Let us turn to God's Word once
again, and I'll read the first five verses in John chapter 17. The 17th chapter in the Gospel
according to St. John, reading verses 1 to 5. These words, spake Jesus, and
lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is
come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee, that Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast
given Him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And
thou, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was. And I want to take for a text
the words that we have here in these last two verses. We've
read verses 4 and 5 here in the Gospel according to St. John. And to address this morning
the theme of God's glory God's glory in the crucifixion of Christ,
all God's glory revealed on earth. Now, last week of course we were considering
something of the glory of the eternal words manifested in the
Incarnation. We took for a text those words
here in chapter 1 at verse 14 the word was made flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory the glories of the only begotten
of the father full of grace and truth particularly that little
parenthesis in the middle of that verse we beheld his glory the glories
of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth There is glory then to be seen
in the incarnation, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
there's also glory to be observed at the end of that life, in the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ must ultimately die. And here in verse 14 he says,
I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do. Clearly there was a time to be
born, and there was a time to die, and with regards to each,
it was all in accordance with the eternal purpose of God Himself. And it's that glory on earth
that I want to concentrate on this morning, as we have it here
at the beginning of verse 4, I have glorified Thee on the
earth, says the Lord Jesus Christ. the glory on earth, and yet we
recognize that there is also with the Lord Jesus an eternal
glory, and that's spoken of in verse 5. He says, And now, O
Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was. There's a glory
in time, And yet, at the same time, we have to recognize there
is an eternal glory that belongs to Christ. We come to this, the first Lord's
Day of this year, and we're very much aware of time. And our time is constantly moving
on. Our lives, as we just sang in
that lovely hymn of Isaac Watts, our lives are on the wing. The
days come, the days go, we pass through the various seasons and
so again we come to the end of the year and the beginning of
a new year. The hymn writer could say change
and decay, in all around I see, although who changes not abides
with me. I mean, think of the Lord Jesus
Christ and that eternal glory that belongs to Him. He is spoken
of, of course, by the Apostle there in Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. He is that One who created all
things. In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All things were made by Him.
And without Him was not anything made that was made. All things,
all things were made by Him. And that includes the very concept
of time. He is the Eternal One. And what
does He say? Oh, what does He say there in
Isaiah 43, 13? Yea, before the day was, I am. Before there was a day. before
there was any time at all or there is that eternal glory spoken
of here in verse 5 O father glorify thou me with thine own self with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was but we're thinking more particularly
now of that glory that is to be seen in events that take place
in time. And this is what the Lord is
saying, surely here in verse 4, I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. Anticipating, as it were, what
we read later in chapter chapter 19 and verse 30 when he said it is finished and
he bowed his head and gave up the ghost all that glory that
is revealed in here upon the earth in the fullness of the
time God sends forth his son made of a woman made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law. That was the purpose
of His coming, that great work of redemption. That great work
whereby He would accomplish the justification of His people. Because He didn't just die, He
also lived. He was obedient in life, He was
obedient unto death. In life He was holy, and harmless,
and undefiled, and separate from sinners, and made higher than
the heavens. For He wrought such a righteousness. And the Lord
is well pleased, we are told, for His righteousness' sake.
He will magnify the Lord and make it honorable. There is a
justification of the sinner in that righteousness that was accomplished
by the obedience of Christ's sinless life. but then also that
death that he must die upon the cross. And that's what we have
here, is it not? God's glory in the crucifixion
in particular. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And As we think of this glory on
earth for a little while this morning, I divide what I'm going
to say into two parts. First of all to say something
with regards to the death of the cross, and then secondly
the doctrine of the cross. These two things in which we
see such a remarkable revelation of God, and we see so much of
the glories that belong onto God. In him is of course the
image of the invisible God. And so he says here, the hour
has come. The hour has come. Glorify thy
Son. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Now, the glory of God is to be
seen in so many different ways. We see God's glory in the works
of God. There is of course a glory in
creation, that God makes all things out of nothing. And remember how the psalmist
speaks of that? The heavens declare the glory
of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork day unto day, uttereth
voice night unto night, showeth knowledge. If we do but open
our eyes and behold the heavens and the earth we can see something
of those glories that belong unto the one who is the maker
of all things. And so there is in God's works a revelation of Himself. He shows Himself. And this is
why even those who never hear anything of the Word of God,
never hear anything of the preaching of the Gospel, yet in that great
day of judgment they will be called to account with regards
to what God has revealed of Himself in creation. You see what Paul
says there in Romans 1.20, the invisible things of him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
and they're without excuse. They're without excuse. The fool
says in his heart there is no God. The following of atheism,
when there is a revealing of all the glories of God, in his
works, in his creation. And we are well aware, of course,
that fallen men, they believe the devil's lie. And so what
do they do? They invent a theory. They call
it evolution. And it discounts any idea of
a God who is the creator of all things, or the folly of man.
But the day will come when they will be brought to rue their
sinful foolishness that great day when God will call men to
to judgment there is a glory of God in his works in his work
of creation in his work of providence and again there is a glory of
God strangely when we see how he works with sinful men. There's
a glory in the way in which God hardens the heart of a man like
the Pharaoh in Egypt. What does Paul say? There in
Romans 9.17, "...even for the same purpose have I raised thee
up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth." This man, persecuting God's ancient
covenant people, the children of Israel, and God tells him
quite plainly that he was raised up for this purpose, that God
might show his power, and that his name might be declared in
all the earth. Or the wise man tells us in the
book of Proverbs, that the Lord hath made all things for himself,
even the wicked for the day of evil. You see, there is such
a doctrine as a double predestination, there is such a doctrine as that
of reprobation. All things are to the honor and
the glory of God, solemn as it is. But then of course we see
God's glory when we come to Scripture so much, in the way in which
He deals with sinners in the way of salvation, the way in
which the Lord God forgives the children of Israel. Look at the
language that we find, for example, back in the book of Numbers,
and there in chapter 14, at verse 19, following. Moses says, Pardon I beseech
thee the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness
of thy mercy. And thou shalt have forgiven
this people from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, I have
pardoned according to thy word, but as truly as I lived, all
the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Oh, it's
all for the glory of the Lord. And there, of course, in God's
dealings with the children of Israel, we see His glory in the
doctrine of election, His people that He had chosen for Himself.
And why did He make choice of them? The cause was not in them,
but in Him, in Himself. The Lord did not set His love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people, for you were the fewest of all people but because
the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which
he had sworn unto your fathers that the Lord brought you out
with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen
and from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. All the glory
of God we see it in all his works be it his works of creation or
his works of providence or the way in which he administers his
grace, makes choice of some and passes over others. But then
principally we must recognize that we see the glory of God
in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And isn't
that what stands before us in this 17th chapter? And this prayer of Christ Himself,
these words by Jesus referring to what He had said previously
in chapters 14, 15 and 16 to His disciples and then He lifts
up His eyes to heaven and speaks to His Father, Father the hour
is come glorify Thy Son that Thy Son may also glorify Thee No, this
is the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ then as he comes now to
the end of that life that he must live here upon the earth. Why was he manifested in the
fullness of the time? To redeem his people from their
sins. To everything there is a season,
a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and
a time to die. And how true that is with regards
to the Lord Jesus Christ. When Solomon utters those words
back in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, doubtless we recognize that
he is speaking of men in general. All of us are born into this
world And the very time of our birth is that that was ordained
by God, but as there is a time to be born, so there will also
be a time to die. And that is also under the sovereign
hand of God. But this also applies to the
man Christ Jesus. Even to Him who is God, God manifest
in the flesh. And so here we see the reality
of the human nature of the Lord Jesus. It was so with regards to His
birth, when the fullness of the time was come. When the fullness
of the time was come. And there we are reminded of
that particular point in time. There's two articles, two definite
articles in that statement, the fullness of the time. just as God had purposed and
planned the time to be born and so it was that he was made of
a woman and he was made under the law and as it was the case
with regards to his coming into the world in the great mystery
of the incarnation so also when he comes to his departure from
the world the time must come. Or there
were those occasions in the course of his earthly ministry when
the Jews would have sought to destroy him. They were bent on
his destruction, his death. But they were told there, well
in this particular Gospel in chapter 7 and verse 30, again
in chapter 8 and verse 20, his time was not yet come. or they
would take up stones, they would kill him, but it says quite clearly
on those two separate occasions, his time was not yet come. But then, there was a time. Back in Luke 9.51 we are told
when the time was come. When the time was come that he
should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. he knew this is what he had so
willingly undertaken in terms of that eternal covenant that
he would lay down his life he would make the great sacrifice
on behalf of his people he would die in their room and in their
stead and so when the time was come he steadfastly sets his
face all his determination to accomplish all the goodwill and
pleasure of the Father." We have that in Galatians 4, we've just
referred to it. The fullness of the time, it
says. The fullness of the time. That's with regards to His birth,
but there's the fullness of the time also with regards to His
death. But then again, what does he
say? He says, the hour is come. Here in chapter 13 and verse
23, the hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. And again, in that portion that
we read in John chapter 12, We have it there at verse 23,
the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified. Not
just the time, more specifically now, it's the hour. And what does he say here at
the beginning of his prayer? Father, the hour is come. And then again there in that
12th chapter, Look at the language that we have in verses 27 and
28 when he says, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto
this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then
came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified
it, and I will glorify it again. All this death, you see, it's
all to the glory of God. This cruel death, this wicked
crucifixion that He is to undergo, it's all to the glory of God. And then when we come to chapter
13, it is spoken of as His hour. It's His personal hour, it's
something that belongs to Him. The opening words of chapter
13, now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that
His hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto
the Father, having loved His own which were in the world,
He loved them, unto the end. Oh, how remarkable all of this
is! that God himself from all eternity
had appointed this particular moment in time when he would
manifest in a remarkable way something of his glories, the
glory of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He comes quite
clearly then as that one who is the great high priest, he
comes to make the one sacrifice for sins, forever. Now here in
chapter 17, he's a priest, but we see him now as a praying priest. Wasn't that the task of the priest
in the Old Testament? They made the sacrifices, but
they also made intercession on behalf of the people. Remember
back in Leviticus 16 it was the high priest alone who on the
great day of atonement would go in beyond the second veil
into the Holy of Holies and he would appear there before the
mercy seat. Which is a wonderful type of
course of the throne of Christ. He goes there to make intercession
for the people. Oh yes, he takes the blood and
he sprinkles the blood before the mercy seat, upon the mercy
seat, but he's there representing the people pleading with God
for the pardon of all their sins. And all of that, of course, is fulfilled in the antitype,
the throne of grace. And as the kingdom of priests,
we can come boldly to the throne of grace. that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. The Lord Jesus is that
One who was gone before. He has entered into that beyond
the veil, He has entered into heaven itself. And there He ever
lives to make intercession. And we come therefore to the
throne of grace by and through His interceding. But as he is
a praying priest, so here upon the earth he is principally a
sacrificing priest. And after this prayer in the
following chapters we have the record of his death, that cruel
death, the record also of his rising again from the dead on
the third day. But all here, in the words that
we're considering this morning, I have glorified thee on the
earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, and
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was." Do we not see
Christ as that One who is very much aware of the sacrifice He
must make and how active He is? as a sacrificing priest. There's
great activity there on the cross. Now I know, we've said it before,
the theologians, when they speak of the work of Christ, and his
obedience to the will of the Father, speak in terms of his
life as his active obedience, and his death as his passive
obedience. And it's a useful distinction
and yet we have to be careful because he is not really passive
when it comes to his dying. He is so active, he is not just
a sacrifice, he is the priest. And he says therefore that my
father loved me because I laid down my life that I might take
it again. No man taketh it from Me, I lay
it down of Myself. I have power, I have authority
to lay it down, I have power or authority to take it again. This commandment have I received
of My Father. All who is active in obeying
all the commandments of God is obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. And, as we've said, here in verse
4 he is really anticipating those things that we see later in chapter
19, when we actually see him upon the cross. There at verse
28, After this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished,
that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. There they were
said, a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with
vinegar, and put it upon Hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When
Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. He commends his spirit, commends
his soul into the hands of God. He makes his soul an offering
for sin. Well, this is what we so clearly
search. He comes in to fulfill God's
purpose. And so when Peter on the day
of Pentecost is preaching and preaching Christ and Him crucified,
the great message of the apostolic gospel, what does Peter say? Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel. and foreknowledge of God. You
have crucified and slain. Yes, they were guilty, they were
culpable, those Jews of crucifying Christ and Peter Towson playing
them. But it was all in accordance
with God's determinate counsel. It was what God himself had ordained
and appointed. And as it is the fulfillment
of God's purpose, so it is all to the glory of God. For of Him
and through Him and to Him be glory forever and ever. Oh, the ultimate end, you see,
the ultimate end of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, even
His death upon the cross, is the glory of God's name. And we have it right at the beginning
of the prayer. Father, the hour is come, glorify
thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify the earth. All what glories
belong to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is the ultimate
end, God's glory, and now it's all mutual. As Christ is glorified,
so God himself is also glorified in the game. We read it there
in that twelfth chapter. Verse 31, Now is the judgment
of this world. Now shall the prince of this
world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said signifying
what death he should die. Being lifted up from the earth,
being crucified, He will accomplish the salvation of all that the
Father has given to Him. He will draw all men unto Him.
He is not going to shed that precious blood in vain. Oh, the ultimate end is the glory
of God. But there's a proximate end,
isn't there? As there is glory to God, so there is great good
for sinners. There's great good for sinners.
Oh, there's all the glory of that salvation that Christ himself
has accomplished. That great work of the grace
of God. Remember the language that we have in the opening chapter
of the Ephesian epistle. What does Paul say here, verse
5? Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the prize of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. It's to the praise of the glory
of His grace. Again verse 11, "...in whom also
we've obtained an inheritance being predestinated according
to the purpose of Him, which worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of
the glory." To the praise of His glory, who first trusted
in Christ. The ultimate end is God's glory.
All but the proximate end, it's the good that comes to those
who were dead in trespasses and sins, alienated from God, enemies
in their mind. And so we see something of the
glory that is revealed here upon the earth, not only in the cross
and the death that the Lord Jesus Christ endures upon that cross,
but in the second place, to say something with regards to the
doctrine. the doctrine of the Christ. As Christ is glorified
in dying, so God is glorified in the doctrine. Now what is
the doctrine of the cross? Well, I mention three things
in particular. Here we see the great doctrine
of reconciliation. You see, those who were alienated
from God and enemies to God by wicked works are now reconciled
to God and brought nigh to God. As sin has separated between
God and the sinner so the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and
particularly that work upon the cross has brought reconciliation. And this is what Paul brings
out time and again in the course of his epistles. Look at the
language that we have. These are familiar passages of
Scripture, I'm sure, but look at the language that we have
there in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, at the end of that chapter. Verse 18. He says, And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to which that
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word
of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's
stead, thee ye reconcile to God. for he hath made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him he's addressing of course the church there at
Corinth and he reminds them, he spells out to them the great
doctrine of the cross that there is reconciliation what sinners
they were those Corinthians they were guilty of all manner of
wickedness and yet In the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ those
sinners were reconciled to God. Again, he says much the same
when he addresses himself to the church at Colossae, there
in Colossians chapter 1, verse 19, it pleased the Father
that in him should all fullness dwell. and having made peace
through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things
unto himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. The doctrine of reconciliation
is the glory of God, but then also the doctrine of
redemption. To the Galatians, what does Paul say? As many as
are of the works of the flesh, those who are dead in trespasses
and sins, What hope can there be for such sinners? Look at
the language there, Galatians 3 and verse 10. As many as are of the works of
the law are under the curse, he says. It is written, Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. And then, verse 13, Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. Being made a curse
for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
throne. What has the Lord Jesus Christ
done in the crucifixion? He has satisfied the law of God. He was made under the law, as
He was made of a woman, so He was made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. All the law must be satisfied. The Law demands a ransom price. The ransom must be paid to that
Holy Lord of God that says, "...the soul that sinneth it shall die,
the wages of sin is death." And Christ has paid that price. He
has satisfied all the demands of that Holy Lord of God. Oh,
in the Law God will by no means clear the guilty. that law which is holy, that
command which is holy and just and good, it must receive its
ransom. Nothing wrong with the law. Oh, but how the law condemns
the sinner. It's administration of condemnation,
it's administration of death, but Christ is satisfied. He has
paid the price of the sinner's redemption. Reconciliation. redemption, but then also the
great doctrine of propitiation God is angry with the wicked
every day God's justice must be satisfied and what is the Lord Jesus Christ
accomplished? Oh, He has satisfied all the
wrath of God He is the propitiation for our sins, says John He is
the propitiation for our sins, and not for us only, but also
for the sins of the world. As a Jew, He addresses Himself
to the Jews, but He reminds them of their salvation for Gentile
sinners, as well as Jewish sinners. He is the propitiation. Here
in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us. and
sends His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. How remarkable
it is. This is that One who is the Son,
the Eternal Son of the Father. The Father loves the Son, delights
in the Son. And yet He sends His Son to be
the propitiation. He will pour out His wrath upon
the person of His only begotten and His well-beloved Son. All
these great doctrines, the doctrines of the cross. And this doctrine
is to be preached. This is the doctrine that is
to be preached. What does Paul say again right
into the Corinthians? We preach Christ and Him crucified. To the Jews a stumbling block,
to the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are saved, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. Now, he seems to constantly emphasize
that fact. He says again, 1 Corinthians
1.18, the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness,
but to us that are saved. It is the power of God. And then
he says he pleased God by the foolishness of preaching. to save them that believe. What
is the foolishness of preaching? Well, there is probably some
reference there to the very act of preaching, but really it is
principally the contents of the preaching, the subject matter
that is being proclaimed, Christ and Him crucified. Well, men
scoff at this religion, I've heard it said, you see, that
to speak of that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the necessity of that great sin-atoning sacrifice there are those who
call themselves Christians and they say it's the theology of
the butcher shop that's what they say, they dismiss it, you
see liberals, modernists, they don't like it and yet, all that
precious blood that was shed for sinners. This is the great
apostolic message, is it not? He pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching that to save them that believe. And Paul says,
I determine not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world
is crucified unto me. and I unto the world. It's that great doctrine. The
doctrine of the cross, the doctrine of the crucifixion, the glory
of God manifested here in the earth that is to be preached.
In it there is propitiation. In it there is redemption. In it there is reconciliation. Think again then of the language
that we have there in Romans 5. Verse 10 For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more
being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only
so, but we also join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now received the atonement. Or as the Margin says, the reconciliation. Because it really is the same
word in verse 11 as we find previously in verse 10. We were reconciled
to God by the death of His Son. Much more being reconciled. And
then he says, by whom we have now received the reconciliation. But the word in the text is atonement.
And as I'm sure you're aware, it's one of Tyndale's words.
And it's a word that was actually coined by the Protestant reformer
and translator of Holy Scripture. and it explains what reconciliation
is, it's at once once being in that state of alienation but
now at one with God reconciled to God and it's all the glory of God
when God brings those who were his enemies and so alienated
from him and he brings them to himself
and he does it by and through the work of His only begotten
and His well-beloved Son. I have glorified Thee on the
earth, says Christ. How has Christ glorified the
Father here upon the earth? I have finished the work which
Thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou
me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was. Or would we view His brightest
glory, here it shines in Jesus' face. Sing and tell the pleasing
story, O ye sinners, saved by grace and with pleasure. Bid
the guilty him embrace. In the language of dear William
Gadsby. O God, grant that we might ever
delight in this gospel. the glory of God even in the
crucifixion of his only begotten Son. Might it be our theme through
the entirety of that year that the Lord God in his goodness
has brought us into that we might with Paul only glory in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. God forbid that I should glory.
save in the cross of Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
to burn, and I unto the world. Amen.