JOHN CHAPTER 17.
VIEW FOOTNOTES
Christ's
Great Sacerdotal Prayer. John
17, 1-26.
Christ
prays for His own glorification: V. 1. These words spake Jesus, and
lifted up
His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son
that Thy
Son also may glorify Thee, V. 2. as Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh
that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. V.
3. And
this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and
Jesus
Christ, whom Thou hast sent. V. 4. I have glorified Thee on the earth;
I have
finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. V. 5. And now, O Father,
glorify
Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before
the
world was. Jesus had finished the words of His last great charge to
His
disciples. And now He lifts up His eyes to His
heavenly Father and pours forth His soul in a most wonderful and
inspiring
prayer of intercession. It has fitly been called the great sacerdotal
prayer,
for here Jesus appears in His work as Mediator, beseeching His heavenly
Father
first for Himself, then for His little band of disciples, and finally
for all
those that would be gathered by the proclamation of the Gospel. There
is so much
beauty, comfort, and power in this simple prayer that its main thoughts
at
least, if not the entire text, should be memorized. Jesus prayed in the
presence
of His disciples; what He wanted to tell the Father, what He wanted to
ask of
the Father, was in their interest, and in the interest of the faithful
of all
times. "But this is the summary and reason for this chapter. Upon a
good
sermon there should follow a good prayer, that is: If one has sent
forth the
Word, he should begin to utter prayerful sighs and to desire that it
may also
have power and work fruit. For since Christ the Lord has now enunciated
all His
doctrine and office and completed it, and has blessed His disciples
with the
fine, long, comforting sermon, He finally felt constrained to speak a
prayer,
both for them and for all Christians, in order that He might fully
bring to end
His office, as our one High Priest, and omit nothing that would serve
to
strengthen and keep them, since He wanted to leave them behind Him in
the
world." 74) Jesus addresses His Father in just that one word, thereby
giving to His prayer a tone of intimacy and confidence which should
characterize
every true prayer. The hour is come, that one hour which was to be the
climax
and culmination of His life's work, the hour in which He was to go to
the Father
through His death. Therefore the Father should glorify the Son, He
should have
the purpose of His life carried out through His Passion, death,
resurrection,
and session at the right hand of God. This glorification concerns the
human
nature of Christ; according to this nature He was to be endowed with
the
unlimited exercise of all the divine attributes. And the object of this
glorification would be, in turn, that the Son should glorify the
'Father. The fulfillment
of the will of the Father, the reconciliation of the world, the
imparting of the
redemption to all believers, all these facts would redound to the glory
of the
Father. The entire work of Christ in His state of exaltation is a
continuous
glorifying of the Father: its aim and object is the praise of God for
His grace
and mercy in Christ Jesus. The glorification of the Father is therefore
in
accordance with the measure of power given to Christ with respect to
all flesh,
that God, on account of the work of Jesus, might have the Savior give
to
everyone that belonged to Him eternal life. The Son has the authority
and power
to give eternal life to them that God gave Him as His own. Through His suffering
and death Jesus has power over all flesh, since He earned all men,
gained them
for Himself, by His redemption. There is none excepted: whosoever
belongs to the
category "flesh" is included in the number of those for whom Jesus
paid with His blood. And out of this whole number God has given certain
ones to
Jesus. They are the ones that actually receive the salvation of Jesus
by faith,
they are the only ones that actually become partakers of the grace of
God in
Christ the Savior. The object of salvation, intended for all men, is
realized
only in the case of the believers. But this life eternal, which the
believers
receive at the hands of Jesus, consists in the true knowledge, in the
right
understanding of God as the only true God, as the one and only Lord,
and of
Jesus Christ, the Savior, in both His person and office, as the one
sent by God
to accomplish the salvation of the world. The knowledge and belief in
both the
Father and the Son are necessary for the obtaining of eternal life, for
the two
are on the same level: the Father has revealed Himself in the Son, and
the Son
has made known the Father. Eternal life is the intimate union and
communion with
the Father and the Son. This happiness and bliss begins even here in
time; here
on earth, indeed, only in part, but in the future life in all its
fulness and
glory. In this way the Son glorifies the Father, by bringing the
believers to
the right knowledge of the Father. This work He began in this world,
that was
one of the purposes of the incarnation. The fact that Jesus carried out
the work
entrusted to Him, that He fulfilled the will of the Father in every
detail, will
serve the glory and praise of the Father. Every person that was gained
by the
teaching of Jesus will add his voice in praising the God of mercy and
in praying
to Him in spirit and in truth. All this being accomplished, the Father
should
now, in turn, receive the Son up into glory. crown His human nature
with the
full and unrestricted exercise of all the divine attributes and powers
which
were His in the bosom of the Father before the world began. Jesus, even
in the
midst of humiliation on earth, was the possessor of the divine glory;
even as
man He was almighty, omniscient, omnipresent. But He did not make use
of these
divine attributes communicated to Him except in His miracles and at a
few other
occasions when the flashes of His divine majesty became visible to men.
But
through His Passion, death, and resurrection Jesus wanted to enter into
the
state of glory, into the full exercise and enjoyment of the heavenly,
divine
essence, and of all the joy and bliss in the presence of His Father,
also
according to His human nature. This section of Christ's prayer
therefore
includes a petition for Himself, namely, for His own glorification as
man; but
He indicates even here that this glorious culmination will be of
benefit also to
men.
Christ
prays for the disciples as such that have kept the Word: V. 6. I
have
manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world;
Thine
they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word. V. 7.
Now they
have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee.
V. 8. For
I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have
received
them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have
believed
that Thou didst send Me. The prayer of the Lord now concerns His
disciples,
specifically His apostles. To them He has manifested, revealed, the
name of the
Father; the whole essence and glory of the Father Jesus has proclaimed
and
taught to those men whom the Father had given Him out of the world as
His, own.
He has shown them what the feeling and. intention of the Father is
toward sinful
men. By this preaching and the call which it included certain men were
separated
out of the world by the Father and allotted, given, to Christ. They
were God's
own by His choice and selection; and the Father gave them to Christ in
time, in
order that the latter might give them the revelation and knowledge
necessary for
obtaining eternal life. This object was realized; the men accepted and
kept the
Word of the Gospel; the faith which was worked in their hearts clings
to the
promises of the Gospel. The disciples, first of all, had gained the
understanding that Jesus was not acting in an independent capacity,
apart from
the will and counsel of God, but that all the gifts and powers and
words which
He displayed and taught were from the Father. Then also, when Jesus had
delivered to them the words which He had received from His Father, they
had
accepted them in faith. By their acceptance of the words, of the
teaching of
Christ with this understanding, they have shown that they have true
faith and
correct knowledge. So the disciples have the true knowledge, the
certainty of
faith, that Christ really came from the Father, that He was the
Messenger and
Ambassador of the Father to mankind. To accept the Word of God, to
cling to the
promises and statements of the Gospel, that is the characteristic
attitude and
work of the believers. So much the ministry of Jesus and His testimony
had
effected in their case.
The
distinction between the disciples and the world: V. 9. I pray for
them; I
pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they
are
Thine. V. 10. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am
glorified in
them. V. 11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the
world, and
I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom
Thou hast
given Me, that they may be one as We are. Jesus here makes a
deliberate
distinction. He expressly says that He is praying for His disciples;
His
intercession concerns them only. He sets aside the unbelieving world,
for the
unbelievers included under that name refuse to accept Him under any
circumstances. "But this is the difference. In this way and in the same
manner He does not pray for the world as He does for His Christians.
For the
Christians and for all that are to be converted He prays thus, that
they may
remain in the true faith, grow and continue in it, and not fall away
from it,
and that those that are still without faith leave their manner and also
come.
That means to pray right and well for the world, as we should all
pray."
75) For those that God has given Him by a deliberate act of mercy, and
that
belong to God by His gracious choice and selection, Jesus prays. He is
so
certain of being heard in this instance because the believers are God's
own, in
whom He will naturally take an interest. And Jesus here addresses the
Father in
a very bold manner: And what is Mine is all Thine, and what is Thine is
Mine. He
calmly claims absolute community of interests and property for Himself
and the
Father. "This no creature can say before God. For you must understand
this
not only of that which the Father has given Him on earth, but also of
His one
divine essence with the Father. For He speaks not only of His disciples
and
Christians, but comprehends in one heap all that is the Father's,
eternal,
almighty essence, life, truth, righteousness, etc., that is, He
confesses freely
that He is true God, for the word 'All that is Thine is Mine' permits
nothing to
be excluded. If everything is His, then also the eternal Godhead is
His;
otherwise He cannot and dare not use the word 'all.' " 76) And so
Jesus,
the Son of God, that has everything in common with the Father, is
glorified in
His believers. He has taught them to know Him; He has brought His
picture as the
Redeemer of the world into their souls. Their understanding has been
enlightened
to enable them to understand, at least in a measure, the purpose of God
in the
salvation of the world, to place their trust in Christ, in the definite
hope
that the remaining revelation will be theirs in heaven. The career of
Jesus in
the world is now coming to its end; He is now leaving the world to
return to His
Father. But the disciples are still in the world, in the midst of
unbelievers
and enemies of the Gospel. Therefore the earnest petition of Christ is
most
necessary, that His Father, the holy Father, that desires to keep His
holy name
unsullied, would keep the believers in His name, in the confession of
His name,
in true faith, to the end. Only if the Father Himself takes care of His
own,
will the spiritual union of the believers in no wise be disturbed or
brought to
naught. God must keep the believers in the one true faith by the Word
of His
truth, which reveals and teaches His name. The preservation in faith is
the work
of God. To Him the believers of all times must look to keep them
steadfast in
His Word and faith, unto the end, as is His gracious and good will.
Keeping
the believers in God's name: V. 12. While I was with them in the
world, I
kept them in Thy name; those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none
of them
is lost but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be
fulfilled. V. 13.
And now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that
they might
have My joy fulfilled in themselves. As long as Jesus was present
in the
world, in the flesh, so long He personally tended to the keeping of His
disciples in the faith. He taught, He admonished them day by day; He
always
revealed anew to them the name of the Father, in the Gospel which He
proclaimed.
And His Gospel-work had been most successful. He had kept all of the
disciples
whom the Father had given Him, His watchful guiding and warning had not
been in
vain but only in one single case, that of the son of perdition, of the
traitor.
In his case the Scripture had to be fulfilled. Cp. Ps. 69, 4; Acts 1,
20. But
now the sojourn of Christ on earth was drawing to a close; no more
would He be
present with His disciples in the terms of personal, visible contact to
which
they had become accustomed. Jesus was going to the Father, and
therefore He was
making this prayer in their presence, while He was yet in the world,
that they
might be convinced of His personal interest in them, of His unchanging
solicitude for them. His urgent prayer for their preservation in the
faith
should give them the assurance, as it should to the believers of all
times, that
nothing is left undone which will assist them in the midst of all the
perils of
the world and their own flesh. That is a source of wonderful comfort to
the
believers, that gives them the fullness of joy. Theirs, then, is a joy
in
Christ; they are happy over the fact that they are Christians, that
they are
intimates of the Father. This joy must drive out every bit of doubt as
to a
person's remaining in faith to the end, just as this entire section of
Christ's
prayer contains nothing but comfort for every Christian. Where there is
such
intimacy as between God and Christ, on the one hand, and the believers,
on the
other, all fear and doubts must vanish. "Now if some one wants to know
whether he is elected or in what relation he stands to God, let him but
look
upon the mouth of Jesus, that is, upon these and similar verses. For
though a
person cannot say of a certainty who will be elected in the future and
remain to
the end, yet this is certainly true, that whosoever is called and comes
thereto,
namely, to hear this revelation, that is, the Word of Christ, provided
he accept
it in all sincerity, that is, fully hold and believe that it is true,
they are
the ones that are given to Christ by the Father . But those that are
given to
Him He will surely keep, and insist that they do not perish." 77)
The Word keeps in faith: V. 14. I have given them Thy Word; and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. V. 15. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. V. 16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. V. 17. Sanctify them through Thy truth; thy Word is truth. V. 18. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. V. 19. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Only one means Jesus knows of, both for working faith and for keeping in the faith, and that means He has given to the disciples: the Word of the Father. There is no need of following the lead of enthusiasts that prate of new revelations, the inner light, and keys to the Scriptures. The Word of the Gospel as we have it in Scriptures is all-sufficient for all needs. But the Word thus becomes a distinguishing factor, since the Christians accept it, and the world, the unbelievers, refuses to recognize its worth and power. The result is that the unbelieving world hates the Christians. Their acceptance of the Gospel is a constant accusation of the world's rejection of Christ; it emphasizes the essential difference between believers and unbelievers. The former have nothing in common with the world, with the nature and manner of the children of the world. The attitude toward the Word of the Gospel is the deciding factor; the Word is the touchstone by which men decide their fate. The Word therefore is the rock-foundation of a Christian's faith. "There I have the Word of Christ, my Lord, yea, of the almighty Father in heaven; that I know and am certain, if I cling to that, then no power on earth nor the gates of hell can harm me, for He loves His Word and will hold His hand over it, and therefore also protect and defend all that cling to it." 78) The Christians, then, are perfectly willing and satisfied to occupy the position in which the world places them by its hatred, since thereby they are identified more fully with Christ. Purposely, therefore, Jesus does not ask that the believers be taken out of the world, that they be removed from the proximity of harm and danger and hatred, but only that the Father would keep them, shield them against the wiles of the devil. That is the one side of the Christians' preservation in faith, which is the work of God. God guards and protects them from their enemies, the world and the devil, by not permitting these enemies to seduce them, nor lead them into misbelief, despair, or other great shame and vice. That danger is always present, and many a believer has been overcome, since he did not trust in the power of God alone. What Jesus here prays should be remembered by all Christians at all times: They do not belong to the world, as I am not of the world. Christ and the unbelieving world have nothing in common; and so the followers of Christ and the unbelieving world can have nothing in common. Their interests, their objects, lie in opposite directions and can never be reconciled. To attempt a compromise with the unbelieving world is to make peace with the devil. And therefore the prayer of Jesus takes this factor into account. He asks that God complete the separation between the believers and the world, sanctify the disciples wholly by consecrating them to God alone, through the power of the Word. The Christians are sanctified, separated from the world, as soon as faith has been wrought in their hearts. But it is the power of God in the Word which must continue to keep them separated and consecrated. And this sanctification and these fruits of faith are not our work and ability, but God's mercy and divine power. 79) The believers being thus set apart through the power of the Word, they are ready for their great ministry. Even as God sent the Son into the world to preach and bring salvation, so the Son, in turn, sends the believers out into the world to preach the redemption that has been earned by Jesus. They should be witnesses for the truth, they should confess Christ. They are His witnesses to the world, for all men are included both under sin and under grace, John 3, 16. In the midst of the unbelieving world Christ wanted to build His Church. And in order that this might be accomplished, in order that the work of the disciples might be done with the feeling of free and full consecration, Jesus consecrates Himself, gives Himself as a sacrifice for the whole world. He is about to enter upon His Passion now to work a perfect redemption. And every believer that accepts this deliverance, this redemption, thereby is separated from the hostile, unbelieving world and consecrated in and for the truth of the Gospel. Thus the disciples are sanctified and remain sanctified; they remain in the Word of Truth, in and through which the sin which persists in troubling them is forgiven, and they receive strength both to combat the evil and to carryout the will of the Lord for the proclamation of the Word to others.
Christ
prays for the future believers: V. 20. Neither pray I for these
alone, but
for them also which shall believe on Me through their word, V. 21. that
they all
may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also
may be one
in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. V. 22. And
the glory
which Thou gavest Me I have given them, that they may be one, even as
We are
one: V. 23. I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in
one; and
that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as
Thou
hast loved Me. V. 24. Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast
given Me be
with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given
Me; for
Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. Jesus Himself
had gained
believers, disciples, through the preaching of the Word. In their
interest He
had addressed a large section of His prayer to His heavenly Father. But
before
His mind's eye there arose the picture of the future, when the purpose
of His
work in the world would be fully realized, when the holy Christian
Church, the
communion of saints, would be gathered from all nations. Through the
testimony
of the disciples, whom He is commissioning as His messengers to the
world, there
will be others, many others, that would believe on Him through the Word
as
proclaimed by the servants of the Lord. And all these believing
Christians of
all times shall be one. All those that have faith in Jesus Christ as
their
Savior, and actually put all their trust in Him alone, are thereby
united most
closely and inseparably. Even though they know nothing of each other,
even
though they belong to various Christian denominations: if they but have
faith in
the Word and in the Savior in their hearts, they are all truly,
internally one
(communion or saints. This unity of the Church of all places and of all
times is
in God, in the Father and Son. It is as real and intimate as the union
obtaining
between these two persons of the Godhead. And the influence of this
great united
body, though invisible in itself, will be such as to compel the
acknowledgment
of the world as to Christ's having been sent into the world by the
Father to
work salvation for all men. There are so many manifestations of the
power of God
in the work of the Church that at all times some, at least, in the
world are
convinced and gained for Christ. The Christian Church does a great deal
of
missionary work by its very existence. Add to that the confession and
the
testimony of the believers, and much may be accomplished for the Savior
and His
glory. To this end the Lord has given to His disciples the glory which
He has
received from the Father. The Christians, by the call of Christ, have a
certain
amount of divine nature, of divine power, by virtue of their
regeneration and
sanctification. They exhibit this divine life in their whole being and
manner.
Their every word and act serves to impress men with the power of the
Word of God
in them. But it serves especially to make that communion of their
hearts and
minds before the Lord perfect, since it places them in contrast to the
world.
And thus again the unbelieving world gets some idea of the truth of the
Christian religion and of its superhuman power. Some of them will
always, by the
grace of God, form the right conclusions as to the mission of Christ
and as to
the certainty of God's love toward them, equal in sincerity and power
to that
wherewith He loves the Son. Jesus, therefore, in His omniscience
beholding the
assembly of the Church as it will be gathered until the end of time,
makes a
bold request: Father, those that Thou hast given Me, I will that where
I am,
they also be with Me. Here is the confidence of the Redeemer, whose
vicarious
work is sufficient for all men. The elect of God are Christ's own, and
He holds
them safe against all enemies, to be with Him in all eternity. And all
the
greater is His boldness for this request, since they were given to Him,
because
the Father loved His Son from eternity, before the foundation of the
world was
laid. And the consummation of Christian blessedness will be the share
of the
believers, according to this prayer of the Lord, since they will see
the glory
of their Redeemer; they will behold the head which was once crowned
with thorns
adorned with everlasting honor as the eternal Son of God with power.
That is the
final goal of. faith, the final purpose of the election of
grace-eternal life,
eternal glory in and with Christ. 80)
The
conclusion of the prayer: V. 25. O righteous Father, the world hath
not known
Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent
Me. V. 26.
And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it, that the
love
wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them and I in them. It is
the
righteous Father whom Christ is addressing, and therefore He who
fulfilled all
righteousness may well expect from Him the hearing of a prayer based
upon the
complete redemption of the world. The unbelieving world does not know
the
Father, and will not know the Father. But the fact that the Son knows
Him will
effect the granting of this petition, and the fact that the believers
place
their trust in the Son's mission and atonement places them in a
position which
will insure the hearing of the prayer. Their faith and their
understanding is of
the right kind and results in the intimate relationship upon which they
base
their hope. The teaching of Christ by which He revealed the name, the
Word, and
the will of the Father has not been in vain. This work of Christ will
continue
also in the state of exaltation, through the preaching of His
disciples, until
the end of time. And wherever the name of God is preached, there His
honor and
glory will be exalted.. "And mark that He not only says: I have
declared
unto them Thy name, but also adds: And I will declare it, that is, I
not only
want to have a beginning and let it go at that, but I want to continue
always,
and do that same thing without ceasing, both through Word and: Spirit,
that
people seek nothing else or higher, but always have enough to do to
grasp it
better and more strongly. For therein lies the power that we learn to
know the
Father well through faith, in such a way that the heart full of
consolation and
with happy trust in all mercy will stand before Him, and fear no
wrath."
81) In this way only will the final object of Christ's salvation be
realized,
namely,. that the love of the Father in Christ dwells in the believers,
and
Christ Himself is united with them for all eternity. The entire prayer
of Christ
is a wonderful expression of His love.
Summary. Christ, in His sacerdotal prayer, prays first of all for His own glorification, then for His present disciples, and finally for the future believers, asking that the gracious power of God may be manifested for their union here on earth and in the final consummation of glory and bliss in heaven.