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John 13:31-33

Joh 13:31 That is why when he had left, Jesus says, “Now the Son of Man was glorified, and God was glorified in him.

Joh 13:32 [If God was glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him immediately.

Joh 13:33 Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I am saying to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

not yet ready

Many assume that the moment death arrives, the believer is instantly ushered into the presence of Christ—glorified, perfected, and standing before God. But Jesus’ words in this passage challenge that assumption. Even His own disciples, those who walked with Him, learned from Him, and believed in Him, were not yet ready for the presence of God. Something had to happen first. Several things, in fact.

Jesus lays out the sequence clearly:

• He must die on the cross — the atoning sacrifice that removes sin. (Already accomplished.)
• He must be raised from the dead — the victory that breaks death’s power. (Already accomplished.)
• He must prepare a place for His people (John 14:2–3) — the ongoing work of the ascended Christ. (Happening now.)
• He must return (John 14:3) — the moment when believers are raised, glorified, and brought into God’s presence. (Still future.)

Only then—at His return, not at our death—will believers stand glorified before God. Death is not the doorway to glory. Resurrection is. The blessed hope is not the moment of dying, but the moment of Christ’s appearing.

This is why Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled. The plan is unfolding. The preparation is underway. The return is certain. But it is not yet.

And that means:
Don’t rush the plan of God.
Don’t trade the hope of resurrection for the thin comfort of imagining death as immediate glory.
Don’t look to death as the solution.
Look to Jesus.

Death is not the answer to the world’s brokenness or to the believer’s longing.
Jesus is.
And He is coming.

Lord, come quickly. We want to be with You.