The Love
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 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. 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.”
John 17:20-26 (ESV)
Jesus concludes the prayer presented as John 17 by praying for people who follow Him and their influence on the world. He prays for “those who will believe in me through their word” (John 17:20), meaning through the witness of the disciples, which includes each follower of Christ today. He prays for us. He prays that we might be one, that we might be transformed through His holy indwelling, that we might dwell in Him and God the Father, and that our unity and indwelling will be obvious to the world “so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
He prays for our glorious transformation with specific purposes in mind. Twice in the passage above Jesus says, “so that the world… so that the world….” To help us along that incredible path, Jesus gives us His glory. The glory that God the Father gave to Jesus, Jesus gives to us for three purposes: 1) so that we might be one, 2) so that we might dwell in God the Father and Christ Jesus, and 3) “so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23).
While Jesus gives us His glory, He also wants us to see His glory. He continues praying, saying He desires that the people given to Him by God the Father will live with Him where He is, and that they (or we?) might see His glory (see John 17:24). Can you imagine what it will be like to bask in Jesus’ heavenly glory? Isaiah and John each witnessed Jesus in His heavenly glory, and their accounts are terrifyingly awesome. Here is John’s description (see Isaiah 6 for his account):
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings[a] and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. Revelation 4:2-6
John experienced Jesus’ heavenly glory while in the Spirit. Scripture also reveals that physical changes occur when a human physically encounters God’s glory. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God said that no man could see His face and live, but He allowed Moses to see the back of His head (see Exodus 34:17-23). Moses went up Mount Sinai as God instructed Him, and he saw God’s glory. This is how God’s holy word records his return to camp:
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:29-30
Moses was physically changed by his encounter with God’s glory. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was also physically changed by an encounter with heavenly glory. Luke records the following event known as the Transfiguration:
And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Luke 9:29-32
People around Moses and Jesus knew they had each encountered God because their appearance glowed with God’s glory. If Jesus gives His people His glory, shouldn’t they shine? Wouldn’t their physical appearance glow? Their spiritual transformation should somehow be apparent to the world around them because Jesus prays for this with a goal in mind. His goal is that the world will know that God the Father sent Jesus, and Jesus is who He claims to be. Jesus’ glory must change the people to whom it is given, otherwise, how would the world know?
What is your experience with God’s glory? How have you encountered it. How have others perceived your encounter?
Jesus concludes the prayer saying,
“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.” John 17:25-26
He contrasts people who know Him through intimate personal experience with everyone else in the world. Jesus makes God the Father, His essence, His character, His name known to those who believe, and He promises to continue doing so. And He does this with stated purposes. He does this so that God the Father’s love and Christ Jesus Himself may be in the community of believers.
The entire prayer is incredibly hopeful and forward looking. Jesus discusses things He will accomplish well into the future, and He discusses, with tremendous affection, God the Father’s love for Him, describing it as “the love with which you have loved me.”
Let’s back up and reconsider the setting. Jesus and the disciples had just finished the Passover feast. Judas left the meal early on his route of betrayal. Jesus knows that shortly after praying the prayer recorded as John 17, He will walk to the Garden of Gethsemane where He will surrender to guards. Soon after that He will be tortured and crucified. And why? Why is He surrendering to death on a cross? He does this because it is God the Father’s will. Jesus knows everything that is about to happen, yet He prays about God the Father’s love for Him, and He prays that the same love will be in us.
Do we want that? If God’s love for us and if accomplishing God’s will look like crucifixion, do we want it? How could we possibly want it? The only possible way is if Christ Jesus and God the Father dwell within us to such an extent that we are truly transformed into His holy image, and we truly know His holy will, and even then, we might not want it. Matthew describes Jesus in the garden, shortly before the guards arrived with Judas, as follows:
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39
Jesus wanted to let the cup pass. He did not want to drink it. Earlier that week He bravely said,
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” John 12:27-28
But now, as the hour neared, Jesus explained that if He had His preference, He would let the cup pass. But He carried on, implementing God the Father’s will rather than His own.
When we, with our human blinders on, consider what love looks like, we think of nurturing, protection, gentleness, peace, rest, and similar characteristics. We think of fruit of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24
We think of Paul’s so called Love Chapter:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
We do not think of the ugliness of Christ’s passion as love, but it is. God loves us. If His will involves our suffering, we should consider the possibility that His glory is being served through it, even if we are unable to see how. God loves you. No matter what you are experiencing, God loves you.
May you know Him, may you experience Him, may you receive His glory, may the world know His love through you. Amen.