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      "The Guarantee of a Successful Atonement"
      John 12:20-33
      Theme: Jesus assures us that His work on the cross will successfully bring redemption to sinful men.

        1. The Reality of Man’s Problem of Reconciliation - 12:20-23

          1. The Sensitizing of the Sinner – vv. 20-21

            1. At the time when the Jewish people were most responsible to open their hearts to the Messiah, they were asserting their own priorities, attempting to make Him into something other than what He truly was.
            2. As we noticed last time we were together, this response by them grieved Him – the people He came to accepted Him only on their own conditions.
            3. In contrast to the Jewish people, "there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip … and began to ask him, saying, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’."
            4. These were Gentile proselytes to Judaism – having come to realize that the Greek sophistry provided no relief to the dark and lost condition of the soul.
            5. In that we are told that left to themselves, "there is none who seeks for God" (Romans 3:11), these men had obviously been drawn to Christ by the Spirit of God.
              1. We don’t know the precise means by which this was done – perhaps they witnessed the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem several days before.
              2. In that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), at some point, they had heard someone herald the good news about Jesus – possibly the testimony of one of the eyewitnesses of the raising of Lazarus – cp. v. 17.
            6. Why they chose Philip we are not sure – however, we are told that he was "from Bethsaida of Galilee" – a region inhabited by many Gentiles.
            7. Here we see sinners who know they are in need, being sensitized to their condition and seeking the relief of their need by coming to Christ Jesus – demonstrating the universal demand by Jew & Gentile alike of the grace of God found in Christ Jesus.

          2. The Sensitivity of the Savior – vv. 22-23

            1. Prior to this, Jesus had clearly limited the focus of His ministry to Jewish people – cp. Matthew 15:23
            2. These "Greeks" were unsure of how the Lord would respond to their overture – would He rebuff them or accept them?
            3. As a result, they go through one of the disciples who they believe would be most "friendly" – Philip.
            4. It appears that Philip isn’t sure about it either – "Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus."
            5. They approach the Lord with a certain timidity, having been wrong in the past about Jesus desire to attend to a certain group of people – cp. the issue of children – Mark 10:13-14
            6. Jesus response it interesting – it triggers within Him an overwhelming awareness of the scope and impact of the sufferings He is about to endure – "And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’."
            7. The approach of these Greeks signal that the entire world is the focus of His redemptive love – not just the Jewish people who were in the midst of rejecting Him – cp. John 1:12.
            8. The need of men to be reconciled to God through the work of Christ is a universal problem – transcending races, cultures, classes, genders, and heritage.
            9. Jesus here sets His eye on the prize – the redemption of a lost world whom He would reconcile to the Father – the means of His glorification – cp. Philippians 2:8-11; Hebrews 12:2.

        2. The Reiteration of the Principle of Regeneration – 12:24-26

          1. The Indication of the Savior’s Devotion – v. 24

            1. The prize toward which Jesus looked causes Him to look at the immediate hour – the hour of accomplishment.
            2. He thus embarks on a synopsis of how this glory is to be gained – through incomparable suffering – "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it hears much fruit."
            3. First, the "fruit" here refers to the glory to be received at the hour of victory
            4. This fruit of glory is twofold:
              1. First, it is a restoration to the previous status as the 2nd Person of the Triune God – cp. John 17:5
              2. Second, it is the accolades gained by means of carrying many into glory with Him – cp. Revelation 5:9-10; Ephesians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 2:14
            5. Also, notice that the avenue He must travel is likened to the germination of a seed planted – demanding death and ultimately life from the death.
            6. This clearly pictures the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus who becomes the "first-fruits" of those who thereafter would believe in Him.
            7. Once again, Jesus is demonstrating the level of His devotion not only to the Father by perfectly obeying Him, but also to sinners by willingly laying down His life.
            8. In essence, Jesus here provides us with a promise of success in His death – that His atonement will produce fruit.

          2. The Indication of the Sinner’s Deliverance – vv. 25-26

            1. What particularly is this fruit?
            2. Jesus immediately refers to those who would benefit from the atonement – they would be powerfully changed out of a life of sin and death into a life of changed priority – "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal."
            3. This is not a condition to be met prior to the provision of salvation – it is the evidence of one who is truly born again by the Spirit of God – his life changes.
            4. This statement needs closer examination:
              1. "He who loves his life …" – describes the person who clings to their sinful pleasures, indulging in the course of this world, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind – cp. Ephesians 2:1-3
              2. "… loses it, …" – describes the consequence of being one who practices lawlessness – cp. Matthew 7:23
              3. "… and he who hates his life in this world …" – describes the person who repents of his sinfulness, changing his mind and dies to self-indulgence – cp. Romans 6:4-11
              4. "… will keep it to life eternal." – describes the blessing of eternal life enjoyed by those who are in Christ Jesus.
            5. Jesus then makes a clear analogy to Himself – that just as He is going to receive glory by dying to selfishness and giving Himself for sinful men, "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor Him."
            6. The changes wrought in the lives of sinners who are made eligible thereby for the honoring by the Father is again proof of the indication of the effectiveness of the atonement in a person’s life.

        3. The Request for the Provision of Relief – 12:27-28a

          1. The Provocation of the Request – v. 27

            1. As Jesus considers the essence of His redemptive mission, He cannot get past the reality of the price of sin – death.
            2. The death that is mandated by our sin transcends a physical death – extending all the way to the issue of spiritual death, which is separation from God
            3. This is what compels Christ to acknowledge that: "Now My soul has become troubled."
            4. Jesus is not vexed over the pain of what he would have to endure at the hands of men – cp. Matthew 10:28
            5. Jesus is expressing His awareness of exactly what He will be facing as He suffers for the sins of men – the ultimate price of sin – separation from the Father – cp. Mark 15:34
            6. What is it that carried Jesus through this time? – It was His hope that the Father would not abandon Him in the grave, but would restore Him to the glory of Heaven – cp. Acts 2:24-28
            7. I believe that it was about this very deliverance that Jesus called upon God to provide Him – thereby strengthening Him to endure whatever He might face – "… and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour." (this is punctuated differently from the NASB)
            8. This request essentially calls on God to deliver Him from the dead once He had given His life for men.
            9. Jesus then reminds Himself and those around Him that instead of allowing his troubled soul to cause any avoiding of what He was to face, it was "for this purpose I came to this hour."
            10. He thereby declares that He would not turn aside from following through with the will of God regarding men’s redemption.

          2. The Priority of the Request – v. 28a

            1. This brings us to the priority of His request that he be able to see the Father glorified – "Father, glorify Your name."
            2. This was Jesus ultimate goal – to bring glory to the Father – something that His entire life had been given to accomplish.
            3. We recognize that this was done most clearly through the redemption provided men through the atonement of Jesus Christ – God was magnified.
            4. In addition, we recognize that by means of the resurrection, Jesus was placed into a condition whereby He could be exalted by the power and glory of God – cp. Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:23-28.

        4. The Reassurance of the Power of Resurrection - 12:28b-33

          1. The Reassurance by the Father – vv. 28b-29

            1. In response to Jesus’ request that the Father glorify Himself by means of delivering Jesus through His death, "There came a voice out of heaven: ‘I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again’."
            2. Essentially, the Father is stating that the same faithfulness that has been shown to the Son of God will continue through to the proper and successful accomplishment of redemption.
            3. It is by means of this voice that God provides reassurance that what the Son was about to do would indeed be successful – that His atonement would provide absolute and sufficient atonement for the sinfulness of men – both Jew and Gentile.
            4. The people who were around Jesus didn’t know exactly what had been said – "So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, ‘An angel has spoken to Him’."
            5. Jesus provides an explanation and clarification of what the people had heard.

          2. The Reassurance by the Son – vv. 30-33

            1. Jesus indicates that this voice was not for His benefit, but that they might be aware that the fulfillment of the mission of redemption had very practical ramifications to their lives.
            2. He declared: "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes" – providing the testimony enabling men to indeed trust in the Lord Jesus – essentially the Word of God.
            3. He then reassures us about the ramifications that touch our lives:
              1. "Now judgment is upon this world …" – by means of their hostility and rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ (something that had already occurred in the hearts of the people and only needed the clarification), it had condemned itself.
              2. "Now the ruler of this world will be cast out." – this refers to the breaking of the power of Satan over the world – that his stranglehold upon the earth had been overthrown – cp. 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14-15
            4. He then provides the general reality of redemption – "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die."
              1. Essentially, Jesus returns to the promise made to Nicodemus in John 3 – that by means of His vicarious suffering through crucifixion (the most shameful death known in that day), men would be saved.
              2. This is a statement of promise – that if He died (and he was going to), the result would be successful redemption to all who believe and come to Him.

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