Jesus Glorified
GIST- God's glory is His character and is all wrapped up in His plan to save us. That's stunning.
Scripture- John 17:1-5 (Read in context of the entire prayer/all of Chapter 17)
Background on Passage: This is what has long been referred to as the “High Priestly Prayer”. It is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus and was uttered no more than hours before His arrest. It is a beautiful picture of His heart. Hours before death and He’s praying for us!
The whole prayer can basically be divided into three sections. The first is the the shortest, and it is focuses on the glory of Jesus. We’ll just be looking at that portion today.
1a When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come;
- The hour has come. All throughout John’s gospel we have been hearing about “the hour”. Often, Jesus says that His hour has “not yet come”. But now, it has. Throughout, this has referred to His death and resurrection—the climax of His earthly ministry. Now, it puts this prayer, again, into proper perspective. He knows He is about to bear the full wrath of God (Hell) in a short time. What does He pray? Well, let’s keep going.
1b glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
- He starts by keeping His priorities straight. This life is all about the glory of God. He, who is God, prays to be glorified. I think this is a widely misunderstood phrase used in scripture, so I want to camp out here for just a second. I think a lot of people get hung up on the idea of God wanting glory. If you've ever seriously considered this, you've probably struggled with thinking that it sounds vain. This is a natural reaction because glory seeking in men is vanity, but we're not talking about a man.
Most want a Santa Claus-like god who is kind and compassionate and cuddly. This focus on glory doesn’t seem to jive with that picture. And… it doesn’t…which is good…because that picture isn’t God. Nonetheless, God wanting glory is not vain, nor does it lack in compassion (as this passage clearly illustrates). To glorify means to praise or honor, or magnify, or lift up...or, at the very least, to ascribe honor and praise to someone or something. In the human context, this is very circumstantial. If I glorify a human, I am zeroing in on a positive characteristic or deed and lifting them up because of it. I can't do this for all of their characteristics or actions because we're sinners. I might praise someone for their bravery or compassion in a time of trial, but I won't praise them for their tendency toward gossip, or their lust, or their pride. Glory focuses on the good, so it's very limited and never fully warranted for us as humans. But, God doesn't have the same constraints. Everything about Him is praiseworthy. So, to glorify God is to see Him as He is. I stumbled across this quote when I was looking up the word glorify in Webster's 1828 dictionary of American English, and then found it credited to several different people on the Internet. So, I'm not 100% sure of its source, but the thought is right on: "God is glorified, when such his excellency, above all things, is with due admiration acknowledged." Again, God is glorified when He is seen. Jesus is praying here that 1-He would be glorified (seen as He is) so that He could in turn 2-glorify God (show the world who He is).
2a since you have given him authority over all flesh,
-These next two statements blow me away. Why is Jesus asking for glory? He doesn’t need a reason beyond the fact that He is God. But, He gives one… us. He says in essence, ‘May I been seen as I am, so that everyone will see You for who You are because You gave me authority over sinful man.’ Don’t let that slide past too quickly. Jesus is connecting His glory with His relation to the sinful world (Note that He says flesh, not mankind. Flesh is often used to refer to sin.) What is His connection to us? Well the first thing He says is that He has authority over us. He is our King. Yet, He doesn’t stop there. Look at the next half of this verse.
2b to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
- Why was He given authority over us? To give eternal life to those whom He is given. Salvation! So the request becomes: ‘May I be seen as I am, so that everyone will see You for who You are because You gave me authority over sinful man so that they would have eternal life/salvation.’ This is incredible to me. God’s glory is wrapped up in His plan to save us—it is an integral part of His character.
-Now, I don’t want to skirt around an obvious statement being made here. Here Jesus does allude to election. Since the length of this explanation will be a little longer, I will address it as a side note at the end of this post. However, we need to see that part of God’s character is not only His desire to save us, but His power and control over salvation. I praise the LORD that I did not have to save myself! It would have been impossible.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
- So, what is this eternal life He is giving? He explains here. Notice the intimacy of eternity. What is eternal life? What will heaven be like? Knowing the one true God and Jesus the savior of the world*! Knowing. This is incredible. I have heard people say that if all we do is worship Jesus in heaven then that's mindless, pointless, or boring. Saying this misses out on what we are actually being given. True worship isn't mindless, it's grounded in the truth, in knowing. (John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.") Will we be worshipping Jesus in Heaven? Yes! What will that look like? Coming to know the God, the only God, who created the universe, yet loves His fallen creation. And that starts now. Reading the Bible is not a mere Christian obligation; it is a chance to know God. Why else do you think it's so difficult for our sinful rebellous hearts to do? It goes against our nature.
*Jesus Christ refers to Jesus as the Messiah. It is His title, not His last name.
4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
-Again, we see Jesus says He has revealed God’s character (who He is) by completing His work. What work? Coming to the world and proclaiming the way, the truth, and the life. I know we just pointed this out, but I’m still blown away by this and don’t want us to miss it. God was seen for who He is when Jesus (who is God) came and ministered here on earth. Look at His character! He healed the needy; He taught the truth; He rebuked sin; He wept for the lost; He died to save sinners. All of this was His purpose and displayed His character.
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
-This section ends with the repetition of His request, and a clear acknowledgment of His person. Jesus again asks that the Father glorify Him in Heaven with the same glory He had before the world was created. Clearly this is not a vain request. He’s not asking to be made popular. He is God. He has always been. If this glory was vanity, who would He have been trying to impress before the world existed? No, in His incarnation, He humbled Himself and took on humanity. Now, He is returning to Heaven to be seen as He always has been.
Concluding Thought: The concept of God’s Glory can be a tricky one, but Jesus makes it very clear that His Glory is the full revelation of His character AND, magnificently, cannot be separated from the unmerited love He has for us.
A Very Brief Side Note On Election:
Here Jesus does allude to election (vs 2). We can’t ignore or deny this. He is giving eternal life to all whom He is given. Unfortunately, the idea of election is one that has sparked much controversy, but it shouldn’t. I’m not claiming to be an expert here, but just want to give a very quick summary of the Biblical doctrine of election.
God is perfect. We are not. We get upset when we think of God wanting glory because we see it through the lenses of a human wanting glory and know that it is a vain pursuit. But, as we said above, for God to want to be seen is not vain, but gracious. I want to see God, so I’m glad He is willing to show Himself to us. Likewise, the thought of a choice going into salvation that is not our own makes people angry, I think, for two reasons. 1-They want to feel responsible for their own salvation. 2-They think God choosing some and not others is cruel. To respond, we have to think Biblically.
First, divine sovereignty (God’s control) and human responsibility (our choice) are both shown to be realities in the Bible. This is a paradox, not a contradiction. Nonetheless, our choice is always subject to God’s control. A lot of times, insisting on that autonomy (it was my choice!) is more spiritual arrogance than anything else. Why does it have to be your choice? If you’re floating down the river, fall asleep on your tube, crash into a rock that leaves you unconscious and dumps you into the water, you’re drowning; you’re dying; you can’t do anything about it. If someone then comes and pulls you out of the water, gets you medical care, and you live... you didn’t chose that, but I don’t think you’d complain about it either. The Bible does speak of man's responsibility in salvation. I'm not discrediting that. Yet, as I said that choice is also subject to God's sovereignty. Left alone, we'd still be drowning. Praise God for intervening.
The second point of contention (God’s cruelty in choice) is the more heated. Yet, this again ignores the character of God. I am a sinner (like you). So, when I chose, it’s selfish. God is not a sinner. In fact, we know that He is perfect in everything He does—Holy. Likewise, we know that He is love—not loving, love. Thus, everything He does is done with perfection and love. Which means if God chooses, His choosing isn’t arbitrary like the choice of man, nor is it selfish or cruel. In a way that only God can, His choice would have to be perfect and perfectly loving. The process would be unlike anything we're capable of. It's important to remember this.
In conclusion, God’s election is not something worth fighting over. Though we may never understand it, we can praise God that it was at work in our salvation, and in the salvation of all who will be saved. Semantics and misperceptions often lead to unnecessary hurts.
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