1Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7“Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood [know] that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
Interesting Words
glorify
(δοξάζω – Greek) – doxazó ► render or esteem glorious, glorify, honor, bestow glory on, to ascribe weight by recognizing real substance (value) – Matt 5:16, 9:6-7, 8; 15:31;
know
(γινώσκω – Greek) – ginóskó ► come to know, recognize, perceive, take in knowledge, come to know, learn; ascertained, realized – John 1:9-10; 10:14-15; 14:16-17; Matt 13:11;
true
(ἀληθινός – Greek) – aléthinos ► true (lit: made of truth), real, genuine – John 4:23, 6:32, 15:1;
truth
(ἀλήθεια – Greek) – alétheia ► truth, but not merely truth as spoken; truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness, properly, truth (true to fact), reality, synonymous for “reality” as the opposite of illusion, – John 1:14, 4:24, 8:32, 14:6; 17:16-17, 18-19;
manifest
(φανερόω – Greek) – phaneroó ► manifest, make known, make visible, make clear, from phṓs, “light”, properly, illumine, make manifest (visible) – John 2:11; 9:3; 2 Cor 4:10,
Cross References
▪︎ Matt 28:19-20 – God and make disciples
▪︎ John 20:21 – Sent to carry on His ministry
▪︎ 2Tim 2:2 – Commit to faithful men the things you have learned.
Discussion Questions
1. What is the primary purpose for life as demonstrated by Jesus in the first few verses?
▪︎ To glorify God in truth – Col 3:10; 2Cor 5:17;
▪︎ That we should live a life that is completely honoring to God at all times.
▪︎ To walk in obedience.
▪︎ That all things given to our charge should be returned back to God with all honor and glory – the parable of the talents (Matt_25:14-30
19“Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20“The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
22“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
24“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
29“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
▪︎ He was confident that the results glorified God – John 17:4, 6, 12;
2. How does knowledge enhance or improve our ability to glorify God? Note: there are 8 references to ginóskó (know) in the chapter.
▪︎ True worshippers worship in spirit and truth. This requires knowing the subject of your worship.
▪︎ How can you glorify someone you do not know?
▪︎ Unity with God requires knowledge of Him and His ways – John 17:23;
▪︎ God wants us to spread His knowledge to the world around us because they do not know Him – John 17: 25-26;
▪︎ Knowledge brings with it His love and that allows us to share that love with the world.
▪︎ As we share Christ with the world and they come to know Him, glory and honor are magnified to Him.
▪︎ Spiritual DNA now changed so that we can know Him and the gift of His character to us. A gift we could never find on our own.
3. What are the implications of this kind of knowledge?
▪︎ As mankind, we are capable of true communion and fellowship with God.
▪︎ This is expressed in its fullest sense in (ζωή – Greek) – koinonia ► fellowship, partnership, sharing in common.
► Fellowship with the Spirit – koinonia Phil 2:1;
► Fellowship with God – 1Cor 1:8-9;
► Participation in the Gospel – Phil 1:5;
► Participation in His sufferings – Phil 3:10;
► Fellowship with one another – 1John 1:3, 7;
4. How did Jesus manifest God to the disciples (John 17:6)?
▪︎ He was continually in intimate fellowship with the Father, and consequently, He could readily disclose God’s character to the disciples – John 14:21;
▪︎ He worked the works of God before their eyes – John 9:3-4
▪︎ He communicated to them using God’s words – John 17:8;
▪︎ He prayed for them faithfully – Mark 1:35; John 17:11;
▪︎ He reproved them and guided them into all truth – John 17:12;
5. How do you think Jesus was able to gauge His success?
▪︎ He could see their changed lives, thru their obedience to the Scripture – John 14:21, 17:6;
▪︎ They received His words and understood Jesus’ divine identity and the source of His wisdom – John 17:7-8;
▪︎ They were markedly different from others who are out in the world – John 17:9;
▪︎ What the did and what they have become glorifies Jesus – John 17:10;
▪︎ They glorify Jesus, who in turn passes that glory on to the Father – John 17:10
6. What realities are highlighted in John 17:11?
▪︎ We are in the church age, where we walk by faith not by sight – 2Cor 5:7; Rom 1:17;
▪︎ Jesus is not with us physically – John 17:11;
▪︎ This is all part of our job of faith and hope… waiting, trusting – Rom 8:24-25;
▪︎ Our only hope is to remain focused on Jesus and God, and trust in His name, character.
▪︎ We can be confident in our behavior because God is at work in us keeping us in His name, in His character – Phil 1:6; 2Cor 4:7;
▪︎ Future promises include a union with God and Christ unlike anything we have experienced to date – Eph 3:20; 2Cor 5:20;
7. How can these realities be dealt with so that our ministries may be successful?
▪︎ First off it is not our ministry but God’s. He called us; He will support us.
▪︎ Get priorities right… our number one task is to glorify God. We cannot do that. He has to glorify Himself in and thru us.
▪︎ We have an enormous cache of weapons and helps, God will be keeping us in His name, His process.
▪︎ We need to concentrate on following Jesus’ example… working the works of God – John 5:19;
▪︎ Work God’s works John 9:3-4; 1Cor 15:10; Eph 2:10; Col 1:28-29;