In Luke 24 the Lord Jesus asked two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His glory?” (v. 26) Later that day He appeared to more disciples and told them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise up from the dead on the third day.” (v. 46)
Comparing these two statements shows that the Lord considered resurrection equivalent to glorification. Likewise, the gospel of John records the Lord asking the Father (12:28, 17:1) and speaking to the disciples (12:23, 13:31-32) about His glorification in the context of His imminent death and resurrection.
For Jesus as the Son of Man to be glorified was for Him to be resurrected, that is, to have His divine element, His divine life, released from within the shell of His humanity to produce many believers in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3), just as a grain of wheat (John 12:24) has its life element released when it falls into the ground and grows up out of the ground to bear much fruit, that is, to bring forth many grains.*
In Revelation 21:10-11a John says, “And he [an angel] carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.” The fact that New Jerusalem possesses the glory of God indicates that it is a city in resurrection.
New Jerusalem is also a city full of the release of the divine life, as shown by the river flowing. “And he [the angel] showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its [the city’s] street. Lord, by the flowing of Your life in us today, bring our whole being more into resurrection.
* This is the note on John 12:23 in The NT Recovery Version Online, © 1997-2012 by LSM.
6 Comments