The Father speaks from heaven, and the hour of the Son's glory draws near.
What did it mean when a voice spoke from heaven over Jesus, and why does He call His death His glory? In this expository study of John 12:20-36, Dr. Toby B. Holt examines the hour of the Son of Man, the grain of wheat that must fall into the ground and die, and the Father's audible testimony to His Son. From a confessional Reformed perspective, the sermon shows how the cross is the very throne of Christ's glory and the means by which He bears much fruit. Jesus declares, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32, NKJV), confronting nominal profession with the call to genuine faith.
0:00 — Profession Versus Possession. Many claim Christ who do not truly know Him.
6:37 — No External Can Save. Rituals and decisions are not the new birth.
14:00 — "Father, Glorify Your Name." The voice from heaven answers the Son (John 12:28).
19:29 — Glory Through the Cross. The grain of wheat must die to bear fruit (John 12:23-24).
26:12 — Walk While It Is Light. Believe in the Light before night comes (John 12:35-36).
When certain Greeks asked to see Jesus (John 12:20-21), the Gentile world began reaching toward the Messiah, and Jesus answered, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified" (John 12:23, NKJV). The hour was not the Greeks' audience but the cross, for only through His death and resurrection would salvation extend to all nations. Their coming pointed forward to the much grain the dying seed would yield.
Jesus said, "unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24, NKJV). He speaks first of His own death. Apart from the cross, He would remain alone; through it, He gathers a redeemed people. The principle of fruitfulness through death also marks the disciple who, by grace, dies to self to follow Him.
John repeatedly calls the cross Christ's glorification (John 12:23, 12:28). At Calvary the love, justice, and saving power of God shine most fully, and there the Son accomplishes the redemption appointed Him. The Westminster Confession (8.4) teaches that Christ "endured most grievous torments" and was crucified, yet through this humiliation He triumphed. The cross is not glory delayed but glory displayed.
After Jesus prayed, "Father, glorify Your name," the text records, "Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again'" (John 12:28, NKJV). This was the Father's audible testimony to the Son, as at Christ's baptism and transfiguration. Jesus said the voice came "for your sake" (John 12:30), confirming to the hearers that the One going to the cross was indeed the Father's beloved Son.
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32, NKJV). John explains this signified "by what death He would die" (John 12:33). As Moses lifted up the serpent, "even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14, NKJV). The crucifixion is the lifting up that becomes the magnet of the gospel, gathering people from every nation to the crucified Christ.
No. The phrase means people from all nations and kinds, Jew and Greek alike, not every person without exception, since Scripture plainly teaches that not all believe (John 12:37-40). The drawing is the effectual work of God; Jesus had already said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44, NKJV). The Westminster Confession (10.1) calls this effectual calling.
Jesus warns, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you" (John 12:35, NKJV), and immediately many who heard Him "did not believe in Him" (John 12:37). Outward nearness to Christ is not saving faith. The Westminster Confession (14.2) describes true faith as receiving and resting upon Christ alone for salvation. A profession unaccompanied by such resting trust leaves a person in the dark.
Jesus, the Light of the world, was about to be taken from public view, so He urged, "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light" (John 12:36, NKJV). The call is urgent: respond to Christ now, for the opportunity of grace is not endless. To walk in the light is to believe in Him and to follow where He leads, lest darkness overtake the soul.
"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" (John 12:27, NKJV). Jesus felt the real horror of bearing sin and the wrath due to it, yet He did not draw back. His trouble was genuine; His resolve was greater. As true man He shrank from the cup, and as the obedient Mediator He embraced the Father's will for our salvation.
Jesus said, "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" (John 12:26, NKJV). Following Christ means the same path of dying to self that the grain of wheat illustrates. The promise is union with Him and honor from the Father, an inheritance far surpassing the life surrendered to gain it.
1. The Hour of Glory Is the Hour of the Cross
When the Greeks sought Jesus, He turned every eye to His coming death: "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified" (John 12:23, NKJV). In John's Gospel the cross is not defeat but the summit of Christ's glory, where the Father's saving purpose is accomplished. The Mediator is glorified precisely in laying down His life, and from that lifting up flows redemption for all nations.
2. Fruitfulness Comes Only Through Death
Jesus taught the law of the kingdom in a single image: "unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24, NKJV). His death is the seed that yields a vast harvest of the redeemed. The same pattern shapes discipleship, for the one who hates his life in this world keeps it for eternal life (John 12:25).
3. The Father Testifies, and the Light Calls
To the Son's prayer the Father answered audibly: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again" (John 12:28, NKJV). Heaven itself bore witness to Christ for the people's sake. Then Jesus pressed the urgent summons of faith: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light" (John 12:36, NKJV). Nominal nearness is not enough; only genuine trust in the lifted-up Savior brings life.
The Scripture Text: John 12:23-24 (NKJV)
"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.'"
Continue studying: explore the full Gospel of John sermon series, or browse the complete Reformed Sermon Archive.
About The Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt serves as the third President of New Geneva Theological Seminary (Colorado Springs, CO), founded 1993. An expository preacher with over 1.9 million sermon downloads on SermonAudio.com, Dr. Holt brings over 17 years of pastoral experience to his verse-by-verse Bible teaching. New Geneva offers fully online Reformed theological education — M.Div., Th.M., D.Min., and other degrees.
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