THE HOUR IN JOHN Emphasis in John

THE HOUR IN JOHN

Emphasis in John 1. Jesus’ revelation of the Father 2. “The hour”

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known. ” (John 1: 18) “…he had said that God was his own Father and in this way had made himself equal with God. ” (John 5: 18) “If you knew me, you would know my Father also. ” (John 8: 19)

“That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you will die in your sins if you do not believe that 'I Am Who I Am'. ” (John 8: 24) “When you lift up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I Am Who I Am'; then you will know that I do nothing on my own authority, but I say only what the Father has instructed me to say. ” (John 8: 28) “I am telling you the truth, " Jesus replied. "Before Abraham was born, 'I Am'. ” (John 8: 58)

“The Father and I are one. ” (John 10: 30) “Jesus said in a loud voice, ‘Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day!” (John 12: 44 -48)

The last lecture

“Now that you have known me, ’ he said to them, ‘you will know my Father also, and from now on you do know him and you have seen him. ’ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need. ’ Jesus answered, ‘For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you, " Jesus said to his disciples, "do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work. ” (John 14: 7 -10)

“I have been speaking to you in parables - but the time is coming to give up parables and tell you plainly about the Father. When that time comes, you will make your requests to him in my own name, and I do not say that I will ask him on your behalf for I need make no promise to plead to the Father for you… (JB Phillips) for the Father himself loves you…” (John 16: 25 -30). “…and I do not promise to intercede with the Father for you, for the Father loves you himself…” (Goodspeed)

“This is eternal life, to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do…I have made your name known to those you gave me out of the world. ” (John 17: 3 -6)

“The historic Christian doctrine of the divinity of Christ does not simply mean that Jesus is like God. It is far more radical than that. It means that God is like Jesus. ” – Elton Trueblood “I and the Father are One’ is the center truth of the universe. ” – George Mac. Donald

Emphasis in John 1. Jesus’ revelation of the Father 2. “The hour”

“The hour” John 2: 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come. ”

Not Yet “Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come” (7: 30). “He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come” (8: 20).

‘The Hour Has Come’ Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus. ” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12: 20 -23).

The Critical ‘Now’ 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, bring glory to your name!" Then a voice spoke from heaven, "I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again. " The crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, "An angel spoke to him!" But Jesus said to them, "It was not for my sake that this voice spoke, but for yours. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out ((John 12: 27 -31).

His Hour Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father (13: 1). After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you” (17: 1).

‘My Hour’ 1. There is a point that is designated ‘my hour. ’ 2. Other points in the story must not be taken to be the decisive ‘hour. ’ 3. Jesus knows not only that his ‘hour’ will come but also what is and what is not that ‘hour. ’ 4. The ‘hour’ refers to the purpose of Jesus’ life and ministry. 5. The ‘hour’ will be fraught with terror (12: 27), but it is actually a time when he will come forth the winner (12: 31).

Cosmic Conflict 1. We are at “the critical moment of this world. ” 2. Jesus’ death will happen in the context of battle between two warring parties, one of which is called ‘the ruler of this world. ’ 3. Jesus speaks as though he has a battle plan. 4. ‘The ruler of this world’ will be defeated.

Defeating the Lie “Now is the critical moment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be expelled (12: 31). Brant, John, 193 “Now is the critical moment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be exposed (12: 31). Brant, John, 194

To Be Lifted Up “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to myself. " (John 12: 32) And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up (John 3: 14)

Hour of victory against the prince of this world “Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil…” (Hebrews 2: 4).

“I’ll not be talking with you much more like this because the chief of this godless world is about to attack. ” (John 14: 30 – The Message) “Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. ” (Luke 22: 31, 32 – GN)

“People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: ‘You were going to tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days! Save yourself if you are God's Son! Come on down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and the elders made fun of him: ‘He saved others, but he cannot save himself ! Isn’t he the king of Israel? If he will come down off the cross now, we will believe in him!’” (Matthew 27: 39 -43)

“And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession. ” (Colossians 2: 15)

“Yet I do proclaim a message of wisdom to those who are spiritually mature. But it is not the wisdom that belongs to this world or to the powers that rule this world---powers that are losing their power. The wisdom I proclaim is God's secret wisdom, which is hidden from human beings, but which he had already chosen for our glory even before the world was made. None of the rulers of this world knew this wisdom. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ” (1 Corinthians 2: 6 -8)

Two kingdoms in contrast Satan’s kingdom = Survival of the fittest: “I am willing to kill you, that I might live. ” God’s kingdom = loving others more than self: “I am willing to die, that you might live. ”

Two “characters” in contrast Satan: “the father of the lie” “The beast began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven. ” (Revelation 13: 5) Jesus: “If you have seen me you have seen the Father”

The most frequent question? “Dr. Cole, I appreciate your emphasis on the cosmic conflict and God’s character. Does the Sabbath fit into all of this? ” “Dr. Cole, I’ve enjoyed your bible study for the last 2 years, but I’ve noticed that you haven’t talked about the Sabbath. Just curious if you see much relevance. ”

Sunday – celebration of the resurrection Sabbath – because we are told to: “The fourth commandment is, in a sense, a test commandment…In a certain sense, the Sabbath is arbitrary. Why the seventh day over any other? It’s because God said so, that’s why…to obey the seventh-day Sabbath, which isn’t rooted in any natural phenomena, is to reveal a willingness to obey simply because God tells us to. ” (1 Q 2009 SS Quarterly)

When was the hour? “Jesus drank the wine and said, ‘It is finished!’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Then the Jewish authorities asked Pilate to allow them to break the legs of the men who had been crucified, and to take the bodies down from the crosses. They requested this because it was Friday, and they did not want the bodies to stay on the crosses on the Sabbath, since the coming Sabbath was especially holy. ” (John 19: 30 -31)

“It is finished”

“It Is Finished” “And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day” (Gen. 2: 2) “It is finished. ” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (19: 30)

"On the cross, the script of the Gospel retraces the steps of the Creation account. As the Sabbath draws near, Jesus's life is fast ebbing. At that point His voice rings out in a final announcement, 'It is finished!' (John 19: 30). These words, a single word in Greek, signify completion, not the end in an absolute sense. It is significant to hear Jesus cry out, 'it is finished' at that specific point in time. The resurrection and Sunday morning will come, but Jesus will not wait to say 'it is finished' until then. He has reasons to say it at that point in time, on Friday night. The Sabbath that is about to begin is not a theological no-man's land. ”

"The Greek expression in John 19: 30 is the word tetelastai, a word that must not be orphaned from the Creation parentage. In the Genesis account, when 'the heavens and the earth were finished, ' the Greek translation of the Old Testament chose the same term, sunetelesthesan (Gen 2: 1, 2: 2). If we keep the ear close to the ground, listening to the distant Old Testament echo, the connection cannot be missed. John is appropriating the language of the Creation account, specifically the language heralding the inauguration of the first Sabbath. As Creation culminates in the Sabbath rest, the work of making right what is wrong comes to completion (John 19: 31 -34). The relationship between the Revealer and the revelatory intent of the Sabbath is here at its zenith. In John's story, where attention to detail is everything, the timing cannot be more precise, the scene more poignant, or the message more persuasive.

"'Finished. ' This is the key word, deserving to stand alone because it is a word that brings together all the parts of the story. 'What God had begun by the Word in the days of Creation, God finished by the Word in the days of Redemption, ' says Ethelbert Stauffer. "God has kept the commitment embodied in the seventh day. From henceforth the meaning of the Sabbath must be viewed through the lens provided by the life and death of Jesus the Revealer. “ – Sigve Tonstad, The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day

Meaning, not blind obedience “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that I, the LORD your God, rescued you by my great power and strength. That is why I command you to observe the Sabbath. ” (Deuteronomy 5: 15)

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the LORD will be your delight. ” (Isaiah 58: 13 -14 NLT)

“For somewhere in the Scriptures this is said about the seventh day: ‘God rested on the seventh day from all his work. ’ This same matter is spoken of again: ‘They will never enter that land where I would have given them rest. ’ Those who first heard the Good News did not receive that rest, because they did not believe. There are, then, others who are allowed to receive it. This is shown by the fact that God sets another day, which is called ‘Today. ’ Many years later he spoke of it through David in the scripture already quoted: ‘If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn. ’

If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day. As it is, however, there still remains for God’s people a rest like God’s resting on the seventh day. For those who receive that rest which God promised will rest from their own work, just as God rested from his. Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith. ” (Hebrews 4: 4 -11 GNB)

“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. ” (Acts 20: 7 NASB) “On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day. ” (Acts 20: 7 GNB)

“On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me, and I heard a loud voice, that sounded like a trumpet, speaking behind me. ” (Revelation 1: 10 GNB) “It was Sunday and I was in the Spirit, praying. I heard a loud voice behind me, trumpet-clear and piercing…”(Revelation 1: 10 MSG)

Constantine “On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. ” (321 AD) “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day. ” (364 AD – Church Council of Laodicea)

Constantine The first Christian emperor of Rome “By this sign, conquer…” The beginning of the era when Christianity and God’s will became identified with the state Membership in the Christian church a/w citizenship