The Hour of Glory
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: The Hour of Glory
Introduction: The Hour of Glory
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
There has been a countdown in this gospel
We’ve been aware of some distant hour since John 2:4
It’s been steadily ticking on to this hour
It’s the hour when Jesus’ glory will be fully revealed
It has been glimpsed at through signs
But these have only been stepping stone onto something much more glorious
This is the definitive hour when we will see the glory of Jesus in it’s fullness
But it’s not the glory most would expect
Jesus has been “redefining’ Messianic expectation
Better - he’s been correcting them
God has had a consistent view of the Messiah since before the foundation of the world
We’re the ones who’ve misunderstood and twisted the Christ into our own image
Jesus is showing us the path to glory through sacrificial obedience to God that looks a lot like losing - but ends with eternal life. Is that the glory that we’re chasing after today?
The Glory of Dying
The Glory of Dying
23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Talk of glory is talk of dying
More explicit in John 12:32-33
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
He will be glorified - he will be lifted up
It’s an ironic statement
Not high and mighty - but lifted up on the cross
How is dying an act of glory?
Especially on the cross - a shameful death?
We need to look at why he’s dying
Short parable of a grain of wheat
It dies in a sense - it needs to be buried in order to produce fruit
Unless it dies it won’t produce anything else
Jesus is dying because he doesn’t want to remain alone - he wants to remain with you
Being with us has been a consistent theme throughout the gospel
John 15 sums it all up
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
As close as Jesus is to the Father, he wants us to be as close to him, and through him to the Father
The glory of Jesus is that he is literally dying to be with you
Sin separated us
He saw us wandering in deserts, wastelands, in prisons, and continuing to go further and further away from him
He said “I want to be with them!”
The glory of Jesus is in the lengths he will go to be with you
Knight’s Tale illustration - you will lose if you love me
I’ll love you as long as I look good doing it
Will you love them if it means losing everything?
The Glory of Obedience
The Glory of Obedience
The death of Jesus also glorifies his Father
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
Jesus is the one who is about to be glorified
Yet his glorification will also reflect on the Father
Glory is more than how highly you think of someone, it’s how much they weigh in your decision making
Jesus is showing that God outweighs everything else in his life
He’s troubled
Going to the cross is no easy thing
We shouldn’t confuse Christianity with Stoicism - emotionless reactions to life
The Psalms abound with tears - Jesus was drenched with sweat during his final prayers
Should he pull the plug?
He could have asked for those ten legions of angels - and God would have given them to him
53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
As quickly as he brings these thoughts to mind in John, he dismisses them
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
Dying on the cross was the reason he came!
Jesus will glorify God by obeying him at any cost to himself
How active was the Devil during these hours?
One of his first three temptations was to take the easy way out - no suffering required
He rejects any draw the Devil might have had by submitting fully to God - dying on the cross
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
It doesn’t matter how appealing those temptations are - the Devil has no say in what Jesus does
Everything is to be rejected for the glory of God
The Glory of the Resurrection
The Glory of the Resurrection
As glorious as all of this is - we really don’t like it
God speaks directly to Jesus - this is what glory looks like!
And people don’t want to hear it
29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
It’s tempting to have the same reaction ourselves
Jesus suffered and died so I don’t have to
All of this dying still sounds really difficult
That’s great for God that he’s worthy to die for
That’s real sweet of Jesus to die for me
But what’s the point of it all if I still end up dead myself? Grim picture of God hanging out in a cemetery and smiling over all of these people who died for him.
Can we really say this is glory, this is worthy of our honor and praise, if it all ends up in the grave? I was going there anyways!
The crowds are confused on this point as well
34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
How can you be both the Son of Man, the Christ, and die?
The Son of Man is from Daniel 7:13
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Has an eternal throne
Rules over the kingdoms of men
How can you say that you’re the Son of Man, the Christ, if you’re going to die?
Jesus’ answer doesn’t make immediate sense
35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
Jesus says he is the light and we need to walk with him - follow this same path
By following Jesus we become “sons of light”
Sons of Light
Only found here and in Luke 16:8
A phrase used often by the Essenes, and inspired by the book of Daniel
1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
The sons of light are those destined for the resurrection
The glory of Jesus is:
Dying to be with you
Dying in obedience to the Father
And getting back up again
And he’s inviting you into that same glory
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
We follow Jesus to the same place - the cross
We count our life as nothing in the face of God’s glory
We cast the Devil and whatever authority he thinks he has over us out and claim the Father as our king
Application
Application
This is how Jesus continues to draw all people to himself - by dying
People are not going to be drawn to Jesus through us unless we die
Evangelism takes hard work - 4% success rate
And we get tired of all that dying
Sacrificing comfort, time, effort, money, attention
Regardless of how high the numbers go we’re always successful because we are glorifying God through our efforts
We look at whatever pains and sufferings we might face, but God weighs more
We look at the lures of the Devil and cast him out
We do it all in hope of the resurrection, when we will all glorify God as the one who was able to save us from the very worst - sin and death itself
What kind of glory are you seeking?
