Glory Road
John 12:20-26
Steve May tells the story of Dennis Byrd, who was an up-and-coming defensive tackle for the New York Jets. He was predicted to help turn the Jets organization around and recorded 27 sacks in his first 3 years. Then tragedy struck. On November 29, 1992, the Jets were playing the Chiefs and Dennis was about to sack the quarterback when he collided with a teammate and snapping his spinal cord. In a split-second, his football career ended and he was paralyzed from the neck down. Everything he had planned for his life came to a screeching halt. He woke up in the middle of the night in a hospital bed with a halo brace, not knowing where he was, why he couldn't move, or what was happening. Suddenly, he went from dreaming of making it to the Pro Bowl to hoping he could someday hold his daughter in his arms again. At his first news conference, the world watched and listened as Dennis Byrd told the media that Christ was his source of comfort in his time of tragedy and his strength for the days that lied ahead. The doctors announced to the media that Dennis may never walk again, and it would be years before they would know. Dennis told the media that with God's help, he would walk again—soon. On opening day of the 1993 football season, less than a year after the tragic collision, millions of people watched Dennis Byrd walk out for the coin toss at Meadowlands Stadium while 75,000 fans stood cheering in ovation. Steve May writes, “The miracle in Dennis Byrd's life is not that he broke his neck and walked again. The miracle is that the injury that destroyed his career didn't destroy his life.” Or his faith and through it all, his life, his actions, his words and his faith gave glory to God.
Glory. It’s a significant theme in the Old Testament. It means the visible presence, power and majesty of God in your midst. We see the glory of God at Mt. Sinai: ‘The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai… The appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel’ (Exod.24:16,17); We see it in the Temple ‘The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord’ (1 Kings 8:10,11) We see it at significant times in the life of Israel. Whenever there is glory, there is God’s visible presence, power and majesty.
But perhaps nowhere is God’s glory more prevalent than in the person and presence of Jesus Christ. The verb ‘to glorify’ - doxazo - is found 23 times in John’s gospel referring to Jesus. In Jesus’ birth and throughout his life on earth, this glory was made visible to everyone. John writes, ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We see the glory of God in Jesus through his teaching, his miracles but even more, in the person of Jesus. But we also see the glory of God in Jesus’ decision to go to the cross. As we learned the first week of this series. Luke writes, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” The ESV Translation says, “He set his face towards Jerusalem.” Jesus set his focus on the cross, the road less traveled, and in that decision and in his journey, God was glorified and His glory was made known. It was in Jesus’ willing scourging, crucifixion, death and in God’s resurrection of Jesus that we most profoundly see and experience the glory of God.
We see a lot of people seeking their glory these days. James Chandler writes, “Too many times people want glory just for themselves….Football players score a touchdown and do a dance wanting everyone to applaud them and their greatness….Baseball players hit a homerun and prance around the bases. They want the crowds to worship and adore them. If we want to stay on the right road, we need to seek to glorify God with our lives. I was looking at the full moon a while back, so full, so bright. Then I realized it is only bright because of the sun. In our lives, we need to reflect the light and glory of God.” To travel on Glory road means to glorify the Father. Our words, actions and lives are to glorify God. In other words, we are to reflect Christ for others to see.
The problem is trying to reflect the light of Christ. Bill Hanes writes, “The headlights on my old farm truck grew dimmer as the years passed, and I was puzzled. The lights were still burning, the wiring was OK and yet, the lights became so dim as to be almost useless. One day I decided to invest in new headlights in spite of the fact the old ones appeared to burn just fine. When I removed the old headlights I realized the mirrored coating behind the filament had gradually flaked off, and though the filament burned brightly, there was nothing left to reflect the light outward. And then he writes, “We are not the source of spiritual light, but like the mirrored coating in a headlight, we are meant to reflect that source. If we are not careful, the cares and stress of life can diminish our ability to reflect Christ as we should. For God said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 So how can we glorify God?
First, on glory road, you have to die. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:24 In other words, you have to die. You and I want to go the way of the resurrection, to reap the benefits of Jesus’ journey to the cross but we don’t want to follow to the cross. But, you can never get to the resurrection in this life or in the life to come, apart from the journey on the road less traveled. Thus, the majority of the people will never go the way of the cross. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was one of the few who spoke out against Hitler and the Nazis. JHe was eventually arrested and put in a concentration camp. Just hours before the Allies liberated the concentration camp in which he was held, and he was hung to death with piano wire. In his book, “The Cost of Discipleship” he wrote, “When Jesus Christ calls a person, he bids them to come and die.”
What are we to die to? We are to die to self. “Those who love their life will lose it while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” We have to set aside what we want in this moment and focus instead on loving God with everything we’ve got and serving others to meet their needs. (Matt. 22:37-39). This moves us away from self-centeredness and closer to becoming openhearted followers of Christ who care deeply for others. It means letting go of our hopes, our desires and our dreams and instead pursing God’s.
Next, we must die to the ways of the world. You and I are living in a time of a deep cultural and political divide in America as evidenced by the elections this past Fall and the rhetoric this year as they got into office. The way of the cross is eternal; it tears down the dividing walls that stand between us. Paul writes, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28 The way of the cross is not the way of division; it’s the way of reconciliation. We as Christ followers are to offer an alternative to the ways of the world. Christ compels us to tear down the barriers and instead work towards healing and reconciliation. Frankly, we can’t walk both paths. We can’t walk the path of partisan politics and the way of the cross. If Jesus is Lord that means Caesar isn’t. We are called to a higher way, to demonstrate an alternative reality to the ways of the world.
We have to die to sin. Romans 6:11 calls us to count “ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." The writer of Hebrews 12:14 call us to, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Pursue holiness, for apart from holiness no one can see God. Let me say that again: Pursue holiness, for apart from holiness no one can see God. What is holiness? It means to be set apart, set apart from sin and set apart for God and His purposes in the world. That means your mouth, your brain and your body is set apart for God’s holy purpose. Holiness is life brought into conformity with the purpose of God. It is a mind that yields to the revealed word of God. It’s a mouth that speaks the love of God. It’s hands and feet that serve the purpose of God.
And that leads us to key to the journey on Glory road: go where Jesus is. For Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me and where I am my servant will be also.” If it’s a concern for Jesus, then it should be a concern for his followers who seek to do his will. For wherever he is, his servants will be also. So where is Jesus? Jesus is in the bars with those who are alcoholics. He’s in the alley with the drug abusers shooting up. He’s under the overpasses with the homeless. He’s in the projects with the poor. He’s in the shelter with the abused women. He’s on the street with runaway teenagers. He’s on Airline Highway with the prostitutes. He’s with the unemployed looking for jobs. He’s in the prisons with the incarcerated. He’s on death row. He’s in the barrios of Mexico, the tents of Port O’ Prince, the poor villages of Honduras, the slums of India, and anywhere there is someone hurting, hungry, disadvantaged or a victim of injustice. This is where Jesus is and it is where the servants of Jesus are as well.
