Glory Through Suffering

Good morning, church.

Our sermon text today is from John chapter 17, verses 1 through 5.

John 17:1–5

It can be found in your pew Bibles on page 849.

And here we continue with Jesus on the last night of his earthly life.

He has just finished a long session teaching the disciples where he explained that he is

the way, the truth, and the life.

And because of this, he told the disciples that they should abide in him like a vine's

branches abide in the vine itself.

And Jesus further prophesied his own imminent departure from this world.

But he also gave assurance of his victory on the cross, even while warning about coming

tribulations.

And lastly, Jesus spoke to the disciples about the arrival of the Holy Spirit, who would

soon come and turn the disciples' grief into joy.

Now, in the passage we have before us, Jesus carries out one of his final acts before he

is arrested.

He prays a prayer.

And before we read his prayer, let's offer up a prayer of our own to God.

Father, we come to you today in the name of your son, Jesus.

Father, we're about to read one of the last things he prayed before he was crucified.

And we ask that you give us insight and discernment about his prayer.

Teach us, Father.

Teach us, through the prayer of Jesus, to be like Jesus.

Teach us to pray like him, to desire what he desired, and to give you glory like he gave

you glory.

And we pray this in his name.

Amen.

So Jesus' prayer goes like this.

Again, we're in chapter 17, verse 1 through 5 of the Gospel of John.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,

Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you.

Since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you

have given him.

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you

have sent.

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the

world existed.

What is glory?

Jesus' whole prayer centers on this concept of glory.

Jesus asked the Father to glorify him, that he may glorify the Father.

He says that he was in the glory of the Father before the world existed.

And he requests that he be glorified with that glory once again.

But what is glory?

Our world will say that glory is that which is honorable or prestigious or that which is

eminent or majestic or beautiful.

And today, glorious things and glorious deeds and glorious people are those who are famous

and attractive and wealthy and powerful.

And in a way, at least, Scripture agrees with this definition.

God is glorious.

And that means he is majestic.

He's indescribably beautiful.

He's unimaginably powerful.

He possesses more honor than we can put into words.

And this is witnessed throughout all the Scriptures.

For example, we heard all these things in the passage that was read earlier today from

Revelation chapters 4 and 5, that famous heavenly throne room scene where John is taken up by

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

the Spirit into the throne room of God himself in heaven.

And he sees God seated on a throne, surrounded by a rainbow.

And from the throne come flashes of lightning, peals of thunder.

And spread out before the throne is a sea of glass like crystal.

And in the throne room are an uncountable number of angels focused on God and worshiping him.

It's quite a glorious scene, isn't it?

Even by the world's definition of glory.

But was this the glory that Jesus was praying for in his prayer?

Is this the glory that Jesus meant when he said,

Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.

Was he asking for power and authority and majesty?

Friends, what I'm going to say today is that when it comes to true glory,

the world, as with so many things, has understood part of the issue,

but is missing out on perhaps the most vital point.

The glory that Jesus is praying for in our passage before us,

the true glory that Jesus asked for,

it does involve beauty and majesty and splendor and power.

And Jesus is no doubt alluding to that glorious throne room

that we heard about in Revelation,

where everything is focused on God.

But there's something else too,

something so important, in fact,

that it involves the entire Christian message.

And if we pay attention to the words of Jesus' prayer in our passage today,

I think Jesus himself gives us a clue about this missing aspect of true glory.

You can find it in verse 1,

where Jesus says,

Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your Son.

Remember the hour it was when Jesus prayed this prayer.

He prayed this the hour before he was going to be arrested and crucified.

And so the hour,

the hour that had come,

was the hour when Jesus would sacrifice himself for the sins of the world.

And this sacrifice is inextricably linked with the glory that Jesus prays for.

And so the true glory for which Jesus prays

is the glory of laying down his life as a ransom for many.

This is the perfection of glory.

And any definition of glory,

any explanation of real, true, authentic, and eternal biblical glory,

any seeking after the glory of God must understand

that true biblical glory involves humbly submitting to suffering.

Jesus teaches us in his prayer that to obtain true glory,

you must forsake earthly power and majesty and honor

and even lay your life down for others.

This is why in his earthly ministry,

Jesus would say the Son of Man came not to be served,

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

That is, Jesus did not come to gain earthly power and majesty.

He came to lay his life down as a ransom for many

and by that to gain the perfection of eternal glory.

And this is also why,

in that glorious heavenly throne room scene in Revelation,

with all the splendor and beauty and power and fame and honor

that's given to God in heaven,

there also is Jesus standing on the throne of God

as a slain lamb.

Do you remember that part of the passage that we heard earlier?

All the majesty of heaven is described in that passage,

the beauty and the grandeur,

and yet there on the throne with God

is a slain lamb, our dear Jesus,

who suffered for the sins of the world.

And the passage says that all heaven cries out about Jesus,

worthy are you for you were slain.

Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might and honor and glory.

Jesus is worthy to receive all these glorious things

because he was slain for us.

You see, church, glory is not just what the world says it is.

True, biblical, godly glory is gained by joyfully suffering

and especially by suffering for the sake of others.

This is the glory that Jesus asked for when he prayed to the Father,

the hour has come, glorify your son.

And God answered his prayer.

He did glorify him through the cross of his suffering.

Brothers and sisters,

is this the glory you are seeking in your life?

Or are you seeking after the world's glory,

the glory that will not suffer and that will not risk

and that will not sacrifice?

The kind of glory that lords it over everyone else.

Because to seek the glory of God is to suffer for others like Jesus did.

And this biblical glory is not unique to the Son of God.

This glory is also shared by God the Father.

If we turn to Jesus' prayer, we can see this very clearly.

Jesus prays in John 17, verse 1,

John 17:1

The hour has come.

Here Jesus asks for that glory that we've spoken of,

that suffering glory.

But notice that just as Jesus the Son possesses

and seeks that long-suffering, self-sacrificial glory,

so the Father also possesses that same sacrificial glory.

The Son has this glory because he suffered by laying down his life.

But the Father has this glory because he so loved the world,

he sent his one and only Son to suffer.

You see, church, Jesus' prayer for glory reveals this wonderful truth,

that God's glory is made perfect in suffering.

The Son knows the glory of sacrificing himself for his enemies,

and the Father knows the glory of sending his Son to die for his enemies.

Therefore, God knows both what it is to sacrifice himself

and what it is to send his beloved Son as a sacrifice.

And in this, God's glory is perfected because he knows both of what it is to suffer

and what it is to have someone you love suffer.

Friends, I wonder,

how are you suffering today?

Is God using that suffering in your life and working it into eternal glory

like he did with his Son?

There are many kinds of suffering in this world,

and we have many kinds of suffering in our church.

But whatever you're suffering today, whatever it may be,

all of it, whether you, when you humbly submit it to God,

will be used by God to make you more like God and to share in his glory.

This is the great secret of the Christian life,

that as a Christian, whenever you humbly submit to suffering,

then you draw closer to the one who humbly suffered for you,

and he will use your suffering for his glory and also for yours.

And this is true whether your suffering is in the form of physical pain or mental pain.

It's true whether you've been harmed accidentally or harmed intentionally.

This is even true if you're suffering because of your own sin.

Then, if you repent and submit your suffering to God,

God is so glorious and powerful that he will redeem your suffering

and make it work for good by the power of Jesus Christ.

And so today, whether you're suffering because of the faith

or because you made a mistake,

whether you're suffering because someone you love is hurting

or even because you've hurt someone you love,

whatever the cause of your suffering,

Jesus knows what it is like to suffer.

And if you submit it to God,

then he will use it to make you more like him

and you'll share in his glory.

Therefore, church, if you're suffering in this hour,

be encouraged by the suffering of Jesus and his prayer for glory.

Submit to suffering.

Repent if you need to.

And remember that there is an eternal weight of glory

prepared for you and your suffering.

This is why the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Corinthians.

He said,

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

We're perplexed, but not driven to despair.

We're persecuted, but not forsaken.

Struck down, but not destroyed.

We always carry in our bodies the death of Jesus

so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,

that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So we do not lose heart.

Though our outer self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory

beyond all comparison.

As we look for the things that are seen,

as we look not to the things that are seen,

but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient,

but the things that are unseen are eternal.

In Jesus' prayer for glory,

Jesus was looking for those unseen things in heaven

where that eternal weight of glory was being prepared for him

through his suffering.

This is why we follow Scripture in calling Jesus the Lord of glory

and why we confess that Jesus holds all the power

and all authority on account of the glory that he's been given.

If we return to Jesus' prayer in John chapter 17,

John 17 · chapter mention

we see that he speaks about this power

which he has been given as the Lord of glory.

And also what our responsibility is to him because of it.

He says,

Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you

since you have given him authority over all flesh

to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

Now notice what Jesus says here.

First, Jesus, as the Lord of glory, is in charge.

God has given him authority over all flesh.

So it doesn't matter who we are or where we are.

It doesn't matter what color our skin is or what our language is.

It doesn't matter what culture we are or even what our religion is.

Whether we recognize it or not,

Jesus has authority over us and everyone else.

But he uses this authority to give eternal life to all whom the God,

God the Father, has given to him.

God, in his mystical foreknowledge and from his great love,

has rescued those whom he chose from the wrath that was coming because of our sins.

And he's given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.

The only responsibility that remains for us

is to humbly submit to his judgment

concerning the gift of eternal life.

But what is this eternal life?

Jesus gives us the answer in verse 3.

He says,

And this is eternal life that they know you,

the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Jesus explains here that eternal life is to know God

and Jesus Christ whom he sent.

And as the Lord of glory,

Jesus is the focus of all things.

He's the focus of life itself.

He's the ultimate goal, meaning, source,

the cause and result of all things.

All things flow from him and all things flow to him.

And so eternal life is to know him

and God the Father who sent him.

Our responsibility, therefore, on this earth is to know Jesus.

And let me tell you,

there's nothing better than knowing Jesus.

Jesus continues his prayer.

In verse 4, he says,

I glorified you on earth,

having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

Jesus glorified God the Father on earth

because he accomplished the work

that the Father gave him to do.

But what was that work?

What was it actually?

Well, here is a beautiful truth, church.

The work which God gave Christ to perform was you.

That work was to save sinners,

even sinners like you.

His work was to save you

by defeating death on the cross

and rising on the third day.

And according to Jesus' prayer,

he finished the job.

It's already done.

I said that nothing could be better

than knowing Jesus, the Lord of glory,

but perhaps I can say

the only thing better is if that work

of bringing about a reconciled relationship with God

is not just in the future,

but has already been done by God

on the cross.

And in a way,

this wasn't just completed 2,000 years ago

in Jerusalem

when Jesus was crucified on earth.

This work goes all the way back

to the beginning of time itself.

In verse 5, Jesus prays,

And now, Father,

glorify me in your presence

with the glory that I had with you

before the world existed.

Jesus explains that not only did he exist

before the world began,

but he was in glory

with God the Father

before the world began.

And we must all understand

that by this glory,

Jesus means that true,

self-sacrificial, biblical glory

that only comes through suffering.

You see, the Father and the Son

had this kind of glory

before the world began

because before time,

the Father, in his secret wisdom,

knew of his plan of salvation.

He knew that he would send his Son to die

and the Son knew

that he would lay his life down.

This is why I think

the best translations

of Revelation 13, 18

say that Jesus is a Lamb of God

who was slain

before the foundation of the world

because in a sense, he was.

All of God's own suffering

was known by God with certainty

in his hidden wisdom

before the world began.

And so, in a manner of speaking,

that suffering was known

and experienced by God

and therefore,

the Father and the Son

were in glory with one another

from the very beginning.

In his letters,

the Apostle Paul speaks

about God's glorious plan

of salvation

which he made

before all eternity

for glory.

He says in 1 Corinthians 2, 7, 8,

But we impart a secret,

the hidden wisdom of God

which God decreed

before the ages

for our glory.

None of the rulers

of this age understood this

for if they had,

they would not have crucified

the Lord of glory.

And Paul also says

in his letter to the Colossians,

1, 26 through 27,

he says,

The mystery hidden

for ages and generations

but now revealed to the saints.

To them,

God chose to make known

how great among the Gentiles

are the riches

of the glory of this mystery

which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory.

Friends,

the sum of what I'm saying

is this,

just as God had plans

for his own glory

before the foundation

of the world,

so he also had plans

for your glory

and just as he had plans

to use his own suffering

for glory,

so he also has plans

to make your suffering

into glory too.

Church,

if you're suffering today,

I want to tell you

that you are not forgotten

by God.

For in the same way

that God knew

of his own suffering,

so he knows

of yours also.

And in the same way

that God redeemed

his own suffering,

so he will also

redeem yours.

Your hardship

and your suffering

were known by God

before the beginning

of the world.

Every drop you have bled,

every tear you have shed

has been known by God

and is known by God

from all eternity.

And just as the Father

and Son

were together in glory

from the very beginning,

so God is welcoming you

into his own life

through his suffering.

And then through

your suffering,

he's preparing

and strengthening you

to carry an eternal

weight of glory.

Friends,

Jesus' prayer

has covered

many important points

in our Christian life.

glory,

eternal life,

knowing God,

the power

and sovereignty

of Jesus,

the exclusive devotion

we owe to Jesus.

And there are many ways

that these comfort us.

But I want to turn now

to address those of us

who may not find

all of these truths

about the authority

of Jesus

and his sovereignty

to be comforting,

or perhaps to those

who struggle

with explaining

these truths

to others

in our community

and our world.

And let me give you

some examples.

Our world often claims

that there are many ways

to God

and many paths.

And because of this,

our world at times

can recoil

from the idea

that Jesus has authority

over everyone

or that he's the only way

to God

as Jesus prayed

in his prayer.

Often also,

our world

and even our fleshly selves,

we desire to be in power,

we desire to be in control,

we want to be in charge,

and so the idea

that eternal life

ultimately,

as Jesus prayed,

ultimately depends

not on us

but on God

and whom he chooses

can grate against us

and rankle us.

Often we want to be

the ultimate arbiter

and decider

of our fate.

And thirdly,

the world can also

be aggravated

by the idea

that for Christians,

eternal life

is to know God

and Jesus Christ

as Jesus makes clear

in his prayer.

this kind of knowing

or this kind of knowledge

can make Christians

sometimes come off

as arrogant know-it-alls

and sadly,

we can all think

of times

when this has happened.

So these three truths

that Jesus prays about

in his prayer

can for some

be troubling

instead of comforting.

The notion

that Jesus has authority

over all people

or that he gives

eternal life

to those whom God

has chosen

or thirdly,

that eternal life

is to know God

and Jesus Christ.

But friends,

if you're troubled

by one or all of these,

if you find some of them

difficult to accept,

then I want to suggest

a different way

of looking at them,

a way that I hope

will help you appreciate

their beauty

and their glory.

Let's start with

Jesus' power

and authority

over all flesh.

As we've read this morning

in Jesus' prayer,

he possesses power

over all peoples

and over all nations,

over every tribe

and over every language.

Jesus has authority

over all of them

and he will be their judge

on that day

when he returns.

But if you're troubled

by this,

remember the particular judge

we're talking about here

is the one

who loved the world

so that he laid

his life down.

Church,

if you're concerned

or worried

about your friends

or family

or anyone else

in this wide world

who has not heard

the gospel,

be comforted.

The one who has been

appointed as judge

is the very one

who in his compassion

did more to save

the world

than we can imagine.

As scripture says,

it is a fearful thing

to fall into the hands

of the living God.

But scripture also says

that that very God

is the one

who sacrificed himself

for those

in his hands.

What better judge

of the world

is there to have

than that?

If we can trust him,

we can trust that he's able

to save all

whom he calls.

And for this reason,

that final judgment

as adjudicated

by Jesus

will not only be

the most just

but also the most

compassionate judgment.

Take comfort

in that.

And now in Jesus' prayer,

he has also made it clear

that eternal life

is given to all

whom the Father

has given him.

But some people

are uncomfortable

with the idea

that ultimately

our salvation

depends on God's will

and not our own.

Sometimes this is

sort of a

raw fleshly rebellion

but other times

it's a philosophical one

with carefully reasoned objections.

But friends,

if you're troubled by this

then I want to assure you

what this means

is that at bottom

your salvation

doesn't depend on you,

it depends on the work of God.

So when you sin

or mess up

and we all do,

it doesn't mean

that you've blown it.

It doesn't mean

that when you're struggling,

when you're wrestling

with your sinful self,

when you've stumbled

in the race

or you've strayed

from the way,

it doesn't mean

that you've fallen

from grace

because it is Jesus

who saves.

He's the author

and perfecter

of our faith.

And as the Apostle Jude writes,

God is able

to keep you

from stumbling

and to present you

blameless

before the presence

of his glory

with great joy.

My friends,

how wonderful it is

to have our eternal life

procured and protected

by God himself.

He is the one

who will bring you

to repentance.

He is the one

who will make you

to stand on that day

when he judges

all flesh.

And he's the one

who will pick you up

when you have fallen

and will give you

fruits of repentance.

As I said earlier,

Scripture declares

that it is a terrible thing

to fall into the hands

of the living God.

But Jesus also says,

I give them eternal life

and they will never perish

and no one will snatch them

out of my hand.

How terrible it is

to be in the hands of God

but how wonderful it is also.

The Apostle Paul explains

this mystery

of our salvation

depending on God

yet also intertwining

with our will.

He exhorts the Philippians,

he says,

work out your salvation

with fear and trembling

for it is God

who works in you

both to will

and to work

for his good pleasure.

Now lastly,

Jesus in his prayer

says that eternal life

is to know God

and his son

and some people

interpret this

by claiming that Christians

have some kind

of special knowledge

that is only available

to a few.

And if you encounter

a Christian

who thinks this

is the kind of knowledge

Jesus is talking about,

they sometimes can come off

as a sort of holier-than-thou,

know-it-all kind of person.

But this isn't the knowledge

that Jesus is talking about here.

The kind of knowledge

that Jesus has in mind

is not informational knowledge,

it's relational knowledge.

The knowledge that he's speaking about

is that kind of knowing

that you experience

when you know

a person intimately

heart-to-heart

and face-to-face.

And in this case,

the person that you know

is God himself.

And when you know him,

then you understand

just how little

and insignificant you are.

And you see the gravity

of your sins

and you understand

God's righteous anger,

but also his love

and his mercy.

And then you're humbled.

And then you begin to realize

that what really matters

is not what you think about God,

but what God thinks about you.

And you understand

that God does not like

the sins you have been committing.

And then,

as he leads you to repentance

and you feel his forgiveness,

you realize that nothing compares

to knowing God

and his Son, Jesus Christ,

and being known by him.

But friends,

after all this,

if you are perhaps

still hesitant

to share the good news

of Jesus with others,

out of fear

that you may come across

as arrogant

or mean-spirited,

if that's a challenge

you're facing,

then here's what you should do.

Remember the glory

for which Jesus prayed

and seek after it.

Father, he prayed,

the hour has come.

Glorify your Son.

And then he went to the cross

for the sins of the world

and then the world was changed.

So you also,

when you seek after

the glory of Jesus,

when you lay down

your life for others,

then your neighbors

will listen to you.

When your friends

and your neighbors

see the love of God

poured out in your heart,

when they see your patience

and your humility,

when they see

your long-suffering,

your joy and hardship,

your willingness

to forgive,

your quickness

to repent,

and your desire

to bear the burdens

of others,

then they'll also

see Jesus in you

and then they will

listen to you.

Friends,

hear an exhortation

from the book of Hebrews.

Therefore,

since we are surrounded

by so great

a cloud of witnesses,

let us lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings

so closely

and let us run

with endurance

the race

that is set before us,

looking to Jesus,

the founder

and perfecter

of our faith,

who for the joy

that was set before him

endured the cross,

despising the shame

and is seated

at the right hand

of the throne of God.

Let's pray.

Father,

we ask in the name

of your son Jesus

that you would make us

to know his glory,

that you would prepare us

for that eternal

weight of glory.

Father,

I pray for those

right now

who are suffering,

who are in despair,

who are perplexed.

I pray, Lord,

that you would give them

immense comfort now.

I pray, Father,

that as the sufferings

of Christ

overflow in their lives,

that the joy of Christ

would also overflow in them.

Father,

I pray that as a church

we would be united together

in the fellowship

of the sufferings of Jesus.

Father,

I pray that you would teach us

how to weep

with those who weep,

how to mourn

with those who mourn,

and how to rejoice

with those who rejoice.

Father,

I pray that you would

perfect us

whenever we suffer,

that you would help us

to run the race

with perseverance

for the joy

that is set before us.

And we pray this

in the mighty name

of Jesus.

Amen.