Judgement: "Now" or Later?

Last night we read from the 12th chapter of St.John's Gospel. In v. 31, Jesus says, "Now is the judgement of the world; now will the prince of the world be cast out."

The prince of the world is, of course, the devil. Now the world is to be ridded of his tyranny. Notice: here, the world is the plaintiff, not the defendant. The world is now going to receive the relief and redress it seeks. Its despot is to be overthrown.

In verses 47-48, Jesus returns to the theme of judgment: "And if anyone hears my words, and does not keep them, it is not I who judge him; for I have not come not to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me, and does not accept my words, has what judges him: the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day."

The Cross, then, is not God's judgement upon the world, but for the world. The world will become the defendant "on the last day."

And the Judge will not be the Father, as is commonly supposed, but the Son. (John 5:22) The Judge will be the very One Who came into the world not to judge it, but to save it. (John 3:17)

And if that sounds a bit as if the book has been cooked (in our favor, that is), I think nobody who makes it past the Pearly Gates will find any cause to complain.

P.S.) If this confuses anyone, and makes you ask, "Well, then, what was the Crucifixion all about?" I refer you to the series "Why Did Jesus Die?" that I posted beginning on 30 June, 2008. There are so many ways to think of Jesus' death that the series took 17 installments!