Finding Ultimate Hope: Why the Cross Transforms the Bleakest Situation (John 12:27-36)

In life, we often encounter difficult circumstances. If I were to mention the word "bleak," what comes to mind? It is typically not something joyful or ideal. Bleakness fundamentally represents a judgment of a situation as desperate, dire, and lacking goodness. Conversely, hope is also a judgment, but it is based on how one looks at or responds to that same situation. Many of us have felt stuck in tough situations, questioning whether they would end well. Today, as we begin the season of Advent—a time focused on the coming of Christ—we look to the book of John (chapter 12:27-36) to understand how an event that appears utterly bleak—the death of Jesus Christ—is, in fact, the ultimate source of profound and enduring hope.

We explore how hope emerges not despite tragedy, but often because of sacrifice.

A Story of Bleakness Turned to Hope: The Legacy of Lottie Moon

To illustrate how hope can transform a dire circumstance, we look to the life of the missionary Charlotte Moon, affectionately known as Lottie.

Lottie’s trajectory was initially far removed from Christian service. She hailed from a wealthy Virginia family and was initially hostile and antagonistic toward the gospel. She was also highly educated, being one of the first women in the 1800s to earn a Master's degree. However, while in college, she heard the gospel, and God "got a hold of her heart". She was radically saved, changing the course of her life completely and abandoning the trajectory of her privileged upbringing.

Lottie eventually became a missionary to China, serving there for nearly 40 years, spanning the 1870s to the 1890s and beyond. Her time in China was marked by immense national turmoil, including world wars and the struggles inherent in a communist country. The people she ministered to were subjected to harsh times and suffering.

As an American, Lottie faced immediate distrust from the local population. To build rapport, she ingeniously created a ministry as the "cookie lady," using food, cookies, and sweets to attract crowds. This was especially effective because people in the country were starving and struggling due to the surrounding turmoil.

Despite her fruitful ministry, Lottie constantly struggled for resources. She was known for reaching back to American churches, urgently requesting more missionaries and more funding, often finding her requests unmet. Tragically, she became gravely ill because she devoted the money sent for her own sponsorship to buying food for those she served.

Near the end of her life, frail, thin, and 79 years old, she was made to board a boat back to America to recover. She died on the journey, weighing only 50 pounds, a direct result of having given away all her food.

One could look at this situation—Lottie’s isolated death, her desperate state, her unmet requests—and judge it as utterly bleak, dire, and lacking hope. Yet, the news of Lottie’s death and the reason why she died created a major, hopeful movement in American churches. In her honor, Southern Baptist churches now hold an annual Christmas offering. This movement, involving about 16,000 churches, pulls funding together, and 100% of the funds go directly to missionaries on the field. Since her passing around 1918, this offering has raised millions of dollars and fully funded thousands of missionaries, ensuring they don't have to return home to ask for money. Lottie’s sacrifice turned a tough, sad situation into a wellspring of hope for people and missionaries alike.

The Cross: Transforming Bleakness into Ultimate Hope (John 12:27-36)

Just as Lottie’s death produced exponential hope, we now turn to John 12 to see how the impending death of Jesus Christ similarly converts the appearance of bleakness into the ultimate source of salvation and hope.

The context of this passage is vital: a group of Greek people (non-Jewish individuals) came seeking Jesus. This was highly uncommon because non-Jewish people were generally required to convert to Judaism before approaching Jesus. Jesus uses this moment to explain the profound purpose of His sacrifice through three essential truths:

1. Jesus’ Death Glorifies the Father

Jesus begins by confessing His inner struggle: "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".

Jesus’ troubled soul was not rooted in physical fear of the Roman crucifixion, which was notoriously torturous. Rather, His agony was rooted in the anticipation of two profound spiritual burdens:

1. Bearing Sin: Jesus possessed an utter hatred for sin, and He was about to bear the sin of humanity.

2. Facing Wrath: His soul was troubled because He was about to face the wrath that comes with sin.

His willingness to look at this soul-troubling process and still affirm His purpose—to be the sacrificial lamb and die to take away our sin—demonstrates His commitment to the Father's will. His response is a model for us when facing troubles: "Father glorify yourself in this".

The Father responded audibly: "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again".

To "glorify" means to reveal or reflect God's greatness, identity, and character. The Father confirms that He has already glorified His name through Jesus' ministry. This includes:

• The revelation of His Son, Jesus.

• Signs and miracles (turning water into wine, healing the sick, healing the blind).

• His powerful teachings, which Jesus affirmed came directly from the Father.

• The raising of Lazarus from the dead.

The Father then states He will glorify His name again. This future glorification happens through the cross. The cross reveals God’s character by showing that He is holy, completely separate from sin, and unwilling to tolerate it. It also reveals His identity through the resurrection and ascension, where the Son is raised after three days to sit at the right hand of the Father.

This promise of God’s glory, revealed through the death of the innocent Son, provides powerful hope even in the most challenging times.

2. Jesus’ Death Judges the World and the Ruler of Darkness

The second reason the cross brings hope is articulated in verse 31: "Now is the judgment of this world now will the ruler of this world be cast out".

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross nearly 2,000 years ago constituted a tangible, specific judgment. When Jesus died, He did not die for sin conceptually; He died for sins specifically. The Bible teaches that the sins of those who would become Christians were tangibly placed upon Him in that moment. This act was the judgment of sin.

Following the judgment, Jesus declares that the "ruler of this world" (Satan) will be "cast out". While we know Satan has not been removed from the world entirely, this statement has profound spiritual implications, offering two key interpretations:

1. Cast Out as Accuser: As New Testament scholar D.A. Carson suggests, Satan is the "accuser". When Jesus goes to the cross and forgives our sins, Satan is cast out of the judgment room or courtroom, losing the ability to successfully accuse believers whose debts have been paid.

2. Loss of Control: For those whose sins Jesus died for, sin no longer maintains control over them. As new creations in Christ, Satan can no longer effectively use sin or his worldly schemes to control or entangle us.

The reality is that our sins are paid for, and the ruler of this world has been cast out. This gives the Christian remarkable freedom and boldness. We are not living like everyone else in the world; we are new creations, able to walk in the path of Jesus without being under the control of sin. We should be marked by a holiness that seeks to honor and glorify God with our lives.

In times of stress—which are common, especially when we do things outside of God's will—we should question if we are pursuing God’s purpose. If the stress comes while pursuing God's purpose (like Jesus facing the cross), we are called to respond as Jesus did: "This is my purpose, this is why I'm here. Father glorify yourself in this". Our collective purpose, our mission statement, is clear: to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. When we are obedient to this commission, we are honoring and glorifying God.

3. Jesus’ Death Invites All Peoples to Salvation

The third, and perhaps most expansive, reason the cross brings hope is its universal invitation: "And when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself" (v. 32).

The phrase "all people" clarifies the expansive nature of Jesus’ sacrifice, directly addressing the arrival of the Greeks. Jesus is confirming that His death is not exclusively for the nation of Israel but for "all peoples"—meaning all nationalities and Gentiles are invited to come to Him. The invitation is global; regardless of your country or nationality, you are welcomed to Christ.

The meaning of being "lifted up" relates to the specific kind of death Jesus would die. This imagery is a profound throwback to Moses in the wilderness. When the Israelites were bitten by poisonous snakes, they were instructed to look toward a bronze snake raised on a stick to be healed or saved. Similarly, looking to Jesus Christ lifted up on the cross brings salvation.

The crowds, holding onto their established interpretation of prophecy, were confused. They knew the law suggested the Messiah remains forever, and they asked, "How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?". They expected a Messiah who would reign forever, not one who would die.

Jesus’ response shifts gears. He stops negotiating and rationalizing with them. Instead, He issues a clear, pointed command: "The light is among you for a little while longer, walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you".

Walking in the light is a metaphor for a lifestyle—a constant adherence to God’s standard. Jesus urges them to make a choice before His time is up. He reveals the mechanism for becoming a part of this new kingdom:

"While you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of light".

How does a person become a "son of light?" The answer is simple: believe. This marked a monumental paradigm shift for the audience. Faith has always been the avenue for relationship with God, but belief now becomes the "new currency" of salvation, replacing burdensome, laborious rules and regulations.

This is the rest that Jesus offers (Matthew 11). The rest is not simply taking a nap; the rest is freedom from continually having to acquire sacrifices, walk to the temple, and repeat rituals every time sin occurred. Jesus took the burden upon Himself.

Jesus warns that the opportunity to make this choice is finite: "The light will not always be with you". We often feel we have infinite time, but our time to choose Jesus is truly finite. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension give us our ultimate hope, ensuring that no situation, no matter how bleak it appears, remains without hope. We are invited to follow Him today, finding the rest and peace that only comes through His finished work on the cross.

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If the cross feels like a crushing weight of despair—the ultimate bleak scenario—remember Lottie Moon. Her dying sacrifice, though desperately sad, became the sustaining engine for thousands of hopeful missions. The cross of Christ is exponentially more powerful: a seemingly tragic end that is, in reality, the eternal engine funding the salvation of all peoples.