David Bahn – Reflections

John 12:37-41

³⁷ Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

   “Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

 ³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

 ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”

 ⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Surely if we would have seen the miracles, heard the wise answers, experienced the life and ministry of Jesus we would have seen his true glory and believed! I struggle with that thought from time to time. While I love Jesus, believe in him truly, and trust him in the depths of my heart, sometimes I wonder. Have I made the Pharisees out to be the bad guys too easily? Have I glossed over some of Jesus’ more difficult teachings too quickly? Have I engaged the deeper things of Jesus’ glory sufficiently?

“Isaiah,” John tells us, “saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.” That is a remarkable statement! It ought not to be taken lightly. Isaiah lived 750 years before Jesus was born. He wrote one of the most profound chapters of the Old Testament, describing the suffering of Christ (Isaiah 53). These words, however, come from earlier in Isaiah, but speak of the same reality.

Isaiah saw that Jesus’ true glory was not simply in his miracles (he hardly references them in his prophetic writings). Jesus’ true reality isn’t even in the splendor and honor afforded Jesus on this occasion (Palm Sunday). Jesus’ glory was in his perfect submission to the Father, his absolute faithfulness in every situation, and his ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world.

We honor Bronze Star recipients. Men or women who do heroic things – at the cost or risk of their lives – receive the Medal of Honor. Such was Jesus’ glory. And that’s when Jesus is most accessible for sinners such as me. When I think of his true glory: his love for the Father and for me, his sacrificial death, and his mercy and forgiveness for sinners; then I am ready to follow him. Then his miracles and signs come alive: these are signs of God’s kingdom breaking in.

One day we will gather before the throne of Jesus and give him the honor he deserves, acknowledging the glory that is truly his. Until then lets look for his glory and rejoice when we see signs of his kingdom’s presence in our lives.