John 17:1(ESV Strong’s Bible)
1 When 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,
Since chapter 13, Jesus has been speaking only to his disciples. It started out at the upper room where He washed their feet. Now, John says that “When Jesus has spoken these words”, by these words, John could be reffering to the words Jesus spoke towards the end of chapter 16, or the words Jesus spoke since chapter 16 or the words He spoke since chapter 13. It is not clear. I am comfortable to say that to me, it means the words that He spoke since chapter 13.
After speaking these words, Jesus looked up to heaven and started praying. The phrase “the hour has come”, has been used often in the gospel of John to indicate that the time of jesus’s death has arrived. Jesus is saying to God that, His death is near and that God should glorify Him, so that He may glorify God. God said through Isaiah in Isa 42:8 that He will not give his glory to another and here Jesus is asking to be glorified by God, therefore claiming to be equal with God. Once more Jesus tells us that He is God.
How does God glorify Jesus and how does Jesus glorify God. Let us begin with God.
How does God glorify Jesus?
In John 12:23-33, it is clear that Jesus will obtain His glory through his death, resurrection and ascension. In John 13:31, just after Judas left, Jesus said that now is the Son glorified and God glorified though him. In John 17:24, Jesus prayed that the disciples may be where he is, meaning in heaven, so that they may see the glory that God has given him. In Rev 3:21 Jesus said through John that, He had conquered and He was now sitting with God at his throne. In John 1:1-2, John says that Jesus was in the beginning with God and in John 17:5, Jesus asks God to return him to glory that He had with God before the world existed. So clearly from above, Jesus will be glorified by God when He dies on the cross and God raises him from the dead and sits Him at his right hand at His throne. This will confirm everything that Jesus said or did as true and this will glorify him.
How does Jesus glorify God?
Romans 3:25-26 says it all.
Romans 3:25-26 (NIV)
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
So, the death of Jesus will demonstrate the righteousness or the holiness of God. God had overlooked sin for a while, not punishing those who sin. In Rom 2:4, Paul says God was very patient in doing this so that many may come to repentance. Peter said the same thing 2 Peter 3:9
2 Peter 3:9 (ESV Strong’s Bible)
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
In a nudshell, God is not yet punishing sin so that He may allow more and more people to come to repentance. When judgement day comes, there is no more chance for anyone else to repent. So, by allowing Jesus, His own son to die on the cross, God was declaring Himslef to be a righteous and a just God who will not leave sin unpunished. God took all anger and wrath that He had for us and lay it all on His own Son Jesus Christ and punished him instead of us, for our sins. Thereby showing that He is a just God who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Jesus’s death also show God’s mercy and grace and great love which God has for us as indicated by Paul in Ephesians.
Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV Strong’s Bible)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
This is how Jesus will glorify God. Amen.
Therefore, God will glorify Jesus by raising Him from the dead and sitting with Him at His throne, and in turn, Jesus will glorify God by dying on the cross and thereby declaring God a righteous and a just God who will not leave sin unpunished. Jesus’s death will also show that God is merciful, full of grace and full of love.
This is the reason why we should also glorify God by beleiving in His Son Jesus Christ whom He put forward as a sacrifice for our sins. Failure to believe and put your trust in Jesus Christ, is to deny God and His redemptive plan and to call Him a liar.
I though we will be able to go through verses 1-5 but clearly that will not happen. We will continue with verses 2-5 in the next message. God bless you all.