John 17:1-5
The Son Asks to Be Glorified
Read the passage
1When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
4I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus lifts His eyes to heaven and asks the Father to glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father. He speaks of the authority given to Him over all flesh and defines eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.
Jesus says He has finished the work the Father gave Him and asks to be glorified with the glory He had with the Father before the world existed. This is not a request for personal applause. It is the Son asking to be restored to the glory that belongs to Him as He completes His mission.
The prayer begins with the relationship between Father and Son, then turns toward the people entrusted to Jesus. Their life is held inside a much larger purpose than the crisis they are about to face.
Knowing God is at the heart of the life Jesus gives. We hear the Son speaking to the Father, remembering their glory before creation and asking that His work bring the Father glory. The approaching cross belongs to that work of bringing people into life with God.
Questions
1 What does Jesus ask the Father to do so the Son may glorify him?
AnswerJesus asks the Father to glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father. The Father has given the Son authority over all flesh so that He may give eternal life to those the Father has given Him.
2 How does Jesus define eternal life in his prayer?
AnswerEternal life is knowing the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He sent. Jesus gives this life to the people the Father has given Him.
3 What glory did Jesus have with the Father before the world existed?
AnswerBefore the world existed, Jesus had glory with the Father. He asks to be glorified in the Father's presence with the glory He shared with Him before creation.
4 How can our household speak about eternal life as knowing God rather than merely living longer?
AnswerWe can speak of eternal life as life with God, beginning with knowing Him through Jesus. Ask what this prayer helps us learn about the Father and the Son, and thank Jesus for making God known.
What This Means for Us
We can know many facts about someone and still barely know the person. Jesus invites us to think more deeply about knowing God. The life He gives includes a relationship with the Father who sent Him.
When we read Scripture together, leave room to ask what we are learning about God Himself. Here we learn that the Father gives life through the Son, and that Jesus' love and glory did not begin when He came into the world. Our hope rests in Someone who was with the Father before we existed.
Let one part of this prayer shape your own: thank the Father for sending Jesus, or ask to know Him better through what Jesus has said and done.
Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us eternal life through Your Son. Help us know You as Jesus makes You known. Turn our attention toward Your glory and teach us to trust the work He came to finish. Amen.