And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. John 17:5 (KJV)
The following points may be noted,
- “glorify [something]”, an imperative expression used for appealing to God , is found only three times in scripture: John 12:28; 17:1, 5; so in his prayer Jesus is clearly, twice, referring back five days to something he said then;
- Jesus said then, “father, glorify your name” (John 12:28), language which clearly connects with Jesus’ prayer, not only because of the expression “glorify” but also “father” and “name” (John 17:1, 6);
- in John 12’s context, glorifying the father’s name is presented as fulfilled in “the judgment of this world” and the Lord’s being lifted up, signifying what death he should die (John 12:31-33);
- this is confirmed by John’s later explanation that the things of which he spoke related to Isaiah’s prophecy which he spoke “when he saw his glory and spoke of him” (John 12:41) – this speaks of Isaiah’s vision of “the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1);
- this set of connections shows that the “glory” (John 17:5) of which Jesus speaks in his prayer is the “glory” (John 12:41) which Isaiah saw in his vision;
- the same set of connections show that the “world” (John 17:5) before which the Lord had glory with the father was the “world” (John 12:31) which was to be judged and whose prince was to be cast out by the crucifixion of our Lord; that is, this world was that which was framed by distortions of the law of Moses through the traditions of the elders;
- thus, the glory which the Lord had with the father before the world was is typified by his glory prophetically portrayed in visions such as those seen in Isaiah 6;
- this is part of a comprehensive theme in John’s gospel (and other scriptures such as Hebrews) that portrays Jesus’ foreordination by the figures and prophetic visions of the Hebrew scriptures.
The following correspondences between Jesus’ prayer and Genesis 22 support this approach:
| John 17 | Genesis 22 |
|---|---|
| lifted up his eyes v. 1 | lifted up his eyes vv. 4, 13 |
| father vv. 1, 21, 24 holy father v. 11 righteous father v. 25 |
my father v. 7 |
| the hour is come v. 1 | they came to the place v. 9 |
| your son v. 1 | your son vv. 2, 12, 16 |
| with your own self v. 5 | by myself v. 16 |
| I have manifested your name v. 6 | Yahweh-yireh…it[1] shall be seen v. 14 |
| one as we v. 11 even as we are one v. 22 |
together vv. 6, 8 |
| as you have loved me v. 23 you loved me v. 24 the love wherewith you have loved me v. 26 |
whom you love v. 2 |
| they may behold my glory v. 24 | saw the place afar off v. 4 |
The “seeing” theme of Genesis 22, expounded in John 8:56-58, relates also to the glory which Isaiah “saw” (John 12:41; Isa 6:1). Another correspondence is found between John 12 and Genesis 22, reinforcing the themes that are being shared here: the “voice from heaven” (John 12:28) which some ascribed to “an angel” (John 12:29) relates to the angel of the Lord twice calling from heaven (Gen 22:11, 15).
Consideration of this and other themes shows the marvellous depths of meaning involved, and the burden borne, in our Lord’s obedience to “the volume of the book” (Heb 10:7; Ps 40:7).
Worthy is the lamb that was slain [from the foundation of the world (13:8)] to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing… Rev 5:12
[1] [Ed. JWA]: or ‘he shall be seen’.
1st Peter: Some New Testament Allusions