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B. W. Johnson The Christian International Lesson Commentary for 1886 |
LESSON XII.--SEPTEMBER 19.
JESUS INTERCEDING.--JOHN 17:1-26.
INTRODUCTION.
This prayer, so solemn and so tender, would never have been recorded had it not been intended for our study and profit, but I approach it with a feeling that it is almost too sacred for the usual verbal and textual criticism. It is the overflow of the full soul of the Lord in devotion to the Father, a fitting close to the wonderful discourses beginning in chapter 13; offered, standing, in the Upper Room, just before the Lord led his disciples out into the moonlit night, on the way to Gethsemane. This is the real Lord's Prayer of the sacred word; the prayer of Matt. 6:9-13, is the disciples' prayer, taught to them by the Lord. In order to drink in its spirit, the student must realize that the Lord stands at the foot of the cross, is about to suffer, and before the separation from his disciples and the agony and shame of the cross, he goes to the Father in their behalf and in his own.
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: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 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. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 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. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 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. 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. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 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. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also might be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 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. 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. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 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. |
1 These things spake Jesus, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee: 2 even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that whatsoever thou hast given him, to them he should give eternal life. 3 And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are from thee: 8 for the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine: 10 and all things that are mine are thine: and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are. 12 While I was with them I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world. 19 And for their sake I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me. 22 And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one; 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me. 24 Father, that which thou hast given me, I will that, where I am, that also may be with me; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world knew thee not, but I knew thee; and these knew that thou didst send me; 26 and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them. |
1. Father, the hour is come. After the discourses were ended, he "lifted up his eyes," the very attitude being stamped on the memory of John, and began his prayer. "The hour" of the great sacrifice, of the tragedy of the cross, the hour for which Christ came into the world had now come; in this hour he needs the Father's presence. Glorify thy Son. He was about to stoop to shame. It was an unutterable humiliation for the Son to die as a malefactor. He prays that God may lift him from this humiliation to his former glory, that he may glorify the Father. Had he been left in the tomb, the shame would have been complete. Christ not only prays that he shall be "lifted up," but that he may so "drink the cup" that the cross itself shall be a glory. The glorification of the Son in his resurrection and exaltation demonstrates the glory of his self-sacrifice and humiliation.
2. As thou hast given him power over all flesh. This shows how the Son is to be glorified. It is by "giving him all power in heaven and earth," and [214] "committing all things" to him, raising him from the dead so that "he should give eternal life."
3. This is life eternal, that they might know thee, etc. The knowledge of God as manifested in Jesus Christ is the first requisite to salvation and life eternal. When there is full knowledge, a recognition by the heart as well as the intellect, of God in Christ, then comes submission and eternal life. Man cannot know Christ by the intellect alone. That knowledge requires faith and love. Not God alone must be known, but Christ also, for he "is the way, the truth, and the life."
4. I have glorified thee on the earth. He had done this because he could say, "I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do." In a few hours he would cry from the cross, "It is finished."
5. And now, O Father, glorify me, etc. In this prayer the word Father occurs six times. Jesus never says, "Our Father," as he teaches us to pray, nor "My Father," which would separate him from us, but "Father." He repeats the requests to be glorified and explains what he means. He asks a restoration of his former glory, that he had before he took on himself human form.
6. I have manifested thy name to the men which thou gavest me, etc. In the first five verses he had prayed for himself. Now he prays for his disciples. The apostles are especially meant. To them he had "manifested the name by revealing the Father in himself and showing God's matchless love.
7. That all things . . . given me are of thee. The Lord had taught with great emphasis that he and the Father were one, and that his words and works were of the Father. This the apostles were now learning. As all was of God it would stand firm and eternal, in spite of the cross.
8. They have believed that thou didst send me. The life, teaching and miracles of Jesus had wrought profound faith in his disciples, but they were startled and staggered when he told them he was about to die. Hence, we have these long and tender discourses for their preparation. They have the desired effect, for in [215] chapter 16:29, 30, they repeat their declaration of love, saying: "We believe thou comest from God."
9. I pray for them. The apostles. The prayer from verse 9 to verse 19 is for these. I pray not for the world. Not at this time; he came into the world to save it, and we are not to conclude that he would never pray for its conversion and welfare. Now, however, his petition is confined to the apostles, the little band who are hanging upon his words. He even bids us to pray for our enemies (Matt. 5:44), yet some rigid Calvinists have insisted that Christ would only pray for his chosen ones. Paul bids us pray for all men.
10. I am glorified in them. Christ's glory here upon the earth is manifested by his disciples. These are all God's, for "all mine are thine, and thine are mine." There are no separate interests. He therefore pleads for his disciples; 1. Because they are the Father's; 2. To them is entrusted the work of manifesting the glory of the Son's redeeming love. They are to proclaim the gospel to the world.
11. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. He now goes to the Father; these are left behind to preach the gospel, establish his kingdom, manifest his glory. Hence, he pleads that he may "keep them through his name," or power and love. He especially pleads that they may be kept "one," united as the Father and the Son. They had often shown jealousies and ambitions, but in order to do Christ's work they must be united as a band of loving brothers, of one family, with one interest and one work.
12. None of them is lost but the son of perdition. God had given him twelve; he had kept them in the name of the Father, and only one was lost, Judas, the traitor, the son of perdition, which the Scripture had predicted. See Ps. 41:9. So, even one of those that God had given him could be lost.
13. I speak these things in the world. I am now coming to thee, and about to leave the world, but before I leave it, I speak these things in order that my joy, the joy I feel over my completed work and return to my Father, might be fulfilled in them, by their being partakers of my joy. [216]
14. I have given them thy word. I have entrusted to them the word of the Lord, to preach it, the gospel, to men.
15, 16. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. The world had hated the Master and was about to slay him, because he was not of the world. So it would hate the apostles, who were not of the world, and seek to slay them; he does not pray that they should be taken out of, the world, for they have a work to do, but that the Father would keep them from the power of the evil one. See Revision. Like him, they are to be "separate from sinners, and undefiled," but to remain that they may carry on the saving work.
17, 18. Sanctify them by thy truth: thy word is truth. To sanctify is to render holy, or to consecrate. Those sanctified are saints. The means of canonization is not a Pope, but the truth, and lest some should mistake, Christ adds, "Thy word is truth." He prays for their consecration by the power of the word in their hearts. Every disciple should be thus consecrated, but the means is not "the second blessing," a miraculous work of grace, but the reception of God's word into our hearts and the complete surrender to his will spoken in his word. The apostles needed that consecration for the work named in verse 18. They were to be sent into the world to work and suffer, as the Father has sent the Son.
19. For their sakes I sanctify myself. He did this when he came into the world, when he made it his meat to do the Father's will, and when he gave himself to death. We sanctify ourselves when we "present our bodies as living sacrifices."
20. Neither pray I for these alone. We enter upon the third section of the prayer, that for all disciples in every age, a prayer for us, for all who should believe on the Lord through the preaching of the gospel by the apostles. Every one who loves the Redeemer should reverently seek what the Lord prays for in his behalf.
21. That they all may be one; . . . that they my be one in us. This is a prayer [217] for the closest union among the saints. As the Father and Son are one they are to be one. The Lord all through this discourse has shown the intimate union between the Father and himself. The Father is in him and he in the Father, all that is the Father's is his, and his is the Father's. They have no separate will, kingdom, or interests. Such a union is demanded among the disciples of Christ. It is impossible while they are divided into various denominations with separate work, property and interests, separate churches, colleges, papers and missions. Denominationalism is utterly opposed to this prayer, and every apologist for it is disloyal to the spirit of the prayer. Nor is it fulfilled in any church where there are factions, where "all are not perfectly joined together, of the same mind and the same judgment." If Christ abides in the heart, the one life will draw all who have Christ formed within them, into one family. This unity is needful and the Lord prays for it, That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. There is no other source of skepticism so fruitful as church quarrels and sectarian divisions. The consecration and unity of Christendom would speedily convert the world. The most potent argument of the infidel against the Kingship of Christ is that he has not power to unite his followers.
22, 23. The glory . . thou gavest me I have given them. God gave Christ the glory of Sonship and this resulted in their unity. So Christ gives to his disciples the glory of becoming the sons of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1). This glory, the adoption and gift of the Spirit, ought to effect that they be one as we are one, with Christ in them, and God in Christ. With Christ in us and God in Christ, we ought to be "perfectly joined together," and be so "perfect in one" that the world would see in our peace, love and unity, that God had sent Christ and that he was reigning in our hearts.
24. I will that they . . . be with me where I am. That in due time all my disciples shall follow me to heaven, where they shall see the glory of Christ.
25. I have known thee. The world knew not God, and Christ came to reveal him. He had revealed him to his disciples and they would reveal him to the world. [218]
26. I have declared unto them thy name. The character and love of God and the blessings of his service.
PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.
1. Even our Lord found it needful to pray. How can we live without prayer?
2. Our Lord prayed for himself, not for temporal benefits, but for eternal glory. So, too, we may pray, but not that we may have to spend upon our lusts. We may pray for consecration.
3. We should especially pray for what the Lord prayed, that we may be one as he and the Father are one. Every saint ought to speak, labor and pray for the unity of Christendom.
4. We cannot pray the prayer of Jesus and labor to build up sectarianism. In the spirit of love we should oppose it, and labor to destroy sectarian names, creeds, organizations and interests. As the Son and the Father are one, have one work, one kingdom, one spirit, one interest, so must all that are Christ's. We must "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." There is "one body" and "one Spirit," as there is "one Lord."
5. Division is the shame of Protestants. The Catholics point to it and exclaim, "Is Christ divided?" Infidels point to it and say, "This is Babylon, confusion. All is uncertainty. These people cannot see alike or agree." As long as this division prevails the world will be unconverted.
6. It is one thing to preach union, and another to have the spirit of union. None have it unless the love of Christ abides in the heart. A church, rent with antagonism, defeats the Savior's prayer. The man who preaches union with a narrow, exclusive, sectarian spirit in his heart, defeats Christ's will. He who preaches union must be so filled with Christ's love that he will extend his hand to all who love the Master.
[CLC01 214-219]
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