November 14, 2020 -- John 13:31-32 -- Glory!

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

John 13:31-32 English Standard Version

It is when Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, goes out into the night to betray Jesus, that Jesus turned to His disciples and said to them “Now is the Son of Man glorified”. It is almost as if the language breaks down because Jesus speaks of glory five times in these two short sentences.

The glory of God is something the angels see and because of the weight of His splendour they cry out: Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! Isaiah 6:3. The glory of the Living God is His splendour; His excellencies; His radiant beauty. Glory is an attribute of God which requires our study and deep contemplation because it is so wholly different from our experience of life. An athlete’s glory is brief. Once a record is achieved, the very next question becomes—can he beat that record? When will someone else beat it? God is magnificent beyond the reach of anything else, ever. It is never to be bested or eclipsed. God is light and perfect and the zenith of all that is pure and excellent.

The Son of Man is glorified in the betrayal and kangaroo court trial He undergoes and His execution at the cross because He is perfectly obedient to His Father. He always had in view revealing the loving-kindness of God the Father in seeking and saving lost sinners. Jesus proved His glory in His enduring love.

God the Father is glorified in Jesus because the plans of the Father, from before the creation of the world to bring ruined sinners to Himself was perfected accomplished in the Son and the Son highlights the Father’s abiding promises to save in love.

Our experience of glory is fading. Christine Sinclair has won the winner’s jersey four times at the FIFA World’s Cup! Imagine the adulation when she stands with her team. But at some point the cheering stops. The fans clear out of the stadium. It is impossible to hold that moment of exuberant emotions and the reason for the cheering becomes eclipsed by the need to go home, relieve babysitters and eventually see who will win the next victory.

The Glory of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is ever new, ever brilliant, and cannot be eclipsed. That is why the LORD our God is worthy of worship—for Who He Is—that reason alone should bring us to to our knees in awe and praise. The greatness of the salvation which is ours in Christ and the inestimable cost of this salvation should humble us with wonder. This is the tiniest glimpse of glory. Eternity will be filled with growing delights and blessing and marvel as our brains ever grow in our capacity to glimpse and comprehend and delight in His glory.

Blessed Spirit of the Living God by Your presence as we read the Word and our contemplation on it may the glory of the LORD rise in us. Tear our eyes away from all that is unworthy and inappropriate and bring us to our knees lost in wonder and in love. Stir up in us a greater, deeper, hungry longing for the knowledge of the glory of God revealed in creation, and demonstrated in salvation. Stir up in us anticipation for the glory of God to be experienced in ever greater rising measures in eternity. For there the throne of God will be and that of the Lamb and His servants shall worship Him. Night will be no more. The LORD God will shine in glory as the Light. Amen!