Gmorning my dears,
I don’t know what comes to your mind when you think of glory, but crucifixion is not normally on my mind. Yet, consider Jesus’ words to God in today’s Holy Nougat
“Yeshua spoke these things; then, lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, so the Son may glorify You.” John 17:1 TLV
These words, attributed to Jesus, are the ones that begin His high priestly prayer immediately before His arrest and crucifixion. A part of me would love to gloss over those parts and get to the ‘glorious resurrection’; but the fact is … one has to DIE in order to raise from the dead. That’s the way life is.
So one realizes that even if Jesus spoke about the resurrection as His moment of glory, He ALSO knew that it included the whippings, scourgings, disrespect and His eventual death!
And, if He was taking on death for anyone other than Himself, He KNEW from experience that they were somewhat shallow good-weather friends, who would desert Him when it really mattered. And that’s the nice folks! Because if He was dying for others, Jesus was going to hang on that Cross for some Three-plus hours for folks who would scoff at Him, call for His crucifixion, and even tell Him to prove His divinity by getting Himself off the cross. Somehow, that sounds closer to humiliation than glorification to me.
And yet knowing ALL that, Jesus confidently and consciously prays for the ensuing events to be His moment of honor. And one can’t help but hear the conversation of John 12:23-43, where Jesus attempts to explain to the Pharisees, Disciples and Onlookers that one cannot truly achieve without self-sacrifice. Death, in one form or another, usually precedes our ‘glory moment’. And His glory came through glorifying God (ie putting God first).
So, as the modern ‘onlookers’, we now need to assess Jesus’ glory moment for ourselves – was His death glorious? Did He honor God in His death and resurrection? And did He achieve the intended result of “drawing humanity unto“ Himself (John 12:32)?
Before answering, let’s be mindful that we can influence the outcome. Our belief is part of His glory. Our recognition of Jesus’ Sovereignty and of the facts of His Death and Resurrection allow His glory to shine more visibly. Because the weird but wonderful news is – He wins (is glorified in death and resurrection); we win (have the promise of eternity). He loses (the whole story is just that); then life goes on with its misery and madness IN Vain.
Just like the psalmist said – if God isn’t our Builder, we build in vain. Eventually, what we believe about His glory will frame how we live for Jesus. And if we understand what transpired to effect His glory, the fullness of Jesus’ crucifixion, we may find the strength to press on in this season. For we look beyond this moment to the ones beyond – in Christ, by His grace, and for His glory.
Selah
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
