Session 25: December 17, 2022
Scripture Reading: John 17:1-26
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you— 2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created.
6 “I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you, 8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me because they belong to you. 10 Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I have been glorified by them. 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. 12 When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. 19 And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.
20 “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me. 26 I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”
Main Themes
Jesus’ Last Will and Testament
Chapters 13 to 17 resemble a testament, what we now call a will (the full name being a Last Will and Testament). Chapter 17 is particularly reminiscent of the genre, given the frequency of blessings and wish-prayers in testaments. Although recognizing the “testament flavor” of this chapter does not teach us much theology, it certainly does tell us something about the mood. To Jesus’ audience, he sounds like someone who is saying good bye in light of his upcoming death. We should keep in mind this somber tone when reading the text.
Praying With Eyes Open
If we saw Jesus pray, we would probably think his mannerisms were quite strange. As in many modern cultures, we pray with our eyes cast down, probably closed, and our hands together. First century Jews and Greeks prayed quite differently. Their eyes would be open with their gaze directed up to the heavens. Their hands often would be lifted up. This is by no means the main point of this passage, but awareness of our cultural practices is always valuable. If someone does not bow his head to pray, he is not necessarily a heathen.
A Fulfilling Prayer
Chapter 17 is a long prayer. It can roughly be divided into three sections. Jesus prays for himself, then for his disciples, and finally for all future believers. Before we proceed to analyze each section, we should consider how Jesus is fulfilling different Old Testament types.
The prayer is thoroughly Jewish while being thoroughly Christocentric. The common Jewish motifs of the unity of God’s people; the people’s love for God; God’s glory; the paramount importance of obedience to God; the setting apart of God’s people; and, the crucial role of God’s agent are all present. However, each of these themes is reinterpreted through the lens of Christ. Perhaps a better word than reinterpreted is fulfilled. Let’s review the Old Testament types that express these themes.
Jesus Fulfilling Moses
In chapter 17, Jesus is the greater Moses. Recall Moses’ interaction with God immediately after the Golden Calf incident. Exodus 33:3-18 (edited for brevity):
[The Lord said to Moses,] “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.”
When the people heard this troubling word they mourned . . . .
Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone seeking the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.
And when Moses went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand at the entrance to their tents and watch Moses until he entered the tent. And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people, each one at the entrance of his own tent, would rise and worship. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, the way a person speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.
Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name, and also you have found favor in my sight.’ Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your way, that I may know you, that I may continue to find favor in your sight. And see that this nation is your people.”
And the Lord said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
And Moses said to him, “If your presence does not go with us, do not take us up from here. . . .
The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have requested, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
And Moses said, “Show me your glory.”
Notice the similar themes between Moses’ intercession for Israel and Jesus intercession for his disciples. Particularly, both Moses and Jesus pray for a display of glory. We have discussed glory many times before. It is a pregnant term with a large range of meaning. We normally associate it with exaltation. However, its main (although not exclusive) meaning is revelation. “Show me your glory” could be paraphrased as “show me who you really are; show me all of you.” Besides glory, the other theme strongly shared between Moses’ intercessory prayer and Jesus’ intercessory prayer is the request that God’s presence go with his people.
Jesus Fulfilling the High Priest
The comparison between Jesus and the office of the high priest is not an inference—it is made explicit in the New Testament.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:14-18)
What was the role of the high priest? Let’s consider what a Christian website tells us (edited for brevity):
The high priest was the supreme religious leader of the Israelites. The office of the high priest was hereditary and was traced from Aaron, the brother of Moses, of the Levite tribe (Exodus 28:1; Numbers 18:7). . . .
Because the high priest held the leadership position, one of his roles was overseeing the responsibilities of all the subordinate priests (2 Chronicles 19:11). . . . [T]he Hebrew people would go to the high priest in order to know the will of God (Numbers 27:21). . . . In the New Testament, we find a reference to the high priest having the gift of prophecy (John 11:49-52).
The high priest had to offer a sin offering not only for the sins of the whole congregation, but also for himself (Leviticus 4:3-21). . . .
The most important duty of the high priest was to conduct the service on the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month of every year. Only he was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place behind the veil to stand before God. Having made a sacrifice for himself and for the people, he then brought the blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the mercy seat, God’s “throne” (Leviticus 16:14-15). He did this to make atonement for himself and the people for all their sins committed during the year just ended (Exodus 30:10). It is this particular service that is compared to the ministry of Jesus as our High Priest (Hebrews 9:1-28).
In light of chapter 17, consider the following prayer by the high priest:
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
“‘“The Lord bless you and protect you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.”’”
“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-26)
There are is an unmistakably common theme between the high priestly prayer in Numbers and Jesus’ prayer in John: “Lord make [your] face to shine upon [your people].”
Jesus Fulfilling the Prophets
The main role of the prophets was to receive the word of the Lord and communicate it to the people. However, there were instances in which the prophets acted as intercessors. Consider the prophet Amos:
The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.) When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,
“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel!
How can Jacob survive?
He is too weak!”
The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.
The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the Sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields. I said,
“Sovereign Lord, stop!
How can Jacob survive?
He is too weak!”
The Lord decided not to do this. The Sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.” (Amos 7:1-6)
The intercessory role of the prophets is natural—indeed, nearly inevitable. If the Lord communicates terrible news to you, you could hardly avoid responding, “Oh Lord, relent!”
Just like there is a similarity of themes between the messages of Moses and Jesus and the high priest and Jesus, there is a similarity of themes between the words of the prophets and Jesus. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus has shared not only the words of God but God’s very image with the people. In chapter 17, Jesus considers the tribulation to come and prays that God may show favor to his people.
Jesus Prays for Himself
As I pointed out above, Chapter 17 is a long prayer. The first section (vv. 1-5) can be considered a prayer for Jesus himself.
Mutual Glorification
Jesus begins by highlighting the mutual glorification between the father and the son. Remember, for example, John 12:23-28:
Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life. If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.“ Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
God receiving glory by glorifying his servants is also commonly found in the Old Testament in relation to Israel. For example:
Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes;
shout out, you subterranean regions of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees!
For the Lord protects Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. (Isaiah 44:23, emphasis added)
Glorification Through Humiliation
Above I said that “glory” has a large range of meaning and that revelation is its primary aspect. Sure, it’s primary but certainly not exclusive connotation. Glory also implies honor. Notice how Jesus will be “glorified”: through crucifixion—the most shameful punishment imaginable. To quote Tom Holland (the historian, not Spider-Man):
Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion—an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus—was to be worshipped as a god.
To further quote Tom Holland:
“We preach Christ crucified,” St Paul declared, “unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” He was right. Nothing could have run more counter to the most profoundly held assumptions of Paul’s contemporaries – Jews, or Greeks, or Romans. The notion that a god might have suffered torture and death on a cross was so shocking as to appear repulsive. Familiarity with the biblical narrative of the Crucifixion has dulled our sense of just how completely novel a deity Christ was. In the ancient world, it was the role of gods who laid claim to ruling the universe to uphold its order by inflicting punishment – not to suffer it themselves.
Holland’s statement that “[f]amiliarity with the biblical narrative of the Crucifixion has dulled our sense[s]” hits me quite hard. We have a difficult time understanding the offense of Christ praying, “Glorify your Son,” as he means “May your Son be crucified.”
Authority Over All Humanity
In verse 17:2, we read to that Jesus has been given authority over all humanity. Depending on the translation you are reading, your text may read “all flesh” (the literal Greek) instead of “all humanity.” The meaning is exactly what it seems: Jesus has been given authority over all people. This is an attribute exclusive to God, hence emphasizing Jesus’ divinity. It is also a powerful restatement of prior teachings, such as:
The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. (John 3:35)
Now This is Eternal Life
In a striking statement, Jesus says eternal life is to know God and know Jesus. Because we understand the Jewish conception of eternal life and that Jesus has consistently referred to eternal life as something quite literal, we need not consider a gnostic interpretation of the statement. Instead, we need to understand how eternal life is tethered to having an intimate connection with God.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:20-21)
Jesus Prays for the Disciples
In verse 6, Jesus begins to pray for the disciples—and I mean his disciples present at the time. In verse 20 there is a shift towards future believers.
They Belonged to God
Jesus begins his prayer for the disciples by specifying that they “belonged to [God].” We should consider, in what sense? Obviously all creation belongs to God, so the statement must mean something beyond that. There are different interpretations available. One alternative is that these men were part of Israel’s remnant—the few Jews still faithful to God. Because they were already true believers, they belonged to God and recognized his voice.
Jesus replied, “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. (John 10:25-28)
Another alternative is that there was nothing particular about the disciples, not even earnest faith. God simply placed them in the right place and at the right time such that they would be the ones to hear and follow Jesus.
Regardless of which interpretation one takes, in chapter 17 Jesus makes clear that the disciples have come to believe that Jesus and his words are from God and that they are true (“they accepted them”). Notice, however, that this belief alone will not keep them from deserting Jesus in the darkest hour.
Jesus Returns Custody to the Father
The disciples belonged to God, and God gave them over to Jesus. Jesus watched over them and kept them safe while he was in the world. As Jesus leaves, he returns custody of God’s people to God. “Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.” (emphasis added) “When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction . . . .” (emphasis added) “They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.” (emphasis added)
Given the context of persecution in the prior chapters and alluded to in verse 14 of the current chapter, the safety for which Jesus prays is partly physical. But notice that the prayer for Jesus’ disciples alludes to even greater dangers: deserting or antagonizing the community of believers; being lost and destroyed; and becoming separated from “the truth.” At the expense of opening a theological pandora’s box, I think I should point out the prayer at least partially about apostasy.
The apostasy that Jesus prays about is hardly theoretical. In John’s letters we learn that it happened often.
Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us. (1 John 2:18-19)
Three verses down from the quotation above, John defines an antichrist as follows: “Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son.” (1 John 2:22) This verse is most likely referring to the apostates who no longer confess the unity of Jesus and the Father (as opposed to someone who does not make that confession but never made it to begin with).
In the World but Not of the World
The phrase “in the world but not of the world” is a popular Christian mantra (and I say that without a hint of criticism). It is in fact a true and accurate statement, found nearly word for word in the Gospel of John. Notice that Jesus does not pray for a less awkward situation. Jesus could say, “Father, give them their nation.” Or, “Father, rapture them into the heavens.” But he does not. He says, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world.” (emphasis added) But, “keep them safe from the evil one.”
What safety is Jesus praying for? This relates to my prior discussion of apostasy. Of course some level of physical safety is in view here, but the passage returns again and again to the idea of keeping Jesus’ disciples “in the truth” (e.g., v. 17). The prayer is that disciples will not fall away or be misguided as the world hates them and the enemy opposes them. Remember the Lord’s Prayer:
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)
Forgive me as I go a bit off script here, but I think we should consider a practical application of this “in the world but not of the world” idea. Consider Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 5:
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you. (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)
Notice that Paul, in a very practical setting, repeats the theme found in Jesus’ prayer. He advises the early church not to take itself out of the world. Not at all. Who are the real problems? To use the words in John, those who are not “one just as [Jesus and the Father] are one;” those who claim to be but are not “in the truth;” those who claim to be found but “are lost.” Indeed, those that John might call “antichrists.”
I acknowledge that the words of Paul take a great deal of wisdom to apply. What I have written here is by no means a comprehensive discussion of the topic. The purpose of this detour is to show how the spiritual truths discussed in John have very real, practical applications.
Jesus Prays for Later Disciples
Beginning with verse 20, Jesus changes his focus from his current disciples to his future disciples.
Those Who Believe Through Testimony
For centuries now, critics and scholars have attempted to recover the “historical Jesus.” Many claims have been made. Maybe Jesus really was attempting to lead a coup but failed when he died. Perhaps Jesus really thought he was divine but was proven sorely mistaken upon his defeat on the cross. The theories are countless. However, notice that in the Gospel of John we have a clear and accurate prediction of events.
(1) Jesus will submit to his persecutors and be killed.
(2) Jesus’ sacrifice will glorify God, which in turn will glorify Jesus.
(3) Jesus will be gone from the disciples for a little while.
(4) Then Jesus will appear to them for a little while.
(5) Jesus will send another Advocate to play the role of Jesus to his disciples.
(6) Then future disciples will be made through the testimony of the current disciples.
The plan is crystal clear. And although critics can deny the spiritual implications of these events, no one can deny these events played out exactly as set forth. (Of course, the text could have been written later to conform to the facts, but at least there is consistency between the text and reality.)
Moreover, we should pause for a moment when we read that future believers will come through the testimony of current believers. God could have chosen to spread his word differently, but this is the method he chose. We should also remember that the Advocate bears witness with believers. There is a spiritual dimension to what is happening.
The Unity of Later Disciples
Jesus prays that later disciples will be like his chosen, twelve disciples. All believers ought to be one with one another just like Jesus and the Father are one! In a prior session I remarked how shocking this comparison of unity really is, and now we see clearly that it applies not only to the twelve but to us. And to make matters more spectacular, every believer is to be united not only to one another but to God himself (“I pray that they will be in us.”)! And what is the purpose (or at least one of the purposes) of this unity with each other and Christ? That the world might believe that God sent Jesus.
Wait, what? Literally in the prior verse Jesus tells us that future believers will come to faith through the testimony of current believers. A few words later Jesus is telling us that future believers will come to believe by the unity of believers with one another and God. Which one is it? Of course you know where I am headed with this, but it must be made explicit lest we miss it. That testimony in verse 20 is clearly not only words—unity itself is integral to that testimony. This theme of unity as testimony is found all over the epistles of John, so much so I had a hard time selecting just one passage. Nonetheless, here is one example:
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God because God is love. By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. (1 John 4:7-14)
As a closing thought, consider this shocking comparison:
I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. (John 17:20-21, emphasis added)
So they took away the stone. Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.” (John 11:41-44)
Our unity should reveal Jesus like raising a man from the dead revealed Jesus.
Love, Love, Love
Jesus imminent departure will not mean abandonment. Jesus has and will continue to make God known to his disciples. The result will be unity and that we might know “[God] ha[s] loved [us] just as [God] ha[s] loved [Jesus].” (v. 23, 26) God loves us like he loves Christ. May we rejoice in that forever.