1When 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, 2since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 24Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
What do you learn about Jesus in this passage?
1. The ultimate aim of Jesus is to glorify His Father. His request to be glorified is only that He may in turn glorify His Father. This shows the selfless nature of Jesus. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. His aim was always to bring glory to God.
2. God has given all authority to Jesus. He is the ruler of the world. All flesh is under His domain. So even when we look out at the world, we should know that Jesus is in charge. Nothing is out of His absolute sway.
3. Jesus alone has the power to give eternal life. Yet, even though He has the power, He is submissive to the Father who gives to Jesus the ones who are to have eternal life. Here we see the submissive nature of Jesus to His Father. There is no weakness in His submission. His submission is a beautiful thing.
4. Jesus is given the power to give eternal life and He does that through letting people know the one true God. Jesus’ aim is again the Father’s glory. As He makes His Father known, people are saved and glorify God. This is absolutely remarkable. Life doesn’t come from some sort of odd magical power or gift, but it comes from knowing the source of life – the LORD.
5. Jesus is the Accomplisher. He does what He is commanded to do. Again, showing His submission. But at the same time it demonstrates His great power to do all that He sets out to do. There is nothing that can thwart His plans. He will accomplish all that the Father has given Him.
6. Jesus is the Preexistent One. He was with God in the beginning. There was never a time when He wasn’t. He has always been. He will always be. He knows no beginning and no end. He is the LORD.
7. Jesus is the example of humility. He took on flesh becoming like man that He might save man, abandoning for a time the glory that was His before He took on flesh. His request is to be made like He already was. He isn’t asking to be made glorious. He already is. He is asking that His former state be made obvious as His second state is removed.
8. Jesus cares about those He loves. He wants them to be with Him and He wants them to see His glory. This isn’t meant to be an arrogance issue, but rather it is through His glory that this beloved will find their most joy. When they behold Him in true array. That is when they see Him full of power and spender, then they will be truly happy and delightful. He wants them to see His glory because He loves them and He wants for them to find the greatest amount of joy that they can have and it is only in Him. He wants them to be with Him and to behold Him so that they might experience true joy million-fold to anything they have ever experienced before.
9. Only the Son knows the Father. No one has ever seen the Father. No one has ever beheld the glory of the Father. But there are some who know the Son and the Son is the image of the Father’s glory. Jesus is the way to God and to happiness.
10. It is through knowing the name of God that one can find true love. The name of God represents who God is, His character and His attitude. His name represents His person. Jesus has made that known to us because through knowing it we can experience true love. Not love that is self-serving and self-motivating, but a love that is full and boundless. The love that shared between the Father and the Son is so boundless that has a nature of itself, the Holy Spirit. That love, which is so powerful and so dynamic, is the love that overflowed into the creation of the world. That is the Lord that the Son desires to give to His people. A love so amazing, so divine that nothing in earthly terms can explain its width, and depth, and height, and length – for it is infinitely great.
What qualities or attributes of Jesus are prominent?
1. Humility. If there were ever a humble man to live on the face of the earth, it was Jesus. From this passage, it is clear that Jesus is more concerned with His Father’s glory and His disciples’ joy than He is with His own welfare. In fact, in light of what he is about to experience on the cross, it seems unbelievable that He would consider anyone other than Himself with what awaits Him.
2. Sovereign: Jesus is absolutely in control here. Not only is He in control of the heavens and earth, He shows a control of Himself. Here is the man who is about to suffer the wrath of God meant for millions and millions of sinners. No man will ever suffer like Jesus suffered on the cross. Men only suffer for the sins they have committed. Here, Jesus us getting ready to suffer for the sins of countless people who have trusted in God. If any person ever had a time when they should loose control of themselves out of fear, Jesus is that person. Yet, He in sovereignly controlling His emotions so that they do not have sway over Him. He is the example of self-control that the Bible encourages us to.
3. Submissive: Jesus thinks very little about what lies before Him when compared to the will of His Father. No leader or ruler has ever asked His servant to suffer like the Father ask Jesus, and Jesus demonstrates perfect submission to the Father’s will. Jesus, though divine and an equal member of the Trinity in essence does not turn from His Father’s will and hold up the equality card. With joy He does as the Father wishes.
4. Faith: Typically, we think of faith as something man does only. But here, we see the faith of Jesus in His Father. Jesus is again our great example. He places all of His hope and trust in the reality that God will do as He said He would do. Jesus lives by faith that through His death He would be glorified, brining glory to God and salvation to man. This even had never been accomplished. Jesus the first and only to attempt the salvation of man. Yet, there is no hesitation with Jesus. He is not slow to trust the words of God. He is not anxious that God might not deliver. Jesus, the God-man, shows perfect faith in His Father to do all that He said He would do. Jesus’ actions make it seem like His Father’s promises are as good as done. Jesus is the example of perfect faith!
5. Strong: Jesus is strong enough to stand against the temptation to bail out. He goes through real temptation and the offer to jump ship is real. He could have secured global dominion another way. No, it wouldn’t have gained Him an inheritance like the Father offers. But Jesus could have gotten a kingdom for Himself through using His divine/messianic power. Yet, Jesus is strong in the midst of temptation and does not fall to the devil’s power.
6. Divinity: Jesus is God. There is no doubt about that. Is He the Father? No. He is not the Father. He is the Son, the second member of the Trinity. His task is to show the glory of God the Father to God’s elect. The only way He could have done this was by knowing the Father in a way that only God could know Himself. Thus, Jesus is God and is uniquely able to show the Father to the elect because He alone has known Him.
What is emphasized about who He is or what He’s done or why He is worthy to be savored?
1. Jesus performs the most necessary, most difficult, more important, and most powerful task ever attempted. Jesus reunites God and man. Jesus, by this glorification, which is accomplished through His humiliation, demonstrates the true glory of God the Father for all mankind to see. It in turn, opens the eyes of the elect and makes union with God once again achievable. Though union with God, man is no longer left to his own misery, pain, and death, but is given life, love, and joy through seeing and experiencing God. As we have union with Jesus, all that God is is available for us as we take the time to see and savor His manifold excellencies.
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