In the sermon titled 'Implications of the Hour,' Jason Dohm delves into the profound significance of the hour in which Jesus Christ was crucified. The sermon outlines three towering implications of this pivotal moment: the judgment of the world, the casting out of the ruler of this world (Satan), and the drawing of all peoples to Christ. Dohm explains that the cross represents the judgment of humanity, where Christ's suffering and death fulfill the scriptural truth that the wages of sin is death. This moment is a defining factor for all, determining salvation or condemnation based on one's disposition towards Jesus. The sermon emphasizes that Christ's death dealt a crushing blow to Satan, triumphing over principalities and powers by making a public spectacle of them. This victory is highlighted as a turning point in history, shifting God's mercy from being solely on Israel to being available to all nations. Dohm warns against delaying repentance and stresses the urgency of believing in the light while it is present. He calls on unbelievers to seek the Lord while He may be found, underscoring the eternal consequences of ignoring the call to salvation.

John 12 and reading through 26 But Jesus answered them saying the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified Most assuredly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone But if it dies it produces much grain He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me, and where I am, there my servant will be also. If anyone serves me, him my father will honor. Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.

But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Therefore, the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, an angel has spoken to him.

Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come because of me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself." This he said, signifying by what death he would die. The people answered him, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever, and how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up?

Who is the Son of Man? Then Jesus said to them, a little while longer the light is with you walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them.

Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you and praise you. Praise you for this time on your day to consider your word, to hear it preached, to see how you are revealing yourself to us through it and how it is to be applied to our lives. Lord God, we do thank you that you sent your son, you sent Christ to come, to be lifted up, to follow the law perfectly, to take our place, to take the punishment and the wrath that we deserved, and to rise again from the dead as we'll read later on in this book, so that we might be sons of God. Oh Lord God, if there are, we know that there are those in this room that do not believe in the light.

Lord God I pray that today as they hear this word expounded oh that you would open their hearts, open their eyes, help them to see the light, to repent of their sins, to believe in you the one true living God, to cast all their cares, to cast all their hope and faith in you, knowing that only you can save. We pray for Mr. Dohm that he would, oh Lord God, that you would give him the words to say. And to your sons and to your sisters, we pray, Amen. Well, we had a sister in the Lord, Katie Ward, walk down the aisle yesterday and marry a Christ-loving man.

I praise the Lord for that. It's a sweet time. The title of the sermon today is Implications of the Hour. The hour is a term that Jesus uses to speak of the climax of his life, which was his great redemptive work on the cross. Jesus is going to set before us what I'm going to call towering implications.

Implications of the cross that loom over all of our lives. In the text last week, we saw the weight of Jesus being made a curse for us so that we could be free from the curse of the law, pressing down on Him, but rather than shrinking back from this great weight that was pressing down on Him, instead of asked to be delivered from the hour, instead he said, Father, glorify your name. And when he said that, we heard a voice from heaven, the voice of God the Father saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. God glorified His name through every part of the incarnation. But He was about to glorify it again in an incomparable way in Jesus going to the cross.

Nothing has ever glorified God the Father more than the great redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We come to our text this week, which by the way is just a continuation, Jesus might have taken a breath between what we studied last week and what we're studying this week, but maybe not even that. Maybe he just kept on talking without breathing. So please don't think of any of this in isolation. This is part of one discourse.

As we go to this text, let's ask the Lord to help. Jesus, thank you for your mighty, transformative work of the cross. Thank you for the hour in which you were nailed to the tree, being made a curse for us so that we could be set free from the curse of the law, the righteous condemnation that we deserved, being transferred from the guilty and placed upon the shoulders of the one innocent one, your son. I pray that our hearts would sing as we consider All that you've done for your people. Fill us with joy, we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

I'd like to begin by looking at verses 31 through 33. I'm dividing the text into today. So the first subsection will be verses 31 through 33. Please follow along as I read it again. John 12 beginning in 31, Jesus says, Now is the judgment of this world.

Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself. This he said signifying by what death he would die. In these verses we are given three towering implications of the hour. The hour being this time when Jesus would give his life on the cross.

If you're filling in blanks on the handout, it's towering, three towering, looming implications of the hour of Jesus' great sacrifice. Clearly the context of this is verses 23 and 24. Look back to verses 23 and 24. This is Jesus beginning this discourse. He said, the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

So this is talking about the hour. Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. Jesus is beginning to teach about victory through death. His great victory through His atoning death.

Unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. Victory through death. This sets the framework for everything that we are learning in our text. How God glorifies Himself through the death of His Son.

Here now are the three towering implications of the hour. Number one, now is the judgment of this world. The first towering, looming implication of Jesus going to the cross to lay down his life, now is the judgment of this world. The cross is the judgment of the world. When you look upon Jesus suffering and dying, you are seeing the fulfillment of these Bible words.

The wages of sin is death. That's what the cross is. The wages of sin is death. And so, someone dies for sin. When you see Jesus suffering and dying on the cross, you are seeing what rebels against God deserve.

Many outwardly respectable rebels. Don't think wrongly about rebels as if they all have to be murderers and adulterers. No. Many have cultivated a respectability and favor among everyone they know, but they've harbored self-righteousness and pride and it is as abominable in the sight of God as murder and adultery. So when you think about rebels, you think about how God hates self-righteousness and pride and how the corridors of hell will be filled with self-righteous, prideful people who are respectable to their neighbors.

That's true. The Bible teaches that. Rebels against God. Many will look completely acceptable to us. We won't know any better.

But they are rebels against God. The wages of sin is death. When we look upon Jesus on the cross, we are seeing justice meted out. The righteous anger of God against sin poured out. And so this becomes the defining hour for all of humanity.

The single great deciding factor that determines heaven or hell for everyone on planet Earth. That's what the cross is. Are your sins on that man? That's it. Not have you done enough of this, or kept yourself back from enough of that.

But have you placed your hands on the Lamb of God to transfer your many sins to Him. Many think, surely I have done enough. Surely I've done enough. Many think surely I've kept myself back from enough So that I'm better than those who will be condemned. Surely some combination of my doing and not doing makes me acceptable.

Be acceptable, so that I will not be cast away in the judgment because they had no sense of how holy God is and how defiled they are. They think as long as they're acceptable to enough of their neighbors and their friends and their co-workers and their family members that surely they'll also be acceptable in the eyes of God. He is holy, holy. He's nothing like you. He's not defiled in any part.

God is light. In Him is no darkness at all. The Bible says of us that we're mixed. We're touched and stained with sin in every part. But God's not like that.

He's light in Him. There's no darkness at all. There's no mixture with Him. He's never become comfortable with sin like you're comfortable with sin. So that you don't even feel defiled anymore.

But the Bible assures us that when we stand before this holy God, it will all come clear in an instant. You'll see, I thought I had done enough. I thought I had withheld myself from enough. But now you see that He is utterly holy. And so the final judgment is just a verdict on this one simple thing.

What is your disposition towards the person and work of Jesus who is Christ, who is Messiah, who is the anointed one of God to save the people. Some will say, that man is my only hope. That hour, the hour that he went to the cross and he poured himself out is my only hope. I forsake every other hope. I know there's all manner of self-righteousness and pride and filthiness in this heart of mine.

I hope in Him and they will be saved. The hour of the cross is the hour of the judgment of this world. You're seeing the world be judged when God pours out his anger against sin on his son. And now the only thing left is to determine what's your disposition towards that man and his work. Secondly number two, now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

The death of Jesus Christ was a crushing blow to the Prince of Darkness and the Kingdom of Darkness. The account is the temptation of Jesus. This is the second of the temptations in Luke. They are ordered differently in different Gospel accounts. Listen to this one of three temptations of Jesus in Luke chapter 4 verses 5 through 7.

Then the devil, taking him, Jesus, up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, all this authority I will give you and their glory. For this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours." The devil here represents himself as having been given authority over the world and the glory associated with that authority and the ability to give it to whoever he wants to give it to. Now you might say, well The devil was just lying about that.

Jesus in our text calls him the ruler of this world. I'm not sure I understand that. How or why God would give his enemy, the devil, such latitude over the world, but we know that God weaves these things together to exalt himself, to show himself. He's wise in it. He is the ruler of this world.

Authority in the world was delivered to him with the ability to give it to whoever he wanted to give it to. Now let's trace this out in Scripture. Beginning in Genesis chapter 3. Turn to Genesis chapter 3. This is the curse.

Mankind has just fallen into sin by eating the forbidden fruit. And this is the beginning of the curse of God. There is a progression in the curse. It starts with the devil and proceeds to the woman and the man. So this is the beginning of the curse in Genesis 3 verses 14 and 15.

Follow along. So the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat the dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel." God instituted, initiated an ongoing warfare between the woman and her seed, culminating in one seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, but it works its way through human history where the seed is pitted against the devil and the devil is pitted against the seed of the woman.

And we see this in the events of Job's life, for instance. That's just a for instance. It's all over the Bible. The Bible is about this in many ways. In Job's life we see the devil seeking permission to bring all sorts of hardships into his life and God permits it.

It's war between the seed of the woman and the devil. He is the accuser of the brethren. Now Colossians. By the way, I'm skipping all of the gospels for the sake of time. This is a theme of the gospels too, but next I want to look at what Paul says in Colossians chapter 2.

Because Paul goes specifically to how the cross has a bearing on the war between the seed of the woman and the devil. Listen to what Paul says in Colossians 2 verses 13-15. Paul writes to the Colossians, And you, being dead in your trespasses, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross, having disarmed principalities and powers. He made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it.

Paul is talking about Jesus' work on the cross. He's talking about what was nailed to the cross when Jesus was crucified. He's talking about the victory of God through the cross. And he ends up saying that the cross is the triumphing over principalities and powers and making a public display of them. This is the great victory of the cross.

It takes sin, which was always against us, condemning us, and For those who repent and believe, it nails it to the cross and triumphs over the enemy of God and makes him a public spectacle. This is explained further in Hebrews 2. Turn Now to Hebrews 2. Then we'll be done for a bit. I know this is rapid fire.

Could have been worse, trust me. You should have seen my study notes. Hebrews chapter 2. Verses 14 and 15. Hebrews 2, 14 and 15.

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself, Jesus Christ, likewise shared in the same, shared in flesh and blood, became flesh. That through death, He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and released those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Christ, through death, destroyed him who had the power of death. That is, the devil. He triumphed on the cross.

He used his death to triumph over the one who was using death as his greatest weapon. Finally, just listen to 1 John 3a. So we're talking about the same author as our text, right? But we just shifted from the gospel writer of John to the letter writer, John. 1 John chapter 3 verse 8.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. So, it's a really concise answer to the question, why Jesus? To destroy the works of the devil. Why did Jesus come in the flesh? To destroy the works of the devil.

And in 1 John 3, the immediate application is stop sinning. Jesus came to destroy that. Stop sinning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested. That he might destroy the works of the devil.

I submit to you that every time you see Jesus casting out demons in the gospel accounts, He is serving notice. Look at all the demons being cast out in Matthew, in Mark, in Luke, in John. What is Jesus doing? He's serving, notice, to the devil. Time's up.

The latitude that you have had in dominating the human race is broken at the cross. Does that mean that Satan is no longer in the world, or that he no longer wages warfare against the seed of the woman. No. 1 Peter 5.8 is true. 1 Peter 5.8 was written probably 30 years beyond the resurrection.

Here's what Peter writes, 1 Peter 5, 8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Are Jesus in John 12 and Peter in 1 Peter 5 not on the same page? Wrong conclusion. They're on the same page. They're not teaching different things.

Or John, again John in 1 John 5, 19. Listen to 1 John 5, 19. Or John in 1 John 5.19. We know that we are of God and The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked ones. So it's clear from Peter and John, as they understood Jesus, that undoubtedly they were there when Jesus spoke the words in our text in John chapter 12.

They're not confused later. They're not teaching contradictory things. Peter says, watch out for the devil, he is like a roaring lion. He is walking about seeking whom he may devour. Or John, we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

The devil is still in this world. The devil is still contending against the seed of the woman. At the same time, we know that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father while His enemies are made His footstool. Jesus' enemies are being made his footstool. This is Psalm 110 verse 1.

It's a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah. It says, the Lord said to my Lord, David, David is the psalmist, he says the Lord said to my Lord, if you look at the words it's God said to God, how can that be? There is a trinity. Sit at my right hand while I make your enemies your footstool." On the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2, Peter preaches that text and says to the Jews, this is what is happening right now.

Jesus, whom you crucified, is sitting in the exalted place at the right hand of the Father, and the Father is making his enemies his footstool. Consider what J.C. Ryle says. I think this is a tremendous insight. This far into the New Testament era, we lose sight of this insight.

Let J.C. Ryle help your New Testament brain. He says, Up to the time of our Lord's redeeming work, the entire world was in a certain sense completely under His dominion. When Christ came and died for sinners, Satan's usurped power was broken and received a deadly blow. Heathenism and idolatry and devil worship no longer governed all the earth except Palestine, as they had done for four thousand years.

Because undisturbed. In a wonderful and mysterious manner, Christ on the cross spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them." There he's quoting Colossians 2.15, which I just quoted a few minutes ago. He's asking you to consider world history. For 4, 000 years you have this little tiny nation on the earth that has the knowledge of God and Overwhelmingly, almost virtually without exclusion, God is passing over the other nations. He's passing over them and just giving them what they deserve.

And the devil is dominating them. And so you have the worst idolatry and heathenism and cannibalism and every manner of filth. The world is radically different today than it was when Jesus died on the cross. For all the darkness that is still on this earth, the earth is nothing like it was when Jesus died on the cross. One, now is the judgment of this world.

Two, now the ruler of this world will be cast out. Three, The third towering implication of the cross. A result of the crucifixion will be Jesus drawing all to himself. What should we know about the hour when Jesus would go to the cross? A result will be Jesus drawing all to Himself.

This is not Jesus teaching universalism. This is Jesus teaching that His great redemptive work on the cross is not just for Israel. This is a shift in earth history. Four thousand years, God's love is focused on Israel and by and large he's passing over all of the other nations so that they live and die and get what they deserve untroubled by God. Not now.

Not now. The mercy of God is going to be offered where it was withheld before. Jesus' great redemptive work is not just for Israel. It is for every nation as they sing to the Lamb in heaven. You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

Thank God I'm not a Jew. You're not a Jew. In centuries, millennia past, you would have been passed over. And God would be just to give you what you deserve. Now you are in a time where God has sent His mercy to the nations.

He has sent a declaration of terms of peace to the nations. Or as Jesus said in John 10 verse 16, remember, I am the door, I am the good shepherd. John chapter 10 verse 16, other sheep I have which are not of this fold, not of Israel. Them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd." That's what he's teaching. Think about human history.

Think about how narrowly the knowledge of the way of salvation has been among every tribe and tongue and people and nation. But now God sends his people out to tell the world. Look at Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3 verses 22 through 27. Jesus has been casting out devils in Mark chapter 3.

The scribes have an explanation. He's doing it by demonic power. Jesus addresses that in Mark chapter 3, 22-27. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and by the ruler of demons he casts out demons. So he, Jesus, called them to himself and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan is risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man and then he will plunder the house. Now think about that.

Think about verse 27, this last verse. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. I'm saying to you that the cross, this happens at the cross. Happens at the cross.

It is the binding of the strong man, and the Gospel having conquering force in the nations is a plundering of the strong man's house. This joins together. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples from myself." They are different implications of the cross, but they are joined. He binds the strong man and then he plunders his house.

I'll take that subject of yours and that subject of yours. He's mine, she's mine, they're mine. Jesus has triumphed over the devil and broken his power over the nations and he's plundering his kingdom. And we want in. We want to send the Templetons to Turkey, where the devil still has so much sway, because we know at the cross the power was broken, and we want to plunder that enemy's kingdom.

And we believe it's there for the taking. It's there for the taking. If it's not there for the taking, keep the Templetons at home. Turkey is there for the taking. Back to our text.

The last three verses. 34-36. The people answered him, The people answered him, We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. And how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?

Then Jesus said to them, A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke and departed, and was hidden from them.

In these verses, the people ask Him, who is this Son of Man? If you are taking notes on the handout, this fills in the blank. Who is this Son of Man? First, there are a couple of assumptions that we can make Based on the words of the text and they're really important assumptions first Jesus's hearers understood when he said, lifted up, that he meant be crucified. They tell us in what they say that they understood.

Verse 33 said, This He said, if I am lifted up from the earth, this He said signifying by what death He would die. We get in our verses now that they understood he meant to make clear by what way he would die that he would be crucified being lifted up and we get here that they understood that, otherwise their objection makes no sense at all. If they didn't understand. It's the whole basis of their objection. So they got it.

Jesus said, if I am lifted up, and they understood that to be his death. Secondly, Jesus' hearers understood that he was calling himself the Son of Man and that this meant the Messiah or Christ. This is very important because in many other places in the Gospel it's clear that they didn't understand that at all. But in this text it's clear that they understood that. Look at the connections that they make.

Look at the connections that His hearers make. Jesus said in verse 32, if I am lifted up, His hearers say in verse 34, how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? So they got it. I'm calling myself the Son of Man. They made that connection.

And they're pulling that from verse 23, which is again the same discourse when he said the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. So they get it. Jesus is calling himself the Son of Man. And, his hearers connect that with what the Old Testament says about the Messiah or the Christ. Those are synonyms.

Messiah means Christ, Christ means Messiah. They both mean the anointed one of God. And this is from verse 23. The hour has come that the Son of Man, oh wait a minute, From verse 34, we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. So are you with me?

They've made the connections. Jesus is calling himself the Son of Man, And when he says that, it's synonymous with saying, I'm the Messiah, I'm the Christ. His hearers got all of that. You can tell that because they've made the connections in what they say. So if those things are true, why do they say, who is this Son of Man?

They know He is calling Himself the Son of Man. Why would they ask that question? It isn't that they don't understand, it is that they do understand and believe that what Jesus is saying is incompatible with Old Testament scripture. Which is the only Scripture they have. The New Testament hadn't been written yet.

So with Scripture. It's not that they don't get it, it's that they do get it, and they say, that's incompatible with our understanding of the law, with our Scripture. We could restate their objection this way. The Son of Man or the Christ of Scripture remains forever, But the Son of Man or the Christ of your teaching must be crucified. These things are incompatible.

That's essentially what they're saying. These things are incompatible. Who is this Son of Man that you teach? The Son of Man of the Old Testament, the Christ of the Old Testament is a Son of Man, is a Christ that remains forever. You're teaching us of a Son of Man or a Christ who must be crucified.

These things are incompatible. Now I would like to ask and answer two questions. What is the answer to their objection? And how does Jesus respond to their objection? Because they are not the same, which is really telling.

What is the answer to their objection? Here's the answer. They're right, but only partly right. The Old Testament speaks repeatedly of both comings of Christ. His first coming in humility to suffer, and his second coming in triumph to judge and rule.

So you can go to multiple spots. It's his repeated teaching in the Old Testament Scriptures for both His first coming, which is to be a coming of humility, to suffer and purchase of people, and multiple places repeated in the Old Testament Scriptures of His second coming, a coming in triumph to rule, and the way they are intermingled is difficult and can be confusing. That is what you find in the Old Testament. Places that speak of the first coming, places that speak of the second coming, but it doesn't say first coming and second coming and they are intermingled in the prophets. Sometimes within a prophet, sometimes within the book of Isaiah, you find these intermingled.

And so it is difficult and it can be confusing. In fact, I would argue that John the Baptist gives evidence that it's confusing to him as he's languishing in prison. I think that's the whole thing that John the Baptist is grappling with in prison and why he sends his two disciples to Jesus to ask, are you the coming one or should we wait for another? Why is that? It's this very thing.

So, if you're going to condemn the Jews, just know that you're condemning John the Baptist by the same standard. Careful. Easy. It is difficult. It can be confusing.

So the wrong conclusion to draw is, those stupid Jews, This is a deep well in the Old Testament. You're lucky if you can untie that knot looking through the lens of the New Testament. So have some compassion on Jesus' hearers in our text. This is a tough one. By the way, I can take you to a bunch of scriptures that say that the Christ remains forever.

That's exactly what they're saying. Our Bible says, our scriptures say, that Christ remains forever. And we can go to a bunch of texts and Amen what they're saying. And we can go to a bunch of other texts which says clearly, proves that the Christ must suffer. They are grabbing on to one group of texts while ignoring this other group of texts.

I am not going to do that. Why? Well, time is one. But the other is, Jesus doesn't. Jesus didn't.

Why would I do that when Jesus thought I shouldn't do that? How does Jesus respond to their objection? He does not explain, though he could explain. Instead, he warns and exhorts. Friends, there is a kind of Gospel hearer that doesn't need yet another explanation.

Please track with me here. These are the most important things that are going to be said in this sermon. There is a kind of gospel hearer that doesn't need yet another explanation. In fact, a perfect explanation would only lead to two more questions endlessly, and on and on and on. One great explanation, perfectly sound, biblical, reasonable explanation leading to two more questions.

Endlessly. This kind of Gospel here simply needs to be urgently warned and exhorted to stop delaying and to repent and believe. The things that you need in order to place your trust in Christ are so clear. It doesn't have to do with the nuances of Old Testament teaching on the two comings of Christ. You don't need that to be saved.

You need to know about God's holiness and your sinfulness and God's ability to bring you together. Repent and believe. You don't need another explanation. You won't even do what's clear. This is days after the triumphal entry, right?

We're in the last week of Jesus' life. Just days before Jesus had come into Jerusalem to acclamation from the crowds. In Luke's account of the triumphal entry, Luke chapter 19, as he draws near to Jerusalem, he's weeping. He's weeping over the city because they did not know the time of their visitation. Meaning what?

They missed the Savior. He sees through the multitudes with their palm branches saying, Hosanna, the king of David, save! And he knows they won't be saved. Multitudes heard the Son of God preach, but needed one more explanation. Multitudes saw the Son of God heal the sick, give sight to the blind, give hearing to the deaf, cause the lame to rise up and leap, raise the dead, but ask for one more sign.

Some heard a voice from heaven who said, this is my son who I love. But they would not repent and believe. The people that Jesus is talking to just heard the voice from heaven. Listen to Isaiah 55. I'll conclude in Isaiah 55 and then apply.

Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." What's the exhortation?

Repent and believe. He will receive you. When? Seek the Lord while He may be found. While the voice of God speaks to you through a preacher or your reading or your thoughts, seek Him then.

Call upon Him while He is near. Oh, while you have the light, believe in the light. We can say the same things that Jesus said to His hearers there. While you have the light, believe in the light. Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Call upon him while he is near, so that you may be sons of light. The text closes this way. Our text closes this way. These things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them. He withdrew.

He withdrew. He's going to cry out one final time at the end of this chapter. And then, in terms of public appeals, the voice of the Son of God will go quiet. And Jerusalem will march on to hell. The text says, he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.

He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. Don't understand that as simply wandering aimlessly. It's really easy. You walk in darkness, you don't know where you're going, you're just wandering around aimlessly. It's so much more than that.

The one walking in darkness is going somewhere, but doesn't know it. This walking in darkness is so much worse than just aimless wandering. It is a broad road that leads to destruction. They don't see where they're going but they're going somewhere very surely. Very surely.

It's not just a person stumbling around in the dark It's the person in in the blackness of night unwittingly on the edge of the precipice. Not knowing. And for that person, it's as if everything's fine, but they don't see that I'm on the edge of the chasm. I don't even know that I'm on, off, on the edge of a chasm that descends into an eternal lake of fire. Imagine if you were watching that person, if you had eyes to see that person just carelessly on the edge wandering in darkness not knowing near the edge, a little back from the edge, no right on the edge.

You would pull them back. Applications. Two. One. Christians live in the victories of the cross.

I love this text. It puts the victories of the cross on display. The peace of the cross Now is the judgment of this world. Because I have repented and believed in the gospel, the judgment of the world is a past event for me. I said, are your sins on that man?

My sins were on that man. People who are free and clean can live in a way that no one else can live. We can live with a joy and an abandon that people who the wrath of God is still hovering over, they can't live like that. They can't even know what it feels to live like that. The joy and the peace, the freedom, the judgment being a past event, my sins were dealt with on that cross.

Christians, you have a right to that. You have a right to that joy. You have a right to that peace. The victory over the devil. He has triumphed over powers and principalities by the cross.

So the exhortation to Christians is, be sober, be vigilant. That's all the Christian needs to worry about. Be sober and vigilant. Yes, the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. So be sober and be vigilant.

You have all the weapons at your disposal that you need. God will not let you be lost. Pay attention. The plundering of the kingdom of darkness. There is an open field for the plundering of that kingdom.

God gives His people the honor of participating in the plundering of that filthy, foul kingdom that we all used to belong to. So number one, Christians live in the victories of the cross, the peace of the cross, the victory over the devil won by the cross, the plundering of the kingdom of darkness. Number two, unbelievers, beware. I need one more explanation. I need one more sign.

Beware lest you miss the day of your visitation. You will not call upon the Lord while He may be found. You will not seek Him while He may be found. You will not draw near to Him when He is calling out to you. What will hell be like for such a person?

Father, thank you for the goodness of your Word. I pray that you would use it mightily in our hearts. In Jesus' name, Amen.