Jesus now speaks on the cost of commitment to the Father’s will. He does this by revealing His emotions. This is one of the ways Jesus connects with humanity. Jesus says He is in turmoil. The Greek word for this is tetaraktai which means “stirred, agitated.” He is facing the prospect of being made sin.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
He knew that His Incarnation was for the very purpose of bringing Him to this hour. See John 12:23, 13:1 and 17:1. Jesus is our example in His attitude concerning His coming death. He submits to the will of the Father. We also must submit to the will of the Father. Notice what Jesus says, “Father, glorify Your name!” We must desire that His name be glorified despite our conflicting emotions.
The Father speaks from heaven in a loud thunderous voice. He confirms His working in Jesus in reference to the past and the future. Nobody could understand what was being said. See Acts 9:7 and 22:9.
The voice coming from heaven confirms faith in the spiritually perceptive. To the unspiritual, it is only noise. 1Cor 2:4. Jesus’ death brought judgment on the world. Evil is atoned for through this. The world’s goals, standards and religions were shown to be folly. [Bible Knowledge Commentary] The Cross of Calvary defeated Satan. Note http://ref.ly/Re12.10. Satan is known as the prince of this world. Note John 14:30; 16:11. Jesus states that he will be driven out. His power over people resulting in death will be defeated. They can be delivered from his dominion of spiritual darkness and sin’s slavery. http://ref.ly/Co1.13-14 and http://ref.ly/He2.14-15.
When Jesus says, “When I am lifted up from the earth,” it does not refer to His Ascension. It speaks of His crucifixion. John 3:14 and John 8:28. He knew how would die–by the cross. The Jews’ way was by stoning. This meant that He would die according to Roman law. Note Stephen’s death–Acts 7:58-60.
Since Jesus would die on the Roman cross, He would draw all men to Himself. He did not mean everybody would be saved. He made it clear that some will be lost because of their unbelief. John 5:28-29. He will draw indiscriminately. Those who would be saved would not only be Jews. There would be people from every tribe, language, people and nation. See http://ref.ly/Re5.9, http://ref.ly/Jn10.16, and http://ref.ly/Jn11.52.
Living in the Light of Jesus' Words 