17 "When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."
John 17:1-5
The idea and function of the high priest is well illustrated by the Old Testament institution, as we see it described in Exodus 28:9-29. In the detailed ordering of the high priestly garments, two things stand out in particular: one, the two onyx stones on the shoulders of the ephod; the other, the breastplate in which twelve precious stones were set. The onyx stones bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and in this symbol the children of Israel are represented as resting on the shoulders of their God. It speaks of the power of God to uphold His people, to carry them through every stress and strain, and over every difficult road. They are on His shoulders, and therefore underneath them are the everlasting arms. In the second piece of symbolism, the precious stones set in the breastplate each bore the name of one of the tribes of Israel, and this signified that their names lay near to the heart of their God. All are precious to Him, each with a different preciousness. Here, it is the tender love of God for His people that is revealed in a wonderfully graphic way. These are the pictures that we ought to be reading into our Lord's high priestly intercession in this chapter, for here, in words that are ineffable and certainly much too deep for our full understanding, He expresses the love that He has for His people.