November 15 - Glorify the Father

Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." John 12:20-28

Even the Greeks wanted to see Jesus—to honor Him. They were in town for the Passover—and were obviously believers since were there to worship. This IS THE DAY for Jesus to be recognized as the Messiah. He doesn’t tell anyone to keep it quiet and not tell. Up until now, Jesus had kept telling His disciples and those that He healed, “don’t tell….” Don’t tell about the Transfiguration, the healing of the lepers, restoring the life of the synagogue official’s daughter after she had died, and He even told His disciples not to tell that He was the Christ (Matthew 16:20). So now His time had finally come…He knew that His death was eminent—and after that, His resurrection. That was what “His Time” was all about—the beginning of the end of His ministry. He knew that like a grain of wheat, He had to die so that because of His death—His sacrifice—the sins of many would be forgiven and they would live. Jesus taught His disciples that they needed to serve and follow Him. By doing that God the Father would honor them—but more importantly, the Father would be glorified. Glory be to the Father. 

In the humanness of His soul, Jesus was troubled or anxious about what He knew He had to do—but He was still willing to do it—to be the ultimate sacrifice—in order to glorify the Father. How often do we face things we just don’t want to do…whether it is taking out the trash, visiting our neighbors, or tackling a difficult issue…we just have to do it. Our problems seem pretty minor compared with what Jesus was facing—crucifixion. Now is the time for us all—the time for us to share what Jesus has been doing in our lives—and how He can help others with their anxieties, problems and issues. Knowing Jesus doesn’t make us perfect or make our problems go away…but He promised that He will hear our prayers and that He will never leave or forsake us. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we become more than “friends” we become family. We are adopted into God’s family. We need to remember that God created everyone…but He adopted those who believe in His Son Jesus. It is good to be a part of the family of God. Are you part of His family? 

Dear Jesus—we glorify You and Our Heavenly Father. We are thankful that You were obedient to Our Father by dying on the cross for our sins. Help us to be obedient to You.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).