Easter 2024 – Thunder

Joke:   Satan went up to God and said, “I can’t beat Jesus at much of anything, but I’m pretty sure that I can beat him typing on computers.  So will you set up a contest between us to see once and for all who is the best?”

God reluctantly agrees. He sets up two computers exactly the same and says, “Okay, I want each of you to write a 500 word essay on why you believe you are the best at computers. Then I want you to print out 5 copies so me and a few other angels can judge.”

Satan and Jesus both sit down and start their work. About 15 minutes in, there is a lightning strike and the power goes out. Once the power is back up, Jesus finishes his work and hands in his 5 pages. Satan is just sitting there wondering how in he was able to finish after the lights went out. He started to complain. He said, “Jesus cheated! The lights went out! There’s no way he could have started over and beat me!”

God looked down at him and said, “Haven’t you heard? Jesus saves.”

—————————————————————————————

Easter 2024 – week 5 – God’s Voice In The Thunder:  It Feels Like Something’s About To Happen

Thunderstorms. . .some are deathly afraid of them others love them.

Either way, there is something about that sound of thunder that says, “Something big is coming.”

Show video skitguys thunder

Let me ask you. . .

If you go to a movie with your spouse, on a date or with friends. . .do you need to be in the seat before the trailers begin?  Is the “coming attractions” part of the movie going experience for you?

Do you remember sitting in school and seeing the first snowflakes of the year.  As a kid you were like. . .Yes Christmas is coming!

Maybe you get excited over the sound of one page of the calendar being torn away leaving the brand new month front and center?

Oh maybe your like this guy.  This is Jim Cantore with the weather channel.   Show YouTube video.  

 Now that’s a guy that loves his job.

But what if the thunder is not in the distance.  What if the storm starts right where you are?

Pause lean in close like you are listening for something. Let the silence hang, then in your loudest voice shout BA DA BOOOOOOOOM!!!!

There’s a moment in the scriptures just like that.  Jesus is talking about his death.  He has hinted at it before but this time he’s saying it outright.  So the words are “I’m going to die.”

The scriptures say Jesus said, “My soul is troubled but. . .”

What does a person’s voice sound like who has a troubled soul?

The words being said are “My soul is troubled. . .” but the event itself is thunder.

I love how the scriptures say some people heard thunder, others heard the voice of God and some said the angels were speaking to them.

And in the Scripture we will be looking at Jesus talks about wheat.  His audience is primarily farmers and people who work the land.  They know about seed pods.

It’s kind of like blowing on a dandelion.

Or better yet, think about a piñata.  Until the piñata is broken it hasn’t really served it’s purpose yet.

Once you blow on the dandelion, once your break open the pinata. . .It’s not going back.  Ever.

This is Jesus in a not-going-back moment.

He tells them about light.

And one light in a dark room changes the room.  If the lights in your house go off in the thunderstorm what’s the first thing you do?

Now years ago and I know some of you are not going to believe this but we had these things called flashlights now all we do is whip out your phone since we probably are using it when the power went out at the least we have it close by so we grab it because most of them have a flashlight built in.   But after that what’s the first thing you look for?

More lights.

You find the candles or other flashlights.  You change the room with one light. It’s not a dark room anymore.

And hear this church  Jesus is the light.  We no longer walk around in darkness.   He is the light unto,our path.  You can close your eyes and bump into things but that doesn’t make it a dark room. There’s light.

Some heard the thunder.  Some did not.

So what kind of church are we going to be?  The light is already here. Jesus was the light and he calls everyone who came to see him “Children of light.”  This room. . .this world, it’s not dark anymore.  Our job is to be light.

We are children of the Light.

So, Let it shine.  Let it shine.  Let it shine.

In every good story there is that moment when it feels like something is about to happen.  The characters have been developed.  The plot has been established.  And then the tension has built to a point where the audience knows that something is about to unfold.

In our text today from John 12 this is the way the audience feels.

The time is during the week of Passover and Jesus has been watching the crowd of people from all over the countryside and beyond make their way into Jerusalem and to the Temple to celebrate.

There was a special sense of electricity and anticipation in the air because the whole crowd who was in town had been buzzing about Jesus’ actions in recent days.  This one from Galilee had cleansed the Temple and made the Court of the Gentiles free from the chaos that had taken up residence on the inside of what was intended to be designated as the entrance to holy ground.  He drove out the animals and those scamming the people coming to worship and pay their Temple tax.  Of a certainty, Jesus had caused quite an uproar as we saw in John 2.

Then a few chapters later the Son of God really gave them good gossip to spread among the Jerusalem countryside. He had just raised his friend Lazarus from the dead in John 11 and that type of news will spread like wildfire among the people

His popularity had risen among the Jews and Gentiles alike.  What was Jesus about to do next if he had no fear of the religious leaders in the Temple and if death was not an issue for him to overcome with a word to his deceased friend now alive and well again?

What would it be like to sit down face to face with him and have a conversation?  Unless they asked for some time with the Lord, these Greeks who had come into town to worship and celebrate the Passover might not know.  And it never hurts to ask.  So they did.

What would start as an invitation to Jesus from some Greeks would quickly turn into a response about death and what was about to happen in the coming days.

So, let’s look at the story starting with verse 20 reading through verse 33. . .

John 12:20–33 (NIV): Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince 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 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Scholars differ about the actual location this part of Jesus’ story took place.  They agree it was in Jerusalem; but where in Jerusalem?  Was it in a home?  Was it on the street?  Perhaps it was in the Temple.  We just do not know for certain.  What we do know is that Greek men wanted to try and have some face time with Jesus.

Perhaps it was indeed inside the Temple borders.  Jesus, a Jewish man, could have been located in a place that was off limits to Greeks and other non-Jews.  Perhaps these Greek men saw Philip, a disciple with a fellow Greek name, walking through the Court of the Gentiles where both Jew and Greek would have been allowed.  Perhaps these Greek men were so thankful that Jesus had cleaned up this outer part of the Temple in the Court of Gentiles where they finally could attempt to worship in peace that they just wanted an audience with the one who had such power to overthrow and clean up such a corrupt system of religious rituals and merchants.

So the Greek men approach Philip who in turn approaches Andrew who in turn seeks out Jesus to bring forth their request for an audience.

And as we just read verse 20 it begins by saying. . .

John 12:20–22 (NIV): Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. If Jesus declined, they were no worse for wear.  But if he said, “Yes,” then what might the next moments of their lives be in store for on that day?

So they made the request and then waited for his disciples to relay the message. While Jesus listened to this request by two of his disciples on behalf of these Greek men, Jesus responds with words that added weightiness to the moment.

In a sense, these Greeks just want to have coffee and Jesus starts talking about his impending death through agricultural metaphors.

Let’s read on. . .

John 12:23–28 (NIV): Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

It is difficult to imagine how Jesus could have been able to keep his emotions in check knowing what was quickly approaching him.

His glory would come not first with a crown, but with a cross.  The time was at hand.  His hour had come.  The moment was upon him that he had left the majesty and worship of heaven for three decades earlier.

All hell was about to break loose on his life so that all heaven might be experienced by those who would ever call him their Lord.  The only way for such things to unfold is for his life to be as the single kernel of wheat that falls into the ground and dies.  When it does, such a sacrificial death produces much fruit.

Jesus tells his friends that the condition of his soul at such a consequential thought is “troubled.”  The verb “troubled” is from the word tarasso which means literally “to shake” or “to stir up.”

It is used in a context that implies a strong or severe mental and spiritual agitation that disrupts one on the inside.

Jesus uses the verb in the perfect tense which means this was something that he was dealing with on the inside as an ongoing struggle at the thought of what was on his horizon.

He could not quit thinking about what was about to happen to him and all the pain and anguish that was about to fall upon him.  He who knew no sin was about to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God.

The great exchange was about to take place as the innocent one might become guilty so that the guilty might become innocent.

Jesus was not on his way to the cross and He was shaken to the core and stirred emotionally at the enormity of what was about to happen.

Yet, he was keenly aware that this is what he came to earth to accomplish in the first place.  His hour was at hand.  He had come to die.  And this death of the perfect one would bring great glory to the Father who had sent him to rescue humanity from sin, death, Satan and hell.

And so he moved forward to the cross with deliberate steps of destiny that would lead to our eternal security in the coming days.

Concerning this hour leading to Jesus’ death, biblical scholar John MacArthur writes. . . “Of all the truths in the Christian faith, the death of Jesus Christ, accompanied by His resurrection, is the most precious.  Had he not died, there would be no substitute for sin.  Were there no substitute, there would be no offer of salvation.  Were there no salvation, there would be no hope.   And were there no hope, there would be no future but hell.”

Yes, it was Jesus’ death that was about to happen.  And his death was the hour that he had come to live for in the first place.  His death is what had been foretold by the prophets of old.

Even though Israel did not comprehend it, the Old Testament clearly portrays that the Messiah was to come and to die.

Let’s look at some of these places in the Old Testament that speak of the Messiah’s death and the details that would surround it.

Zechariah 12:10 (NIV): 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit  of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

Psalm 41:9 foretells of his betrayer.

Psalm 41:9 (NIV): Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.

Again in Zechariah 11 it speaks of the price paid to betray the Messiah.

Zechariah 11:12–13 (NIV): 12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

Isaiah 50:6 tells of the physical abuse Christ would suffer at his trial.

Isaiah 50:6 (NIV): 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

Psalm 22:6-8 and 14-18 speaks of Christ’s death by crucifixion which I might add at the time it was written was a form of execution that the Jews found to be foreign.

Psalm 22:6–8 (NIV): But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

And then jumping down to verse 14 we read. . .

Psalm 22:14–18 (NIV): 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce  my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

Psalm 69:21 tells us what would unfold for Jesus on the cross when they tried to give him something to drink to help with his thirst.

Psalm 69:21 (NIV): 21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

Psalm 31:5 give the words that Jesus would say on the cross before he breathed his last.

Psalm 31:5 (NIV): Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

Psalm 34:20 depicts that none of the Messiah’s bones would be broken at his death.

Psalm 34:20 (NIV): he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

And let me pause here to explain this. . .(talk about it)

And probably the most well-known and referenced Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah’s death is found in Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 it’s known as the Suffering Servant passages.

Isaiah 52:13–15 (NIV): See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him— his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness—15 so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand

Jumping to chapter 53

Isaiah 53:1–12 (NIV): Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,  and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

All of these Old Testament prophecies and so many more I didn’t share are what caused Jesus to be troubled in his soul.

He was now approaching the hour when all that had been foretold would come to fruition in his own life.

As much as he would have liked to have had the Father remove the cup from in front of him, Jesus knew it was for this very hour that he had come on this mission of redemption and rescue in the first place.    That’s why in the gospels as he was praying he said not my will but thine be done.

No cross of suffering would mean no crown of glory.  And it was for the glory of God that Jesus was most interested.

Let’s continue in John. . .

John 12:28–30 (NIV): Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.

Jesus was locked in to the mission at hand.  He already had his Father’s approval and had heard him speak both at his baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Those moments when the voice of God thundered were to bolster the soul of Jesus; however, this thundering voice from heaven in John 12 was for the benefit of those who would watch the events on the horizon unfold.

Still, at this point in the story they did not know what to expect in full.

Even though Jesus had told them plainly in previous conversations what would take place, those present just felt like something was about to happen even if they could not articulate what it was.

And they were right. . .something was about to happen.

John 12:31–33 (NIV): Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince 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 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Jesus wraps up this message to the invitation to meet with the Greeks by speaking of the events about to happen.

Satan was about to be cast out as Jesus spoke of his own approaching death on the cross.

His death was the primary purpose of the incarnation, the constant theme of his teaching, and was the central subject of apostolic preaching.

Without the cross, any gospel preached is not a true gospel.  For it was the cross that led to the rescue and the fulfillment of all that Jesus came to do: save his people from their sins.

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (NIV): Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

And then looking in Chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians. . .

1 Corinthians 1:17–18 (NIV): For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The beauty behind these words spoken in reference to the Greeks’ invitation to “see Jesus” is that all that was about to happen was to include not only Jews, but also Gentiles for all generations to come.

As Jesus spoke about the seed falling into the earth and dying to  produce more fruit, he was talking about a wider harvest of people from all nations, tribes, and races that would belong in the family of God reaching far beyond the borders of Israel and the Jews.

Jesus saw these Greeks as the first among many who soon would have access into the family of God.

All this would be made possible only by his death on the cross.

And what was about to happen in the years to follow would be a remembrance of his death as the church celebrates the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Both represent the death of Christ and the life that can be experienced for all who put their faith, hope and trust in Jesus.

So much was about to happen at this point in the story found in John 12.

However, the walk to the cross still had to take place as this sacrificial lamb would be slain once and for all that would cause a celebration of thanksgiving and hope greater than any could anticipate at the time.

Jesus knew it all was about to happen.  Those close to him on that day just felt like something was about to happen.  They could not have been more right!