Glory and Giving That All May Be One

Below is a rough translation and some initial comments regarding John 17:1-11, the lectionary gospel reading for the seventh Sunday of Easter.

Two verbs stand out prominently in this text: δοξάζω “glorify” and δίδωμι “give.”

δοξάζω appears 5 times, sometimes referring to the authority or glory that God has given to Jesus, several times to the persons whom God has given to Jesus, as well as to the name, the glory, the word, etc. that Jesus has given to them. δίδωμι appears 17 times in this chapter. 

I will carry both of these terms around with me as I rest in this text throughout the week. Your comments are very welcomed. 

¹ Ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν Ἰησοῦς, καὶ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν 

οὐρανὸν εἶπεν, Πάτερ, ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα: δόξασόν σου τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα ὁ υἱὸς 

δοξάσῃ σέ, 

Jesus spoke these things, and having lifted his eyes into the heaven said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, in order that the son may glorify you,

ἐλάλησεν: AAI 3s, λαλέω, 1) to utter a voice or emit a sound  2) to speak  

ἐπάρας: AAPart nsm, ἐπαίρω, 1) to lift up, raise up, raise on high  

ἐλήλυθεν: PerfAI 3s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  … of persons arriving and returning 

δόξασόν: AAImpv 2s, δοξάζω, 1) to think, suppose, be of opinion  2) to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate 

δοξάσῃ: AASubj 3s, δοξάζω, 1) to think, suppose, be of opinion  2) to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate 

1. The word glory/glorify will recur throughout the text in the verbal (δοξάζω) or nominal form (δόξῃ). Of note, it is not a general prayer for ongoing glorification, but is specific to the hour that has come and – with the verbs in the aorist tense – has a one-time ‘on this occasion’ feel. John uses the verb 18 times outside of our text. 

2. The mutuality of God and Jesus glorifying one another is very intriguing, isn't it? We will want to attend to how Jesus is using the word throughout this prayer and allow that use to define for us what, exactly, this term means. With this verse, the term is introduced, but does not yet have content for this moment. 

² καθὼς ἔδωκας αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν πάσης σαρκός, ἵνα πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ 

δώσῃ αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. 

Just as you gave to him authority of all flesh, in order that all whom you have given him he may give eons-long life.

ἔδωκας : AAI 2s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage  

δέδωκας : PerfAI 2s δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

δώσῃ : AASubj 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

1. Most refined translations say “over all flesh.” There is no preposition; it is implied in the genitive case of the words “all flesh.” I typically translate genitives with “of” and will leave it here in this rough translation to show that it is an implied word that shows the interpreter’s perspective of how authority works.

2.The second phrase is awkward because there are two objects of the verb “give” – ‘all’ and ‘ages-long life.’

3. I have revised my translation of ζωὴν αἰώνιον from “ages-long” to “eons-long life,” in order to stay as close to the actual Greek term αἰών (eon) as possible. Typically, the phrase is translated “eternal life,” although Youngs’s Literal Translation uses “life age-during.”  

Here's my rambling on this phrase, which you are welcomed to ignore: I don’t know why this phrase intrigues me so. I think sometimes we treat it as if it is about time – as we know it – that just keeps on ticking and ticking. But, time –as we know it – corrupts. That is why “aging” refers not only to the passage of moments, but the wearing and tearing of things. If we think of “eternal” as time – as we know it – just with lots and lots more seconds, hours, millennia, and eons tacked on to it, nothing physical would last, so we posit “spiritual” entities.

I think the phrase ζωὴν αἰώνιον is an attempt to point to a different kind of existence, one that is not bound by time but beyond time, where synchronicity, simultaneity, process, past, present, future, and duration all are fluid or else all one. Paul Tillich spoke of “eternal” as primarily a spatial and not a temporal word, pointing to the ‘depth’ of time, with vertical imagery rather than a horizontal line imagery. I think he was right about that, which allows us to think more promisingly about how even our temporal moments can be “eternal” in meaning and significance.

4. This sentence in the prayer begins with the word καθὼς. In Thayer's lexicon the translation options begin with "as, just as, even as" because it is a term of comparison. Thayer specifically says it indicated the 'first member' of a comparison. So, I am going to read vv. 2-4 as showing how God and Jesus have mutually glorified one another already. Vv. 2-3 show how God glorified Jesus, then v.4 shows how Jesus, in turn, glorified God. Then, when v.5 begins with "now ..." we are going to return to the hour at hand. 

³ αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή, ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν 

καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. 

Yet this is the eons-long life, that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent.

ἐστιν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

γινώσκωσιν : PASubj 3p, γινώσκω 1. know -est,-eth,-ing; knew, -est to perceive, observe, obtain a knowledge of or insight into.

ἀπέστειλας : AAI 2s, ἀποστέλλω, 1) to order (one) to go to a place appointed  2) to send away, dismiss  2a) to allow one to depart, that he may be in a state of  liberty  

1. Just an observation: Verses 1 began with the phrase, “Jesus spoke these things,” but every reference Jesus makes to himself is in the third person, not the first person voice. And the voicing seems to suggest that we're getting the commentary on the prayer as much as the prayer itself. Think about it, why would Jesus need to tell God what the 'eons-long life' is all about? I cringe when people do that in prayer, as if they need to tell God things like, "You said in your word that ..." It's that slippery slope between praying to God and preaching to whoever else is in the room. In this instance, I think the gospel writer is less actively recording an actual prayer that Jesus offered word for word and is doing theology, showing the relationship between the Christ and God by means of the relationship they have - in the form of a prayer. 

2. Having said that, this is an important explanation for us readers to hear! The phrase αἰώνιος ζωή is a key to John’s gospel, appearing 17 times with this as the last. The definition offered in this verse suggests that eons-long life is all about knowing God and Jesus the Christ. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard or preached a sermon that describes “eternal life” as simply this. We are often too busy trying to fit 'forever' into our sense of chronological time. 

⁴ ἐγώ σε ἐδόξασα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὸ ἔργον τελειώσας ὃ δέδωκάς μοι ἵνα 

ποιήσω: 

I glorified you on the earth, having completed the work which you have given to me in order that I would do;

ἐδόξασα: AAI 1s, δοξάζω, 1) to think, suppose, be of opinion  2) to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate 

τελειώσας : AAPart nsm, τελειόω, 1) to make perfect, complete  1a) to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end 

δέδωκας : PerfAI 2s δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

ποιήσω: AASubj 1s, ποιέω, 1) to make  1a) with the names of things made, to produce, construct,  form, fashion, etc.

1. It is curious that this pre-crucifixion prayer refers to Jesus having completed the work God gave him to do, rather than saying, “I’m almost done.” Again, this seems to be the guise of an ‘in-time’ prayer for Jesus, but is rather the narrator speaking to the community about Jesus.

⁵ καὶ νῦν δόξασόν με σύ, πάτερ, παρὰ σεαυτῷ τῇ δόξῃ ἧ εἶχον πρὸ τοῦ τὸν 

κόσμον εἶναι παρὰ σοί. 

And now you glorify me, Father, with yourself in the glory which I had with you before the world was.  

δόξασόν: AAImpv 2s, δοξάζω, 1) to think, suppose, be of opinion  2) to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate 

εἶχον : AAI 1s, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold  1a) to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have  (hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating  emotions, etc.), to hold fast keep, to have or comprise or  involve, to regard or consider or hold as 

εἶναι : PAInf, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

1. Here was my previous comment from 2014:

I’m at a loss for how to negotiate this verse. There are two things that are perplexing me. One is the τοῦ in the phrase, πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον – a genitive singular article, which is substantive since it is not followed by a genitive noun. I have a feeling that it is supposed to cast the rest of the sentence in some direction, but I don’t know what. The second is the present active infinitive εἶναι, which most translations treat as an indicative verb. I keep hoping for an illuminating connection between the naked substantive article and this curious infinitive, but I can’t even invent one. “Translation Fail.”

Then, Caleb Yoder responded with this:

You were wondering what to do with verse 5 (προ του τον κοσμον ειναι). I don't have a Greek grammar handy to cite, but I believe infinitives can have definite articles. So του belongs to the infinitive ειναι. It is genitive because it is governed by the preposition προ and "world" is accusative because it is the subject of the infinitive. Literally "before the world to be" or "before the world's being." In normal English, "before the world was/existed." The "with you" at the end probably goes with "that I had." "...the glory that I had with/alongside you before the world was."

I am grateful for this explanation and have revised my translation accordingly.

Thanks, Caleb.

2. "Glorify me ... with yourself" - I am following the path of the older translations, like the KJV and YLT here. Newer translations have "glorify me ... in your own presence" or something like that. I do not see a textual variation in my Greek NT, so I don't know if this is just a refined understanding or if there is a small textual difference that my edition does not consider important. I kind of like the notion of "glorify me ... with yourself," but perhaps that is too shaky of a translation to follow the path. 

3. Whether these are Jesus' actual words or a theological presentation of Jesus' relationship with God expressed in the form of a prayer, the notion of Jesus' pre-existence here seems directly connected to the Logo theology of John's prologue - or at least very close to it. (Of course, if the term eons-long might defy our concept of time, our notion of 'pre-existence' might need rethinking as well. I feel a dosage of temporal multi-versing might be in play.) 

⁶  Ἐφανέρωσά σου τὸ ὄνομα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὓς ἔδωκάς μοι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. 

σοὶ ἦσαν κἀμοὶ αὐτοὺς ἔδωκας, καὶ τὸν λόγον σου τετήρηκαν. 

I showed your name to the persons whom you gave to me out of the world. They were from you and to me you gave them, and they have attended to your word.

Ἐφανέρωσά : AAI 1s, φανερόω, 1) to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown,   to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way

ἔδωκας : AAI 2s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage  

τετήρηκαν:PerfAI 3p, τηρέω, 1) to attend to carefully, take care of  1a) to guard

1. As I stated last week, with reference to John 14:15 and 21, I translate τηρέω as “attended to,” partly because I think it is a significant word philosophically. (It’s a Kantian thing, prompted by Kant’s phrase of “every act of attention” – aufmerkung or ‘marking out’ in German – which I think is a primordial moment in both pure and practical reason.) To “attend to” Jesus’ commands or word is about turning oneself and devoting one’s attention and energy toward them. It seems no small thing that some folks attended to God's word. That act of attention may be very different from simply being religious. The timeless God of the ever-expanding universe is glorified when the timeless Christ takes on human flesh and leads a group of flawed persons to attend to God's word. What does that say about God? About how powerful it is for those of us who live in the stream of time to turn our attention to the Word of God?  

⁷ νῦν ἔγνωκαν ὅτι πάντα ὅ σα δέδωκάς μοι παρὰ σοῦ εἰσιν:

Now they have come to know that all which you have given to me is from you.

ἔγνωκαν : PerfAI 3p, γινώσκω, 1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel

δέδωκάς: PerfAI 2s δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

εἰσιν: PAI 3p, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

1. Some Greek texts have ἔδωκάς (aorist, “gave”) instead of δέδωκάς (Perfect). 

2. The delicacy of the past tenses looms large in a prayer that is supposed to be just before the significant event of Jesus' death in narrative time but is long after the death and resurrection in published time. It would not seem that those who followed Jesus had attained this knowledge prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

⁸ ὅτι τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἔδωκάς μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔλαβον καὶ 

ἔγνωσαν ἀληθῶς ὅτι παρὰ σοῦ ἐξῆλθον, καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅτι σύ με 

ἀπέστειλας. 

Because the words which you gave to me I have given to them, and they received and came to know truly that I came out from you, and they believed that you sent me.

ἔδωκάς: AAI 2s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

δέδωκα: PerfAI 1s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

ἔλαβον: AAI 3p, λαμβάνω, 1) to take  1a) to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing  in order to use it  1a1) to take up a thing to be carried 

ἔγνωσαν: AAI 3p, γινώσκω, 1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel  

ἐξῆλθον: AAI 1s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of   

ἐπίστευσαν: AAI 3p, πιστεύω, 1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place  confidence in

ἀπέστειλας: AAI 2s, ἀποστέλλω, 1) to order (one) to go to a place appointed 

1. I think vv. 7 and 8 are elaborations of what Jesus means in v.6, that Jesus has showed God’s name to the ones God gave him, and they attended to it.

⁹ ἐγὼ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐρωτῶ: οὐ περὶ τοῦ κόσμου ἐρωτῶ ἀλλὰ περὶ ὧν δέδωκάς 

μοι, ὅτι σοί εἰσιν, 

I ask concerning them – not concerning the world do I ask but concerning the ones whom you have given me – because they are yours,

ἐρωτῶ: PAI 1s, ἐρωτάω, 1) to question  2) to ask  2a) to request, entreat, beg, beseech 

δέδωκας : PerfAI 2s δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

εἰσιν: PAI 3p, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

¹⁰ καὶ τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά, καὶ δεδόξασμαι ἐν αὐτοῖς. 

And all mine is yours and yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.

ἐστιν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

δεδόξασμαι : PerfPI 1s, δοξάζω, 1) to think, suppose, be of opinion  2) to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate  3) to honor, do honor to, hold in honor

1. While I am a little perplexed by the “mine” and “yours” references – with no clear (to me) antecedent of “my what” or “your what,” at least the principle of identity here is quite familiar – one sees Jesus, one sees God, and visa-versa; Jesus is glorified, God is glorified, and visa-versa; what belongs to Jesus, belongs to God, and visa-versa. If the antecedent for this verse is "the ones whom you gave me" from v.9, then Jesus followers are mutually belonging to God and Jesus and it is Jesus' followers that Jesus has been glorified. 

¹¹ καὶ οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἰσίν, κἀγὼ πρὸς σὲ 

ἔρχομαι. Πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, ἵνα 

ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς. 

And I am no longer in the world, and they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, attend to them in your name which you have given to me, in order that they may be one just as we. 

εἰμὶ : PAI 1s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

εἰσίν: PAI 3p, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

ἔρχομαι: PMI 1s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning 

τήρησον : AAImpv 2s, τηρέω, 1) to attend to carefully, take care of  1a) to guard  1b) metaph. to keep

δέδωκας : PerfAI 2s δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

ὦσιν: PASubj 3p, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. The phrase “I am no longer in the world” is a real, real problem for people who want to treat the Scriptures as if they are actual day-by-day accounts of what was actually said in each moment. Narratively, Jesus is right there, in the world, praying this prayer after washing feet, giving commands, and instructing the disciples. The ‘Narrative Jesus’ might protest, “I’m not dead yet!” The ‘Praying Jesus’ is dead, raised, and gone again – no longer in the world – as John’s community would experience him. 

2. Now the identity of being ‘one’ that Jesus has been asserting over and over regarding himself and God is brought to a new place. His prayer is that those whom God has given to him out of the world might have that same kind of identity. 

3. Remembering the word καθὼς from v.2, we have another comparison. Now the petition is for God to attend to the followers of Jesus in order that they may be one. That would suggest that in the Christian community, we would mutually glorify one another, by presenting God's word and attending to God's word, as Jesus and God glorified one another. There is a lot to unpack in these comparisons, but it seems worth the effort. 

4. The prayer continues through the end of the chapter, but I do notice that Jesus forgot to say "Amen" when he was done.