Session 19: October 22, 2022
Scripture Reading: John 12:27-50
27 “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard the voice said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice has not come for my benefit but for yours. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 (Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.)
34 Then the crowd responded, “We have heard from the law that the Christ will remain forever. How can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 Jesus replied, “The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he went away and hid himself from them.
37 Although Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him, 38 so that the word of the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled. He said, “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe because again Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and understand with their heart,
and turn to me, and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s glory and spoke about him.
42 Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
44 But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, 45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. 49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.”
Main Themes
Jesus’ Soul Is Greatly Distressed
Jesus is greatly distressed or “troubled.” I think I speak for most of us when I say that this is an unexpected turn of events. Not only did the ancient Mediterranean world consider praiseworthy a hero who faced suffering bravely, without sorrow, but we do as well. When we think of a suffering hero, we may think of someone like Mel Gibson in Braveheart, defiantly exclaiming “freedom” as he is martyred. In the case of Jesus, the distress is also unexpected because Jesus knows all things, and he has walked to the cross deliberately. This intentionality is nothing short of a core theme of John’s gospel.
What should we think of this, then? First, as a quick apologetics note, this is another time that the criterion of embarrassment seems to apply. If one were trying to write a story that made Jesus appear as grand as possible, one would almost certainly omit any feelings of distress on the part of the hero. Instead, the hero would face his unjust persecution with defiance and never complaining. Second, and most importantly for our study, what does this scene tell us about Jesus? What does it tell us about his sacrifice?
Jesus is human—truly human. Throughout church history, different sects have sought to make Jesus truly God but not human, or truly human but not God. The orthodox Christian view is that Jesus has both natures, indivisible yet unconfused. This is called the hypostatic union. This theology was settled in the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) and the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), which built upon prior ecumenical councils. Because Jesus is truly human, we can say that Christ is “like us in all things, sin apart.” Just like we would be troubled over extreme physical punishment, so was Jesus. More importantly, just like we would be troubled over receiving punishment for sin, so was Jesus. This latter point requires further explanation.
(Trying to stay true to my mission for this Bible study, I must point out that the Council of Chalcedon led to the first major church split. The Oriental Orthodox church fully affirmed that Christ is truly God and truly man, but they affirmed that Jesus had only one nature, instead of two indivisible natures. The Oriental Orthodox view is called either monophysitism (by those who disagree with it) or miaphysitism (by those who agree with it). The Oriental Orthodox Church is not the same as the Eastern Orthodox Church. This latter group is the one we normally refer to as the “Orthodox Church” or “Greek Orthodox Church.” Notice that this theological disagreement does not impinge on our current lesson. Every Christian agrees that Jesus is truly God and truly man. Whether those two natures remain distinct or become one, well that’s a question for another day.)
Ok, so Jesus being troubled points to his humanity. But what does it say about the suffering he was about to endure? Consider how other martyrs “went to their deaths singing:”
In the 3rd century AD, the Roman Emperor Valerian ordered St. Lawrence, one of the seven deacons of Rome, executed in a particularly cruel way. Such was the emperor’s rage that Lawrence was to be burned alive on a grill. Yet Lawrence showed not the least fear; instead, at one point during his martyrdom, he is said to have turned to his executioners and joked: “You can turn me over now; I’m done on this side.” In a similar vein, St. Thomas More was weakened from long imprisonment and sentenced to hanging. He asked for help ascending the scaffold, but assured his executioner that coming down would not be so much trouble. He even moved his beard out of the way so it should not be cut, lightly remarking that at least it “hath not committed treason.”
If regular Christians could endure their horrific deaths with joy, why couldn’t Jesus? (I feel thoroughly disrespectful even asking that question, but I do think it is important to consider.) Jesus was not only headed to the cross in a physical sense. His physical punishment would be unimaginably great, but that would not be the greatest punishment being inflicted on Jesus. As Paul writes (2 Corinthians 5:20b-21):
We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.
We will discuss Jesus’ atoning sacrifice in a later session, but we should already have an understanding of what is coming. It will be so awful and costly that even Jesus is troubled by it. Why? Because Jesus will pay the ultimate (i.e., eschatological) penalty for all wrongs ever committed. No other Christian saint did ever or will ever suffer such punishment. That is why they could rejoice in their martyrdom but Jesus did not.
God’s Voice Like Thunder
In this chapter of John, we read that God’s voice sounds like thunder. This is a “throwback” to one of the greatest moments in Jewish history: God making a covenant with his people at Mount Sinai. In that instance, God’s voice also sounded like thunder. How did the people react?
Exodus 20:18-19: All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking—and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and kept their distance. They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”
Throughout the Gospel of John, the author has toyed with the irony of the religious leaders claiming to know God’s word while the Jews literally asked not to hear it. John 12:29 is no exception. God’s voice was heard for the benefit of the crowd. The crowd did not recognize it—because they have not heard it before.
The Ruler of this World
The ruler of this world will be driven out by Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. To a modern audience, that probably comes as a surprise. Who is this ruler? His mention seems to come out of nowhere. Throughout the Gospel of John, we have heard much of sin but little of this ruler. The expression can also be translated as the “prince of this world.” And notice that this prince will be “driven out.” The most obvious sources to understand what John is saying is his other writings. The Book of Revelation was also written by John, and in its characteristic apocalyptic style it tells us something strikingly similar (Revelation 12:9):
So that huge dragon—the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world—was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.
Does this mean that Satan has been rendered fully powerless? We should also keep in mind what John says in one of his other letters (1 John 5:19):
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
How can we put all this together? One alternative is to say that Satan has not been driven out yet. He will be driven out and destroyed in the end times but he currently holds his post as prince of this world. Another alternative is that in principle Satan was driven out at the time of crucifixion and resurrection, but in practice that process is still happening. Think of it like making a winning move in chess. You might know that your opponent cannot recover—no matter what he does from this point forward the outcome is certain. However, if your opponent does not concede, you still have to play out the match. If this latter interpretation is correct, how much power does Satan currently hold? Honestly, this gets into murky waters. I want to affirm what is clear. Jesus says “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.” The effect seems immediate upon his death and resurrection. Consider Hebrews 2:14-15, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.” At the same time, when John writes his epistle after Jesus’ passion, he still makes clear that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” One important clarification is that when John speaks of “the world,” he is often making a comparison between those who are “in Christ” and those who are not. At the very least, then, we can conclude that the ruler of this world no longer has power to destroy those who are in Christ, while he still has power to affect (perhaps even to rule) over those who are not. Notice also that Satan is not in hell. The image of Satan reigning over a fiery hell while he tortures the damned is a popular misconception driven by our culture. It is not even close to the biblical image. Satan is in this world with us, exerting power over the living—not the dead.
Let’s also not miss the irony that Satan is defeated and dislodged from his place of authority through the evil act of crucifying Jesus. It is Satan’s work that is used by God to defeat Satan.
Christ Will Remain Forever
The crowd demonstrates a mixed understanding of Jesus’ words. They seem to understand that Jesus is calling himself the Christ. They also understand that “being lifted up” is a reference to crucifixion. But they make a distinction between the Christ and the Son of Man. Why? Because they believe that the Christ “will remain forever.” So, they seem to postulate that maybe Jesus is speaking of two people, the Christ and the Son of Man. It is only the latter that will be killed, they think.
Is the crowd justified in believing that the Christ “will remain forever?” Yes they are. Isaiah speaks of an everlasting father (Isaiah 9:6):
For a child has been born to us,
a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility
and is called
Wonderful Adviser,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Psalms speak of an everlasting priest (Psalm 110:4):
The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it:
“You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.”
So, what does the crowd get wrong? They improperly assume that Jesus dying means that Jesus is not “remaining forever.” They do so because they “[do] not know where he is going,” just like someone who walks in the darkness. If they believed in the light, such that they became children of light, they would know that Jesus will die and be resurrected to return to the Father, from where he will reign and “remain forever.”
The Judicial Hardening
John poses a difficult dilemma: Why did the Jews not believe? “Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him.” Why? “[S]o that the word of the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled.” Which word? Isaiah 53. This is an Old Testament prophecy that is almost required context to understand the life, death, and work of Jesus. We need to read it in its entirety.
1 Who would have believed what we just heard?
When was the Lord’s power revealed through him?
2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,
like a root out of parched soil;
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,
no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
3 He was despised and rejected by people,
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him;
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
4 But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain;
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.
5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;
because of his wounds we have been healed.
6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth.
8 He was led away after an unjust trial—
but who even cared?
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;
because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.
9 They intended to bury him with criminals,
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb
because he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made,
he will see descendants and enjoy long life,
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.
“My servant will acquit many,
for he carried their sins.
12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,
because he willingly submitted to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”
But John does not stop there. He says that the Jews did not believe because of another prophecy as well, Isaiah 6:10. I quote Isaiah 6:9-11 below:
He said, “Go and tell these people:
“‘Listen continually, but don’t understand.
Look continually, but don’t perceive.’
10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;
make their ears deaf and their eyes blind.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”
11 I replied, “How long, Lord?” He said,
“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,
and houses are uninhabited,
and the land is ruined and devastated,
These prophesies are important beyond the immediate issue of God hardening people, i.e., “blind[ing] their eyes.” But because that is the main focus of John 12:37-41, I want to focus on that first. Isaiah 53 will remain relevant for the next several chapters of John.
The idea that God hardens people’s hearts is more common in scripture than many of us may realize. The classic Old Testament example is God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. When God sends Moses to liberate the Israelites, he says (Exodus 4:21), “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.” God explains His reasons when He repeats his message to Moses in Exodus 7:2-5, “You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release the Israelites from his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. I will reach into Egypt and bring out my regiments, my people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I extend my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” (Emphasis added.)
As the seven plagues are unleashed on Egypt, Pharaoh’s heart is first described as being hard, then remaining hard, then as Pharaoh hardening his own heart, and eventually as God hardening his heart. And what is the result? The greatest miracle in the history of the Israelite nation. This is the event that propels forward the story that includes the giving of the law to the Jewish people and culminates with the coming of the Messiah. Notice that in Isaiah 6 (quoted above), there is also a purpose to the hardening: “until cities are in ruins and unpopulated.” So God has a purpose for hardening people. What is the purpose of hardening the Jews during Jesus’ time? That Christ may be sacrificed for the sins of the world and that the good news may go out to the Gentiles. (See Romans 9-11.)
This idea of hardening can raise a number of questions. Is it fair that God does this to people? Does God harden people who don’t deserve it?
We must begin from the standpoint that God is entitled to do with his creation as he pleases. This is expressed in no unclear terms by the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:20-21, “But who indeed are you—a mere human being—to talk back to God? Does what is molded say to the molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?” Interestingly, in the Letter to the Romans, Paul is dealing with the exact same issue as John: why did the Jews reject their Messiah. Paul gives the same answer: the Jews were judicially hardened such that the gospel may go out to the Gentiles. We must keep in mind that God is perfectly good. To say that God may do as he pleases is not to say God will act capriciously. God may and will use us for a good purpose—and we have no right to complain.
Ok, so God has the right to harden someone, but will he do it to anyone, seemingly at random? Will he turn a good person into an evil person and harden him in his evil resolve to accomplish a good purpose? To answer this question, we must turn to Paul’s source material, Jeremiah 18. Consider Jeremiah 18:1:11:
1 The Lord said to Jeremiah: 2 “Go down at once to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel. 4 Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.
5 Then the Lord’s message came to me, 6 “I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ 7 There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. 8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it. 9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish a nation or kingdom. 10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. 11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’
What do we learn in Jeremiah? God has a good purpose for a pot, but if there is “something wrong with the pot” then God will not hesitate to put it to a different use. What is this “something wrong”? That something wrong is that the nation (or person) will not “stop doing wrong.” That nation (or person) does “what displeases [him] and does not obey [him].” That nation (or person) will not “correct the way [they] have been living and do what is right.”
This is a terrifying thought. I think we assume that we will always have a chance to avoid destruction. There is always more time. But that is not so. God gives a nation or a person many chances to repent and turn from his wicked ways. There comes a point, though, when God says, “Fine, let’s steady your resolve and play this scenario all the way through.” God may force us to see the full consequences of our wickedness.
As a final point of clarification, God’s hardening is mentioned in the Bible in relation to large, nationwide events. But do we have good reason to believe that hardening, or something like it, could happen to an individual in a more personal context. I think so. Consider Romans 1:18-24:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. (Emphasis added.)
What is God’s wrath? To give you up to your own desires. If this is not hardening, it is very close indeed. And it is also a terrifying prospect.
Praise from Men Over Praise from God
Many of the leaders believed Jesus, but they did not have the courage to say it. Why? As a practical matter, “so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.” As a spiritual and moral matter, “[f]or they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” We have encountered this theme before. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Many of the Pharisees are hypocrites who seek the praise of men. Jesus seeks honor from the Father and not from men. This is one of the main challenges to embrace Jesus—particularly for the wealthy and powerful. It is no surprise that Jesus tells us that (Matthew 19:24), “Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.” Jesus also teaches that (Luke 6:20), “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you.” This theme of great reversal, in which the poor are better off than the rich, is more explicit in the other gospels, but it is clearly present in John as well.
The Summary Speech
Chapter 12 ends with what many consider to be a summary of Jesus’ teachings throughout the Gospel of John. I can do no better than to simply repost it here:
44 But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, 45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. 49 For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.”
Consider how we have discussed every point that Jesus makes.