The Gospel of John | Christ As Divine Ruler – John 12:36-50
Jesus Christ is King and Lord over all creation. We submit and bow to Him with everything we have.
After the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, with His paradigm shift of a teaching, He departed from the presence of people. Feeling the day of His crucifixion drawing nearer, His soul had been troubled, anticipating bearing of the weight of the sins of humanity and the wrath of God upon Himself. The imagery of Christ’s entrance clearly had been designed to elicit the imagery of a King. Yet, for all the expression of Kingship, the conflict with Jesus had not subsided. The Pharisees sought Jesus’ death by any means and had exerted every ounce of influence to ensure that this rebel teacher could not continue. In doing so, the word of the prophet Isaiah showed themselves to be true as John draws heavily from these words. The people, while knowing that Jesus’ reign carried legitimacy still rejected the notion of His Kingship and Lordship. The allure of the world proved too much for them and their hardened hearts and blind eyes kept their attention on the things of the world.
John discusses the reign and rule of Jesus Christ in the previous section and continues in this one as well. Even with the issues of understanding the scope of Jesus reign, the people also failed to grasp the divine nature of the person of Jesus Christ. In what is likely one of Jesus’ final teachings before His crucifixion, Jesus connected Himself with the Father. Rejection of Jesus meant rejection of the Father and acceptance of Jesus meant acceptance of the Father. To be a true follower of God would mean following Jesus as well as The Father and The Son stood in unison with one another. For a true believers, there would be a willingness to bow before the king and a submission to Jesus Christ as one with the Father. We submit our whole selves to the rightful rule of Jesus Christ as the God made flesh for the sake of the people and for the glory of God.
A Willingness to Bow Before The King
Many people had no problem acknowledging that Jesus Christ likely had been the rightful heir to the Kingship for Israel (though, as we mentioned, their scope of His rule remained limited). Yet, their refusal to submit to Jesus Christ as their King. had been diminished due to fear of the wrath of the Pharisees. If they had come out in support of Jesus, their standing in the temple and in the city would have been highly diminished. Thus, the glory of this world meant more to the authorities during that time than the glory of God. In some ways, you can understand their perspective. Life would have been increasingly difficult for the authorities outside of the influence of the Pharisees. Their power would not be maintained or at least become difficult to exert as the Pharisees held a fair amount of influence over the people. Yet, their unwillingness to bow to Jesus Christ as King meant a rejection His salvific work on the cross. You cannot claim that someone is King while also refusing to submit to them. Thus, the authorities of the day, their actions were tantamount to rejection of Jesus Christ as King.
Likewise, we cannot pick the portions of Jesus we wish as if it was some kind of spiritual buffet. Bowing to Jesus Christ as King means a total submission of who we are, our preferences, and our identity. Mere knowledge or intellectual understanding of what Christ did will not save a person. Bowing before the King of Kings will. Like the authorities of Jesus’ day, following Him will likely complicate our lives. Our desire for the world and everything in it will only prevent us from fully submitting our lives to Jesus Christ and then, ultimately, they will destroy us. It was the flesh and the desires to gain the world apart from God that separated us from God’s perfection and provision. We can know that Jesus saves us from our sins, but until we relinquish the fear that prevents us from bowing to him, our knowledge will never produce faith. Christ as our King means all aspects of our lives bow to Him; our finances, our relationships, our jobs, and our status. Yet, as we bow to Jesus Christ as King, we join Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We join Him in eternity through our submission to Him as King over everything. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and submitting to Him rejects the decay of the world and gains the glory of eternity with God forever.
- What were the authorities afraid of losing if they claimed Jesus Christ as the King of Israel? What does this tell us about the influence of the Pharisees?
Unity with The Father
In one of Jesus’ final discourses, He connects His mission with the will of the Father. By saying that everything He says and does stems from the authority of the Father would have communicated to the people that He was God made flesh. While he stood in front of them, He also held the rights and privileges of God. Jesus’s word meant that He rightfully deserved worship and submission. Thus, to believe in Jesus Christ meant the person believed in and put their faith in God. Christ is not just the rightful King of Israel but the King over all creation. There would be no area in which Christ did not rightfully rule. Jesus work extended beyond the borders of Israel to all the world. By dying on the cross, the effects of Jesus’ work would be felt throughout all creation, returning things to their rightful place in standing with God. The authority of God extended to Jesus Christ who came to rescue and save His people for the glory of God.
Yet, many would attempt to blame God for people’s punishment. Jesus makes it clear that He did not come to condemn people but to provide a path for their salvation. One day, we will stand in judgment with Christ over the world but in this moment, Jesus’ mission is not to condemn the world but rather to set it free. Our actions and our sinful desires condemn us. As Jesus Christ inched towards His crucifixion, He did so with the intent of bearing the burden of sins and taking the wrath of God. All this for the sake of those who would come to Him as Lord and Savior. Jesus did not operate on His own but in conjunction of the will of the Father. Furthermore, Jesus sends the Spirit to be with us. The fullness of the Trinity operates in unity and conjunction with one another for the glory of God. Following Jesus Christ and bowing before Him as King over all the world returns us to right relationship with our Heavenly Father and restores our soul to the way God intended creation to be.
- How did Jesus connect Himself with His divine nature in this teaching? What does it imply about His identity?
Discussion Questions
- What reasons did Jesus give for His coming?
- What does this passage tell us about the identity of Jesus Christ?
- When will Jesus stand in judgment over all mankind? What condemns a person?
- What are some of the reasons we refuse to bow to Jesus Christ as our King? Name some of the distractions or things we wrestle with putting before God.
- How can we submit to Jesus Christ as the King over all of our lives? What does it mean that we bow to Him with all we are?
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
