John 17:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

NIV: And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

NASB: And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.

CSB: Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.

NLT: Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

KJV: And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

NKJV: And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

This request completes the first portion of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, in which He has prayed for Himself. The other Gospels—in circulation when John wrote this one—detailed Jesus' prayers in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46). What John records here occurs before Christ and His disciples travel through Kidron after the Last Supper (John 13:1–5). After what's recorded in this verse, He will turn to pray for His closest followers.

In the early words of the gospel of John, Jesus is referred to as "the Word," and said to have been present at the beginning of creation (John 1:3). As part of this description, John uses the term "Jesus Christ," an exact phrasing not used again in this gospel until this passage, chapter 17 (John 17:4). In this passage, John again ties those concepts together. Jesus is God (John 10:30) and existed as one person of the Trinity (John 8:58) "before the world existed." Jesus will make another, similar statement to John during his revelation (Revelation 3:21).

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 5/4/2024 8:00:29 AM