John 17
DODDJohn 17:1-12
Christ offers up a solemn prayer to the Father, that he himself might be glorified; and that those who were given him might be kept through his name. John XVII. 1—12.
JOHN XVII. 1. THESE words spake Jesus; and lift up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy
JOHN XVII. 1. OUR Lord Jesus spake these words which are recorded in the preceding chapters, and then lifted up his eyes to heaven, and poured out a most affectionate and important prayer to his Father; an excellent model of his intercession in heaven, and a most comfortable and edifying representation of his temper both towards God and his people. And, that it might more effectually answer these great ends, he uttered it with an audible voice, and said, O my heavenly Father, the appointed and expected hour is come in which I am to enter on
Christ prays to the Father, that he may be glor
my sufferings, and to complete the work for which I came into the world; and therefore I pray, that thou wouldest glorify me, thy Son, in those signal appearances for my honour and support in death, in my recovery from the grave, and mine ascension into heaven, which thou hast promised to me, and which I know that thou wilt punctually fulfil;ᵃ that thy Son also, in the whole series of his conduct, both in this world, and in that to which he is now returning, may successfully glorify thee, and accomplish the purposes of thy saving love; According as thou hast, by the engagements of thy covenant, given him that power over all flesh, that absolute dominion over all the human race, which he will ere long receive and exert; that he may give eternal life to all that thou hast given him by that covenant to be redeemed and saved. And this is the sure way to that eternal life,ᵇ even that they may know thee, who art the only living and true God, in opposition to the idols they have ignorantly worshipped; and may know also and believe in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent into the world as the only Saviour: and to this therefore thou wilt bring them, and wilt make use of what I have already done, and shall yet farther do, as the means of effecting it.
It is with unutterable pleasure that I now reflect upon it, O my Father and my God, that I have eminently glorified thee on earth during the whole of my abode here; that I have been faithful to the trust that was reposed in me, in all that I have said and done through the course of my ministry: and greatly do I rejoice, that I have now gone so far, as to be just upon
ᵃ Glorify thy Son.] All the circumstances of glory attending the sufferings of Christ; as, the appearance of the angel to him in the garden, his striking down to the ground those that came to apprehend him, his curing the ear of Malchus, his good confession before Pilate, his extorting from that unjust judge a testimony of his innocence, the dream of Pilate’s wife, the conversion of the penitent robber, the astonishing constellation of virtues and graces which shone so bright in Christ’s dying behaviour, the supernatural darkness, and all the other prodigies that attended
his death; as well as his resurrection, and ascension, and exaltation at God’s right hand, and the mission of the Holy Spirit and the consequent success of the gospel are all to be looked upon as an answer to this prayer.
ᵇ This is eternal life.] Christ might insert this clause (though neither a petition, plea, nor any other part of prayer) of purpose to remind his apostles of the importance of their office; as they were sent to spread that knowledge which he here calls eternal life, because the eternal happiness of men depends upon it.
ithfully instructed those that were given him:
the point of having finished, by my sufferings and death, the important work which thou gavest me to do. And now therefore, O my heavenly Father, do thou glorify me with thine own self, with the original glory which I had with thee before the world was created, and which for the salvation of thy people I have for a while laid aside, that I might clothe myself in this humble form.
I have manifested thy name, and revealed the glory of thy power and grace, to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: they were originally thine, the creatures of thine hand, and the happy objects of thy sovereign choice; and in consequence of thy gracious purposes thou gavest them to me, that they might be instructed and sanctified, and formed for the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world: and such accordingly has been the influence of my doctrine in their hearts, that they have readily embraced it, and hitherto have resolutely kept and retained thy word and gospel. And, notwithstanding the mean appearance I have made to an eye of sense, their faith has owned me through this dark cloud; and even now, in this my humble state, they have perceived and known, that all things whatsoever which I have said and done, and all the credentials which thou hast in fact given me, and which so many overlook, are indeed of thee; and that I am truly what I profess myself to be, a Divine Messenger to the children of men, and the Saviour that was promised to come into the world. This plainly appears to be their firm persuasion; for the words which thou gavest to me, I have given to them, I have revealed already much of my gospel to them, and begun to deposit it in their hands; and in the midst of great discouragement and opposition, giving attention
The glory which I had with thee before the world was.] To suppose, with the Socinians, that this refers only to that glory which God intended for him in his decrees; or, with Mr. Fleming, that it refers only, or chiefly, to his being clothed with the Shekinah, seems to sink and contract the sense far short of its genuine purpose. See Fleming’s Christology, Vol. II. p. 247, and Whitby in loc.
They were originally thine.] There can surely be no reason to imagine from the sacred story, that the apostles were chosen to their great office on account of any extraordinary degrees of piety and virtue previous to their being called to follow Christ. So that I can see no natural sense of these words but what I have expressed in the paraphrase. Compare John xv. 16, pa e 450.
And prays the Father to keep them through
is own name.
o the words I spake, they have received [them] with faith and love, and made it manifest by their embracing and adhering to my doctrine, that they have known in truth the divinity of my mission, so as to be fully satisfied in their own minds that I came out from thee with a commission to reveal thy will (compare John xvi. 27, 30); and while I have been rejected by an ungrateful world, they have regarded me as the true Messiah, and have shewn they have believed that thou didst indeed send me on the great errand of their salvation. I therefore
ray for them, who have attended me as my apostles, and for all those who are, or shall be, brought to the same faith and the same temper, that thou wouldest support them under every trial, and wouldest regard them in a peculiar manner as the objects of thy care: I pray not thus for the unbelieving world, but for those whom thou hast graciously given me; and I am confident that my prayer for them shall not be in vain; for they are not only mine, but thine too, chosen by thy grace, and devoted to thy service. And indeed all mine interests, and my people are thine, and thine are also mine; and while thy glory is advanced by their establishment, I likewise am, and finally shall be, glorified in them: so near and intimate is our relation to each other; so sincere and active thy paternal affection to me, O my heavenly Father, and my filial duty to thee.
And now I am to continue no longer in the world; but these my faithful servants are yet in the world, and some of them are to remain a considerable time in it, exposed to various hardships and dangers: whereas I (delightful thought!) shall soon have done with this weary wilderness, and am coming to thee, who art the centre of my soul, and the supreme object of my complacency and desire. But while I am separated from these my servants, so dear to thee and to me, vouchsafe, O holy Father, to
And I am coming to thee.] It is very plain that this clause could not be intended as an additional argument to introduce the following petition; for Christ’s coming to the Father was the great security of his people: but it seems rather to be a short
reflection on that dear subject, so famili to his mind, with which he for a momen refreshed himself in the course of thi humble and pathetic address. This have endeavoured to represent in the par a hrase.
them was lost, but the son of perdition.
keep these whom thou hast thyself given me, and let them be preserved through thy name; let them be kept in safety by thy mighty power, and be established in the faith by a constant regard to thee, and a sense of thy presence impressed on their hearts; that they may still continue united to us, and to each other, in cordial affection, and may be one, even as we [are] one. Do not, O gracious Father, forget these my friends, in whose cause I have so affectionately engaged; for thou art witness, that while I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name, and through the influences of thy grace; [yea], I guarded them whom thou gavest me with a most constant care, and none of them is lost, unless it be counted as a kind of exception, that the son of perdition perishes by his iniquity; that wretched creature, who in a lower sense was indeed given to me, but never, like the rest, was taken under my special care; but is left to fall into deserved ruin, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which foretold it as the dreadful consequence of his treachery. (See Psal. cix. 8, & seq. compared with Acts i. 20.)
¶ Unless it be the son of perdition.] I am surprised that so many very learned divines, and amongst the rest, even Bishop Burnet himself (whom I cannot mention but with the greatest honour), should so roundly infer from these words, that the giving to Christ, in the preceding clauses, cannot imply an election to glory, since it is here intimated that Judas, who perished, was given as well as the rest. (See Burnet on the Articles, p. 160.) The objection to a mere English reader might appear unanswerable; but those so conversant in the original might easily have observed, that if this text will prove that Judas was in the number of those given to Christ, in the same manner Luke iv. 26, 27, will prove, directly contrary to plain fact and the whole tenor of the argument, that the woman of Serepta was a widow in Israel, and Naaman the Syrian a leper in Israel too; John iii. 13, that Christ ascended into heaven before he began his ministry; Rev. ix. 4, that the men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads, were either grass or trees; and Rev. xxi. 27, that there are some of the most abominable of mankind whose names are written in the book of life. See also Mat. v. 13; xii. 4; 1 Cor. vii. 5; 2 Cor. xii. 13. In all which places, as well as the preceding, it is plain
that u μs is not used strictly as an exceptive particle; and that if it has any thing like that force, it is only to intimate that what it introduces may, in a less proper sense, be reduced to the number of things mentioned before it. And this I take to be its precise sense in this text; for which reason I render it [unless it be,] though in some of the former instances it has not so much signification as that; but is used with as great a liberty, as [except] by Milton, when he says of Satan,
God and his Son except, Created thing nought valued he nor shunn’d.
Thus likewise exs μs is used, Gal. ii. 16; John v. 19; xv. 4. The words before us might indeed refer to the apostles, (compare John xviii. 8, 9, sect. clxxxiii.) but I do not see any necessity of confining them to Christ’s care for their preservation, for the reason given above.
¶ Is left to fall into deserved ruin.] The son of perdition signifies one who deservedly perishes: as a son of death (2 Sam. xii. 5); children of hell (Mat xxiii. 15); and children of wrath (Eph. ii 3); signify persons justly obnoxious to death, hell, and wrath.
Reflections on Christ’s prayer to the Father.
IMPROVEMENT.
verse 1 WITH pleasure let us behold our gracious Redeemer in this posture of humble adoration; lifting up his eyes to God with solemn devotion, and pouring out his pious and benevolent Spirit in those Divine breathings which are here recorded. From his example, let us learn to pray; and from his intercession, to hope. We know that the Father heareth him always (John xi. 42); and singularly did he manifest that he heard him now, by all that bright assemblage of glories which shone around him in the concluding scenes of his abode on earth, and in those that attended his removal from it: and in all this too did the blessed Jesus manifest his zeal for the glory of the Father. May we emulate that holy temper! and when we pray even for our own consummate happiness in the heavenly world, may we consider it as ultimately centering in the honour and service of God! 2 Well may we be encouraged to hope for that happiness, since Christ has an universal power over all flesh, and over spirits superior to those that dwell in flesh; with which he is invested on purpose that he may accomplish the salvation of those whom the 3 Father has given him, even of every true believer. We see the certain way to this life, even the knowledge of God in Christ: let us bless God, that we enjoy so many opportunities of obtaining it; and earnestly pray that he who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, would by his Divine rays shine forth on our benighted souls; and so animate us in his service, from the noblest principles of gratitude and love, that we may be able to say, even in our dying moments, with somewhat of the same Spirit 4 which our Lord expressed, Father we have glorified thee on earth, and finished the work which thou gavest us to do; and therefore, 11 being no more in the world, we come unto thee. Then may we hope, in our humble degree, to partake of that glory to which he is returned, and to sit down with him on his victorious throne. 7, 8 In the mean time, may our faith see, and our zeal confess, Christ! May we acknowledge his Divine authority, as having come out from the Father! May we be united in love to him, and to each other; and be kept by that Divine word which is the 12 security of his people, that none of them shall be lost! Let the son of perdition, who perished even from among the apostles, teach us an humble jealousy over our own hearts, whatever external privileges we enjoy; and engage us to maintain a continual regard to him who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy! (Jude ver. 24.)
ays that his apostles may be kept from evil:
John 17:13
es his prayer, recommending his apostles, and stians in every future age, to the favourable rether, and praying for their union on earth and John XVII. 13, to the end.
JOHN XVII. 13. OUR Lord proceeded in that excellent address to God, which he had begun in the former section, in such words as these: And now, O my heavenly Father, I come unto thee with unutterable pleasure; and these [words] of this prayer I speak thus openly in the hearing of my disciples, while I as yet am with them in the world, that they who now hear me, and those too for whose benefit it may be afterwards recorded, may have my joy, even that holy consolation of which I am the author and support, abundantly fulfilled in them. And it indeed becomes me to be thus solicitous for their comfort and happiness; for I have given them thy word, which they have faithfully received: and in consequence of this, though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of mankind, yet the world has ungratefully hated them, and will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence, because they are not of the same spirit with the world, even as I myself, in whose cause they are engaged, am not of the world, so as to conform to it in my temper and conduct. Since therefore for my sake they stand thus exposed to hatred, injury, and oppression, I most affectionately bear them on my heart before thee, O my heavenly Father! yet I do not pray that thou shouldest take them immediately out of the world, bad as it is; since I know the purposes of thy glory and their own improvement and usefulness, will require their longer continuance in it; but I pray that thou wouldst preserve them from being either corrupted or overwhelmed by the evil which perpetually surrounds them, and that the subtilty and malice of the evil one may never overpower them. For I well know that they will meet with many trials which will bear hard upon them; because (as I have said) they
And they might be sanctified through the truth.
are not of a temper suited to the common sentiments and practice of the world, even as I, their Lord and Master, am not of the world.
To arm them therefore against so formidable an attack, and to maintain and cultivate this holy temper in them, I would entreat thee to complete the work that is so happily begun, and to sanctify them more and more through thy truth: and as thy word and gospel which they are to preach is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is to be for ever promoted, may these thy servants feel more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them for the office of dispensing it to others. For as thou hast sent me into the world to be the Messenger of this grace, I also have sent them into the world on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learnt of me. And it is in some measure for their sakes, as well as for the salvation of all my people, that I now sanctify myself, or set myself apart as an offering holy to thee; that they also, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, may be truly sanctified through the truth, and completely fitted for their important office.
And in presenting these petitions for them, I am not chiefly influenced by the personal attachment of private friendship, but I consider them under their public character; nor do I pray for these my apostles alone, or offer myself merely for them; but for them also who shall hereafter believe on me through their word, whether it be preached or written; even for those who are yet unborn, and on whom the ends of the world shall come: That, being animated by the same Spirit, and inspired with the same love, they all may be truly and intimately one, as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee; that they also may in friendship and happiness be one in us, united to us and to each
a Sanctify them through thy truth.] I see no reason to conclude, with Mr. Mede, that פֶּרֶץ שֶׁבְּעִלָּה must be put for פֶּרֶץ שֶׁבְּעִלָּה, that is, for the service of the gospel. That was indeed the remote end which our Lord had in view; but the more immediate was that their own souls might be trans-
formed and purified by it. To sanctify, signifies in general to set apart to any appropriate use; and is used with peculiar propriety with reference to a sacrifice; which seems to be the sense in which our Lord applies it to himself in ver. 19. Compare Exod. iii. 2; xxix. 1; and Lev. xxii. 2.
ays that all believers might be one in them:
other, and deriving from us the richest supplies of Divine consolation; that so the world, seeing their benevolence, and charity, and holy joy, may believe that thou hast sent me, and that a religion productive of such amiable fruits is indeed of Divine original.ᵇ And the glory which, by the covenant of redemption, thou gavest unto me, I have, as authorized by thee, given unto them, by my faithful and invariable promise, as the great encouragement of their faith and hope;ᶜ that they may all be one, even as we are one, and, in consequence of such a blessed union, may dwell together with us, and with each other, in eternal felicity: Thus therefore may it ever be, I dwelling in them, and thou in me; that they, who now enjoy the first beginnings of this happy state, may at length be made completely perfect in one, and be united in the most cordial love, without any jarring affection, or the least mixture of sorrow and complaint; that so the clearest demonstration may be given of the efficacy of thy grace, and that the world by this means may know that thou hast sent me, while they perceive them under my forming care to become visibly and justly the favourites of heaven; and it may thus be manifest to all that thou hast loved them, as thou hast loved me, and hast extended this mercy to them for my sake.
But no improvements, either in holiness or comfort, in this world, can completely answer the purposes of my love, and the promises of my grace to them; and therefore, O my Father, permit me to say, that I will, that is, I importunately ask it, and, in consequence of the mutual transactions between us, I am bold to
ᵇ That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.] This plainly intimates that dissension among Christians would not only be uncomfortable to themselves, but would be a means of bringing the truth and excellence of the Christian religion into question: and he must be a stranger to what hath passed, and is daily passing, in the world, who does not see what fatal advantage they have given to infidels to misrepresent it as a calamity, rather than to regard it as a blessing to mankind. May
we be so wise as to take the warning, before we are quite destroyed one of another! (Gal. v. 15.)
ᶜ The glory which thou gavest me I have given them, &c.] As it was plainly in his Father’s name, and by the authority of his commission, that Christ had given them this promise, which with a lively faith they had affectionately embraced; so this was one of the strongest arguments that could be urged for the complete accomplishment of it.
nd that they might be with him to behold hi
claim it as matter of right, that they also whom thou hast graciously given me, even all thy chosen and sanctified people, may at length be with me where I am, in that heavenly world to which I am now removing; that they may there behold and contemplate, with everlasting delightful admiration, my glory which thou hast by thy sure appointment given me, and art just ready to bestow; for thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world, and didst then decree for me that mediatorial kingdom with which thou art now about to invest me.
And herein thou wilt not only be merciful, but faithful and just too, as it is congruous to those essential perfections of thy nature, O most righteous Father, thus to distinguish me and my followers with a peculiar glory: for though the world has not known or acknowledged thee, yet I have known thee, and have accordingly directed the whole of my ministrations to thy glory; and these my servants too have known that thou hast sent me, and will courageously assert it, even at the expense of their very lives. And I have declared thy name to them, and will, as I have opportunity, farther go on to declare [it], both by my word, and by my spirit; that their graces and services may be more eminent; that even the love with which thou hast loved me may be dwelling in them; and that I also may take up my constant residence in them by my spiritual presence, when my bodily presence is removed, as it will quickly be.
IMPROVEMENT.
ver. 13 We have indeed perpetual reason of thankfulness that our gracious Redeemer spake these words in the world, and recalled them thus exactly to the memory of his beloved disciples so many years after, that we in the most distant ages of his church might
My glory which thou hast given me.] This may express the lustre and beauty of Christ’s personal appearance, the adoration paid him by the inhabitants of the upper world, and the administration of the affairs of that providential kingdom, which it is his high office to preside over.
Though the world has not known thee. That has here signifies Though, the connection plainly demonstrates; and Elene produces many instances of it. (Observ. Vol. I. p. 344.) To which the following instances from the sacred writers may be added, among many others, Luke xviii. 7; John xiv. 30; Acts vii. 5; and Heb. iii. 9.
Reflections on Christ’s prayer for his people.
by reviewing them, have his joy fulfilled in us. Let us with pleasure recollect that those petitions which Christ offered for his apostles were expressly declared not to be intended for them alone; but, so far as circumstances should agree, for all that should believe on him through their word, and therefore for us, if we are real, and not merely nominal believers. For us doth he still pray, not that God would immediately take us out of the world, though for his sake we may be continually hated and injured in it; but that he would keep us from the evil to which we are here exposed. For our sakes did he also sanctify himself as a propitiation for our sins, that we might also be sanctified through the truth; for he gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Tit. ii. 14.)
May these wise and gracious purposes of his love be fulfilled in us! May we be one with each other, and with him! May that piety and charity appear in the whole series of our temper and behaviour, which may evidently shew the force of our religion, and reflect a conspicuous honour upon the great Founder of it! And may all concur to train us up for that complete felicity above, in which all the purposes of his love centre! It is the declared will of Christ, and let us never forget it, that his people should be with him where he is, that they may behold his glory which the Father has given him. And there is apparent congruity, as well as mercy, in the appointment: that where he is, there also should his servants and members be. The blessed angels do undoubtedly behold the glory of Christ with perpetual congratulation and delight; but how much more reason shall we have to rejoice and triumph in it when we consider it as the glory of one in our own nature, the glory of our Redeemer and our Friend, and the pledge and security of our own everlasting happiness! Let us often be lifting up the eyes of our faith toward it, and let us breath after heaven in this view! in the mean time, with all due zeal, and love, and duty, acknowledging the Father and the Son, that the joys of heaven may be anticipated in our souls, while the love of God is shed abroad there by his Spirit, which is given unto us; even something of that love wherewith he has loved Jesus our incarnate Head.