with His eleven faithful disciples. The traitor, Judas Iscariot, had left the room, and gone out to do bis wicked deed of darkness. Freed from his painful company, our Lord opens His heart to His little flock more fully than He had ever done before. Speaking to them for the last time before His passion. He begins a discourse which for touching interest surpasses any por- tion of Scripture.
These verses show us what glory the crucifixion hrought both to God the Father and to God the Son. It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that this was what our Lord had in His mind when He said, " Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him." — It is as though He said, " The time of my cru- cifixion is at hand. My work on earth is finished. An event is about to take place to-morrow, which, however painful to you who love Me, is in reality most glorify- ing both to Me and My Father."
This was a dark and mysterious saying, and we may well believe that the eleven did not understand it. And no wonder ! In all the agony of the death on the cross, in all the ignominy and humiliation which they saw afar off, or heard of next day, in hanging naked for six hours between two thieves, — in all this there was no appear- ance of glory ! On the contrary, it was an event calcu- lated to fill the minds of the Apostles with shame, disappointment, and dismay. And yet our Lord's say- ing was true.
The crucifixion brought glory to the Father. It glorified His wisdom, faithfulness, holiness, and love. It showed Him wise, in providing a plan whereby He could be just, and yet the Justifier of the ungodly. — It showed Him faithful, in keeping His promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. — It showed Him holy, in requiring His law's demands to be satisfied
JOHN, CHAP. xni. ^i
by our great Substitute. — It showed Him loviug, in pro- viding such a Mediator, such a Redeemer, and such a Friend for sinful man as His co-eternal Son.
The crucifixion brought glory to the Son. It glori- fied His compassion, His patience, and His power. It showed Him most compassionate, in dying for us, suffer- ing in our stead, allowing Himself to be counted sin and a curse for us, and buying our redemption with the price of His own blood. — ^It showed Him most patient, in not dying the common death of most men, but in willingly submitting to such horrors and unknown agonies as no mind can conceive, when with a word he could have summoned His Father's angels, and been set free. — It showed Him most powerful, in bearing the weight of all a world's transgressions, and vanquishing Satan and despoiling him of his prey.
For ever let us cling to these thoughts about the crucifixion. Let us remember that painting and sculp- ture can never tell a tenth part of what took place on the cross. Crucifixes and pictures at best can only show us a human being agonizing in a painful death. But of the length and breadth and depth and height of the work transacted on the cross, — of God's law hon- ored, man's sins borne, sin punished in a Substitute, free salvation bought for man, — of all this they can tell nothing. Yet all this lies hid under the crucifixion. No wonder St. Paul cries, " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Gal. vi. 14.)
These verses show us, secondly, what great impor- tance our Lord Jesus attaches to the grace of brotherly love. Almost as soon as the false Apostle had left the faithful eleven, comes the injunction, "Love one an- other." Immediately after the sad announcement that He would leave them soon, the commandment is given, " Love one another." It is called a " new " command-