Glory
Jesus is praying for Himself; the apostles and all New Testament believers. Here we look at His prayer for Himself.
This is a Bible Study. Have your own Bible handy to look up the references mentioned.
If you do not have a Bible, I invite you to go to BibleGateway.com or another online Bible.
“It is the greatest prayer ever prayed on earth and the greatest prayer recorded anywhere in Scripture.” (Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. [Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004], 367)
1. “Our Lord’s burden was the glory of God, and this glory would be realized in His finished work on the Cross.” (Wiersbe, 368)
“The very event that would glorify the Son was His death…He accepted this path to glory, knowing that by it He would be exalted to the Father.” (MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, [Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005], 1412)
“He ‘lifted up his eyes to heaven,’ which means that His eyes were open. Of course we can pray without bowing our heads and closing our eyes. We can pray as we walk or as we work or as we drive.” (McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV: [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 478)
“The death of Christ will demonstrate that God is not the brutal bully the liberal theologians talk about in the Old Testament, but that He is a loving Father who so loves the world that He gives His only begotten Son.” (McGee, 478)
Eternal Life
2. “Suffice it to state briefly that while God’s intention is that everyone or all people should be given eternal life, receiving this bestowal is inseparably linked to knowing God and his special Son.” (Borchert, Gerald L., The New American Commentary Volume 25B, John 12-21. [Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002], 190)
“We should note that the Lord did not request power. Jesus did not take on sovereignty and omnipotence after the ascension. These eternal qualities he possessed then and he still possesses today as a member of the eternal Godhead.” [Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
3. “What is eternal life? Knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. John recalled these words (which he probably overheard) in his first epistle: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12). [Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
“Does election shut out certain people? No. Life eternal is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Do you have a desire to know the true God and Jesus Christ? Then you are not shut out. You must be one of the elect. He gives eternal life to those who have heard the call and have responded down in their hearts. They have come to Christ of their own free will.” (McGee, 478)
Glorify
4. “Our Lord Jesus is going to the cross to die and then will rise again. On the cross, He said, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). That means our redemption was finished. He has done everything that was necessary.” (McGee, 479)
“The gospel of salvation is not what God is asking you to do, but what God is telling you that He has already done for you. It is your response to that which saves you.” (McGee, 479)
5. “Jesus looked past the Cross and asked to be returned to glory that He shared with the Father before the world began. The actual completion of bearing judgment wrath for sinners was declared by Christ in the cry, ‘It is finished’ (19:30)” (MacArthur, 1412)
“The humiliation of death in humanity is, for the Lord, glorification. What we would consider the end of life, Jesus considered return to the reality of eternal life. Christian praying depends on Jesus’ relationship to the Father. Through him we have access to the Almighty God of the universe—a fact established by his own words in this prayer.” [Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
References
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
In this article Scripture quotations taken from KJV.
Borchert, Gerald L., The New American Commentary Volume 25B, John 12-21. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002
Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV: Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983
MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005
Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004