Glory of the Father: As Jesus approached the hour of His crucifixion, He prayed for His own glory, but He did so with the ultimate aim to glorify the Father (17:1). This desire for the Father’s glory was not a one-time act; it was the defining character of His entire life (17:4; 7:18). Moreover, Jesus had every right to exalt Himself, but He chose to lay it aside (John 5:41, 44; Phil. 2:6). He humbly depended on the Father to glorify Him.[1] As He reached the hour of His death, He even asked that the glory bestowed on Him would make the Father’s glory to shine all the brighter. He literally lived and died for His Father’s glory.

Glory in Salvation: The glory of Christ in the cross was the glory of salvation. It is what Paul says is the glory of God’s grace (Eph. 1:6). Jesus’ death revealed the magnitude of God’s generosity toward undeservingly sinners. This glory of grace is what the myriad of angels attribute to Christ and loudly say, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive… glory” (Rev. 5:12). It is His sacrifice that made Him worthy of heaven’s praise, because with His own blood He purchased for God sinners worldwide (Rev. 5:9). Moreover, since this work of Christ was the fulfillment of the plan and the commandment of the Father (John 10:18; 1 Pet. 1:18-20), the author of the plan of redemption, God the Father, receives glory and honor in heaven as a result. Thus, every created thing ascribes glory “to Him who sits on the throne” (the Father) and “to the Lamb” (to the Son) (Rev. 5:13). Christ went to the cross, to magnify the glory of God’s grace in redemption. The glory of the Father and the Son thus shines brightly like the sun, causing all to behold the grandeur of divine grace.

[1] Jesus prayed that the Father glorify Him (17:1). Moreover, the Father exalted Jesus, not Himself (Phil. 2:9).