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John 17:1-11a
Showing Glory
How do you show your pride in your country? In your church?
The American flag has a nickname. It's called "Old Glory." When someone wants to show their patriotism, they wave "Old Glory."
Salvation, like patriotism, was a demonstration of
glory. But this was not the glory of parades or waving dignitaries or
confetti-filled streets. It was a demonstration of power from
powerlessness. It was glory shown on the cross. It was a glory that
showed the love of the Father for Son.
Popular Translation
1 After Jesus said all this to his followers, he looked up to heaven and prayed, “Father,
the time has come! Show your Son glory so your Son might show you
glory. 2 You gave your Son power over everyone. Show his glory, then,
so he can give eternal life to everyone you gave to your Son as his
followers. 3 This is what eternal life means. The Son’s followers can
be close to you, the only true God, and they can be close to the One
you sent, Jesus Christ. 4 I showed your glory here on earth since I
finished the work you gave me to do. 5 I am with you, Father. Now show
my glory, with the same glory you showed when you first created the
universe.
6 I revealed you to the
people you gave me that came from the world. They believed in you and
you gave them to me as my followers. They have been faithful to your
message. 7 Now they know that everything you gave me is from you. 8
Since I gave them the message you entrusted to me, they accepted it.
They really know that I came from you and they believe you sent me. 9
So, I don’t pray for the world. I pray for those that believe in you,
Father. You gave them to me as my followers. 10 All that I have is
yours and that which is yours is mine. What my followers do shows my
glory.
11 I am no longer in the
world but my followers are still in the world. So, I come to you, holy
Father, with this request: Be with the followers you gave me so that
they might be united just like we are.”
This prayer of Jesus can be divided into two sections: a prayer for glory and prayer for the unity of his followers.
Literal Translation
1 JESUS spoke these things and, having lifted
his eyes to heaven, said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your SON
so that the SON might glorify you, 2 just as you gave HIM authority
(over) all flesh, so that HE might give eternal life to them, everyone
whom you gave to HIM. 3 This is eternal life: that they might know you,
the only true God, and (the ONE) whom you sent, JESUS CHRIST. 4 I gave
you glory on earth, having completed the work that you have given to ME
that I might do (it). 5 Now You give ME glory, Father, along side you,
(with) the glory that I had from you before the world (came) to be.
17:1 “Glorify your SON so that the SON might glorify
you...” Since the hour of glory is the death of Jesus, “glorify” has
the meaning of “showing glory.” So, the sentence can be translated:
“Show the glory of your Son so that the Son can show your glory.” This
sense of “glory” is reflected in 17:4-5.
17:3 John equated knowledge with eternal life. In
Judaism, knowledge of God came through the revelation of God found in
the Law and obedience to that Law. Jews believed they could realize the
presence of God in daily life by keeping the Torah. And in keeping the
Torah, they could look into the mind of God. John followed that line of
reasoning, but replaced the Law with the person of Jesus Christ. For
John, eternal life was not simply obeying God’s Law, but having a
relationship with his Son. Love of the Son superceded a lifestyle of
religious duty.
17:5 “along side you” has the meaning of “in your presence.”
John the Evangelist was fond of using an "A-B-A" or
step-up and step down structure to his writing. While 17:1-6 does not
match that structure explicitly, it does follow the general pattern.
A: Glorify your Son
B: so the Son might glorify you ...he gave eternal life to...everyone you gave him.
C: This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the One whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
B: I gave you glory on earth having completed the work you gave me to do.
A: Now you give me glory...
The structure begins and ends with the prayer for
glory. In the theology of John and the context of the statement, the
glory Jesus prayed for was the cross. On the cross, Jesus would reveal
himself as the Christ; on the cross, his followers would understand
what sort of God they worshiped: a God of love. Through the cross, God
would offer his faithful the gift of his very life, the gift of eternal
life.
The second and fourth statements are thematically
the same: the work of the Christ was to give his followers eternal
life. The core of the passages lay in the definition of eternal life:
an intimate knowledge of God and the one he sent, Jesus Christ. This
knowledge could only be gained in a growing faith relationship with the
Father and the Son. John seemed to imply that eternal life was not only
a knowledge of, but a partaking with, the relationship between the
Father and the Son. Indeed, one can only gain knowledge of the Father
and the Son by somehow being a part of that relationship.
6 I (visibly) showed your
name to the men you gave to ME from the world. They were toward you and
you gave them to ME, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that
everything, as much as you have given ME, is from you. 8 Because I have
given them the words that you gave to ME, and they accepted (them) and
truly know that I came from you, and they believe that you sent ME. 9 I
ask concerning them, not concerning the world do I ask but concerning
(those) whom you have given ME, that they are toward you, 10 and
everything mine is yours and the (things) yours (are) mine, and I have
been given glory in them. 11 I am no longer in the world but they are
in the world, and I come to you holy Father, (so) keep them in your
name which you have given to ME, so that they might be one just as we
(are one).
17:6 “I (visibly) showed your name to the men you
gave to ME from the world.” Since ancient people believed the name of
someone revealed their inner character and power, invoking the name of
a deity invoked the deity himself. When Jesus made the name of the
Father manifest to his followers, this was a point of revelation, for
he made God himself visible.
17:6, 9 “They were toward you” can also be translated
“they were yours.” By definition, the faithful swore allegiance to
their God through their faith; so they belonged to God, as much as a
commoner swore allegiance to a king and the regent controlled the
destiny of his servant.
17:9-11 Jesus prayed for his followers, but there is
some debate how the phrase “that they are toward you” relates to the
prayer. Some translate 17:9: “I pray for them...those you have given
me, so they might be yours.” But most translate 17:9: “I pray for
them...those you have given me because they are yours.” In the first
sense, Jesus prays for this followers to initiate or strengthen their
allegiance to God. In the second sense, he prays because they already
belong to God. In either case, the followers were now part of the
relationship between the Father and the Son (17:10) and the followers
now revealed the glory of the Son through their witness. 17:11 revealed
the content of the prayer: “Keep them in your name (i.e., in your
presence), so that they might be united.”
Jesus gave his followers eternal life when he
revealed the name of the Father. As the note above indicated, this was
more than speaking a name; Jesus revealed the presence of the Father.
These followers had already pledged a faith allegiance to God, so they
"belonged" to the Father. Now, Jesus would reveal the presence of the
Father through his presence and his message. His followers accepted
both and would "glorify" the Son by their witness in the world.
"Everything I have is yours and the things you have
are mine." (17:10a) This is the most explicit statement about position
of the disciples in the relationship between the Father and the Son. We
are part of the love between the Father and the Son; we have been
"caught up" in the life of the Trinity. Even though the Son is no
longer in the world, he implores his Father to grant his followers the
intimate unity that the Trinity shares. This is more than coexistence
within the Church. This is a bond of love that is a far greater witness
than the individual Christian can make alone. It is a prayer for
community on the supernatural level; it is a prayer that all of us
might share in the life that the Father and the Son share in. This is
eternal life! This shows the Lord’s true glory.
How can you be “caught up” in the life of the
Trinity? How can you realize your place in the love between the Father
and the Son?
To show patriotism, we wave “Old Glory.” To show
faith, we wave the cross. But, more to the point, we live the cross. As
the cross revealed the love of the Father for the Son, it shows us our
place in the love. It is an invitation to eternal life. And it is a
realization of that life. When we live the cross, we participate in the
love between the Father and the Son. This is true glory.
Reflect on your place in the life of God this
week. Where do you find the cross in your life? How have you lived that
cross? How does that cross show you the love of God?
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