The Hour of Glory: God Revealed in Weakness

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

In John 8, Jesus is teaching in the temple when the people become angry at His words. By the end of the reading (John 8:42–59), they pick up stones because He very explicitly claims to be God: “Before Abraham was, I am.” To them, this is blasphemy, and the punishment for blasphemy is death by stoning—except Jesus truly is God.

A few weeks ago, our Gospel lesson from Matthew recounted the temptation of Jesus. It ends with Satan saying, “Bow down and worship me, and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world. You will have the praise and accolades of the entire world.” And wouldn’t that feel great? Wouldn’t it be nice for your boss to recognize the hard work you do? How many of you are overworked and underpaid? How many of you wish your boss understood the value you bring? I know there are more than a few of you—I hear your complaints.

It feels good to be recognized. Remember the show The Office? They had the Dundies, their silly award ceremony. I was given a Dundee several years ago: “Best Pastor in the World.” It sits in my office, and I love it. A couple of Father’s Days ago, I got something else dear to my heart: “Best. Dad. Ever.” Sorry to all the other dads—you’re fighting for second place. It feels good to be recognized.

But Jesus tells Satan, “No. You shall worship the Lord your God.” Jesus didn’t come to glorify Himself, as He says here in John 8: “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’”

In the Gospel of John, the “hour of glory” is a recurring theme. It begins early at the wedding at Cana. When Mary tells Him they are out of wine, Jesus responds, “Woman, why do you trouble me? My hour has not yet come.” His hour of what? His hour of glory. John builds this theme throughout his Gospel until finally he reveals the glory of Jesus Christ—the glory of God—when Jesus is crucified.

The moment of greatest weakness, when God Himself dies for His creation, is the moment of His glory. He pours out His love for the whole world. His blood is shed for the forgiveness of sins. He takes our death upon Himself and is crucified as a common criminal among common criminals. On His head is a crown of thorns, and above Him a placard reads, “King of the Jews,” in three languages. This is the glory of God: that He chooses to redeem His creation, to save you and me, even though we do not honor Him with all our heart, strength, and mind, and even though we do not keep His name holy.

My alarm went off at 5:15 this morning, and I thought, “Why do we have an 8:00 service?” People assume that because I’m a pastor, I’m a morning person. I’m not. I have to wake up early just to be talkative by 8:00. I’m a “sit in silence and drink coffee” kind of guy.

God chooses what is weak to shame the strong. He chooses what is foolish to shame the wise.

Next week we will celebrate Jesus entering the holy city to shouts of “Hosanna, Son of David!” And He comes to die for those very people. He comes to die for you and for me. Last week, in the feeding of the 5,000, the people wanted to make Him king. But He withdrew, because this—the cross—is where He wins His kingship. This is His coronation. This is what brings peace between God and man. This is the joy the angels sang about. This is the joy set before Him, for which He endured the cross, scorning its shame, to redeem us poor sinners and call a people to Himself.

Not for our praise or adoration, which are given one day and gone the next—like the flowers blooming now. It feels like summer already, but in a few months those flowers will wither and fade, and it will be Christmas again, and I’ll be wishing for warm weather.

God chose us to be His people. Which of you is great? Which of you is wise? Which of you is the debater of this age? I know I am none of those things. Yet He chose you because He loves you. He loves the whole world. He wants everyone to believe that He came and died for them. He has overcome death, which we will celebrate in a couple of weeks on Easter—and which we celebrate every Sunday. He has given life in His name. Even though we die, yet shall we live. And we who believe in His name will never die. He is the God of the living, not the God of the dead.

In response to this great mercy—His crucifixion, His burial, His resurrection—we give praise. We praise God not because He fills our bellies, not because He gives us good government, not because He gives us family and friends. Those things are added to us when we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. He gives us a beating heart to replace the heart of stone. He calls dead men to new life.

And for any who doubt—any who wonder, “Did God really die for me? Does His crucifixion apply to me? Does His blood forgive my sins?”—He gives you His body and blood to eat and drink as proof, as a pledge, that yes, it is for you. You who have sinned much have been forgiven so much. There is no end to the forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus. Now, don’t go out trying to find where that line might be—don’t misunderstand me. But you who are troubled in soul and conscience, you who are here today: He has forgiven you. You are forgiven. You are His precious child. He bought you with the blood of His Son. He has given you new life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

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