Glory in Suffering

Last week we talked about Judas’ betrayal, well tonight we are picking up right after Judas walked out, which is going to help us make sense of verse 31. Two topics come to mind when I think of Jesus in the gospels.Those two things are glory and suffering. Tonight we are going tot alk about glory in suffering and how that looks by walking through 4 questions. Tonight's reading also marks the beginning of Jesus farewell talk to the disciples This farewell address will go through 16:33

READ SCRIPTURE

How is Christ Glorified?

Soon as we read this passage we read the word glory in some form 5 times. Glory is an important word. Right before this glory filled sentence John writes “When he [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said...”

Jesus was glorified in letting Judas go out. Jesus could have stopped Judas, who could have commanded him to not go, instead he told him to go. Jesus realized the plan must go forward. He realized that the temporary suffering would lead to him being glorified

We sometimes have the power to stop something, but sometimes true power is going through something for the greater good when you could have just ran.

Their is glory in picking and choosing your battles. Some are not worth fighting and some will cause more harm than good.

The crucifixion brought glory. We are going to talk more about this in the weeks to come, but tonight we are going to cover the basics of it as we get into our following points. Because we see Jesus talk of going where they cannot go at the time, but would eventually follow him. These statements have everything to do with the crucifixion.

Where was Christ Going?

Jesus tells them they cannot go where he is going. So where is that? The cross. What makes Christ fit for the cross and us unfit?

First of all what was the purpose of the cross in Christ life?

vicarious (atonement). Literally, “in place of.” Hence in that Jesus died “for us,” that is, took on himself the consequences of human sin, theologians often speak of his sacrificial, substitutionary death as a vicarious atonement.

Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 120.

Christ came as a substitutionary/vicarious atonement.

“In place of”- What did he take the place of for us? First of all we deserve death and wrath (consequences of sin). That is what he took our place in.

“Sacrificial”- Why is this death considered sacrificial? He gave up comfort and life on our part. But let us get at it on a more biblical level of sacrifice.

John 1:29 ESV

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Exodus 12:5 ESV

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,

Jesus is the Lamb of God and repeatedly in the OT you see that a lamb has to be without blemish. Jesus was without blemish. Jesus is perfect and lived a perfect life, never sinning once.

We are flawed and full of blemishes, making us incapable of being able to ever fully atone for our sins. The perfection of Christ allows him to be a sacrifice and atone perfectly for our sins, in one final sacrifice.

We would pay for eternity the price of our sins, Christ was able to pay for it all at once on the cross

So they could not follow Christ to the cross because they were incapable of paying the price He would pay. Without their sins atoned for they would not be able to follow him to heaven.

When Could Christ Be Followed?

Verse 36 lets us know though the disciples would follow at some point. What does this exactly mean? One most of them would come to a gruesome death. So they would follow him in death for their faith. All of them but John would be martyred for their faith.

Also though Luke 9:23-24 comes to mind

Luke 9:23–24 ESV

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Christ would pick up his cross and die to self for the glory of God/Himself. the disciples would follow him in picking up their crosses and following him.

We follow Christ in picking up our crosses and following God. We die to self to glorify God. We follow in the selfless lifestyle.

What Marks us as Follower of Christ?

Verses 34-35 drives all this. That is love for God first and people secondly. Agape radically marks us. What defines so much of who we are as Christians is the way we treat others. Our character speaks volumes about what we believe in.