John 13:31-35

I am going to guess that the disciples were just as confused at this point as many people today who read this passage are. Jesus has just bent down and washed his disciples feet (something that was relegated to servants)...He has told them that there is a traitor among them...and is yet again in the process of telling them that he will die. His death will be slow, tortuous and brutal. He will be mocked, beaten, whipped, kicked, punched, clubbed,  nailed to a cross and stabbed. He knows the way that he is going to die...yet look at how he describes it in verses 31-35. He says that he is about to be glorified! He said now is the time that I head to my glorification...a place where you cannot follow me...death. And he continues on by saying that God will be glorified through that horrific death as well. How is that possible? How is a torturous death the pinnacle of glory in the life of Jesus? How is being crucified by the people you created a crowning achievement for the ruler of everything? Because it is in this moment that God shows us the infinite power of love. He steeped into the broken mess of this world and said, "Even though you deserve to be punished for the destruction you have brought to your lives and to this creation...I love you so much, I am going to die for you." There has never been anything more glorious...there has never been any love more deep...this is the moment in which God shows what a person of love can truly do with their actions. God is love. Love sacrificed itself on the cross for our sake. That is what Jesus means when he walks of his glorification on the cross. In that moment he showed us how different he is than us...no pettiness...no jealousy...no anger...no demand for justice...he simply showed us that love wins.

We get so caught up in getting respect and being treated right and receive what we deserve...we get so angry when things don't go our way...we treat other people with such judgment, while demanding mercy for ourselves. That is not love. That is self-centeredness...that is self-worship. Jesus tells us exactly what it looks like to truly be one of his disciples. He says that we are to love other people like he loved us. And what does that look like? Read the opening paragraph again...that's what it looks like. The love that Jesus has for us was displayed on the cross for all to see...does your life reflect that sacrificial, merciful, glorious, powerful love? It should...