Lesson 96

Chapter 17 contains the beautiful and poetic prayer of Jesus. It is not so much that this chapter contains any new revelation about Jesus or His relationship to His Father or to His disciples. It is rather that this restatement is so powerfully written that its impact is magnified on the reader. This passage in particular is one that should really be read and studied as a whole chapter. It is unfortunate that due to the constraints of our format we must parcel it into little pieces. For the sake of encouraging the reader to take the small amount of time to read this chapter completely, I have excerpted it to a page of its own and I encourage you to read it completely through at least once. Chapter 17

Jesus begins His prayer by acknowledging that His time has come. He calls on the Father to glorify Him even as He has glorified the Father. Men constantly seek after glory that we do not truly deserve. Christ sought glory because it was rightly His and because that glory that was given to Him glorified His Father. If the Son is honored and revered, it is because He was sent by the Father and proved to be obedient, even obedient unto death.

He says that the Father has given Him authority over all flesh. That means Christ had authority even over those that would crucify Him and that He has authority over you and I as well. It does not matter whether those who sought His death submit to His authority. They could have done nothing to Him if it had not been in the will of God that He sacrifice Himself for our sakes. But, in order that God might reconcile Himself to His creation, Jesus was willing to suffer for our sake, to bear the punishment that we rightly deserved.

And, He says that to those that the Father has given to Him, He will give eternal life. The Son has life in Himself and to those that believe in His name He is willing to give life. The life that He gives is His own. Eternal life is not measured in time; rather, it is measured in quality. Eternal life is knowing the true God, the true Father, and the one that He sent to us, Jesus Christ. Eternal life is the life of Christ living in us even now.

Before the world existed, Christ dwelt with the Father in glory, united and coexistent. Though the Word had set aside His glory for a time and made Himself like unto a servant, He now would receive even more glory. He received more glory than ever because He had accomplished all that the Father had sent Him to do. The will of God had been accomplished. The Son had come to the world of men and told them the Word of God.

The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. He brought eternal life with Him because when men saw Him, they saw the Father as well. God had revealed His glory and holiness to men already. Jesus Christ came to reveal His grace and love. His grace and love do not overcome His holiness or glory; they merely temper them with mercy. Christ is the mercy of God and the peace of God.

Do you seek glory? You will only find it in Christ. Do you seek eternal life? It is only to be found in the Living Word. In all things Christ is glorified. He has been given authority over all flesh. He has been given authority over you!