John 13:31 Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him;
Let’s visualize what we’ve been reading in John 13. Jesus fed Judas the morsel at the table. Immediately after that, Satan entered into Judas. Then Jesus said to Satan in Judas, “What you do, do quickly.” Immediately Judas left the upper room and Jesus declared upon Judas’ departure the significance of Jesus telling him to go betray Him. “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” What did Jesus mean by this statement? How is Jesus glorified and God glorified in Jesus in authorizing His own death? Today I want to zero in on one reason Jesus is glorified by authorizing His own death. Jesus was sent by the Father for this very purpose: to lay down His life for those the Father gave to Him before the foundation of the world. To be chosen by the Father to serve His redemptive purpose is to be glorified by the Father. When the Commander in Chief chooses a general to accomplish a mission in a time of war and gives him the resources to be successful, the general is receiving glory from his superior. God glorified His Son by sending Him on this mission of redemption and in this historical account reveals how the Father has glorified His Son by giving Him the grace, the resources to carry out the mission. At the very moment that Jesus said, “What you do, do quickly,” the whole world is seeing God glorify Jesus Christ by giving Him the grace and power to do it. The writer of Hebrews speaks to this salient point about God’s glory, the bestowing of His grace, and Jesus’ death in chapter 2, verse 9. “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Don’t miss this. God has sent Jesus’ disciples (that’s all of us who have His life in us) into this world to lay down our lives for others in His name and His love. When we live to love with Jesus, the crown of glory and honor rests upon us as it did upon His Son when He lived to love with His Father. It is a privilege and honor to love others in His name.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
