was for
a greater purpose. His willingness to endure affliction bought for us the hope
of eternal life. We too in our Christian life must endure suffering tests and trials.
While the purpose of our sufferings may not be as grand, we can be assured that
whatever God allows in our lives has an important purpose. The purpose may not
always be plain to us, but we are assured today that all our suffering is for a
set time and God will not allow us to be tested beyond our capacity to bear it.
We are also reminded that after the test comes the reward, both in this life
and in the life to come.
Let us comfort
one another with these words. God bless you in Jesus’ name.
