Prayer of an accomplished mission

John 17:1-8

¹After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ²For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

⁶"I have revealed you^[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

1. Central theme

Content

1. Jesus prays to God, asking that glory be brought upon the Father and the Son (v. 1)
2. Jesus prays for the authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all (v. 2)
3. Jesus declares: ³Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (v. 3)
4. Jesus has already accomplished his mission and asks to be glorified in God`s presence (v. 4-5)
5. Jesus reveals God to those whom God has given him, and taught them to obey (v. 6-8)

Main theme

1. Prayer of an accomplished mission
2. Share in the glory of God

2. Who is God, Jesus, Holy Spirit?

1. Jesus Christ, who prays to God (v. 1)
2. Jesus, who is about to be crucified (v. 2)
3. God, who glorifies Jesus (v. 2)
4. Jesus, who glorifies God (v.2, v. 4)
5. Jesus, who holds authority over life (v. 2)
6. Jesus, who grant eternal life (v. 2)
7. The one and only true God (v. 3)
8. God, who sent Jesus to Earth (v. 3)
9. Jesus, who has accomplished his mission (v. 4)
10. Jesus, who was with God and shared in His glory before the world began (v. 5)
11. Jesus, who revealed God to the people (v. 6)
12. Jesus, who came from God (v. 8)

3. Lessons for me (commandment, promise, example, rebuke, warning)

The content recorded in these verses occurred when Jesus was about to part from his disciples. Jesus was praying to God. The content in verses 1 to 8 talks about Jesus accomplishing the mission that God sent him to Earth for. It was sort of like a report to God. In verses 9-26, Jesus prayed for others, including his disciples.

1. The timeframe set by God

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. (v. 1)

While Jesus was still on Earth, he often referred to time, either saying it is not time yet or the time has come. The time here referred to the time that God has set, including Jesus’ birth, crucifixion and resurrection. The whole plan was set by God, and not a coincidence. Therefore following the schedule that God has set became very important. Just as in baking bread, we need to bake it just right; we can’t over or under bake it. God does not only have a plan for Jesus, He also has one for you and I.

Reflection: If God has a plan for me, have I learn to follow God’s will in everything, and following God’s plan?

2. Sharing the authority with God

For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. (v. 2)

Jesus was with God before the world began, shared in His glory, and worked with God. In addition, Jesus also has the same holiness and authority as God, the authority over people and to grant them eternal life.

3. Sharing in God’s glory

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (v. 5)

In his prayer, Jesus asked: “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (v. 1). From this, we can see that this glory dates to before the world began. They share the glory for they are one.

4. Meaning of eternal life

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (v. 3)

Here, Jesus emphasized that the meaning of eternal life is that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. In the Bible, to “know” not only includes the rational sense, but has also an intimate meaning. Just as it was recorded in Genesis 4:1: “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain”. In the original text, the world lay was “to know”. Thus, to know God, to know Jesus and to have an intimate relationship with them signifies to have eternal life.

Reflection: Is my understanding of God and of Jesus still at a rational level or do I have an intimate relationship with them?

5. Knowing the source of glory

In this passage, the world glory appears 5 times, yet each time it is connected to God. So obviously, there isn’t much glory in sinners. Yet, through God’s grace and mercy, all of the things that we can claim glory to comes from Him.

Reflection: Was there anything that I felt brought glory? Was it connected to God? If not, then it most likely was just vanity.

6. Recognizing the symbol of glory

When Jesus mentioned “the time has come, be glorified”, in reality he hinted toward his suffering and crucifixion. Through this, he was to accomplish God’s plan for the salvation of mankind, so that God’s name would be glorified. God transformed a symbol of humiliation and suffering – the cross, into a symbol of glory.

Reflection: glory comes from suffering – the spirit of the cross. As a Christian, do I truly understand this? Have I carried the cross alongside Jesus?

7. Teach God’s word

For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. (v. 8)

One of Jesus’ main tasks on Earth was to teach God’s word to the people. Thus, it meant to teach the disciples as well as the people to truly understand and obey God’s word, and thus knowing that Jesus came from God. Jesus valued God’s word, and so should we. The believers should long for God’s word. The church should preach and spread God’s word.

Reflection: How’s my relationship with God’s true word – the Bible. Do I long for it? Do I learn from it every day? Or does it not apply to me?

8. Example of prayer

Throughout Jesus’ life, he not only taught people to pray (Luke 18:1), but he himself prayed often as well (Matthew 14:23). Jesus usually used prayer to face the different stages of his life, such as the prayer of baptism (Luke), the prayer before the calling of the disciples (Luke 6:12), his prayer before he parted with the disciples (John 17:1-26), the prayer before his capture (Luke 22:44), the prayer before his death (Luke 23:46). Thus, regarding prayer, Jesus left us wonderful examples.

Reflection: How is my relationship with God? Where is God in my life? Do I live a life full prayer? Especially regarding the important decisions in life, do pray and seek and wait for God or do I ignore God completely?

4. My prayer and application

Translated by Kelvin Lee