Monday 24th November
Read John 13:31-32
“When he was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.” (NIVUK)
The departure of Judas to betray Jesus, rather than being a signal of despair, is the moment long-awaited. Now, Jesus says, the Son of Man is glorified. Five times in two verses Jesus speaks of ‘glory’, in the present and future tense. The events about to unfold will fully reveal all that Jesus came to earth to achieve.
The most striking aspect of these words is that the only person likely to understand the incongruence of them is John himself. For John is the only one who knew Judas was leaving to betray Jesus. The first thing Jesus says on his departure is that God will be glorified now, at once.
Glory through betrayal? Glory through suffering and death? A lifetime can be spent pondering this truth.
