Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.“Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time’? But I came to this time for this cause.Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour.
4 sermons cite this verse
… We're going to see many of these nows. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. That's the hour of the cross. We're going to see that hour again and again. The hour of the cross. But for this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. All right, so nothing new yet. We've seen that all throughout Jesus' life. He's going after the Father's glory. That's not new. But then, in his next statement, Jesus refers obliquely, but really to his own lifting up and exaltation. This is new. And this is significant. Jesus had said in John 12, 23, with his death in view, that his hour has come. That's the cross. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. and in this hour not only will the father lift him up rather than Jesus lifting himself up he doesn't lift himself up the father lifts him up but this first lifting up will be a lifting up of all places to the odium of the cross the first lifting up is not the resurrection the first lifting up strangely wonderfully is the lifting up on the cross to die for sinners and even though at this key juncture in his life as he draws near to the cross Jesus first rehearses that goal of glorifying his father he now acknowledges here in John 12 and he reveals that he desires his own exaltation seeing that his hour has come …
… he's praying like this. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. and a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. Jesus died to vindicate the righteousness of God in saving sinners. Jesus died to put the beauty of God's grace on the fullest possible display. And in doing so at the cross, he purchased a people whose reason for being is this. You are a chosen people, a possession of his own. That you may declare, proclaim, show the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Jesus bought a people at the cost of his life so that they would make much of him. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Bear much fruit that your Father may be glorified. …
Christ has done greater things than to create the world, in order to obtain his bride and the joy of his espousals with her: for he became man for this end; which was a greater thing than his creating the world. For the Creator to make the creature was a great thing; but for him to become a creature was a greater thing. And he did a much greater thing still to obtain this joy; in that for this he laid down his life, and suffered even the death of the cross: for this he poured out his soul unto death; and he that is the Lord of the universe, God over all, blessed for evermore, offered up himself a sacrifice, in both body and soul, in the flames of divine wrath. Christ obtains his elect spouse by conquest: for she was captive in the hands of dreadful enemies; and her Redeemer came into the world to conquer these enemies, and rescue her out of their hands, that she might be his bride. And he came and encountered these enemies in the greatest battle that ever was beheld by men or angels: he fought with principalities and powers; he fought alone with the powers of darkness, and all the armies of hell; yea, he conflicted with the infinitely more dreadful wrath of God, and overcame in this great battle; and thus he obtained his spouse. Let us consider at how great a price Christ purchased this spouse: he did not redeem her with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with his own precious blood; yea, he gave himself for her. When he offered up himself to God in those extreme labors and sufferings, this was the joy that was set before him, that made him cheerfully to endure the cross, and despise the pain and shame in comparison of this joy; even that rejoicing over his church, as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride that the Father has promised him, and that he expected when he should present her to himself in perfect beauty and blessedness. …
1. This implies a request that he might be strengthened and supported, and enabled to do God’s will, by going through with these sufferings. The same as when he says, “Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God.” It was the preceptive will of God that he should lake that cup and drink it: it was the Father’s command to him. The Father had given him the cup, and as it were set it down before him with the. command that he should drink it. This was the greatest act of obedience that Christ «as to perform. He prays for strength and help, that his poor feeble human nature might be supported, that he might not fail in this great trial, that he might not sink and be swallowed up, and his strength so overcome that he should not hold out, and finish the appointed obedience. This was the thing that he feared, of which the apostle speaks in the 5th of Hebrews., when he says, “he was heard in that he feared.” When he had such an extraordinary sense of the dreadful-ness of his sufferings impressed on his mind, the fearful-ness of it amazed him. He was afraid lest his poor feeble strength should be overcome, and that he should fail in so great a trial, that he should be swallowed up by that death that he was to die, and so should not be saved from death; and therefore he offered up strong crying and tears unto him that was able to strengthen him, and support, and save him from death, that the death he was to suffer might not overcome his love and obedience, but that he might overcome death, and so be saved from it. If Christ’s courage had failed in the trial, and he had not held out under his dying sufferings, he never would have been saved from death, but he would have sunk in the deep mire; he never would have risen from the dead, for his rising from the dead was a reward of his victory. If his courage had failed, and he had given up, he would have remained from under the power of death, and so we should all have perished, we should have remained vet in our sins. If he lad failed, all would have failed. If he had not overcome in that sore conflict, neither he nor we could have been freed from death, we all must have perished together. Therefore this was the saving from death that the apostle speaks of, that Christ feared and prayed for with strong crying and tears. His being overcome of death was the thing that he feared, and so he was heard in that he feared. This Christ prayed, that the will of God might be done in his sufferings, even that he might not foil of obeying God’s will in his sufferings; and therefore it follows in the next verse in that passage of Hebrews,” Though he were a Son, vet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” That it was in this respect that Christ in his agony so earnestly prayed that the will of God might be done, viz. that he might have strength to do his will, and might not sink and fail in such great sufferings; is confirmed from the scriptures of the Old Testament, as particularly from the 69th Psalm. The psalmist represents Christ in that psalm, as is evident from the feet that the words of that psalm are represented as Christ’s words in many places of the New Testament. That psalm is represented as Christ’s prayer to God when his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow and amazement, as it was in his agony; as you may see in the 1st and 2nd verses., “Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul: I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” But then the thing that is represented as being the thing that he feared, was failing, and being overwhelmed, in this great trial: verses 14 and 15. “Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.” So again in the 22d Psalm., which is also represented as the prayer of Christ under his dreadful sorrow and sufferings, verses 19, 20, 21. “But be not thou far from me, O Lord; O my Strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from die lion’s mouth.” It was meet and suitable that Christ, when about to engage in that terrible conflict, should thus earnestly seek help from God to enable him to do his will; for he needed God’s help the strength of his human nature, without divine help, was not sufficient to carry him through. This was, without doubt, that in which the first Adam foiled in his first trial, that when the trial came he was not sensible of his own weakness and dependence. If he had been, and had leaned on God, and cried to him for his assistance and strength against the temptation, in all likelihood we should have remained innocent and happy creatures to this day. …