Title: The glorified Christ / John 13:31-32
Contents
In verses 31 to 16, Jesus gives his last farewell sermon to his disciples before the cross. When was the last farewell sermon?
"After I left." Soon after Judas Iscariot had gone out. Judas Iscariot was like an impurity mixed with gold. He was an impure man, possessed by greed and an evil spirit. Therefore, as long as Judas Iscariot was present, Jesus could not tell the deep story within.
But after I left, I was able to tell a deep story to the disciples. The disciples who heard Jesus' words today were all disciples who genuinely loved the Lord. Jesus could speak to them without hesitation. Of course, the disciples could not fully understand Jesus' deep preaching, but at least they were pure and humble people who learned Jesus. The word “little children” in verse 33 refers to those who learn the word of the Lord with a pure heart. All of these people did not understand the word of the Lord at the moment they heard it, but they longed for it and tried to understand its meaning.
Are we ready to hear Jesus' deep sermon today? You have to think about it. A person like Judas who loves darkness rather than light will hear the word of the Lord, but will not understand it. Dear all! Today, I too must be praying for the understanding of the word of the Lord among the disciples.
1. The first words of the Lord are, “Now the Son of Man is glorified.”
The 'now' here refers to the time when Judas Iscariot went out to betray Jesus. That's when Jesus said he was glorified. Isn't this strange in our opinion?
Jesus will soon be crucified for an insult, but on the contrary, he says that he has been glorified. In fact, to our human eyes, there was a time when Jesus was truly glorified when he was on this earth.
The first is the event in Matthew 3:17. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit of God fell like a dove on Jesus and there was a voice from heaven.
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” What a glorious event this was. There was the voice of God the Father from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove.
Also, in Mark 9:2-8, the glorious figure of Jesus is truly revealed. When he ascended the mountain of transfiguration, the disciples saw that Jesus' clothes were shining, but they were so white that no one in the world could wash them.
Then Moses and Elijah appear and talk to Jesus. And just then, a cloud came and covered them, and God's voice was heard from the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son; listen to me."
The scene was so splendid and glorious that Peter unknowingly said, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." and said.
In such a glorious scene in human eyes, Jesus would say that I am now glorified, but rather, in that scene at that time, Jesus is still and says that he is now glorified before the cross.
Here we feel that the thoughts of men and the thoughts of our Lord are as different as heaven and earth. Dear all! Here we can learn the precious thought of Christ.
(1) True glory comes from self-giving sacrifices.
Everyone, let's think about the glory of Jesus at this time. Praise Jesus all over the world today. What is the title of that hymn?
It is the sacrifice of Jesus. It is the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross. Without this sacrificial cross, Jesus could not exist. Today, the subject of praising Jesus by the inhabitants of the world is the cross.
"And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Here is a valuable lesson for the saints. The most glorious life is a life of sacrifice.
In the years to come, who will our descendants value the most when they think of this once difficult church? You will think of the person who sacrificed the most for this church.
The glorious figures of faith in the Bible were all self-sacrificing men.
Hebrews 11:24, “By faith Moses, having grown up, being the son of Pharaoh’s princess, refused to invade, but preferred to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while, and to enjoy the reproach for Christ’s sake. They were counted as riches greater than all treasures, because they looked to the reward.
Elijah - In the days of King Ahab of northern Israel, he was a righteous prophet who fought alone against the idols of Baal to the end. The king, his servants, and all the people serve Baal, and he even pleaded with God to take his life, no matter how difficult it was to remain alone until the end and struggle.
Apostle Paul - The Apostle Paul we know very well is a man who has nothing more to say about sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, “I have been toiling more, more in prison, more beatings, and almost death. He spent a day and a night in the deep, and traveled many times in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from his own people, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, in danger among false brethren, in toil and toil many times. I could not sleep, I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was often hungry, I was cold, I was naked, but there is something pressing inside me every day, not to mention other things, that I am concerned about for the sake of all the churches.”
In the gospel hymn, we sing that we can't live like Jesus and Paul. Why do we sing like that? Sacrifice.
Ladies and gentlemen, the most glorious life is a life of sacrifice.
* It is said that Namgang Lee Seung-hoon said this to the students of Osan School the day before the unveiling of his statue. "Here my statue stands like this, but I think it is today because I ate shit." It was because the toilet facilities were not good when Osan School first started, so in winter the poop in the toilet would freeze to form a mountain, but no one wanted to clean it up.
So Namgang slashed it with an ax by hand, and the frozen poop was thrown into his mouth each time. Five days after the unveiling of the statue, he passed away, and he is said to have left the following words in his will: "When I die, do not bury my body in the ground and let it rot, but make bones as physiological specimens for students to use for research."
Conversely, see a person who lives for himself and then dies. The building tycoon in Euljiro died while eating only ramen noodles at the moment of death because the money he earned while he was young was so precious. It may be admirable in terms of thrift, but this man's life is by no means a glorious life.
Ladies and gentlemen, how long have you been sacrificing for others? Have you not lived for me until today? Have you been taking care of only what you have and what you have? Let us imitate the life of the Lord.
How can we decorate our short life in the most glorious way? That's a lot of sacrifice.
(2) In this conviction, Jesus resolved all doubts and conflicts.
The cross was a terrible and terrifying punishment for even the Son of God, Jesus. But Jesus, knowing that it was the way to glory, rejected all doubts and conflicts.
If you are doing the Lord's work or doing the work of your family, you should not have any doubts or conflicts if a lot of sacrifice is required. Because sacrifice makes my life the most glorious.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you are struggling at the crossroads of complacency or sacrifice, please boldly choose the path of sacrifice.
2. "For God is also glorified in the Son of Man." The cross of Jesus is a glory to himself, but more than anyone else, it is a glory to God who sent him.
The greatest glory for a parent is for the child to obey the will of the parent. Christ completely obeyed the will of God, and that was the cross.
Because Jesus carried the cross, first, God's justice was accomplished. In other words, God's justice in punishing people for their sins was revealed on the cross.
Second, God's love was revealed. God loved human life even though it was a rebellious life, and He bore all the sins on His Son. Jesus showed this love of God on the cross. Here we find the greatness of the Lord.
Especially when compared to Moses. When the Israelites came to Kadesh, a dry land, there was no water, so they attacked Moses and Aaron. He complained, "There is no place for sowing, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, no water to drink."
They had seen the miracles of the parting of the Red Sea, the miracle of eating manna and quail, and the miracle of water coming out of the rock, yet they still blamed God. Each time Moses was a meek man, and he prayed for the people of Israel. But this time, he couldn't stand it and lifted his staff and struck the rock twice. How would we be?
However, this was Moses' great mistake in obscuring the glory of God. Even so, God loves them and wants to bless them. However, because Moses, who is a servant of God, could not bear his wrath in this way and made a mistake, the glory of God was obscured.
Let us turn our gaze back to Jesus. Indeed, he came to this world as a light, but how much persecution did the Lord who became this light suffer? Jesus showed the glory of God by giving forgiveness and love to the end on the cross.
What is the way to truly glorify God? It is to receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ and carry the cross that was given to me with love.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is not the will of God for a husband or wife to be angry with me when they persecute me for no reason. These days, the rate of divorce among newlyweds as soon as they get married is increasing. Are you saying you don't want to live with someone you don't like? That may be easy right now, but it's never a glorious life.
We need a life of compassion and prayer for each other. Forgive any fault. Through this act of faith, I will be glorified and God will be glorified.
3. "God will also give him glory because of him, and he will give it soon."
“It refers to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Beyond the cross of the Lord will be the resurrection. In fact, Jesus rose from the dead and gained dominion over the universe and became King of kings.
Paul also saw the glory of the resurrection after suffering (Philippians 3:10). I want to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the partaking of his sufferings, being conformed to his death (Philippians 3:11), so that I may somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Dear all! Do you want a truly glorious life, a life with no regrets? It is not a selfish life lived for my own greed, but a sacrificial life of giving myself. Through my sacrifice, I first glorify myself and God glorify me.
Do you really not want to live a glorious life? For the sake of the Lord, for the Church, the body of the Lord, for the will of the Lord, for the sake of all those whom the Lord loves. Amen