JOH 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

This is probably one of the most encouraging portions of Scripture found in the word of God. It is this declaration from Jesus which states unequivocally that the battle which has raged for millennia is now going to be dramatically won. What is the declaration from Jesus?

JOH 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

This is why the Son of God came into this world. This is why Jesus Christ is now facing, in just a few short days, the cross which has been waiting for Him since He was born of a virgin. He was born to die. And whether the crowds realized it or not, the God of heaven and earth who sent His Son into this world was well pleased with our Lord Jesus as He is about to set in place the beginning of the end of sin’s curse.

Jesus knew that the plan that He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit have agreed to from eternity past, to redeem sinful men, was now going to be accomplished in time. And Jesus knew that this salvation, though essential for sinful men, would ultimately bring glory to God whose grace and mercy is about to be showered upon mankind. This was the reason for Jesus’ statement in verse 28.

JOH 12:28 Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again."

With this acknowledgment from the Father that everything was a “go” and that His plan was about to come to fruition, Jesus submits to the Father’s will by saying that He has willingly taken this task upon Himself and will now accomplish it.

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.”

What does Jesus mean by this statement? What does He mean, first of all, by the phrase, “Now is the time for judgment on this world.”?

Later in this very chapter of John Jesus tells us that, “...I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (JOH 12:47)

Here the word judge means to condemn as JOH 3:17 makes clear which says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

If this is the case, that is, if Jesus did not come into this world to judge or condemn the world, then how is it He can say in our text, “Now is the time for judgment on this world...”?

Well, we need to realize that the word judgment here in our text is essentially the same word for judgment and condemn in the two other passages I read. But the word in the Greek does not always mean condemn. The word can also carry with it the idea of choosing so as to make a right decision.

What Jesus is intimating in verse 31 of our text, at least in part, is that He is challenging the world, and particularly these Jews standing before Him, to come to grips with the reality that God’s plan of redemption, which has been foreshadowed in the O.T. Scriptures, is now upon them, and they must choose whom they will follow.

“Now is the time for judgment on this world.” Now is the time for all men to choose the only Savior whom the Father has sent to pay the debt for sinful men.

And this choice must be made in light of who has been deceiving men up to this point as he has kept them in bondage and darkness.

This is awesome. Jesus is essentially saying that the enemy has been running rampant with deception in this world, but he is about to be kicked off of the mountain. He is about to be shown who his God is as he will be forced to bow to God’s plan for mankind.

Who is this prince, or ruler, of this world? Well, he is the one who is connected to the reason for Jesus coming into this world in the first place. Again, we must go back to the Garden of Eden. It was that event where Satan had successfully tempted Adam and Eve into rebelling against God as they partook of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

After their rebellion all three persons are forced to humble themselves before God as He righteously judges them. By the way, I find it interesting that after Adam and Eve sinned against God they immediately hid themselves.

It is when they are hiding that God comes to them and exposes them. The interesting part of that event is that as God is addressing the man and woman He also addresses Satan, who is obviously there with Adam and Eve, who was also hiding.

GEN 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

We sometimes get this idea that Satan is this almighty and powerful being who has no equal and does whatever he pleases. Please note that just as Adam and Eve were hiding from God, Satan is right there hiding with them.

He is a pitiful excuse for an angel when compared to the God and Creator of this universe. And while it is true that he has the ability to deceive men, as seen in the garden, and subsequently throughout history, he is no match for God and God’s plan, which is now about to put an end to Satan’s reign of terror with apparent impunity. Now the prince of this world will be driven out.

But what does that mean? What it does not mean is that Satan will be put out of the business of deceiving men. It does not mean that Satan will be bound in such a way where he no longer has access or influence over men.

Keep in mind what this whole event here in our text is addressing. It is addressing the promise that God made to Adam and Eve that one day God would send a Savior through the seed of the woman. Jesus fulfilled that. But the promise also included a crushing of Satan and his influence over men. John points this out in his first epistle.

1JO 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

This will be a one time event at the cross, but it will find its fulfillment in a progressive process. I say progressive because we know that Satan is not bound in the sense that he has no mobility in this world.

One day Satan will be bound for a thousand years and will have no access to people in this world. And yet we know that that will not be the end of his terror as he will be released for a short time to try and make war with God. At that time God will finally and eternally put an end to Satan’s influence in the world as he will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

But in the mean time Satan still has influence in this world through deception as men willingly choose the darkness over the light.

2CO 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

This does not mean that Satan can keep the light of the truth from spreading throughout the world or that God’s plan of redemption can be stopped, as He opens the hearts and minds of people, as we see when Jesus explained to Paul what his mission would be in regards to the Gentiles.

ACT 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

And so, when Jesus says that the prince of this world will be driven out, He is speaking in terms which include His plan to allow Satan to still operate in this world but in a much more limited way. The cross of Christ, therefore, is the beginning of the end for Satan, by God’s design.

But let me address something else here in our text which I think needs to be cleared up regarding Satan. A number of terms are used of Satan as it pertains to his influence in this world. For example, in the passage I read a moment ago in 2Cor.4:4 where he is regarded as the god of this world. In our text and other places he is referred to by Jesus as the prince of this world.

In Eph.2:2 he is called the ruler of the kingdom of the air. And of course in chapter six of Ephesians Paul puts this spiritual enemy into perspective as we fight this spiritual war.

There is no doubt that Satan is a spiritual force to be contended with. He is no lightweight when it comes to men battling him. But there is this misnomer that Satan is the lord of this earth as if he were the legitimate ruler of this world.

Simply because he is called a prince or a ruler or the god of this world in no way validates the idea that the world belongs to him and that Jesus had to somehow come into this world to buy it back or rescue it from Satan.

There are some in the church who teach that Satan was given the deed to this earth by God when he conquered Adam and Eve through deception and therefore God owed Satan the dominion to this world since Adam and Eve relinquished it through their sin.

Nowhere in the Scriptures is this taught. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, it was Satan who was humbled before God in the Garden as God’s judgment fell on him. God did not give the earth to Satan as a prize. In fact, the reason Satan is regarded as the prince of this world was not a reward for him tempting Adam and Eve, but part of the judgment from God.

To call Satan the prince of the world, or the god of this world is for God to mock Satan, not to praise him. Keep in mind where Satan was originally designated to rule and reign with God. It was heaven. It was at the throne of God where Lucifer, now called Satan, fell from.

The prophet Isaiah in his prophecy against the king of Babylon uses imagery which embodies the very rebellion found in Lucifer which means the morning star and intimates that he was in fact an angel of light at one time, which by the way is the reason Paul can say in 2CO 11:14, “...Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”

ISA 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

He once was an angel of light, but now Satan is an angel of darkness and the best he can do is to masquerade as an angel of light with the express purpose of deceiving and killing. For him to be designated the god of this world only draws attention to the world he was designed to be glorified in. This world is a step down for Satan and a judgment which does not include making him a landowner as if this world belonged to him.

REV 12:7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
9 The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."

He didn’t choose to come to this world as if he was given the deed to this world, he was hurled here in judgment. But some will argue that if this world doesn’t rightfully belong to Satan then how can he offer the kingdoms of this world to Jesus when he tempted the Lord in the desert?

There is one simple answer to that. Because I offer to sell you the Brooklyn bridge does not mean that I own the Brooklyn bridge. Satan is the father of lies, and Jesus never took him seriously when such an offer was made.

MAT 4:9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

God is the creator and the owner of all the universe and does with it as it pleases Him.

PSA 50:10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

Satan is in this world for one reason and one reason only, because he rebelled against God and he has been judged and relegated to deal with what he would regard as lowly human beings instead of having fellowship with the One who created him.

And now, Jesus comes on to the scene and makes it quite clear that even what Satan considered as a free reign of terror in this world was now going to come to an end. Jesus knows that it is the cross that He will suffer on as the very implement which Satan thinks will bring an end to the Messiah, but it is the cross which fulfills the promise to crush the head of Satan. This is precisely what Paul meant when he wrote to the church in Collosae.

COL 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

How can a triumph come through Christ’s death on the cross? Because it is through the cross, or the death of Christ, that your debt to God and my debt to God can be satisfied.

In the day that you eat of that fruit, God said to Adam, you will surely die. The wages of sin is death. Christ had to die to accomplish that promise made to Adam that just as the wages of sin is death, so too, the answer to that is to destroy death and the one who introduced it to mankind.

HEB 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil -
15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

1JO 3:8 “... The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.”

But the death of Christ was only the way to His resurrection which is where we receive our life as He is the life.

ROM 5:10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

It is through the life of Christ, risen from the dead, where we can claim the victory and consider ourselves more than conquerors through him who loved us.

JOH 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

Satan is a defeated foe. Make no mistake he is still a foe, but for the child of God he no longer has mastery over any of us, unless we allow him such a place. Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.

We hear that and we say amen, and yet how often is that amen replaced by such sentiments as, “well, I just seem to be too weak. The world is just too tough a place for me these days. It’s so hard to be a Christian in this world.”

That’s not the talk of a soldier of Christ. That’s not the talk of one filled with the Spirit of God. Paul tells us that our King and Lord and Savior has disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

If they have been disarmed to the degree that they no longer have dominion over us why is that we sometimes believe that Satan and his demons have more power over us than they really do? Why is it that so many Christians fear Satan and his demons to the degree that they find themselves crippled when the first sign of warfare starts?

The answer to that is simple, though it may not be easy. The answer is that we sometimes come to a gun fight with a knife. We come with the wrong weapons. We fight with the wrong weapons.

Satan is a spiritual foe and fights in a spiritual realm with spiritual power as he takes advantage of us in this physical world. But you and I in Christ are no longer just operating in a physical world with physical weapons.

In Christ we have been given every tool, and every weapon we need to not just do battle in this world, but to battle unto victory in Christ. Now, don’t mistake the victory we have in Christ for simply some personal victory.

Yes, personal victory is important as we find victory over the flesh, and sin and the world. But you and I have not been put in Christ’s army to simply find victory for ourselves. This idea of an army of one is bogus.

We are in Christ’s army to accomplish His will as we go forward in the battle to bring the light of the gospel to this world so that many others may be delivered from the darkness of Satan’s power, as they embrace Christ and receive forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.

But this spiritual task can only be accomplished with spiritual weapons. This is precisely what Paul told the Ephesians.

EPH 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

We have a tendency to complicate things and when it comes to the full armor of God we can complicate this as well. Our spiritual walk with Christ is not meant to be some deep dark mystery that we can only discover through some mystical approach to God; what some people call the spirit filled life, as they imply that it is reserved for a choice few who are spiritual giants and have figured out this puzzle because of their spiritual superiority.

If that were the case then we would truly have an army of one and Christ would be it’s only soldier.

The truth is that every believer in Christ is meant to live the spirit-filled life as they live by faith in the truth of God’s word. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that. Paul says, our battle ground and our weapons are spiritual in nature. If that’s the case then how do we fight? Again, the same way we got into this fight; through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Don’t think for a moment that Jesus Christ would bring you into His army and then abandon you. He will provide all the means for walking with Him and going forward in the battle. What does He say?

Put on the full armor of God. In other words utilize what you already possess. It’s not like the armor of God is hanging in some spiritual closet on the other side of the universe. If you’re in Christ it’s already hanging on you.

Think about it. Paul says, stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. In Christ you already have the truth buckled around your waist, if you will. It’s the truth of God’s word you came to believe when you trusted Christ as Lord and Savior. It is His righteousness put to your account, that breastplate of righteousness.

We already possess it. Then fit your feet with the gospel with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In other words, take the gospel that brought you peace and give this peace away. As Isaiah puts it.

ISA 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

This is all part of the spiritual armor in a spiritual battle. Your protection comes from walking in this truth, which is already in place covering you from head to toe, if you will.

EPH 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take up the shield of faith? Where do I get this shield? You got it the day you believed on Christ. If Christ isn’t our shield then we’re in big trouble. But we need to take it up in the sense that we practice it. Live your life by faith on a daily basis in the promises of God who promises that He will never leave us or forsake us.

EPH 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Do we trust God at His word or do we only read the word and try and dazzle people with our knowledge of this word? Our Lord says, be doers of the word. Why? Because it is our spiritual protection as well as our spiritual ability to wage war for Christ.

The more we feed on God’s word the less likely we’ll feel inclined to dine of the things of this world which will always leave us hungry and unsatisfied.

EPH 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Prayer is so important. And yet it’s one of those areas we neglect so often. Keep the lines of communication open with your commander in chief. He’s the one who has all the answers and He delights when we come to His throne looking for our orders.

Don’t give Satan the time of day. The Prince of this world has been driven out by our Lord and Savior, the One who is the Prince of Peace and King of the Universe. Let’s follow Him daily and do battle in the name of Christ in the power of the Spirit.

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