Our short text can be divided into three parts:

• 31-32 – the glorification of God and Jesus
• 33 – Jesus’ departure
• 34-35 – the commandment to love.

The Glorification of God and Jesus. The immediate reference to Judas’ departure, like the coming of the Greeks (12:20-23), signals to Jesus that a new stage of the glorification has been reached. The betrayal has begun, and so “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” This verse and the following verse are particularly difficult to translate. The cross is itself the revelation of divine glory and the way for Jesus to share the divine life with his followers. It is also the way for God to glorify the Son in himself (v. 32), which he will do at once as Jesus returns to his presence (17:5). Just as Jesus’ keynote address focused on the relation between the Father and the Son (5:19-27), so also his farewell discourse begins from that same fundamental point. This relationship is central to this Gospel. Continue reading →