When have you had your
moment of glory? Was it in
the sporting arena when you
won an olympic gold for the 4
x 100 m hurdles? Or the
moment you received your
first class honours degree
from Cambridge? Few of us
are world champions or
acclaimed academics, but we
will all have had the moments
at sometime in our life over
which we can be justifiable
proud, but what do you think
was the crowning moment of
glory for Jesus during his time
on earth?
The most obvious occasion
was his Transfiguration, the
moment when his three
closest disciples saw Jesus
shining with his pre-venient
glory of heaven, but the
evangelist John shows that
Jesus has other ideas.
John uses the word “glory” in
relation to Jesus 17 times in
his gospel and his
understanding of the glory of
Christ is not something we
bestow upon Him, but
something which Christ
revealed to us.
“The Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the
glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.” (John
1:14)
He could be referring to the
Transfiguration, but his
application of the word is far
wider than that.
John’s record of the wedding
feast at Cana in John 2:11 is
an occasion in which Jesus
revealed his glory through a
miracle:
“What Jesus did here in Cana
of Galilee was the first of the
signs through which he
revealed his glory”
As we see from our reading
today from John 17: 5 that
Jesus’s own glory was a state
of reality which he has from
before the beginning of time:
“And now, Father, glorify me
in your presence with the
glory I had with you before
the world began.”
But for John, the moment that
Jesus truly reveals his glory is
the moment when he is
crucified.
Earlier in John 12:23-24,
Jesus predicts His death with
the words:
“The hour has come for the
Son of Man to be glorified.”
Jesus was not to be fêted by
the people of Jerusalem
amidst cheers and bunting,
but he was soon to be
dragged and kicked through
its streets amidst jeers and a
beating carrying a huge
wooden cross. And yet this
was for him THE moment of
his glorification.
How can a brutal means of
execution be a moment of
glorification? The answer to
this really defines John ́s
understanding of the “Glory”
of God. Glory is not simply
an accolade or a passing
moment, Glory is God ́s own
nature. Glory is who He is
and the glory of God is most
especially evidenced by
Christ at His crucifixion.
My wife Siân makes and
especially delicious mince
pies at Christmas following a
Nigella recipe with a rich and
gooey orange and cream
cheese centre complimenting
the tartness of the mince
meat beautifully. On the
outside each pie looks like an
ordinary mince pie, but when
you cut into it the surprising
and delicious centre is
revealed.
When Jesus was crucified
pleading not for mercy, but
the forgiveness of his
executioners, he revealed
what he and God the Father
are made of. Pure love, pure
forgiveness, pure grace, pure
truth and pure glory. So
much so the Roman officer
overseeing his execution said
something which he almost
certainly would never had
said of those he had crucified
in the past: “Surely this was a
righteous man.” (Luke 23:47)
Glory, however, is not just the
essence of Christ’s character
he wants us to see it in all its
fullness. Later in John 17:24
we read:
“Father, I want those you
have given me to be with me
where I am, and to see my
glory.”
And in our NT reading in
Hebrews we read that not
only we will see the glory of
God with our own eyes, we
will even be incorporated into
it:
“by the grace of God he
might taste death for
everyone.
In bringing many sons and
daughters to glory.” (Heb
2:10)
So when was your greatest
moment of glory? For Jesus
it was the opportunity
through the cruel hands of
man to reveal what he is
made of.
We think of Glory as
something we can bestow
upon God, but it is who he is.
It is not wrong to think of
giving God glory with our
praise and through living a
faithful Christian life, but
Glory is the character and
very essence of God and one
day we will see the glory of
Christ the King and the
faithful will participate in it.
Amen