Dear Christian friends:

In our text we read about a strange and wonderful event. Jesus and His twelve disciples are gathered around the table where He instituted the Lord's Supper. Jesus has just told His disciples that one of them will betray Him. The disciples asked, "Who is it?" Jesus answered, "I'll dip a piece of bread and give it to him." They He dipped it and gave it to Judas. After Judas took the bread, the devil went into him, and he got up and went out to betray his Lord.

But Jesus does not hate Judas and He is not bitter. Jesus knew about the terrible things that would happen to Him this night and on Friday that He must suffer and die on the cross. But He is not bitter or upset or angry. He talks about receiving glory. That is very strange and wonderful. Is glory connected with suffering and dying, with the cross?

When we see trouble ahead and someone does wrong to us we often fail to see any good in that. We become afraid and cry and complain and if someone really does wrong we become angry at him. We do not see opportunity for glory.

Jesus is not like us. When He here looks ahead to the cross He sees glory in that. We need to open our eyes and see that too.

Glory in the cross itself. In our text Jesus says, "Now the Son of Man is glorified .... I'm with you just a little while longer. You will look for Me, but as I told the Jews so I tell you now: Where I'm going, you can't come."

Then Peter asked, "Lord, where are you going." Jesus answered, "where I'm going you can't follow Me now, but you will follow Me later." Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow You now? I'll give my life for You." "You give your life for Me?" Jesus asked. "I tell you the truth: The rooster will not crow till you've denied Me three times."

Jesus meant that He tonight and tomorrow, Good Friday, must suffer many things and then die on the cross. He must do this suffering alone. His disciples can not help Him. They like Peter and Judas are all sinners themselves. God demands a perfect offering for sin. Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God is that perfect offering. He Himself did nothing wrong, only good all the time as you all know very well.

The Bible also says, "He knew no sin!" But because He loved Judas and Peter and Pilate and the Jews; His friends who failed Him and His enemies who hated Jesus: because He loved all people you and me, too, He agrees with God the Father to suffer and die to take away the sin of the world. God does not force Him; He volunteers.

The world has never seen love like that in anyone else. True sometimes a man will die for his friend or for his country as a soldier in war, but they die for their own interest and many are forced to do it.

But the Bible says of Jesus' suffering and death: "God commends (makes beautiful) His love to us, because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) So by His cross Jesus receives glory from God the Father and from all those who believe in Him and love Him. When we see Jesus suffering and dying we do not say, "too bad" or become angry at Peter, Judas, Pilate, the soldiers or the Jews. We see our own sins in these men and confess them and thank and praise Jesus because he loves us like that and gives His life for us.

When we see His cross our heart swells with tears of joy, worship and praise. We say Friday, April 12th, is a good day: We call it good Friday, not bad Friday. That is how Jesus is glorified in His sufferings. Before He died He prophesied: "I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto me." He meant many, many will see Me on the cross and believe in Me and love Me and praise Me.

But, Jesus in His suffering and dying on the cross received even more glory than that. He says, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and in Him God is glorified. God will also glorify Him in Himself." (verses 31,32)

In these words Jesus tells about His honor and glory when He descends into hell as victor over Satan and His evil spirits. He means His arising from death on Easter morning His ascending up into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God when all the great hosts of heaven shouted a tremendous cry of victory and kneel before Him the King and Lord of Heaven and earth, as Paul writes in Philippians 2:10-11, "Therefore God has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

The glory which Jesus earned by His cross is so great words and signs fail to show it enough. But if you believe in Him, you will one day see His great glory and honor and you will cry with joy, too, with many many others and all the company of heaven.

And if you really believe in Jesus, you will add to His glory now while you live here on earth. How? By doing good works in love. Jesus says, here, "I'm giving you a new commandment: Love one another! Love one another, as I have loved you. By your loving one another everybody will know that you're My disciples." (verses 34-34)

When Jesus here says, "Love one another," He means to love sinners, because that's what we are. None of us is perfect. We all have our faults and failures even if we are Christians. So to love another person means to forgive him and accept him as He is. If we do not forgive and forget, we do not love and we fail to do what Jesus here tells us to do. We fail to add glory to His name and people will not believe that we are His disciples.

Next month we will have our Open House. We will try to show everyone what good Christians we are. If we love one another the city will see a fine church and be tempted to join with us. But if we are sad and crabby and jealous of one another; if we gossip and complain and do bitterly, the city will see that, too, and they will doubt if we are really Jesus disciples. Lets have a successful Open House! Let us try hard and pray hard so that we will love one another and add glory to Jesus and His cross!

Amen.