John 17:4-8 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gave me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gave me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gave them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gave me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou did send me.
‘Glorified thee on the earth’ this is done by demonstrating the will of God in teaching, healing, and holy living.
‘Work which thou gave me to do’ this is the work of Matthew 4:23 and Acts 10:38. The work of redemption was to be finished in a few hours at the crucifixion (John 19:30). The work in heaven is still going on (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 4:14-16; 7:25).
‘With the glory which I had with thee before the world was’ – a plain reference to His self-emptying (see Php. 2:7) where the Greek word kenoo means to empty out, drain. It is translated “make void,” “make of none effect,” and “make of no reputation.”
Here He refers to three experiential states: Eternal pre-existence (Mic. 5:1-2; John 1:1-2; Rev. 1:8, 11; 2:8; 22:13; Col. 1:15-18); Earthly self-emptying (Luke 2:40, 52; John 1:14; Php. 2:5-11; Heb. 1:3-9; 2:9-18; 4:14-16; 5:7); and Restored glory (John 17:5; Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-23; Php. 2:9-11; 1Pet. 3:22; Heb. 12:2; Rev. 3:21).
‘Thy name’ – speak of authority in His name (John 5:43; 10:25). ‘The men which thou gave me out of the world’ These men not only included the 12, but also the 70 disciples and many others that had come to believe in Him. Note ten things about these men: Jesus has manifested the Father’s name and glory to them (17:6, 22, 23); they were the Father’s (17:6, 9); they had received and kept His Word (17:6, 8); they knew God and believe that Jesus came from the Father (17:7, 8, 25); the world hated them (17:14); they were not of the world even as Jesus was not (17:14-16); Jesus was glorified in them (17:10); the Father gave them Jesus (17:2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 24); Jesus gave them eternal life (17:2-3); those that the Father gave Jesus He has kept, and none of them was lost, except for Judas (17:12).
Living the Word 