Genuine Humanity

1) What did Jesus mean in verse 23 when He said, “the hour has come”?
All of the synoptic Gospels (which include Matthew, Mark & Luke) quote Jesus speaking about “the hour.” Previously in John, we read the time had “not yet come”. (John 7:6, John 7:30, John 8:20). Jesus was continually communicating the profound significance of “the hour”. By the time of his writing, John has recognized the importance of “the hour” by dedicating almost half of his Gospel to Christ’s last week. Jesus knew that everything would happen when it should, and not before (John 2:4). He was obedient to God in everything He said and did, and God was glorified as a result. (John 12:28, John 17:4) Jesus had come into the world for “this hour.” (Galatians 4:4-5). In verse 23, Jesus begins to unveil how the hour is now approaching that He has spoken of to His disciples and others (John 4:23-25). In the days following, the words Jesus spoke and the events that occurred would reveal what “hour has come” and why it was necessary. Jesus had come to reveal and glorify the Father, and to reconcile to Him those who would believe (John 13:1-7, John 16:25-33, John 17:1-5) Commentator, Leon Morris, said about these verses, “the hour has come and is staying with us. There is no going back on it.”

2) What do verses 27-28 indicate about why Jesus’ soul was troubled?
Jesus knew the time had come for Him to complete the mission to which He had been called by dying the humble death of a servant. (John 12:24-26, Philippians 2:5-8) He had told the disciples that “the hour” had come, though He had not made it clear what He meant. Though Jesus mentioned that Mary’s kind gesture earlier (of anointing Him) was in preparation of His burial, those around Him were still very unaware of the implications of His death. Commentators remind us that the Gospels are not primarily focused on a timeline of events, but are intently focused on telling us Who Jesus is and what His purpose was for coming. (bible.org) Every person eventually dies, but Jesus is the only one who was born TO die. Dressed bodily in “genuine humanity” and surrounded by those He loved, Jesus was feeling the sorrow anyone would feel. Though we should be careful not to describe Jesus’ humanity and divinity as a mixed blend forming some kind of divine and human composition. His attributes of being fully God while also fully man are united in His one Being. (The Moody Handbook of Theology) Jesus knew the Father’s will was to crush and wound Him for our healing (Isaiah 53:5-10). He loved mankind, and though His very purpose was to bring the Father glory, His humanity dreaded the painful sorrow He faced. He would demonstrate the depths of His agony later at Gethsemane. (Matthew 26:38-39)

3) The word “now” is used three times in verses 27-31. What is its significance in the context of the passage?
Jesus said, “Now my soul is troubled …” and “Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” Often, in the Scriptures we see the word “now”. Here the same Greek word is used all three times. That’s important because it’s an adverb in these verses (Greek, adverb νῦν), unlike other times when its used as a conjunction, as in Hebrews 11:1 in which it is a connecting word and not denoting time. Jesus is not simply bridging thoughts. He is declaring that soon His work on earth will be complete and that the enemy is going to be defeated through that work. Although redemption is the most significant completion of His task, Christ finished other things at the cross. (John 19:28-10) His sufferings, endured on earth as a human, were now over. The perfect obedience of the Son to the Father resulted in the completed task of defeating sin and death. (John 6:35-38, Colossians 2:14-15)