John 17:1

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

John 17:1 (KJV)

Context

John 17 is often called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It comes right after the Last Supper, when Jesus has finished speaking with His disciples and now prays to the Father. This chapter holds Jesus’ heartfelt prayer for Himself, His disciples, and all future believers.

Meaning

The verse opens with Jesus lifting up His eyes to heaven, a gesture that acknowledges heaven as the seat of the Father’s majesty and expresses His dependence on the Father. He addresses God as “Father,” showing the intimate relationship between them. When Jesus says, “the hour is come,” He refers to the appointed time for His crucifixion, death, and resurrection—the culmination of His earthly mission. His request, “glorify thy Son,” asks the Father to exalt Him and display His divine nature and authority, especially through the cross and resurrection. The purpose is clear: “that thy Son also may glorify thee.” The Son’s glorification is tied to the Father’s glory, revealing their unity and shared purpose in redemption.

Biblical connections

This prayer sets the stage for the rest of John 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples and all future believers. The immediate context in John 17:2-5 shows that the Father has given the Son authority over all flesh to give eternal life, and that eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. Jesus also says He has glorified the Father on earth by finishing the work given Him, and He asks to be glorified with the glory He had with the Father before the world existed. This clarifies that the glory Jesus requests is His preexistent, divine glory. The gesture of lifting His eyes to heaven also appears in John 11:41, where Jesus prays at Lazarus’s tomb, reinforcing His pattern of prayerful dependence on the Father.

Application

Jesus’ prayer shows that His mission and His glory are inseparable from the Father’s glory. For believers, this means that our lives, too, are meant to bring glory to God. Just as Jesus submitted to the Father’s timing and plan, we can trust that God’s purposes for us unfold in His appointed time. The unity between the Father and the Son invites us into a relationship where our deepest desires align with God’s glory.

Reflection

As you continue through John 17, you will see Jesus interceding for His disciples and for all who would believe, emphasizing unity, sanctification, and the spread of the Gospel. This opening verse reminds us that Jesus’ work on earth was always directed toward the Father’s glory, and that same purpose now shapes our lives as His followers.