His Hour Had Come

His Hour Had Come

Shirley Mitchell

“Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified... Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.’ ”

John 12:23, 27

John 2 tells us the story of Jesus’ first miracle. Jesus’ mother came to Him on the third day of a wedding in Cana, and she said to her Son, “They have no more wine.” In verse 4, Jesus replied to her, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” Six stone water jars filled to the brim with twenty to thirty gallons of water were turned to wine that day.

John 7 tells us the story of when Jesus was teaching in the temple courts. Some people in the crowd were astonished at the miracles that He did. Some put their faith in Him that He was the Christ. Some said He was demon-possessed. Some were angry with Him for saying that God, His Father, sent Him and they did not know who He was, but He knew Him. These angry men tried to seize Him. However, no one laid a hand on Him, because “his time had not yet come” (verse 30).

In John 8, Jesus is again teaching in the temple area. This time He taught near the place where offerings were put. The Pharisees challenged Him and said He had an invalid testimony. Jesus said He stood with His Father who sent Him. His Father was a witness for Him. Then He told them again they did not know His Father. If they knew His Father, then they would know who He was. The confrontation again infuriated the Pharisees, but verse 20 tells us that no one seized Him because His time had not yet come.

In John 12 after the triumphal entry, Jesus is talking to His disciples. He tells His beloved followers who have followed Him from town to town for so many months the significance of what is happening on the kingdom calendar. He announces to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus’ hour had come. It was not His time in those other instances in Scripture. Therefore, no one could thwart the plans of the Father. It was now time.

What was it time for? Jesus explains to His disciples that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. He was telling them that it was His time to die and that through His death there would be a kingdom explosion like no other. He was troubled (verse 27), but He knew that He could not ask His Father to save Him from this hour. He knew that it was for this very reason that He came. Jesus came to die, and He came to die at this appointed hour.

Jesus’ death was carefully and meticulously planned out by the Father. They planned it before the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8). They knew that Adam and Eve would sin before they were created. So before they were created, they made a way for God to be with man. Jesus knew the way that He would die. Verses 32-33 tell us that He knew that He would be lifted up from the earth and He knew the kind of death that He was going to die. It was all part of the plan. It was all set at the right time.

My friend, we are preparing our hearts to celebrate the Father’s and Son’s great plan that was carried out 2,000 years ago. It was put on the kingdom calendar before there was an earthly calendar. As we remember the greatest story ever told, let’s keep at the forefront of our minds that God had complete control over these events and the people. He planned it all just to be with us because you and I are His beloved children. He would do anything to be with us. Hold onto this. If He would do anything to be with us, then know that He cares about your situation right now more than you can imagine. Let’s give Him our worries, our burdens, and our plans and let Him be sovereign over it all.

Pray with me: Oh, praise You, Lord, for Your perfect plan! How beautiful that Jesus knew when His hour had come. You knew! You are meticulous. You plan perfectly for Your Son’s life. We should expect that a Father who would plan so perfectly for His Holy Son’s life will also plan so perfectly for His adopted sons’ and daughters’ lives. So we move out of the way and say, plan in our lives. Fulfill Your plans for us! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.

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