Episode 93 - "Now is the Son of Man glorified" - John 13:31-32
John 13:31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
To be clear, “When he had gone out” refers to Judas Iscariot who was going out to betray Jesus to those who wanted to kill Jesus. We saw how even though Satan had put it into his mind, he didn’t do it until Jesus had told his whole gang that one of them would betray him. Then he told John that the betrayer would be the one to whom he gave a piece of bread after dipping it in the wine. He then gave that bread to Judas and told him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” (v. 27) Let’s stop and process this for a minute.
As we’ve studied this gospel, we’ve seen some consistent themes and patterns. One theme is “hour(time) for glory.” This was first hinted at in the Prologue when John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) In the next chapter, Jesus is at a wedding with his disciples and his mother is there. When she tells him the bride and groom have run out of wine, he responds, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”(John 2:4) Jesus is saying that this wedding is about someone else’s glory/honor and he is foretelling that there is a coming hour for him to be glorified. Even still, Jesus miraculously provided wine for the wedding and John writes afterwards that this first “sign” “manifested his glory.” (John 2:11) It speaks of his unique power, authority, and interest in the needs of mankind.
Another repeating revelation throughout this book is that Jesus does nothing on his own authority but only what he sees and hears from the Father. He only does what God the Father wants him to do when the Father wants him to do it and how the Father wants it done. Furthermore, nothing can happen to Jesus that is not willed by the Father. How many times did people attempt to apprehend or harm him and they couldn’t despite significantly outnumbering him?
When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on the donkey fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah of the Messianic King coming into Zion on a young donkey as a peaceful king (Zechariah 9:9-10) he was informed that there were Greeks seeking Jesus. This was a sign to Jesus the Father was bringing “the world” to him and he understood this indicated the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified (John 12:23) and he continues by speaking about the necessity for him to die. In this we see how the Father’s will is communicated to the Son, the Son recognizes that the time is near for him to be glorified. But, his glorification will be on a cross. What is not happening is that Jesus’ enemies have finally figured out a way to get him and to overcome him. It is only now that the Father is allowing them to fulfill their evil desires. But, just as Joseph told his brothers, “You meant it (their actions of selling him into slavery) for evil. But, God meant it for good,” this is what is now happening with Jesus. All of it is within God’s permissive will.
What we need to learn from this is maintaining a healthy perspective of what we call “free will” and God’s providence. God gives us so much liberty and freedom. But, we also need to remember that our actions are never beyond the authority and ultimate will of God. It is a mystery and we cannot fully comprehend or appreciate this. But, it’s an opportunity to humble ourselves before God and pray that He would guide us to making choices that most align with His will. That’s where we experience God’s blessings the most.
Jesus would very soon be arrested, unjustly tried, convicted, tortured, and hung on a cross. This hardly seems as “glorious.” But, what the cross represents is God’s perfect love toward the world manifested through Him sending His own Son to satisfy the just and righteous penalty for the sins of the world. In this, both the Son and the Father are glorified. The Father sends His own Son in love and the Son faithfully obeys the Father with the same love for the world. That is Jesus’ point here. Furthermore, Jesus will defeat death. Again, the Father and Son are glorified through it. We must glorify God through thankfully trusting in Jesus for our salvation over sin and death.