17:1
We now come to what is often referred to as Jesus’ high priestly prayer. We are not told precisely when and where he prayed this. It could have been in Gethsemane, though the synoptics only refer to Jesus’ prayer of anguish there. Jesus is praying primarily for His disciples here. Jesus starts by declaring that the hour has come, and for His Father to glorify the Son that the Son may glorify the Father. There have been several mentions in John’s gospel of the hour having not yet come. Now the hour is here. The time for the cross is upon Jesus. Glory includes concepts of splendour and of weight in the context of significance. The cross is the most significant event in human history.
17:2
Jesus has authority over all humanity. This includes those who do not believe in Him and who oppose Him. When we see the world rejecting the gospel and even opposing it we should not fear, for Jesus has authority over them. This does not make for a simple solution, but the enemy will not win. The cross was far from “simple”. And Jesus has authority”to give eternal life to all whom you have given to Him”. So here we have predestination and the sovereignty of God, and this really upsets some people. People get upset because they cannot understand it. So let’s take a Biblical approach. We were chosen before creation. At the same time the Bible consistently tells us that we have responsibility. We have a responsibility to believe and to obey. So instead of fretting about how the two can work together, we are far better advised to just get on with it.
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