Monday 19 January 2015

Psalm: Psalm 82

Background

This passage is the opening section of John 17, which is oftenknown as Jesus' High-Priestly Prayer. Although each of the Gospelsrecords that Jesus prayed to his Father just before his arrest,this prayer is very different from the ones in Matthew, Mark, andLuke.

This first part focuses on the Father and Jesus glorifying oneanother. In the opening chapter of John's Gospel, it says, "And theWord became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory,the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth" (John1:14). At a wedding in Cana of Galilee, Jesus did "he first ofhis signs … and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed inhim" (John 2:11). Then, however, his hour had not yetcome (John 2:4); now the hour has come for the Son ofMan to be glorified (John12:23) and when Jesus is lifted up from the earth (iecrucified) he will draw all people to himself (John12:32).

Jesus' request to his Father, "glorify your Son", is notfor his sake, but "so that the Son may glorify you". The Fatherglorifies the Son by graciously revealing himself in the death ofJesus and the Son glorifies the Father in his faithful obedience todeath. This mutual glorification also relates to the gift ofeternal life to all whom the Father has given to the Son (verse 2).Verse 3 defines "eternal life" as knowing the only true God andJesus Christ; it is important that in John's Gospel, 'knowing' hasboth intellectual and relational senses.

The theme of glory returns in verses 4 and 5: Jesusglorified the Father by completing his earthly ministry (verse 4)so now he asks to be glorified with the glory that he had in theFather's presence before the world began (verse 5). This lastphrase may bring to mind both John1:14 (quoted above) and the opening verses of John's Gospel:"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and theWord was God. He was in the beginning with God" (John1:1-2).

To Ponder

• When do you and other people use the word 'glory'? And what doyou and they mean by it? How do these compare with the ways inwhich it is used in John's Gospel? What insights have you receivedabout this from other Christians, including those of othertraditions?

• In what ways can and do Christians and the Church glorify Godtoday? How do ecumenical relations feature in your thinking aboutthis question