Sweet were the moments the disciples heard the Lord’s high priestly prayer. Jesus in His prayer requested the Father to glorify Him, so that He in turn might glorify the Father, as He reverently lifted up His eyes to Heaven. He knew the hour had come when He was about to be glorified through suffering and death.
The Father’s glorifying the Son thus refers to the dark path of death that must be taken before the glory of the resurrection, ascension and exaltation at the Father’s right hand would be realized.
This thought of glorification of the Father is expanded in John 17: 2-4. It entails His authority over the entire fallen human race to grant eternal life to all whom the Father has given Him.
The Son confessed that He had glorified the Father on earth by perfect obedience to His will. This gave the Son a triumphal testimony. “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” (17: 4)
Jesus prayed that He might be restored to the divine glory of His pre-incarnate state. (17:5) This was the “form of God” (Phil. 2: 6) in which He existed co-eternally with God as the “Word” which was God.
By the “world” Jesus meant the material universe. Thus the Son was the Creator of all things and hence existed before all things. As the pre-existent One, co-eternal and co-equal with the Father, He was only Creator but also Life Giver – the source of all physical, spiritual and eternal life. (John 1: 4) His glory was the majestic, ineffable splendour of the “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. (John 1: 18 American KJV)
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