SATURDAY, DAY 34 OF LENT 2025

John 17:1-5

In +-33 A D, it was late Thursday evening. The disciples had just had their final Passover meal with Jesus - of course, not knowing that it was the last one. He had just told them, "Be courageous! I have conquered the world." and then he moved directly into prayer:

"Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent  - Jesus Christ. I have glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed."

What a powerful prayer. And what a great theological statement! 

First and foremost, Jesus knew that the countdown was already in motion, and in just a short time he would be arrested and the purpose of his life would soon be fulfilled.

And then the statement about eternal life being the culmination of when we will truly know God, and Jesus. Now we "see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." There is so much we don't know, and too often we don't even know that we don't know....

And then, at the end of this brief prayer for himself, he prays to be glorified back in God's presence with the same glory he had before the world existed, before the Triune God created the world and everything in it, confirming what John1:1-3 so clearly states:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has  been created." 

That is an exciting connection that gives us a glimpse into an eternity we cannot fathom. We are parametered by TIME. We vocalize the concept of eternity, but it is impossible to grasp FOREVER. It is a faith journey - and we accept the concept, and look forward with great joy to an eternity in God's presence. Oh what a day that will be!