1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. ~ John 17:1-5
The Lord Jesus had left the Upper Room with His disciples and had passed through the vineyards that surrounded Jerusalem. While in the vineyard, under the brightness of the Passover moon, He applied the teaching that He had given to the disciples when, "he looked toward heaven and prayed."
Preceding the darkness of agony on His cross, the Lord Jesus displays His dependency upon the Father by praying. In this chapter-long prayer, the Lord Jesus prays He may be glorified (v.1-5), His disciples may be protected and sanctified (v.6-19), and the church may be unified (v.20-26).
In today's text, John 17:1-5, the Lord Jesus prays twice to be glorified, in two different ways, and for two different reasons. First, He asks to be glorified in and by the means of the cross. This is what He means by the words. "The hour has come."
The word "glorified" means the pronounced value of God's presence and all that He is. He is praying by means of the cross something that is hidden to the world will be manifested. Given that the Father had given Him "authority over all people," He has the right to rule over all the nations of the earth. The application of this will come by means of the cross where love was displayed at its best. And, according to Luke 12:37, He will rule by serving.
In addition, the Lord Jesus prays "that he might give eternal life to all those the Father has given him." In v.3, eternal life is defined as "knowing God." Eternal life is experienced in a personal relationship with God who is the most exciting Being ever. There is no one greater than He. When we walk with Him, every day becomes an adventure. He is innovative, imaginative, and creative. That is the eternal life that we all long for deep in our souls. And, the Lord Jesus gives this life to all who come to and interact with Him.
Some people think eternal life is a set of beliefs, as if believing the right thing is the life the Lord Jesus offers. Some think eternal life is a set of actions: a routine of attending church or Bible study or prayer or service or whatever. They put a lot of weight in doing the right things. They are disciplined and pure and proud of it. But this is not eternal life. It is morality. Eternal life and morality are not one in the same. Eternal life is the life that is experienced when we interact with God. It is in context and way that He imparts Himself to those who seek Him.
Then the Lord Jesus prays, in v.5, "And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." Before He came to earth He was not the Redeemer, He was the Creator, the One behind the mysteries of nature, the One who invented all the marvels of the universe. Having provided salvation for mankind, now, the Lord Jesus prays to go home to the Father.
The word glory depicts God's presence. The Lord Jesus is praying that He will be back in the unimpeded presence of the Father. The oneness that He implored the disciples to seek with Him is the oneness with the Father that He so desires. He is praying for that which defined Him for eternity, He is asking for oneness with the Father.
If God is leading you, click here to help BYM
