John 17:1-5
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
As I read over John 17, I asked myself, who am I to comment on this prayer? It might be good for each of us to prayerfully read it over and let the Spirit interpret it to our hearts.
This is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus.
No attempt to describe the prayer can give a just idea of its sublimity, its pathos, its touching yet exalted charter, its tone at once of tenderness and triumphant expectation (As quoted in Leon Morris, The Gospel of John, p. 716).
In verses 1-5, which will be our study in this lesson, Jesus prays for His own glorification. In verses 6-19 our Savior prays for His disciples, then in verses 20-26, He prays for those who will believe through the disciple’s testimony.
John, who was an eyewitness to this prayer, records that Jesus “lifted His eyes to heaven.” It appears that this was the accepted way to pray. When Jesus called forth Lazarus from the grave, we read,
So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me” (Jn. 11:41).
Here are other examples of this method of prayer.
…and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly (Mk. 7:34-35).
A Song of Ascents. To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us (Ps. 123:1-2).
Apparently, the Pharisees also prayed this way.
The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Lk. 18:11).
The tax collector, in contrast to the Pharisees, would not even look toward heaven when he prayed.
But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Lk. 18:13).
The first sentence of Christ’s prayer shows the close union between the Father and His only begotten Son. Christ’s main desire is not for himself, but to bring glory to His Father.
“Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”
Time and again, throughout the Gospel of John, it is recorded “that His hour had not come (Jn. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20;).” Now, in the final discourse with His disciples and prayer to the Father, He states, “the hour has come (Jn. 12:23; 13:1.).” This “hour” is the crucial point of Jesus’ earthly mission. Christ’s moral teachings and perfect example are important, but they are only peripheral to the mission of Christ. The central theme of the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Today, there are many, both within and without the church, who want to leave out the uniqueness of the cross event and teach the moral and ethical values demonstrated by Christ. They do not like Christ’s statement where He said,I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (Jn. 14:6).
Nor do they accept the testimony of Peter on the Day of Pentecost.
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
This short statement, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You” is pregnant with meaning. The “glory” Jesus prayed for, from the human standpoint, is the apparent defeat and humiliation of the naked and bleeding Jesus nailed to the cross. This, as strange as it appears to the uninitiated observer, is precisely what brings glory to the Father. Christ is the agent of salvation, but from the perspective of the incarnation of Christ, the Father is the ultimate initiator. As recorded earlier in John, the most loved verse of Scripture stands on a solid foundation of the Love of the Father.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16).
The next phrase is equally important,
…even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
There is no question that the full deity of Christ is taught in the Scriptures, especially in the Gospel of John. Yet, during the incarnation, Christ’s use of divine attributes seems to be determined by the Father. Looking at the way Jesus exercised His authority shows that it was always gospel-centered.
- Jesus was given authority to execute judgment (Jn. 5:27).
- Jesus was given authority to lay His life down and take it up again (Jn. 10:18).
- Jesus was given teaching authority (Mt. 7:29).
- Jesus was given authority to forgive sins (Mt. 9:6).
- Jesus was given authority over unclean spirits (Mt. 10:1)
- Jesus was given all authority in heaven and earth (Mt. 28:18).
- Jesus was given authority over nature (Mk. 3:38-40).
There were times when Jesus was tempted to use His authority for non-gospel reasons. For example, the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness immediately after His baptism were, in essence, to use His authority and power outside of His gospel mission. He refused to do so. When the Pharisees and people in the crowds asked for a miraculous sign, He refused to give them one. Probably the chief example of this was while He was hanging on the cross.
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” (Lk. 23:34-37).
I can only imagine the force of this temptation. Jesus had the authority and power to come down from the cross. Yes, it would have caused many to believe in Him for the wrong reasons. It was not part of His Father’s gospel plan.
If Christ had independently exercised His authority, then we would not have the saving gospel. However, because Jesus was fully God at the same time He was fully man, He could only do what They—both the Father and the Son—had determined to do for the salvation of man.
…even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
Here, by His inherent authority in harmony with the authority the Father gave His only begotten Son, Jesus is empowered to give eternal life to all whom the Father had given to Him. The “all” are those who have believed in Christ, who are the same ones God elected by His foreknowledge.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Here eternal life is equated with “knowing” both the Father and the Son. This “knowing” is not simply the knowledge of God; it is more than information about God. It implies a personal fellowship, trust, relationship, and commitment. This “knowing” is directed to the only true God, not just “a god” or some “spiritual experience.” How do we know God? Only through Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent.
The term used by Jesus in this prayer to refer to Himself has caused some debate. Some consider “and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” to be added by a later scribe. However, this statement comes at the end of Jesus’ ministry. Rather than a later, scribal addition, I see it as Christ laying the foundation for a formula for confession of faith. This term, “Jesus Christ” is used about 130 times outside of the Gospels.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
…even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction (Rom. 3:22).
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
All questions about a “final atonement” often mentioned in some last-day event’s scenario are ruled out here. Some of our readers need to compare this clear statement of Jesus to the teachings with which we grew up. Consider the following:
The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement (Ellen G. White, Counsels to the Church, p. 348).
As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary (Ellen G. White, Early Writings, 1882, p. 253).
In the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment, the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God ( Ellen G. White, The Faith I Live By, p. 210).
If the atonement had anything to do with Jesus and the Father—and of course it did!—then the following statement stands fast forever.
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
This is good news! Jesus has accomplished the work of salvation. When He said, “It is finished,” it was. I am continually amazed that there are millions of people who still believe that Ellen White “speaks with prophetic authority” when she so blatantly disagrees with Scripture on many points and specifically, the gospel that was “once for all handed down to the saints” (See Jude 1:3).
I pray that the veil over the eyes of these people will be removed so that they can see clearly the good news of a finished atonement, which will never be repeated or added to.
…but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD (Heb. 10:12)
Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
The English Standard Version translates this verse like this.
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed (Jn. 17:5).
The fact that Jesus prays to be glorified with the glory He had before the world existed indicates that during the time of His incarnation something of His glory was forfeited. Some might assume that Christ wanted to jettison His earthly body and be fully “Spirit” with the Father as He was before the incarnation. However, this is not the case. Scripture makes it clear that after Jesus rose from the dead. He still had a body, albeit one that was glorified and could be supernaturally observed in varied forms on different occasions.
As Jesus longed for the presence of the Father, we can but faintly imagine Christ’s cry of desperation on the cross when He was completing the “work” of atonement.
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (Mt. 27:46).
If this does not break our proud hearts, nothing will. Here we see the love of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son working together in ways that challenge our human understanding. Years later, Paul, who received the gospel from a direct revelation of the Living Christ, so profoundly spells out how this one “work of atonement” made possible our eternal salvation.
…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:24-26).
Application
- As I read this prayer of Jesus to His Father on the eve of the cross event, I asked myself if I was thoroughly committed to following God’s will as Christ was, no matter what the circumstances may be. We will never have the same resolve as Christ had, but He is our example in obedience, not for salvation, but for our our own good.
- Are we ever tempted to seek some “spiritual experience” outside of God’s will as revealed in Scripture?
- In our fast-changing social climate, the values of Christianity are often seen as narrow, racist, and even classified with “hate groups.” In this milieu are we willing to stand up and be counted, proclaiming that there is salvation in no other name under heaven than Jesus Christ?
- In Jesus’ prayer, He defined eternal life as “knowing God.” It would be well for us to spend time contemplating this concept. Do we really “know God and Jesus Christ our Lord”? Have we moved in our walk with God from information about God to fellowship, trust, and deep, unwavering commitment?
- Are we settled, once and for all, that the atonement is finished, or do we, by following Ellen G. White look for a “final atonement” for those who are “found worthy” who have no unconfessed, forgotten sins?
- How can we use our influence to help lift the veil that is over the eyes of millions of people who still hold Ellen White as one who “speaks with prophetic authority?
- Because of the depth of meaning present in this prayer, let us each read it through for ourselves in Scripture and let the Holy Spirit interpret it to our needs.
Prayer,
Father, I bow my knees before you in humility as I contemplate what took place there in the garden where Christ prayed. Help me understand the fullness of your love for me. Help my weak resolve to be strengthened so that I may stand firm in the truths of the gospel.
In Jesus name.
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