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Author: Stephen Weller
811 words, 4 minutes read time

The Hour Has Come!

Scripture: John 17:1-3

With the previous lesson we finished a short section of two lessons in which Jesus spoke of his return to the Father. Following that return the Spirit would be sent to take his place in the lives of believers and the persecution that Jesus experienced would shift to his followers. With this lesson we will begin a much longer section which is devoted to what is known as “The High Priestly Prayer”; a prayer for himself, his disciples, and those he leaves behind who will follow him in faith.

^{Jn 17:1} When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

The words that Jesus “had spoken” are those of chapters 13 – 16. Jesus now lifts up his eyes to heaven, which was then a popular position for prayer, and begins to pray. We see this in the Old Testament when the Psalmist lifted up his eyes to the one enthroned in the heavens (Psalm 123:1). An example in the New Testament finds Jesus looking up to heaven, sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” (Mark 7:34).

Jesus begins what is known as the high priestly prayer. All of chapter 17 is devoted to this prayer and is divided up into three sections. Jesus first prays for himself (verses 1 – 5), then he prays for his disciples (verses 6 – 19), and finally he prays for future believers (verses 20 – 26).

Jesus begins his prayer by saying, “Father, the hour has come.” In the gospel of John “the hour” refers to the time of the crucifixion when his saving work is accomplished in his atoning death on the cross. Jesus, who was without sin, volunteers to take our place and suffer the penalty for our sins, thereby removing the effects of our sin allowing us to be reconciled to, or to be made right before God.

His first request for himself is for his Father to glorify him. Referring to himself as “your Son” is a claim to deity as the Son of God. This claim is further strengthened by requesting to be glorified because in Isaiah 42:8 and 48:11, we learn that God does not give his glory to any other. So, to glorify Jesus would imply that Jesus is God. Jesus request to be glorified so that he can glorify his Father. Indirectly, Jesus is asking for strength to endure the cross through which he glorifies God.

Jesus then claims that he was given authority by the Father “over all flesh, to give eternal life as a gift to all whom [the Father has] given him.” Our coming to Jesus coincides with the Father’s giving. It is the Father who chooses and gives but in that process there will never be anyone who is not given that wants to come.

Jesus describes eternal life as knowing the only true God and himself who was sent by the Father. Knowing God is not just having intellectual knowledge but also having an intimate relationship that includes knowing God as a person that one has fellowship with. Knowing God as “the only true God” implies that there is only one God and all others are god’s that we create. John 5:44 speaks of the “only God” and in 1 John 5:20, Jesus Christ is described as “the true God and eternal life.”

There is only one true God and he is manifested as three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. We know the Father through knowing the Son. We know the Son from a study of the New Testament, and we know the Spirit from our experience with him living in our lives. As a Son, Jesus is unique in that he was God who took on a body of human flesh (John 1:14), and we know the Father (John 1:18). Jesus was given as our perfect sacrifice (John 3:16) and anyone who truly believes in him is not condemned but stands justified before God (John 3:18).

Conclusion

As Jesus cries out “Father, the hour has come” we can hardly imagine the emotions that are flooding in on him as he knows what lies before him during the next few hours. Jesus prays about his relationship with the Father and speaks of his role in eternal life for us. We really need to get our minds around what Jesus is about to do for us in our rescue from going to eternal destruction in hell.