Here is a passage that brings out clearly that it was His CRUCIFIXION that caused God the Father to GLORIFY Him. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF AND BECAME OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. THEREFORE GOD HAS HIGHLY EXALTED HIM and given Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).

If Jesus had stopped short of the cross, He would not have been glorified. Not only that, but there would also be no salvation, no forgiveness, and no eternal home in heaven offered to repentant and believing sinners. Jesus said in John 12:23-24, “The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be GLORIFIED. Most assuredly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and DIES, it remains alone: BUT IF IT DIES, IT PRODUCES MUCH GRAIN”. We can praise God that Jesus went on to say, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father glorify Your name’” (verses 27-28). Because Jesus wanted to “glorify His Father” and “save sinners” He was willing to leave heaven (1 John 4:9-10; Hebrews 10:5-7; John 6:38), become a true Man (John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 2:9), and lay down His life on the cross (in obedience to the Father…see John 10:17-18) to pay for our sins (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Hebrews 9:11-14, 24-28). I would encourage you to read these passages in the order I gave them. You will be blessed to learn more about the NECESSITY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. If you are a believer, it will cause your heart to praise Him for His amazing grace and love that led Him from the heights of glory to the depths of suffering on the cross. We sometimes sing a song that starts out with these lines, “We know the love that brought Him down, down from that bliss on high, to meet our ruined souls in need, on Calvary’s cross to die.” He deserves all the praise we can give Him and He deserves the highest place in heaven (see Ephesians 1:19-22).

It should be noted that His CRUCIFIXION involved “suffering from the hands of men” (Psalm 22:4-18; Psalm 69:4, 7-12, 18-21; and Matthew 27:1-44)  and “suffering from the Hand of God (Psalm 22:1-3, 15c; Psalm 69:1-3; Isaiah 53:4-6, 10; Matthew 27:45-46; 2 Corinthians 5:21). What He suffered from men was “for righteousness’ sake” (for telling men the truth and living a holy life). What He suffered from God was “for our sins” (1 Peter 3:18) and those are the sufferings that paid for our sins.

The day is coming when Jesus will return to take us to heaven to be with Him (John 14:1-3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and after a period of time we will return to earth with Him (Jude verse 14; Revelation 19:7-8, 14) when He comes “in power and glory” to establish His 1,000 year kingdom over the earth (Matthew 24:29-30; 25:31-34; Revelation 20:1-6). Think of it, dear fellow-believer, Jesus will be GLORIFIED throughout the earth, and He will SHARE HIS GLORY WITH US (see John 17:20-22; Colossians 3:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). What LOVE! What GRACE! This should humble us and cause us to SERVE HIM and PRAISE HIM every day of our lives (see Psalm 113:3)!!  (DO)  (715.3)