John 17:1 NLT
[1] “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.”
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we have the honour of eavesdropping on the most sublime prayer ever recorded, the Son of God in communion with the Father.
Jesus didn’t ask for much in His prayer to the Father, but what He asked for has eternal significance for us. Much of His prayer was His heart communing with the Father but, in that communing, He has concerns which He shared with the Father.
“The hour has come.”
Jesus was about to ratify the New Covenant with His own blood, which He clearly presented to His disciples at the final Passover He would ever celebrate with them on earth.
Mark 14:24-25 NLT
[24] And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. [25] I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”
After dodging every effort of His opponents to kill Him, it was now time to submit. The dreaded hour had come. Jesus was a real man. He was not immune to what He was about to suffer.
Isaiah 53:3 NLT
[3] “He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”
How did Jesus anticipate His suffering?
Mark 14:34-36 NLT
[34] He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” [35] He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. [36] “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
How did Jesus view this horrible event? Was it to be His greatest humiliation or His greatest triumph depending on His perspective?
When some Greeks came to meet Him, He responded with these words, revealing His heart attitude to the coming ordeal,
John 12:23-24 NLT
[23]… “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. [24] I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is plantedl in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives,”
and this prayer,
[27] “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! [28] Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.”
Another profound moment with the Father… Jesus affirming His commitment to the Father’s will, and the Father’s response, reassuring Him that He was right on track!
Hebrews 12:2b NLT
[2]… “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”
This was to be no walk in the park. This was crunch time. He faced the awful horror of being the scapegoat for the sin of all humanity. To gain the prize, He must run the race but not with reluctance and resistence. He must embrace the Father’s will with the only attitude that would win the victory and the outcome for which He came to this hour.
As an eyewitness of His death, Peter exulted, “He did it!”
1 Peter 2:23-24 NIV
[23] “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. [24] “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Since Jesus embraced His hour with obedience and trust, any “hour” we might have to face can have the same victory if we follow the same path. As true sons who submit to the Father’s will with unwavering trust in the Father’s good purpose, we endure with hope, knowing that the seed that dies will live to produce many seeds.