And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self. — These words are exactly parallel with the commencement of the previous verse. “I,” “Thou,” “Thee — Me,” “on earth,” “with Thine own self.” (Comp. John 13:31-32.)
With the glory which I had with thee before the world was. — This clause admits of but one meaning — viz., that Jesus claimed for Himself the possession of the divine glory in His pre-existent state before the world was; and that He claimed this in personality distinct from, but in essence one with God. (Comp. John 1:1; John 1:18, and on the whole passage, Notes on Philippians 2:4-9.) The special importance of the thought here is that it is uttered in the words of Christ Himself, and that these words are a prayer to the Father. There can be no explanation of John 17:1-5 of this chapter, which denies that our Lord Jesus Christ claimed for Himself that He was divine, and co-eternal with the Father.