John 17:1 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come: glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You….” Jesus spends these last hours with His disciples explaining deeper truths with them, telling them what must be done, and that “everything’s going to be all right.”
Several other text in John’s gospel talk about this “hour”. John 7:30, “So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
John 12:23 records for us these words, “and the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Vs. 27 continues, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.’”
Jesus did not run from His hour. What does this mean? He knew his mission, game plan, purpose. Though a Roman crucifix was a horrible execution to endure and die from He was not backing down. Praise God He didn’t. Through His faithfulness we have Life! Eternal Life.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the thrown of God.” As horrible as this torture was our bible tells us that he did this with JOY.
He wanted you and me to spend all of time and eternity with Him. To make this a reality He had to shed His blood and die. He could see the end result, the “mission completed”, He looked ahead and saw us worshiping, praising, loving, adoring Him, being faithful to His teachings, Loving one another, making decisions that would honor Him and bring Him glory and was willing to endure for our sakes this excruciating, painful death.
What about our hour? I don’t mean to say that everything is mapped out as some believe. That God has mapped out each traffic light that would ever stop you, or every bug that would hit your car windshield was sent by and ordained by God to hit the windshield but I am saying, that we as men and women are called upon in life to step up to the plate and swing the bat. Will you knock a home run? Will it be a third base hit? I don’t know and you don’t either…. But when our time comes “do not fail to step up to the plate and swing!” It’s your turn to step up to the plate when you have loved ones who are sick, a marriage that needs repairing, a friend who’s heart needs mending. One day your “hour” may even come through ‘persecution’ as did for Christ and the Apostles. But remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, (18) while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Paul also encourages us in that same book, same chapter 8th verse, “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;” When it’s our hour, when our hour has come, do not despair, keep your eyes on Jesus and “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Be faithful in your hour, Be men, carry yourself in such a way that it will amaze believer and unbeliever a like. May God Be Our Strength, and may we bring Him honor and Glory!