Day 1182: The hope of glory – John 17 vs 24 – 18 vs 1

24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25-26 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. John 17:24 – 18:1 English Standard Version

We come to the fourth petition of Jesus’ prayer in which He prays that His disciples might one day be with Him, and see His glory. Is there any wonder that when John came to write his memoirs of Christ, he began by saying: “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” He then went on to say that: “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,2 & 14)

Looking back, John was already starting to see what Jesus now prayed for the disciples saying: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” It seems that there was more in store for the disciples than the glory they'd seen when Jesus was in the world! They would see the glory that was His before ever the world was made. What a tremendous prospect!

In Romans 8:18, Paul says: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” And In 2 Corinthians 2:7-10 he says: “We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But just as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”

So while both John and Paul spoke openly about the glory of Christ which He had made known to them, they both anticipated the day when they would see His eternal glory. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-2) This is the glorious hope that awaits all God's people!

Jesus also said He would continue to make the Father's name known “so that the love with which the Father loved the Son may be in them . . .” The glory He prayed they would see is surely the love which the Father loved Him with from all eternity. Paul speaks of that in 1 Corinthians 13, and says: “now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

John's application of Jesus' prayer is in 1 John 3:3-6 where he says: “Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practises lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.”

So do we hope to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ? Then let us not 'keep on sinning', but let us learn to walk in the love He calls us to. His prayer becomes more significant when we see He prayed it just before going to the garden across the Kidron Valley, where He would be arrested, and taken away to be crucified.