Dear Christian friends:

We all desire praise and honor. Often we dream about doing something great, so we can become famous like Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers. We want much glory. But men often seek glory that is not true glory. Man's idea of glory is not the same as God's idea of glory. Man's glory does not last long. It is cheap glory. God's glory is precious and it never fades away. Valenzuela's glory is already beginning to fade away because now he has failed three times to win his ninth game.

In our text we learn about true, lasting glory. You want real glory? Then listen to Jesus as He prays to His Father in heaven on the night before He was crucified. Jesus' prayer shows that:


In His prayer Jesus shows that God's greatest glory is in the cross of Jesus.

God has glory because He is strong and wise and knows everything. He is the almighty Maker of heaven and earth and all the wonderful things in heaven and on earth. God also has glory because He is righteous and holy, perfect. But because we are sinners and not righteous and not holy, this glory of God only frightens us and condemns us. We know He has the right, and the power to judge us and condemn us. We know we cannot share in His great glory because we are sinners. Sinners cannot stand before the Holy God and live, - except by God's grace.

Therefore the greatest glory of God is not His power and righteousness, but His love and mercy which He has shown to us through Jesus' cross. This Jesus shows as He prays to the Father in heaven on the night before He was crucified: "Father, the hour has come; give glory to Your Son so that Your Son can give glory to You....I showed Your glory here on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do." (verses 1 and 4)

The work which the Father gave Jesus was the work of suffering and dying upon the cross. As the Lamb of God Jesus accepted the sin of all people and suffered that terrible anger and punishment, that we may have forgiveness of sins and share in God's glory. (2 Corinthians 5:21) As Jesus prayed this prayer on the night before He was crucified He knew it was His "hour", the time for Him to do and finish the work the Father sent Him to do. In His death upon the cross Jesus shows God's greatest glory. God's real glory is the cross.

The cross is also our real glory.

In His prayer Jesus shows that His cross is the glory of the believers. (verses 2-3) Those who believe in Jesus have eternal life. They do not boast about their own good works and deeds like the unbelievers in the world always do. They do not seek the false and fading glory of this world, but they humbly confess their sins and unworthiness before God.

They trust in Jesus crucified, risen and ascended for forgiveness of sins. And because they have forgiveness of sins they also have eternal life and glory with Jesus. Like St. Paul, the believers say, "I will not glory (boast) except in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ." (Galatians 6:14)

Because the cross is our glory we wear a necklace with the cross or a ring or a bracelet or a lapel pin with the cross on it. We hang the cross on the walls of our living room or bedroom. We put the cross on our church steeples and on our altars. Like St. Paul, we boldly say, "I am not ashamed of the cross of Christ, for it is the power of God to give salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)

Because the cross is our glory we also suffer for the cross and we have joy in our heart while we suffer. In His prayer Jesus prays for the believers that they will have joy in their hearts while suffering for the cross. (verses 11-19) Also in the Epistle Lesson for today Peter reminds us, "Be glad because you share Jesus’ suffering, so that you can share in His glory when He comes." (1 Peter 4:13) In His prayer Jesus says that the world hates us Christians because we love Him and His cross. Jesus says that we do not belong to the world, the same as He did not belong to the world. We do not accept the vain glory and ways of this proud, wicked world. Therefore it hates us and persecutes us. But we endure that trouble, because Jesus' cross is our glory.

And we have comfort because we see here how Jesus prays to the Father to keep us strong in faith while we suffer and do His work here on earth. (verses 11 and 17) And notice Jesus prays that the Father keep us by means of the truth; His Word is the truth. So, attend to His Word!

You will not find true lasting glory from the things here in this proud and vain world. True, lasting glory is found in Jesus' cross and believing that the Father sent His Son to save us by the cross. Even though Jesus has ascended into heaven, His cross stays front and center in our lives, and He is here with us in the glory of His body and blood, He gave and shed for the forgiveness of sins.

Amen.