GLORIFY YOUR NAME

JOHN 12:27–28A

“Now My soul is troubled.… But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name”

(John 12:27, 28a).

As the hour of Jesus’ death approached, the burden upon Him grew heavier. We cannot begin to fathom the pain and torment that He suffered upon the cross. The physical afflictions were bad enough, but the torture to His soul as He bore God’s wrath for the sins of His people is something we can never imagine. Neither can we understand the feelings of sorrow and trouble that stirred Jesus’ heart so violently. The Scriptures clearly say that He was troubled by the task before Him, and it was out of a perplexed and burdened heart that He prayed to His Father.

We learn three very significant things from this account. First, that the undertaking of our duty before God is sometimes very difficult. We would love to fulfill our duties, to face ridicule, persecution, even torment, for the sake of our Lord with smiles on our faces. But we learn from our Savior that this is unrealistic and hardly expected. There is nothing wrong with trembling in the face of a difficult calling. There is no sin in it, and we must not chide ourselves when our hearts are troubled.

But this does not mean that we have the right to neglect our duty. So fearful was the task before Him that Christ prayed a number of times, as He prayed here, that the cup of suffering pass from Him. If there could be any other way, a less painful way, He would have taken it. But, in the end, there was no other way to deliver His people from their bondage to sin. His path was clearly marked out for Him, and He could not turn back. Jesus knew His purpose, and He wasn’t about to turn from it. So it must be with us. When we know what we must do, when we know what is right and what will bring God glory and honor, we must press on no matter how troubled our hearts might be.

This leads us to our third point: that we fulfill our duty, as terrifying as it might be, because we want God to be honored. We cannot glorify Him if we refuse to do His will. Christ is our perfect model in this kind of obedience because He put His Father’s will above His own. No matter what troubles stirred His soul, He knew that His purpose was to do the will of the One who sent Him. This is our purpose as well: to glorify God in all that we think, say, or do.

CORAM DEO

Psalm 44–46

Acts 25

WEEKEND

Psalm 47–52

Acts 26

Is there something you know you must do, but are afraid to do? It might not be something dangerous. Maybe it is difficult because it means sacrificing your will for God’s will. Make a list of those things that you know are God’s will, but that you find particularly difficult. Pray that God give you the grace to do His will.

For further study: Matt. 26:36–46 • Mark 14:32–42

WEEKEND