The Whole World Has Gone After Him

Introduction: Black Hole: Event Horizon & Time Dilation

Reading John 12 this week had me thinking about black holes. Specifically the phenomena of the event horizon. We’ve reached the event horizon in John. The cross is the blackhole. There’s no escaping its necessity. And certain features in John 11-12 make this plain.

And you know, there’s another interesting feature of the event horizon. Time dilation. Objects appear to slow down… like really slow down… when caught up in the extreme gravitational pull of massive bodies.

The film Interstellar made a big thing out of this.

We see the same thing in John’s gospel. Chapter 1-11 cover years of Jesus’ life. John 12-21 cover about a week. I did a word count and John uses almost as many words to record the events surrounding the week of the crucifixion as he uses to describe the life of Jesus up to that point.

An avalanche of OT references:

Another feature is that beginning in chapter 12, we have an avalanche of Old Testament references. And they all have to do with the same thing. Let me show you the references and see if you can pick up on the theme.

In vs. 12-13, we see the triumphal entry of Jesus.

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

That’s Psalm 118 – which is really a war Psalm.

Earlier in the Psalm we have:

All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. – Psalm 118:10-14

And then with his entrance on a donkey, we have the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9-13

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

Then in John 12:20-23 we see

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Something about the gentiles expressing interest in Jesus signals that the time of his crucifixion is drawing near. And so Jesus says in vs. 23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Jesus is referencing Daniel 7:13-14

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

What do these references have in common? All of them have to do with the ascending kingship of Christ – not just over Israel, but over the whole world.

The subject of the global reign of Christ has come up gradually since at least chapter 10.

John 10:14-16

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

The other sheep, who are outside the fold of Israel, will now be gathered in so there will be one flock, composed of people from every tribe and tongue gathered together under the shepherd-king who is Christ Jesus.

And then in 11:48, we see the issue of Rome (which is representative of the gentiles) is brought up in an interesting way. Shortly after Lazarus is raised from the dead, the

If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” – John 11:48-50

More global thinking can be found in response to the triumphal entry, the Pharisees frustratingly exclaim, “see the whole world has gone after him.” – John 12:19

And then Jesus’ statement about the hour arriving for the son of man to be glorified is said in response to some gentiles seeking him out via Phillip.

The great vision of Daniel 7 is coming to pass.

“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:13-14

We are living 2000 years into this great global project. For the last 24 hours or so, people all over the world have been worshipping Jesus in 100s or maybe 1000s of languages.

There are saints in China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, so on and so forth.

The global advancement of the kingdom has come because of Christ’s obedience

Look back at vs. 20

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

How did Jesus take over the world up to this point? Obedience to the Father.

Look at vs. 27

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

So most fundamentally, the light of the gospel has spread all over the world, because Jesus obeyed the Father.

This is all spelled out in Philippians 2:3-11

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This is all consistent with a larger biblical principle: Disobedience brings death into the world while obedience brings life into the world.

Listen to Roman 5:17,

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

The obedience of Christ is in focus in John 12:23-24, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

And then in vs. 25, Jesus calls his disciples to adorn his sacrifice with their own.

“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

So far we’ve seen:
An avalanche of OT references all pertaining to Christ’s global kingdom.
We’ve seen that the advancement of his gospel came through his obedience
And now we’re seeing:

We are called adorn the obedience of Christ with our own obedience

Again: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” – John 12:25

It's as if he is saying to us, “don’t let my obedience let you think your obedience doesn’t matter.” If anyone follows me, he must walk the same path I walked. He must trust in the Lord with his whole heart and lean not on his own understanding.

Two points about obedience:
Obedience can be frightening (my soul is troubled, unless a seed dies…)
Generosity
Confessing Sin
Committing to hard things
Sharing the gospel
Obedience will be fruitful (but if it dies, it bears much fruit).

Illustration: Imagine a world where all the seeds refused to die. The result would be total barrenness. That’s interesting because disobedience is routinely linked with the desert.

See Jeremiah 17:5-8

How do you turn your life into a fruitless desert? Disobedience.

Jeremiah 17:5-6
Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

How do you turn your life into a verdant fruitful place? Obedience.

Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

In the mysterious chemistry of God’s mercy, a man’s very obedience is made a blessing to him. – John Blanchard

By obeying Christ’s commands you will gain more than you can give. – Thomas Brooks

Communion:

Most fundamentally, seeds make more seeds. When Jesus died, he brought grace and transformation to us.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Come and take the elements that represent the seed death of Jesus Christ. Return to your seats and I will lead us through partaking together.

Isaiah 53:10 says,

When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

And then in 54 that prosperity is linked to a global kingdom:

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.” – Isaiah 54:2-3

We have a role to play in the further enlightening of the world. It will happen through our obedience. Ask the Lord who saved you to give you strength to trust him.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”