Did Jesus have to die for the Father to glorify Him?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-09

From the perspective of Coptic Orthodox theology, the answer is yes, but not because the Father was "waiting" for a payment of blood before He would be kind to His Son. Rather, Jesus had to die because of the purpose of the Incarnation.

St. Athanasius the Apostolic explains this clearly in On the Incarnation: Death was a "debt" that humanity owed because of sin, and death was a "law" that had seized our nature.

1. The Destruction of Death "From Within"

If Jesus had simply stayed alive on earth and then been "glorified," death would still have a hold over the rest of us.

• Christ had to enter the "domain of death" (the grave and Hades) to destroy it.
• By dying, He used death as a weapon against death. As we say in the Hymn of the Resurrection: "By death He trampled down death."
• The "Glorification" is the victory lamp being lit inside the dark room of death. To light the room, He had to enter the room.

2. The Nature of the "New Life"

The glory that Christ gives us isn't just an "improvement" of our current life; it is a Resurrection Life.

• Resurrection, by definition, requires a death first.
• For human nature to be glorified (raised to a state where it can never die again), it had to pass through the "refining fire" of death and come out the other side.
• Jesus died so that the humanity He wore could be "re-created."

3. The "Grain of Wheat" Principle

Jesus Himself explained this in the Gospel of John (which is read during Holy Week):

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (John 12:24).

He is the Grain. If He didn't die, He would be the only "Glorified Man." By dying and being raised by the Father, He becomes the "Firstborn from the dead," allowing all the "other grains" (us) to share in that same glory.

4. Obedience and the Reversal of Adam

The first Adam sought "glory" by stealing it (eating the fruit) in disobedience.

The Second Adam (Christ) achieved glory through extraordinary humility and obedience.

• St. Paul says in Philippians 2:8-9: "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him."
• The "Therefore" connects the death to the glory. The glory is the "crown" for the victory won on the Cross.

5. To Free Those in Hades

Coptic tradition emphasizes the Harrowing of Hades. On Bright Saturday, we celebrate that Christ’s soul, united to His Divinity, went down to Hades to rescue Adam and all the righteous.

• If He didn't die, He wouldn't have gone to Hades.
• If He didn't go to Hades, the Old Testament saints wouldn't be glorified.
• The Father’s glorification of the Son includes the Son leading a "parade" of souls out of captivity and into Paradise.

Summary

Jesus didn't die to "change the Father's mind" about us. He died because that was where we were—we were in the grave.

The Father "glorified" Him in that state to show that no place is too dark for God's light. By dying, Christ brought the Father's glory into the one place it hadn't been: Death. Once glory entered death, death ceased to exist as a prison and became a bridge to eternal life.

As we say in the Liturgy of St. Gregory: "Thou hast tasted death for everyone... and He rose from the dead." The glory is the result of the victory over the grave.