John 17:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

NIV: I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

NASB: I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do.

CSB: I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

NLT: I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

KJV: I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

NKJV: I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

Jesus spoke of working—accomplishing the will of God—while there was time left to do so (John 9:4). As His arrest and execution draw nearer (John 18:3; 19:16), Jesus indicates that He's now finished with the work He was given. That might seem surprising, given that He has not yet endured death (John 18:37). However, these moments between the Last Supper and Jesus' arrest are the last moments where He takes an active role in His mission. From this point forward—other than one last display of authority (John 18:6)—Jesus will take on a passive role, allowing the sinful world to abuse and murder Him. That which God has asked Jesus, Himself, to do has now been done, and all that remains is to submit (Philippians 2:8) to the rest of God's will, until that entire purpose is complete (John 19:30).

Cooperating with God's will brings Him glory (John 15:8; 2 Corinthians 9:13). Such actions reflect His purpose and His message.

John 17:1–5 begins what is known as Jesus' High Priestly Prayer. After giving a few last lessons to His disciples (John 16:31–33), Christ now prays. John explained certain earlier incidents by noting that it was not yet Jesus' "time." Here, that time has come. Christ begins by praying for Himself, though His words convey complete submission to the will of God. This moment occurs just before Jesus and the disciples enter Gethsemane, where He will pray again prior to being arrested.

In this passage, known as the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus speaks to God about three main topics. First is Christ Himself, asking God the Father to glorify Him so He can glorify the Father. Next, Jesus prays for the faith and courage in His closest disciples. Finally, He prays for those who will come to faith because of the apostles' writing and teaching. This moment occurs before Jesus enters Gethsemane, where the other Gospels will record His final anguished prayers before being arrested (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46).

Over the last several chapters (John 13—16), Jesus has been giving last-minute instruction to His closest disciples. These lessons composed a large part of the Last Supper. Among those teachings were several warnings about persecution, with the encouragement of knowing the Holy Spirit would come. In chapter 17, we read Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, making requests on behalf of Himself, the apostles, and future believers. After this, Jesus will go into Gethsemane where Judas will turn Him over for arrest and His eventual execution.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/2/2024 2:21:40 PM