But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. --2 Corinthians 3:18
The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But He answered and said unto them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."
Do you see the connection? The overriding theme of Jesus' ministry can be summed up in these two ideas: Glory to God, and peace on earth. These two things are specifically what Jesus prayed for in the last section of John 17. He said:
I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (John 17:20-23)
Remember the context, that Jesus started praying in verses 1-5 specifically for Himself; He then broadened His prayer, asking God's protection and joy for the eleven disciples who were present there with Him. In our passage today, Jesus is praying for us, for you and me. We are the ones who believe because of the testimony of disciples who have gone before us.
NT Wright, in his commentary John For Everyone, writes, "Jesus is [here] talking about you. And me. 'Those who believe in Me through their word,' that is, through the word of His followers. His followers announced the message around the world. Those who heard them passed it on. And on, and on, and on. The church is never more than one generation away from extinction; all it would take is for a singel generation not to hand the word on. But it's never happened. People have always told other people. It's awesome, when you come to think about it."
What does Jesus pray for specifically for us? First, He prays for peace and unity, "that they may be one." Historically, there have been divisions among believers. In the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, John was told to write to seven different churches, each in their own city, and each with their own errors in interpreting Scripture. Today, there are an estimated 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Each may have differing interpretations of minor Scriptural passages, but most adhere to the same central doctrine of the Gospel: that Christ lived a sinless life; that he died a substitutionary death for us, taking our sin upon Himself and becoming our perfect sacrifice; and that He rose from the dead on the third day, to the glory of God.
Puritan preacher Thomas brooks wrote, "Discord and divisions become no Christian. For wolves to worry the lambs is no wonder, but for one lamb to worry another, this is unnatural and monstrous." Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Beloved, those in whom Christ lives are not uniform, but one. Uniformity may be found in death, but this unity is life. Those who are quite uniform may yet have no love to each other, while those who differ widely may still be truly and intensely one. Our children are not uniform, but they make one family.”
There are two sub-headings in this petition for unity. The first is that it might be for God's glory. "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one (verse 22)." Bible commentator David Guzik writes, "Where there is a sense of God’s glory, unity is so much easier. Lesser things that often divide us are set far in the background when there is a sense of God’s glory at work."
The second sub-heading in Christ's High Priestly prayer for unity among Christians is love. "I in them and You in Me; that they may made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me" (verse 23). Warren Wiersbe writes in his The Bible Exposition Commentary, "It has well been said that truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy." David Guzik takes this even further:
- Take love from joy and you have only hedonism.
- Take love from holiness and you have self-righteousness.
- Take love from truth and you have bitter orthodoxy.
- Take love from mission and you have conquest.
- Take love from unity and you have tyranny.
This leads us to the second part of Jesus' prayer for us.
Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:24-26)
Dr. Wiersbe said that he has often used verse 24 as a text for funeral sermons. "How do we know that Christians go to heaven? Because of the price that Jesus paid (1 Thes. 5:9-10), and the promise that Jesus made (John 14:1-6), and the prayer that Jesus prayed (John 17:24). The Father always answers His Son's prayers, so we know that believers who die do go to heaven to behold the glory of God.
This glory--God's own glory--is what Jesus said would occupy the attention of His people in Heaven. "There must be something so deep, so enthralling, so vast to the glory of Jesus that it can occupy the attention of God’s people in eternity" (Guzik). The latter part of verse 24 gives us a glimpse of the relationship between the Father and the Son. "For You have loved Me before the foundation of the world." Jesus said this in connection with the glory that God the Father gave to God the Son. This glory was given in the context of a love relationship, and a love relationship extending into eternity past.
Jesus sums up His High Priestly prayer in verses 25 and 26. Assuming that He knew already the pain and agony which He would suffer on the cross, and assuming also that he already knew that the disciples would temporarily fall away, this makes the triumphant tone all the more striking. "I have declared Your name,'' He says, "and I will declare it." As for the disciples, which includes you and me, "The love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
God's love is greater than our mistakes. It is greater than our puny, feeble, faltering faith; His great love is greater even than our sin. This is a glimpse of God's glory in us, and our basis for joy in unity with fellow believers.
