And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
This verse comes from what scholars call Jesus' 'High Priestly Prayer' in John 17 — a deeply personal prayer Jesus prayed with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. Jesus is speaking directly to God the Father, asking to be restored to the divine glory he shared with God before the universe ever existed. This is one of the clearest statements in Scripture that Jesus did not begin at birth in Bethlehem — he came from somewhere, voluntarily set something aside to become human, and is now asking to return to it. The word 'glory' points to divine majesty, radiance, and honor that belongs to God alone. Jesus is not requesting something new; he is asking to be restored to what was already and eternally his.
Father, I can barely comprehend the glory your Son set aside to reach me. Thank you for counting the cost and coming anyway — not from a distance, but all the way down. Restore in me a sense of wonder at what you gave up, and help me live like someone who knows it. Amen.
Imagine giving up everything you have ever known — not just your comfort, but your very nature — and then, on the eve of your most painful hour, quietly asking to go home. That is what we are overhearing in this prayer. Jesus did not arrive in Bethlehem from nowhere. He stepped down from a glory so vast it existed before the first atom was spoken into being. And for thirty-three years, he wore the weight of flesh — hunger, rejection, grief, exhaustion — knowing exactly what he had left behind. There is something here that reshapes how you see what Jesus did for you. This was not a God untouched by sacrifice. He knew the full cost before he paid it. When you wonder if you actually matter to God, sit with this: the one who prayed to return to eternal glory first chose to stay long enough to find you. He gave up everything that was his so you could have everything that is his. That is not just theology — that is love with a face on it.
What does it mean to you that Jesus existed before the world began, and how does that change how you understand who he is and why he came to earth?
Have you ever voluntarily given something up for someone else, knowing the full cost beforehand? What did that sacrifice require of you, and how does it connect to what Jesus did?
This verse implies Jesus set aside divine glory to live as a fully human being. Does that challenge, deepen, or complicate your understanding of God becoming flesh?
Knowing that Jesus made a real, costly sacrifice specifically to reach you — how might that change the way you receive love and sacrifice from the people in your life?
Is there something you have been holding tightly that God might be asking you to lay down? What would it look like to actually trust him with it this week?
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 8:58
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Colossians 1:15
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Colossians 1:17
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Philippians 2:6
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
John 17:24
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
Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed.
AMP
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
ESV
'Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
NASB
And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
NIV
And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
NKJV
Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.
NLT
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, The very splendor I had in your presence Before there was a world.
MSG