The Honour of the Cross
When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come John 13:31-33
Judas’ departure allows Jesus to begin sharing far more intimately with His disciples. This is only the second time Jesus has spoken of the Son of Man being ‘glorified’ (12:23 was the first). Before now He’s spoken of God being glorified and the Son of Man being ‘lifted up.’ Now He puts the two together. As in Daniel 7 ‘one like a son of man’ will be exalted, coming on the clouds to the Ancient of Days, and the whole scene will be the moment of God’s glory, revealing who the true God is, over against the dark forces of the world that have resisted Him and trampled His worshippers. But in this fourth gospel the glorifying of the Son of Man involves suffering and death as well as exaltation. That’s why Jesus couldn’t say these words until Judas had gone. He left to betray Jesus, to put into motion the series of events that would end in Jesus’ crucifixion.
“Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.” On one level we can understand ‘glory’ as ‘honour.’ Jesus’ death was His passage to honour. Jesus would be honoured by His Father in His actual death. The glorious honour of His gracious character would be immediately seen in His giving His life for sinful humanity. And when the Son of Man was honoured, God the Father would equally be honoured. The glory of God would be clearly seen through the cross. The Father’s love for the world led Him to send His Son to die in our place (3:16). So the cross honours Jesus and honours the Father and each is honoured as the other is honoured.
Because Jesus was to honour God in His death He adds, “If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.” Because Jesus honoured His Father through His death, He knew God the Father in turn would honour Him without delay, through His resurrection and ascension. There would be no great delay between Jesus’ death and His vindication by the Father by being raised from the grave and lifted to heaven.
“My children, I will be with you only a little longer.” The time was short. Judas had left to betray Jesus and events were moving quickly. Jesus would soon be arrested, crucified, resurrected and ascended.
“You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” Jesus had earlier told the Jews, “I am with you only for a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me but you will not find me; and where I am you cannot come” (7:33,34). They couldn’t follow Jesus into the Father’s presence because they did not believe in Him. The disciples on the other hand, could not follow Him now but would later (13:36).
The cross honoured God the Father and God the Son. Since creation there had been no single event that so glorified God. The cross reveals layer upon layer of God’s holiness, grace, love and mercy. The cross reveals the determination of heaven to bring humanity back to its God.
God wants us to see and know Him through the filter of the cross. The cross is like a perfectly cut diamond that shows a myriad of changing, shimmering colours as it’s turned. Meditate on the cross. Ask the Lord to show you more of Himself by helping you understand what really happened at Golgotha’s hill.
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