‘Jesus Spoke’

‘Jesus Spoke’

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

John 17:1

Words become more forceful in their effect when we consider the context in which they were spoken. Before us lies the High Priestly Prayer of Christ. What was the context in which He uttered these words? We ought to consider that Christ was facing unutterable suffering and an excruciating death. He was fully aware of all that lay before Him. He had already gone to great lengths to lay His soul bare before the disciples. His High Priestly Prayer, which He evidently prayed within the hearing of the remaining eleven disciples, is the spiritually logical extension of all which He had said to them in the previous chapters. When the pressure is on, the heart of the person comes to light. This prayer reflects the Heart of our Savior. These were the last hours which He would spend with those into which He had poured Himself for the past three years. They were the ones who would bear the gospel over the whole earth. They would be the ones whom the Holy Spirit would fill on the Day of Pentecost. Christ wanted them to hear Him intercede for them. He wanted them to have the words which He uttered on their behalf set before them for all time. Christ wanted us to see these words as well. What He prayed for them, He prayed for us. We may rejoice today that in the hardest of His hours, Christ prayed for them, and for us.

Our Gracious and Loving Savior,
we rejoice at Your Glorious intercession for us, Your people.
We praise You, that in Your darkest hours,
You still thought of us and prayed for us before the Throne of Grace.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning