March 20, 2021
John 17:1-3, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Now comes the part of Christ’s final words called “the high priestly prayer.” He has been building up to this section will be a beautiful articulation of the purpose for which Jesus came. Notice the clarity with which Jesus now speaks as he begins his prayer, “this is eternal life…” so it’s like a wake-up call to the reader, this is the gospel, what he’s about to say - that for those who trust in the Father and trust in the name of Jesus, eternal life will be given. Jesus also speaks with this this full knowledge of the timeline of what is about to happen. “The hour has come,” he says. He uses that term ‘hour’ in a general sense here as it would be within the hour that Jesus would die and fulfill his purpose completely - but instead he says with finality, ‘the time has come; let these things take place as you have designed.’
There is much talk about a word like ‘glory’ means; it’s a frequent biblical word, so it’s good to find its definition. One way to think of it is like this: a glory of a person or of an animal or an object is that thing for which it was purposed: so the glory of a fish is to swim, a bird is to fly, etc. And what is the glory of a person? To trust in God and obey all that he commands, and as the Westminster Shorter Catechism Question #1 adds, to “enjoy him forever.” We are in our glory when we are doing what we were made to do: to reflect the Lord in our goodness, worship, obedience, and faith - it’s what we were made to do as people. For Jesus to be glorified is for him to be seen as he truly is - he’s not just some good guy - he is God himself and so he will be seen as such in his resurrection. The disciples have had glimpses of the glory of Jesus when they saw him transfigured (Luke (9:28-36), but they still have not fully understood who he is. Jesus wants to be glorified so that his Father will be glorified in Him, that many will know God and who he is truly. We’re told in God’s Word that we see God’s glory in creation, but we will also see his glory in his merciful redemption of his people.
Prayer: Father, let me glorify you with the way I live my life. Let my life be a testament to who you are and what you’ve done - by the way I live my life in relationship with others, by how I conduct myself in my job, and how I worship you in spirit and in truth. Jesus, help me to glorify you by speaking the truth about you in worship and in my prayer. Help me to remember who you truly are and what it cost for you to save me. Amen.
40 Days of Joy: When Soldiers Come Home from War. We’ve all seen these reunions at an airport or on TV at a sporting event - the joy that comes from reunion, particularly with kids, is something so wonderful to reflect on.
