His Hour Was Not Yet Come
- Fr. Scott Haynes
- Mar 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Fr. Scott A. Haynes
A Meditation on John 8:20
“No man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come” (John 8:20).
These words from John’s Gospel reveal that Christ is never a helpless victim of events. He is not swept along by the malice of His enemies, nor trapped by the schemes of men. He stands in the midst of hatred, contradiction, and gathering violence with a sovereign calm. The crowd is agitated. His enemies are plotting. The tension is rising. Yet not one hand can close upon Him until the appointed hour. Why? Because all things remain under His dominion.
This is one of the great consolations of the Gospel. Christ is Lord not only when the multitudes praise Him, but also when His enemies conspire against Him. He is Lord not only in the glory of Tabor, but in the shadows that lengthen toward Calvary. Men may rage, devils may prowl, injustice may seem for a moment to advance, yet none of these powers acts independently, as though God had lost command of the world. Even evil is not free in the absolute sense. It is permitted, bounded, and overruled by divine wisdom.
The enemies of Christ wanted to seize Him long before the Passion. They heard His words. They burned with envy. They were offended by His authority. Yet their fury could not ripen into action until heaven allowed it. Their hatred was real. Their guilt was real. Their choices were their own. But over and above their wicked wills stood the eternal sovereignty of the Son. The hour would come, but it would come not because evil had triumphed over Him, but because He freely consented to enter His Passion. Calvary was not wrested from Christ. It was embraced by Christ.
This shows us something profound about the whole mystery of suffering and evil. There is real malice in the world. There is real rebellion. Satan truly hates. Men truly sin. Injustice truly wounds. Yet none of this escapes the hand of God. The devil is not an equal rival battling God across some uncertain field. He is a creature. Fallen, proud, and malicious, yes, but still a creature. He can go only where divine permission allows. He can strike only within limits. He can tempt, disturb, accuse, and wound, but he cannot overturn the throne of God. He remains, even in rebellion, under judgment.
The Passion itself proves this. When the hour finally came, Christ said to those who arrested Him, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). Yet even then, that “hour” was not ultimate. Darkness received its little space, but only a little one. Evil was allowed to show its face, but only so that it might be conquered at the Cross. The serpent was permitted to strike the heel, but in that very act his head was being crushed.
So too in our own lives. There are moments when evil seems bold, loud, and triumphant. A betrayal comes. A sickness deepens. A persecution rises. A temptation returns with force. In such hours the soul can feel as though chaos reigns. But the Gospel tells another story. Nothing reaches us unless it passes, in some way, through the providence of Christ. That does not make evil good. It does not excuse sin. It does not remove pain. But it means that evil never possesses absolute freedom. It is always on a leash. It is always under sentence. It is always being made to serve, against its own intention, the designs of divine justice and mercy.
Christ is the supreme Judge. He does not wait to become Lord. He is Lord already. During His earthly life this kingship was often veiled but never absent. The men who challenged Him stood under His gaze. The judges who condemned Him were themselves being judged by Him. Pilate seemed to hold power, yet Christ told him that he would have no power at all unless it had been given from above. That is the mystery. The One who appears to be placed on trial is in truth the Judge of every human heart.
This should fill the Christian soul with confidence. We do not belong to a universe governed by chance, malice, and brute force. We belong to Christ. No enemy can touch us beyond what He permits. No trial can last beyond the measure He appoints. No darkness can extinguish the light that proceeds from Him. The wicked may seem to advance for a time, but their hour is never the final hour. Christ has the last word.
And that word is not fear, but sovereignty. Not defeat, but kingship. Not chaos, but providence.
So, when we read, “No man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come,” we are invited to adore the hidden majesty of Jesus Christ. He walks toward His Passion not as one overpowered, but as one enthroned. He allows evil its moment, but never its mastery. He permits the storm, but remains Lord of the sea.
For the Christian, this means we need not tremble as though darkness ruled the world. Darkness is real, but it is not sovereign. Christ alone is sovereign. Evil may bark, threaten, and wound, but it cannot move one inch beyond the boundary fixed by divine wisdom.
And when the appointed hour comes, it comes not by accident, but by the permission of the Crucified, who is also the Judge of the living and the dead.
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