What is the meaning of John 17:1? When Jesus had spoken these things • This phrase links the prayer to everything Jesus had just taught in the Upper Room (John 13–16). He has washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:4-17), promised the Helper (John 14:16), and assured them, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). • The transition shows that truth leads naturally to prayer; revelation is meant to draw us into communion with the Father, as seen again in Acts 2:42 where the early believers devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” He lifted up His eyes to heaven • Jesus’ posture demonstrates confident, open fellowship with the Father (Psalm 123:1—“I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven”). • Unlike the tax collector who “would not even lift up his eyes to heaven” (Luke 18:13), Jesus looks upward because He is sinless and wholly at home before the throne. • Mark 7:34 records the same upward glance when He healed the deaf man, showing that looking heavenward expresses reliance on the Father’s power. and said, “Father” • By beginning with the single word “Father,” Jesus highlights His unique Sonship (John 5:17-18) and invites believers into the same family relationship He later secures for them (John 20:17). • This address mirrors the model prayer “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), grounding all requests in filial trust rather than distant formality. • John 1:14 affirms, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only Son from the Father,” underscoring the intimacy behind the title. the hour has come • Throughout the Gospel Jesus has said, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20), but now the decisive moment arrives—the cross, resurrection, and exaltation collectively called “the hour” (John 12:23-24). • Galatians 4:4 speaks of God sending His Son “when the fullness of time had come,” showing that this hour is not random but divinely appointed. • The phrase assures us that history unfolds on God’s precise timetable; nothing about Christ’s sacrifice is accidental. Glorify Your Son • Jesus asks the Father to clothe Him once more with the glory He shared “before the world existed” (John 17:5). That glory will shine through the cross, the empty tomb, and His ascension (Hebrews 2:9—“crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death”). • The request is not self-centered. It affirms that the Son’s exaltation is essential for God’s redemptive plan (Philippians 2:9-11, where every knee bends at His exalted name). • John 8:54 reminds us, “It is My Father who glorifies Me,” signaling that the Father delights to honor the Son. that Your Son may glorify You • The mutual glorification within the Godhead is the prayer’s heartbeat. As the Father lifts up the Son, the Son displays the Father’s love, justice, and holiness before the universe (John 13:31-32). • Jesus’ obedience unto death reveals the Father’s character more clearly than any other act (Romans 3:25-26—God is “just and the justifier” through the cross). • Ultimately every creature joins in the praise: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory” (Revelation 5:12-13). summary John 17:1 captures the moment Jesus turns from teaching to interceding. Having finished His earthly instruction, He lifts His eyes in confident intimacy, acknowledges the divinely appointed hour, and asks for the Father to glorify Him so that He, in turn, may glorify the Father. The verse reveals the seamless unity of purpose within the Trinity and anchors our salvation in the Father’s plan, the Son’s obedient sacrifice, and the shared glory that results. |
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