1 Corinthians 2:8

Which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

One great essential element in the mystery is that of the incarnation of God in Christ, this being the precise element of the mystery unknown to the rulers of this world. Christ made it clear that the Jewish religious hierarchy did indeed know who Christ was, in the sense of knowing that he was the lawful heir of the temple, the promised Messiah, a holy and righteous prophet of God, and also the undisputed heir to the throne of David. What they did not know was that the "fullness of the Godhead" dwelt in him bodily (Colossians 2:9). In Matthew 21:38, the Jewish leaders, under the figure of wicked husbandmen, said, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance." Had the human wisdom of the world's leaders been capable of recognizing God in Christ, they would not have crucified him.

The Lord of glory ... Wesley declared that "The giving Christ this august title, peculiar to the great Jehovah, plainly shows him to be the supreme God."[22] Thus "the Lord of glory," "the Father of glory" (Ephesians 1:17), and "the Spirit of glory" (1 Peter 4:14), indicate that the three members of the Godhead alike receive this title. Psalms 29:3 and Acts 7:2 mention "the God of glory."

Crucified the Lord of glory ... "These words brought into juxtaposition the lowest ignominy, and the most splendid exaltation."[23]

[22] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

[23] F. W. Farrar, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 19, p. 60.