God is glorified in Jesus on the cross.

 

Sermon for Easter 4, Jubilate, April 25, 2021

Grace, mercy, and peace to you all from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

John 17:1-8  After Jesus had spoken these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come.  Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you.  ²For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him.  ³This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.  ⁴I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  ⁵Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.  ⁶“I revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world.  They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have held on to your word.  ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me, and they received them.  They learned the truth that I came from you.  They believed that you sent me. (EHV)

God is glorified in Jesus on the cross.

Dear friends in Christ,

            As their celebration of the Passover supper neared its end, Jesus closed the meal with what has become known as His High Priestly prayer.  Jesus’ prayer helps us understand why St. Paul would later write, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  We preach Christ crucified, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:24-25)  Here, we learn that God is glorified in Jesus on the cross.

Nothing about Christianity makes sense to the world.  To the mind trapped in inherited sin, God coming down to earth to save sinners does not seem possible.  God creating the world in six days just as impossible.  Yet, what truly causes the sinner to stumble is the idea of the Savior of the world being convicted of treason and blasphemy, then nailed to a tree until dead, and finally buried.  The natural man says, “Who could believe in a Savior so weak?  Who could believe God would allow Himself to be killed for the sins of men?”  However, that is how God glorifies Himself.

Our God, the Creator of the world, took upon Himself to redeem mankind from sin and death.  It wasn’t something any of us asked for, neither does anyone deserve such grace.  Yet, throughout history, God shows Himself as pure unadulterated love.  Though mankind rebelled against its Creator and violated every law and instruction God gave, God continues faithfully to provide the necessities of life for every created thing including us sinful people.

Still, God was not satisfied to simply provide for our earthly lives then at the end condemn us to eternal punishment for our sins.  Instead, the God of love intervened for us all, “in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)

That long ago night when Jesus celebrated the Passover meal He had so looked forward to, He gave His disciples some last-minute instructions, then “After Jesus had spoken these things, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the time has come.  Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you.’”  The culmination of Jesus’ work to reconcile people with God had arrived, and fully understanding what lay ahead of Him that night, Jesus prayed for His Father in heaven to carry that process through to its bitter end.  By giving all the sins of the world to His Son, God the Father brought the glory of His unlimited mercy to the field.  Then by willingly bearing the sins of friend and foe alike, Jesus was glorified in the Father’s eyes.

Jesus prayed, “For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him.”  Like Father, like Son.  Though man had rebelled against God, God had promised mercy and grace.  Likewise, the Son, having full authority over all mankind and full authority to judge the world for its guilt, substituted His own life in payment for ours so that we could be reunited with God.  In full agreement with His Father’s will, Jesus prays that God accept this exchange so that He could grant life everlasting to those who, otherwise, could never have it.

All of this seems unbelievably weird to the sinful nature.  By nature, we don’t want to be caught in our sins, but when we are hurt by the sins of others, we demand revenge.  This truth plays out daily as reported in the constant stream of tragic events.  Mothers weep for the deaths of disobedient children.  People of all ages rage against authority and rebel against the requirements of the law, yet at the same time demand that everyone else around them be held accountable for even the smallest infraction.  We are by nature quick to accuse but slow to repent.

For times such as this, St. Paul’s warning is on target, “For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemous, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, not able to reconcile with others, slanderous, without self-control, savage, haters of what is good, treacherous, reckless, puffed up with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to an outward form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5)

No one could stand before God’s judgment with such accusations against them, yet Jesus offers us a sure and certain hope: He said, “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”  To know the Triune God means to believe in Him and everything He has promised.  On several occasions, Jesus promised reconciliation by faith.  When Martha grieved her brother’s death, Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies.  And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.” (John 11:25-26)

A world trapped in sin could not be obedient to God, so on our behalf, God’s Son lived in human flesh exactly as God desired, without fault, error, sin, rebelliousness, or wicked thought.  Jesus confidently confessed to His Father, “I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”  Because you and I fail to be always in harmony with God, it was God’s will for His Son to live this way for us, and Jesus accomplished it perfectly.  Even if the devil, or any man, should say it can’t be done, the Man, Christ Jesus, lived according to His Father’s will in every possible way.

Then, for the conclusion of Jesus’ work, He prayed, “Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.”  Jesus knew the cruel cup He would have to drink to set sinners like us free from death and condemnation, yet He prayed that God would go ahead with the plan set forth from before Adam and Eve fell into sin.  “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and to allow him to suffer.” (Isaiah 53:10)  God sent His Son to bear the punishment for sin in our place, and of Him, St. John testified, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Jesus knew the prophecies of His coming suffering and death; He knew the hell He would have to pay for you and me, but Jesus also knew the will of His Father to save, and Jesus knew the power God had given Him over death.  Jesus told His disciples, “I lay down my life so that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.  I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again.  This is the commission I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18)  Thus, God is glorified in Jesus on the cross.

Not only did Jesus pray that God be glorified in His life and sacrifice, but He praised His Father in heaven for giving saving faith to those He had chosen to believe in the Son.  He said, “I revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world.  They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have held on to your word.”  From before the beginning of the world, God chose those who are His.  For the sake of all who will believe and be saved, God sent His Son to live and die, and for the revelation of that Good News that works saving faith in the hearts of sinners, the Father and the Son together send the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, because “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)  Thus, the Word made flesh rescued the fallen and lifted them to life everlasting by the power of His message.

Jesus said, “Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  For I gave them the words you gave me, and they received them.  They learned the truth that I came from you.  They believed that you sent me.”  This confirms what Jesus had earlier declared to those who were persecuting Him: “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.  He is not going to come into judgment but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)

Dear friends, this promise belongs to you and me as well, confirmed by Jesus’ words, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16)  In a world throwing ever increasing temptations against us, temptations both to do evil and to trust in something other than the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, Christ’s work on our behalf grows ever more important to cling to and to share.  The devil, the world, and our own flesh battle against us continually, but Jesus has won the war and cannot be defeated.  Immediately before He spoke this prayer, Jesus promised His friends, “I have told you these things, so that you may have peace in me.  In this world you are going to have trouble.  But be courageous!  I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Dear friends, the glory of God is revealed in Christ Jesus.  He is the Son God sent to save a world of sinners.  God is glorified by the sacrifice Jesus made for you and me.  God is glorified by His mercy shown to the unworthy.  And, God is glorified when people believe, not if we should believe in ourselves, but when we believe in the Savior He sent.  God is glorified in Jesus on the cross.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.