(John 17:1-5) The Glory of the King

John 17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

John 17 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

John 17 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Introduction John’s Gospel. Glory 26x John the thinker The high priestly prayer of Jesus Prayer begins by asking the Father to glorify him – it is strange?

Chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. What is the meaning of glory, and how do we glorify God?

People hide wrongs to protect God’s reputation. People do wrongs to protect God’s reputation. We glorify God when we protect his reputation by doing the right thing. We do not glorify God when we do wrong things to protect his reputation.

Reward and Glory Is it bad to do something for reward?

Meaning of Glory Greek = doxa Hebrew = Kavod and shekinah (in rabbinic Judaism). Kavod refers to the glory of God. Shekinah is the embodiment of that glory.

Jesus left his Kavod/Glory in heaven when he came to earth Jesus left his Kavod/Glory in heaven when he came to earth. While on earth, Jesus is the shekina/glory of God (embodiment of the Father’s glory).

1 Sam 4:21 The glory (kavod) has departed, no glory (ikavod). John 17:1-5 refers to the kavod. John 1 14 The Word became flesh …. We have seen his glory (shekinah) … .

Two ideas of glory as kavod: (1) fame, honor, dignity, reverence, reputation, abundance, weightiness; (2) to glow or be luminous.

SEEKING REWARD / FINDING GLORY Seeking reward sounds selfish What the Bible says about reward …

Matthew 5 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, Matthew 6 1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Reward in the Bible Unselfishness and Love Reward is bad only when it is wrongly conceived

The right reward is not only right, it is the consummation of the activity that produces the reward.

When we do not seek the reward God has for us, we do not arrive at a higher but a lower level.

Enjoyment creeps in from drudgery Enjoyment creeps in from drudgery. Anything worth having is attained through effort. That effort can be motivated by lesser inducements.

Continue in drudgery until you reach your enjoyment, your due reward.

John 17. When Jesus seeks the kavod glory he had with the Father before he became flesh, it is exactly the right thing to do. It is the natural reward to his life of obedience. It is the true return to his original standing with God

Glory v Wordliness When we have no desire for the reward God has for us, it is because we have no appetite for the things of God, only for the things of this world. That is worldliness

Yet it is natural that we are not excited about the reward of glory and eternal life. This is because the best things are not appreciated until you have pursued it

Seeking Reward / Finding Glory Crowns, white robes, thrones, shining like a star

Glory of eternal life We will be with Christ We will be like Christ We will feast with Christ We will reign with Christ We will have the embodiment of the glory of Christ | The shekinah of his kavod.

Aspect #1 of glory is fame, honor, dignity, reverence, reputation, abundance, weightiness. This is the approval of God

Our hearts are fashioned for approval Our hearts are fashioned for approval. We want the approval of those “we likely love and rightly fear.”

What we think of God is unimportant in that he does not need our approval. What God thinks of us is of utmost important because we need his approval.

What brings joy? Living is obedience or rebellion?

What we think of God is important only insofar that it affects what God thinks of us. Our accepting Christ is unimportant. Christ accepting us of utmost importance

Conversely To be lost is to be eternally excluded from God who is everywhere. It is to be unknown by God who knows everyone and all things.

Glory in eternal life is to be eternally approved by God, to enter his presence and reflect his glory, to be known by God, to approved by God.

CONCLUSION John 17:1-5. Jesus seeks the reward of glory with the Father.

I hope to change your thinking about reward that is a good thing, an ultimate thing. I hope to change your thinking about glory. To receive glory is to be approved by God.

Approval and the reward come together Approval and the reward come together. The reward is the approval, and the reward is pictured to us as being with Christ, being like Christ, feasting with Christ and reigning with Christ.