When
he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him immediately. Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come,’ so now I tell you.
John 13:31-33
John 13 [28.] Now no man at the table knew why he said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus said to him, “Buy what things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. Therefore having received that morsel, he went out immediately. It was night.
John 13 [31.] When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him immediately. Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come,’ so now I tell you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13 [36.] Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you can’t follow now, but you will follow afterwards.”
Meaning:
Judas had taken the morsel and gone out into the night (John 13:30). With the betrayer gone, Jesus began the long farewell teaching that fills John 13 to 16. His first words are surprising. Instead of speaking of defeat, he speaks of glory.
- “When he had gone out”
Judas’ departure set the events of the cross in motion. Within hours Jesus would be arrested. Yet Jesus does not describe this as a disaster. The betrayal opened the way for him to complete the work the Father had given him.
- “Now the Son of Man has been glorified”
“Son of Man” was Jesus’ favourite way of speaking about himself. It recalls Daniel’s vision of “one like a son of man” to whom “There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13-14). The surprise is that Jesus finds this glory in the cross. When the Greeks came seeking him, he had said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23), and then spoke of a grain of wheat that must die to bear fruit. In John’s Gospel the cross is not only suffering; it is the moment when the love, obedience and saving purpose of God shine most brightly.
- “And God has been glorified in him”
The Son’s obedience brings glory to the Father. By going to the cross Jesus showed the world what God is like: holy toward sin and full of love for sinners. Later that evening Jesus prayed, “I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do” (John 17:4).
- “God will also glorify him in himself... immediately”
The Father would answer the Son’s obedience by glorifying him without delay: through the resurrection, the ascension, and his return to the glory he had “before the world existed” (John 17:5). Paul describes the same pattern: Jesus humbled himself to the cross, “Therefore God also highly exalted him” (Philippians 2:9).
- “Little children, I will be with you a little while longer”
Only here in the Gospels does Jesus call his disciples “little children.” It is the tender language of a parent about to leave. John, who heard these words, later used the same address in his letters. Jesus had told the crowds, “I will be with you a little while longer, then I go to him who sent me” (John 7:33), and warned his opponents, “Where I go, you can’t come” (John 8:21). Now he says the same to his friends, but with a different meaning. The unbelievers could not come because they rejected him. The disciples could not come yet, because his path through death to the Father was one only he could walk. He would soon promise, “I will come again, and will receive you to myself” (John 14:3).
The Significance of John 13:31-33
- Glory in self-giving
The world measures glory by power and success. Jesus found it in obedient, self-giving love. Followers of Jesus are invited to see their own service and suffering in the same light.
- Comfort in separation
Jesus did not hide the coming separation from his friends, but he spoke to them as dear children. His tenderness shows that he understands our sorrow when loved ones are taken from us, and his promises give hope.
Cross-References:
Daniel 7:13-14: "There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom," The Son of Man's glory.
John 12:23: "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." The hour of glory announced.
Philippians 2:9: "Therefore God also highly exalted him," The Father glorifies the obedient Son.
Hebrews 12:2: "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross," The cross as the way to glory.
Conclusion: As soon as Judas left, Jesus declared that the Son of Man had been glorified and that God had been glorified in him, for the cross would reveal God’s love and holiness. The Father would quickly glorify the Son in return. Calling his disciples “little children,” Jesus prepared them for his departure along a path that only he could walk.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible