John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11

"Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:31-32 RSV).

Comment:

John 12:31: "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:31-32 RSV).   This is from the final moments of Jesus' public ministry, before he turns his focus to the events of his final week and his private teachings to his closest disciples. He knows by this point what must happen -- that he must leave his earthly experience behind so that his disciples may receive their own empowerment. He intends his leaving to become his greatest teaching -- to show conclusively that death is merely an illusion that cannot affect our true spiritual identity. That fear has become 'the ruler' of the dualistic world; it is about to be cast out by the example of Jesus. And because he moves through the illusion of death, we will all be drawn to his example, replacing our mortal fears with an awareness of our eternal spiritual nature.  John 14:30: I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me" (John 14:30 RSV).   Here Jesus is speaking, not to the crowds, but to his closest disciples. "The ruler of this world" is the dualistic belief in separation, punishment and death that is, indeed, about to express in Jesus' life. But it has no power over the Christ -- the spiritual truth of who we all are.  John 16:11: "And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:8-11 RSV).   Jesus is here describing the inspiration of the "Counselor" (v.7), the spiritual energy and understanding that will come once Jesus has gone to empower the disciples to continue the spiritual awareness that Jesus has begun. The message of this Counselor will be to affirm the importance of belief in our own Christ nature, to remind us of the illusion of death, and to free us from the limitations of judgments that are founded in the duality of the world instead of the Oneness of Spirit.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed