Carol J German

We are continuing on in studying John 12. In our last lesson we studied Mary anointing Jesus with her hair. She was showing Him gratitude and honor. Afterwards Jesus went to Jerusalem. This was the start of the world celebrating His arrival as the King of Kings yet we know from the scriptures, Jesus is heading to His death. He came to be our sacrificial Lamb. The world, His very creation, was going to sell Him out. Little did people know back then that He had the upper hand and He still does today!

We don’t need to be rattled by this pandemic. God is with us!

Go ahead and read verses 20-36. Jesus is predicting what is about to take place. Many people were wanting to speak with Jesus so when some Greeks wanted some personal time with Him, Philip and Andrew went and requested it.

ADDED INSIGHT: My commentary mentions that the Greeks coming to worship God was significant. The Jews thought the coming Messiah was just for them but Jesus came to save all people; Jews as well as Gentiles. The Greeks represent Gentiles.

QUESTION: How does Jesus refer to Himself in verse 23?

Jesus is the Son of God and He is the Son of man. He is ahead of man. He existed before Adam and Eve. We are to look up to Him for He has authority over us.

Let’s see what we can learn from His teachings in verses 24-28. God loves to use farming analogies to get His points across. The kernel of wheat represents Jesus. He is the ultimate sacrifice that will end death’s grip on us. Because of His death, many will be saved and have new life.

QUESTION: What is Jesus talking about in verse 25?

Jesus is telling us that He is the reason we live each day. It is not what the world offers us. We must be willing to lay down ourselves, this includes our wishes, desires, dreams, goals, our rights, what we think, etc.

QUESTION: What do we have to do to be His disciple, see verse 26?

We become a servant of God when we lay our lives down at the foot of the cross. Not only will we receive eternal life when He takes us home but God will honor those who serve His Son while they are on this earth.

QUESTION: Why do you think Jesus’ soul is deeply troubled, see verse 27?

We see the human side of Christ, don’t we? This is such a comfort for us when we face troubles. Jesus shows us how to handle hardships. Notice how He battles what His flesh wants to do versus following through on what God has called Him to; study verses 27-28. Here’s how to handle trouble:

Walk in obedience over what you feel and think.

God will lead us to the right place at the right time with the right motives then we will bring glory to Him. Our servant-like hearts will help to grow His Kingdom. We will become a united people full of love.

I love this next part. God speaks audibly from heaven. God was confirming the work He was doing through His Son in the past as well as the future. This should warm our souls in understanding that when God speaks to us and directs us down a certain path, He will confirm Himself to us!

I cannot recall a time when God spoke to me and He didn’t confirm Himself in ways to show me that what I heard is true and that I can trust Him. Everything has come to fruition. He truly is Emmanuel, God with us.

Notice how the people didn’t understand what they heard. When a heart is blinded by the world, one cannot discern the voice of God. All they hear is noise. Jesus tells them that it was for their benefit. So, He continues to explain why He came.

QUESTION: From verses 31-32, why did God send His Son to us?

QUESTION: How did people respond, see verse 34?

Notice how patient Jesus is with His blinded children. They knew the scriptures, yet they were missing it. They kept looking at Christ through human eyes and we know that our eyesight is short-sighted and we wear rose-colored glasses that suits what we want to see. Jesus keeps sharing truth so hopefully they choose to see; verses 35-36.

Jesus wants them to understand how strong the pull is to follow the world where they trust their own thinking and reasoning. He says He is the light. The world is full of darkness and we need light so we can see where we are going. He mentions that the darkness can overtake us.

QUESTION: How can the world overtake someone?

Fill in the blanks from verse 36, “when we put our _________ in the light, we become ________ of the light”. When we trust Christ, we become His children, His heirs, His friends. He gathers us up into Himself. We are one happy family.

ADDED INSIGHT: Read John 1:12 and 1 John 5:1 for added meaning.

Jesus stepped aside and hid for awhile. Now read verses 37-50. You will notice that this section could take place today. “Most of the people still did not believe in Him.” This is true today. God makes Himself known every day to us but how many stop and realize His Presence? And then turn to follow Him?

In the Old Testament, Isaiah predicted the great unbelief that would happen when Jesus arrived and unfortunately it has held true, even today.

QUESTION: Verse 39 says that people couldn’t believe. What does verse 40 say on why?

We read that many did believe Jesus. How they are described in verses 42-43 reveals that they don’t believe fully. They are what you call lukewarm Christians. They straddle the fence of walking with God and walking in the world.

QUESTION: How do these verses show that? What does God say about being lukewarm in Revelations 3:15-16?

Jesus couldn’t stay quiet for too long, could He? He does not want anyone to miss out on being with Him forever! So He shouts this time.

QUESTION: What does He say in verses 44-50?

We are to trust Him and when we trust Jesus we are trusting God also. He is our light that will lead us out of the darkness.

Verse 47 reveals the beauty of God’s love: “I will not judge those who hear Me but don’t obey Me. I have come to save the world and not to judge it.” This is grace my friends. “BUT all who reject Me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.”

None of us deserve grace. Our sin causes us to be placed on death row. But God in His love for us sent His Son to take our place. Unless we receive Christ into our hearts and allow Him to lead us forward, we remain on death row. Right now we live in what is called the Age of Grace. Jesus is returning to bring His church home. Believers will be caught up in the air to be with Him. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 for this amazing event that we, as believers, are waiting for!

ADDED INSIGHT: This is not Jesus’ second coming. There will be seven years that will take place and then Jesus will return for the day of judgment. To learn about what will take place in those seven years, read Revelations.

Today is the day of salvation my friends. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 says, “We beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time‘ is now. Today is the day of salvation.”

I hope you say yes to the Lover of your soul 🙂