"Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him." [Jn 13:31]
Judas Iscariot is an infamous name. A name which reminds us of the man who “became a traitor,” and fulfilled the prophetic word, “yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” [Lk 6:16, Psa 41:9] He was the man of whom Jesus spoke when He said,
“But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom He is betrayed!” [Lk 22:21-22]
Judas is the unrepentant traitor, who when Jesus “dipped the sop,” willingly took of it and accepted the words of Christ, “he [that shall betray me]…is [he] to whom I shall give a sop;” [Jn 13:21, 26] and having done thus, “satan entered into him…[and] he then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.” [Jn 13:27, 30] He is the man who betrayed The Son of God with a kiss for a few meager silver coins. He is the man of whom The Spirit says, “Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him,” [Jn 6:64] and who must also have been given of Christ at least a thousand chances to repent and believe – for when Jesus pointed out Judas as the betrayer, the disciples were none the wiser, and “some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.” [Jn 13:28-29] And yet, though Jesus offered Judas eternal life along with the rest of the apostles, giving him every chance and opportunity, equal with the eleven others, he still did not repent or change his mind.
It is regarding this man that we come to in our verse for today. For after Judas received the sop and left the Passover table, “Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.”
There have been, no doubt, many times in our lives where we have come to hard things. As if coming to the edge of a cliff and looking downward, we have each come, led by God’s hand, to a place of hardship where we must descend into affliction or experience some measure of difficulty. But how many of us could say as Jesus said here, “now is The Son of Man glorified,” or again, “the hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified[?]” [Jn 12:23] The attitude that Jesus had in the beginning of His ministry where “He, passing through the midst [of the crowd which thought to kill Him], went His way,” [Lk 4:30] is the same attitude displayed here – that of courage and of an unprecedented spirit. When Jesus was faced with the betrayal of His friend and former apostle He did not become angry nor spiteful; He did not complain, He did not whine, He did not fail in strength whatsoever. And with a genuine and good heart, The Lord Jesus even said in the garden to Judas, “friend, wherefore art thou come?” [Mt 26:50] Jesus’ attitude from beginning to end was utterly void of any negativity. There was nothing of the flesh or of the world, nor anything of sin mixed in with Jesus’ response. Instead of focusing on the hurt, or the pain, or the betrayal, Jesus focused on the eternal perspective and the glory of God, saying, “now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.”
May we all come to the same conclusion as our Lord Jesus, that when we come to a point of hardship or affliction, and it stares us in the face as it were, that we would boldly and triumphantly proclaim as Jesus did: “now is the Son of Man glorified.” The time has now come, not for us to suffer hardship, not for us to complain, not for us to grow irritated or angry; no, but the time has come for Jesus to be glorified. The time has come for Jesus to live through you and for Him to display His glory through this situation.
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