Now, continued

Now the Son of Man has been glorified . . . 

 - From John 13

The concept of "Now" has been revisited several times, in this blog. It holds the key to understanding some of the more difficult concepts of God's Plan.

We wonder, how could Jesus leave the Apostles with the impression that His kingdom would come very soon? . . . i.e., in their lifetimes - and yet, two centuries have passed, and it hasn't happened yet!

More than one of my friends, heretofore rock-solid purveyors of Scriptural truth, have fallen away, because of this problem.

But here, at one of the most nondescript moments in all of Scripture, Christ makes a declaration that is earth-shattering in its implications.

Nondescript, that is, to the people gathered with Him, at that time. Jesus had just told Judas to go do what he had to do, and to do it at once. The other Apostles thought that he had sent Judas out for some groceries. It was a sublime, peaceful, quiet, but powerful moment. It was reflective. It may have seemed like an anticlimactic high-point of their years with Jesus. It was like, finally, we can take a break from everything! Jesus finally is relaxing and we can regenerate!

They did not realize that the most terrible forty-eight hours in human history were about to launch.

In that quiet moment, Jesus proclaims: "Now, the Son of Man is glorified."

Really? Now? We're just hanging out after supper!

And the event that kicked it into gear, was Judas' departure from the place . . . to go fetch the Roman soldiers that would make Jesus seem anything but glorified.

Cause and effect. One thing leads to another.

Judas's exit from the scene put into motion the next critical moment: One where Jesus could say that NOW . . . He is glorified.

Betrayal in a quiet, reflective moment.

This has the makings of the consummation of the eternal plan, that would bring eternal life to all of God's creatures. The pinnacle of human ugliness ushers in the vanquishing of sin, itself.

God's plan was completed long ago. It is finished today. It will come to pass tomorrow.

With God, everything is always Right Here, Right Now.