John 17:1–5
Through the cross, the Son restores eternal glory and secures eternal life.
1 Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
2 even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
4 I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.
5 Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
Through the cross, the Son restores eternal glory and secures eternal life.
To reveal the Son’s prayer for glorification and define eternal life through relational knowledge of God.
This prayer follows the Farewell Discourse and precedes arrest in Gethsemane. It shifts from instruction to intercession. Jesus now addresses the Father directly concerning His mission and those given to Him.
Jewish high priests interceded on behalf of the people, particularly on the Day of Atonement. Prayer before significant covenant events was common. Glory (δόξα) language evoked divine presence in temple theology.
The Son’s High Priestly Prayer: Glory, Preservation, Sanctification, Unity, Mission, and Love
Jesus, having completed the Father’s work, prays that the Father would glorify him through the cross, preserve and sanctify his disciples in the truth, unite all believers in divine love, and bring them to behold his glory forever.