The Core Of Salvation History

The core of salvation history is quite simple. It is beautifully expressed by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus came into the world to atone for the sins of all mankind. Keep that in the front of your mind as you read this Gospel.

The Core Of Salvation History

Gospel - John 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,

“Father, the hour has come.

Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,

just as you gave him authority over all people,

so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.

Now this is eternal life,

that they should know you, the only true God,

and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

I glorified you on earth

by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.

Now glorify me, Father, with you,

with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.

They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,

and they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,

because the words you gave to me I have given to them,

and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,

and they have believed that you sent me.

I pray for them.

I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,

because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours

and everything of yours is mine,

and I have been glorified in them.

And now I will no longer be in the world,

but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus begins his prayer by raising his eyes to heaven. This was a Jewish custom, as can be seen in the Psalms, “To thee I lift up my eyes.” (Psalm 123:1) Jesus addresses the Father directly, which provides us with a glimpse of the relationship and intimacy between the Father and the Son. The entirety of the Gospel, indeed the entirety of human history since the fall, has been building to this moment: the hour of Jesus’s passion. Now that it has come, Jesus asks God to give glory to His Son so that the Son may glorify the Father. This glory is a reflection of the exchange of life and love within God. The Father loves so deeply that he gives his son for the world’s salvation. The Son loves so deeply that he obeys perfectly the will of the Father.

The Father has already given Jesus authority over all people, “ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35) Now Jesus asks to give him eternal life, to raise him after his crucifixion, that that he may in turn give that life to those who follow him. This is the entirety of Jesus’s life: a mission to draw all people to share in the eternal life of God through the cross of Jesus.

Jesus specifies what eternal life looks like. It is to know the Father, the only true God, and that one whom he sent, Jesus Christ. Jesus has already revealed that only he, as the Son, has seen the Father. He reveals the Father to humanity. The Holy Spirit, although not explicitly mentioned, is the one through whom the disciples come to understand who Jesus Christ truly is.

Jesus glorifies His Father by accomplishing His works and doing His will. Jesus now asks that the Father would glorify Him with the glory He had before the world began. He asks that his humanity be transformed through his passion, death, and resurrection, to reveal the divinity of the incarnate Son.

Jesus now recounts the work he has done. As the Son, he revealed the Father’s name to them. This means that Jesus revealed who the Father is by accomplishing the Father’s will. The disciples are a gift given by the Father to the Son. Therefore, the disciples were able to come to Jesus because the Father drew them in and taught them who Jesus was. Through this faith in Jesus, they know that everything about him comes from the Father. To believe in Jesus is to understand that his revelation is uniquely from the Father.

Jesus then explains how the disciples know he is from the Father. He has faithfully spoken every word the Father gave him. Through these words, they have come to understand and believe that he is from the Father. Jesus has planted a knowledge of the Father in their hearts, and through the working of the Holy Spirit, they will come to understand and experience the truth of Jesus’ words, who is the truth himself.

Jesus then prays for his disciples, who he knows will be entering a hostile world. The disciples will glorify the Father through the work of the disciples and the fruit that this work will bear. Jesus notes that he does not pray for the world, meaning humanity’s rebellion and rejection of God and Christ. The disciples are sent as an extension of Jesus’s ministry. Through their love and faithfulness, they will reveal the love of the Father and the Son. Although Jesus will no longer be in the world, his disciples will still be and will face persecution.

Daily Application

Jesus notes that he glorified the Father on earth by accomplishing the work that the Father gave him to do. The core of that work is his passion, death, and resurrection. Any attempt to separate this aspect from the rest of Christ’s mission must be rejected. Yet we are seeing more and more a desire to view Jesus as a nice man or perhaps a good philosopher. We pay attention to his teachings that we like and ignore the more difficult ones or dismiss them as outdated.

There is no more difficult teaching to accept than the idea that we are sinners and we need a savior. Without this savior, we are doomed to spend eternity in hell. That is hard to accept because once we do, it makes a claim on us. If we are sinners, then that means there are things we do wrong. If there are things we do that are wrong, then we must change and amend our ways.

Yet we live in a society that tells us we don’t need to amend our ways. We live in a culture that celebrates sin. It is June, and June has been co-opted and turned into pride month. Throughout June, we will see a range of events, stories, and posts celebrating sinful behavior. Sadly, this is but one example of how sin is celebrated in our culture. The idea that we are sinners, that we need a savior, is foreign to our culture. Embracing this idea and living your life in accordance with it is counter-cultural. It makes you stand out, but in standing out and living life like this, we give witness to the Son and to the Father who sent him so that humanity may have eternal life.