Sermon John 12

Last Sunday I had another opportunity to preach at Faith Presbyterian and Reformed Church. Since I have been immersing myself in the Gospel of John the last few months, again the sermon came from that book of the Bible. My take is that John 12 summarizes the presentation of Jesus to the nation in chapters 1-11 and introduces the passion story in chapters 13-21. The message of the section is, “Jesus is the King of Israel, Savior of the World, and Son sent from God who glorifies God through His perfect obedience to die as the Passover Lamb. We must respond with full commitment, as His disciples, to his program to have a share in His glory.

Overall Outline

• Right (and Wrong) Response to Jesus Illustrated 1-8
• Mary’s exemplary response of total commitment 1-3
• (contrasted to) Judas’ hypocritical response 4-6
• Jesus’ praise for what Mary has done 7-8
• Inadequate Responses to Presentation of Jesus as King 9-19
• The Crowds “believe” because of Lazarus 9 (Transition)
• Chief Priests oppose – Jews are going to Jesus 10-11
• Crowds Greet Jesus as King 12-13
• Jesus’ Presented as king 14-15
• Disciples  are  Confused  about Jesus’ Kingship  16
• Crowds Testify to Jesus because of  Lazarus 17-18
• Pharisees Oppose– World is going to Jesus 19
• Inadequate Responses to Presentation of Jesus as Son and Savior 20-43  
• Response of the Greeks to Jesus 20-22  (Transition)
• Jesus explains the need for his death and resurrection 23-26
• The glorification of God through Jesus’ obedience 27-28
• Verification to the crowd of Jesus’ successful mission 29-30
• The success of Jesus’ mission as Savior 31-33
• Response of the Crowd (Unbelief) 34
• Crowd objects based on the law 34
• Jesus – The light is with you for a limited time
• Light and Darkness Contrasted
• Command: Believe in the Light
• You become sons of light
• The Crowd’s unbelief was predicted in the Old Testament 37
• Response of the Crowd (Inadequate  Belief) 42-43
• The Right Response to Jesus Explained  44-50

The conclusion of the chapter presents an explanation of the response God desires to the presentation of Jesus in the first 12 chapters of the book…

1. The Right Response to Jesus Explained  44-50
1. Jesus Shouts out – This is important 
1. The proper response: Belief (“Buy In”)  44
2. Content of the Belief   45-46
1. To see Jesus is to see God  45
2. Walk in the light of Jesus 46 (14.6)
1. Receive, Remain, Follow, Eat, Drink  (from chapters 1-11)
2. “Way” – Lifestyle  (John 14.6)
3. “Truth” – Worldview (Relationship with Jesus since truth is a person)
4. “Life” – Meaning, Purpose, Significance
3. Urgency of Belief: Judgment  47-48
1. Basis is our response to Jesus’ “Word”
4. Authority For Belief: The Father 49-50
1. Guarantee: Eternal Life

The beginning of the section uses Mary as an example of the right response to the incarnation of the Son of God and contrasts it with Judas. Mary is the example of a true disciple and the one we should emulate.

1. Response to Jesus of Mary and Judas (Lazarus) 1-8
1. Mary’s exemplary response of total commitment 1-3
1. Discipleship: Mary is always seen at Jesus’ feet
2. Humility: John the Baptist and Jesus
3. Costly: Expensive Perfume
4. Result: Fragrance filled the room
2. Judas hypocritical response 4-6
1. Discipleship: Judas had his own agenda
2. Humility: Judas was concerned about himself
3. Costly: Judas followed Jesus to enrich himself
4. Result: How did having that money work out for him?
3. Jesus’ praise for what Mary has done 7-8
1. Mary has done something that will have lasting results
2. Mary understood the situation better than all the other disciples