Word of Salvation – Vol. 27 No. 20 – February 1982

 

Now Is The Son Of Man Glorified!

 

Sermon by Rev. J. J. van Wageningen on John 13:31-35

Scripture Reading: John 13:12-30

Psalter Hymnal: 434; 100:1,2 (after law); 341:1,4,5,6; 292; 375

Brothers and Sisters beloved of the Lord,

“Christ whose glory fills the skies.”  This first line of one of our hymns could be the theme of the Gospel according to John.  Time and again we read in this Gospel about the glory of Christ.  Immediately in the first chapter: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father) full of grace and truth.” (Vs.14).  And at the end of chapter 1 Jesus says to Nathanael: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye shall see the heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

In chapter 2 Jesus changes water into wine at the marriage-feast in Cana and John writes: “This beginning of His signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory.”

Here in chapter 13 Jesus Himself speaks about His glory: “Now the Son of Man is glorified!”  It is the night in which He will be betrayed.  There seems to be no glory at all.  Christ, however, speaks about His glory, for it is no earthly glory, no glory of men, but heavenly glory – Glory of God.

Christ speaks about His glory on the eve of His death.

I.  Christ’s glory in His sacrifice for His people.

II.  Christ’s glory in the life of His people.

I.  “Now is the Son of Man glorified”.

When does Jesus say this?  What does this “now” mean?

The first line of our text gives the explanation, “when therefore he, Judas, was gone out.”  Jesus had dismissed him, saying: “What are you doing, do more quickly, do it faster.”  It was clear to Judas, that his devilish plotting was known to the Master.  “One of you will betray me”.  He was the one.  As a last warning Jesus handed him the morsel; Judas accepted the bread, but did not heed the warning.  At that moment Satan entered into Him.  He had not resisted the devil, he had not heeded the warnings of Jesus, and now Satan takes full possession of his soul.  Judas is now a completely hardened individual.  And as such Jesus sends him away: “What you are doing, do it faster”.  Jesus is complete Master of the situation.  All the details of His passion are in His own hands.  According to God’s plan He has to die on the cross as an offering for sin, on Friday, that is the following day.  This, however, is not the day selected by the Sanhedrin or by Judas.  Hence Judas must work faster.  And Judas does work faster, probably afraid lest the whole plot would fail if he did not act quickly.

So after having taken the morsel, he went out immediately.  Now the death of Jesus is sure.  He signed as it were His own death-warrant.  This does not mean that there had ever been any uncertainty with respect to the divine plan that Jesus was to die for His people.  But now, with the dismissal of Judas, the realization of this plan in history has reached another decisive stage.  Now Judas is on his way to confer with the authorities, to reveal to the rulers the whereabouts of Jesus and to show them how they might seize Him.  Glory?  Yes, the glory of His love and obedience, for by saying, “What are you doing, do it faster”, Jesus again clearly manifested His willingness to enter the deep waters and the dark night of eternal death for His own…  The storm was coming, the storm of divine wrath, and Jesus did not avoid it; He walked right into it.

It was the will of the Father and Jesus desired to be obedient, perfectly obedient to His Will.  It meant the salvation of His people, and Jesus desired to make manifest His glorious love to the elect by suffering and dying for them.

How terrible is the sin of man, willing servants of Satan!  How awful is the righteous punishment of God!  How great is the glory of the Son of Man, our Lord and Saviour, the glory of His perfect obedience, the glory of His self- sacrificing love!

From our human viewpoint we would say: There is no glory!  This moment seems only to spell defeat, dishonour and disaster for Jesus.  But Jesus Himself says: Now the Son of Man is glorified!  On purpose Jesus calls Himself here: the Son of Man, using that Old Testament expression, derived from Daniel 7.  In Daniel 7 one like the Son of Man appears on the clouds of heaven.  So Jesus is the One who comes from above, the One to whom the final judgment has been committed, who will come with the clouds in great glory.

He is, accordingly, not at all the political, earthly-nationalistic Messiah like the Jews expected.  He is not only King of Israel, but King of kings.  He stands in connection with the whole human race, being the Son of Man.  Nevertheless He is altogether unique among men.  He is not a son of man, but the Son of Man.  And as a man He suffers and treads the path of humiliation.  He is the man of sorrows, but even in His sorrows, His sufferings, His anguish of hell, His death on the cross, He is the glorious Son of Man, glorious in His perfect love and obedience.  And so God is glorified in Him.  God who sent Him, His only-begotten Son; the Father, Who gave Him up, His beloved Son, to such a death for such a people, He is glorified in the Son, who willingly surrenders Himself.

God is not glorified merely by the Son, but in Him, just like a parent is honoured not only by his son, but also in his son’s character and behaviour.

And if God has been glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself.  Father and Son glorify each other.  By means of the passion, resurrection, ascension and coronation, God will glorify the Son in intimate union with Himself.  Not only the Son’s glory reflects glory on the Father, but the Father’s glory reflects glory on the Son as well, for there is an infinite closeness between the Sender and the One sent.  They are two persons, but they are one in essence, of the same divine Being.  God will glorify the Son in Himself, yes, immediately will He glorify Him; immediately, indeed, for Gethsemane, Gabbatha and Calvary are just around the corner.  There the glory of God’s righteousness and God’s love will be revealed.

II.  The disciples do not understand these words.

They are spiritually immature.  They are blind to the reality, to the reality of the suffering and death of their Master which are so near at hand; blind to the reality of His glory, the glory of the Son of Man, in whom God is glorified.  They will understand later on, after the Resurrection, after Pentecost.  Then they will see, with the eye of faith, His glory, which reaches back, as it were, through His entire life on earth and through every redemptive act.  If only we see His glory, by faith, the glory of the Son of Man, the glory of our Saviour, Who willingly offered Himself for His people, for us.  Judas closed the door behind himself and went his way in the dark night.  Now the Son of Man has been glorified.

“Little children, yet a little while am I with you.  You will seek me, and as I told the Jews so I tell you now: Where I am going you cannot come.”  It happened at the feast of Tabernacles, a half year earlier, that Jesus has told the Jews that He would be with them only a little longer. (7:33).

And on other occasions again.  So 8:21: “He said again to them, I am going away and you will seek, but you will die in your sin.  Where I am going you cannot come.”

Jesus knows that and when He will return to the Father, who sent Him.  He knows that time is running short now.  The months have become weeks, the weeks days, the days hours.  Only a few more hours now and the day-by-day fellowship between the Master and His disciples will cease forever.  By His death Jesus will go to the Father.  The hopes of the disciples will be blasted.

Jesus knows all about it.  He knows that His disciples in their little faith, in their spiritual immaturity, would miss Him; that they would seek Him, His visible presence, His physical nearness.  In His love He calls them: little children; in spite of their lack of spiritual knowledge, they are very dear to Him.

The disciples will seek Him.  They want Him to come back, to be with them as before.  It is just the same as the wish of some people: “Oh, that Jesus were still on earth!”  As if His bodily presence would be an advantage; as if we could serve Him better then.  We must not seek Him in this way.  “Where I am going, you cannot come.”  Jesus goes to the Father and as long as the disciples live here on earth, they cannot come there.

They must live by faith; we must live by faith: “blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29).

Jesus goes to the Father, but the disciples will stay on earth; they must make Jesus visible in their mutual love.  The Master gives them a new commandment; “A new commandment I give you, that you keep on loving one another, just as I have loved you, that you also keep on loving one another.”  This will be the glory of Christ in the life of His people.  A new commandment I give you.  Perhaps you ask: Is this commandment new?  It is found already in the Old Testament!  Love for God and for the neighbour is the summary of the law!  Indeed, it is not new as far as time is concerned.  But it is new from the aspect of quality.  The newness is evident from the fact that Jesus requires that His disciples shall love one another as He loved them!  He gives this commandment on His way to Calvary!  Jesus loved them not just for a while, but constantly.  Although they sin against Him, although they disappoint Him, although they leave Him alone, He keeps on loving them…  His love is a self-sacrificing love, He came and worked and suffered and died, not seeking Himself, but to seek and save lost sinners.

Well, His example of constant, self-sacrificing love must be the pattern for the disciples’ attitude and relation toward one another; and because it is of the greatest importance for the spiritual welfare of the disciples and of the entire Church, Jesus repeats it: keep on loving one another, just as I have loved you: This is the glory of Christ in His Church.  This genuine, deep-seated, constant and self-sacrificing love for one another.

What about our obedience to this new commandment?

Do we forget all about it?  Do we neglect this commandment, as the Church so often has done?

Or do we glorify Christ and the Father by loving one another with a constant self-sacrificing love through His Spirit?

These questions must not be asked in a general way.  We are always inclined to look at our neighbour and to think: what a loveless man, what a loveless woman.  We must, however, put these questions to ourselves, each one of us: What about me?  Am I an egotist?  Do I always think of myself first?

Or do I understand and practise the new commandment of my Saviour: Keep on loving the other, just as I have loved you.  Keep on loving, not for a while as long as I like the other, but in spite of his or her shortcomings and sins and ill manners etc.  Keep on loving with a self- sacrificing love, denying yourself.

Do not say: that is impossible, I am a sinner and all of us are sinners.  The question is not whether you are a sinner, but whether you are a Christian, a real Christian, whether you believe in Him who suffered and died for you on the cross, who loves you, a damnable sinner indeed!  Who loves you unto the end.

Do you belong to Him?  Does He live in your heart through His Spirit?  If, standing near the cross, you are able to neglect the love for your brothers and sisters, for all of them, without exception, it is clear that you are disobedient to Christ, it is clear that you do not seek His glory.  And this is the reason that we cannot exert influence upon the world.

Jesus says: “By this, that means, by the outward manifestation of this glorious love, everybody will recognize that you are my disciples.”  How can people know that we belong to Christ, and to no one else?  Only when they will begin to see “The Christ in the Christian.” When they will begin to see the Christ in us, in you and me; when they will begin to say: “See, how they love one another.”

This is Christ’s glory in the life of His people.

How can you lead to Christ your boy
Unless Christ’s method you employ?
There’s just one thing that you can do;
It’s let that boy see Christ in you.

Have you a husband fond and true?
A wife who’s blind to all but you?
If each would win the other one,
That life must speak of God’s dear Son.

There is but one successful plan
By which to win a fellow-man;
Have you a neighbour old or new?
Just let that man see Christ in you.

The Church that hopes to win the lost
Must pay the one unchanging cost:
She must compel the world to see
In her the Christ of Calvary.

Amen.