I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was (John 17:4-5)
Before going to the cross and dying, Jesus prayed to the Father that He be glorified.
When Jesus left Heaven for earth to redeem humanity, the Bible says He chose to hide His glory in the frailty of human flesh (Philippians 2:5-8). At His birth, He didn’t wear a halo!
His humanity was necessary because only a Man could die in the place of mankind. The glory of His deity was concealed through most of His earthly life, except for rare moments when the Father chose to reveal it, like in Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 16:13-17; 17:1-8).
In His prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus asked the Father to make His eternal glory evident again, but as God and as human. He prayed to be glorified because His work of redeeming sinners was to be completed in a matter of hours (John 17:2-4).
As the Saviour, He mediated – He was the bridge – between holy God and sinful humanity. He brought righteousness and bought forgiveness for those who would believe on Him and His work at the cross. As the God-Man, He accomplished what no one else in the universe could do. As Man, He could suffer and die. As God, He could be without sin and satisfy a holy God.
Jesus didn’t ask the Father to glorify His deity. That glory was eternally present, hidden behind the veil of human flesh. He prayed that His humanity be glorified. His humanity needed to be glorified so He could abide as the God-Man in the presence of God in Heaven.
One day, God’s elect children will also be glorified. Our glory, however, isn’t because of anything we’ve been or done, but what Jesus did for us through His death and resurrection (Romans 8:28-30). Our glorification will be a sharing in His glory so we can enjoy His beauty as God’s people, in God’s place, in God’s presence.
Where Living Begins 