The word “Glory” means to extol virtue or to magnify good qualities of a person or thing. We get the image of seeing something from its very best perspective. When you walk into the showroom of a car dealership the new cars they want you to buy are displayed to demonstrate all their best qualities: you see the glory of the car. When a person is being nominated for a position, whether it be to the PTA or as the President of the United States, to convince people to vote for them their virtues are extolled: you hear the glory of the nominee.
Our text in John 13:31 – 38 begins with Jesus saying, “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” When it comes to the glory of God, we might think of His works seen in creation, the miracles recorded in Scripture, or even the poetic description of God in the Psalms. But that is not where the Glory of God is at its greatest. The highest virtue of God and the greatest qualities of God are seen in the cross of Christ. In every other segment of society the cross is seen as a symbol of torture, punishment and defeat. In God’s economy the cross is the opposite of defeat. The cross of Christ is God’s victory over sin, death and the Devil. The cross of Christ is glorious because the perfect love of God is on full display.
Jesus follows His statement regarding the glory of God with a new command for his followers to “love one another, as I have loved you.” This command adds a new twist to the Old Testament command to simply love others as yourself. To love as Christ loved requires sacrifice for the benefit of those we seek to love. In the remaining verses of the chapter Jesus describes how his followers will glorify God after He returns to heaven, followed by a serious threat to our attempts to glorify God.
As we work our way through the Gospel of John I didn’t have a master plan (I think God did) to be on this text for our One Church Service, but I can’t think of a better passage for us on this occasion. As the service closes we will celebrate the Lord’s Table which points us back to our text in John 13. In communion we see both the glory of the cross that brings the unity of the Church and the love that results from that. Join us on Sunday as we explore the Glory of the Cross.