“These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee, even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
For quite a while now, Jesus has been speaking to His disciples, seeking to comfort them and prepare them for the trials ahead. Now Jesus begins to pray to God His Father. But this is not to say that His words are useless for the disciples. By hearing Jesus’ words, the disciples are learning the passions of Jesus’ heart and the goals of God.
The beginning words focus on the glory of two: the glory of the Father and the glory of the Son, Jesus Christ. Their glory has been their goal all along. Jesus knows that the time has come, and so He asks the Father to glorify Him. But why does Jesus seek glory? So that Jesus can glorify the Father. How does this work?
When the Father gave Jesus authority over all flesh, Jesus glorified the Father by giving eternal life to all those the Father gave Him. This is a picture of the most glorious kind of relationship, with both people seeking each other’s very best and sharing the same passions and goals. This is a picture of mutual love. Rather than grasping for His own glory, God loved Jesus enough to glorify Him. Jesus loved the Father enough to glorify Him, rather than grasping for more glory of His own. Because both Father and Son truly love each other and truly care about each other’s glory, they promote each other, and in so doing both are glorified!
Jesus specifically said that He glorified the Father by giving eternal life to men. How does eternal life glorify the Father? Eternal life glorifies the Father because eternal life is knowing the Father and knowing Jesus Christ. Knowing the Father glorifies the Father, as we recognize how great and good and loving and just and powerful and honorable He is! Knowing Jesus glorifies the Father, because Jesus points all men toward the Father! Jesus came to earth so that men could know the Father! Anyone who wants to glorify God should seek this same goal. First, anyone who cares about God’s glory should seek to know God and Jesus Christ, personally bringing glory to God by seeking this relationship. Second, anyone who cares about God’s glory should seek to lead others to know God and Jesus Christ, because this glorifies the Father. Eternal life is not only in the best interests of men. It is not only good for men. It is not just so that men don’t have to burn forever in hell. Eternal life glorifies God, because eternal life is knowing God!
Jesus again says to His Father, “I glorified You on earth.” How? By completing the work the Father gave Him to do. As Jesus obeyed the Father, He honored the Father and loved the Father, and this glorified the Father. The works Jesus did promoted the Father. And Jesus completed these works.
So what is Jesus’ request, now that He has glorified the Father? “Glorify me with You by the glory I had with You before the world began.” What will that look like? Believe it or not, the glory Jesus is asking for is the cross. He knows it is time, as He has already said. And He has glorified the Father through His works and His teaching. But what is it that ultimately brought fame to Jesus? It was His death on the cross. Since Jesus died on the cross, men have been talking about Him, debating about Him, trying to learn whether He was just a good man or whether He was God. The cross is what made Jesus extraordinary. Furthermore, when Jesus was glorified on the cross, He glorified the Father. If the Father is glorified by Jesus bringing men to know the Father, then where was that made possible? Where was the message that men could know God proclaimed the most loudly? This is the glory Jesus had before the foundation of the world, a glory that pointed to God. Whether this means something that has not been revealed to us, whether this points to Jesus’ activity before the world began in preparing to create a world that would bring God glory, or something else, I do not know. But the glorified Jesus has always glorified the Father. And He does this now by bringing eternal life to men through His death on the cross. We know that He prayed about the cup being taken from Him, but Jesus begged for the cross in the sense that He begged for glory that would bring God glory. Jesus’ loves the Father.
Father, teach us to love You the way Jesus does. Teach me to see pain as personally glorious if it will draw men to know You.
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