The Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde features a song by the character Dr. Henry Jekyll called “This Is the Moment.” It is a song that speaks of the pivotal moment in Dr. Jekyll’s life, where he believes the sum of all he has ever worked on will be shown. He sings, in part, “This is the moment. This is the time when the momentum and the moment are in rhyme! Give me this moment. This precious chance! I'll gather up my past. And make some sense at last!” It is the moment for which Dr. Jekyll believed he was born.
Perhaps you have experienced such a moment in your life. It was that moment in which the trajectory of your life was set, and everything you would do from that point forward was to fulfill your life’s purpose. I have had such a moment, and I hope you have or will as well. I will speak about that moment a bit later.
For now, I would like us to consider that Jesus had a pivotal moment in his life. He did not call a pivotal moment. Instead, he called it by a single word. That word was hora, ὥρα, ho'-rah, meaning a point in time, often translated into English as the word “hour.”
The idea of Jesus’ hour first emerges most clearly in the Gospel of John. “1 On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ 4 ‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come’” (John 2:1-4). The precise meaning of "hour" is not fully clear here, but it appears Jesus was speaking of some future event that would reveal his identity and destiny.
Later, John would reveal more about Jesus’ hour when he wrote, “25 At that point, some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, 'Isn’t this the man they [the religious leaders] are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.’ 28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, ‘Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.’ 30 At this, they [the religious leaders] tried to seize him [Jesus], but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come” (John 7:25-30). Here, we get the sense that the religious leaders laying their hands on Jesus would have something to do with Jesus’ hour.
We come to the final example of the word "hour" in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus was with his disciples, praying in the garden. Jesus came back to his sleeping disciples for a third time. Mark wrote, “41 Returning the third time, he [Jesus] said to them [his disciples], ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’” (Mark 14:41-42). Now, we understand the defining moment, the hour, for Jesus was not his birth, not his baptism, not his miracles or teachings, or cleansing of the Temple. Jesus’ pivotal moment, his life and destiny, would be found in his being taken into the hands of his tormentors and killed. Jesus’ death was his hour.
The four Gospel writers came to recognize Jesus’ hour. In their gospels, each one slowed down their accounts of Jesus’ activities. They no longer wrote about what happened in a day or a week of Jesus’ life. Instead, they began writing about what happened minute by minute. Nearly one of every eight verses of the gospels is devoted to describing Jesus’ hour. Nearly 500 verses describe Jesus’ arrest, trials, crucifixion, and resurrection. When it comes to the New Testament letters of Paul and Peter, the references to Jesus’ death and resurrection exploded with dozens and dozens of statements. Here are just a few verses from the New Testament letters:
- Romans 5:8–10: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us… We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son."
- 1 Corinthians 15:3–4: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… he was buried… he was raised on the third day.”
- Philippians 2:8: "He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross."
- Hebrews 10:10: "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
The hour has come meant it was time for Jesus to give of his life. The hour has come meant that Jesus’ life purpose had reached its “This is the moment” event. When we realize what the words, “The hour has come,” meant, we realize as well that it is the very moment that most men and women dread to contemplate about themselves. Jesus’ hour meant Jesus’ death. We don’t like to contemplate our own death. But the death of Jesus was the moment upon which everything would come to depend. It would be, as the songwriter said, that time in which the past would be gathered up and make sense.
Why did Jesus' hour, his purpose, involve his death? Again, if we want to understand Jesus of the New Testament, we must go to the Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah. We spoke about some of these passages last week, with those from Isaiah 53 being the clearest on this point.
- Isaiah 53:4–6: "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows... he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed... the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
- Isaiah 53:7–9: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter... he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people... although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth."
- Isaiah 53:10–12: "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him... when his soul makes an offering for guilt... he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors."
What then happened in this hour, and what was its significance? First, we learn in unmistakable terms who Jesus was. In preparation for this hour, the Chief Priest asks Jesus, “‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ 62 ‘I am,’ said Jesus” (Mark 14:61b-62a). The hour had come for Jesus to speak plainly about his identity. Second, we learn from the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, that Jesus was a king, but not of this world. Third, to fulfill scripture, Jesus had to be delivered into the hands of sinners. Fourth, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47).
Understanding Jesus’ identity and purpose brings clarity to the encounters Jesus had in his ministry. We come to understand that Jesus presented the defining moment of people’s lives. Let’s look at two examples of men who shared striking similarities and stark differences and see how they handled their pivotal moment in the presence of Jesus. One man was named Zacchaeus. We do not know the other man’s name. Both men were very wealthy and had no physical needs. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and, by his own admission, cheated people. The other man said he followed the Ten Commandments when dealing with people. Both men sought out an opportunity to be with Jesus.
Let’s look at Zacchaeus first. Luke shared Zacchaeus’ story with us. “1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:1-10).
The hour had come for Zacchaeus. He had the opportunity to see the Lord and be saved. In that moment, Zacchaeus gathered up his past and gave it all away to be with the Lord from this point in his life and forever. In giving his life and his past, Zacchaeus received salvation.
Now let’s look at the second man. Matthew, Mark, and Luke provide a similar account of this second man. We will use Mark’s account today. Jesus was in Judea. Mark wrote, “17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:17-23).
The hour had come for this rich man. He had the opportunity to see the Lord and be saved. In that moment, Jesus told the man to gather up the riches of his past and gave it all away to be with the Lord from that point on, forever. But the man could not do as Jesus asked because he loved money and the good life more than he loved God and the eternal life. The hour had come for this rich man, and he walked away from it.
“The hour has come.” Jesus’ words were the defining moment of his life, as he would yield his life for the sake of all who would call upon his name. “The hour has come,” was the defining moment for Zacchaeus and the rich man. They each choose different paths. “The hour has come,” was the defining moment for my life as I came to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. In accepting Christ, being baptized in his name, joining him in his death, burial, and resurrection, I can now fulfill my life’s purpose in bringing glory to God. The trajectory of my life was forever changed.
“The hour has come,” applies to your life as well. Each person here has been invited by Jesus to follow him. If you have seen Jesus' invitation as the defining moment in your life and you have accepted him, then know salvation has come to you. But if you are not sure you have recognized Jesus’ invitation as the hour that has come, do not be uncertain. Know for sure which path you are on. Make sure you have gathered up your past and given it over to Christ so that your future makes sense. If you are uncertain, let’s talk.
I want to close with a story of illustration. One day, a man died. He arrived at the gates of heaven. An angel met him at the gates. The angel said to the man, “Do you know that you are at the gates of heaven?” The man said, “Yes.” The angel asked, “Well, in life, did you give money to the poor?” The man said, “No.” The angel asked, “Well, in life, did you live out the Ten Commandments?” The man said, “No.” The angel asked, “Well, in life, did you faithfully go to worship services?” The man said, “No.” The angel asked, “Well, then, friend, why do you think you can come to heaven?” The man said, “The man on the middle cross said I could come.”
The man on the middle cross said you can come because the hour had come for the man on the middle cross, Jesus. It is Jesus who qualifies you and me to share in the inheritance of eternal life. “The hour has come.” Do not miss it. Amen and Amen.