1DiesesG5023 redeteG2980 JesusG2424 undG2532 hobG1869 seineG846 AugenG3788 aufG1869 genG1519 HimmelG3772 undG2532 sprachG2036: VaterG3962, die StundeG5610 ist gekommenG2064; verherrlicheG1392 deinenG4675 SohnG5207, auf daßG2443 deinG4675 SohnG5207 dichG4571 G2532 verherrlicheG1392. 2GleichwieG2531 du ihmG846 GewaltG1849 gegebenG1325 hast über allesG3956 FleischG4561, auf daßG2443 er allenG3739 G3956, die du ihmG846 gegebenG1325, ewigesG166 LebenG2222 gebeG1325. 3DiesG3778 aberG1161 istG2076 das ewigeG166 LebenG2222, daßG2443 sie dichG4571, den alleinG3441 wahrenG228 GottG2316, undG2532 denG3739 du gesandt hastG649, JesumG2424 ChristumG5547, erkennenG1097. 4IchG1473 habe dichG4571 verherrlichtG1392 aufG1909 der ErdeG1093; das WerkG2041 habe ich vollbrachtG5048, welchesG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, daßG2443 ich es tunG4160 sollte. 5UndG2532 nunG3568 verherrlicheG1392 duG4771, VaterG3962, michG3165 beiG3844 dir selbstG4572 mit der HerrlichkeitG1391, dieG3739 ich beiG3844 dirG4671 hatteG2192, eheG4253 die WeltG2889 warG1511. 6Ich habe deinenG4675 NamenG3686 geoffenbartG5319 den MenschenG444, dieG3739 du mirG3427 ausG1537 der WeltG2889 gegebenG1325 hast. Sie warenG2258 deinG4674, undG2532 du hast sieG846 mirG1698 gegebenG1325, undG2532 sie haben deinG4675 WortG3056 bewahrtG5083. 7JetztG3568 haben sie erkanntG1097, daßG3754 allesG3956, wasG3745 du mirG3427 gegeben hastG1325, vonG3844 dirG4675 istG2076; 8dennG3754 die WorteG4487, dieG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, habe ich ihnenG846 gegebenG1325, undG2532 sie haben sie angenommenG2983 undG2532 wahrhaftigG230 erkanntG1097, daßG3754 ich vonG3844 dirG4675 ausgegangenG1831 bin, undG2532 haben geglaubtG4100, daßG3754 duG4771 michG3165 gesandt hastG649. 9IchG1473 bitteG2065 fürG4012 sieG846; nichtG3756 bitte ichG2065 fürG4012 die WeltG2889, sondernG235 fürG4012 die, welcheG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, dennG3754 sie sindG1526 deinG4674, 10(undG2532 allesG3956, was meinG1699 ist, istG2076 deinG4674, undG2532 was deinG4674 ist, meinG1699,) undG2532 ich bin inG1722 ihnenG846 verherrlichtG1392. 11UndG2532 ich binG1510 nichtG3765 mehrG2089 inG1722 der WeltG2889, undG2532 dieseG3778 sindG1526 inG1722 der WeltG2889, undG2532 ichG1473 kommeG2064 zuG4314 dirG4571. HeiligerG40 VaterG3962! bewahreG5083 sieG846 inG1722 deinemG4675 NamenG3686, denG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, auf daßG2443 sie einsG1520 seienG5600, gleichwieG2531 wirG2249. 12AlsG3753 ich beiG3326 ihnenG846 warG2252 G1722 G2889, bewahrteG5083 ichG1473 sieG846 inG1722 deinemG4675 NamenG3686, denG846 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast; und ich habe sie behütetG5442, undG2532 keinerG3762 vonG1537 ihnenG846 ist verlorenG622, als nurG1508 der SohnG5207 des VerderbensG684, auf daßG2443 die SchriftG1124 erfüllt werdeG4137. 13JetztG3568 aberG1161 kommeG2064 ich zuG4314 dirG4571; undG2532 diesesG5023 redeG2980 ich inG1722 der WeltG2889, auf daßG2443 sie meineG1699 FreudeG5479 völligG4137 inG1722 sichG846 habenG2192. 14IchG1473 habe ihnenG846 deinG4675 WortG3056 gegebenG1325, undG2532 die WeltG2889 hat sieG846 gehaßtG3404, weilG3754 sie nichtG3756 vonG1537 der WeltG2889 sindG1526, gleichwieG2531 ichG1473 nichtG3756 vonG1537 der WeltG2889 binG1510. 15Ich bitteG2065 nichtG3756, daßG2443 du sieG846 ausG1537 der WeltG2889 wegnehmestG142, sondernG235 daßG2443 du sieG846 bewahrestG5083 vorG1537 dem BösenG4190. 16Sie sindG1526 nichtG3756 vonG1537 der WeltG2889, gleichwieG2531 ichG1473 nichtG3756 vonG1537 der WeltG2889 binG1510. 17HeiligeG37 sieG846 durchG1722 dieG4675 WahrheitG225: deinG4674 WortG3056 istG2076 WahrheitG225. 18GleichwieG2531 du michG1691 inG1519 die WeltG2889 gesandtG649 hast, habeG649 auchG2504 ich sieG846 inG1519 die WeltG2889 gesandtG649; 19undG2532 ichG1473 heiligeG37 mich selbstG1683 fürG5228 sieG846, auf daßG2443 auchG2532 sieG846 GeheiligteG37 seienG5600 durchG1722 WahrheitG225. 20AberG1161 nichtG3756 fürG4012 dieseG5130 alleinG3440 bitteG2065 ich, sondernG235 auchG2532 fürG4012 die, welche durchG1223 ihrG846 WortG3056 anG1519 michG1691 glaubenG4100; 21auf daßG2443 sie alleG3956 einsG1520 seienG5600, gleichwieG2531 duG4771, VaterG3962, inG1722 mirG1698 und ichG2504 inG1722 dirG4671, auf daßG2443 auchG2532 sieG846 inG1722 unsG2254 einsG1520 seienG5600, auf daßG2443 die WeltG2889 glaubeG4100, daßG3754 duG4771 michG3165 gesandt hastG649. 22UndG2532 die HerrlichkeitG1391, dieG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, habeG1325 ichG1473 ihnenG846 gegebenG1325, auf daßG2443 sie einsG1520 seienG5600, gleichwieG2531 wirG2249 einsG1520 sindG2070; 23ichG1473 inG1722 ihnenG846 undG2532 duG4771 inG1722 mirG1698, auf daßG2443 sie inG1519 einsG1520 vollendetG5048 seienG5600, [und]G2532 auf daßG2443 die WeltG2889 erkenneG1097, daßG3754 duG4771 michG3165 gesandtG649 undG2532 sieG846 geliebtG25 hast, gleichwieG2531 du michG1691 geliebtG25 hast. 24VaterG3962, ich willG2309, daßG2443 die, welcheG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, auchG2548 beiG3326 mirG1700 seienG5600, woG3699 ichG1473 binG1510, auf daßG2443 sie meineG1699 HerrlichkeitG1391 schauenG2334, dieG3739 du mirG3427 gegebenG1325 hast, dennG3754 du hast michG3165 geliebtG25 vorG4253 GrundlegungG2602 der WeltG2889. 25GerechterG1342 VaterG3962! - undG2532 die WeltG2889 hatG1097 dichG4571 nichtG3756 erkanntG1097; ichG1473 aberG1161 habeG1097 dichG4571 erkanntG1097, undG2532 dieseG3778 haben erkanntG1097, daßG3754 duG4771 michG3165 gesandtG649 hast. 26UndG2532 ich habe ihnenG846 deinenG4675 NamenG3686 kundgetanG1107 undG2532 werde ihn kundtunG1107, auf daßG2443 die LiebeG26, womitG3739 du michG3165 geliebt hastG25, inG1722 ihnenG846 seiG5600 und ichG2504 inG1722 ihnenG846.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE INTERCESSORY PRAYER. (John 17:1-26)
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes--"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].
Father, the hour is come--(See on
John 13:31-
John 13:32).
glorify thy Son--Put honor upon Thy Son, by countenancing, sustaining, and carrying Him through that "hour."
2 given--gavest
him power over all flesh--(See on
Matt 11:27;
Matt 28:18-
Matt 28:20).
give eternal life to as many as, &c.--literally, "to all that which thou hast given him." (See on
John 6:37-
John 6:40).
3 this is--that.
life eternal, that they might--may.
know, &c.--This life eternal, then, is not mere conscious and unending existence, but a life of acquaintance with God in Christ (
Job 22:21).
thee, the only true God--the sole personal living God; in glorious contrast equally with heathen polytheism, philosophic naturalism, and mystic pantheism.
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent--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 "saves His people from their sins"; "CHRIST," as anointed with the measureless fulness of the Holy Ghost for the exercise of His saving offices (see on
Matt 1:16); "WHOM THOU HAST SENT," in the plenitude of Divine Authority and Power, to save. "The very juxtaposition here of Jesus Christ with the Father is a proof, by implication, of our Lord's Godhead. The knowledge of God and a creature could not be eternal life, and such an association of the one with the other would be inconceivable" [ALFORD].
4 I have glorified thee on the earth--rather, "I glorified" (for the thing is conceived as now past).
I have finished--I finished.
the work which thou gavest me to do--It is very important to preserve in the translation the past tense, used in the original, otherwise it might be thought that the work already "finished" was only what He had done before uttering that prayer; whereas it will be observed that our Lord speaks throughout as already beyond this present scene (
John 17:12, &c.), and so must be supposed to include in His "finished work" the "decease which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem."
5 And now--in return.
glorify thou me--The "I Thee" and "Thou Me" 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.
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was--when "in the beginning the Word was with God" (
John 1:1), "the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father" (
John 1:18). 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 now in our nature.
6 From praying for Himself He now comes to pray for His disciples.
I have manifested--I manifested.
thy name--His whole character towards mankind.
to the men thou gavest me out of the world--(See on
John 6:37-
John 6:40).
8 they . . . have known surely that I came out from thee--(See on
John 16:29;
John 16:31).
9 I pray for them--not as individuals merely, but as representatives of all such in every succeeding age (see on
John 17:20).
not for the world--for they had been given Him "out of the world" (
John 17:6), and had been already transformed into the very opposite of it. The things sought for them, indeed, are applicable only to such.
10 all mine are thine, and thine are mine--literally, "All My things are Thine and Thy things are Mine." (On this use of the neuter gender, see on
John 6:37-
John 6:40). Absolute COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY between the Father and the Son is here expressed as nakedly as words can do it. (See on
John 17:5).
11 I am no more in the world--(See on
John 17:4).
but these are in the world--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.
Holy Father--an expression He nowhere else uses. "Father" is His wonted appellation, but "Holy" 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.
keep through thine own name--rather, "in thy name"; in the exercise of that gracious and holy character for which He was known.
that they may be one--(See on
John 17:21).
12 I kept--guarded.
them in thy name--acting as Thy Representative on earth.
none of them is lost, but the son of perdition--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 (
John 13:18) [WEBSTER and WILKINSON]. It is just as in
Luke 4:26-
Luke 4:27, where we are not to suppose that the woman of Sarepta (in Sidon) was one of the widows of Israel, nor Naaman the Syrian one of the lepers in Israel, though the language--the same as here--might seem to express it.
son of perdition--doomed to it (
2Thess 2:3;
Mark 14:21).
13 I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves--that is, Such a strain befits rather the upper sanctuary than the scene of conflict; but I speak so "in the world," 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,
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world--for that, though it would secure their own safety, would leave the world unblessed by their testimony.
but . . . keep them from the evil--all evil in and of the world.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world--(See
John 15:18-
John 15:19). This is reiterated here, to pave the way for the prayer which follows.
17 Sanctify them--As the former prayer, "Keep them," was "negative," asking protection for them from the poisonous element which surrounded and pressed upon their renewed nature, so this prayer, "Sanctify them," is positive, asking the advancement and completion of their begun sanctification.
through--in.
thy truth--God's revealed truth, as the medium or element of sanctification; a statement this of immense importance.
thy word is truth--(Compare
John 15:3;
Col 1:5;
Eph 1:13).
18 As thou hast sent--sentest.
me into the world, even so have I also sent them--sent I also them.
into the world--As their mission was to carry into effect the purposes of their Master's mission, so our Lord speaks of the authority in both cases as co-ordinate.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify--consecrate.
myself that they also might--may.
be sanctified--consecrated. The only difference between the application of the same term to Christ and the disciples is, as applied to Christ, that it means only to "consecrate"; whereas, in application to the disciples, it means to consecrate with the additional idea 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 result of the offering of Christ [OLSHAUSEN].
through--in.
the truth--Though the article is wanting in the original here, we are not to translate, as in the Margin, "truly sanctified"; for the reference seems plainly to be "the truth" mentioned in
John 17:17. (See on
John 17:17).
20 Neither pray I for these alone--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.
them also which shall believe--The majority of the best manuscripts read "which believe," all future time being viewed as present, while the present is viewed as past and gone.
21 that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us--The indwelling Spirit of the Father and the Son 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 never mixes Himself up with His disciples as He associates Himself with the Father, but says I in THEM and THEY in US).
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me--sentest me. So the grand impression upon the world at large, that the mission of Christ is divine, is to be made by the unity of His disciples. Of course, then, it must be something that shall be visible 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 beyond its own pale 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 dependent 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. 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?
22 And the glory which thou gavest--hast given.
me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one--The last clause shows the meaning of the first. It is not the future glory of the heavenly state, but the secret of that present unity just before spoken of; the glory, therefore, of the indwelling Spirit of Christ; the glory of an accepted state, of a holy character, of every grace.
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one--(See on
John 17:21).
24 Father, I will--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.
be with me where I am--(See on
John 14:3).
that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me--(See on
John 17:5). Christ regards it as glory enough for us to be admitted to see and gaze for ever upon His 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" (
1John 3:2).
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee--knew thee not.
but I have known thee--knew thee.
and these have known--knew.
that thou hast sent--sentest
me--As before He said "Holy Father," when desiring the display of that perfection on His disciples (
John 17:11), so here He styles Him "Righteous Father," because He is appealing to His righteousness or justice, to make a distinction between those two diametrically opposite classes--"the world," 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, Himself, who recognized and owned Him, and even His disciples, who owned His mission from the Father.
26 And I have declared--I made known or communicated.
thy name--in His past ministry.
and will declare it--in yet larger measure, by the gift of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost and through all succeeding ages.
that the love wherewith thou hast loved--lovedst.
me may be in them, and I in them--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" (
John 15:5), they are "one Spirit." "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].
