 The title of our sermon this morning is Glory through Judgment and Grace. Glory through Judgment and Grace and we're in John chapter 12, verses 27 through 36. This is a power-packed text. There is a lot packed into these verses, but it has an overall emphasis and I want us to see that from the text. We'll see that as we work through. And that being that we were created ultimately for the glory of God. We were created for the glory of God. You got to let that fact sink into your understanding, sink into your heart and mind. Like all creation, like all creation, our very existence declares the glory of God. The fact that we are fearfully and wonderfully made as the Bible says shows his handiwork. The body and how it works is an astounding creation, isn't it? Most of which we can't fully understand. A vast majority of how the brain works is beyond our capacity to understand. And that glory, the glory for all that doesn't belong to evolution, right? From monkeys to you by way of the zoo or from the goo to you. And it has nothing to do with evolution. All that glory belongs to God, God alone. But more than that, more than that, and unlike the rest of the created order, we were made in the very image of God, made to be a living, breathing, worshiping display of God's glory. Now each one of us, a stage on which is to be unceasingly acted out, the character and the nature of the one who made us. That glory, belonging only to God, was marred and corrupted and hijacked at the fall of man. Our first father, Adam, selfishly took glory to himself when he rebelled against God. And because all of us are sons and daughters of Adam, we inherited a sin nature from him. And we've been sinning in the likeness and in the image of Adam ever since. Each one of us has turned aside from living for the glory of God and we ourselves have become all of us unprofitable, living for our own glory. Now listen, in light of that, listen, God will be glorified. God will be glorified. After all, we were created, we were created for his glory. And that ultimate purpose that God will be glorified, that ultimate purpose was not thwarted or undermined or nullified by the fall. As a consequence of the fall of man, as a consequence of the sin of man, God decreed judgment for his glory. God decreed judgment for his glory and entirely and only according to his good pleasure, because of the great love with which he loved us, God also decreed grace for his glory. Judgment that in the ages to come, he might show the incorruptibility of his justice through the punishment of the wicked in the vindication of his holy name. Grace that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus through the salvation of men made righteous for his holy name by the blood of the Lamb. So point, God has ordained it to create judgment and grace. We live, we were made and created for his glory. So you can live for his glory now and you will be glorified. You'll live with him glorifying him in worship and praise for eternity or live for your glory now or simply continue to do nothing and you'll face the second death punishment in hell glorifying him by bearing his perfect wrath against your sin for all eternity. God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. We, brethren, must live for the glory of God alone. Soli Deogoria, amen? Incidentally, both of those realities, both judgment and grace, are seen most clearly at the cross, at the crucifixion and death of the Son of God. The cross wasn't the result of a plan gone wrong. The cross was the plan all along. He is the Lamb of God who was slain from before the foundation of the world. Now to set the table for our text today, I want to draw a line for you through this section of Scripture. It's important that we understand our context, what comes before and what comes after, so that we can understand our text more fully. The Lord sets the stage for a confrontation by his triumphal entry, beginning in John chapter 12, verse 12. He enters Jerusalem to the adoration of the crowd, shouting, Hosanna, and they acknowledge him as the Messiah. Now this stirs up the Pharisees, stirs up the opposition against him, and they are exasperated. They're reaching a point of desperation, and that desperation is going to overflow into his death at the end of this week. For Mark 11, chapter 11, verse 15, we know that around this very same time, the Lord powerfully, just the force of himself, clears the temple, clears out the temple of the money changers, clears out the temple of the merchants that were there to uphold worship in the temple. People would have fled running like rats out of the temple, and the hostility against them now has been building up. He came to attack their false religious system. They believe that he came to attack the Romans, and their hostilities was building up against him. All of this will reach its apex at the end of the week, resulting in the Lord's death. Now about this same time, we see the arrival of certain Greeks in chapter 12, verse 20, and this arrival of certain Greeks is seen by the Lord as the divine signal that the hour of his glory has come. Now these Gentiles have come ushering in this hour, or the time period in which the Lord Jesus Christ will suffer and will die. In chapter 12, verse 23, he calls it the hour that the Son of Man should be glorified. And then in verse 24, he illustrates that point with the example from nature of the grain of wheat. In order for it to produce fruit, that grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die. The Lord Jesus Christ coming to this time knows he is fully aware that he has come to die. He's been born into this world to die. He knew that to save sinners, he would lay down his life as a ransom for many. In John chapter 10, it says that he willingly lays it down. No one can take it from him, but he gives it of himself. He knew that he was to be an atoning sacrifice. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That's precisely because that hour is now upon him that Jesus in John chapter 12, verse 27, is deeply troubled. Knowing what lay ahead, the Lord has his heart and mind set on Friday and what's coming. But in verse 28, in the midst of that great distress and difficulty facing an awful death, the Lord's greatest priority, his preeminent concern is the Father's glory, the glory of his name. Now God responds to that concern and God responds to his prayer in verse 28 with an audible voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. And then in verses 31 and 32, the Lord unpacks what that glory entails. The glory of God entails a triumphant act on the part of Christ at the cross of both judgment and grace. That's all accomplished by the perfect and complete obedience of the Son of God who is obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. And we'll see through this text how that has implications for us and how we should live in light of these truths and how we should live for the glory of God. And as we come to verse 27 and dig into this, I want you to see first from verse 27, the primary concern, the primary concern, the primary focus that Christ has here. The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified and he responds to that in verse 27 by saying this, now my soul is troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Now look at those texts. The primary concern of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us in verse 28 is the glory of God the Father. Father, glorify your name. And now for that glory to come about, he is fully aware that he himself must suffer and die. So now at that moment, he's thinking of the cross. He's thinking of the cross. And the Lord says in verse 27, now my soul is troubled. The word troubled there, terrazzo, very strong word. It's a very strong word. It means disturbed. It means in anguish. Literally it refers to being shaken or stirred up within himself. It was sometimes used in the Bible to convey horror or to convey terror. Remember the story of the disciples in the boat when Jesus Christ came walking on the water to them and they thought it was a ghost. Before they knew it was the Lord Jesus Christ, they were terrazzo. They were terrified thinking that it was a ghost. It described the extreme emotional state of Herod. When Herod heard there was a king born in Bethlehem, Herod became terrazzo. He became terrified and he sent soldiers out to kill every child under the age of two in Bethlehem because he was terrazzo. He was terrified, severely troubled about a king that had been born there. So this moment, the Lord is terrazzo. He's in anguish. He is unsettled. He is agitated, stirred up within himself by the thought of the cross. By the thought of the cross. Let's think about that for a moment. He's not going into this dispassionately. He's not going into this unconcerned, right? He's not going into this without emotion. And this isn't unusual. The Bible records other periods where the weight of what is about to happen to him bears down on the Son of Man. Look with me at Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Let me show you one of these instances. Again, it's the weight of the cross and what's about to take place there that is bearing down on the heart of the Lord. It's important for us to understand what particularly that is. In Luke chapter 12, Luke down beginning at verse 49. And the Lord is explaining the division that occurs between the repentant and the unrepentant at his coming. And he says in verse 49, I came to send fire on the earth. That's ultimate judgment. That judgment is coming. I came to send fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled. But listen, verse 50. But I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed, that's the word Sunneco. It's a synonym of Tarasso. Means to be afflicted, to be troubled, to be in anguish, to be distressed. I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed I am until it is accomplished. He's distressed until it's accomplished. It gives you the sense, doesn't it? That this is on his mind constantly. I'm distressed until that hour is accomplished. The Lord Jesus Christ came to die. Just like believers are to bear in themselves always the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ born in himself, his own crucifixion, his own date with Calvary. He's distressed by this. It was on his mind and he always knew. In Revelation chapter 13 verse eight, the Bible says that he was the lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world. So in eternity past, in eternity past, God the Son knew that he would come into the world to die for sinners. He would come into the world and he knew that he would suffer the death that he's about to suffer. He always knew. Look at with me at Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. Let's see another example of this. The Lord is troubled. Tarasso, he is agitated, distressed and anguished over this thought. This is important to understand. In Mark chapter 14, beginning in verse 32, it's the end of the week and he's praying in the garden on the eve of his death, on the eve of his crucifixion. Look at verse 32. They came to a place which was named Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I pray, verse 33. And he took Peter, James and John with him and he began to be troubled and deeply distressed. There are a few more synonyms right here for Tarasso. And he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death. Stay here and watch. Now he went a little farther and he fell on the ground and he prayed. Listen to the prayer of the Lord here. If it were possible, he prayed that the hour might pass from him. He said in verse 36, Abba, father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, it's the word Allah in Greek, but it's a strong contrast, but take this cup away from me, but not what I will, but what you will. Now Luke's account in Luke chapter 22 adds that he was in agony, that he was in agony and in the garden, an angel came to strengthen him. He was in so much agony and that in his distress, his sweat became like great drops of blood that fell to the ground. So back in John chapter 12, there's two ways in which many try to attempt to minimize the distress or the suffering or the anguish that Lord Jesus Christ is feeling here, experiencing here. First way is that many will try to explain all this emotional way by saying that this is Christ in his humanity. This is just Christ merely in his humanity, just human fear, human weakness in the face of human suffering in death and they minimize in that way the distress of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that doesn't reconcile with other martyrs throughout history, does it? And many went to their deaths almost joyfully, right? Singing hymns, proclaiming the gospel, preaching Christ, thousands, thousands in history have been scourged and crucified. Peter was crucified upside down. Others, the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11, were sawn in two. You've ever seen that. They hang someone upside down by their feet with a saw, they begin between the legs and they slowly saw down while the person is alive until they bleed out, they get to the heart. It's a horrendous way to die. They were talking about inventors of evil. They created horrendous ways to kill people. Hebrews 11 verse 35 said that others were tortured and listen, not accepting deliverance. Why? Because they desired a better resurrection. They didn't accept deliverance, desiring a better resurrection and here the Lord is praying, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me and he is the resurrection. First fruits from the dead. So there's more going on here, right? There's more going on in this troubling, in this distress that the Lord is experiencing far more than just the physical pain and the physical suffering. There's certainly that, but far more than that. There's something else going on here. Secondly, others try to minimize the weight or effect of this distress on the Lord by doing something else, very subtle here in John chapter 12 verse 27. They insert a question mark in your text. I want you to see that verse 27. The Lord says, now my soul is troubled, deeply troubled. What shall I say? Question mark. Father, save me from this hour? Question mark. But for this purpose, I came to this hour. That's a subtle distinction here. In the original Greek, so you know there is no punctuation. There's no punctuation given. It makes sense to supply one after the statement, what shall I say? That's a question. You put a question mark there, it makes sense. But the next phrase, Father, save me from this hour can be interpreted either as a question or as a prayer, a question or a prayer. Most of your translations add a question mark. If it's a question, it makes his praying of Father, save me from this hour, completely hypothetical. It's hypothetical that way, right? The idea is dismissed as quickly as he thinks about it. It emphasizes his determination to go to the cross, but he basically says, of course I can't pray that. Of course I can't pray that. It's for this purpose that I came. That's the sense that you get from verse 27. If you include a question mark after Father, save me from this hour. Now it begs a comparison to the account in the Garden of Gethsemane. What does the Lord pray there just a couple of days from now? He prays, Father, save me from this hour. He prays, Father, take this cup away from me. So now if you put those two together, it's better to look at verse 27 as a direct parallel to his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane without the question mark. And it makes sense to look at his distress in the Garden as the distress that he always carried with him as he determined to make his way to the cross. Verse 27, now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, take this cup away from me, right? Save me from this hour. Nevertheless, but it's the same word. The same word in both accounts. Not my will, Father, but your will be done. It is for this purpose that I came to this hour. In this prayer, here in John 12 verse 27, certainly in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord's agony is revealed. The Lord's agony is revealed. It can't be diminished. It can't be dismissed. So what's causing this great terrazzo, this great troubling of his soul? What is the cup that he asks to be taken away? What could have the Lord praying in his way in John chapter 12 and sweating great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane? Is it only the physical pain? Is the cross nothing more than an example of human suffering and a human death? No, no. He was perfectly aware of the physical pain he was facing. Perfectly aware of that. The beatings, the scourging, the tearing of flesh from his body, the nails through his hands and his feet, the thorns piercing his brow, the bleeding, the gasping of air as he hung on the cross, the excruciating pain. You see passages of scripture that outlined at Psalm 22, that outline that excruciating pain. But as brutal as that is, and that's the picture that we need to see from this, and that's why it can't be minimized, the brutality of that death is not what has him so deeply troubled. It's troubling, but that's not what has him to Rosso in John chapter 12 verse 27. It's the daunting work that Christ does there that causes his anguish. The cup is the cup of God's wrath poured out full strength in the cup of his indignation. God, the Son, perfectly holy is about to take upon himself the full weight of our sin. That's what's causing anguish. Becoming sin for us. Becoming sin for us, he will then drink to the dregs the undiluted wrath of Almighty God poured out full force in the fury of his indignation. And during that time, feeling forsaken, forsaken by the one whom from eternity past with whom he has enjoyed perfect fellowship from all eternity. That's what the Lord, that's why he's asking in the garden, God, if this hour might pass from me. It's an experience devastating enough to trouble God in the flesh. It's an experience devastating enough to deeply distress the Son of God himself. Now, why is this important? Why should we be careful not to minimize the Lord's distress here or minimize his suffering? One, because that is the awful weight of our sin. That is the weight of your sin by sin against him caused the Lord of glory deep distress. The Holy One of God becoming my sin. Do you see? Paul said he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Why is it important? Because Paul said in Philippians 3 verse 10 that he suffered the loss of all things that he might know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. If by any means I may also attain to the resurrection from the dead. You know, you minimize what the Lord is going through. You minimize that cost, that price that was paid. You minimize it through your neglect of scripture. You minimize it in your failure to meditate on those truths, meditate on the reality of that. If you minimize that, then you take the knees out from under your Christian life and the devotion and the obedience and the motivation for living for him heart, soul, mind and strength. You see? Paul would give up everything for the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, that he might know him, that he might attain to the resurrection from the dead. There's a fellowship of believers with Christ in his suffering and it has an impact on our life. It's to impact how we live. In Acts chapter five verse 41, after having been beaten, the disciples, it says they're departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. What impact do you think the death of Christ had on martyrs who would follow him in death for centuries after the cross? They found his death, knowing that he had endured far more for them. They found his death, sweet consolation, sweet comfort at that time. In addition to that, Hebrews chapter 12 verse one, listen, it says therefore, considering these things, therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of martyrs, right, so great a cloud of witnesses, so great a cloud of believers who have blazed the trail before us, let us, like you and I, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Christ, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Endured the cross, despising the shame and it sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Four brothers and sisters, consider him. Consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. This is a dramatic troubling, the Lord's heart, a devastating date with Calvary, just a tremendous weight for the Lord to bear and the Lord bared it for you if you're in Christ, he bared it for me. How should we not live heart, soul and mind for him? We must press on. When you get weary, when you become discouraged, consider him, consider the cross, the persevere. Persevere in what? Persevere as he did in obedience, in obedience to the faith, trusting Christ who suffered for us. But also the reason that we consider these things is because they provide us, he provides us with an unparalleled example of obedience that we're to follow. The cross glorifies the Father in so many ways. When you stop to think about it, right, just meditate on the cross. Glorifies God in so many ways. It glorifies God by displaying an immeasurable love. It glorifies God by displaying immeasurable grace, immeasurable mercy. It displays the holiness of God. It displays the justice of God, the wrath of God. But what glorifies God more than any other revelation related to the cross is the perfect submission and obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, to the will of God the Father. And it's that submission, it's that obedience that we're to imitate. We're to imitate that in our lives. Philippians chapter two, verse five. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who faced down the cross and obeyed to the point of death, facing down that troubling date with Calvary. Who being in the form of God, he didn't consider it robbery to be equal with God, but he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a slave and coming in the likeness of men, being found in the appearance as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. That's why he's highly exalted. And what motivated this level, this degree of obedience? What drove his devotion? It was his primary concern. His primary concern drove it. Father, verse 28, back in John chapter 12, verse 28, Father, glorify your name. His primary concern, his primary motivation, primary focus drove his unwavering obedience. It drove his unwavering devotion to God the Father. Now that's how God's glory impacts the Lord's thoughts and the Lord's actions. Let's look at that for a moment. In the face of unimaginable suffering, bearing the wrath of God for sin, that cup poured out on the Lord, the Lord is deeply troubled. He even prays, Father, save me from this hour. But as soon as he prays, right, his agony meets with mission, okay? His distress meets with a greater desire, and the desire is the glory of God. He proclaims that at the end of verse 27, but for this purpose, I came to this hour. What purpose? To obey God by going to the cross, to obey the will of the Father, to do the will of the Father, to see his name glorified. Hebrews chapter 10, verse five, says this. Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come in the volume of the book, it is written of me, to do your will, oh God. Why? Why? For the glory of God, for God's glory, for God's praise, for his worship, for God's glory. His primary concern, or his great zeal, is for the glory of God. And that zeal, that concern governs all of his actions. Everything that the Son does, he does for the will of the Father to display the Father, to glorify God. It's the principle by which he lives. Now let's summarize all that and think through it. Now, the primary concern of the Lord Jesus Christ is the glory of God. So, at the very time that Jesus is in anguish over the daunting reality ahead of him, he is reminded immediately of his unwavering commitment to obey the Father for his glory. The glory of God, you gotta see this, the glory of God is bound up in the Son's obedience to him, even to the point of death on the cross, right? He's concerned about what he's gonna face there, but he's driven by a greater concern. He will not stoop to do his own will. He only does the will of him who sent him, not simply yielding to do his will. You understand the difference, right? But joyfully desiring to do his will and submitting to do his will. And for the glory of God, the Lord presses on toward his day of Calvary. All of this truth has implication for you and I. When you consider these things, we are to consider these things and then to consider our lives. We're to consider how we die daily. He hates his life in this world. We'll keep it for all eternity. Whoever loves his life in this world is gonna lose his life. He's gonna lose his life to perdition. Look at verse 28. All this has implications for us and for those standing there that day as the Lord said this. Verse 28, the second half of verse 28. Then a voice came from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Therefore, verse 29, the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said an angel has spoken to him. Now Jesus answered and said, this voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. These words come to you today. They've come to me in my study this week for my sake, for your sake. So I'm studying this this week and this is for me. I need this, brothers and sisters, you need it too. We need these words. These words have come for our sake. Let them sink in. What's the implication of this for us? The prayer of the Son for the glory of God's name is audibly here answered from heaven. There's only two other places where this happens, audibly from God. One happens at his baptism, the beginning of his ministry. One happens at the transfiguration and then it happens here again in John chapter 12. All three are attestations or affirmations of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what he has come to do. At his baptism, he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. At his transfiguration, he is displayed or attested to by God as God the Son, God in the flesh. He is deity, he is divine, right? Here in John chapter 12, it attests to what's about to come, about to what's about to be said. It attests to what's about to be done. Now there were two groups of people here and neither group knew what was said. One group maybe more inclined to dismiss the supernatural, thought it was a noise, thought it was a weather event, a thunder, right? They thought they heard thunder. Others, the other group knew it was a voice. They knew it was a voice. They knew it was supernatural. So they suspected that maybe an angel had spoken to him. Jesus on the spot says it was a voice in verse 30. And then he said something very interesting considering the fact that they don't know at that time what the voice said. He says in verse 30, Jesus answered and said, this voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. Now, if you think about that for a moment, how did the voice come for their sake if they didn't know what the voice had said? How could it be for their benefit? Well, one, put yourself in their shoes, okay? Consider for a moment, this is a voice out of heaven. How often does that happen? Is that gonna have an impact on you if you hear an audible voice out of heaven? Now if you hear that within your own mind, but if you're around a bunch of people and a bunch of people and you hear a voice out of heaven, it's pretty powerful, okay? Supernatural. It's a powerful, here, a powerful attestation of Christ, who Christ is and what Christ has come to do. It's a powerful affirmation. They should be listening to him. What he has just prayed, Father, glorify your name is answered audibly out of heaven. Who is this man, right? Who's this guy? That should be powerful proof of Jesus' deity, but also powerful exhortation to those people to listen to what he's about to say. Pay extremely close attention to what's about to come. Secondly, if you read this in the Gospel of John, we read it today on this side, on our side of the cross. Put yourself in the context of those disciples on that side of the cross. They're trying to make sense of all this, right? They, like other Jews, had probably expected in their heart and mind that a conquering king would come and they're trying to wrap their hearts and minds around the fact that he's going to suffer, that he's going to be beaten, that he is going to die, and then this thought of him being raised from the dead, it's just not all making sense right now. It's not all clear. After all of that happens, can you imagine, right? After all of that happens, and the disciples are now on this side of the cross, looking back at those events, I'm sure having great need, great need to make sense of it all for it to be clear to them what's happening. And so this statement, you know, if you go to John 14, you remember that Jesus Christ sends the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is going to bring to their remembrance everything that had happened and why it had happened. It's going to make sense of them. This statement would have been remembered by the disciples. They would have thought about this event where that voice came out of heaven and then what the Lord Jesus Christ said that it meant. It would have helped them. It would have been reassuring to them. They had lived through the agony of the cross in their own way. And this would have been helpful for them to make sense of it all. But also this voice in John chapter 12 has now been inscripturated for us. We didn't hear it audibly, but we can hear it from God's word, amen? So, lest we be man centered in our theology, lest we think that love for man trumps all else, lest you think with the hymn writer that he thought of me above all, right? Unless you think that all of this is about man, we see God's response to the Lord's prayer in verse 28, Father, glorify your name. Even now, all of this, our redemption, the ransom that was paid, and even now the lives we once lived that had been crucified with Christ and the lives we now live by faith in the Son of God should be lived ultimately and entirely for the glory of God, for the Son of God who died and gave himself for me. All of this is so that God would glorify his name. He both has glorified it in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ at this point, and he will glorify it at the cross. And listen, he will glorify it in you if you're a blood-bought believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be glorified. We must live for the glory of God. You know, speaking of this salvation, speaking of this new covenant that's been given in Ezekiel 36, God says this, listen to what God says in Ezekiel 36. He says in verse 22, therefore say to the house of Israel, he's telling the prophet, preach to the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord God. He says, I don't do this for your sake. Oh, house of Israel. But why? You remember? For my holy name's sake, God says. Well, listen, this is the new covenant. This is the new covenant that's been purchased in Christ's blood. Christ went to the cross and purchased this salvation. And God says, I didn't do it for your name. I didn't do it for your sake. But for my holy name, for my sake, I did it, God says. He says, I've done it for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And he says, and I will sanctify, I will set apart my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. And the nation shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in your eyes. His name will be glorified. His name will be hallowed. Now, think about that from Ezekiel 36. How will his name be hallowed in you and I? How do we hallow the Lord's name? How do we glorify his name? For God, God says there in Ezekiel that he's going to bring us to himself. He's going to cleanse us and forgive us. He's gonna give us a new heart. He's going to give us his spirit. And then he says something very interesting, and you will keep my judgments and do them. That's how God is hallowed in our eyes. Have you ever seen, I'm sure you have. It's a dime it does, it happens all the time, right? Football team comes out in the middle of the field and everybody gets in a big circle and they pray the Lord's prayer. They say the Lord's prayer, right? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. You see, right? Every sport after, you know, before some drama performance, before some godless rock band comes on stage, I mean, whatever, you name the event, right? People come together and they, like some heartless, mindless ritual, they recite the Lord's prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. That hallowed there, that hallowed be your name, that word presupposes the obedience and the holiness of the one praying that prayer. How is he hallowed? He's hallowed in your holiness, in your devotion, in your obedience, in your worship, in your reverence, in your fear, in your godly fear of God. That's how God is hallowed in your sight, in your eyes. God is hallowed before you, in your eyes, through your obedience. So next time you see a group of football players, it's like, that's why there are some sick and some who sleep. It's like, there's no concern for the glory and holiness of God's name. He is hallowed, he is glorified in our obedience to Him. That's how we worship Him in the beauty of holiness. That's how we worship Him in the beauty of holiness. That considering all that Christ has done for us, considering all of this, our primary concern, our primary concern must be living for His glory. Glorify your name in us, God. Now what lengths of obedience would you go to if you desired the same thing as Christ? What lengths of obedience would you go to? What if you desired in the same way, to the same degree? Don't you love the Lord in at least some similar way? Right? Over the Lord on the beach with Peter. Restoring Peter after his betrayal. And Lord says, Peter, if you love me, ask him three times. If you love me, if you love me, Lord, you know I love you. You know I love you. Peter, thinking in his heart and mind, how imperfect, how weak that love is. But Peter's devotion was to the Lord. These things should motivate us. It's these thoughts, these truths, these realities that should motivate us. Listen, if you can't be motivated by these things, you can't be motivated. I can't preach you into it. A brother can't come by and knock you over the head with his Bible and get you to do it. You've got to be moved and motivated by these truths. These are the greatest truths imaginable. You know, it's that motivation, right? It's that motivation, that desire. If you want to live for the Lord, you want to live for His glory. It's that desire that initiates the war, right? And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you need to get saved. That desire, it initiates the battle. And that battle, that war is one of the indications you're likely a Christian. We go to war, we go to war against the flesh, we go to war against the world. But listen, if you stop battling, if you stop waging war, then remember your motivation. Consider Him who endured such hostility against Himself with the hands of wicked sinners like you and I. Consider Him, let's you become weary, let's you become discouraged in your soul. And fight, fight. You fight in your own strength? No, praise God, He gives you His Spirit so that He can fight through you, fight in you. Now you've got to fight. Don't sit back and just fight in me, God. You've got to fight. But that fight, that war, that battle, it's a war for faithfulness, it's a war for holiness, it's a war against your flesh, it's a war against the devil, this world. But it's a war that marks that you're truly in Him. You've got to fight and the Lord will strengthen you. He is victorious already, amen. The primary concern of Christ is the glory of God. Our primary concern must be the glory of God. But the primary means by which that glory is affected is His perfect obedience. And a primary way by which it is affected in the lives of believers is our own obedience. But next, I want you to see the primary way in which the glory of God is then unleashed. I want you to see the primary way in which the glory of God is then displayed. It's primary effect. The implications of God's statement are now made clear. Look at verse 31. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, the Lord says, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself. This he said, signifying by what death he would die. All right, now there is judgment and there is grace. There is judgment and there is grace. God will glorify His name through both. There will be an eschatological and then times judgment coming for this world. But here it is in verse 31. Here it is at this hour in which this judgment, in this hour, this judgment is won. And it's won by Christ. The victory is won. Now, there are four ways given here in which God will glorify His name. And I think the order here is important, all right? First comes the judgment of this world. The judgment of this world. The judgment really began with the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and it climaxes at the cross and then it's fully and finally executed in that day, the day of the Lord, all right? The world here, the judgment of this world refers to all those in rebellion against God. This is a definitive statement. Judgment is a reality. The world has already been judged. That's why I think it's important that it comes first. You were conceived, all right? At that point in time, when you were conceived, you were a person. You're not a blob of flesh, right? You're a person, you're a human life. God put into you a spirit, the breath of life you live. You became a living being. When you were conceived, you're a person. You were conceived in sin. You inherited a sin nature from your father, Adam. You were conceived in sin. When you were born, you started sinning in accord with that nature. If your buddy looks at a baby pitch a temper tantrum, you know we sin from our birth, all right? You began to sin. You are in rebellion against God. You're in rebellion against God from the mode of your conception. You must be saved. You're judged already. Here at this hour, the judgment of the world has come. The Lord Jesus Christ secured that judgment by going to the cross. That means right now as you sit here, if you're not in Christ, you are judged already. Doesn't the Lord say that in John chapter three, he that does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is condemned already. He's condemned already, why? Because he has not believed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. You're judged already. The destruction of this world was sealed at the crucifixion of Christ. The Jews believe that they were judging Christ on the cross. In fact, Jesus Christ was judging them at the cross. The world judges the cross to be foolishness when in fact this world was judged by that cross. The verdict has been rendered. The sentence has been handed down. This world is now on death row and it's a waiting execution. And if you're a part of this world, if you have not come out of this world, out of your sin, away from your sin, right? Stop living for yourself. If you've not come out of this world and come to Christ by faith in him, by turning from your sin, then you are a part of this world and you're on death row with it, awaiting your execution. The only way to avoid this judgment is to repent and to believe in the gospel, to turn from your sin. Stop trusting yourself, doing your own thing. Stop it. Trust Christ alone. Abandon your sin, abandon living life for yourself and abandon yourself to him and trust yourself to him and him alone. You do that, and the Lord says that you can be saved. D.A. Carson said this. There can be no further reprieve. There can be no further hope, no further help. For there can be no hope for those who reject the one person whose death and exaltation is the epiphany of God's gracious saving self-disclosure. Jesus Christ is it, folks. You don't turn from your sin to Christ, you have no hope. You leave these doors today and you don't abandon your life to Christ. You can leave that door and you can go to hell the next minute. There is no other hope. There is no other way. It is Jesus Christ alone. The judgment of this world has already taken place. Secondly, the ruler of this world is cast out. Who's that? That's Satan. Right, the prince of the power of the air. The cross may look like a victory for Satan to many. In fact, it is actually his defeat. Judgment comes to Satan, but that's a grace to us, isn't it? You see judgment and grace together at the cross. Satan is judged, this world is judged, but that's grace that's mercy to us who are in Christ. Jesus was enthroned on the cross. Satan was dethroned at the cross. Flip the page and look at John chapter 14. John chapter 14, and drop down to verse 29. Drop down to verse 29. You gotta listen faster. John chapter, I find myself talking faster. Verse 29, and now I've told you before, before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me. You see, I love that, he's got nothing on me, right? The Lord Jesus Christ is saying that ruler has been cast out but that the world may know that I love the Father and as the Father gave me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here. The ruler of this world has been cast out. This is, there's an already not yet aspect to all of this judgment, right? The victory's already been won. The judgment has already been inaugurated but there is a not yet aspect of this. There's a point in time where this is going to be fully and finally executed. Look at Revelation quickly, Revelation chapter 12 with me. Revelation chapter 12. All of this is effected at the cross and then executed at the last day. Revelation chapter 12, look at verse seven. All right, this is at the end. Verse seven, war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought but they did not prevail nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out. That serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. This is just a full, the final execution of what has already been determined. He is a vanquished foe. He's fighting from death row. All right, that I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the point of death. You see that? You see that what these truths do what they present, how they're to motivate us. They did not love their lives to the point of death. Verse 12, therefore rejoice, oh heavens and you who dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time. He has on a short leash. That time is running out. Satan is in this world, right? Now running around like a chicken that's got his head cut off. All right, that's essentially, he's been cast down. His head has been lopped off. He's running around doing some damage now but his time is short. That time is running out, all right? Back in John chapter 12. Rule of this world cast out, this world judged. Thirdly, Jesus will be lifted up from the earth. He will be lifted up. If I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all peoples to myself. This means his crucifixion. Jesus won't be cast down like Satan is. Jesus will be lifted up. He'll be lifted up. Similar to the serpent in the wilderness. We looked at that in John. If you looked to that bronze serpent you could be saved from the serpent's bite, all right? If you look to Christ in repentant faith you can be saved from judgment, saved from God's wrath, saved from your sin. It has a sense here, this lifting up also of his exaltation. They certainly understood what he meant by lifted up. They knew that meant the cross but it also has a sense here of his exaltation. We won't turn there but if you want to read on your own Isaiah 52. In Isaiah 52 you see the sacrifice of the suffering servant at the same time that you see his exaltation in that sacrifice. The powerful display of his exaltation seen in the suffering of the cross. Lastly, John chapter 12 here he'll draw all men to himself. Not to his cross but to himself. Not every person without exception. We know that not all people go to hell. It's all kinds of men here without distinction. Meaning Jews, meaning Gentiles, meaning every tribe, every tongue, every nation. Those who hate their life in this world, right from verse 25. The word draw here is the word Elko. It's a word used of dragging a heavy object. Now for the Lord to drag you to the cross. You can relate to that, can't you? You're a heavy object to drag. You had to be dragged to the cross. Salvation happens as we are drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me drags him, draws him. Same word and I will raise him up on the last day. Sin is so crippling. Your sin so devastating, so deathly that we are said to be dead in our trespasses. And it takes the power of God to draw wicked sinners to himself if we're to be saved. This is grace. This is grace. You have judgment, but you have tremendous wonder working, powerful grace. Unlike all the stipulations of the old covenant, all men now may come freely to Christ by faith alone and Christ alone to be saved. The coming of the Greeks in verse 20 again is an affirmation of this. Not all men go to heaven. They have to be saved. They must come to Christ in repentant faith. Many people are offended by that. They're offended by the thought of the cross. They're offended by the judgment at the cross levels against their sin. But from the same cross, the Son of God in grace will draw many to himself to be saved. You gotta preach the cross. And you have to preach all the implications of the cross. You must preach to sinners the law, the judgment of the cross, and you preach to sinners the grace of God in Christ at the cross, the judgment and grace. That's why we preach Christ in him crucified. It's the stumbling block of the Jews to be sure, certainly foolishness to most people, but to those who are the called of God, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Amen. God's glory displayed through the cross of Christ. Now quickly, what does all this mean for us? The primary implication, the primary implication, walk in grace or walk in judgment. Lord gives us here warnings and commands. Heed the word of the Lord. An audible voice from heaven attested to him in miraculous fashion. Heed the warnings of Christ implicit in the text. Look at verse 34. The people answered him. We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. And how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? This is not exactly an innocent question, all right? The people obviously understand the reference to his death because they thought that Christ would remain forever. So they obviously understand that Christ is talking about his death. They understand that he's claiming to be the Messiah because they use the title Christ to address him in the question. The question that is using, they're using the same terminology that he used. The Son of Man must be lifted up. Essentially what they're asking is what kind of Christ are you talking about? We were expecting a conquering King. This is not what we're looking for. What kind of Son of Man? Who is this Son of Man? What kind of Christ? What kind of Messiah are you talking about here? The reason they questioned here, the reason for the question is because they have a misplaced hope. They have a misplaced hope. They wanted a conquering King. So what's all this about a suffering and dying sacrifice? They wanted him on their own terms. They certainly did not want him on the terms that he was presenting. Misplaced hope, misplaced desires. Listen, man-centered. Not about the glory of God, but the glory of what they're gonna get out of it. Their own glory. It's a man-centered life. It deserves a man-deserved judgment. Many people today say they believe in Christ and yet they're living for their own glory. They don't understand their depravity. They don't understand their need. And so they have an idolatrous priority for their own good, their own glory, their own selves. A false, empty hope. The desire for Christ is merely a means to glorify themselves. They're more concerned about just placating a guilty conscience, making themselves feel better about their sin. And in some overt circles, they want health or they want wealth. They want prosperity. They want the new red truck. They wanna, you know, well, all they can get for themselves. Maybe they wanna uphold the notion that they really are a good person. And they show that by just showing up at church every now and then. Maybe they feel oppressed by the government. Maybe some people feel oppressed by white people. Some feel oppressed by black people. I feel oppressed by this group or that group. I feel oppressed by the government. Just rescue from oppression like they were under the Romans. Maybe their real attraction is fellowship. Just get together the community, the people, right? The emotional praise, the emotional worship, the emotional experience of it all, the music. Are you one of these people? Are you one of these people that have some motive in coming to Christ that serves your own glory and not the glory of God? What is that? If you're living entirely for His glory, you're denying yourself. If you're living for His glory, you are taking up your cross and you're dying daily. If you're living for His glory, you're fighting the battle. You're waging war, right? You're abandoning your will to His. And you know, if you're not doing that, you know if you're not doing that. You're holding onto some pleasure, holding onto some preference, holding onto whatever trinket from this life that you've got your hand gripped around. You're called to live for God's glory alone, not your own. We're to hope only in Him. Jesus doesn't directly answer their question. He doesn't answer their question, but He graciously instructs them. Look at verse 35. Jesus said to them, a little while longer, the light is with you. Walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he's going. While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. We summarize verses 35 and 36. We see warnings and we see commands, all right? The warnings, time is short. Time is short. Time is short. The crowds need to put their faith in Him now while the light is with them. It won't be any easier when the light is taken away and they find themselves in total darkness. That's for you today as well. It's not gonna be any easier when you walk out the doors. Doesn't get any easier on Monday morning, Tuesday morning, Wednesday afternoon. Walk with Him now. Decide for Him, choose Him. Do whatever you gotta do. Resolve yourself now while you have the light with you. While you have light, you'll walk and there'll be darkness and the darkness will overtake you. Secondly, the darkness is coming. The darkness is coming. The darkness is coming and it can overtake you. Walk while you have the light, less darkness overtake you. You're never gonna find Him in the dark. You're never gonna find Him in the dark and God may judge you with a judicial abandonment. It's interesting at the end of this that the light was hidden from them. He withdrew himself. He did exactly what he was saying here. He depicted in his own withdrawing from them the very judgment that he's illustrating here for them. That comes also in verses 35 and 36 with commands. First command is implied in the text. It's respond with urgency. Respond with urgency. Your soul is destined for judgment unless you turn. Unless you turn, so respond now. But then he says, respond with action. He says walk, walk while you have the light. That's an imperative. It's a command from the Lord. He's saying walk, respond with action. Walk, do something, follow the Lord. Turn from your sin, trust Him. Walk while you have the light. He says to respond with faith. In verse 36, while you have the light, believe. Listen, while you have light, while right now you're hearing light. Walk and believe. Walk and believe. That's a Christian life. Amen. Walk and believe. Trust and obey. Follow and believe in Him. Obey Him, trust Him. Trust Him, obey Him. Follow Him. Walk after Him. Respond with urgency. Respond now and respond by walking while you have the light and believing while you have the light. Verse 36, the end of that. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them. By His withdrawal, the Lord is acting out the judicial warning that He's just pronounced against them. And this action sets up just staggering unbelief profiled in the next few verses. In chapter 12, verse 37, many do not believe. In chapter 12, verse 42, many believe, but they truly don't, right? Because they want the praise of man more than the praise of God. Even after His triumphal entry, where so many hailed Him as the Messiah. What will you do, right? What will you do? How will you respond? You're here today, you've never turned to Christ. What are you gonna do? Light has been given to you from God's word. Will you turn at His reproof? Will you turn from your sin and be saved? Be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. Live for Christ. Because this world you living for yourself, it's short. That time's gonna end. Darkness is gonna overtake you. It's not something that you can just do willy-nilly whenever you think about it, whenever you think you might want to. Listen, God has to draw you. And if He's drawing you right now at the preaching of His word, respond in repentance and faith, because there may come a time when He doesn't draw you any longer. And He judicially abandons you to your sin. Will you be judged with this world? Or will you respond with an obedient faith through His grace? Walk in the light. Brothers and sisters, listen. We have the greatest motivations. Be motivated. Be moved by these truths, right? For the glory of God. Live your life to the fullest possible means. For the glory of God. Heart, soul, mind, and strength for Him. Right? For the glory of God. Let's pray. Father in heaven, Lord, thank you for our time together. Thank you for your word. I pray, God, that you would glorify your great name in us. I may you have your way in our hearts, in our minds. We might live faithfully for you, fervently for you, worshiping you for your glory. All glory, honor, and power be to your name forever. We love you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.