157. John 17:1-3 – The Glorification of Jesus
📖 The Glorification of Jesus
John 17:1–3
1 After Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said: “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You,
2 since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.
3 And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
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⏳ “The hour has come” — the moment of glory
Jesus says, “the hour has come.” This is not just a point in time, but the culmination of His entire mission. This “hour” includes the sequence of events: the cross, the resurrection, and the ascension. Through these, the glory of the Son is revealed. What appears as defeat from a human perspective becomes the moment of greatest revelation.
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✝️ What “glorify the Son” means
The Greek word doxazō does not simply mean “to praise,” but to make glory visible, to reveal true identity. Jesus asks the Father that through the coming events it would become clear who He truly is. Glorification here is not about external recognition, but about God’s nature being revealed through sacrifice, obedience, and victory over death.
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🔄 Mutual glorification
The phrase “that the Son may glorify You” shows a mutual relationship: the Father reveals the Son, and the Son reveals the Father. This is a single process of revelation. Through the actions of Jesus, the character of God becomes visible—His holiness, love, justice, and mercy.
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🔁 Two sides of glorification
1. God’s side (event)
God glorifies the Son through concrete historical events:
the cross
the resurrection
the ascension
This is the objective revelation of glory—the moment when it becomes clear who Jesus is.
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2. Human side (response)
People glorify Jesus when they:
recognize Him
believe in Him
worship Him
build their lives around Him
This is the response to the revealed glory.
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🔥 Connection with the coming of the Holy Spirit
The glorification of Jesus is directly connected to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Until Jesus was glorified, the Spirit did not operate in fullness among people. After the completion of Christ’s mission, the Spirit comes to reveal the meaning of these events and make them real in the lives of believers. He continues the work of Jesus by pointing to Him and making Him known.
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✨ Why the cross is the center of glory
The cross stands at the center because it is there that the key aspects of God’s nature are revealed at the same time: sin is not ignored, yet God Himself bears its consequences. This makes the cross not only a moment of suffering, but the point of maximum revelation of God.
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⚡ Practical application
God’s glory does not always align with human ideas of success and power. In the biblical sense, it is revealed through faithfulness, obedience, and sacrifice. Understanding the glorification of Jesus helps us see who God truly is and reshapes how we interpret what happens in life.
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💬 Conclusion
The glorification of Jesus in John 17:1–3 is a process in which God’s glory is revealed through real events, and people respond to it with faith and recognition.