The Cross-The Display of God's Glory
John 17:1-5 ~ Terry Phillips
April 1, 2018
I'm going to ask you to turn with me to John chapter 17 once again to continue our study in this most blessed portion of God's Word, the Lord's prayer to the Father. I want to read the first five verses if I could this morning as we begin,
These things Jesus spoke and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life, and this is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given me to do. And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
At times I have noticed my difficulty in concentrating my attention on one specific thing even for a little while. I don't know if you've noticed that as well. There are times this really has been brought to my attention. Or maybe I should say I have become aware of it. This, of course, is especially concerning when it comes to spiritual things. There's a tendency to drift, you know, we begin many times in our minds, in our thoughts in the right direction, we're concentrating on those things that we know honor the Lord, and our minds just sort of drift. I don't know if you have that problem, but I do. There's this vulnerability of being too easily distracted from eternally significant matters by the pressing needs or the concerns of the here and the now, the moment, “yes, but what about this and this that is going on?” -- that creeps into our heads or minds, as we even set aside time to focus our attention directly and exclusively on the Lord. Obviously, we have plenty of potential distractions on which to blame our lack of discipline, but it does seem to me as I thought about this recently, I think we have become more and more weakened if you will, or maybe we have become less and less practiced in being determined to put first things first. First things first, especially in regards to my ability to focus on those things that really matter.
One of the most impressive aspects of the example of the Lord Jesus Christ is His determined focus on those things that matter most. Have you noticed that, do you appreciate that about the Lord? I've come to really appreciate that about the Lord Jesus. He had and He gave a very determined attention to those things that matter the most and we can't say that He wasn't, that there weren't opportunities for Him to be distracted. There were many. None of us could possibly know the pressures that were placed upon the Lord Jesus, all of the people demanding His time and His attention. Plenty of matters that would have summoned His focus away from the things that come first, but He simply did not, He would not allow it. This is what matters most, and Jesus focused, He remained focused in His attention on those things. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the weeks, the days, the moments leading up to and including those moments of suffering and sacrifice on our behalf on the cross. Jesus was intensely focused on what He had come into this world to do, to accomplish.
At the time, at this point in time, as we are studying in John's Gospel, at this point in time, as the time draws very near, Jesus demonstrates an intense attentiveness to the highest priorities of the coming moments. The time of our Lord's suffering and death comprise the defining moment for all of human history and the eternal ages to come. This is it. This is the moment. This is the time that matters, as the writer of Hebrews puts it, at the consummation of the ages. All of time before it is leading to this, even the eternal ages, as we will see shortly, and everything following it is based upon it, is built upon this moment of time. This is the one event in all of human history that sinners desperately need to understand. We’re told that history is an important subject, right? It is an important subject. There's much we can learn from history, but if you learned nothing from history--this is the one thing that we can't afford not to understand. In the grand scope of things, nothing else really matters, does it? What took place at this point in time, the consummation of the ages.
I draw your attention to the first verse in this, in the Lord's prayer. The very first few words of the Lord's prayer to the Father establish this, the utterly unique importance of this moment in time. Notice how Jesus begins: Father, the hour has come, the hour has come. Jesus then confirms that the highest priority of this most significant hour is indeed the making known of the divine glory. This is what's on the Lord's mind as He focuses intently on the hour that has finally come. This is what everything has been leading up to. It's hard for us to imagine the enormity of this moment. We don't have the perspective, we don't have the background, the Son of God did. Everything had been moving towards this. This was it. The culmination of all those many prophecies through the Old Testament, and even the culmination of God's eternal purpose established from eternity past before the world was. The cruelty, the agony, the shame of the cross would ultimately comprise a display of God's glory beyond anything that mere mortals could have imagined. Who among us could have perceived, could have put together, conceived of anything like this? The single, the greatest reality of the cross is the display of God's glory. Pure and simple, it is the single greatest reality of the cross. That is the display of God's glory. Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee. There are numerous and significant details concerning our Lord suffering and death, and they are all worthy of the most careful consideration, but we need to always keep in mind that in the end, they all lead us to one overriding purpose. The defining moment for all of time and eternity is an exhibition of the glory of God like no other.
Father, the hour has come. Jesus was intent, and this is, I think, so very important for us to recognize this, Jesus is intent on making these things known before the event takes place. Jesus hasn't been crucified, at the moment He speaks these words, He hasn't even been arrested. The disciples are not able yet to conceive of what's about to unfold. But Jesus is explaining to them, He's giving them a look ahead and He's allowing them, He's granting to them and to us the opportunity to see the cross for what it really is. In the moments that follow, when you think about what these men would have experienced as they saw the Lord led away, as they saw the mockery of a trial, as they saw the way He was abused and then finally hung on that cross to die. With all the pain and the suffering and the public shame involved, it would have been very difficult for them to keep these words in view, to keep them in mind and we can be sure that they did not in many respects. We know that from the testimony, from the record that we’re given, but these words were there for them, not simply to encourage them in the moment, but come back to, to meditate upon, to realize at a later time, to explain what they had seen.
We've already noticed that the first thing Jesus emphasizes is the fact that the Father and the Son share the glory of the cross. There's a shared glory in this moment. It is not just the Father's glory on display. It is not just the Son’s glory on display, it is the Father and the Son together-- glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee --there is a perfect cohesion within the Godhead in the accomplishing of eternal salvation for sinners. The Father sends His Son into this world and delivers Him up for us all. The Son lays down His life, His own perfect life, as the fully adequate sacrifice for our sins. The Holy Spirit of God infuses into the soul of the sinner the life that the Son imparts through His suffering, His death and His resurrection. God is glorified in and through the cross, with all of its sweeping implications, not just in the moments themselves, not just in that moment of time, but in the effects that would have, the implications that would permeate all of human history and the ages of eternity. God is glorified.
Secondly, we have noticed that God's glory is made known in the authority, it is granted exclusively to the Son in His redemptive sacrifice. His redemptive mission, if you will, that He accomplishes on the cross. Jesus is granted the authority to accomplish an extensive, a sovereign, a life-giving sacrifice on our behalf. A perfectly adequate substitute for us. This authority is granted to Him by the Father. I remind you of a passage in this regard, in Hebrews the fifth chapter, speaking of this authority being granted to Christ. Verse five of Hebrews 5: so also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee, just as He says also in another passage, Thou art a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Jesus didn't assume this authority upon Himself. It's an authority that was granted to Him by the Father. Philippians chapter 2, we see a glimpse of this as well, a passage that is so very familiar to us. Jesus emptying Himself, in verse seven, taking the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, humbles Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, God Himself exalting the Son, bestowing upon Him the name which is above every name, great, a mighty glory authorized by the Father Himself in relation specifically to Christ's redemptive work on our behalf. Jesus is the only one to Whom such authority has been granted.
I remind you also of the passage in Ephesians chapter 1, in Paul's prayer, towards the end of that chapter. Paul speaks in the 19th verse of the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe, these are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, strength of God's power that He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come, and He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things, to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. What an authority the Father has granted to the Son in His redemptive work, through His redemptive sacrifice. An authority presiding above all rule, all other dominions, every name that is named, not only this world but in the world to come.
Thirdly, we have seen that there is the glory of the life of God imparted to undeserving sinners. Jesus speaks of this life initially in the second verse, He speaks of Him giving eternal life to those whom the Father has given to Him. By the way, Jesus speaks of this often, if you notice, in John's Gospel. This concept of those that the Father has given to Him, that this is God the Father's gift to the Son, if you will. It's a gift that the Lord Jesus delights in, these whom the Father has given to Him. Jesus speaks of giving eternal life to them, then He says, and we began to look at this last time, in verse three: This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent. Jesus speaks of this eternal life, this matter of the life of God being imparted to sinners like you and I, even through His suffering and death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, has been realized personally, intimately, experientially, in our knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent. When we look at the cross, as we mentioned last time, we see the glory of God as we see it nowhere else. The character, the nature, the purpose, the pure goodness of God. His righteousness, His justice, His faithfulness, His patience, His loving-kindness, His mercy, the riches of His grace. This life that Jesus speaks of, this eternal life, is not simply a matter of quantity, that is to say, a never-ending existence and that's it. It's a life not only of never-ending existence, but of unparalleled quality, and it’s a life that we begin to enjoy right here and now, is it not? What a precious and blessed truth this is! This is eternal life to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. This is a knowledge that we can grow in. This is a reality that we can experience, an invigorating, personal, intimate knowledge of Almighty God and His Son, our Savior and Lord.
There's such a stress, such an emphasis on this reality, throughout John's Gospel, throughout the New Testament as a whole. Recall that Jesus spoke of Himself as being the Bread of Life. You recall in John chapter 10, Jesus speaking of the fact that He came that He might have, that He might give life, that we might have life through Him and might have it abundantly. He says later on in that 10th chapter, I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish. He says to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Acts chapter 3 verse 15, Jesus is referred to as the Prince of life. Romans chapter 5 verse 17, we read this, for if by the transgression of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Of reigning in life. What contrast in that fifth chapter of Romans, death reigning through sin because of our sin, life reigning in us through Christ. Romans chapter 6 verse four: Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans chapter 8 verse two: for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Paul speaks in Second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 10, He says, speaks of this matter of always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. The life of God, this is eternal life—it’s a life that is made known, in and through you and I. A life that is granted to us, and is granted to us in Christ.
Remember what Paul says there in Colossians chapter 3, when Christ, Who is our life, shall appear--He is our life, and that life is already present. It's not that He will just be our life, He is our life, right here and right now. And that life is made known in a multitude of ways, even as our life begins to reflect more and more the life of Christ, the Almighty life of God. And a desire for a love of a pursuit of holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, love. I love the way that John puts it in First John chapter 5 verse 11, and the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. And then you have that great contrast, he who has the Son of God has the life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. That's the great contrast, is it not, and it ought to be one that we need to be reminded of how to help us appreciate this life. You recall what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, he’s speaking of the Gentiles, and he's using that word “Gentiles” there to describe those who are apart from Christ, and he speaks of them in verse 18: being darkened in their understanding--and notice this next phrase-- excluded from the life God. Do you and I appreciate the fact that we are no longer excluded from the life of God? What glory is seen in the life that the Lord Himself has granted to us.
Now, as we move a little further on into this passage, we notice something else. Notice verse four: I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. We notice the Lord's confident anticipation of His redemptive accomplishment. Jesus is already certain of the accomplishing of what He had come to do. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. We mentioned this several weeks ago. In reality, in terms of chronology that had not yet occurred. But Jesus is anticipating the fullness of this work. This work being accomplished completely. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. There's a confident expectation in the Lord Jesus regarding what He's going to do in the outcome of that work. And one of the things that really is striking is that Jesus has a delight. Jesus is delighting already, and we’ll see this more as we go through the Lord's prayer, but even now He's beginning to delight in what that means, in what the accomplishing of that work involves, especially regarding those who would come to faith in Him.
I want you to notice, I remind you of a passage that I think is fairly familiar to us in Hebrews chapter 2. Verse 11 says this: for both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will proclaim Thy name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise, and again I will put my trust in Him and again--and notice this at the end of verse 13--behold, I and the children whom God has given Me. Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me. This is something for us to ponder, this reality that the Son of the living God delights in those whom the Father had given Him, to redeem through His sacrifice on the cross. It's not something that Jesus is doing grudgingly, it's not just something He's doing out of just a very cold matter of obedience. The heart of God is in this thing. The cross is an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate, for Almighty God to demonstrate His love and His mercy like no other, and that is demonstrated in those that He refers to in this passage as His children. Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me--what a delight the Lord Jesus has in us, imagine that!
Romans chapter 15 verse seven says, wherefore accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. I ran across something that I want to read to you, just a paragraph from a man by the name of Marcus Rainsford who has a book that he wrote many, many years ago regarding the Lord's prayer. One remark that he has here, I think is so encouraging in this respect, he says,
“a fact, a people given to Christ, to take charge of, to undertake for, to wash in His blood, to clothe in His righteousness, to feed as their shepherd, to espouse as their husband, to lead triumphantly as the captain of their salvation, to subdue their corruptions, to put down their foes, to bruise Satan under their feet, to communicate to them His own life, to endow them with His own fullness, to acknowledge them as His own brethren, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. He knows them, though they do not know themselves, and though the discoveries they make of themselves, day by day, oft-times startled them, yet their heavenly Savior knew it all before. He values them all, who can tell at what a price He gave Himself for them! He gives Himself to them. He rules heaven and earth for their interests. He is their appointed Head, and it will be the triumph of His grace to present them without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.”
I love that! What blessed truth that Jesus--His focus, even as He is looking ahead to the pain and the suffering, the unspeakable shame of the cross--He's looking ahead confidently to this fact that His glory will be seen. His life will be made known. He Himself will be admired in His people and His children. Have you ever had occasion to admire a parent in their children? I know each of us have. We've seen someone, we recognize them as a child of someone we've known, and in their children, we even gain a new appreciation of that parent. Has that ever happened? Just take that and times it infinitely, if you will, in relation to the Lord Jesus. His being admired in his people. We have become His people. This is a further evidence of divine glory.
As Jesus speaks of this accomplishment, there's no question, there's no doubt. This ought to encourage us greatly. Jesus is not doubting—now we know Jesus was in great anguish as He approached the cross--but there is not a shred of doubt to be seen in the Son of God, as to whether or not His sacrifice would be sufficient. He was confident that it would be, and He is already rejoicing in it, looking ahead to what it will accomplish. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. There's no doubt in the accomplishing of His crowning achievement, as Jesus looks ahead to the cross.
See another evidence of this in Second Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 10, we’re told that Paul is encouraging the saints at Thessalonica to look ahead to, to anticipate that day when He comes to be glorified in His saints. Second Thessalonians 1, the first part of the 10th verse, when He comes to be glorified in His saints. Later on, the second chapter verse 13 and 14: but we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth, and it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a thing. What a thing to anticipate!
One last thing this morning I want you to notice. And that is the glory of God displayed in the redemptive purpose and unified fellowship within the Trinity from eternity past, Jesus says, and now glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father--and this is very interesting what the Lord says then--with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. Now, stop and think about what Jesus is saying here. This is not a new glory that Jesus is looking forward to. This is not a glory, as Jesus looks ahead to the cross, a glory that He's waiting to have bestowed upon Him that He's never known, that He's never possessed before. This is a glory that Jesus has had and enjoyed in perfect harmony and fellowship within the Godhead from before the world began.
I don't know about you but I really love to come into contact with things that have been around a long time. I love to come into contact with something that's really good, of great value and has stayed the same for a long period of time. There's a reason why people advertise their businesses, a lot of times, and they'll say “established in such and such a time.” That's not something that you're ashamed of, that's something you're proud of. We've been here for 50 years, 150 years. I remember a number of years ago I was buying a digging spade from a company and they were saying, they were priding themselves in the fact that this had come, had been made in a forge in England, that had been continuously in operation for I forget how many hundreds of years. I have to admit I was impressed. You don't see that kind of thing very often. There's nothing quite so encouraging, nothing quite so comforting and assuring, nothing quite so impressive to those of us whose lives are but a fleeting vapor, than perpetual and harmonious continuity. This isn't just something that has come on the scene recently. This isn't just something that was thought up and came into view all of a sudden, as it were. It may appear that way to us at times, but that's not the reality. Jesus is looking not just forward, but He's looking backwards here. He's ready to exhibit a glory, to appreciate once again His glory with the Father, the glory that He had with the Father from before the world began. This moment that Christ is leading up to in His sacrifice, His death, His suffering, is a moment that had been anticipated within the Godhead for eternal ages past.
There's this broader perspective of it that we see in God's Word as well, even within human history. Ted had mentioned this morning, going back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. You notice that, as you read that account, something becomes very obvious and that is that this is not a surprise to God. God is immediately at the ready to utter these words and to put in mind, even at that early time after the fall--there's a Redeemer. God had planned that all along. This isn't something that God just had to come up with on the spur of the moment. I want to remind you in closing this morning of several passages that speak of this very specifically. Passages, I trust, are familiar to us, but I trust will continue to be encouragement to us. Ephesians chapter 1 verse, beginning with verse three: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Before the foundation of the world--the glory of a perpetual, a harmonious, a perfect continuity, not just for a hundred or a few hundred or a few thousand years, but for all of the ages, eternity past through eternity future. Hasn't ever changed, never will change. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Second Timothy chapter 1 beginning with verse eight: Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, according to the power of God Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. What a salvation you and I have, not just something that came up suddenly or that began to be a reality, 2000 years ago. This is something that God had purposed, and because of who God is, was confident of before time began. This is a salvation that was granted to us in Christ, from all eternity. It’s hard to fathom, isn’t it? This ought to grant to us, this ought to give to us a dimension, if you will, to the redeeming work of Christ. We have a tendency to see things only from the perspective of here and now, or possibly a few years, past and future. Our perspective is very, very limited. There's nothing quite like an eternal dimension. Peter says in First Peter chapter 1 verse 20: for He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you, who through Him are believers in God, Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Let's bow together in prayer.
These things Jesus spoke and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life, and this is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given me to do. And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
At times I have noticed my difficulty in concentrating my attention on one specific thing even for a little while. I don't know if you've noticed that as well. There are times this really has been brought to my attention. Or maybe I should say I have become aware of it. This, of course, is especially concerning when it comes to spiritual things. There's a tendency to drift, you know, we begin many times in our minds, in our thoughts in the right direction, we're concentrating on those things that we know honor the Lord, and our minds just sort of drift. I don't know if you have that problem, but I do. There's this vulnerability of being too easily distracted from eternally significant matters by the pressing needs or the concerns of the here and the now, the moment, “yes, but what about this and this that is going on?” -- that creeps into our heads or minds, as we even set aside time to focus our attention directly and exclusively on the Lord. Obviously, we have plenty of potential distractions on which to blame our lack of discipline, but it does seem to me as I thought about this recently, I think we have become more and more weakened if you will, or maybe we have become less and less practiced in being determined to put first things first. First things first, especially in regards to my ability to focus on those things that really matter.
One of the most impressive aspects of the example of the Lord Jesus Christ is His determined focus on those things that matter most. Have you noticed that, do you appreciate that about the Lord? I've come to really appreciate that about the Lord Jesus. He had and He gave a very determined attention to those things that matter the most and we can't say that He wasn't, that there weren't opportunities for Him to be distracted. There were many. None of us could possibly know the pressures that were placed upon the Lord Jesus, all of the people demanding His time and His attention. Plenty of matters that would have summoned His focus away from the things that come first, but He simply did not, He would not allow it. This is what matters most, and Jesus focused, He remained focused in His attention on those things. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the weeks, the days, the moments leading up to and including those moments of suffering and sacrifice on our behalf on the cross. Jesus was intensely focused on what He had come into this world to do, to accomplish.
At the time, at this point in time, as we are studying in John's Gospel, at this point in time, as the time draws very near, Jesus demonstrates an intense attentiveness to the highest priorities of the coming moments. The time of our Lord's suffering and death comprise the defining moment for all of human history and the eternal ages to come. This is it. This is the moment. This is the time that matters, as the writer of Hebrews puts it, at the consummation of the ages. All of time before it is leading to this, even the eternal ages, as we will see shortly, and everything following it is based upon it, is built upon this moment of time. This is the one event in all of human history that sinners desperately need to understand. We’re told that history is an important subject, right? It is an important subject. There's much we can learn from history, but if you learned nothing from history--this is the one thing that we can't afford not to understand. In the grand scope of things, nothing else really matters, does it? What took place at this point in time, the consummation of the ages.
I draw your attention to the first verse in this, in the Lord's prayer. The very first few words of the Lord's prayer to the Father establish this, the utterly unique importance of this moment in time. Notice how Jesus begins: Father, the hour has come, the hour has come. Jesus then confirms that the highest priority of this most significant hour is indeed the making known of the divine glory. This is what's on the Lord's mind as He focuses intently on the hour that has finally come. This is what everything has been leading up to. It's hard for us to imagine the enormity of this moment. We don't have the perspective, we don't have the background, the Son of God did. Everything had been moving towards this. This was it. The culmination of all those many prophecies through the Old Testament, and even the culmination of God's eternal purpose established from eternity past before the world was. The cruelty, the agony, the shame of the cross would ultimately comprise a display of God's glory beyond anything that mere mortals could have imagined. Who among us could have perceived, could have put together, conceived of anything like this? The single, the greatest reality of the cross is the display of God's glory. Pure and simple, it is the single greatest reality of the cross. That is the display of God's glory. Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee. There are numerous and significant details concerning our Lord suffering and death, and they are all worthy of the most careful consideration, but we need to always keep in mind that in the end, they all lead us to one overriding purpose. The defining moment for all of time and eternity is an exhibition of the glory of God like no other.
Father, the hour has come. Jesus was intent, and this is, I think, so very important for us to recognize this, Jesus is intent on making these things known before the event takes place. Jesus hasn't been crucified, at the moment He speaks these words, He hasn't even been arrested. The disciples are not able yet to conceive of what's about to unfold. But Jesus is explaining to them, He's giving them a look ahead and He's allowing them, He's granting to them and to us the opportunity to see the cross for what it really is. In the moments that follow, when you think about what these men would have experienced as they saw the Lord led away, as they saw the mockery of a trial, as they saw the way He was abused and then finally hung on that cross to die. With all the pain and the suffering and the public shame involved, it would have been very difficult for them to keep these words in view, to keep them in mind and we can be sure that they did not in many respects. We know that from the testimony, from the record that we’re given, but these words were there for them, not simply to encourage them in the moment, but come back to, to meditate upon, to realize at a later time, to explain what they had seen.
We've already noticed that the first thing Jesus emphasizes is the fact that the Father and the Son share the glory of the cross. There's a shared glory in this moment. It is not just the Father's glory on display. It is not just the Son’s glory on display, it is the Father and the Son together-- glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee --there is a perfect cohesion within the Godhead in the accomplishing of eternal salvation for sinners. The Father sends His Son into this world and delivers Him up for us all. The Son lays down His life, His own perfect life, as the fully adequate sacrifice for our sins. The Holy Spirit of God infuses into the soul of the sinner the life that the Son imparts through His suffering, His death and His resurrection. God is glorified in and through the cross, with all of its sweeping implications, not just in the moments themselves, not just in that moment of time, but in the effects that would have, the implications that would permeate all of human history and the ages of eternity. God is glorified.
Secondly, we have noticed that God's glory is made known in the authority, it is granted exclusively to the Son in His redemptive sacrifice. His redemptive mission, if you will, that He accomplishes on the cross. Jesus is granted the authority to accomplish an extensive, a sovereign, a life-giving sacrifice on our behalf. A perfectly adequate substitute for us. This authority is granted to Him by the Father. I remind you of a passage in this regard, in Hebrews the fifth chapter, speaking of this authority being granted to Christ. Verse five of Hebrews 5: so also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee, just as He says also in another passage, Thou art a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Jesus didn't assume this authority upon Himself. It's an authority that was granted to Him by the Father. Philippians chapter 2, we see a glimpse of this as well, a passage that is so very familiar to us. Jesus emptying Himself, in verse seven, taking the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, humbles Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, God Himself exalting the Son, bestowing upon Him the name which is above every name, great, a mighty glory authorized by the Father Himself in relation specifically to Christ's redemptive work on our behalf. Jesus is the only one to Whom such authority has been granted.
I remind you also of the passage in Ephesians chapter 1, in Paul's prayer, towards the end of that chapter. Paul speaks in the 19th verse of the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe, these are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, strength of God's power that He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come, and He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things, to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. What an authority the Father has granted to the Son in His redemptive work, through His redemptive sacrifice. An authority presiding above all rule, all other dominions, every name that is named, not only this world but in the world to come.
Thirdly, we have seen that there is the glory of the life of God imparted to undeserving sinners. Jesus speaks of this life initially in the second verse, He speaks of Him giving eternal life to those whom the Father has given to Him. By the way, Jesus speaks of this often, if you notice, in John's Gospel. This concept of those that the Father has given to Him, that this is God the Father's gift to the Son, if you will. It's a gift that the Lord Jesus delights in, these whom the Father has given to Him. Jesus speaks of giving eternal life to them, then He says, and we began to look at this last time, in verse three: This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent. Jesus speaks of this eternal life, this matter of the life of God being imparted to sinners like you and I, even through His suffering and death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, has been realized personally, intimately, experientially, in our knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent. When we look at the cross, as we mentioned last time, we see the glory of God as we see it nowhere else. The character, the nature, the purpose, the pure goodness of God. His righteousness, His justice, His faithfulness, His patience, His loving-kindness, His mercy, the riches of His grace. This life that Jesus speaks of, this eternal life, is not simply a matter of quantity, that is to say, a never-ending existence and that's it. It's a life not only of never-ending existence, but of unparalleled quality, and it’s a life that we begin to enjoy right here and now, is it not? What a precious and blessed truth this is! This is eternal life to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. This is a knowledge that we can grow in. This is a reality that we can experience, an invigorating, personal, intimate knowledge of Almighty God and His Son, our Savior and Lord.
There's such a stress, such an emphasis on this reality, throughout John's Gospel, throughout the New Testament as a whole. Recall that Jesus spoke of Himself as being the Bread of Life. You recall in John chapter 10, Jesus speaking of the fact that He came that He might have, that He might give life, that we might have life through Him and might have it abundantly. He says later on in that 10th chapter, I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish. He says to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Acts chapter 3 verse 15, Jesus is referred to as the Prince of life. Romans chapter 5 verse 17, we read this, for if by the transgression of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Of reigning in life. What contrast in that fifth chapter of Romans, death reigning through sin because of our sin, life reigning in us through Christ. Romans chapter 6 verse four: Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans chapter 8 verse two: for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Paul speaks in Second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 10, He says, speaks of this matter of always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. The life of God, this is eternal life—it’s a life that is made known, in and through you and I. A life that is granted to us, and is granted to us in Christ.
Remember what Paul says there in Colossians chapter 3, when Christ, Who is our life, shall appear--He is our life, and that life is already present. It's not that He will just be our life, He is our life, right here and right now. And that life is made known in a multitude of ways, even as our life begins to reflect more and more the life of Christ, the Almighty life of God. And a desire for a love of a pursuit of holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, love. I love the way that John puts it in First John chapter 5 verse 11, and the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. And then you have that great contrast, he who has the Son of God has the life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. That's the great contrast, is it not, and it ought to be one that we need to be reminded of how to help us appreciate this life. You recall what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, he’s speaking of the Gentiles, and he's using that word “Gentiles” there to describe those who are apart from Christ, and he speaks of them in verse 18: being darkened in their understanding--and notice this next phrase-- excluded from the life God. Do you and I appreciate the fact that we are no longer excluded from the life of God? What glory is seen in the life that the Lord Himself has granted to us.
Now, as we move a little further on into this passage, we notice something else. Notice verse four: I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. We notice the Lord's confident anticipation of His redemptive accomplishment. Jesus is already certain of the accomplishing of what He had come to do. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. We mentioned this several weeks ago. In reality, in terms of chronology that had not yet occurred. But Jesus is anticipating the fullness of this work. This work being accomplished completely. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. There's a confident expectation in the Lord Jesus regarding what He's going to do in the outcome of that work. And one of the things that really is striking is that Jesus has a delight. Jesus is delighting already, and we’ll see this more as we go through the Lord's prayer, but even now He's beginning to delight in what that means, in what the accomplishing of that work involves, especially regarding those who would come to faith in Him.
I want you to notice, I remind you of a passage that I think is fairly familiar to us in Hebrews chapter 2. Verse 11 says this: for both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will proclaim Thy name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise, and again I will put my trust in Him and again--and notice this at the end of verse 13--behold, I and the children whom God has given Me. Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me. This is something for us to ponder, this reality that the Son of the living God delights in those whom the Father had given Him, to redeem through His sacrifice on the cross. It's not something that Jesus is doing grudgingly, it's not just something He's doing out of just a very cold matter of obedience. The heart of God is in this thing. The cross is an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate, for Almighty God to demonstrate His love and His mercy like no other, and that is demonstrated in those that He refers to in this passage as His children. Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me--what a delight the Lord Jesus has in us, imagine that!
Romans chapter 15 verse seven says, wherefore accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. I ran across something that I want to read to you, just a paragraph from a man by the name of Marcus Rainsford who has a book that he wrote many, many years ago regarding the Lord's prayer. One remark that he has here, I think is so encouraging in this respect, he says,
“a fact, a people given to Christ, to take charge of, to undertake for, to wash in His blood, to clothe in His righteousness, to feed as their shepherd, to espouse as their husband, to lead triumphantly as the captain of their salvation, to subdue their corruptions, to put down their foes, to bruise Satan under their feet, to communicate to them His own life, to endow them with His own fullness, to acknowledge them as His own brethren, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. He knows them, though they do not know themselves, and though the discoveries they make of themselves, day by day, oft-times startled them, yet their heavenly Savior knew it all before. He values them all, who can tell at what a price He gave Himself for them! He gives Himself to them. He rules heaven and earth for their interests. He is their appointed Head, and it will be the triumph of His grace to present them without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.”
I love that! What blessed truth that Jesus--His focus, even as He is looking ahead to the pain and the suffering, the unspeakable shame of the cross--He's looking ahead confidently to this fact that His glory will be seen. His life will be made known. He Himself will be admired in His people and His children. Have you ever had occasion to admire a parent in their children? I know each of us have. We've seen someone, we recognize them as a child of someone we've known, and in their children, we even gain a new appreciation of that parent. Has that ever happened? Just take that and times it infinitely, if you will, in relation to the Lord Jesus. His being admired in his people. We have become His people. This is a further evidence of divine glory.
As Jesus speaks of this accomplishment, there's no question, there's no doubt. This ought to encourage us greatly. Jesus is not doubting—now we know Jesus was in great anguish as He approached the cross--but there is not a shred of doubt to be seen in the Son of God, as to whether or not His sacrifice would be sufficient. He was confident that it would be, and He is already rejoicing in it, looking ahead to what it will accomplish. I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do. There's no doubt in the accomplishing of His crowning achievement, as Jesus looks ahead to the cross.
See another evidence of this in Second Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 10, we’re told that Paul is encouraging the saints at Thessalonica to look ahead to, to anticipate that day when He comes to be glorified in His saints. Second Thessalonians 1, the first part of the 10th verse, when He comes to be glorified in His saints. Later on, the second chapter verse 13 and 14: but we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth, and it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a thing. What a thing to anticipate!
One last thing this morning I want you to notice. And that is the glory of God displayed in the redemptive purpose and unified fellowship within the Trinity from eternity past, Jesus says, and now glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father--and this is very interesting what the Lord says then--with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. Now, stop and think about what Jesus is saying here. This is not a new glory that Jesus is looking forward to. This is not a glory, as Jesus looks ahead to the cross, a glory that He's waiting to have bestowed upon Him that He's never known, that He's never possessed before. This is a glory that Jesus has had and enjoyed in perfect harmony and fellowship within the Godhead from before the world began.
I don't know about you but I really love to come into contact with things that have been around a long time. I love to come into contact with something that's really good, of great value and has stayed the same for a long period of time. There's a reason why people advertise their businesses, a lot of times, and they'll say “established in such and such a time.” That's not something that you're ashamed of, that's something you're proud of. We've been here for 50 years, 150 years. I remember a number of years ago I was buying a digging spade from a company and they were saying, they were priding themselves in the fact that this had come, had been made in a forge in England, that had been continuously in operation for I forget how many hundreds of years. I have to admit I was impressed. You don't see that kind of thing very often. There's nothing quite so encouraging, nothing quite so comforting and assuring, nothing quite so impressive to those of us whose lives are but a fleeting vapor, than perpetual and harmonious continuity. This isn't just something that has come on the scene recently. This isn't just something that was thought up and came into view all of a sudden, as it were. It may appear that way to us at times, but that's not the reality. Jesus is looking not just forward, but He's looking backwards here. He's ready to exhibit a glory, to appreciate once again His glory with the Father, the glory that He had with the Father from before the world began. This moment that Christ is leading up to in His sacrifice, His death, His suffering, is a moment that had been anticipated within the Godhead for eternal ages past.
There's this broader perspective of it that we see in God's Word as well, even within human history. Ted had mentioned this morning, going back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. You notice that, as you read that account, something becomes very obvious and that is that this is not a surprise to God. God is immediately at the ready to utter these words and to put in mind, even at that early time after the fall--there's a Redeemer. God had planned that all along. This isn't something that God just had to come up with on the spur of the moment. I want to remind you in closing this morning of several passages that speak of this very specifically. Passages, I trust, are familiar to us, but I trust will continue to be encouragement to us. Ephesians chapter 1 verse, beginning with verse three: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Before the foundation of the world--the glory of a perpetual, a harmonious, a perfect continuity, not just for a hundred or a few hundred or a few thousand years, but for all of the ages, eternity past through eternity future. Hasn't ever changed, never will change. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Second Timothy chapter 1 beginning with verse eight: Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, according to the power of God Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. What a salvation you and I have, not just something that came up suddenly or that began to be a reality, 2000 years ago. This is something that God had purposed, and because of who God is, was confident of before time began. This is a salvation that was granted to us in Christ, from all eternity. It’s hard to fathom, isn’t it? This ought to grant to us, this ought to give to us a dimension, if you will, to the redeeming work of Christ. We have a tendency to see things only from the perspective of here and now, or possibly a few years, past and future. Our perspective is very, very limited. There's nothing quite like an eternal dimension. Peter says in First Peter chapter 1 verse 20: for He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you, who through Him are believers in God, Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Let's bow together in prayer.
