We are going to be studying the first couple of verses in John 17 which is known as Jesus' high priestly prayer. But before we get to Christ's prayer, I wanted to set the stage for you. When Jesus prays in John 17, he begins with glory, God the Father's glory, His glory. It's all glory. The first time we find the world Glory is in our verse, verse 14. So this would be a good place to begin our Advent focus. As I read our verse, it struck me as interesting that John would use an aorist tense to describe the glory they saw. "We beheld / saw His glory." The aorist usually speaks to a point in time past. We SAW his glory. KJV says "We BEHELD" So why does the ESV use "We have seen". I think it is because they are making an import interpretive point. Is it right for translators to do that? No. But that's for another discussion. The fact is, several modern translations have done this. It is a simple aorist, past tense verb. When John writes, "We behld his glory." He's not simply recounting a moment in history. This is so much more than just a memory of days gone by. John is not just thinking of a wonderful Christmas event. This statement is the defining statement on the lives of the apostles. "We have seen His glory. We beheld His glory." This is their identity now. They are the men who witnessed the Glory of God. And they were never again like they were before. It changed them. And when you see the glory of Jesus Christ, it will change you too. |
