Jesus asks the Father to glorify him 'with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.' The wording reaches behind Jesus' earthly life to existence before creation.
Jesus in Context
The Glory I Had With You Before the World Was
Jesus speaks of sharing glory with the Father before the world existed, making personal preexistence and divine glory explicit in the prayer.
Introduction
Historical and Cultural Context
The phrase 'before the world was' places the glory Jesus describes prior to the created order. In Jewish monotheistic thought, divine glory belongs uniquely to God, making the claim especially weighty. John has prepared for it from the prologue, where the Word exists 'in the beginning' with God and is God, and all things come into being through him. The verse speaks of shared personal glory, not merely an impersonal plan for future honor.
Why It Matters
The background makes this one of John's clearest statements of Christ's preexistence. Jesus does not ask for a glory he has never possessed.
He asks to be glorified with the Father with the glory that was his before creation, while remaining personally distinguishable from the Father he addresses.