The Path to Glory Which Jesus Must Tread Alone (John 13:31-38).
The opening two verses reflect Jesus' awareness of the pivotal nature of the situation. As He thought back to the glory which had been His with the Father before the world was (John 17:5) He saw Himself as now returning to that glory. But it was to be a glory achieved by the glory of His self-offering of Himself. He would be glorified on the cross (nothing brings greater glory to Him than the cross) prior to His being glorified in Heaven.
Glory is a theme of John's Gospel:
· The glory of Jesus was revealed in His life among men, ‘we beheld His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth'. Here glory indicates the shining out of truth and love as expressed in His life, teaching and miracles (John 1:14).
· Jesus manifested forth His glory in His signs and miracles (John 2:11; John 11:4; John 11:40).
· Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus in his vision of the LORD in the Temple, ‘these things said Isaiah when he saw His glory and spoke of Him'. Here glory specifically has in mind divine splendour (John 12:41).
· Jesus had once had the glory which is His and Father's before the world was, ‘glorify me with your own self, with the glory which I had with you before the world was'. We may see this as all-inclusive including all of the above (John 17:5).
· He will yet be glorified again with the glory that once was His, something which very much has in mind restoration of a status voluntarily relinquished for a period (John 7:39; John 12:16; John 12:23; John 17:1; John 17:24).
We note that initially in eternity Jesus had had equal glory with the Father, and that He had revealed that glory in the Temple to Isaiah as YHWH (John 12:41). It was a glory which He relinquished in order to live among men, taking a lower place, so much so that He could say ‘(at present) my Father is greater than I'. And yet even then it could not be completely hidden for His life had shone forth that glory. In the end, however, it was a glory to which He would be fully restored so that He would have equal glory with the Father.
This is then followed by an attempt to prepare the Apostles for what was coming, and a stress on their need to love one another in view of His soon departure. He is returning to His former glory and status. They are going forward to battle with the world and with Satan, and love is to be their keyword, both His love and their love.