What does the Gospel of John have to do with the life of Joshua that we’ve just journeyed through for the past couple of months? As I read John 12:20-24, it’s become evident that our two separate sermon series have unintentionally collided as we’ve turned the page back to the Gospel of John. Chapter 12, a pivotal moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. A moment that was here, a moment they’d all been waiting for, a moment indeed. Expected, anticipated, triumphant and kingly, but would it eventually be so? Jesus turns the expectations and anticipation on its head. Like the conquest of Joshua and the Israelites, it was the unexpected. It was a king who would lay his life down, not rule with an iron fist over others, nor with a powerful and militant battalion, but a serving Savior, a meek and modest Messiah, a peaceable warrior, a lamb like Lord, a humble king. This was not a sign of weakness, nor restraint in the midst of his present purpose. His acquiescence was a display of Gods power, power that would rise again, victorious, multiplied, glorified. But not a glory that the following crowd expected. In his commentary on the Gospel of John, William Barclay writes:
“To the Jews, the Son of Man stood for the undefeatable world conqueror sent by God. So Jesus says: ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man must be glorified.’ When he said that, the listeners would catch their breath. They would believe that the trumpet-call of eternity had sounded, that the might of heaven was on the march, and that the campaign of victory was on the move. But Jesus did not mean by glorified what they understood. They meant that the subjected kingdoms of the earth would grovel before the conqueror’s feet; by glorified he meant crucified. When the Son of Man was mentioned, they thought of the conquest of the armies of God; he meant the conquest of the cross.”[1]
The time had come, a great announcement made, anticipation, nervousness, excitement, it all surrounded the circumstances and the questions that prodded. Nameless Greeks, Hellenists, God-fearing Gentiles inquired, where is Jesus? So, Jesus responds, not only to the seeking Greeks, but all who wondered. The time for him to be glorified was here, help had arrived and his saving power at hand. Yet the crowd dreamt of conquest, and Christ meant it by means of the cross. The ideas of the people had been turned upside down, they didn’t understand Jesus and they didn’t try. Their human hearts failed to be softened in that moment to what Jesus really meant. How often do we have our minds made up, our hearts set on a decision, and we miss what God intends for us? Our humanity gets in the way of Gods will as we seek to appease our will in our own lives. What can we do to step aside, step back, and understand the purpose of the cross? Perhaps, through still, quiet time in the Word of God, mediating on his will and purpose for our lives, realizing that our ways may not always be the right way, and submitting to Gods leading in all things.
[1] William Barclay, The Gospel of John, vol. 2, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY: Edinburgh, 2001), 143.
“To the Jews, the Son of Man stood for the undefeatable world conqueror sent by God. So Jesus says: ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man must be glorified.’ When he said that, the listeners would catch their breath. They would believe that the trumpet-call of eternity had sounded, that the might of heaven was on the march, and that the campaign of victory was on the move. But Jesus did not mean by glorified what they understood. They meant that the subjected kingdoms of the earth would grovel before the conqueror’s feet; by glorified he meant crucified. When the Son of Man was mentioned, they thought of the conquest of the armies of God; he meant the conquest of the cross.”[1]
The time had come, a great announcement made, anticipation, nervousness, excitement, it all surrounded the circumstances and the questions that prodded. Nameless Greeks, Hellenists, God-fearing Gentiles inquired, where is Jesus? So, Jesus responds, not only to the seeking Greeks, but all who wondered. The time for him to be glorified was here, help had arrived and his saving power at hand. Yet the crowd dreamt of conquest, and Christ meant it by means of the cross. The ideas of the people had been turned upside down, they didn’t understand Jesus and they didn’t try. Their human hearts failed to be softened in that moment to what Jesus really meant. How often do we have our minds made up, our hearts set on a decision, and we miss what God intends for us? Our humanity gets in the way of Gods will as we seek to appease our will in our own lives. What can we do to step aside, step back, and understand the purpose of the cross? Perhaps, through still, quiet time in the Word of God, mediating on his will and purpose for our lives, realizing that our ways may not always be the right way, and submitting to Gods leading in all things.
[1] William Barclay, The Gospel of John, vol. 2, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY: Edinburgh, 2001), 143.