READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Jesus Spoke these Words
The Apostle informs us that Jesus continues to speak, but not in discourse. We are told that Jesus’ eyes left the viewing of His disciples and lifted up to heaven. This was the typical way a Jew would pray. The dialogue with the disciples had ended, and Jesus’ conversation with the Father began. Remember all the way back to John 2:4 when Mary urged Jesus to do something about the wine shortage at the wedding. What did He tell her? “My hour has not yet come.” The Lord was constantly aware of time during His earthly ministry. His brothers tried to get Him to go up to the feast in Jerusalem with them, and in John 7:8 Jesus responds, “. . . My time has not yet fully come.” Several times the Lord escaped the crowds because His hour had not come. Now, in the upper room with His closest disciples, He speaks to His Father and acknowledges that His hour had come.
When Jesus requests to be glorified, He means that He is ready for the Father to make the divine plan of redemption complete. He is ready to suffer and die on the cross for the redemption of man and the defeat of the evil one. He is ready to bear the penalty of man’s sin as the substitute. He is ready to be raised from that death, and to ascend back to His rightful place. That is what it means for Christ to be glorified. The Father would be intimately involved in that glorification.
Jesus has been given the authority to enact the divine plan of salvation over all flesh. The goal of the glorification of the Son of God is the gift of eternal life for man. Listen carefully, life is in Christ! (SEE John 1:4; 3:15-16; 4:14; 5:21 . . . . Do I need to show you more?) If you are going to be saved, it is going to be because of the person and accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you leaning on Him or yourself? Are you trusting in Him or yourself? Let me make it simple: Do you talk much about Him or yourself? Do you think much about Him or yourself?
Jesus glorifies the Father by giving life to people.
This is Eternal Life
There is only one true God and you must know Him to have eternal life. You must also know the One whom God has sent, Jesus Christ. Christ has come to reveal the Father. In fact, you can not know the Father if you do not know Christ.
Eternal Life = Knowing the Father and Son. Knowing God is not a means of finding eternal life. That in itself is eternal life. It will take an eternity to search the depths of God.
Finished the Work
Jesus was so sure that He would follow through with the suffering that He says that He has completed the work. The preexistence of the Son is acknowledged here. He was the Word in the beginning, was with God, and in fact was God. Jesus prays for Himself in the sense that He wills to be back in the place of glory that He had left. Yet, this is not a selfish prayer by any means. It is the Father’s plan that Jesus be exalted back to His place in glory, and it would mean victory for all who know and believe in the Son of God. If Christ did not return to His exalted place, we would be shamed. Jesus Christ sought glory in the cross. You may think, why not military victory? Why not economic victory? Know this: the foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of man.
Conclusion
These first five verses of Christ’s prayer are often said to be Jesus’ prayer for Himself. As you can see, there is no self-seeking. He prays that the Father’s will be done. After all, the glorification that He is talking about is for the sake of mankind. He bore our penalty as our substitute. The glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ is our means of eternal life.
Christ trusted fully in the plan of God. I would urge you to do the same.
Christ trusted fully in the plan of God, even when it caused suffering. I urge you to do the same.
If we are to apply the accomplishments of Christ in our own lives, church, and community, then we must seek to find glory where He found glory. He sought glory in sufferings and ultimately in His death on the cross. If you are going to point someone to glory, if you want eternal life for them, you must point them to the suffering of Christ. Life is found in Christ and no one else.