The Glorification of Christ (John 17:1-5)

In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father. This prayer has been referred to as the High Priestly Prayer because Jesus intercedes on behalf of His disciples and followers. In today’s sermon we will consider the first part of this prayer. In 17:1-5 we see that the Son is glorified by the Father when He gives His life for the sake of the elect and glorifies the Father through faithfully carrying out His divine mission to give eternal life to the elect. Let us consider this section in more detail:

The Hour has Come

Jesus said the hour has come. What is this hour? When Jesus speaks of His “hour” he is not referring to 60 minutes of time, but as DA Carson notes, “the appointed time for His death/exaltation, for his glorification.” For example, Jesus spoke of His hour in John 2:4 when He said to Mary, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus knew that the wedding was not the proper time for Him to publicly reveal His identity as the Messiah because His power is not to be used for anything other than the glory of the Father. John tells us in John 7:30, “Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.” Also, in John 8:20, “These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.” Consistently up through the end of John 12, we see that Jesus’ hour had not yet come; therefore, He was not going to be put to death before the predetermined time and place (Acts 4:28).

In John 13:1 we notice a shift: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13 begins Jesus’ final teaching with His disciples and He prepares them for His upcoming death (i.e., His departure to the Father). In John 17:1, Jesus prayed “Father, the hour has come…” (John 17:1). The hour has come for Jesus to offer Himself as the sacrificial offering: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). 

Glorify Your Son

The hour has come for Jesus to be glorified. What does it mean for Jesus to be glorified? Jesus’ glorification is His death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus prayed, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son…And now, O Father, glorify Me with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (17:1,5). This is a very significant request by Jesus. There are some who argue that Jesus is not God. But, we read in this section that Jesus is asking God to glorify Him “with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (17:5). Jesus is not merely a man asking God to bless Him. Jesus is not a demigod petitioning the true God for recognition. Jesus is not a maniac asking God to do something blasphemous. In this prayer, Jesus is clearly revealed as God the Son asking God the Father to return to Him the glory they have previously shared.

When was Jesus’ glorified? We know that Jesus was not yet glorified in John 7:39: “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” In John 12:23, Jesus connects His hour with His glorification. He said, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.” In John 13:1, we learn that “Jesus knew His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father…” After dismissing Judas to carry out His betrayal; Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him” (13:31). Even though Jesus has not been crucified yet, the beginning of Jesus’ glorification is when Judas departed the upper room to go and betray Him. Peter spoke of this in Acts 3:13-15:

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

That Your Son May Glorify You

Jesus continued His prayer saying, “Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” We have seen how the Father glorifies the Son (death, resurrection, and ascension), but how does the Son glorify the Father? Jesus said that He has “glorified [the Father] on the earth…” because He has “finished the work which You have given Me to do” (17:4). Jesus says that the Son has been given “authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (17:2-3). In other words, the Son reconciles the men and women given to Him so that they will know, love, worship, and serve the Father. This results in the Father being glorified.

Jesus begins and ends this section of His prayer by asking God to glorify Him. He also closely connects His glorification by the Father with His glorification of the Father. Thus, Christ’s work of redemption (e.g., giving eternal life) brings glory to the Father and results in His own glorification from the Father. Jesus was glorified in His death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus faithfully carried out the mission given to Him by the Father. Jesus gives eternal life and makes the Father known. Let us see in John 17:1-5, the Lord Jesus as the faithful High Priest who has perfectly fulfilled the work the Father has given to Him. Jesus is our High Priest who has accomplished our salvation and redemption. Let us give Him the praise and worship that is befitting Him. Let us bring our cares and concerns to Him. Let us confess our sins to Him. Let us ask Him for what we need so that we may honor Him with our life.