John Calvin Commentary John 17:1

"These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the son may glorify thee:" — John 17:1 (ASV)

These words spoke Jesus. After having preached to the disciples about bearing the cross, the Lord showed them those consolations, by relying on which they would be able to persevere. Having promised the coming of the Spirit, He raised them to a better hope and spoke to them about the splendor and glory of His reign.

Now He most properly turns to prayer, for doctrine has no power if effectiveness is not given to it from above. He, therefore, presents an example to teachers, not to occupy themselves only with sowing the word, but, by mixing their prayers with it, to implore God's assistance, so that His blessing may make their labor fruitful. In short, this passage of the Lord Jesus Christ could be called the seal of the preceding doctrine, both so that it might be confirmed in itself, and so that it might gain full acceptance with the disciples.

And lifted up his eyes to heaven. This detail, related by John, that Christ prayed lifting up his eyes to heaven, was an indication of uncommon passion and intensity. For by this posture Christ testified that, in the affections of His mind, He was in heaven rather than on earth, so that, leaving men behind Him, He conversed intimately with God.

He looked towards heaven, not as if God’s presence were confined to heaven—for He filleth also the earth (Jeremiah 23:24)—but because it is there chiefly that His majesty is displayed. Another reason was that by looking towards heaven, we are reminded that the majesty of God is far exalted above all creatures. It is with the same purpose that hands are lifted up in prayer, for humans, being by nature lazy and slow, and drawn downwards by their earthly disposition, need such motivations, or I should rather say, chariots, to raise them to heaven.

Yet if we desire actually to imitate Christ, we must take care that outward gestures do not express more than is in our mind, but that the inward feeling directs the eyes, the hands, the tongue, and everything about us. We are told, indeed, that the publican, with downcast eyes, prayed rightly to God (Luke 18:13), but that is not inconsistent with what has now been stated. For, though he was confused and humbled on account of his sins, still this self-abasement did not prevent him from seeking pardon with full confidence. But it was proper that Christ should pray in a different manner, for He had nothing about Him of which He ought to be ashamed; and it is certain that David himself prayed sometimes in one posture, and sometimes in another, according to the circumstances in which he was placed.

Father, the hour is come. Christ asks that His kingdom may be glorified, so that He also may advance the glory of the Father. He says that the hour is come, because, though by miracles and by every kind of supernatural event He had been manifested to be the Son of God, yet His spiritual kingdom was still in obscurity, but soon afterwards shone with full brightness.

If it is objected that never was there anything less glorious than the death of Christ, which was then near, I reply that in that death we behold a magnificent triumph which is concealed from wicked men. For there we perceive that, atonement having been made for sins, the world has been reconciled to God, the curse has been blotted out, and Satan has been vanquished.

It is also the object of Christ’s prayer that His death may produce, through the power of the Heavenly Spirit, such fruit as had been decreed by the eternal purpose of God. For He says that the hour is come, not an hour which is determined by the fancy of men, but an hour which God had appointed.

And yet the prayer is not superfluous because, while Christ depends on the good pleasure of God, He knows that He ought to desire what God promised would certainly take place. True, God will do whatever He has decreed, not only though the whole world were asleep, but though it were opposed to Him; but it is our duty to ask from Him whatever He has promised, because the end and use of promises is to stir us to prayer.

That thy Son also may glorify thee. He means that there is a mutual connection between the advancement of His glory and of the glory of His Father. For why is Christ manifested, but that He may lead us to the Father? Hence it follows that all the honor which is bestowed on Christ is so far from diminishing the honor of the Father, that it confirms it all the more. We ought always to remember in what capacity Christ speaks in this passage, for we must not look only at His eternal Divinity, because He speaks as God manifested in the flesh, and according to the office of Mediator.