#DailyDevotion The Glory Of Jesus Is In The Shame Of The Cross.

Holy Tuesday

John 12:23 Jesus answered them,  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

 

God has a strange sense of glory at times. Usually when we think of glory it’s the mountain top, the thunder, lightning, bright lights, trumpets blaring, a pillar of smoke and fire and bright lights. But how is Jesus glorified? What does it look like when Jesus enters his glory? It looks like an innocent man being tried in a kangaroo court. It looks like a man being insulted, spit upon and beaten. It looks like a man been stripped to his shame and hung on a cross to die.

 

This is how God defines glory. It is the glory of the cross. The cross is Jesus’ glory because it is there Jesus wins salvation for mankind. The cross is where the Lord Isa 49:2 “made my mouth like a sharp sword;  in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow;  in his quiver he hid me away.” Jesus is that sharp sword hidden and the polished arrow that concealed under flesh and blood defeats death and the devil. To the world Jesus looks weak on the cross. In reality, Jesus is defeated Death and the one who has the power of death, the devil. By Jesus death or rather his glorification he bears much fruit, namely all those who call upon his name and through his body escape death.

 

Jesus also calls you to suffer with him, to hate your life for his sake. While Christ has taken our sufferings upon himself on the cross, we now experience those suffering as participating in his sufferings. (2 Cor. 1) While world hates the suffering it experiences, because our sufferings are participating in his sufferings can rejoice in our sufferings. (Rom. 5) When we suffer we can rejoice because we shall rejoice when we see Jesus’ glory revealed. James reminds us to have joy when we experience trials because it will bear fruit in making us perfect and complete and lacking nothing.

 

So while Jesus is glorified in suffering you who suffer with him in sufferings are glorified. When he is revealed in glory you will glorified with him.

 

Heavenly Father we give thanks that you glorified your Son on the cross that in his sufferings he has redeemed the world. Grant us such faith to follow Jesus in his sufferings and rejoice in them that on the day of his revelation we too may be received into his glory unto everlasting life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.