15.01.07 Jn. 17:1-5
JESUS PRAYS FOR HIMSELF
1 Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come.
Glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You,
2 for You gave Him authority over all flesh;
so He may give eternal life to all You have given Him.
3 This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God,
and the One You have sent — Jesus Christ.
4 I have glorified You on the earth
by completing the work You gave Me to do.
5 Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You
before the world existed.
The chiastic structure is explained in the following manner:
A Father, glorify the Son (v. 1c)
B The Son will glorify the Father (v. 1d)
C Those given by the Father to the Son (v. 2a-c)
D Eternal life (v. 2d)
D’ Eternal life (v. 3a)
C’ Those who know the Father and the Son (v. 3b)
B’ The Son glorified the Father (v. 4)
A’ Father glorify the Son (v. 5)
John 17 is the high priestly prayer of Jesus. He not only prayed for Himself, His disciples/apostles, and for His followers, but with this prayer He is seen in transition from Prophet to Priest. Throughout His life, prayer was a necessity and He regularly withdrew to a quiet place for private prayer (Mk. 1:35, 6:46; Lk. 5:16). Luke made notation that Jesus prayed before every major decision or event (3:21; 6:12, 9:18, 29, 22:32, 34, 23:6). The quiet olive orchard of the “Garden of Gethsemane” was only a few hundred yards from the temple and was a favorite place where He prayed (Lk. 22:39). When Jesus prayed for Himself, He asked His Father to “glorify your Son.” It was the crescendo of His ministry to save humanity from the death of sin; to restore the image of God in those who would trust Him. It was for this purpose He desired to come from the beginning of the world. It is noteworthy that in verse 5, and elsewhere in the New Testament, the divinity of Jesus is clearly stated.[1]
[1]. For passages that refer to the deity of Christ, see Mt. 1:18-25, 3:17, 17:5; Lk. 3:22; Jn. 1:1, 14, 18, 33-34, 3:16-18; 1 Jn. 4:9; Isa. 9:6; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 1:15; 2:9.