¹¹ “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.

His work on earth was finished; He was no longer part of the worldly scene. Yes, He was still physically in the world for a few more hours, but for all intents and purposes, He was done. He came to do the Father’s will, and all that is left is to leave the world, to die. But in that departure would be the salvation of the world. What a grand finale that was going to be. It was as good as done.

Theologians speak of the prophetic past tense, where a prophet refers to future events using the grammatical past tense, as though already completed. The idea is that God above and beyond all time is everywhere and always present; He sees the future the same as He sees the past. So in a divine intersection with time and space, Jesus speaks with a sense of finality, for He sees the next few hours as already completed.

He could speak of no longer being in the world though, because His primary prophetic ministry was over—there was no more offer of the kingdom. Not until after His death would the invitation go out again (Acts 3:19-21). Between the Upper Room prayer and His execution, He will not be inviting anyone to, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Only to the thief on the cross did He promise, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), which is distinguished from “the kingdom.”

Jesus will no longer be in the world as the pre-crucified Messiah, because of His death on the cross. He will no longer be in the world as the pre-resurrected hope of Israel. Christ will no longer be in the world as the Son who learned obedience through suffering (Heb 5:8). He will no longer be veiled in His glory, being made “a little lower than the angels” (Heb 2:7). No longer will He be “emptied…humbled” (Phil 2:7-8). The pre-glorified incarnation will be a thing of the past, the specific task for which He came into the world would be completed. His time on earth, like ours, was only temporary.

Since the fall in Eden, death has plagued all of humankind. Life on earth as we know it now became temporary. But there is hope beyond because Jesus who came into this world is “no longer in the world.” He did not come to stay, but to be the “first fruits” from the dead, to lead us to eternal life, to fellowship with Him forever (1 Cor 15:20). Now if He is the first fruits from the dead, then we who are the rest of the harvest will someday no longer be in the world either.

Lord Jesus, I look forward to being with You forever, no longer in this world.