To read John 17 is to stand on holy ground. All scripture is God-breathed, of course, but when we read this chapter, we get a glimpse into the heavenly throne room, as the divine Son shares intimately with the heavenly Father. Imagine being John, listening to Jesus offering this remarkable prayer. No wonders he remembers it word-for-word decades later. It’s not a prayer any of us would be likely to forget.
After the Lord’s Prayer, this is probably the second most well-known prayer in the bible – and if the Lord’s Prayer was powerfully simple and direct, what is known as Jesus’ ‘High Priestly Prayer’ is gloriously deep and profound.
Gloriously being the operative word. The prayer begins with no less than five references to ‘glorify’ or ‘glory’. The word ‘glory’ in the bible literally means ‘weight’. It is the manifest, tangible presence of God. When this presence made itself known in the Old Testament, it was experienced as a literal weight: people fell on their faces in awe and wonder (see, for example, Leviticus 9:23-24).
As time went on, this sense of weight attached to ‘glory’ broadened into a more general sense of honour that is due to the Lord when his manifest presence is made known. This is how we use the word today – albeit not necessarily in reference to God – and this is how Jesus uses it here. As he faces the cross, the literal presence of God will be made manifest in the most extraordinary and powerful way. The world will see it as disgrace; but the Father and the Son see it as honour, as glory: (v1) ‘Father the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.’
Jesus has all the authority in the universe (v2). The incredible thing, as we observed before, is that this authority is demonstrated through the cross – what appears to be a terrible defeat is in fact the greatest victory. A victory that brings life to all who will receive it (v3).
In the coming days, we’ll see how Jesus prays for his friends, for the church and for the world. But today, he begins with his Father. He is about to complete the work the Father gave to him (v4); now he looks forward to once again enjoying the glory of heaven in the presence of his Father (v5). It’s not long now, and the thought of it must have sustained him through the trials to come.
Jesus is glorious. A glory revealed through the incarnation, the miracles, the teaching, the cross, the resurrection and the ascension. Those that lived with him got regular glimpses of that glory. By the Spirit, may the Lord grant us grace, too, to see just how glorious he is. And may that glory fill our hearts and our lives today.