Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Reading from John 12. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We would like life to be simple, with a minimum of troubles. In fact, much of what we do and purchase is to minimize our troubles. This gets to the heart of reality – what is pleasant and what is unpleasant, and what is unpleasant by its very nature is to be avoided. This would make perfect sense in a perfect world. But we do not live in a perfect world.
- Sin has skewed all of this. Now, what should be unpleasant – sin and evil, actually feels quite normal, even pleasant, at least to us, when we are the ones indulging our sin. And what should be pleasant – all good and decency, often seems quite unpleasant to us, difficult and burdensome. And of course we have to endure the sin of others – which is generally unpleasant to us.
- Acknowledging the reality of this is acknowledging that life in this fallen world of sin is troubled, and that “THE TROUBLE IS REAL.”
- We like to think of God as being above the trouble, and not really personally bothered by it. Of course He is above sin, and of course He could be above all of the trouble – if only He didn’t care, if only He didn’t love. But it is the very nature of love that it picks up and absorbs the troubles of others. And God is love.
- We would also like to think that because Jesus is God He must have been above the trouble and suffering that He endured in His life of redemption, His mission of mercy. However, just the opposite is the case. In that God is real and completely genuine, He experiences the troubles and pain of sin much more poignantly than we do. And we must remember that Jesus suffered for all sins, the guilt and punishment warranted and deserved by every single human being who has ever lived or ever will live. So “THE TROUBLE IS REAL” for Jesus also, and it should not surprise us that:
I. Even Jesus’ Soul Was Troubled By The Cost Of Mankind’s Redemption
Text: “My soul is troubled.”
A. The Desire For Life And Self-Preservation And Comfort Seeks The Easy Way
Text: “What shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour?”
B. But The Goal And Purpose Of Christ’s Coming – To Save All Of Mankind From Sin, Death, And Hell – Was Far Too Great And Important To Indulge The Way Of Ease And Self-Preservation
Text: “But for this cause I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name.”
Statement: We can understand this – although we struggle to appreciate and embrace it. There are times when we are called upon to do something that is really important, really good, and really loving, that is going to be very costly to our comfort and ease, and perhaps even contrary to our sense of self-preservation. We struggle, and look for a way out, for some other way to resolve the problem. But there are times – thankfully few and far between – when we must choose between self-preservation and personal benefit and well-being, or sacrifice and loss. We can at least have sense of what Jesus was facing, His dilemma.
Application: Though we often fail to make the noble and sacrificial decision – even in relatively small matters, we can be thankful that this was not the case with Jesus. What God so loved the world that He was willing to do, give us His Son, Jesus was also willing to do – to lay down His life in bitter suffering and death for our sin, so that we might be saved. And we must grasp that all of this was very real for Jesus – “THE TROUBLE WAS REAL” and His love for us is real. In all of this, God’s Name is glorified – and whoever rejects this makes a horrible mistake, one that not only blasphemes God’s Name but forfeits the great good that Christ has done for him. And because of His great love for all, even in this “THE TROUBLE IS REAL.”
Transition: All human beings are presented with this existential choice – either to blaspheme God in unbelief, or to glorify God with faith. But those who come to faith in Jesus are brought into the troubles and difficulties of God, and “THE TROUBLE IS REAL.” For we are called to faith and discipleship, to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and this means trouble for us. So we must come to understand that:
II. Ultimately God’s Love, Purpose, And Glory Is What Matters Most
Text: “Father, glorify Your Name. Then there came a voice from the heaven saying, ‘I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
This pertained to Jesus’ suffering and death, and His glorious resurrection. Knowing this glory of God’s love, His redemption:
A. We Also Follow Jesus And Are Willing To Die Like Him
John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant shall be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
Matt. 16:24,25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, and whoever desires to lose his life for My sake shall find it.”
John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, the servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My saying, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
B. And Regardless Of The Cost, We Continue To Speak God’s Word To Others – Not For Our Sake, But For The Sake And Good Of Others
Text: “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sakes.”
Statement: So each day as disciples of Jesus we consider the blessings that we have received from God, the salvation that is ours in Christ Jesus, because of what He did for us in His great hour! Because of this we follow Him and speak His Word. And when the “hour” comes to us when we must decide and choose between sacrifice or comfort, hopefully we consider most what is at stake for others, and we do follow Jesus in laying down our lives for the good of others. And when we do so, we do so not for our own glory, but to glorify our Father’s Name, and Name of Jesus.
Application: There is no question that “THE TROUBLE IS REAL,” and there is no question that God’s love for us in real. Nor is there any question that just as Jesus was vindicated by the glorification of the Father’s Name, so also the Father will honor us and uphold us to the glory of His Name. He has promised; He will surely fulfill His promises to us, as He has already, and as Jesus has. And this is the power that enables us to follow Jesus when our “hour” comes to us.
Conclusion: Again, we’d like for life to be simple, easy, and with a minimum of trouble, pain, and sacrifice. Because of sin, life in this present fallen world will not be this way. We will have trouble, and “OUR TROUBLE IS REAL.”
But there are important and compelling reasons as to why we are faced with trouble, and why we too must be faithful and constant in the face of this trouble. There are crowds who are impacted also by what we say and do, and glory which must still come to the Father’s Name through us.
And then another day and hour will come when we will enter into our rest, and when the Lord Jesus will raise us up in His glory. Then there will be no more trouble, no more sorrow or tears, but only the perfect peace and joy of His glorious kingdom. For this, we are willing to endure and persevere. God grant it to us all! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.