John chapter 17 provides the opportunity for us to eavesdrop on Jesus praying to the Heavenly Father. His betrayal and arrest in Gethsemane were imminent; he’d completed his ministry among the people of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea; and he’d just concluded the final preparation of his disciples for the disorienting events that would surround his crucifixion. But before stepping into the final phase of his mission and fixing his gaze on Calvary, John described him lifting his eyes toward heaven.
The transcript of what flowed from his heart in that pivotal moment ripples out in concentric circles. He prayed for himself (verses 1-5), his original disciples (verses 6-19), and then for all those who would come to faith through their testimony (verses 20-26). As we consider his prayer, it calls for deep humility and a reverence for the undeserved privilege it invites us into. This is God, the Son, speaking to God, the Father!
The first section of the prayer begins with Jesus giving voice to what both Father and Son already knew. The hour had come. They’d arrived at the fulcrum of redemptive history. The plan for saving our lost race had reached its climax. But his next words were stunningly unexpected. He understood – more than any of us have the capacity to grasp – what was about to be required of him. And yet, there’s no complaint or expression of dread. Instead, he welcomed the coming suffering as that which would both glorify him and enable him to reflect glory back to the Father. Glory is the divine word for beauty. And he said this reflected glory would result from the exercise of his authority to provide eternal life to all those the Father would give him.
But then, he offered a surprising definition of eternal life. Instead of describing it in terms of duration – life without end – he described it in terms of relationship. He wasn’t denying that it continues forever as the word eternal implies, but he was saying it’s far more than that. The word translated here as life is not the one for biological or psychological life. It’s the one the New Testament uses to identify the life of the spirit, and Jesus said it would be characterized by a knowledge of God. The word translated as know carries the idea of a growing and experiential knowledge of what is known. In other words, he was talking about a knowing that is ongoing and developing – relational. His coming sacrifice would result in the availability of a never-ending and ever-expanding relationship with God for anyone who would receive it by placing their trust in his authority to offer it.
As he concluded this personal section of the prayer, Jesus circled back to the theme of glory. He said the accomplishment of his redemptive assignment would result in the Father being glorified on earth. But then, Jesus expressed his yearning to once again share in the glory that had always been his as the second person of the Trinity.
And that reveals another layer of the price Jesus paid so that we could have the eternal life he’d just defined. He willingly endured the abandonment of his disciples, suffered the horrific physical pain of his torture, and experienced the forsaking of the Father as he became sin for us on the cross. But he did all that while clothed with the indignities and limitations of human flesh. Although he remained fully divine, he chose to set aside his divine prerogatives to secure our salvation.
And that one-sentence disclosure of our Savior’s longing for a return to glory contained in verse 5 moves me to deeper worship as I consider afresh what he sacrificed. And my heart compels me to say, “I love you, Jesus.”