John 12:20-36
John Stott was one of the most influential British
evangelicals during the past fifty years
I came across this story recently.
It’s about a time when he was scheduled to preach at the University of
Sydney and lost his voice. He says:
What can you do with a missionary who has no voice?
We had come to the last night of the [evangelistic campaign]. The students had
booked the big university hall. A group of students gathered around me, and I
asked them to pray. But we went on to pray that if it pleased God to keep me in
weakness, I would rejoice in my infirmities in order that the power of Christ
might rest upon me.
As it turned out, I had to get within one inch of
the microphone just to croak the gospel. I was unable to use any inflection of
voice to express my personality. It was just a croak in a monotone, and all the
time we were crying to God that his power would be demonstrated in human
weakness. Well, I can honestly say that there was a far greater response that
night than any other night. I've been back to Australia ten times now, and on
every occasion somebody has come up to me and said, "Do you remember that
night when you lost your voice? I was converted that night."
What did Stott preach about which was so powerful
that his message had an appeal that was not impacted by its being delivered
through a voice which was harsh and unpleasant?
Stott preached about Jesus Christ.
Shortly after the triumphal entry of Jesus into
Jerusalem some Greek visitors to the city attempted to see him. This event prompted a powerful response from
Jesus. One of the most memorable statements
he made looked ahead to the days to come, the days when John was witnessing the
amazing growth of the church.
Jesus said, “If I am lifted up above the earth, I
will draw all to me.” All commentators
agree Jesus was speaking of his impending crucifixion. Others suggest there was more implied in
Jesus’ words. Some feel Jesus was also
speaking of the exaltation that would follow the resurrection and
ascension. Still others believe Jesus
had a spiritual meaning in mind: he was
predicting that if he should be “…extolled in thought, sermon, or song, people [would
be] attracted to his person and message. “
Whether or not Jesus had all these meanings in
mind, the history of the church has taught the church to keep Jesus at the
center of its preaching, teaching, and witness.
If we lift up Jesus, we
will have a life-changing message. How
can we do this?
Whenever We “lift up” Jesus We Must Clarify His Identity.
Who died on that cross one Passover nearly two
thousand years ago? Was he simply an itinerant
teacher who got in over his head when he took on the religious
establishment? Or was he Someone who can
be so easily explained away? Was he
Someone who would fulfill the spiritual longings of men and women from every
nation and culture?
The people in the crowd thought they knew who Jesus
was. That’s why they welcomed him to
Jerusalem with the welcome usually reserved for a king. As he rode into the city on the back of a
little donkey, the crowds shouted, “Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!
Yes! The King of Israel!” They thought they knew who he was but were
wrong. He was indeed the King, but his
kingdom would be unlike any they could have imagined.
Then, too, there were Greeks—pagans, not converts
to Judaism—who had been observing Jesus and were eager to meet him. They may have imagined him to be another
interesting teacher, one more philosopher who would add his perspective on the
world to a growing number of ideas that the Greeks just loved to study. But, even though his words were profound and
merited intense reflection, he could never be explained simply as a
philosopher.
His goal was not to get people to commit themselves
to his ideas, but to call them to commit themselves to him.
Two thousand years later there remains considerable
confusion about who this Jesus is. Most
people know he was a man who changed the Western world, although many in some
parts of the West doubt he ever really lived.
Some believe he was a great role model, one whose life should be
examined and copied—to the degree that is practical.
Such viewpoints don’t do him justice. His earliest critics understood he saw
himself as more than a mere teacher.
Repeatedly in John’s Gospel Jesus applies terms to himself that could
only be applied to God.
And, the church’s best preaching about Jesus has
been that which recognizes him as God in the flesh. The very magnetism of the cross is explained,
in part, by the identity of the one who died on the cross.
In a world where many believe God to be so remote
he is almost an abstract principle, Jesus reminds us of a time when God came to
endure what we endure, to walk alongside us, to die on our behalf.
As we lift up Jesus, in sermon, song, lesson, or
witness we must help; people understand who he is.
Whenever We “lift up” Jesus We
Must Explain the Significance of the Cross.
John clarifies for his readers what the crowd
seemed to immediately understand. When
Jesus spoke of being “lifted up” he was speaking of the crucifixion. “He said this to indicate how he was going to
die.” (John 12:33 NLT) Earlier on Jesus’
opponents had threatened to stone him, now Jesus was alluding to crucifixion,
the Roman method of execution.
It’s still possible to find those who believe Jesus
death was a tragic accident, the product of runaway religious enthusiasm
encountering political expediency. Jesus
died because it seemed the easiest way to deal with him.
Jesus, on the other hand, saw the cross as the end
of the long road that was his mission.
It was why he had come into the world, “the word made flesh.” Despite the stress and agony the cross would
bring, to escape it would be to abandon the reason for which he was born. As he put it, “…the reason I came was for
this time.”
The cross is the symbol of Christianity because
without the cross there would be no Christianity.
To attempt to “lift up” Jesus without mentioning
the cross would be to tell an incomplete story.
To “lift up” Jesus by telling the story of the
cross is to share the greatest love story with the world. That love has attracted men and women to
Jesus for twenty centuries.
Sadly, for some the cross has become simply a piece
of jewelry, something to be worn to be stylish.
But millions upon millions know the cross as the great proof of God’s
love.
Jesus’ life and ministry had already brought honor
and glory to God. The cross would bring
even greater glory as it pointed to the love of God “which drew salvation’s
plan.”
Some, then and now, see nothing in the cross to
suggest glory. It meant an inglorious
death. Yet, Jesus spoke of the
crucifixion as the time when he would be glorified. John Gospel records several of those
occasions and looks as some of the events in Jesus’ life in the light of this
new way of understanding the cross.
à John,
speaking of the coming of the Spirit which took place following the death and
resurrection of Christ, said, “the Spirit was not yet {given,} because Jesus
was not yet glorified.”
à Commenting
on the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, John spoke of his and his fellow-disciples’
confusion, “These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but
when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written
of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.”
à Then, on the night before the crucifixion, as
Jesus prepared to go to the garden where he would be arrested, he said, "The
time has come for me, the Son of Man, to enter into my glory, and God will
receive glory because of all that happens to me.”
We can easily understand how the resurrection might
be seen as glorifying, but the cross. Everett
Harrison explains, “…glory properly belongs to the finishing of the work which
the Father had given him to do, since that work represented the perfect will of
God.”
Sometimes we Christians endure suffering for
Christ’s sake. It’s hard at such times
to see anything glorious in it. Yet, in
a larger sense, it brings glory to God as the one whose love inspired such
commitment.
It’s said that a certain medieval monk once
announced that he would be preaching on the love of God during the evening
service at the little chapel he served.
That evening the people gathered to hear the sermon. As darkness approached, the chapel was nearly
dark and the candle at the pulpit was burning.
Then, wordlessly, the monk took the candle and walked to the crucifix
that adorned the chancel. First, he
raised it to illuminate the crown of thorns, then he illuminated the wounded
hands, then he showed the spear wound on the side. With that, he extinguished the candle. There was nothing left to be said.
That love has drawn people from all over the world
to join the hymn-writer in singing, “In the cross of Christ I glory, towering
o’er the wrecks of time.”
Whenever We “lift up” Jesus We Should Rejoice in
the Breadth of His Salvation.
This story begins with some unnamed “Greeks”
approaching Andrew and asking for an introduction to Jesus.
Who were they?
In the New Testament, the word Hellenes
never refers to Jews who primarily spoke Greek, but to Gentiles, pagans. For some reason these men were curious about
Jesus. Greeks were well known for
intellectual curiosity. They relished
the opportunity to discuss new ideas.
But I suspect it was more than just an academic exercise
that brought these Greeks to see Jesus.
His response reveals the significance of this
moment to his ministry. The interest of
the Greeks was a sign that the initial phase of his work was almost complete. The cross was only days away; then, a waiting
world would begin to hear the rumors of grace as the infant church broke out of
the narrow boundaries of one small nation and people.
When Jesus spoke of “all men” being drawn to him,
he didn’t mean all would become believers in him. He meant that men and women in all places and
of all cultures would come to embrace the good news of salvation through
him.
Whenever We “lift up” Jesus We Should Stress the
Necessity of Decision.
Jesus said, “The time has come for this world to be
judged. The time has come for the ruler of this world to be thrown out.”
The cross reminds us of God’s judgment of sin. The cross reminds us that Satan has been
defeated. What happened on the cross was
not just another criminal dying a brutal death; it was an act of cosmic
proportions. The universe was never the
same. Paul says so in Colossians,
13. For he has
rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan's kingdom and brought us into
the Kingdom of his dear Son,
14. who bought our freedom with his blood and
forgave us all our sins.
The cross reminds us that we all must decide whose
side we are on.
Some who stood before Jesus were unwilling to
accept him, even after so many convincing proofs. He wasn’t the kind of Messiah they
wanted. They didn’t want a Messiah with
a cross; they wanted a Messiah with a ruler’s scepter.
Rather than debate religion with them, Jesus
insisted it was time for them to decide.
Those who believed would be transformed.
``My light will shine out for you just a little while
longer. Walk in it while you can, and go where you want to go before the
darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way.
Make use of the Light while there is still time; then you
will become light bearers.''
Those who refused to believe would be confirming
their own character as rebels who refused to respond to God.
The preaching of Christ should involve a call to
make a decision for or against him. In a
strange way, the judgment associated with the cross becomes self-judgment.
In a great European museum a group of noisy, rude
tourists were stopping at each famous painting and describing what they thought
was wrong with it and how it might be improved.
Finally, the guard approached and said, “These paintings are not here to
be judged but to judge those who see them.”
Those who profess to pass judgment upon Christ are
actually passing judgment on themselves.
Conclusion
Every church in the twenty-first century faces the
temptation to add something to the message of Christ. We want to make sure we get our converts “straightened
out” as soon as possible. We’re tempted
to say “trust Christ and follow these rules” to make sure our society gets back
in order. We will not become more
effective. We will not appeal to those
who feel powerless to keep the rules, to pull themselves up by their own
bootstraps. We will only succeed in
creating a community filled with pride at self-accomplishment and puzzled when
we sing about grace.
Every church in the twenty-first century faces the
temptation to abandon a Christ-centered witness, to exchange it for one that is
less narrow, more congenial. We may do so and become more popular. We will not become more effective. We will not lead people to a life-changing
belief. We will only create a community
puzzled by the cross.
