“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.” John 12:31-33 (Read v. 27-43)

How is Jesus’ death on the cross the judgment of this world? And how is it connected to the prince of this world being cast out? We find the answer in God’s Word, the Bible.

To understand, we must consider what happened in Genesis 3. The serpent deceived Eve, and Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commandment and brought sin and the curse and condemnation of sin into this world. Satan used God’s good law to bring about God’s curse upon man and all creation. As a result of Adam’s sin, all are conceived and born in sin and guilty before God and under the condemnation of His holy commandment (Gen. 1:16-17; Psalm 51:5; Rom. 5:12).

Jesus, by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross, suffered the curse of God’s law for us (cf. Gal. 3:10,13). He undid the damning work of the devil by making atonement for the sins of all that through faith in his name we might have pardon, forgiveness and life everlasting instead of death and eternal condemnation (cf. Heb. 2:14-17).

The devil, also called the accuser of the brethren, was cast out of heaven – he can no longer accuse us before God because our sins were judged and atonement made on Jesus’ cross (cf. Rev. 12:7-11).

This world, too, is judged by Jesus’ death on the cross. Since Christ died for sin and atonement has been made, all those who refuse to repent and believe in the promised Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15), Jesus the Messiah and Savior, stand condemned for their unbelief (cf. 1 Pet. 3:18-20).

And the same holds true for people today. Those who hear the Word of God and repent, placing their faith and hope in Jesus and His cross, are saved. They have pardon and forgiveness for all their sins, and they have eternal life in God’s kingdom.

But those who neglect and refuse to heed God’s Word stand condemned for not believing in the name of Christ Jesus, God’s only-begotten Son come into this world to redeem us from sin and death. It is as Jesus said, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18; cf. v. 36; John 12:47ff.).

O dearest Jesus, grant that I hear Your word, acknowledge my sin and guilt and look to You and Your cross for forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

The religious leaders of the first century rejected Jesus as the Son of God and their Messiah and had Him crucified to maintain their own religious system of worship and service to God. They even arrested and persecuted Jesus’ disciples for proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and Savior.

Today, too, many religious leaders – from pastors to seminary professors to heads of church bodies – set aside Jesus and His doctrine in order to maintain their own doctrine and church bodies. Instead of preaching the truth about man’s sinfulness and proclaiming the salvation God provided in His Son, Jesus Christ, they set aside the true doctrine and turn Jesus into little more than an example of godly living and charity for people to emulate today.

What does the Bible say of all this? It says that Jesus “is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

So, while religious leaders of our day set aside the Jesus of the Bible and seek to build the kingdom of God with their own doctrines and their own worship practices, there is only one way of salvation and it is the salvation God provided for mankind when he sent His only-begotten Son into the world as a man to suffer and die and make atonement for the sins of all and then rise again from the dead.

There is only one way of salvation, and that is through faith in Messiah Jesus and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross for the sins of the world. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (cf. John 14:6).

O gracious and merciful God, grant that I not set aside Christ Jesus, the Son, nor reject the salvation You have provided for all through His innocent sufferings and death on the cross. Grant that I acknowledge my sinfulness and look to Him alone for forgiveness and life everlasting. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

[Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (Read v. 32-45)

These words of Jesus say so much to us as believers. It is as Jesus told James and John, and all His disciples (v. 35ff.; cf. Matthew 20:20ff.): “Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all” (v. 43-44).

Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and so also His disciples and especially Christian pastors and ministers. They are called, not to be served by their congregations, but to serve their congregations. Like Jesus, they give up their own lives (their personal goals and ambitions) for the eternal welfare of their fellow believers.

Of course, the same is also true of husbands and wives in marriage. A husband and wife do not enter the covenant of marriage to be served but to meet the needs of their spouse (cf. Ephesians 5:22ff.). It means giving up personal goals and ambitions for the good of the marriage partner and the new family unit.

And, while some may desire positions of preeminence and glory, followers of Christ count it such a blessing to even be admitted to Christ’s kingdom — it’s all God’s gracious gift, neither earned nor deserved — they are happy to be servants that others, too, might come to know and trust in Christ Jesus as Savior.

It would be better to wash dishes in the kingdom of heaven than to be served like a king or queen in the kingdoms of this world. And, if I am granted to be but a dishwasher in heaven’s banquet kitchen, it’s still only by God’s grace and mercy and far more than I deserve – I remain thankful.

Finally, and most important for us all is the fact that Jesus came to serve and give His life a ransom for many. Indeed, He gave His life as a ransom for all, as St. Paul writes: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Jesus “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

If Jesus had come to be served and had not willingly suffered and died on the cross for our sins, where would we be now? Lost forever! Cursed and condemned to hell! But Jesus “redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Through faith in His name, we have pardon, forgiveness and have a place in His eternal, heavenly kingdom. What a blessing this is!

And, it is precisely because Jesus came to serve and to be a ransom for all that we serve Him and give up our lives in this world that others too might come to know Jesus and what He has done to serve them! God grant that we be served by Jesus and that we then serve others!

We thank you, dearest Jesus, for serving our greatest need and atoning for our sins by going to the cross and dying in our stead. Grant that we also serve others by living to tell of You and Your atoning sacrifice for the sins of all. Amen.

[Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

“And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.” Mark 14:72 (Read v. 66-72)

Do we weep over our sins? Do we consider what they cost the Lord Jesus when He suffered and died upon the cross? Do we treat His blood, shed for us upon the cross, as common and unholy? Cf. Hebrews 10:29

Peter had just denied his Lord a third time before the rooster crowed a second time. He had rejected Jesus’ words and vehemently affirmed that he would never deny the Lord Jesus (v. 26-31). But he had done it. He denied his Lord three times!

“And when he thought thereon, he wept.” When he remembered Jesus’ words and considered his sin, he wept (v. 72).

Psalm 51:16-17 says: “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Like David, in the Old Testament, Peter saw and acknowledged his sin unto the Lord and looked to Him for forgiveness (cf. Psalm 51:1-13).

In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, the apostle Paul wrote: “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

As we remember the many ways in which we have betrayed and denied Jesus, our sins which were the cause of Jesus’ suffering and death, hopefully, we too are moved to sorrow, like Peter, who “when he thought thereon, he wept.”

Psalm 34:18 also tells us: “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

And, let that sorrow lead us to repentance – to be sorry for our sins and to trust in Christ Jesus and His death upon the cross in our stead for pardon and forgiveness and life everlasting!

God grant that we consider our sins and what they have done to Jesus, but that we then also place our faith in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world that we might obtain pardon and life eternal through faith in Jesus’ name!

Forgive us, O Jesus, for betraying You by our sins and denying You to avoid sharing in Your suffering and pain. For the sake of Your cross, grant us mercy and forgiveness that we might serve You and hold fast to You as our Savior and Lord unto life everlasting! Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:19-21

Why do people not come to Jesus? Why do they avoid reading their Bibles and going to churches where the Word of God is taught and proclaimed? Why do they even try to silence the preaching of God’s Word and keep its message from being posted and proclaimed on the Internet and in the media? They love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil!

This is true of every one of us as we are by nature. What did Adam and Eve do after they had sinned and then heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden? They hid themselves from the presence of God (Genesis 3:8).

What do we do when we fall into some sin? Are we eager to hear God’s Word? Are we anxious to go to church where we might be reproved for our wickedness? No, none of us likes to have our evil deeds exposed. So, we attempt to hide, cover up and make excuses for our sin. We would rather stay in the darkness instead of letting the light expose our wickedness.

Instead of allowing that light to shine and agreeing with God that our thoughts, words and actions are full of evil and wickedness – instead of letting the light shine down deep into our hearts and acknowledging that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (cf. Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19-20) – we love the darkness where we can pretend that we are not all that evil, that our sins are only diseases and weaknesses for which we should not be held fully accountable. We like the darkness where we can imagine that God is pleased with us and will accept us on the merit of our own works and accomplishments. But, of course, it’s all a lie – that same lie of which the father of lies has tried to convince mankind from the beginning.

The light, on the other hand, exposes evil and wickedness. It reveals the utter sinfulness of sin. It shows us the wickedness of our own hearts and reveals to us that even our best righteousnesses are filthy before God (Isaiah 64:6). But the light – the truth of God’s Word – also reveals to all who stand in its brightness that Jesus is God the Son in human flesh, that He went to the cross to suffer and die and make atonement for the sins of the world, that He rose again in victory on the third day, that in Him there is pardon and forgiveness, and that through faith in Him there is life everlasting! (Cf. John 3:14-17).

People don’t like to come to Jesus, the Light of the world, because He exposes the sinfulness and wickedness of our hearts and deeds. They would rather stay in the darkness and not be confronted with the unadulterated truth, but the result is death and condemnation; for they do not accept the truth about their utter sinfulness and they do not look to Jesus and trust in Him alone for life and salvation (John 3:18)!

In his first epistle, the apostle John writes it this way (1 John 1:7 – 2:2): “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins [the Greek word homologeo, which means to say the same thing as God], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

In Psalm 32:1-5, David wrote: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”

It does no good to hide from the truth. It will benefit us nothing to pretend we are not sinners deserving of God’s everlasting wrath and punishment. The end result is to die in our sins and bear our just punishment.

But, when we acknowledge our sins and agree with God’s truth about our sinfulness and look in faith to Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross to be condemned for us and atone for all our sins and iniquities, we have forgiveness and life eternal. God grant that we walk in this light!

Dear Lord Jesus, shine the light of truth upon my heart and life and expose my sin and guilt that I might see the wickedness and error of my ways and turn to You and Your shed blood for cleansing, forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]