Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem for the feast of the passover and is just a few days away from death. He prays to God his Father and admits that his heart is deeply troubled.

A. The reason why his heart was troubled

Not the cares and anxieties of life (Matthew 6:25-34).
Not a guilty conscience (1 Peter 2:22).
Nor was it just the thought of physical suffering which troubled him. He knew he was going to die in a cruel, vicious way by crucifixion (verses 32-33) and this baffled his Jewish hearers (verse 34). Many have tried to explain our Lord's troubled heart by saying he was just concerned about physical suffering, but that would put him on a lower level than many martyrs (e.g. Stephen Acts 7:54-59).

1. He was troubled by the thought of bearing the guilt and punishment of our sin, His hour, a time planned from all eternity, had come (verses 23 & 27), when all the punishment of all the sin of all his people would be laid upon him. That would mean being totally separated from God his Father, with whom he had always enjoyed the most wonderful fellowship He who had always known the smile of God was going to feel the wrath of God (Psalm 90:11).
2. The devil was tempting him to deviate from the path of duty and to escape from the cross. In verse 37 you can detect the battle going on in his mind (see also Luke 4:13). In Matthew 16:31 the devil had used Peter to try to deter Jesus from the cross. We may be tempted to avoid "the cross" in the Christian life. Jesus knows what we are up against (Hebrews 4:15).

B. His resolution when his heart was troubled.

He resolutely affirms that he will not ask the Father to save him from this dark hour of bearing the punishment of sin. He will face this horrendous experience, no matter what the cost or pain. At any time he could have escaped by calling upon God to send twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53) but he refused to do so. Why?

1. Because he knew that this was the very reason why he had come into this world (verse 27). It had been planned way back in eternity, so in going to the cross, he was fulfilling God's eternal purpose (Mark 10:45).
2. Because he loved us so much. He knew that this was the only way for us to be saved.
3. Because he was concerned for the glory of God (verse 28). There's no greater desire than that God's name should be gloried. Are we willing to endure any trial, face any hardship, make any sacrifice, take any risk, so long as the Father's name is glorified?

What is our reaction to the Lord Jesus Christ and his death upon the cross - the thought of which troubled his heart? There are people who say they worship God but they dislike the idea of Jesus bearing the punishment of sin. They are in fact, rebels against God, because in verse 28 God answered from heaven, saying that he would be glorified by Jesus, thus placing his seal of approval on what Jesus was going to do on the cross.

C. Three results of his impending death, which encouraged his troubled heart (verses 31-32).

1. His death would be the judgment of this world. The word judgment is often used in the sense of punishment or condemnation e.g. God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, but that cannot be the meaning here because we are told in John 3:17, and here in verse 47 that Jesus "did not come to judge the world but to save it." Our Lord meant that from then on men and women of the world would be judged and assessed by their attitude to him and his death. God is looking upon us even now and he's judging us, not on the grounds of our education, or wealth, or social standing, or fashion, but on the basis of our attitude to the Lord Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. That will be the basis of his judgment on the last day.
2. His death would be a defeat for the devil. "Now the prince of this world will be driven out". The prince of this world is a reference to the devil and the way in which he rules over the way of life of this world. When men and women were first created they were under the loving care of God. But they rebelled against him and sold out to the devil and now he rules over them. That was especially so before Jesus died. Every man and woman, in every land apart from Israel was in total darkness. But what we are told here is that when the Lord Jesus died the devil would suffer a crushing defeat (Genesis 3:15). The devil is still active in this world and does some terrible things, but he is like a mortally wounded lion. As it thrashes around in its last throes it can still do a great deal of harm if you go near, but it is defeated and doomed. This means that men and women who are in the grip of the devil can be set free.
3. His death would result in many being drawn to him. Up until this time his disciples had been mainly Jews, with some Samaritans (John 4:39) and very recently some Greeks had been drawn to him. Jesus says that, following his death, all peoples will be drawn to him. Not just Jews, not just Samaritans, not just Greeks but men and women from all nations. We don't believe in universalism (that everyone will be saved regardless of whether they believe or not) but we do believe in universal gospel blessing, that men and women from all nations will be drawn to Christ (Revelation 7:9).