This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3 NAS95)
Jesus hungers for people to know God and His conversation with His Father prior to His crucifixion reflects that theme. The whole prayer concerns the nature of eternal life and the truth about God — He is a God of love (17:26). Jesus speaks of “manifesting” or making real and present, the character (name) of His Father to those with whom He spent the most time. Even more, Jesus worked to remind and keep His friends mindful of the grand character and radical love of God. Jesus wanted His disciples to get the nature of God’s person right and that not only concerned the exact representation of God’s nature in Jesus, but also the level to which His love would go on our behalf: sacrifice!
Jesus’ conversation with His Father points to a God too good to be true. The world had never envisioned a love like that displayed both in Jesus and on the cross. Jesus lived out of this tremendous communion with His Father, experiencing the depth of God’s radical love. Jesus modeled it too. Jesus’ prayer begs that people could know God, His love, His name, throughout the world. Jesus trusted His Father desired the world to know this so much, He could depart and return to His throne, and have confidence that the impression He made on the world would last through His disciples. In fact, Jesus anticipates continued communion with His disciples so that God and His kind of love would be made known through them to others (17:23, 26). This is eternal life, that they may know the only true God and Jesus Christ.
For Reflection:
“I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever.” (Psalms 45:17 NAS95)
- What does the time you spend with God say about the level of your desire for God?
- What would you like your desire for God to be? What do you think He’s inviting you to do to move that direction?
