John 12: 27-36

‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that 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 standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

5:30 dinner!

Do you remember when we talked about the way John loves to speak about light and dark? It is a primary metaphor that helps his readers understand the remarkable blessing that is ours when we step from dark to light.

In this passage we focus our attention on the last two verses. Take a moment to reread verses 35-36 to focus on the issues of ‘light and dark’…now take a minute to reflect before you jot down your thoughts about how ‘light and dark’ impact your life.

During Holy Week we will be experiencing the impact of this message most dramatically between Good Friday and Easter morning. The world can sometimes look very gloomy before we are able to notice the light penetrating the dark. Thank God we know that the empty tomb is just around the corner!