William Barclay says “It was in their death that the great ones found their glory.” I’ve been thinking about that statement, and I believe it is true.

Abraham Lincoln had his enemies in his lifetime, but even those who had criticized him saw his greatness when he died. Joan of Arc was burned as a witch and a heretic by the English. But some people left the scene saying “We are all lost because we have burned a saint.” Martin Luther King, Jr. was ridiculed as a radical, a rabble-rouser, and a dangerous communist in his lifetime, but is hailed today as a prophet.

Maybe that’s what Jesus had in mind when he turned his eyes toward heaven and prayed, “Father, the time has come; glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” The one who endured the shame of the cross brought salvation to a …