The Gospel of John
John 12:27–43
The Son of Man Must be Lifted Up &
The Unbelief of the People
Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passages of Scripture. Reread them. From memory, determine the central points.
- Following the Triumphal Entry, large crowds were singing Hosanna with Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus had something utterly different on His mind however: He was “troubled.”
- He sees the coming betrayal, humiliation, and crucifixion that is just days ahead. It is imagined that He is speaking to some segment of the Passover celebrants and perhaps mostly, to His close followers. Then a voice from heaven with the most uplifting message possible is heard.
- Jesus announces the coming judgment, the judging of sin, and the undoing of the “ruler of this world.” Immediately He announces that He will be “lifted up” and His hearers would understand that Jesus was saying He would be placed on a cross.
- He harkens back to His previous claim that He is the light of the world, and that light, for the majority, will be overtaken by darkness. He urges His hearers to believe in the light, and those who do He refers to sons of light, which is a profound and difficult concept.
- At this point, with high excitement in the air, Jesus hides Himself from the crowds., and likely accompanied by the Twelve.
- John, the author of the Gospel, states what can be considered astonishment, that though so many had either witnessed or heard of incredible signs and wonders Jesus had done, still they mostly remained in unbelief as to the nature of this young man from Galilee.
- John understands that this unbelief had been predicted by the prophet Isaiah. He quotes Isaiah 53:1 that states that despite revelation there was no faith, and then Isaiah 6:10 where the prophet shows God as blinding eyes and hardening hearts.
- The writer of the Gospel then explains that Isaiah saw the glory of the future Messiah. There was spiritual blindness but still many, and even of the religious authorities, many did believe that Jesus was who He said He was. However, they did not let on to their faith publically lest then be excluded from their community of faith.
- John then explains that these “loved the glory that comes form man more than the glory that comes from God.”