ACC ~ John 13 v31 - 32

OVERVIEW:

The glorification of the Son of man of which Jesus speaks here is that of his humanity, which is glorified in his passion and death for the world and which also brings glory to God (ORIGEN). God is the one who glorifies him, not anyone else (CHRYSOSTOM). This glory is not an indifferent entity, as the Greeks use the term, but rather indicates a participation in the divine. This glory may also be perceived in the knowledge and spreading of his name among believers throughout the world after his death and resurrection; those believers then will bring glory to his name (ORIGEN). Or we may also understand Judas’s departure here as a foreshadowing of what will take place at Christ’s glorification when the tares are separated from the wheat and all that remains are the righteous saints. Jesus goes further in saying that in himself God is glorified, meaning that the human nature is endowed with eternity (AUGUSTINE). The Son’s glorification ultimately is the Father’s glorification (TERTULLIAN).

Not only does this passage speak of the glorification of the Son of man on the cross, which was the immediate reference to glory that Jesus makes. It also speaks of that future glory that shall happen to the human nature when it will be eternally transformed into divinity after the resurrection (HILARY). At that time, the Son will receive in his entire person once again the glory he had with his Father before he became incarnate and laid aside his glory, as the Father glorifies the Son with himself and in himself (HILARY). The glorification that will take place “at once,” then, refers first of all to his imminent passion, which is his highest glorification (THEODORE), although Augustine believes the glorification refers to Christ’s resurrection (AUGUSTINE).

13:31a | The Son of Man Is Glorified

THE GLORY BELONGS TO JESUS’ HUMANITY

ORIGEN: After the glory of his miracles and his transfiguration, the next glorifying of the Son of man began when Judas went out with Satan, who had entered into him. … Because it is not possible that the Christ is glorified if the Father is not glorified in him, the statement “and God is glorified in him” is added to the words “now is the Son of man glorified.” But the glory that resulted from Jesus’ death for the human race did not belong to the only-begotten Word, which by nature does not die, nor to wisdom and truth, nor to any of the other titles that are said to belong to the divine aspects in Jesus. They belonged to the man who was also the Son of man born of the seed of David according to the flesh. [1] … Now I think God highly exalted this [Son of] man when he became obedient “unto death, even the death of a cross.” [2] For the Word in the beginning with God, God the Word, was not capable of being highly exalted. But the high exaltation of the Son of man that occurred when he glorified God in his own death consisted in the fact that he was no longer different from the Word but was the same with him … so that the humanity of Jesus became one with the Word when he who “did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped” [3] was highly exalted. The Word, however, remained in his own grandeur or was even restored to it when he was again with God, God the Word being man. But Jesus glorified God in death, and “when he had despoiled the principalities and powers, he exposed them confidently, having triumphed in the cross.” [4] “He also “made peace through the blood of his cross, whether they are things in earth or things in heaven.” [5] … For in all these the Son of man was glorified, and God was glorified in him. Now since he who is glorified is glorified by someone, you will ask who this is. [6] COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.318, 321-22, 324-28. [7]

[1] See Rom 1:3.

[2] Phil 2:8.

[3] Phil 2:6.

[4] Col 2:14-15.

[5] Col 1:20.

[6] Chrysostom answers this query in the next quote.

[7] FC 89:402-3**; SC 385:324-28.

GOD GLORIFIES THE SON OF MAN BY HIMSELF

CHRYSOSTOM: [God] will glorify him “by means of” [1] himself, not by means of another. And he “will immediately glorify him,” that is, … not at some distant time after the resurrection. His glory will appear immediately while he is still on the cross. And indeed, the sun was darkened, the rocks split open, the veil of the temple was parted in two, many bodies of saints that slept arose, the tomb had its seals, the guards sat by, and while a stone lay over the body the body rose. … This happened not through the agency of angels or archangels, not by any other power, but by himself. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 72.3-4. [2]

[1] Gk dia.

[2] NPNF 1 14:265**.

GLORY AS PARTICIPATION IN THE DIVINE

ORIGEN: The noun glory is not used with reference to an indifferent entity in the way some of the Greeks take it, [1] where they define glory to be approval by the multitude. It is clear that the noun is used of something over and above this from the following words in Exodus. “And the tabernacle was filled with the glory of the Lord.” [2] … “And when [Moses] descended from the mountain [he] also did not know that the appearance of his facial skin had been glorified while he spoke with him.” [3] …

So far as the literal sense is concerned, there was a divine epiphany in the tabernacle and in the temple, [4] which were destroyed, and in the face of Moses when he had conversed with the divine nature. But in a higher and more spiritual sense we are glorified, when with the eye of the understanding we penetrate into the things of God. For the mind, when it ascends above material things and spiritually sees God, is deified. The visible glory on the face of Moses is a figure of this spiritual glory. For it was his mind that was deified by its contemplation of God. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.330-31, 334, 338-39. [5]

[1] The Stoics classed doxa (“glory,” “reputation”) among indifferent things.

[2] Ex 40:34.

[3] Ex 34:29.

[4] Origen had quoted 1 Kings 8:10-11. Origen also quotes Lk 9:29-31, 2 Cor 3:7-11, 18; 4:3-4, 6.

[5] FC 89:404-6**; SC 385:328-34.

THE SON OF MAN GLORIFIED IN THOSE WHO CAME TO KNOW HIM

ORIGEN: But there is no comparison between the excellent glory of Christ and the knowledge of Moses whereby the face of his soul was glorified. … For the whole of the Father’s glory shines on the Son, who is the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person. [1] Yes, and from the light of this whole glory there go forth particular glories throughout the whole rational creation, though none can take in the whole of the divine glory except the Son. …

But only insofar as the Son was known to the world, so far was he glorified. And as yet he was not fully known. But afterward the Father spread the knowledge of him over the whole world, and then the Son of man was glorified in those who knew him. And of this glory he has made all who know him partakers, as the apostle said, “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory,” [2] that is, from his glory we receive glory. When he was approaching then that dispensation by which he was to become known to the world and to be glorified in the glory of those who glorified him, he says, “Now is the Son of man glorified.” [3] And because “no one knows the Father but the Son, and he to whomever the Son will reveal him,” and the Son by the dispensation was about to reveal the Father, this is why he said, “And God is glorified in him.” COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.342, 353, 356-59. [4]

[1] Heb 1:13.

[2] 2 Cor 3:18.

[3] Mt 11:27.

[4] FC 89:407-9**; SC 385:334, 338-42.

THE FATHER’S GLORY SEEN IN THE SON’S PERFECTION

ORIGEN: But the matters in this passage might be understood even more clearly as follows. Just as the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of some, [1] so, because of the saints whose good works are seen very distinctly before people, the name of the Father who is in heaven is glorified. In whom, then, was it glorified more than in Jesus, since he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, nor did he know sin? [2] And since he is such as this, therefore, the Son is glorified, and God is glorified in him. But if God is glorified in him, the Father presents something to him in return that is greater than what the Son of man has done. For the glory of the Son of man, when the Father glorifies him, far exceeds the Father’s glory when he [the Father] is glorified in the Son, since it is only fitting that the greater should return the greater glory. COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.360-63. [3]

[1] See Rom 2:24.

[2] See 1 Pet 2:22; 2 Cor 5:21.

[3] FC 89:410**; SC 385:342-44.

HIS GLORY IS IN THE REMAINING APOSTLES

AUGUSTINE: Or think of it in this way: The unclean [i.e., Judas] went out; the clean remained with the one who cleanses them. This is how it will be when the tares are separated from the wheat. “The righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” [1] Our Lord, foreseeing this, said this when Judas went out, as if the tares were now separated and he was left alone with the wheat, the holy apostles. “Now is the Son of man glorified,” as if to say, Behold what will take place at my glorifying, at which none of the wicked shall be present; none of the righteous shall perish. He does not say, Now is the glorifying of the Son of man signified. Rather [he says], “Now is the Son of man glorified,” just as it is not said, “That rock signified Christ,” but “That Rock was Christ.” [2] … Scripture often speaks of the things signifying as if they were the things signified. And so, the Lord makes use of the words “Now is the Son of man glorified” in order to indicate that, in the completed separation of that arch sinner from their company and in the remaining around him of his saints, we have the foreshadowing of his glorification when the wicked shall finally be separated and he shall dwell with his saints throughout eternity. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 63.2. [3]

[1] ESUS IS INFORMED THAT LAZARUS IS SICK | JOHN 11:1-5

[2] 1 Cor 10:4.

[3] NPNF 1 7:315**; CCL 36:486-87.

13:31b | God Is Glorified in the Son of Man

HUMAN NATURE ALSO ENDOWED WITH ETERNITY

AUGUSTINE: But the glorifying of the Son of man is the glorifying of God in him, because he then adds, “And God is glorified in him,” which he proceeds to explain. If God is glorified in him—for he came not to do his own will but the will of him that sent him—God shall also glorify him in himself so that the human nature that was assumed by the eternal Word shall also be endowed with eternity. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 63.3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:315**; CCL 36:487.

THE SON’S GLORIFICATION IS THE FATHER’S GLORIFICATION

TERTULLIAN: It was the Son of God who was in the Son of man that was betrayed, as the Scripture says afterward, “Now the Son of man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.” Who is here meant by God? Certainly not the Father, [1] but the Word of the Father who was in the Son of man—that is, in the flesh in which Jesus had been already glorified by the divine power and word. “And God,” he says, “will also glorify him in himself.” In other words, the Father shall glorify the Son because [the Father] has [the Son] within himself. And even though the Son is prostrated to the earth and put to death, [the Father] would soon glorify [the Son] by his resurrection and make him conqueror over death. AGAINST PRAXEAS 23.11-12. [2]

[1] As if separable from the Son.

[2] ANF 3:619-20; CCL 2:1193.

THE GLORIFICATION OF CHRIST’S HUMANITY IN THE FUTURE

HILARY OF POITIERS: In the words “Now is the Son of man honored, and God is honored in him,” we have first the glory of the Son of man, then the glory of God in the Son of man. So there is first signified the glory of the body, which it borrows from its association with the divine nature. And then follows the promotion to a fuller glory derived from an addition to the glory of the body. … Already before this [the Son] was reigning in the glory that springs from the divine glory. From this time forward, however, [the Son] is himself to pass into the divine glory … leaving behind the dispensation by which he is man so that his whole being may be eternally transformed into divinity. The time when this will happen is not hidden from us either. … At the moment when Judas arose to betray him, he signified as present the glory that he would obtain after his passion through the resurrection, but he assigned to the future the glory with which God would glorify him with himself. The glory of God is seen in him in the power of the resurrection. But he himself, after his state of humiliation, [1] will be taken eternally into the glory of God, that is, into God, the all in all. ON THE TRINITY 11.42. [2]

[1] Lit. “out of the dispensation of subjection.”

[2] NPNF 2 9:215*; CCL 62A:569-70.

13:32 | God Glorifies Him in Himself

THE SON RECEIVES AGAIN THE GLORY HE HAD WITH THE FATHER

HILARY OF POITIERS: The meaning of his opening words can hardly be disputed when he says, “Now is the Son of man glorified.” He was saying that all the glory that [the Son of man] obtains is not for the Word but for his flesh. … What, then, is the meaning of what follows … when he says that “God is glorified in him,” that is, in the Son of man? Tell me, then, is the Son of man the same as the Son of God? [1] And since the Son of man is not one entity and the Son of God another—but he who is the Son of God is himself also the Son of man—who, pray tell, is the God who is glorified in this Son of man who is also the Son of God? … The third clause helps us with this when he adds, “If God is glorified in him, God has also glorified him in himself.” … Now, a man is not glorified in himself, nor, on the other hand, does God, who is glorified in the man, cease being God just because he receives glory. … “God is glorified in him” must certainly be referring either to Christ, who is glorified in the flesh, or to the Father, who is glorified in Christ. If it is Christ, Christ is clearly God who is glorified in the flesh. If it is the Father, we are face to face with the mystery of the unity, since the Father is glorified in the Son. … But when we consider that God glorifies in himself God who is glorified in the Son of man, by what loophole, pray tell, can your profane doctrine escape from the confession that Christ is very God according to the truth of his nature? … The Father glorifies him, not with a glory from without but in himself. By taking him back into that glory that belongs to himself and that [the Son] had with him before, the Father glorifies [the Son] with himself and in himself. ON THE TRINITY 9.40-42. [2]

[1] He expects an answer in the affirmative.

[2] NPNF 2 9:168-69*; CCL 62A:414-18.

THE PASSION IS THE HIGHEST GLORIFICATION

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: The time is near when the Son of man who was assumed will be glorified in a laudable way and in which, above all, God will be revealed before everybody through the things that happen to him. The events that happened at the time of the crucifixion, when the earth shook, the light of the sun was obscured, the darkness covered the earth, the sepulchers opened and the rocks were broken, showed how great was already—and how great would have been—the magnificence of the one who had been crucified. And, at the same time, they were the reason why people admired God who made the Son of man worthy of such an honor. “If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.” Evidently, he says, God is glorified by those things that are happening in him as much as he also glorifies him. It cannot happen that he appears to be admirable because of him if the things that happened to him were not great. And they, he says, had already been given to him. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.13.31-32. [1]

[1] CSCO 4 3:261-62.

JESUS SPEAKS AS IF THE RESURRECTION HAD TAKEN PLACE

AUGUSTINE: He predicts his own resurrection, which was to follow immediately, not at the end of the world like ours. … And so he says, “Now is the Son of man glorified.” The now refers not to his approaching passion but to the resurrection that was immediately to follow it, as if that which was so very soon to be had already taken place. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 63.3. [1]

[1] NPNF 1 7:315-16**; CCL 36:488.