John 12:27–36 (ESV) – The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
“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.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
What would you do if you knew you only had one week to live? That’s the question I always ask myself as we head into Holy Week. For Jesus, it was obviously top of mind. He spent SO much time talking to His disciples about the fact that He was going to die, and even HOW He was going to die – it’s almost humous (except for the whole Him dying part) how clueless they seem to be right up until the moment reveals itself.
As I’ve tried to answer that question for myself, the decisions and conversations that Jesus has in this final week of His life make a lot more sense to me. For instance, If I knew I wasn’t going to be around to deal with the consequences, I’d probably be a lot more direct with people who I thought were doing things wrong. I bet we all would. Which makes Jesus snapping a whip and turning over tables in the temple a bit less faux pas. He also curses a fig tree, it seems in the moment, just to watch it die – which could leave some asking; what did that tree ever do to you? But then again, when you’re the Creator of the tree, it probably grants you special liberties as well. I digress…
Jesus knew He only had one week left to live, and with it, He chose to make as many wrong things right as He could. Turn the tables to restore the sanctity of the temple. Curse the fig tree because it wasn’t bearing fruit in season. He even told a couple of His disciples things, that to Him, it must have felt He’d been holding onto for a long time. Even for Jesus, the filters are gone and the kid gloves come off.
He’s holding nothing back.
And why would He? Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth, no matter how troubling. They’d rather go on living in a fantasy world of fictions, if it means they don’t have to face facts. It really makes one wonder how loving is it to allow them to stay there? What are we saving them from?
I think this must’ve been where the disciples were at. Over and over Jesus tells them; He’s going to die. This will all be over soon. Walk in the light. BELIEVE in the light, lest the darkness overcome you. You can almost hear Him pleading.
What would you do if you knew you only had ONE WEEK to live? I hope that my answer will be the same as Jesus’. Love God, and love people. Not the way they want me to – but the way they need me to. Not with my eye on tomorrow, but from a heart for them, today. The Son of Man must be lifted up, because for some, there is no tomorrow. Let us walk in the light and believe in the light – so those who want, can still see Him today.
