Jesus perceives the defining moment v31-35
At the departure of Judas from the
company, thoughts of glory flooded into the thoughts of Jesus. Not that He rejoiced in the perdition of
Judas, but He knew this would accelerate events which would lead to His
glorification. This, indeed, was a
defining moment, for the stage was set; Judas would betray Him; He would be
arrested and charged, and convicted and killed within a few hours. This would lead to His burial, resurrection,
ascension, and glorification-the end was in sight and Jesus proclaimed it.
It might seem strange that all this is
characterised in terms of glory, but we understand the gospel of John as
presenting every stage of Jesus life on earth as glory; “Now is the Son of
man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and
shall straightway glorify Him.” The
clue is in the title “Son of man”, which John uses sparingly-about 12 times;
this was Jesus preferred self-description, and certainly focuses on His perfect
humanity. However there is more to it,
and it reflects glorified
humanity,
the man who will have universal dominion, as is stated in Daniel 7v13, v27, and
repeated throughout scripture, notably in John 5v27, where universal judgment
is given to Him. The man who was
despised and rejected of men, shall be glorified and hold universal
dominion. We can trace the theme of
glorification throughout the gospel:
·
1v14
the glory of Deity displayed in a man
·
2v11
the glory of the first of many miracles
·
12v28 by
life and death Christ glorified the Father
· 12v41 His preincarnate glory
·
13v31-32 the glory of His death and resurrection
·
14v31 the glory of answered prayer, glory to
the Father
·
17v1 the glory of eternal life given to all
believers
·
17v4 the glory of a life devoted to God
·
17v5 the glory of the man Christ Jesus
·
17v24 the glory of His presence with His
people
Glory is DOXA which is praise, and
honour, and worship. All He did brings
glory to His Father, and to Himself, and to all who follow Him. The despised man of Nazareth, the rejected
man of Calvary, is glorified, and brings glory to God, and to others by the
devotion of His life and His death. In
that sense, even His death is a glorification-a “lifting up” is the language of
John-this is the highest view of His life and death sacrifice, and it is the highest
view of our salvation, as is repeated three times over in Ephesians 1v3-14, “to
the praise of His glory”. In all this honour and praise is given to God,
and God to Him, and He to us, for a life and death of sacrifice for the benefit
of others.
He was shortly to depart, to return to His
Father, to return to the glory, but now as man, having accomplished salvation
for all who believe. He issues His
beloved disciples with a new commandment which is the very essence of
Christianity.
“A new commandment, I give unto you. That ye love one another, as I have loved you;
that ye also love one another. By this
shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another.”
This was an entirely new dimension to
spiritual life, that had never been seen before. Of old they had been taught to love the Lord-Deuteronomy
6v5; 10v12; 30v6. They were taught to
love their neighbour-Leviticus 19v15-18.
All this was a high standard, but now Jesus takes it a notch higher. We are to love one another AS HE HAS LOVED
THEM, a sacrificial, totally committed, selfless, and unfailing love one to
another. This is to be the hallmark of
Christianity, this will define Christianity, this will promote Christianity
more than anything else we do.
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