Sermon subject: It was through death of Jesus we find our Victory over sin.
Sermon Objective. That my listeners should realize that it was by the death of Jesus we have been called sons of God
Introduction
For Jesus life had a climax, and that was on the cross. As we will see the cross was his glory and that of eternity. Notice that Jesus says that the hour had come for the son of man to be glorified. What did he mean by this? This is our aim, to try and look at what this mean...
Many times we see in the Gospel Jesus saying that the hour has not come, cf 2:4 when Mary spoke to him at the wedding at Cana, evidently suggesting that he should intervene in the tense social situation by Manifesting his power, he informed her that his time had not come yet
The cross was the glory of Jesus because he was never more majestic than in his death. The cross was his glory because its magnet drew men to him in a way that even his life had never done, and it is so even to date.
Explanation
Glory- The son glorified the Father by revealing in this act the sovereignty of God over evil, the compassion of God for men, and the finality of redemption for the believers. Further the cross was the glory of Jesus because was the completion of his work. In the first chapter of this Gospel we read that “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (1:4) “the son of man must be lifted that those who belief in him may have eternal life” 3:15-16. What does it men to have eternal Life? As seen in the previous sermon, it is to know the only true God who is the truth.
In his prayer he said that he has accomplished the work. This was a Jesus talking to the father, and he further says that the time as come. Note that he is now in agreement that time has come for his glory, a thing that he kept on reputing now and again. For him to have stopped short of the cross would have been to leave his task uncompleted. This is because he had come to the world to tell men about the love of God and to show it to them.Cf John 3:16. In Jesus we can say that he showed men the true nature and the true character of God; and the humblest Christian can take his unutterable name upon his lips.
The hour has now arrived in which the work of Christ must be completed by the voluntary sacrifice of his life for the salvation of the world and by his consequent glorification. Time that was not yet come now is at hand. He has hand to his disciple teaching concerning his relation to the Father, concerning his death and resurrection. He prayed for them confidently that in all this they may be kept by the Father’s (God) power.Nowel Davy in his book, the Fourth Gospel-states that,” the whole truth is theirs, and its meaning will also be theirs I n a little while by the power of the Holy Spirit which is to be given to them”
In the whole of this passage and chapter in general, there is a ringing confidence about the future in the voice of Jesus. He was with these men, the men God had given him, and he thanked god for them, and he never doubted that they would carry on the work he had given them to do.
Illustration
There is a famous story told in African of a man who was send by a chief to deliver massage to his subject. While on his way this massager had a misfortune which led to his death. But before he died, he could speak and in this way he was able to tell the massage to those who came to his aid.
In his very words as the story goes, in conclusion of his message he said, “tell those who have ears to hear for I have done my part” For sure in the same way Jesus had played his part in passing to men what the Father had sent him with, now it was upon those who had head him to on pass to others. And this was the main task of his disciples.
Application
First, Jesus said that he had given his disciple the glory which his father had given him. As we put our faith trust and belief in him, we must understand what his glory was. Without which that our being Christians will be threatened. I would want us to conclude by seeing that the cross was his glory. Jesus did not speak of being crucified, he spoke of being glorified. Therefore the first foremost Christian’s glory is the cross that he must bear. It is an honor to suffer for Christ. We should never think of our cross as our penalty. It is our glory for we are countered as one with the savoir. So when it is hard to be a Christian, we must regard it as our glory given to us by God.
Jesus’ glory lay in the fact that, from his life men recognized his special relationship with God. They saw that no one could live as he did unless he was uniquely near to God. As with Christ, it is our glory when men see in us the reflection of God.
Conclusion
Jesus said that it was his will that his disciples should see his glory in the heavenly places. It is the Christian’s conviction that he wick share all the experience of Christ. If ha to share Christ cross, he will also share his glory. And this is true cf 2tim 2:11f.
Finally it is good to note that Jesus was to go straight to the betrayal, the trial and the cross after praying. He was not to speak again to his disciples. It was a wonderful and a precious thing to remember that before their terribled hours his last words were not of despair but of glory. For he had accomplished his mission.