I’ll admit it: I’m a Manchester United fan. Like any sports fans, we have anthems that we love to sing as we cheer our team on. One of my favourites goes, “Glory glory Man United… as the reds go marching on.” I love it when we win the Premier League or a big cup competition. After the team is crowned as champions, they parade through the city on an open-top bus and you hear this song, “Glory glory Man United,” as fans revel in the triumph.
There’s a similar scene when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey in the lead-up to the events of Easter. The scene is recorded for us in John chapter 12. The crowds who are gathering for the Passover Festival hear that Jesus is on His way, so they line the streets waving palm branches, symbols of triumph and acclaim that people would wave at the return of a victorious warrior or the arrival of a king (John 12:12-13). As they crowd around Jesus, they shout out “Hosanna!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” (John 12:13). It’s a glorious moment of celebration, like the moment when a team parade through the city with adoring fans shouting their praises.
Now, I’ll admit that as a Man United fan, I haven’t sung “Glory glory Man Utd” for a while because there haven’t been many wins to celebrate! In day-to-day life, ‘glory’ tends to mean success, triumph, victory, celebration. Just last weekend I heard presenters speaking of the glory of Max Verstappen’s win at the Melbourne Grand Prix.
The Bible does talk of glory in this positive, joyful, celebratory way. Passages like 1 Chronicles 29:11 and Exodus 15:1 link God’s glory with the sense of His victory and splendour. Similarly, John’s Gospel connects God’s glory with celebration and joy. John tells us that the first time Jesus’ glory is revealed is when He saved the day at the wedding in Cana by turning water into wine. John writes that “what Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory” (John 2:11).
But Jesus tells us there’s also another side to God’s glory, and this side seems far removed from victory parades and songs of celebration.
The Other Side to Glory
As Jesus’ triumphant arrival into Jerusalem unfolds, there’s something else lurking in the background. Jesus says that “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). The defining revelation of Christ’s glory has arrived. And what will happen? Jesus will be lifted up for the whole world to see (John 12:32). But this isn’t like that moment when a sports team lifts the trophy and receives all the honour; Jesus’ moment is when He’s lifted up on the cross, and He receives all the shame and sin of the world.
According to the Bible, this is when we really see God in all His glory: Jesus Christ, God Himself, with arms outstretched, a mocking crown of thorns forced into His head, and blood pouring from His body—this is God’s glory at its brightest!
It may seem strange that the gruesome cross, a symbol of shame (Hebrews 12:2), becomes the place where God reveals His glory, yet this shows us the other side of His glory. It’s certainly right to speak of God in all His majestic glory, but the Bible shows us that it’s also right to speak of God’s glory when Christ comes to join us in our mess. This is part of what makes the good news of the gospel so shocking. Most people would look at the cross and think it’s a defeat, yet Jesus reminds us that true glory follows the path of death that leads to life, like a kernel of wheat that’s buried in the dirt and then rises to abundant life (John 12:24).
This is what God’s glory is like. It’s the kind of glory that stoops down to join us in all of our dirtiness, that takes on our sin in our place and then rises to life so that we may live with God forever in the presence of His glory. This is our God! He is the One described in Psalm 138 with these words: “The glory of the Lord is great, though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly” (Psalm 138:5-6).
This Easter, we remember that in His glory, God looked so kindly on us lowly, needy people, that He joined us in the lowliest of places on the cross.
I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of glory I’ll be singing about this Easter.
Stephen Unwin is a writer and editor with Our Daily Bread Ministries. He has degrees in sound engineering and theology and is currently studying for a PhD on the theology of gift and gratitude. He’s married to Katy and they live in Melbourne, Australia.
