The Gospel of John: John 12.27-36

Read and meditate on John 12.27.
Jesus has been waiting for and postponing this “hour” for three years. Now it is upon Him, and His soul is greatly troubled at the prospect. Wasn’t this supposed to be His hour of glory?

                                                                 ^27"Now trouble on
My soul weighs heavy; what then shall I say?
‘Oh Father, from this hour save Me, I pray’?
But for this purpose I have come to this same
hour.”

- John 12.27

Reflect
1.  Jesus has previously said that the hour for Him to be glorified had arrived. Yet now He almost wants to ask the Father to save Him from this hour. Why? Complete this prayer: Lord, You came into Your glory through trouble, and if I am to glorify You, then…

2.  This verse anticipates Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (cf. Matt. 26.36-46), and reminds us of Asaph’s prayer in Psalm 73.15. Would it have been OK for Jesus to pray what He was thinking? Why or why not? Could we say that Jesus was tempted to pray this way? But did He sin in thinking this way? Explain. Is there a lesson for us here concerning prayer? I know, Lord, that temptation is not sin, but if I am to keep from falling through temptation into sin, I…

3.  The word purpose is not in the Greek, which says only for this, and implies something like “reason” or “purpose” or “outcome” or “end.” Faced with the troubling prospects of what lay ahead in the coming week, and thinking about seeking a way out of it, Jesus stayed the course by looking beyond this troubling hour and through the temptations it occasioned unto the larger purpose, goal, and end of His life. (cf. Heb. 12.1, 2). What’s the lesson for us in His example when it comes to dealing with temptation? Lord, You have left me here to be Your witness, seek Your Kingdom, and glorify You in all things. Help me always to…

4.  Evidently, Jesus’ hour of glory would also be an hour of great trouble and dread. To glorify God, and be glorified by Him, Jesus would have to endure trial, difficulty, suffering, shame, and even death. Why? Do you expect to endure such troubles as you seek to live for God’s glory? Should you? Explain. Lord, You have promised that in this world we would have trouble. But I know that…

5.  Jesus clearly prized the glory of God more than His own safety, security, comfort, or ease. What is so special or significant about the glory of God, that Jesus would endure so much to achieve it? Do you expect to glorify God in your life? Explain. What do you expect to experience as you glorify God? Bring together into one the prayers you composed for questions 1-4.

Summary
“I heard him saying previously … ‘If anyone wants to serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there my servant shall also be.’ And so, I was all on fire to despise the world, and the whole of this life, however long it might be, had become only a vapor before my eyes. In comparison with my love for eternal things, everything temporal had lost its value for me. But now, this same Lord, whose words had transported me from the weakness that was mine to the strength that was his—I now hear him saying, ‘How is my soul troubled.’ What does this mean? How can you ask my soul to follow you when I see your own in so much turmoil? How can I endure when even a strength as great as yours feels it is a heavy burden? What kind of foundation am I left with when the Rock is giving way? But the Lord is already forming the answer inside my own head, saying: You shall follow me that much better, because it is to strengthen your own endurance that I included this. You have heard, as if addressed to yourself, the voice of my strength. Now hear in me the voice of your infirmity. I supply strength when you need to run without slowing you down, but I take on myself whatever makes you afraid, paving the way for you to continue your march. Lord, I acknowledge your mercy! You, who are so great, allowed yourself to be troubled in order to console all of those in your body who are troubled by the continual experience of their own weakness—keeping them from perishing utterly in despair.” Augustine (354-430 AD)

Christians are called to the Kingdom and glory of God. We have seen that the path to God’s glory is strewn with trouble, and Paul reminds us that we must with many tribulations obtain the Kingdom of God (Acts 14.22). Why should you or anyone want to take up this way of life?

Closing Prayer
This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Save now, I pray, O LORD;
O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
God is the LORD,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 118.24-29

Psalm 118.19-29 (St. George’s Windsor: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come)
All who know Christ’s righteousness, His great Name now thank and bless!
Though His gate full righteous is, He our saving mercy is.
Cast aside and left alone, Christ is now our Cornerstone!
God has made His Son and Word our salvation: Praise the Lord!

Blessed are they who in His Name come and Jesus’ grace proclaim.
God His light upon us shines in the Savior’s sacrifice.
Praise and thanks to You, O Lord; we extol Your holy Word!
Thanks to You, for You are good! Thanks to our great loving God!
T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.