Yohanes 17:4-5

17:4 I glorified you on earth by completing ¹  the work you gave me to do. ²  17:5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side ³  with the glory I had with you before the world was created. ⁴ 

Yohanes 19:30

19:30 When ⁵  he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” ⁶  Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ⁷ 

Ibrani 2:10

2:10 For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, ⁸  in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer ⁹  of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Ibrani 5:9

5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

¹ tn Or “by finishing” or “by accomplishing.” Jesus now states that he has glorified the Father on earth by finishing (τελειώσας [teleiwsas] is best understood as an adverbial participle of means) the work which the Father had given him to do.

sn By completing the work. The idea of Jesus being sent into the world on a mission has been mentioned before, significantly in 3:17. It was even alluded to in the immediately preceding verse here (17:3). The completion of the “work” the Father had sent him to accomplish was mentioned by Jesus in 4:34 and 5:36. What is the nature of the “work” the Father has given the Son to accomplish? It involves the Son’s mission to be the Savior of the world, as 3:17 indicates. But this is accomplished specifically through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross (a thought implied by the reference to the Father “giving” the Son in 3:16). It is not without significance that Jesus’ last word from the cross is “It is completed” (19:30).

² tn Grk “the work that you gave to me so that I may do it.”

³ tn Or “in your presence”; Grk “with yourself.” The use of παρά (para) twice in this verse looks back to the assertion in John 1:1 that the Word (the Λόγος [Logos], who became Jesus of Nazareth in 1:14) was with God (πρὸς τὸν θεόν, pro" ton qeon). Whatever else may be said, the statement in 17:5 strongly asserts the preexistence of Jesus Christ.

⁴ tn Grk “before the world was.” The word “created” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

sn It is important to note that although Jesus prayed for a return to the glory he had at the Father’s side before the world was created, he was not praying for a “de-incarnation.” His humanity which he took on at the incarnation (John 1:14) remains, though now glorified.

⁵ tn Grk “Then when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Or “It is accomplished,” “It is finished,” or “It is ended.” See tn on John 13:1.

⁷ tn Or “he bowed his head and died”; Grk “he bowed his head and gave over the spirit.”

⁸ tn Grk “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.”

⁹ sn The Greek word translated pioneer is used of a “prince” or leader, the representative head of a family. It also carries nuances of “trailblazer,” one who breaks through to new ground for those who follow him. It is used some thirty-five times in the Greek OT and four times in the NT, always of Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2).