Untitled Sermon (4)

New Testament (John 17:1–5)

17:1. Lifting one’s eyes to heaven was a common posture of prayer (cf. perhaps Ps 121:1; 123:1). “Glory” here has a double sense, another instance of wordplay; see comment on 1:14 and 12:23–27. Moses reflected God’s glory in Exodus 33–34, but Jesus is to be “glorified” in the same sense as the Father, with his preexistent glory (17:5).17:2. The Old Testament also often used “flesh” (KJV) in the sense of humanity (“people”—NIV; “mankind”—NASB). Only at the end, in the final kingdom, did God promise to delegate his authority to a particular ruler (Is 9:6–7; Dan 7:13–14); this background suggests that Jesus’ death and resurrection represent no mere temporal event but the climactic inbreaking of a new world.17:3. On knowing God see 10:4–5. Other Jewish texts written in Greek also identified knowing God with eternal life (e.g., Wisdom of Solomon 15:3); here one must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.17:4–5. On finishing the work see 4:34 and 19:30. The

prayer

jesus