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th e ultim ate glory of Christ and His bride (th e chu rch ). We should approach th is sublime passage of Scripture w ith bowed heads and unsandalled feet. Every word and phrase is simple, yet full of meaning. In th is chapter Jesus takes H is place as the High P riest. Assuming His work on th e cross as finished, He goes into th e Holy of holies. The tria ls of th e cross are before him. The scattered flock will miss Him. He cannot leave them w ithout prayer. He w ants th em to understand what He will be doing for them while He is absent from them. This prayer shows th e present a tti tude of our Lord tow ards His church and gives th e substance of all H is in tercession for us. It is th e prayer of th e Holy Spirit in us, and th e prayer of Jesus fo r us. I t is th e climax of th e blessed doctrine tau g h t in th e won derful sermon in th e 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th chapters— th e most wonder ful of all sermons followed by th e most wonderful of all prayers. A threefold desire comprehends all: ( 1 ) F o r His own glorification as th e chief corner stone. (2) F o r th e apostles and teachers who are the foundation stones. (3) Fo r the whole church— th e superstructure. Note th e opening words, “These words spake Jesu s”— referring to th e sermon ju st preceding. (1 ) THE PERSONAL POSITION, “ Jesus * * * lifted up his eyes un to heaven,” v. 1. Notice the a ttitu d e assumed by Jesus, -—th e uplifted eye, denoting devotion, reverence, worship, faith , expectation (longing for th e disciples and for the chu rch ). F rom th e tim e He called the disciples His eyes had been upon them , tenderly, lovingly. Now He must leave them to th e F a th e r’s care. He addresses th e F ath e r as “F a th e r,” not “ ou r F a th e r.” We cannot partici pate in th is prayer. We cannot go w ith Him to th e Garden, or to th e Cross. He alone can participate in th e sa'cri-
fice. The word “F a th e r” implies (1 ) Re lationship, the most intim ate. (2 ) De pendence. A fath e r guides, rules, over sees, supplies. (3) Fellowship. A son grows into fellowship w ith th e father. (1 John 1:3.) Three things which are involved in sonship: F a ith (Gal. 3 :2 6 ). “ F o r y e a r e a ll t h e c h ild r e n o f G o d b y f a it h In C h r is t J e s u s .” ' Obedience (1 P et. 1 :1 4 ). “ O b e d ie n t c h ild r e n n o t fa s h io n in g y o u r s e lv e s a c c o r d in g to th e fo r m e r lu s t s in y o u r ig n o r a n e e .” Consistency (Eph. 5 :8 ). “ F o r y e w e r e s o m e tim e s d a r k n e s s , b u t n o w a r e y e l ig h t in th e L o r d ; w a lk a s c h ild r e n o f lig h t .” (2) THE PETITION PRESENTED. “ Glorify thy Son, th a t th y Son may glorify thee.” Jesus w ants His F a th e r glorified through Himself. By th is means, He will bear much fru it. The word “ glory” is used eight tim es here,— twice in v. 1 and in v. 5, once in v. 4, v. 10,. v. 22 and v. 24. E igh t is th e resurrection number, and glory is as sociated w ith resurrection. In th e 13th chapter it is used th ree times. Glory was manifested in th e b irth of Jesus (Luke 2 :9 ) ; in H is baptism (Luke 3:21, 2 2 ); in H is life (John 2: 1 1 ); in H is transfiguration (2 P et. 1: 1 7 ); in His resurrection (Rom. 6 :4 ) ; in His ascension (Acts 1 :9 ) ; in His coming again fo r His saints (1 Thess. 4 :16 ) and w ith His saints (Col. 3 :4 ). The hour fo r accomplishing His glory had come— th e hou r of th e cross. The tim e had been fixed in th e counsels of eternity. It was about to strike. A world’s salvation hinged on th a t hour, th e hour th a t m eant so much to th e F ath e r, to the Son and to th e world (John 2 :4 ). “ W o m a n » * * m in e h o u r Is n o t y e t c o m e .” (John 7 :3 0 ). “ N o m a n la id h a n d s o n h im fo r H is h o u r w a s n o t y e t c o m e .” (J hn 12:23; 13 :1 ; 1 7 :1 ). How is the Son to be glorified? By
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