Unlikely Glory

Last Monday I presided at the graveside service of Mary Joy Blocki, the daughter of dear friends and gospel co-laborers Martin & Kathy Blocki. Though Mary suffered through many physical afflictions during her life that fell just short of twenty-three years, the Lord used her in mighty ways to advance His kingdom. The celebration service two days prior to her burial was a beautiful testimony to that truth. The post below is the meditation on John 12:23-24 that I gave at the cemetery.

Jesus said, “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.”

What hour brought Christ’s glory? How was He glorified?

When we think of glory, we think of splendor, awe, and the display of beauty. A fabulous fireworks display is glorious. A brilliant sunrise is glorious. Standing over the edge of the Grand Canyon is glorious.

When it comes to Christ and His glory, we know that the Lord will come again one day when the heavens open up with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. He will be accompanied by His mighty angels and come to earth to judge the living and the dead. How glorious that day will be!

Yet that is not the hour that Jesus said had come in this text. His final manifestation is not the glory of which He speaks here in these verses. There is another glory of which Jesus speaks. It is an unlikely glory.

Jesus makes it clear here and throughout this gospel what that unlikely glory is. He uses a metaphor of a grain of wheat being planted, dying in the soil, and then ultimately germinating to grow and bear fruit. In this passage, He said that His soul was troubled over this hour of glory that has come (v. 27). He talked about losing your life for others in this context (v. 25). In John 17:1, the night before He died, He prayed about this hour. “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You."

The hour, the glory, the trouble of which Jesus spoke is the cross. How the cross of Christ is a place of unlikely glory! For it raises a question. “How can the brutal beating, crucifying, and death of a man be in any way described as glorious?” Does it not seem as if there is no glory in an act such as this?

But wait a minute. Remember when we think of glory, it should create feelings of splendor, awe, and a display of beauty. And for those with eyes to see it, that is what they see at the cross in that mangled, naked body of Jesus Christ. He went through the sufferings of the cross to remove the sins of those who believe in Him. He died so that the rest of His prayer might be fulfilled. “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).  

As an old hymn says:

For you the Prince of glory died:
Believe, and all your sin’s forgiven;
Only believe, and yours is Heaven!

Mary Joy taught us this truth. In her little, broken body, in a life with much suffering, we saw glory. She lived miraculously for years beyond what experts thought she could. Her life both manifested and taught us the love of God. Her middle name was expressed through that smile of hers that lit up whenever those she knew and loved were near. As the church will testify, Christ’s presence was experienced when you were with Mary.

And now, we are standing near her grave. It does not seem to be a very glorious place. But a seed is being sown today. Friends, this is the place where something greater than fireworks, a sunrise, or natural wonders will occur. For one day heaven will open up. With the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God, Jesus will return. And on that day Mary will arise with a healed body along with all those who trust in Christ!

A grave seems such an unlikely place for glory. But what a glorious day that will be! Do you believe what Mary's life teaches us?

For you the Prince of glory died:
Believe, and all your sin’s forgiven;
Only believe, and yours is Heaven!