John 12:31-32 Now is the time for judgment of this world; now the prince
of this world will be driven out.  But I, when I am lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men to myself."

 This past year the confirmation class did something that we haven't done
for 10 years.  This year for the second time the kids picked 20 churches
in the area and sent them a series of questions to respond to.  The
questions were taken from the back of the book What's Going On Among the
Lutherans.  We sent the questions with self-addressed, stamped envelopes
to learn how other churches would answer the questions on the Bible and
the Christian faith.
 Of the 20 that we sent we only got 8 back.  The number of letters
returned was lower than the first time this was done and that was a bit
disappointing, but at least we got 8 back.  The 8 responses were all very
interesting to read and consider.  All in all, the answers gave you a
good insight into what the churches taught and what some of the
differences were between the responding church and ours.
 One of the questions asked this, "Do you personally believe that God
took his anger for our sins out on Christ-that he was the final blood
sacrifice that appeased God's wrath and bought the forgiveness of our
sins?"  Of the 8 responses 3 said they did not believe this was true.  A
typical response was "I truly hope you don't teach your people God was
angry and took it out on his son.  Sin blocks us from our Father (God).
Something has to happen so the wall is down so we can see God - Christ
was the last sacrifice - our sins must be washed away - we must be
baptized to see God."
 I must confess that such answers bother me.  If you look at the response
ratio, that 3 of the 8 deny this question, that means that over 1/3 of
the churches deny what God's Word says.  For instance, in Romans 5 (an
epistle reading for Lent 2) we heard, "While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how
much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"  That's just
one of several passages that could be referred to.  Here is a basic
teaching of God concerning Jesus and over 1/3 of the Christian leaders
responding denied it.
 The worse problem is that of the 8 responses, while some answered that
question correctly other answers that they gave clearly showed that they
didn't really believe that Jesus' death was the atoning sacrifice that
completely paid for our sin.  How can you talk of Jesus appeasing God's
wrath and giving us the forgiveness of sins and then turn around and
speak of what we must do to in order to be saved?  In truth, based on the
answers given by everyone, there were only 2 churches whose responses
spoke of salvation and eternal life in the same way God's Word does.
Only 2!  It's a scary thing to know.
 I was brought to think about all of this because of the text that is
before us.  Here is Jesus speaking of his coming sacrifice and what it
means for the world.  It shows the wonder and marvel of our gracious
Savior.  Our theme will be: FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME.  1st. Time for
judgment.  2nd. The prince driven out.  3rd. Draw men to Christ.
 I do want you to pay attention to the context of the words before us.
Some Greek converts to Judaism had asked to see Jesus, no doubt because
they considered Jesus to be the fulfillment of their faith.  It was their
desire to see Jesus that prompts Jesus to speak then of his coming
sacrifice and what it means.  We don't know if Jesus was speaking
directly to these Greek converts or just speaking in general to all those
who were gathered around.  It is really unimportant.  What we do know is
that he clearly is speaking of his coming crucifixion and resurrection.
 I think verses 27 and 28 are important here.  Jesus says, "Now my heart
is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save me from this hour'?
No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour.  Father,
glorify your name!"  These words tell us that Jesus wasn't looking
forward to what would soon be, he wasn't all happy about his coming
suffering and death.  He tells us he was troubled by it.  I can
understand that.  The anticipation of dying for all the sins of the
world, of taking the wrath and anger of God upon himself for the sake of
mankind was not a pleasant thing.  The physical aspect of the crucifixion
weighed heavily on Jesus.
Yet note that Jesus tells us that this is the very reason for which he
came.  He came to die.  He came to be our sacrifice.  He came to bring
glory to the Father!  For that matter, these words of Jesus also let us
know that since God was going to be glorified and since God was the one
who laid out the path of this glory everything that was to take place was
God's plan.  And do recall that the very next verses tell us that God
spoke and gave his approval of Jesus, spoke of his approval of this plan.
 What would happen to Jesus was because of the glory Jesus has already
brought and the glory Jesus will bring to the Father!  It was the
Father's plan to make Jesus our substitute in sin.
Then let's highlight the verses we read and wrestle with what they mean.
These verses are spoken by Jesus to help us grasp the significance of his
work.  He says three very specific things.
First, "Now is the time for judgment on this world."  Here is the
statement that address sin and the horror that sins brings: death.  Jesus
is letting us know that his death is going to deal with the problem of
sin and death.  In John 12:47 Jesus says, "I did not come to judge the
world, but to save it."  Fact of the matter is that a judgment had
already been pronounced on the world.  God the Father had clearly said,
"The day you eat of it you will surely die!"  From that point on every
soul, with even one small wrong, was subject to the threat of death and
hell.  That was the judgment of the world under the Law.  But Jesus is
not speaking about the law rather he is speaking of what he will do.
He will bring a different judgment on the world.  He will bring a new
covenant (like mentioned in our Old Testament reading).  Or Isaiah 40
speaks of this moment when it says, "Comfort, comfort my people...speak
tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been
completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the
Lord's hand double for all her sins."  That's a section of Messianic
prophecy that speaks of how despite our sin we will receive double
blessings from God.  Double because the Lord is going to forgive us and
save us eternally.  Yes, the world would be judged.  Judged and
proclaimed forgiven in what Jesus will do.  He is going to pay for our
sins.  He is going to defeat the death that sin brings.  He is going to
be our Savior.
Go on to the next statement, "Now the prince of this world will be driven
out."  Jesus is talking about the fact that his coming sacrifice will
bring about the defeat of Satan.  Listen to some other passages that
speak of this.  1 John 3:8 "The reason the Son of God appeared was to
destroy the devil's work."  Hebrews 2:14 "Since the children have flesh
and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might
destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil."  Revelation
12:10-11 "The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God
day and night, has been hurled down.  They overcame him by the blood of
the Lamb."
Don't you see that what Jesus will do was for the defeat of Satan?  Jesus
took away the sting of sin, the guilt of our transgressions.  Jesus has
thrown down and completely defeated the Devil who stood opposed to us and
between us and God.  We are in Jesus redeemed!  We are in Jesus freed
from the power of Satan.  We are in Jesus heirs of eternal life!
Then one more thing that Jesus says.  Verse 32: "But I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
Again what beautiful words from our Savior, but do you grasp that they
are perhaps the most important words?  Without these words the other two
statements can't stand.  Without these words and what they reveal we
don't know how the other statements are going to be true.  Jesus tells us
how, "When I am lifted up."
In this regard we can't really afford to miss verse 33.  "He said this to
show the kind of death he was going to die."  These words then clearly
refer to the crucifixion of Jesus.  Jesus says that it is in his
crucifixion that all of this stuff is going to come true.  Yes, the world
is going to be judged!  Yes, Satan is going to be defeated!  Why?
Because his suffering and death is what paid for our sins!  His suffering
and death is the way that God's righteous anger against sin has been
taken care of.  It was while Jesus was hanging on the cross that he said,
"It is finished!"  That means that the redemption of the world has been
completed.  The sin he came to pay for is paid.  The hell he came to
endure is done.  The anger his Father carried against sin is appeased.
All because Jesus gave his life for us.
The result of his gracious sacrifice is that "I ...will draw all men to
myself."  His redemption is for everyone.  He paid for all the sins of
the world.  For that reason men of every language, nation, tribe, city,
state, village, you name any of the artificial boundaries we make for
ourselves, will be drawn to Jesus.  Drawn to his gift of eternal life.
Drawn to his wisdom and love.  Drawn to the eternal kingdom of God the
Father just because of Jesus and what He has done.  He has opened
heaven's gate for us.  He has given life and salvation.  He is the Way,
the Truth and the Light of this world!
What more is there to say?  I could go on and on about what Jesus has
done for us, but what Jesus has done and accomplished says it all.  May
you appreciate all the more the wonder and marvel of our Savior so that
you all the more, might be drawn to Him and his gift of life.  Amen.