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<p id="Chapter17" align="center">Commentary by DAVID BROWN<br>CHAPTER 17
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<p id="Joh17_1"><a onclick="return mV('Jhn',17,'1-26');">Jhn 17:1-26</a>. THE INTERCESSORY PRAYER.
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<p>(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn014.html#Joh14_1">Joh 14:1</a>). Had this prayer <i>not</i> been recorded, what reverential reader would not have exclaimed, Oh, to have been within hearing of such a prayer as that must have been, which wound up the whole of His past ministry and formed the point of transition to the dark scenes which immediately followed! But here it is, and with such signature of the Lips that uttered it that we seem rather to hear it from Himself than read it from the pen of His faithful reporter.
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<p><b>1-3. These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes</b>—"John very seldom depicts the gestures or looks of our Lord, as here. But this was an occasion of which the impression was indelible, and the upward look could not be passed over" [ALFORD].
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<br><br><b>Father, the hour is come</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn013.html#Joh13_31">Joh 13:31</a>, JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn013.html#Joh13_32">Joh 13:32</a>).
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<br><br><b>glorify thy Son</b>—Put honor upon Thy Son, by countenancing, sustaining, and carrying Him through that "hour."
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<p id="Joh17_2"><b>2. given</b>—gavest
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<br><br><b>him power over all flesh</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Mat/Mat011.html#Mt11_27">Mat 11:27</a>; JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Mat/Mat028.html#Mt28_18">Mat 28:18-20</a>).
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<br><br><b>give eternal life to as many as,</b> etc.—literally, "to all that which thou hast given him." (See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn006.html#Joh6_37">Joh 6:37-40</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_3"><b>3. this is</b>—that.
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<br><br><b>life eternal, that they might</b>—may.
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<br><br><b>know,</b> etc.—This life eternal, then, is not mere conscious and unending existence, but a life of acquaintance with God in Christ (<a onclick="return mV('Job',22,21);">Job 22:21</a>).
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<br><br><b>thee, the only true God</b>—the sole personal living God; in glorious contrast equally with heathen <i>polytheism,</i> philosophic <i>naturalism,</i> and mystic <i>pantheism.</i>
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<br><br><b>and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent</b>—This is the only place where our Lord gives Himself this compound name, afterwards so current in apostolic preaching and writing. Here the terms are used in their strict signification—"JESUS," because He "<i>saves</i> His people from their sins"; "CHRIST," as <i>anointed</i> with the measureless fulness of the Holy Ghost for the exercise of His saving offices (see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Mat/Mat001.html#Mt1_16">Mt 1:16</a>); "WHOM THOU HAST SENT," in the plenitude of Divine Authority and Power, to save. "The very juxtaposition here of <i>Jesus Christ</i> with <i>the Father</i> is a proof, by implication, of our Lord's Godhead. The knowledge of <i>God and a creature</i> could not be eternal life, and such an association of the one with the other would be inconceivable" [ALFORD].
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<p id="Joh17_4"><b>4, 5. I have glorified thee on the earth</b>—rather, "I glorified" (for the thing is conceived as now <i>past</i>).
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<br><br><b>I have finished</b>—I finished.
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<br><br><b>the work which thou gavest me to do</b>—It is very important to preserve in the translation the <i>past</i> tense, used in the original, otherwise it might be thought that the work already "<i>finished</i>" was only what He had done <i>before uttering that prayer;</i> whereas it will be observed that our Lord speaks throughout as already beyond this present scene (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',17,12);">Jhn 17:12</a>, etc.), and so must be supposed to include in His "finished work" the "decease which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem."
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<p id="Joh17_5"><b>5. And now</b>—in return.
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<br><br><b>glorify thou me</b>—The "<i>I Thee</i>" and "<i>Thou Me</i>" are so placed in the original, each beside its fellow, as to show that A PERFECT RECIPROCITY OF SERVICES of the Son to the Father first, and then of the Father to the Son in return, is what our Lord means here to express.
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<br><br><b>with the glory which I had with thee before the world was</b>—when "in the beginning the Word was <i>with God</i>" (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',1,1);">Jhn 1:1</a>), "the only-begotten Son <i>in the bosom of the Father</i>" (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',1,18);">Jhn 1:18</a>). With this pre-existent glory, which He veiled on earth, He asks to be reinvested, the design of the veiling being accomplished—not, however, simply as before, but <i>now in our nature.</i>
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<p id="Joh17_6"><b>6-8.</b> From praying for Himself He now comes to pray for His disciples.
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<br><br><b>I have manifested</b>—I manifested.
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<br><br><b>thy name</b>—His whole character towards mankind.
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<br><br><b>to the men thou gavest me out of the world</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn006.html#Joh6_37">Joh 6:37-40</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_8"><b>8. they...have known surely that I came out from thee</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn016.html#Joh16_29">Joh 16:29</a>; JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn016.html#Joh16_31">Joh 16:31</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_9"><b>9-14. I pray for them</b>—not as individuals merely, but as representatives of all such in every succeeding age (see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_20">Joh 17:20</a>).
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<br><br><b>not for the world</b>—for they had been given Him "<i>out of</i> the world" (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',17,6);">Jhn 17:6</a>), and had been already transformed into the very <i>opposite</i> of it. The things sought for them, indeed, are applicable only to such.
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<p id="Joh17_10"><b>10. all mine are thine, and thine are mine</b>—literally, "All My things are Thine and Thy things are Mine." (On this use of the <i>neuter</i> gender, see on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn006.html#Joh6_37">Joh 6:37-40</a>). Absolute COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY between the Father and the Son is here expressed as nakedly as words can do it. (See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_5">Joh 17:5</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_11"><b>11. I am no more in the world</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_4">Joh 17:4</a>).
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<br><br><b>but these are in the world</b>—that is, Though My struggles are at an end, theirs are not; though I have gotten beyond the scene of strife, I cannot sever Myself in spirit from them, left behind and only just entering on their great conflict.
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<br><br><b>Holy Father</b>—an expression He nowhere else uses. "<i>Father</i>" is His wonted appellation, but "<i>Holy</i>" is here prefixed, because His appeal was to that perfection of the Father's nature, to "keep" or preserve them from being tainted by the unholy atmosphere of "the world" they were still in.
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<br><br><b>keep through thine own name</b>—rather, "in thy name"; in the exercise of that gracious and holy character for which He was known.
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<br><br><b>that they may be one</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_21">Joh 17:21</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_12"><b>12. I kept</b>—guarded.
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<br><br><b>them in thy name</b>—acting as Thy Representative on earth.
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<br><br><b>none of them is lost, but the son of perdition</b>—It is not implied here that the son of perdition was one of those whom the Father had given to the Son, but rather the contrary (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',13,18);">Jhn 13:18</a>) [WEBSTER and WILKINSON]. It is just as in <a onclick="return mV('Luk',4,26);">Luk 4:26</a>, <a onclick="return mV('Luk',4,27);">27</a>, where we are not to suppose that the woman of <i>Sarepta</i> (in Sidon) was one of the widows of <i>Israel,</i> nor Naaman the <i>Syrian</i> one of the lepers in <i>Israel,</i> though the language—the same as here—might <i>seem</i> to express it.
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<br><br><b>son of perdition</b>—doomed to it (<a onclick="return mV('2Th',2,3);">2Th 2:3</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Mar',14,21);">Mar 14:21</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_13"><b>13. I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves</b>—that is, Such a strain befits rather the upper sanctuary than the scene of conflict; but I speak so "<i>in the world,</i>" that My joy, the joy I experience in knowing that such intercessions are to be made for them by their absent Lord, may be tasted by those who now hear them, and by all who shall hereafter read the record of them,
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<p id="Joh17_14"></a>
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<p id="Joh17_15"><b>15-19. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world</b>—for that, though it would secure their own safety, would leave the world unblessed by their testimony.
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<br><br><b>but...keep them from the evil</b>—all evil in and of the world.
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<p id="Joh17_16"><b>16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world</b>—(See <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',15,18,19);">Jhn 15:18-19</a>). This is reiterated here, to pave the way for the prayer which follows.
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<p id="Joh17_17"><b>17. Sanctify them</b>—As the former prayer, "<i>Keep</i> them," was "negative," asking <i>protection</i> for them from the poisonous element which surrounded and pressed upon their renewed nature, so this prayer, "<i>Sanctify</i> them," is positive, asking the <i>advancement and completion</i> of their begun sanctification.
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<br><br><b>through</b>—in.
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<br><br><b>thy truth</b>—God's revealed truth, as the medium or element of sanctification; a statement this of immense importance.
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<br><br><b>thy word is truth</b>—(Compare <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',15,3);">Jhn 15:3</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Col',1,5);">Col 1:5</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Eph',1,13);">Eph 1:13</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_18"><b>18. As thou hast sent</b>—sentest.
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<br><br><b>me into the world, even so have I also sent them</b>—sent I also them.
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<br><br><b>into the world</b>—As their mission was to carry into effect the purposes of their Master's mission, so our Lord speaks of the <i>authority</i> in both cases as <i>co-ordinate.</i>
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<p id="Joh17_19"><b>19. And for their sakes I sanctify</b>—consecrate.
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<br><br><b>myself that they also might</b>—may.
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<br><br><b>be sanctified</b>—consecrated. The only difference between the application of the same term to Christ and the disciples is, as applied to Christ, that it means <i>only</i> to "consecrate"; whereas, in application to the disciples, it means to consecrate with the <i>additional idea</i> of previous sanctification, since nothing but what is holy can be presented as an offering. The whole self-sacrificing work of the disciples appears here as a mere <i>result</i> of the offering of Christ [OLSHAUSEN].
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<br><br><b>through</b>—in.
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<br><br><b>the truth</b>—Though the article is wanting in the original here, we are not to translate, as in the <i>Margin,</i> "<i>truly</i> sanctified"; for the reference seems plainly to be "the truth" mentioned in <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',17,17);">Jhn 17:17</a>. (See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_17">Joh 17:17</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_20"><b>20-23. Neither pray I for these alone</b>—This very important explanation, uttered in condescension to the hearers and readers of this prayer in all time, is meant not merely of what follows, but of the whole prayer.
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<br><br><b>them also which shall believe</b>—The majority of the best manuscripts read "which believe," all future time being viewed as <i>present,</i> while the present is viewed as past and gone.
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<p id="Joh17_21"><b>21. that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us</b>—<i>The indwelling Spirit of the Father and the Son</i> is the one perfect bond of union, knitting up into a living unity, first all believers amongst themselves; next, this unity into one still higher, with the Father and the Son. (Observe, that Christ <i>never mixes Himself up with His disciples as He associates Himself with the Father,</i> but says I in THEM and THEY in US).
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<br><br><b>that the world may believe that thou hast sent me</b>—sentest me. So the grand impression upon the world at large, that the mission of Christ is divine, is to be made by <i>the unity of His disciples.</i> Of course, then, it must be something that shall be <i>visible</i> or perceptible to the world. What is it, then? Not certainly a merely formal, mechanical unity of ecclesiastical machinery. For as that may, and to a large extent does, exist in both the Western and Eastern churches, with little of the Spirit of Christ, yea much, much with which the Spirit of Christ cannot dwell so instead of convincing the world <i>beyond its own pale</i> of the divinity of the Gospel, it generates infidelity to a large extent within its own bosom. But the Spirit of Christ, illuminating, transforming, and reigning in the hearts of the genuine disciples of Christ, drawing them to each other as members of one family, and prompting them to loving co-operation for the good of the world—this is what, when sufficiently glowing and extended, shall force conviction upon the world that Christianity is divine. Doubtless, the more that differences among Christians disappear—the more they can agree even in minor matters—the impression upon the world may be expected to be greater. But it is not <i>dependent</i> upon this; for living and loving oneness in Christ is sometimes more touchingly seen even amidst and in spite of minor differences, than where no such differences exist to try the strength of their deeper unity. Yet till this living brotherhood in Christ shall show itself strong enough to destroy the sectarianism, selfishness, carnality, and apathy that eat out the heart of Christianity in all the visible sections of it, in vain shall we expect the world to be overawed by it. It is when "the Spirit shall be poured upon us from on high," as a Spirit of truth and love, and upon all parts of the Christian territory alike, melting down differences and heart burnings, kindling astonishment and shame at past unfruitfulness, drawing forth longings of catholic affection, and yearnings over a world lying in wickedness, embodying themselves in palpable forms and active measures—it is then that we may expect the effect here announced to be produced, and then it will be irresistible. <i>Should not Christians ponder these things? Should not the same mind be in them which was also in Christ Jesus about this matter? Should not His prayer be theirs?</i>
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<p id="Joh17_22"><b>22. And the glory which thou gavest</b>—hast given.
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<br><br><b>me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one</b>—The last clause shows the meaning of the first. It is not the <i>future</i> glory of the heavenly state, but the secret of that <i>present</i> unity just before spoken of; <i>the glory,</i> therefore, <i>of the indwelling Spirit of Christ;</i> the glory of an accepted state, of a holy character, of every grace.
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<p id="Joh17_23"><b>23. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_21">Joh 17:21</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_24"><b>24-26. Father, I will</b>—The majesty of this style of speaking is quite transparent. No petty criticism will be allowed to fritter it away in any but superficial or perverted readers.
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<br><br><b>be with me where I am</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn014.html#Joh14_3">Joh 14:3</a>).
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<br><br><b>that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me</b>—(See on JFB for <a href="./Comm/jfb/Jhn/Jhn017.html#Joh17_5">Joh 17:5</a>). Christ regards it as glory enough for us to be admitted to see and gaze for ever upon <i>His</i> glory! This is "the beatific vision"; but it shall be no mere vision, for "we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is" (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',3,2);">1Jo 3:2</a>).
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<p id="Joh17_25"><b>25. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee</b>—knew thee not.
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<br><br><b>but I have known thee</b>—knew thee.
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<br><br><b>and these have known</b>—knew.
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<br><br><b>that thou hast sent</b>—sentest
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<br><br><b>me</b>—As before He said "<i>Holy</i> Father," when desiring the display of that perfection on His disciples (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',17,11);">Jhn 17:11</a>), so here He styles Him "<i>Righteous</i> Father," because He is appealing to His righteousness or justice, to make a distinction between those two diametrically opposite classes—"<i>the world,</i>" on the one hand, which would not "know the Father, though brought so nigh to it in the Son of His love, and, on the other, <i>Himself,</i> who recognized and owned Him, <i>and even His disciples,</i> who owned His mission from the Father.
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<p id="Joh17_26"><b>26. And I have declared</b>—I made known or communicated.
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<br><br><b>thy name</b>—in His past ministry.
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<br><br><b>and will declare it</b>—in yet larger measure, by the gift of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and through all succeeding ages.
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<br><br><b>that the love wherewith thou hast loved</b>—lovedst.
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<br><br><b>me may be in them, and I in them</b>—This eternal love of the Father, resting first on Christ, is by His Spirit imparted to and takes up its permanent abode in all that believe in Him; and "He abiding in them and they in Him" (<a onclick="return mV('Jhn',15,5);">Jhn 15:5</a>), they are "<i>one Spirit.</i>" "With this lofty thought the Redeemer closes His prayer for His disciples, and in them for His Church through all ages. He has compressed into the last moments given Him for conversation with His own the most sublime and glorious sentiments ever uttered by mortal lips. But hardly has the sound of the last word died away, when He passes with the disciples over the brook Kedron to Gethsemane—and the bitter conflict draws on. The seed of the new world must be sown in Death, that thence Life may spring up" [OLSHAUSEN].
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