SermonStudio

Jeremiah addresses these words to the Jews in Babylon. Through
him God promises to make a new covenant with them. Out of their
suffering, sorrow and isolation in exile as slaves, a new
covenant will be made. No time was given when the new covenant
would be made; Christians see the new covenant made through the
blood of Christ. The differences between the old and new
covenants are in the facts that the law would be in the hearts
and God would be known in an intimate and personal relationship.
To make this new covenant possible, God promises to forgive and
forget the people's sins.

Lesson 2: Hebrews 5:5-10 (C, E); Hebrews 5:7-9 (L, RC)
Here we see the human Jesus praying with tears and crying to
avoid the cross. It is an allusion to Gethsemane. Jesus' appeal
is denied. Through his suffering and death, Jesus learned
obedience to God's will. By his obedience he was made "perfect;"
that is, he completed and fulfilled his God-given mission to die
for the salvation of the world.

Gospel: John 12:20-33 (C, E, L); John 12:20-30 (RC)
The time for Jesus' passion has come. The immediate occasion
is the visit of Greeks wanting to see Jesus. They turn to Philip
probably because of his Greek name. When Jesus hears they have
come to see him, he interprets it as the time to go to the cross,
which is to glorify him. Jesus announces the principle of his
mission -- the necessity to die in order to rise in glory. Jesus
applies this to those who would follow him; they, too, must die
in order to live. This decision to go to the cross was not easy,
for the human Jesus faces the cries and tears of a Gethsemane.
Since the cross cannot be avoided, he asks God to glorify his
name. From heaven comes God's confirmation of Jesus, and the
people who hear the voice as thunder are assured of Jesus' being
God's Son. As the cross approaches, Satan will be defeated and
Jesus will draw all men to him by his crucifixion.

Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 51:1-12 (C) -- "Have mercy on me, O God, according to
your steadfast love." (v. 1)
Psalm 51 (E); Psalm 51:11-16 (L)

Hymn Of The Day
"Glory Be To Jesus"

Theme Of The Day: The Fruit Of The Cross
Gospel -- The cross bears the fruit of eternal life.
Lesson 1 -- The cross establishes the new covenant.
Lesson 2 -- The cross teaches obedience and earns eternal
salvation.
In a lectionary, this Fifth Sunday In Lent was named "Passion
Sunday." Though in this lectionary the name has changed, the
theme of suffering and sacrifice of Christ is prevalent. The
fruits or results of Christ's passion are given. In the Gospel,
Jesus' upcoming death is an hour of glory for both the Son and
the Father. From this suffering, Jesus learns obedience (Lesson
2). The new covenant, promised in Lesson 1, is fulfilled through
the death of the Pascal Lamb. Christ's cross enables God and man
to enter a new era of reconciliation.

Because of the benefits of the cross, we can glory in it. The
Psalm of the Day deals with a prayer for a new heart resulting
from the new covenant with God. The Hymn of the Day harmonizes
with the Gospel in that it refers repeatedly to the glory of
Jesus in his passion and death. With the end of Lent approaching,
it is good to give consideration to the benefits of the cross.

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS
Gospel: John 12:20-33
1. Wish (v. 21). Greeks came to Philip asking to see Jesus.
"Sir, we wish to see Jesus" is a sentence often seen on pulpits
to remind the preacher what the people want to hear and see. It
is significant that the Greeks, Gentiles, were interested in
Jesus and apparently wanted to know more about him, possibly
wanting to be his disciples. The Greeks represent the hunger
people have for spiritual truth and experience. This hunger is
expressed in people's interest in astrology, transcendental
meditation and the cults. It is also important to note that the
Greeks did not come directly to Jesus but to a disciple, Philip.
Many people come to Jesus by joining a church through the
friendly invitation of friends or neighbors.
2. Hour (v. 23). Several times Jesus said that his hour had
not come. Now he says it is here. The Greeks represent the
Gentile world just as at his birth wise men from pagan lands came
to worship him. The hour has come for Jesus to fulfill his
mission as Messiah. It is the hour of his death. He considers it
his hour of glory -- the opportunity to glorify God by saving the
world through his sacrifice on the cross.
3. Unless (v. 24). Jesus states the fundamental principle of
salvation. The price of life is death. There is no gain without
pain. Without the shedding of blood, there is no redemption. The
cross is the path to the crown of glory. If a seed is to become a
plant, it must be buried and die to self in order to rise in
glory. Jesus applies this not only to himself, showing the
necessity of the cross, but also to his disciples. To save their
lives, they must lose them for Jesus' sake.
4. Troubled (v. 27). Jesus admits he is "troubled." Why should
he be troubled if he is God's Son? Where are his faith and trust
in God? His being troubled shows his humanity. As a human, Jesus
wants to live rather than die on the cross. He has no martyr
complex. He asks God to prevent his death, but at the very next
moment, he realizes this was the purpose of his life. Faith
triumphed over fear.
5. Draw (v. 32). Jesus promises that his crucifixion would
draw all people to him. People are to come to Christ not by force
or persuasion. They are drawn to Christ on the cross. The cross
has a magnetism. It appeals to all people. The display of love,
kindness, obedience and patience causes people to respond. To
this day, this is our best method of bringing the world to
Christ. It is preaching Christ crucified. But how long is it
going to take the cross to draw all people? After 2,000 years
only one-third of the world is Christian. Is the answer in the
words, "When I am lifted up?"

Lesson 1: Jeremiah 31:31-34
1. New (v. 31). What is new about a covenant between God and
man? Covenants were made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
and Moses. The making of a covenant is not new, but this promised
covenant would be new. The covenants of the past were only
renewals. Here is a whole new deal. God is going to give Israel
another chance to be his people. The new covenant was made
through the blood of God's Son.
2. Hearts (v. 33). A new feature of the promised covenant was
that it was not to be written on tablets of stone but on the
hearts of the people. In the Old Testament the heart was more
than the seat of feeling but also the seat of understanding and
the will. People would accept, love and obey God from and with
the heart -- in all sincerity and with a total devotion.
3. Know (v. 34). When God is loved with the heart, there is no
need to teach someone who God is. The person will know God
instinctively. To know God is not a mere intellectual exercise or
understanding, but an ultimate relationship based on trust.

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4. No more (v. 34). To effect this new covenant, God must
forgive the people's past sins that they may begin anew in their
relationship with God as though nothing happened. God not only
promises to forgive but to forget. He says he will remember their
sins "no more." This wonderfully good news is that when we
confess our sins and are forgiven, those sins are blotted out and
will no longer be brought up at judgment day. God keeps no tapes
for playing back all of our sins.

Lesson 2: Hebrews 5:5-10
1. Flesh (v. 7). The Word became flesh. It is important that
Jesus was fully and truly human. If he were not, he could not
identify with us nor could he take our sins upon him. The author
of Hebrews refers to Jesus' day of his flesh -- his humanity upon
earth as Jesus of Nazareth. This refers to his preexistence, for
Jesus had days other than in his flesh. Proof of this humanity
was in the Gethsemane experience of praying with tears and cries.
2. Tears (v. 7). We know that Jesus wept at Lazarus' grave and
over Jerusalem. Here we learn that he prayed with tears in his
eyes. Tears express the intensity of his desire to live and not
go to the cross. The tears reflect the struggle Jesus had to
bring his will into perfect obedience to the Father's will by
dying for the sins of the world.
3. Obedience (v. 8). The pericope says Jesus learned obedience
through suffering. Could it be that he also suffered because he
was obedient? It works both ways, doesn't it? When we obey God,
we have to suffer the consequences of persecution at the hands of
evil men. When we suffer, we learn to obey God.
4. Perfect (v. 9). Morally, Jesus was perfect. Why then does
the text say he was made perfect by his suffering and death? The
word, "perfect," means completion or fulfillment. He accomplished
what he was sent to do. He fulfilled his mission as Messiah.
Consequently, he earned eternal salvation for all believers.

PREACHING POSSIBILITIES He Had To Die!
Need: Jesus had to die. There was no other way to save the
world. There was no other good enough to save the world. God the
Father made that clear to Jesus in Gethsemane. Both Lesson 2 and
the Gospel give the Gethsemane experience. Jesus realized that
the cross was a "must" to accomplish the world's salvation. In
the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that for him and his
followers his destiny is similar to the seed that must die and be
buried before it can rise in newness of life and produce fruit.
This sermon is to help people realize and appreciate the
necessity of the cross for their spiritual well-being.
Outline: The cross was necessary --
a. To establish a new covenant -- Lesson 1.
b. To fulfill the task of saving the world -- Lesson 2.
c. To bring salvation to all people -- Gospel.

Gospel: John 12:20-33
1. The man of the hour! 12:20-33
Need: The hour for Jesus has come. He recognized that fact. It
was the hour of death but it was also an hour of glory. By his
death, God would be glorified, for God's plan of salvation would
be fulfilled. When the Greeks came to see Jesus, he was the man
people wanted to see, hear and know. As we approach Holy Week
with the passion, trials and death of Jesus, we focus upon Jesus
as the man of the hour.
Outline: Behold this man of the hour --
a. The wanted Jesus -- vv. 20-22.
b. The troubled Jesus -- v. 27.
c. The glorified Jesus -- v. 28.
d. The magnetic Jesus -- v. 32.

2. What did you come to see? 12:21
Need: Today there is a great spiritual hunger which is not
being satisfactorily met by mainline churches. Millions have left
the churches for more than 200 cults and sects which are
experiencing phenomenal growth. Like the Greeks, they are coming
to see Jesus. The people in the pews also look up to the pulpit
in the hope they will be shown Jesus. But what do we want to see
in Jesus?
Outline: Why did you come to see Jesus?
a. To see his miracles?
b. To see a man preach and teach?
c. To see a man suffer and die?
3. The hour of death -- the hour of glory. 12:23-32
Need: Death for most is the hour of defeat and tragedy. For
Jesus the hour of death was the hour of glory. He saw his death
as a good thing. Though he had to struggle with his human nature
which wanted to live, he accepted God's will to die as an
opportunity to glorify God. When we contemplate Jesus' attitude
and use of death, we can be helped to face our hour of death and
transform it into an hour of glory.
Outline: How death can be glorious --
a. Death can bring new life -- v. 24.
b. Death can glorify God -- v. 28.
c. Death can defeat Satan -- v. 31.
d. Death can attract people to Christ -- v. 32.
4. The magnetic man on the cross. 12:32
Need: What is the best way to bring the world to faith in
Christ? To do so is the central purpose of the church and of each
individual Christian. Some try offering various church programs.
Others promise good luck and success. Some go the emotional route
-- charismatic meetings, manipulatory revivals, etc. All of these
methods are futile. Jesus, in this text, gives the secret: his
death on the cross. Our responsibility is to proclaim Christ
crucified. When the cross is seen, it draws men to the Master.
Outline: What is the drawing power of the cross?
a. Suffering draws through sympathy.
b. Death attracts through innocence.
c. Love of the cross appeals.
d. Gratitude for the sacrifice motivates response.

Lesson 1: Jeremiah 31:31-34
1. "The days are coming" when God will make a new covenant
with his people. If this is only a promise of a future new
relationship with God, where is the good news other than hope for
the future? Christians have more than a promise; they have the
fulfillment in Christ who effected the new covenant. The days are
not coming; they have come in Christ. This is the good news for
this day!
Outline: Because of Christ --
a. A new covenant has been made -- v. 31.
b. We know God in Christ -- v. 34.
c. We experience forgiveness through Christ -- v. 34.
2. What's new about the new covenant?
Need: The making of a covenant between God and his people is
nothing new. God promises a new covenant -- totally new. In the
past, the old covenant was just renewed. Here is a new deal for
humanity. What is new about it?
Outline: What is new about the new covenant --
a. It is individual rather than corporate -- v. 34 -- "Each
man."
b. It is internal rather than external -- v. 33 -- "I will
write it upon their hearts."
c. It is integrational rather than formal -- vv. 33, 34 --
"They shall know me."

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Lesson 2: Hebrews 5:5-10
1. Go to Gethsemane! 5:7-10
Need: Gethsemane was a place of prayer, a place where Jesus
wrestled with God, a place where a life-death decision was made.
In this passage we have the Hebrews' version of Jesus' Gethsemane
experience. It is a place where we can learn.
Outline: Go to Gethsemane to learn of Jesus --
a. How to pray -- v. 7.
b. How to obey -- v. 8.
c. How to die -- v. 9.
2. What a cross can do for you. 5:8-9
Need: To be a Christian, according to Jesus, is to carry a
cross. In all things, even a cross, we are to imitate Jesus.
Jesus must not bear the cross alone. There is a cross for each of
us. If so, what can the cross do for you?
Outline: What the cross can do for you --
a. Teach you obedience through suffering -- v. 8.
b. Gain salvation for the obedient -- v. 9.