December 27th, 2020
John 17:1-5
“The Ultimate Gift”
Call to Worship: Selected verses from Psalm 116
Aux. text: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Service Orientation: The glory of God finds its ultimate expression on the cross. “In Christ” death becomes the supreme festival on the pathway to freedom {Bonhoeffer}. “In Christ” death is transformed into the ultimate gift. “In Christ” death becomes the godly man’s wish but the wicked man’s fear {Bolton}.
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. — John 17:3
Background Information:
- The seventeenth of John contains the longest recorded prayer which our Lord offered during His public ministry on earth, and has been justly designated His High Priestly Prayer. . . . It differs from the prayer which Christ “taught his disciples,” for in that there are petitions which the Savior could not offer for Himself, while in this there are petitions which none else but Christ could present. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 903)
- Whether He prayed it in the upper room or en route to the garden, this much is sure: It is the greatest prayer ever prayed on earth and the greatest prayer recorded anywhere in Scripture. John 17 is certainly the “Holy of Holies” of the gospel record, and we must approach this chapter in a spirit of humility and worship. To think that we are privileged to listen in as God the Son converses with His Father just as He is about to give His life as a ransom for sinners! (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Transformed, 89)
- The prayer that begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. . .” (Mt 6:9-13), should more accurately be termed The Disciples’ Prayer. The one in John 17 is Jesus’ prayer. It has properly been designated his High Priestly Prayer, for he intercedes for us here as our High Priest before his Father’s throne. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1246)
- The prayer may be viewed at the consummation of the discourses. It shows that the firm and solid basis for all the grounds of comfort, admonitions, and predictions is in heaven. It links all the promises to the throne of God. Here all is certain. The chapter contains not one conditional sentence. (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 347)
- Jesus prays to God the Father for the power, will and ability to complete the work God sent Him to do since before the creation of the world.
- As His prayer indicates, Jesus was fully aware that, like everything else, the next few hours of time had been sovereignly determined since eternity past and would have infinite ramifications into eternity future. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John 12-21, 250)
- Oliver Cromwell’s chaplain, Thomas Manton, preached forty-five sermons on it {Jn 17}. More recently, Marcus Rainsford, an Irish preacher, wrote expositions that amount to more than 500 pages. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 391)
- It has three parts: Christ’s prayer for himself (vv. 1-5), his prayer for his disciples (vv. 7-19), and his prayer for all who should follow them in faith in the coming centuries (vv. 20-26). The shortest part is Christ’s prayer for his own interests. By contrast, he prays at length both for his disciples and for ourselves as members of his mystical body. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1246)
- (v. 3) It is a remarkable fact that this is the only place where our Lord gives himself this compound title of Jesus Christ, afterwards so common in Apostolic preaching and writing. (Charles Ross, The Inner Sanctuary, 206-7)
- (v. 3) Was it not, therefore, highly necessary that the disciples should, for once at least, hear it from the Master’s own blessed lips? Could they afterwards have made such use of this symbol of the Christian faith, if he had continued to the very last, in keeping apart the two most significant names of which it is composed? And under what more advantageous circumstances, in what more worthy or solemn form, could Jesus have uttered it than now, in their own hearing, and in this last act of communion with his Father? (Charles Ross, The Inner Sanctuary, 207)
- (v. 3) Note the words, “the only true God” (cf. 1 Thess 1:9), not the figment of Jewish imagination, which tried to worship a Father who had not revealed himself in the Son; nor the object of pagan worship, which was directed to the creature rather than to the Creator; but the Father as revealed in the Son. For the concept “Jesus,” as the One sent from above” see on 3:17, 34; 5:36, 37; 8:18, 27, 29 (cf. 1:5). (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 350)
- (v. 5) We can all see at a glance that our Lord prays about Himself, prays about the disciples, and prays about those who were afterwards to be disciples. But it is safest to pause here, and not to dissect, and analyze, and systematize too minutely such a prayer. One thing only may be remarked, and that is, the singular frequency with which “the world” is mentioned. The phrase occurs no less than nineteen times. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 3, 193)
- John Knox, on his death-bed in 1572, asked his wife to read to him John 17, “where,” he said, “I cast my first anchor.” And almost his last words show how much his mind dwelt on this chapter, with its implications for “the troubled church of God, the spouse of Jesus Christ, despised of the world but precious in his sight.” He clearly appreciated that the church’s true life is lived on a higher plane than the turbulent political stage in which he had been so much involved and with which he was by now so thoroughly disillusioned. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 328)
- We so often understand this prayer as though it were rather gloomy. It is not. It is uttered by One who has just affirmed that he has overcome the world (16:33), and it starts from this conviction. Jesus is looking forward to the cross, but in a mood of hope and joy, not one of despondency. The prayer marks the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but it looks forward to the ongoing work that would now be the responsibility first of the immediate disciples and then of those who would later believe through them. Jesus prays for them all. (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 634)
- Jesus’ prayer for himself is not intended to be taken primarily as a paradigm for our prayers. Perhaps the closest we may come to patterning our prayers for ourselves after the one Jesus offers for himself is to cry to God with all sincerity and no reservation that his will be fully accomplished in our lives. Such a prayer can be costly: in the extreme case it may lead to a martyr’s crown. Alternatively, it may press us toward difficult service unrecognized by peers, or to quiet acceptance of personal pain and suffering. But it always leads to the best way that any person can possibly take; for God’s way is the only way that enjoys his approval and blessing, and therefore bears ultimate significance. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 183)
- From preaching He passed to prayer! Thereby He teaches us that after we have done all we can to promote the holiness and comfort of those with whom we are connected, we should in prayer and supplication beseech Him, who is the author of all good, to bless the objects of our care and the means which we have employed for their welfare. “Doctrine has no power, unless efficacy is imparted to it from above. Christ holds out an example to teach them, not to employ themselves only in sowing the Word, but by mingling prayers with it, to implore the assistance of God, that His blessing may render their labors fruitful” (John Calvin). (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 907)
The question to be answered is . . . How is God’s glory evidenced?
Answer: By Jesus’ coronation on the cross. By the eternal life that comes by knowing God. And by the work finished by Jesus unveiling God.
Glory defined: divine mode of being, divine and heavenly radiance, loftiness and majesty of God, the being of God reflected, divine honour, divine splendor. (Gerhard Kittel; Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: Vol II, 237-8, 247-9)
We bring glory to God whenever we reflect the character and attributes of God in our behavior. We especially bring glory to God when our actions are counter-intuitive to the natural man and his flesh. — PK
The Word for the Day is . . . Glory
How is God’s glory evidenced?:
- By Jesus’ Coronation on the Cross. (Jn 17:1-2; see also: Jn 12:21-28; 1 Cor 2:2; Phil 2:6-11; Heb 2:14; 12:2)
He glorified the Father in His miracles (Jn 2:11; 11:40), to be sure, but He brought the greatest glory to the Father through His sufferings and death (see Jn 12:23-25; 13:31-32). From the human point of view, Calvary was a revolting display of man’s sin, but from the divine point of view, the cross revealed and magnified the grace and glory of God. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Transformed, 91)
The royal life does not begin with a coronation but with a crucifixion. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 302)
To men of Jesus’ day, the Roman cross was a symbol of violence, torture, and evil; to Jesus it is the means of glory. It becomes the visible presentation of the redeeming love of God and of his Christ, the superlative manifestation of God’s powerful, saving action on our behalf. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 176)
We don’t have to apologize for the crucifixion, the crucifixion was God’s coronation. It was the greatest triumph ever held. He defeated evil, and sin, and death; because at the moment of His death people came back to life . . . (Ray Vanderlaan; “The Road to the Cross”)
Again and again a martyr’s majesty has appeared in death. It was so with Jesus, for even the centurion at the foot of the Cross was left saying: “Truly this was the Son of God” (Mt 27:54). The Cross was the glory of Jesus because he was never more majestic than in his death. The Cross was his glory because its magnet drew men to him in a way that even his life had never done–and it is so yet. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 205)
Though the crucifixion was the point of His greatest humiliation (Phil 2:8), it was also the event by which He is most glorified (cf. Jn 17:4-5; Phil 2:9-11). His entire ministry pointed to the cross (Mk 10:45), making it the glorious climax of the life He lived perfectly in keeping with His Father’s will. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John 12-21, 86-7)
Jesus was glorified through the cross in several ways. First, His death purchased salvation by satisfying the demands of God’s justice for all who would believe in Him. Paul wrote to the Colossians that God, “having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. . . has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:14; cf. 1:19-22; Rom 3:25; 5:8-9; Eph 2:16; Heb 2:17; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10). The death of Jesus Christ also destroyed the power of sin; by “sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3; cf. 6:6). Finally, His death destroyed the power of Satan, ending the reign of terror of “him who had the power of death” (Heb 2:14; cf. Isa 25:8; Hos 13:14; 1 Cor 15:54-57; 2 Tm 1:10; 1 Jn 3:8). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John 12-21, 87)
A Roman Marine is the first witness that Jesus’ crucifixion was not a defeat, it was not a dark day, it was the greatest inauguration/coronation ever held. But it’s upside down as he took power by being weak and serving others. Which, as it turns out, is the only way it works. (Ray VanderLaan; “The Road to the Cross”)
There is a remarkable parallel between the ascension ceremony of the Emperor of Rome to divine status or the coronation of Caesar to his throne and the account of Jesus going to the cross as presented in Mark’s Gospel. Here are the points of comparison:
A- The Pretorian Guard of the Roman soldiers would assemble in the Pretorian to honor Caesar. (Mk 15:16)
B- A purple robe and a wreath crown from the god Jupiter would be placed on the emperor who was ascending to the throne of Caesar and being declared god. (Mk 15:17)
C- The Pretorian Guard would proclaim Caesar as “Hail Caesar, Lord and God”. (Mk 15:18, 19b)
D- A procession would then begin from the Pretorian to Capitaline “Head” Hill where Jupiter’s temple was located. This was called the Via Sacra. Along the way incense and the sacrifice to be made along with the instrument of sacrifice was part of the procession. (Mk 15:20-21)
E- Once they arrived at Capitaline Hill, (place of the skull) there the emperor was proclaimed, ”Lord and god”. (Mk 15:22, 39)
F- The emperor was then offered a cup of wine mixed with myrrh and he would then pour it out as he refused to drink it. (Mk 15:23)
G- The sacrifice was then offered (Mk 15:24a)
H- On the right and on the left of the emperor was located his officials, those who are with him. (Mk 15:27)
I- Then everyone would then wait for a sign from the gods that verified that the emperor had actually achieved god-like status. (Mk 15:33, 38) (Courtesy of the teaching of Ray VanderLaan)
It is this joy while suffering that most clearly distinguishes NT joy from that in the OT. First, there is joy in (or in spite of) suffering because of the great reward in heaven (Mt 5:12; Lk 6:23), the “inheritance” kept for us in heaven (1 Pt 1:4, 6), the “better possession” (Heb 10:34). We are to look to Jesus who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross (Heb 12:2). Furthermore, we should rejoice that we share the sufferings of Christ, so that we may be glad and rejoice when His glory is revealed (1 Pt 4:13). Second, there is joy in suffering because suffering produces character (Rom 5:3) and steadfastness (Jam 1:2). But third, there is joy in suffering simply because it is for the sake of Christ and His body, the Church (Acts 5:41; Phil 2:17f.; Col 1:24; 1 Pt 4:13). Thus Paul can write: “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor 6:10). Here is the paradox of Christian faith, that our very human grief may be turned into and overcome by joy in the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 7:4). (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, 1141)
The work appointed Him was to give eternal life to all the elect. But in order to the accomplishment of this purpose the Son must be glorified in and by and for His sufferings. He must be glorified by expiating sin upon the Cross, by being raised from the dead, and by being set at God’s right hand so as to be put into actual possession of this authority and power. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 912-3)
To human view the cross was an instrument of shame. To Christ it was the means of true glory. (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 635-6)
This is the seventh and last time that the Lord Jesus refers to this most momentous “hour.” This was the greatest “hour” of all–because most critical and pregnant with eternal issues–since hours began to be numbered. It was the hour when the Son of God was to terminate the labors of His important life by a death still more important and illustrious. It was the hour when the Lord of glory was to be made sin for His people, and bear the holy wrath of a sin-hating God. It was the hour for fulfilling and accomplishing many prophecies, types and symbols which for hundreds and thousands of years had pointed forward to it. It was the hour when events took place which the history of the entire universe can supply no parallel: when the Serpent was permitted to bruise the heel of the woman’s Seed; when the sword of Divine justice smote Jehovah’s Fellow; when the sun refused to shine; when the earth rocked on its axis; but when the elect company were redeemed, when Heaven was gladdened, and which brought, and shall bring to all eternity, “glory to God in the highest.” (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 909)
His glory would be revealed in greatest measure in his cross, resurrection and exaltation, but every step along the course of his ministry was an adumbration of that glory. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 175)
None can glorify him but the Father: unlike others, he seeks “the glory which comes from the only God” (Jn 5:44). The cross, as he knows full well, is to be the vehicle of that glory, and he prays that he may so accept it as to bring glory to his Father in turn. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 329)
The Cross is the foundation of all the glory that now encircles him as Mediator. And if it was on this ground that he prayed to be reinvested with his glory, Oh! Let us rest assured of it that it is only through the cross that ever we can reach the crown. The Lord enable us to say: “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Charles Ross, The Inner Sanctuary, 209)
In medicine it is not the physicians who made a fortune who are remembered; it is those who gave their lives that healing might come to men. It is the simple lesson of history that those who have made the great sacrifices have entered into the great glory. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 148)
In one sense, of course, the fourth Gospel makes it clear that Jesus exhibited his glory throughout his ministry. The incarnation itself performs this function, for the apostle John comments, “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory . . .” (1:14). The miracle at Cana is understood to reveal Jesus’ glory (2:11), as is also the raising of Lazarus (11:4, 40). But the supreme revelation of the Father’s glory through Jesus is the cross/resurrection/exaltation. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 176)
Even by his sufferings; when he was crucified, he was magnified, he was glorified, 13:31. It was in his cross that he conquered Satan and death; his thorns were a crown, and Pilate in the inscription over his head wrote more than he thought. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1150)
It is one of the facts of history that again and again it was in death that the great ones found their glory. It was when they died, and how they died, which showed people what and who they really were. They may have been misunderstood, undervalued, condemned as criminals in their lives, but their deaths showed their true place in the scheme of things. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 204)
- By the Eternal Life that Comes by Knowing God (Jn 17:3; see also: Prv 3:5-6; Isa 55:6-7; Jer 31:31-34; Hos 4:6; Amos 5:4; Hab 2:14; Jn 3:15-16, 36; 4:14; 5:24; 6:27, 40, 47; 10:28; 12:25; 20:31; Acts 13:48; Rom 6:22-23; 2 Cor 4:6; Eph 1:17; Phil 3:10; Col 3:10; 1 Tm 1:16; Ti 1:2; Heb 8:11; 1 Pt 4:13-14; 1 Jn 3:1-2; 5:11-13, 20)
In a Gospel that ranks belief no less central than knowledge to the acquisition of eternal life (3:16; 20:31), it is clear that the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ entails fellowship, trust, personal relationship, faith. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 556)
To grasp how this is so, we must first remind ourselves how important the knowledge of God really is in the Scriptures. According to the prophet Hosea, God’s people are destroyed from lack of knowledge (Hos 4:6). Conversely, the prophets can look forward to a time of unqualified blessing in these terms: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14). An integral part of the new covenant is that all of God’s people will know him, from the least of them to the greatest (Jer 31:34; cf. Heb 8:11). “This is eternal life,” Jesus says, praying to his Father: “that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (17:3). No other definition is needed. Eternal life is best seen not as everlasting life but as knowledge of the Everlasting One. To know God transforms a person and introduces him to a life he could not otherwise experience. Knowledge of God is eternal life; to know God is to have eternal life. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 180)
Observe, it is not said merely, this is the way to eternal life, but this is life eternal itself–“to know thee.” Eternal life, then, is not mere conscious and unending existence, but it is “to know thee.” It is not, however, any or every kind of knowledge, for which Jesus here speaks; it is not mere head or rational knowledge–the mere natural information of the mind, or the excitation of the feelings; but it is that living, personal, and experimental knowledge–that knowledge, which includes oneness in will with God, and partaking of his nature; it is the knowledge, love, and enjoyment of him, who is infinite; it is that knowledge, which is the result of the work of the Spirit glorifying Jesus and with him God in us. (Charles Ross, The Inner Sanctuary, 206)
Eternal life means to know experientially God and his Son, Jesus Christ–having personal knowledge of the eternal God. And the God we know is the only true God, not some man-made religion or some feel-good ideas. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 336)
To see clearly at the same time a holy, pure, sin-hating God, and a loving, merciful, sin-atoning Christ, is the very A B C of comfortable religion. In short, it is life eternal to know rightly God and Christ. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 3, 198)
Holiness! That is the first and most important thing that fallen men and women have to learn about the true God, and accompanying that they have to learn that sin bars their access to him. Moses was apparently aware of this instantly, for we read in the next verse: “Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God” (v. 6). . . . . Have you ever been really disturbed knowing that you must ultimately deal with One in whom is no sin at all, who cannot tolerate sin in any form and who must judge it? If you have not really known God in that way, then I suggest that in a sense you do not know even the first thing about him, at least not deeply. Consequently, you do not really know much about the depth of your sin or the true measure of God’s great grace. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1260)
(Rom 1:19-21). These verses are not speaking of a knowledge of God in the sense intended by Jesus when he linked a knowledge of God to eternal life, otherwise all would be saved. Rather, they speak of the most rudimentary kind of knowledge. It is awareness only, but it makes us responsible. . . . The second inadequate meaning of the words “to know” or “knowledge” involves information. . . . The third view is knowledge by experience. But this, although better than either of the other two, is still not enough. We might think of this as the experience of a person who goes out into the fields around his house on a summer night and looks up into the twinkling heavens and returns, saying, “I have experienced God. Do not give me any of your theology. I don’t want words. I have experienced the real thing. . . . Fourth, even in its highest form this knowledge is not merely knowledge of God alone, for it always involved knowledge of ourselves in terms of our relationships to him. Knowledge of God and of ourselves go together.
What is this knowledge? It is a personal encounter with God in which, because of his holiness, we become aware of our sin and consequently of our deep personal need and then, by his grace, are turned to Christ who is our Savior. This knowledge occurs only where God’s Holy Spirit is at work beforehand to make it possible, and it always changes us, issuing in a heart response to God and true devotion. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1258-59)
We must know that God is omniscient so that we will not be tempted to try to fool him with some exalted portrayal of our own deep devotion of loyalty. If we could, we would try to convince God that we are serious about following him when actually we would be going our own way. We would try to appear good, when we are not; loving, when we are actually motivated by hatred or antipathy; humble, when we are filled with pride.
God is not fooled by such things. He is not fooled by anything. Consequently, we are to learn that, whatever our relationships to others may be, our relationships with God must be based on total honesty, as he is honest. We must know that “everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb 4:13). (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1261)
If God did not know everything, if something could at any moment rise up to surprise him, then God could not be trusted. For however good his intentions, the unexpected thing might cause him to change his mind or actually change him so that he would no longer be the God we knew originally. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1261)
He has seen the end from the beginning. He has taken all into consideration. Nothing we can ever do will surprise him. Thus, his promises can be believed, and he can be trusted to remain the same in himself and toward us forever. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1261)
Christ is here amplifying the plea of the previous verse. Thus: unless I am glorified, I cannot bestow eternal life; without My ascension the Holy Spirit will not come, and without Him there can be no knowledge of the Father and His Son, and so by consequence, no eternal life, for “knowing God” and “eternal life” are inseparable. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 914-5)
To see God’s glory, to be given eternal life–these are parallel, and, lest the reader miss the point, the two themes are drawn together in v. 3. Eternal life turns on nothing more and nothing less then knowledge of the true God. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 556)
III. By the Work Finished by Jesus Revealing God. (Jn 17:4; see also: Mt 11:27; 26:39; Mk 14:36; Lk 22:42; Jn 1:1-18; 4:34; 5:30; 12:50; 13:31-32; 14:6-11; 19:30; Eph 1:17-23; Heb 1:1-4)
Now the knowledge of husband and wife is the most intimate there can be. Husband and wife are no longer two; they are one flesh. The sexual act itself is not the important thing; the important thing is the intimacy of heart and mind and soul which in true love precede that act. To know God is therefore not merely to have intellectual knowledge of him; it is to have an intimate personal relationship with him, which is like the nearest and dearest relationship in life. Once again, without Jesus such intimacy with God would have been unthinkable and impossible. It is Jesus who taught men that God is not remote and unapproachable, but the Father whose name and nature are love.
To know God is to know what he is like, and to be on the most intimate terms of friendship with him; and neither of these things is possible without Jesus Christ. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 209)
We cannot know the Father apart from the Son (Jn 14:6-11). It is not enough simply to “believe in God”; this will never save a lost soul from eternal hell. “The devils [demons] also believe, and tremble” (Jam 2:19). Our Lord’s debate with the Jewish leaders (Jn 8:12ff.) Makes it clear that people may be devoutly religious and still not know God. Eternal life is not something we earn by character or conduct; it is a gift we receive by admitting we are sinners, repenting, and believing on Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Transformed, 92)
Jesus’ signs were not simply powerful displays of compassion, but were designed to reveal who He really was, since they unmistakably manifest God at work (cf. 2:23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14; 7:31; 9:16; 20:30; Acts 2:22).
How does the finished work of Christ redound to God’s glory? It does so because it reveals God’s great attributes clearly. We must remember from our earlier study of the word “glory” (in chap. 42) that to glorify God means to “acknowledge his attributes” or “make them known.” It means proclaiming his sovereignty, justice, righteousness, wisdom, love, and everything else that may rightly be said about him. But where are these attributes best known? The answer is: at the cross, for only here is the perfection of God’s sovereignty, justice, righteousness, wisdom, and love abundantly and unmistakably displayed. We see God’s sovereignty in the way in which the death of Christ was planned, promised, and then executed, without the slightest deviation from the prophecies of the OT. We see God’s justice in sin actually being punished. Without the cross God could have forgiven our sin gratuitously (to speak from a human perspective), but it would not have been just. Only in Christ is that justice satisfied. We see God’s righteousness in recognition of the fact that only Jesus, the righteous One, could pay sin’s penalty. We see God’s wisdom in the planning and ordering of such a great salvation. We see his love, for it is only at the cross that we know beyond doubt that God loves us even as he loves Jesus. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1266)
First, God has revealed himself in history. . . . Second, God has revealed himself in writing. . . . Finally, God also reveals himself to us personally, applying these truths to us by the work of his own Holy Spirit. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1262)
The Cross was not the end. There was the Resurrection to follow. This was the vindication of Jesus. It was the proof that men could do their worst, and that Jesus could still triumph. It was as if God pointed at the Cross and said: “That is what men think of my Son,” and then pointed at the resurrection and said: “That is what I think of my Son.” The Cross was the worst that men could do to Jesus; but not all their worst could conquer him. The glory of the resurrection obliterated the shame of the Cross. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 207)
Throughout his earthly ministry Jesus was revealing his Father’s glory so that people might believe; for in revealing his own glory (e.g., 2:11) he was simultaneously revealing his Father’s glory. That is why Jesus now prays, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (17:4). For Jesus to say that he has completed the work the Father has given him to do (17:4) looks back on the sustained earthly ministry of revealing his Father. But the greatest revelation of glory is still to come. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 181)
He has finished the work of redemption, and wrought out a perfect righteousness for His people. Unlike the first Adam, who failed to do God’s will and brought sin into the world, the second Adam has done all, and left nothing undone that He came to do. (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 3, 189)
Jesus spoke of his work as though it had already happened–his obedience to death on the cross was a certainty. Jesus requested again to be returned to glory based on the certainty of his completing the work of the cross. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 336)
Traill remarks, “God out of Christ is a consuming fire; God not worshiped in Christ is an idol; all hopes of acceptance out of Christ are vain dreams; a heaven out of Christ is little better than the Turks’ paradise.” (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 3, 198)
For the Son to fulfill the purpose of his mission, he must bring people to know God by bringing people to know himself. In other words, he must make God’s glory visible to the people his Father has given him. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 181)
How do we bring glory to God? By completing the work he has given us to do. What is God’s work for us?
- Show mercy, justice, and humility before God (Mic 6:8).
- Pass on the gospel and make disciples to the ends of the earth (Mt 28:19-20).
- Care for those who are needy around us (Jam 1:27).
- Do good and share with others (Heb 13:16).
As we practice obedience in these areas, God will strengthen us. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 337)
Have you learned this about God, that the God of the Bible, the true God, is a sovereign God who will be obeyed and who will most certainly see his will rather than ours done in the universe? There is no other God. Any god less than this is not God. So why do we fight him? Why do we find this matter of doing the will of God so unwelcome? (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1261)
The fact that the Son shares the Father’s glory affirms His deity, since God will not give His glory to another (Isa 42:8; 48:11). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John 12-21, 249)
- By Revealing Jesus’ True Nature. (Jn 17:5; see also: Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:19; 22:69; 24:26; Jn 1:1-18; 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 8:58; 10:28; 12:21-28; 13:31-32; 14:6-11; Acts 2:33-34; 5:31; 7:55-56; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:17; 4:10; Phil 2:6-11; Col 2:10-15; 3:1; 1 Tm 3:16; Heb 1:1-4; 2:9; 10:12; 1 Pt 1:12, 20-21; 3:22; 2 Pt 1:17; Jude 14; Rv 1:5-8; 3:21; 5:5-14; 6:16-17; 7:9-12; 11:15; 14:14; 17:14; 19:11-16; 20:4-6)
This does not mean that Jesus is asking for what might be called a “de-incarnation” in order to be returned to the glory he once enjoyed. When the Word became flesh (1:14), this new condition was not designed to be temporary. When Jesus is glorified, he does not leave his body behind in a grave, but rises with a transformed, glorified body (to use a Pauline category) which returns to the Father (cf. 20:17) and thus to the glory the Son had with the Father “before the world began.” (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 557)
Jesus wanted to return to the glory he had with the Father before the world was created (see 1:1, 18). Jesus would enter into that glory as the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus’ return to God was not simply a return to his preincarnate state, since Jesus would have his resurrected body. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension–and Stephen’s dying exclamation (Acts 7:56)–attest that Jesus’ prayer was answered. He returned to his exalted position at the right hand of God. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 337)
For Jesus the Cross was the way back. “Glorify me,” he prayed, “with the glory which I had before the world began.” He was like a knight who left the king’s court to perform some perilous and awful deed, and who, having performed it, came home in triumph to enjoy the victor’s glory. Jesus came from God, and returned to him. The exploit between his coming forth and his going back was the Cross. For him, therefore, it was the gateway to glory; and, if he had refused to pass through it, there would have been no glory for him to enter into. For Jesus the Cross was his return to God. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 207)
John, unlike Paul, does not set Jesus’ coming exaltation in contrast to the disgrace of the cross (cf. Phil 2:6-11), but he thinks of the cross as the essential stage towards that glory which will be enhanced for Jesus because it will now be shared with those who have believed in him. Of this new dimension of glory Jesus has already spoken to his disciples: “If God has been glorified in him (the Son), God will also glorify him in himself” (Jn 13:32). (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 330)
Nowhere does Jesus in these verses mention any of his “problems” or the decisions he must make. He offers no petition for improved health or the removal of social difficulties. And needless to say, the perfect Savior offers no prayer for self-improvement or for the grace to abandon some self-acknowledged sin (cf. 8:46).
The essence of Jesus’ prayer is that the Father’s pledged will be done in his life, in order that God might be truly known and that thereby eternal life might come to men. When he prays, “Glorify your Son,” he is not in some self-centered fashion clutching for honor as men count honor. Far from it; for the entire context militates against such an interpretation. After all, he is asking only for that which was his in eternity past (17:5), and which he temporarily abandoned in order to take on his saving mission. Moreover, the glory he seeks is by way of the cross; and it has as its purpose the glorification of the Father and the conversion of men. (D. A. Carson, The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus, 182)
Worship Point: Worship the God of the Universe Who demonstrated perfect love for us, the pinnacle of His creation, by His unlimited sacrifice of His son on the Cross—the promise of eternal life to those who believe—and by His nature He possesses nothing that would prevent Him from lavishly immersing us in His extravagant love (things like pride, selfishness, apathy, ruthlessness, unkindness, squeamishness, cowardliness).
Jesus had come into this world to tell men about the love of God and to show it to them. If he had stopped short of the Cross, it would have been to say that God’s love said: “Thus far and no farther.” By going to the Cross Jesus showed that there was nothing that the love of God was not prepared to do and suffer for men, that there was literally no limit to it. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 206)
If you don’t see the absolute holiness of God, the magnitude of your debt, the categorical necessity of God’s just punishment of your sin, and therefore the utter hopelessness of your condition, then the knowledge of your pardon and deliverance will not be amazing and electrifying! — Tim Keller
It is a strange thought that the supreme glory of God lies in the Incarnation and the Cross. There is no glory like that of being loved. Had God remained aloof and majestic, serene and unmoved, untouched by any sorrow and unhurt by any pain, men might have feared him and men might have admired him; but they would never have loved him. The law of sacrifice is not only a law of earth; it is a law of heaven and earth. It is in the Incarnation and the Cross that God’s supreme glory is displayed. (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 148)
Gospel Application: Eternal life comes only through dying to self and living by faith in the Son. Eternal life is not only here and now, is it there (heaven) and not yet. (Mk 8:34-38; Lk 9:23-27; Jn 12:24-25; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom 6:1-11; 1 Cor 15:36; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:17-32; Col 3:1-14; 2 Tm 2:11; Rv 12:11)
Our first step toward eternal life includes realizing we don’t have it. That sense of separation, rebellion, lostness, or inadequacy before God is defined as “sin” in the Bible. When we admit our sin, turn away from it and then turn to Christ, Christ’s love lives in us through the Holy Spirit. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 336)
I have learned again and again that dying is a daily requirement for spiritual vitality. If your life is stagnant, if your spiritual potential is going unrealized, it may well be that you need to die, to lay down your life and be released. This was the key to the royalty in Jesus’ life, and it is an important principle in ours as well. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 301)
To love this life is not in itself wrong, provided that we only pass through it as pilgrims, keeping our eyes always fixed on our object. For the true limit of loving life is, when we continue in it as long as it pleases God, and when we are prepared to leave it as soon as he shall order us, or–to express it in a single word–when we carry it, as it were, in our hands, and offer it to God as a sacrifice. Whoever carries his attachment to the present life beyond this limit, destroys his life; that is, he consigns it to everlasting ruin. (Calvin’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, Vol. XVIII, 29)
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus conquered death and provided eternal life to all who believe in Him. But in addition, His perfect life of obedience, the fullest expression of which was His willingness to die on the cross (Lk 22:42), is imputed to believers at justification (cf. Rom 5:18-21). Though Jesus was sinless, God treated Him as if He had committed the sins of everyone who would believe in Him, so that believers, though unrighteous, could be treated as if they had lived Christ’s perfect life. Again, 2 Cor 5:21 succinctly summarizes that glorious truth: “He [the Father] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Christ’s willingness to be a sin-bearing sacrifice on the cross was the ultimate demonstration of His complete commitment to obey the Father, as well as the ultimate expression of His love for sinners (cf. Jn 15:13). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John 12-21, 254)
To make the meaning still more clear, the phrase in this world, which is but once expressed, ought to be twice repeated, so that the meaning may be, “They do not take the proper method of preserving their life who love it in this world, but, on the other hand, they truly know how to preserve their life who despise it in this world.” And, indeed, whoever is attached to the world does, of his own accord, deprive himself of the heavenly life, of which we cannot be heirs in any other way than by being strangers and foreigners in the world. (Calvin’s Commentary on the Gospel of John, Vol. XVIII, 29-30)
This is what the resurrection is to us. It is God’s declaration that the account of our moral indebtedness has been paid, that God is satisfied. This just God will never demand anything else for our salvation.
I know someone else who was satisfied by Christ’s death. It was Jesus himself. Can you not hear the tone of satisfaction as he turns to his Father on the verge of his arrest and crucifixion and declares without any wavering, “I have brought glory to you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do”? . . . If God is satisfied in Christ’s death and if Christ is satisfied in his death, should not we, who benefit from it most directly, also be satisfied? Yes, and more than that! We should rejoice in that completed work, knowing that it is our glory. We should sing about it:
Jesus paid it all,
All to him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1265-66)
Because this world is fallen and because natural man is perverted and corrupt; only the death of the self and its desires, agenda, values and will can provide mankind with the hope that we may discover the real life of righteousness, security and peace that God gave mankind at creation. — PK
It is not pleasant to be crucified, I know. But you will never truly live in the full spiritual sense until you are. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 941)
If Christ’s atoning work is finished and if it has been accepted as such by the Father, then what folly it is and what ingratitude it shows if we think we can add to it. Millions of people, many of them serious churchgoing people, are doing this. They do not disbelieve in Christ’s work especially, but neither do they trust it wholly. Instead, they try to add to it by tears and confessions and charity and by every other kind of supposed “good work.” They suppose that by these things God may perhaps be moved to be gracious to them and so save them at last. What an insult to God! (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 4, 1267)
Spiritual Challenge: You can only possess this ultimate gift by faith in Jesus and His work on the cross.
Satan has tried to obscure the precious truth of the finished work of Jesus Christ, because he knows it is a basis for spiritual victory. “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb” (Rv 12:11). Don’t let Satan rob you of your overcoming power through Christ’s finished work. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Transformed, 92- 3)
Spiritual Challenge Questions:
- In 1 Cor 2:2 the Apostle Paul seems to be saying that knowing Christ and Him crucified is all one really needs to know about God and Jesus. Do you think that could be true? Why or why not.
- Why does Jesus say that eternal life is knowing God and Jesus?
- What role does “knowing” have in our faith?
- Do you believe Jesus has so redeemed death that we can see it as Jesus’ coronation? How should that change our view of death?
So What?: No gift? No eternal life. No eternal life? No hope. No hope? No future. Seek the ultimate gift. Victory over death through faith in Jesus. (1 Cor 15:54-57; Heb 2:14-15; 1 Pt 1:3-9) Seek Jesus and be an overcomer. (John 16:33; Rom 8:31-37; 1 Jn 2:14-14; 4:4; 5:4-5; Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 15:2; 17:14; 21:7)!
No matter what events occurred later that evening, this prayer makes it clear that Jesus was and is the Overcomer. He was not a “victim”; He was and is the Victor! “Be of good cheer,” He had encouraged His disciples; “I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The word world is used nineteen times in this prayer, so it is easy to see the connection between the prayer and Jn 16:33. If you and I will understand and apply the truths revealed in this profound prayer, it will enable us to be overcomers too. (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Transformed, 89-90)
“The true remedy of tribulation is to look to the succeeding glory, and to counter-balance future dangers with present hopes. This was comfort against that sad hour. So it must be our course: not to look at things which are seen, but to things which are not seen (2 Cor 4:17); to defeat sense by faith. When the mind is in heaven it is fortified against the pains which the body feeleth on earth (Mr. Thos. Manton–Puritan). (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 911-2)
Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more–food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilization as long as civilization is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more. (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pp. 118-19)
To follow Christ is to live in the shadow of the cross. If we want to join Him in His glory, if we want to participate in His exaltation, first we must join Him in His disgrace, shame, and humiliation. We must be willing to die. That is what it means to be a follower of Christ. (R.C. Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary–Matthew, 500-501)
The path to true life comes not through self-preservation, but through a daily willingness to sacrifice one’s life for Jesus. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, 403)
Loving our life means that we guard our life so jealously that we squander it on our own pleasures and purposes. In contrast, hating our life means consistently using our resources to follow Christ. It does not mean that we long to die or that we are careless or destructive with the life God has given, but that we are free from self-centeredness and are willing to die if doing so will glorify Christ. We must disown the tyrannical rule of our own self-centeredness. By laying aside our striving for advantage, security, and pleasure, we can serve God lovingly and freely. Releasing control of our life and transferring control to Christ brings eternal life and genuine joy. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 256)
He does not pray to be glorified with the princes and great men of the earth: no; he which he would have his preferment in, chose it in the glory of the other world, as far exceeding all the glory of this. He had despised the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them, when Satan offered them to him, and therefore might the more boldly claim the glories of the other world. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1153)
JESUS:
LIFE
