By: Juliet Constantine
“But Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.’” (John12:23-24 NKJV)
In response to Philip’s message that the Greeks desired to see Him, Jesus responded by saying: “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.”
The Greeks’ inquiry seemed to buoy Jesus’ spirit on, and He felt revived and strengthened to complete His ordained mission. His disciples didn't understand what He meant because they still hadn’t grasped the depth of what He had tried to teach them.
Jesus must have seen the confused looks on their faces and continued speaking: “unless a grain of wheat falls in the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
This parable they could understand, even though they might not have associated it with Jesus’ death.
Sometimes we hear a message, or might have read a passage, but the real meaning of what was read or said seems to have missed us. It might have been the same with the disciples then; but praise God, they eventually understood His messages. He came to be the sacrifice for all people; not just Jews. The hour came and Jesus Christ was glorified. When Jesus spoke of being glorified, He spoke of His death. He knew that only His blood was the true price for our ransom from sin. However, He also looked forward to the time when He would be fully reunited with His Father. He was confident that He had done God’s will – He glorified His Father. He knew that His Father would glorify Him.
Like Jesus, we all can be assured that one day, we too will be glorified. By faith, we have been justified. Through faith, we are daily being sanctified. We are being made holy. The character of God is being restored in us, day by day. And we know that one day soon, this work will be completed and we will be glorified. We will be reunited with our Father in Heaven, where the presence of sin cannot enter. We will someday live in everlasting peace and joy on the New Earth where nothing and no one will annoy or destroy. Until then, we will glorify God. We glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits which are God’s. Like Jesus, we will seek to please God by being obedient to Him and following His instructions for our lives.
We can take assurance from knowing that Jesus has been glorified with the glory He had with His Father from the beginning. Yes, He is reunited with our Father, and we will be too. In-spite-of the obstacles faced on Earth, Jesus didn’t allow them to sever His ties with His Father. We shouldn’t either. Jesus left us an example. He did the work appointed for Him – that work of bridging the gap between us and God. We too have our appointed work – that of showing others the Bridge that leads home to God. Let us be faithful to our calling because one day, we too, like Jesus, will be glorified with our Father.
Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name. Please help us to be faithful to our calling in glorifying You in our words and deeds here on Earth. We look forward to the day when You will glorify us; when we will be reunited with You, communing with You face to face. Until then, keep us faithful we pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Copyrighted by Juliet Constantine 2014 (for “Alone With God – Finding Jesus In The Scriptures” Daily Devotional)
