John · Chapter 17

V. 1. Father-This simplicity of appellation highly became the only-begotten Son of God; to which a believer then makes the nearest approach, when he is fullest of love and humble confidence. The hour is come-The appointed time for it;

glorify thy Son-The Son glorified the Father, both before and after his own glorification. When he speaks to the Father he does not style himself the Son of man.

Verse 1. These words spake Jesus] That is, what is related in the preceding chapters. We may consider our Lord as still moving on towards Gethsemane, not having yet passed the brook Cedron, John 18:1. Our Lord, who was now going to act as high priest for the whole human race, imitates in his conduct that of the Jewish high priest on the great day of expiation; who, in order to offer up the grand atonement for the sins of the people:-

1. Washed himself, and put on clean linen garments. This Christ appears to have imitated, John 13:4. He laid aside his garments, girded himself with a towel, &c. There is no room to doubt that he and his disciples had been at the bath before: see John 13:10.

2. The high priest addressed a solemn prayer to God: 1. For himself this Christ imitates, John 17:1-5. 2. For the sons of Aaron: our Lord imitates this in praying for his disciples, John 17:9-19. 3. For all the people: our Lord appears to imitate this also in praying for his Church, all who should believe on him through the preaching of the apostles and their successors, John 17:20-24. After which he returns again to his disciples, John 17:25, 26. See CALMET’S Dict. under Expiation; and see La Grande Bible de M. MARTIN, in loc.

I. Our Lord’s prayer for himself, John 17:1-5.

Father] Here our Lord addresses the whole Divine nature, as he is now performing his last acts in his state of humiliation.

Glorify thy Son] Cause him to be acknowledged as the promised Messiah by the Jewish people, and as the universal Saviour by the Gentile world; and let such proofs of his Godhead be given as shall serve to convince and instruct mankind.

That thy son also may glorify thee] That by dying be may magnify thy law and make it honourable, respected among men-show the strictness of thy justice, and the immaculate purity of thy nature.

Verses 1-3. These words spake Jesus — Namely, the words recorded in the three preceding chapters; and lifted up his eyes to heaven — Put himself in the posture of prayer. The following has been called Our Lord’s Intercessory Prayer, because it is considered as a pattern of the intercession he is now making in heaven for his people. In it he comprises all he had said from chap. 13:31, and seals, as it were, all he had hitherto done, beholding things past, present, and to come. It contains the easiest words, and the deepest sense, of any chapter in all the Scriptures; yet is there no incoherent rhapsody, but the whole is closely and exactly connected. Father — This simplicity of appellation highly became the only-begotten Son of God; to which a believer then makes the nearest approach, when he is most full of love and humble confidence. The hour is come — The time of my sufferings is come; glorify thy Son — Let me have such succours from thee as will enable me to bear them; let the circumstances of my trial, both in the Jewish and Gentile courts of judicature, be such as will plainly prove my innocence; and let my death be accompanied with such interpositions of thy power as will remove the scandal of the cross, and demonstrate the relation I stand in to thee; particularly let me be raised from the dead, and taken up to heaven; finally, shed down upon my apostles such miraculous gifts as will qualify them for bearing witness to my miracles, my death, my resurrection, and my ascension. Thus glorifying thy Son, he also will glorify thee — By converting to the belief and practice of true religion, many who will celebrate thy praises eternally. As thou hast given him power over all flesh — Thou hast sent thy Son into the world, and given him power over all men, in this respect, that he can bestow eternal life upon as many as thou hast given him, namely, upon all believers. This is a clear proof that Christ designed his sacrifice should avail for all mankind; yea, that all flesh, every man, should partake of everlasting life. For, as the Father had given him power over all, so he gave himself a ransom for all. And this is life eternal — Is the way to, a preparation for, and a pledge and earnest of life eternal; that they might know — Or, to know, by loving, obedient faith, thee; the only true God — The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, (John 1:1,) nor the Holy Ghost, any more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, (1 Corinthians 8:6,) but the false gods of the heathen; and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent — To be their prophet, priest, and king. The meaning of our Lord here is, either, “1st, I teach that men should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, as the means of obtaining that eternal life which thou hast given me power to bestow: Or, 2d, Now this eternal life is bestowed by me on men, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; importing that the happiness of eternity will consist in the knowledge of God and Christ. It is justly observed by Grotius, that the Father is here styled, the only true God, in exclusion of those deities which the ignorance and folly of the heathens had introduced. For, as in the latter clause our Lord undoubtedly spake of the Jews, when he mentioned it as the means of eternal life, that they should know Jesus Christ; so, it is probable, that in the former he had the Gentiles in his eye, when he represented the knowledge of the true God as the road to felicity. If so, we cannot from this passage infer that Jesus is not truly, or really God. For, had this been the meaning of the words, would the evangelist have begun his gospel with so solemn a declaration of our Lord’s divinity? Besides, in other passages of Scripture, the word monov denotes a partial exclusion. For instance, (Genesis 42:38,) Jacob, speaking of Benjamin, says, His brother is dead, kai autov monov kataleleiptai, and he only is left: he did not mean that he was his only son absolutely, but his only son by Rachel. In like manner, (Luke 9:18,) And it came to pass as he was alone, praying, his disciples were with him; where katamonav is to be understood in exclusion of the multitude, and not of the disciples, who were now with him. So also, (Luke 9:36,) Jesus is said to be left (monov) alone, notwithstanding the three disciples were with him. The meaning is, he was alone in respect of Moses and Elias, who were now departed from him. And to give no more instances, Jude 1:4, uses monov in this partial sense, where, speaking of some wicked men in his time, he says, they denied, ton monon despothn Qeon, kai Kurion hmwn Ihsoun Criston, our only Master, God and Lord, Jesus Christ. For, whether the first clause is understood of Christ, it cannot mean that he is our only Lord and God, in exclusion of the Father; or, whether it is understood of the Father, it cannot be said that he is our only Lord, in exclusion of Christ, who is expressly styled Despothv, Master.”

Verse 1. Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son. By Father the divinity is understood, the Father being the fountain of deity. The hour of my passion being come, glorify thy Son by speedily raising him from the dead, that thy Son may also glorify thee by publishing abroad thy wisdom and love in the redemption of man.

1. Lifted… eyes to heaven—Hitherto his glance had been horizontally directed upon his listening apostles; but now our Evangelist beholds him turn his eye upward, and recognizes that his spirit is with God. The phrase to heaven would naturally, but not necessarily, imply that he was under the open sky. Heaven, though upward, is not the sky.

Christ’s self-presentation before the Father, 1-5.

As already noted, Jesus now speaks as if his Passion were but a point in time, and that he is already ascended into the Paternal presence. Commentators, in consequence of not appreciating this, have lost much of the beauty and power of this great prayer. It is the commencement and specimen of his ever-living intercession; nay, it is that intercession itself. Ever here recorded, it is ever being offered. Read by the Church on earth, it ever avails in the sanctuary of heaven.

Father—The first appealing word of the eternal intercession, simply Father, (see note on verse 11,) a name of God unknown to the world before the Son revealed it. God is Father of all by creation; he is Father of the justified by regeneration; he is sole Father of this sole Son as he is Father of nothing else in the universe besides. Yet this sole Son stands before God in order that he may be the First-born among many brethren. The hour is come—As we have elsewhere noted, (John 2:4,) the life of Jesus was marked by the divine order into hours, periods, or crises. But verily now had come the hour of hours, the consummating period of a complete work and an attained glory. Glorify thy Son—Invest his glorified resurrection body, now identified with his eternal Spirit compositely, with an eternal glory. That thy Son… glorify thee—In the great mediatorial work, gathering a glorious Church into the everlasting habitations, he will unfold to the universe the divine glory. Reciprocally and eternally in majesty, power, but most of all in love, will Father and Son thus glorify each other.

V. 2. As thou hast given him power over all flesh-This answers to glorify thy Son.

That he may give eternal life, &c.-This answers to that thy Son may glorify thee.

To all whom thou hast given him-To all believers. This is a clear proof that Christ designed his sacrifice should avail for all: yea, that all flesh, every man, should partake of everlasting life. For as the Father had given him power over all flesh, so he gave himself a ransom for all.

Verse 2. As thou hast given him power] As the Messiah, Jesus Christ received from the Father universal dominion. All flesh, i.e. all the human race, was given unto him, that by one sacrifice of himself, he might reconcile them all to God; having by his grace tasted death for every man, Hebrews 2:9. And this was according to the promise of the universal inheritance made to Christ, Psalms 2:8Psalm 2:8, which was to be made up of the heathen, and the uttermost parts of the land, all the Jewish people. So that he got all from God, that he might give his life a ransom for the whole. See 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15; Romans 5:21; 1 Timothy 2:4, 6. That he should have eternal life, &c.] As all were delivered into his power, and he poured out his blood to redeem all, then the design of God is that all should have eternal life, because all are given for this purpose to Christ; and, that this end might be accomplished, he has become their sacrifice and atonement.

Verses 1-3. These words spake Jesus — Namely, the words recorded in the three preceding chapters; and lifted up his eyes to heaven — Put himself in the posture of prayer. The following has been called Our Lord’s Intercessory Prayer, because it is considered as a pattern of the intercession he is now making in heaven for his people. In it he comprises all he had said from chap. 13:31, and seals, as it were, all he had hitherto done, beholding things past, present, and to come. It contains the easiest words, and the deepest sense, of any chapter in all the Scriptures; yet is there no incoherent rhapsody, but the whole is closely and exactly connected. Father — This simplicity of appellation highly became the only-begotten Son of God; to which a believer then makes the nearest approach, when he is most full of love and humble confidence. The hour is come — The time of my sufferings is come; glorify thy Son — Let me have such succours from thee as will enable me to bear them; let the circumstances of my trial, both in the Jewish and Gentile courts of judicature, be such as will plainly prove my innocence; and let my death be accompanied with such interpositions of thy power as will remove the scandal of the cross, and demonstrate the relation I stand in to thee; particularly let me be raised from the dead, and taken up to heaven; finally, shed down upon my apostles such miraculous gifts as will qualify them for bearing witness to my miracles, my death, my resurrection, and my ascension. Thus glorifying thy Son, he also will glorify thee — By converting to the belief and practice of true religion, many who will celebrate thy praises eternally. As thou hast given him power over all flesh — Thou hast sent thy Son into the world, and given him power over all men, in this respect, that he can bestow eternal life upon as many as thou hast given him, namely, upon all believers. This is a clear proof that Christ designed his sacrifice should avail for all mankind; yea, that all flesh, every man, should partake of everlasting life. For, as the Father had given him power over all, so he gave himself a ransom for all. And this is life eternal — Is the way to, a preparation for, and a pledge and earnest of life eternal; that they might know — Or, to know, by loving, obedient faith, thee; the only true God — The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, (John 1:1,) nor the Holy Ghost, any more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, (1 Corinthians 8:6,) but the false gods of the heathen; and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent — To be their prophet, priest, and king. The meaning of our Lord here is, either, “1st, I teach that men should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, as the means of obtaining that eternal life which thou hast given me power to bestow: Or, 2d, Now this eternal life is bestowed by me on men, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; importing that the happiness of eternity will consist in the knowledge of God and Christ. It is justly observed by Grotius, that the Father is here styled, the only true God, in exclusion of those deities which the ignorance and folly of the heathens had introduced. For, as in the latter clause our Lord undoubtedly spake of the Jews, when he mentioned it as the means of eternal life, that they should know Jesus Christ; so, it is probable, that in the former he had the Gentiles in his eye, when he represented the knowledge of the true God as the road to felicity. If so, we cannot from this passage infer that Jesus is not truly, or really God. For, had this been the meaning of the words, would the evangelist have begun his gospel with so solemn a declaration of our Lord’s divinity? Besides, in other passages of Scripture, the word monov denotes a partial exclusion. For instance, (Genesis 42:38,) Jacob, speaking of Benjamin, says, His brother is dead, kai autov monov kataleleiptai, and he only is left: he did not mean that he was his only son absolutely, but his only son by Rachel. In like manner, (Luke 9:18,) And it came to pass as he was alone, praying, his disciples were with him; where katamonav is to be understood in exclusion of the multitude, and not of the disciples, who were now with him. So also, (Luke 9:36,) Jesus is said to be left (monov) alone, notwithstanding the three disciples were with him. The meaning is, he was alone in respect of Moses and Elias, who were now departed from him. And to give no more instances, Jude 1:4, uses monov in this partial sense, where, speaking of some wicked men in his time, he says, they denied, ton monon despothn Qeon, kai Kurion hmwn Ihsoun Criston, our only Master, God and Lord, Jesus Christ. For, whether the first clause is understood of Christ, it cannot mean that he is our only Lord and God, in exclusion of the Father; or, whether it is understood of the Father, it cannot be said that he is our only Lord, in exclusion of Christ, who is expressly styled Despothv, Master.”

Ver. 2. Thou hast given him power over all flesh, to call the gentile world to the faith, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. “I suspect,” says Erasmus, “that this form of speaking is taken from the Hebrews, by which the sense is rendered rather than the words.” Grotius coinciding with the above opinion adds, “This passage shows how the Father is glorified by the gospel, which never promises eternal life, except to those who sincerely worship God.” This passage asserts the divinity of Christ, as having eternal life in himself: or as John says in his epistle, This is the true God and eternal life.

We must not omit to mark that this prayer of Christ, before he went into the garden, consists of four parts. First, for himself, as mediator to be glorified of the Father. Secondly, he prays in this verse and down to the twentieth, in particular for the eleven apostles, then present with him in the upper chamber: and for them he asked particular blessings which he did not ask for the world. He then prays for all who should believe through their word. He fourthly prays for the world, as in ver. 21, “that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

How liberal, how appropriate, how full of grace is this prayer. How strange then that men should build upon it their systems of personal and eternal election and reprobation. Some who held such notions towards the close of the fifth century, had their opinions condemned by the council of Chalons, as having made a wrong use of St. Augustine’s doctrines of grace. The depths belong to God.

2. As—Inasmuch, as, or since. He asks the Father to glorify him, inasmuch as he possesses power to reciprocate that glory in gathering his glorified Church. Surely all this is language that creatures could never use with God. It stands on equal terms, and assumes merit. It claims, rather than supplicates; offering compensation, glory for glory. Given him—Yet is the Father, even in this equality, source, giver, superior. All flesh—All humanity. The power of his death is not partial but universal, embracing every child of Adam both before and after birth. We are born under atonement. As many as thou hast given him—Given him, in the eternal purpose of redemption, as foreknown believers and persevering heirs of salvation; as it is expressed in verse 20: “Them also which shall [or rather will] believe on me;” and in verse 8, even the apostles are those that “have believed.” And as that plan of redemption is conditional, saving in divine anticipation all who are foreknown as believers, so it presupposes no want of power for belief in others. It excludes none who do not exclude themselves. Hence this intercessory prayer covers all who please to place themselves beneath it.

V. 3. To know-By loving, holy faith, thee the only true God-The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Son and the Holy Ghost, no more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, 1 Corinthians 8:6; but the false gods of the heathens;

and Jesus Christ-As their prophet, priest, and king:

this is life eternal-It is both the way to, and the essence of, everlasting happiness.

Verse 3. This is life eternal] The salvation purchased by Christ, and given to them who believe, is called life: 1. Because the life of man was forfeited to Divine justice; and the sacrifice of Christ redeemed him from that death to which he was exposed. 2. Because the souls of men were dead in trespasses and sins; and Christ quickens them by his word and Spirit. 3. Because men who are not saved by the grace of Christ do not live, they only exist, no good purpose of life being answered by them. But when they receive this salvation they live-answer all the Divine purposes, are happy in themselves, useful to each other, and bring glory to God. 4. It is called eternal life to show that it reaches beyond the limits of time, and that it necessarily implies-1. The immortality of the soul; 2. the resurrection of the body; and 3. that it is never to end, hence called aiwniov zwh, a life ever living; from aei, always, and wn, being or existence. And indeed no words can more forcibly convey the idea of eternity than these. It is called h aiwniov zwh, THAT eternal life, by way of eminence. There may be an eternal existence without blessedness; but this is that eternal life with which infinite happiness is inseparably connected.

The only true God] The way to attain this eternal life is to acknowledge, worship, and obey, the one only true God, and to accept as teacher, sacrifice, and Saviour, the Lord Jesus, the one and only true Messiah. Bishop Pearce’s remark here is well worthy the reader’s attention:- “What is said here of the only true God seems said in opposition to the gods whom the heathens worshipped; not in opposition to Jesus Christ himself, who is called the true God by John, in 1 John 5:20.” The words in this verse have been variously translated: 1. That they might acknowledge thee, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, to be the only true God. 2. That they might acknowledge thee, the only true God, and Jesus, whom thou hast sent, to be the Christ or Messiah. 3. That they might acknowledge thee to be the only true God, and Jesus Christ to be him whom thou hast sent. And all these translations the original will bear. From all this we learn that the only way in which eternal life is to be attained is by acknowledging the true God, and the Divine mission of Jesus Christ, he being sent of God to redeem men by his blood, being the author of eternal salvation to all them that thus believe, and conscientiously keep his commandments.

A saying similar to this is found in the Institutes of Menu. Brigoo, the first emanated being who was produced from the mind of the supreme God, and who revealed the knowledge of his will to mankind, is represented as addressing the human race and saying: “Of all duties, the principal is to acquire from the Upanishads (their sacred writings) a true knowledge of one supreme God; that is the most exalted of sciences, because it ensures eternal life. For in the knowledge and adoration of one God all the rules of good conduct are fully comprised.” See Institutes of Menu, chap. xii. Inst. 85, 87.

Verses 1-3. These words spake Jesus — Namely, the words recorded in the three preceding chapters; and lifted up his eyes to heaven — Put himself in the posture of prayer. The following has been called Our Lord’s Intercessory Prayer, because it is considered as a pattern of the intercession he is now making in heaven for his people. In it he comprises all he had said from chap. 13:31, and seals, as it were, all he had hitherto done, beholding things past, present, and to come. It contains the easiest words, and the deepest sense, of any chapter in all the Scriptures; yet is there no incoherent rhapsody, but the whole is closely and exactly connected. Father — This simplicity of appellation highly became the only-begotten Son of God; to which a believer then makes the nearest approach, when he is most full of love and humble confidence. The hour is come — The time of my sufferings is come; glorify thy Son — Let me have such succours from thee as will enable me to bear them; let the circumstances of my trial, both in the Jewish and Gentile courts of judicature, be such as will plainly prove my innocence; and let my death be accompanied with such interpositions of thy power as will remove the scandal of the cross, and demonstrate the relation I stand in to thee; particularly let me be raised from the dead, and taken up to heaven; finally, shed down upon my apostles such miraculous gifts as will qualify them for bearing witness to my miracles, my death, my resurrection, and my ascension. Thus glorifying thy Son, he also will glorify thee — By converting to the belief and practice of true religion, many who will celebrate thy praises eternally. As thou hast given him power over all flesh — Thou hast sent thy Son into the world, and given him power over all men, in this respect, that he can bestow eternal life upon as many as thou hast given him, namely, upon all believers. This is a clear proof that Christ designed his sacrifice should avail for all mankind; yea, that all flesh, every man, should partake of everlasting life. For, as the Father had given him power over all, so he gave himself a ransom for all. And this is life eternal — Is the way to, a preparation for, and a pledge and earnest of life eternal; that they might know — Or, to know, by loving, obedient faith, thee; the only true God — The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, (John 1:1,) nor the Holy Ghost, any more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, (1 Corinthians 8:6,) but the false gods of the heathen; and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent — To be their prophet, priest, and king. The meaning of our Lord here is, either, “1st, I teach that men should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, as the means of obtaining that eternal life which thou hast given me power to bestow: Or, 2d, Now this eternal life is bestowed by me on men, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent; importing that the happiness of eternity will consist in the knowledge of God and Christ. It is justly observed by Grotius, that the Father is here styled, the only true God, in exclusion of those deities which the ignorance and folly of the heathens had introduced. For, as in the latter clause our Lord undoubtedly spake of the Jews, when he mentioned it as the means of eternal life, that they should know Jesus Christ; so, it is probable, that in the former he had the Gentiles in his eye, when he represented the knowledge of the true God as the road to felicity. If so, we cannot from this passage infer that Jesus is not truly, or really God. For, had this been the meaning of the words, would the evangelist have begun his gospel with so solemn a declaration of our Lord’s divinity? Besides, in other passages of Scripture, the word monov denotes a partial exclusion. For instance, (Genesis 42:38,) Jacob, speaking of Benjamin, says, His brother is dead, kai autov monov kataleleiptai, and he only is left: he did not mean that he was his only son absolutely, but his only son by Rachel. In like manner, (Luke 9:18,) And it came to pass as he was alone, praying, his disciples were with him; where katamonav is to be understood in exclusion of the multitude, and not of the disciples, who were now with him. So also, (Luke 9:36,) Jesus is said to be left (monov) alone, notwithstanding the three disciples were with him. The meaning is, he was alone in respect of Moses and Elias, who were now departed from him. And to give no more instances, Jude 1:4, uses monov in this partial sense, where, speaking of some wicked men in his time, he says, they denied, ton monon despothn Qeon, kai Kurion hmwn Ihsoun Criston, our only Master, God and Lord, Jesus Christ. For, whether the first clause is understood of Christ, it cannot mean that he is our only Lord and God, in exclusion of the Father; or, whether it is understood of the Father, it cannot be said that he is our only Lord, in exclusion of Christ, who is expressly styled Despothv, Master.”

Ver. 3. This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God. The knowledge of the only true God is here justly connected with eternal life, and with an abhorrence of all idolatry. The light is the life of men, and all our knowledge should be turned to piety and divine communion. Erasmus paraphrases this text in the following manner. “It being expedient for the salvation of mankind that the world by the Son should know thee the Father; for which thou hast given thy Son power over all flesh; and for no other design hast thou given him that power, but that all men should be saved; and that being delivered from death, they might attain everlasting life. And further, that we mutually declaring each other’s honour and name, that men by faith might know us both. For no man can with approbation honour the Father, if he despise the Son; not yet he who honours the Son, if he shall neglect to honour the Father, for the praise and glory of the one is the praise and glory of the other.”

Erasmus in this passage, and he has the whole weight of antiquity on his side, understands the mission of Christ in a liberal sense, as opening the knowledge of the only true God to all mankind. To him the notion that Christ was sent to save a certain elect number of men, perhaps not exceeding one tenth, and damn the rest more deeply by superior light and privileges, was insupportable. The holy apostles are all liberal in their ideas of the election and calling of the saints. St. Paul affirms, Romans 5:15- 19, that the words many and all are of similar import. They magnify the Lord as the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe. They declare that the grace of God, of the gospel, which brings salvation to all, hath appeared; that this gospel is the power of God to the salvation of every one that believeth. Why then presume to meddle with the secrets of providence, which belong to God? He hates nothing that he has made. And Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Let us hear the elegant Tertullian on this subject, in his book against Praxeas, who had accused the christians of tritheism, written before the close of the second century. “There is then one God the Father, and besides him no other; by which he does not mean to deny the Son, but the existence of another god. Meanwhile the Son is not another distinct from the Father. Do but, in fine, inspect the design of these forms of speech, and you will find that they almost exclusively respect the makers and worshippers of idols, that the unity of the divinity may supersede the multitude of false gods, while it includes the Son, who is undivided, and inseparable from the Father, and understood, though not named, to be in the Father. Had he, for instance, named him, it would have been — that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.”

The Nicene fathers, three hundred and eighteen in number, may be regarded as the great grandchildren of the holy apostle. They comprised piety, wisdom, learning, and fidelity beyond any other council: that council, with the exception of five, have given a creed, and taught us to believe “In one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth — in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God — God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father.” In this faith the noble army of martyrs have died; and if we cast it away for vain philosophy, we cast away life for death.

Augustine and Chrysostom read this text, “that they may know thee, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, the only true God.” Without a doubt, this phrase, the only true God, is to distinguish the Deity from the gods of the gentiles. If otherwise, all our scriptures are distorted and destroyed. If the Father be put as the only Potentate, says Gregory Nazianzen, “the King of kings, who only hath immortality, dwelling in light to which no man can approach, then Christ is set aside as no king, as dwelling in darkness, and neither wise nor invisible.” Christ is no Christ; he is neither the way, nor the truth, nor the life. We must understand this text in unison with John 1:1-4.

3. Life eternal… might know thee—This knowing of God and Christ is that full experimental knowing which, being commenced by the believer on earth, is consummated in eternity: hence it is not the cause of eternal life, but is the very eternal life itself. The vital seed of eternal life, its first minute instalment, is placed within the believing soul on earth, and, unless on earth removed, will put forth in eternal life in heaven. It is the well of water within springing up to everlasting life. The only true God—The only God; for there can be no other. The true God, in opposition to all false gods. Whether Jupiter, or Brahm, or Vishnu, they are false. The fancies of the idolater, of the pantheist, or the atheist, have their absolute contradiction in this the true God. He possesses those attributes of power, wisdom, and mercy; he has unfolded those attributes in such plans and deeds of redemption, as that eternal life is realized in the very knowing them in their knowable fulness. And Jesus Christ—It is remarkable that this is the only instance in the Gospels in which the words Jesus Christ are used as one compound name. They are so used frequently in the Epistles; from which some liberalistic commentators have argued that this phrase was mistakenly used by John, according to a later custom, and falsely attributed by him to Christ. More likely, however, the apostolic custom arose in the Epistles from its original use by Jesus. It is a most expressive compound. Jesus is Saviour: Christ is Messiah; that is, Anointed King. Hence Jesus Christ is Saviour-Messiah, Saviour-King. He is a Royal Saviour sent from God to man. It is with a solemn majesty that Jesus thus pronounces his compound name of dignity, naming himself thus before God and man. Unitarian writers, who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, have quoted this as a primary text to show that Christ is not God, but purely man. God, as they claim, is pronounced here to be sole God, and Jesus Christ is excluded. But surely it is of that very sole God that Jesus Christ is the Sent, the manifestation, the incarnation. The Father, indeed, as the unknowable Absolute, the reserve of Deity, is often styled by the entire name of God. So the very first verse of John’s Gospel tells us that the Word was with God; that is, with the Father. But that did not forbid his adding, “and the Word was God.” And so, that the Father is God does not disprove that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh.

V. 4. I have finished the work-Thus have I glorified thee, laying the foundation of thy kingdom on earth.

Verse 4. I have glorified thee] Our Lord, considering himself as already sacrificed for the sin of the world, speaks of having completed the work which God had given him to do: and he looks forward to that time when, through the preaching of his Gospel, his sacrifice should be acknowledged, and the true God should be known and worshipped by the whole world.

Verses 4, 5. I have glorified thee on earth — My doctrine, example, and miracles have manifested thy glory here on earth. I have finished the work thou gavest me to do — I have almost finished the work which I undertook for man’s redemption. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thyself — Or, in thine own presence, as Dr. Campbell translates para seautw, observing, that the force of the Greek preposition, para, is not rightly expressed by the English with, which, as applied here, is exceedingly vague and indeterminate. With the glory which I had with thee — He does not say received. He always had it till he emptied himself of it in the days of his flesh; before the world was — “The Socinians, who deny, not only our Lord’s divinity, but his existence before he appeared in the world, are at a loss how to explain this passage, in consistency with their opinion. They imagine, that as in the prophetical writings, things to come are spoken of as already existing, to denote the divine decree concerning them, and the certainty of their happening; so, Jesus is here said to possess glory with the Father before the foundation of the world, not because he then existed, but because that glory was appointed him in the divine decree from eternity, and was certainly to be bestowed upon him in the fulness of time. Withal, in confirmation of this observation, they cite Revelation 13:8, where Christ is called a lamb slain from the foundation of the world; and 2 Timothy 1:9, where the apostle, speaking of the favours conferred on Christians, says, Hath saved us, and called us according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But here, without laying the whole stress of the matter on the answer given by Whitby, namely, that these passages are mistranslated, I observe, that though, for the reasons mentioned, the sacred writers, when warmed with the grandeur of their subject, might, in their discourses, represent the great events which were to befall the church under the gospel dispensation, as existing from eternity; yet, no fire of imagination could authorize the figure in the present instance. For it were absurd to fancy that Jesus, in this his last solemn prayer with his disciples, gravely spake of himself as existing from eternity, and as enjoying with God blessings which were to be bestowed upon him only in time. Such figures, how ever proper they may be in prophecy, are not of the style of prayer, far less of our Lord’s prayers, which are remarkable for their simplicity. Besides, it should be remembered that this is not the only passage which speaks of Christ’s pre-existence, for the Evangelist John (John 1:1) represents him as existing from eternity, and making all things. And (John 8:58) Jesus himself tells us that he existed before Abraham. And Paul affirms, (<501706> Philippians 2:6,) that before Jesus took the form of a servant, he was in the form of God.” — Macknight.

4. Glorified thee on the earth—On the earth in antithesis with in heaven. In the former he had glorified God; in the latter God will glorify him. He had glorified God on earth by exhibiting to mankind the perfect ideal of God in man; miraculously showing forth the wisdom and power of God, but especially revealing God’s mercy for the salvation of the world. Have finished the work—The great mission for divine manifestation and human redemption. By this great work he had purchased the right to save all who by faith should accept his mission.

V. 5. The glory which I had-He does not say received-He always had it, till he emptied himself of it in the days of his flesh.

Verse 5. Before the world was.] That is, from eternity, before there was any creation-so the phrase, and others similar to it, are taken in the sacred writings; see John 17:24; Psalms 90:2Psalm 90:2; Ephesians 1:4. See John 1:1. Let the glory of my eternal divinity surround and penetrate my humanity, in its resurrection, ascension, and in the place which it is to occupy at thy right hand, far above all creatures, <501706> Philippians 2:6, 9. II. Our Lord’s prayer for his disciples, John 17:6, 19.

Verses 4, 5. I have glorified thee on earth — My doctrine, example, and miracles have manifested thy glory here on earth. I have finished the work thou gavest me to do — I have almost finished the work which I undertook for man’s redemption. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thyself — Or, in thine own presence, as Dr. Campbell translates para seautw, observing, that the force of the Greek preposition, para, is not rightly expressed by the English with, which, as applied here, is exceedingly vague and indeterminate. With the glory which I had with thee — He does not say received. He always had it till he emptied himself of it in the days of his flesh; before the world was — “The Socinians, who deny, not only our Lord’s divinity, but his existence before he appeared in the world, are at a loss how to explain this passage, in consistency with their opinion. They imagine, that as in the prophetical writings, things to come are spoken of as already existing, to denote the divine decree concerning them, and the certainty of their happening; so, Jesus is here said to possess glory with the Father before the foundation of the world, not because he then existed, but because that glory was appointed him in the divine decree from eternity, and was certainly to be bestowed upon him in the fulness of time. Withal, in confirmation of this observation, they cite Revelation 13:8, where Christ is called a lamb slain from the foundation of the world; and 2 Timothy 1:9, where the apostle, speaking of the favours conferred on Christians, says, Hath saved us, and called us according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But here, without laying the whole stress of the matter on the answer given by Whitby, namely, that these passages are mistranslated, I observe, that though, for the reasons mentioned, the sacred writers, when warmed with the grandeur of their subject, might, in their discourses, represent the great events which were to befall the church under the gospel dispensation, as existing from eternity; yet, no fire of imagination could authorize the figure in the present instance. For it were absurd to fancy that Jesus, in this his last solemn prayer with his disciples, gravely spake of himself as existing from eternity, and as enjoying with God blessings which were to be bestowed upon him only in time. Such figures, how ever proper they may be in prophecy, are not of the style of prayer, far less of our Lord’s prayers, which are remarkable for their simplicity. Besides, it should be remembered that this is not the only passage which speaks of Christ’s pre-existence, for the Evangelist John (John 1:1) represents him as existing from eternity, and making all things. And (John 8:58) Jesus himself tells us that he existed before Abraham. And Paul affirms, (<501706> Philippians 2:6,) that before Jesus took the form of a servant, he was in the form of God.” — Macknight.

Ver. 5. Glorify thou me — with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. These words are to be understood in the sense of St. Paul in <501706> Philippians 2:6, that Christ who existed from everlasting in the form of God, having made himself of no reputation, now asks the exaltation of his humanity to a session at the Father’s right hand, having finished his mission for our redemption. <19B001>Psalm 110:1.

5. With thine own self—In blessed and eternal society with thy own nature. Glory which I had… before the world—That is, the glory which I, as eternal Logos, had with the eternal God. See note on 1:1. Into that glory admit me, the incarnate Logos, so that the God-man shall be eternally recognized as eternally divine. The eternal Logos and the incarnate Logos are the same person in different eras of existence. So that the incarnate Logos could claim on earth that as Logos he possessed an eternal glory in heaven, to which he might ascend and therewith be invested. Before the world was—The term world here includes the entire universe of worlds. Some have affirmed that God has eternally been creating worlds after worlds. In that case the priority of the glory of the Logos would be rather priority in the order of nature than of time, as regards the absolute universe.

Christ’s representation of, and petitions for, his apostles, 6-19. First, the Saviour represents his apostles before God in their past relations with himself, closing with a petition for their gracious preservation, 6-11. Second, he represents their relations of danger to the world, closing with a petition for divine keeping, 12-16. Third, opening with a petition, he represents their mission to the world, 16-19.

V. 6. I have manifested thy name-All thy attributes; and in particular thy paternal relation to believers;

to the men whom thou hast given me-The apostles, and so John 17:12.

They were thine-By creation, and by descent from Abraham. And thou hast given them me-By giving them faith in what I have spoken. So John 17:9.

Verse 6. I have manifested thy name] efanerwsa, I have brought it into light, and caused it to shine in itself, and to illuminate others. A little of the Divine nature was known by the works of creation; a little more was known by the Mosaic revelation: but the full manifestation of God, his nature, and his attributes, came only through the revelation of Christ. The men which thou gavest me] That is, the apostles, who, having received this knowledge from Christ, were, by their preaching and writings, to spread it through the whole world.

Out of the world] From among the Jewish people; for in this sense is the word kosmov to be understood in various parts of our Lord’s last discourses.

Thine they were] Objects of thy choice; and thou gavest them to me from among this very unbelieving people, that they might be my disciples and the heralds of my salvation.

And they have kept thy word.] Though their countrymen have rejected it; and they have received me as thy well beloved Son in whom thou delightest.

Verses 6-8. I have manifested thy name — All thy attributes; and in particular thy paternal relation to believers; to the men which thou gavest me out of the world — The apostles; and so verse 12. Thine they were — By creation, by preservation, by descent from Abraham, and by being members of thy church, under the Mosaic dispensation; and thou gavest them me — By giving them faith in what I have spoken; and they have kept thy word — Have readily embraced, and hitherto have resolutely adhered to and obeyed thy gospel. Now they have known that all things — Which I have done and spoken, are of thee, and consequently are right and true. They are fully persuaded, “that the commission whereby I act, the doctrine of salvation which I teach, the miracles which I perform, and the authority with which I am clothed, are all really derived from thee.” In this, indeed, they have acted upon the surest evidence; for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me — I have taught them no other doctrine but that which thou gavest me to teach. And they have received them — Being fully sensible that my doctrine is in all points agreeable to thy blessed nature and perfections, they have received it as such; and have known surely that I came out from thee — That I am no impostor, but a prophet, truly commissioned by thee to reveal thy will to mankind. And — While I have been rejected by an ungrateful world, they have regarded me as the true Messiah; and have believed that thou didst send me — On the great errand of man’s salvation.

Ver. 6. I have manifested thy name to them. I have made them acquainted with all the mysteries and glories of man’s redemption.

6. The men—Part of the human race, selected for the good of the race. Thou gavest me—Words which represent the divine side of the apostolic selection. For, being so chosen, they were in capacity, purpose, and susceptibility the proper men. Wisely were they chosen of Christ; graciously were they given by God. God always selects the most suitable instruments at hand for his purposes. They have kept—The human side of the apostolic action. God had been gracious to keep: men had been faithful and kept.

V. 7. Now they know that all things-Which I have done and spoken, are of thee-And consequently right and true.

Verses 6-8. I have manifested thy name — All thy attributes; and in particular thy paternal relation to believers; to the men which thou gavest me out of the world — The apostles; and so verse 12. Thine they were — By creation, by preservation, by descent from Abraham, and by being members of thy church, under the Mosaic dispensation; and thou gavest them me — By giving them faith in what I have spoken; and they have kept thy word — Have readily embraced, and hitherto have resolutely adhered to and obeyed thy gospel. Now they have known that all things — Which I have done and spoken, are of thee, and consequently are right and true. They are fully persuaded, “that the commission whereby I act, the doctrine of salvation which I teach, the miracles which I perform, and the authority with which I am clothed, are all really derived from thee.” In this, indeed, they have acted upon the surest evidence; for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me — I have taught them no other doctrine but that which thou gavest me to teach. And they have received them — Being fully sensible that my doctrine is in all points agreeable to thy blessed nature and perfections, they have received it as such; and have known surely that I came out from thee — That I am no impostor, but a prophet, truly commissioned by thee to reveal thy will to mankind. And — While I have been rejected by an ungrateful world, they have regarded me as the true Messiah; and have believed that thou didst send me — On the great errand of man’s salvation.

7. All things—The entire furnishings for his divine mission. The apostles had learned and recognized that they were not fabricated by Jesus, but given from God.

V. 8. They have received them-By faith.

Verse 8. I have given-them the words] I have delivered thy doctrine to them, so that they have had a pure teaching immediately from heaven: neither Jewish fables nor fictions of men have been mingled with it. And have known surely] Are fully convinced and acknowledge that I am the promised Messiah, and that they are to look for none other; and that my mission and doctrine are all Divine, John 17:7, 8.

Verses 6-8. I have manifested thy name — All thy attributes; and in particular thy paternal relation to believers; to the men which thou gavest me out of the world — The apostles; and so verse 12. Thine they were — By creation, by preservation, by descent from Abraham, and by being members of thy church, under the Mosaic dispensation; and thou gavest them me — By giving them faith in what I have spoken; and they have kept thy word — Have readily embraced, and hitherto have resolutely adhered to and obeyed thy gospel. Now they have known that all things — Which I have done and spoken, are of thee, and consequently are right and true. They are fully persuaded, “that the commission whereby I act, the doctrine of salvation which I teach, the miracles which I perform, and the authority with which I am clothed, are all really derived from thee.” In this, indeed, they have acted upon the surest evidence; for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me — I have taught them no other doctrine but that which thou gavest me to teach. And they have received them — Being fully sensible that my doctrine is in all points agreeable to thy blessed nature and perfections, they have received it as such; and have known surely that I came out from thee — That I am no impostor, but a prophet, truly commissioned by thee to reveal thy will to mankind. And — While I have been rejected by an ungrateful world, they have regarded me as the true Messiah; and have believed that thou didst send me — On the great errand of man’s salvation.

8. They have believed—They were selected and given by God with full foreknowledge that they would believe. The final taking of effect, both of their election and the giving, was conditioned on their faith and perseverance as free agents.

V. 9. I pray not for the world-Not in these petitions, which are adapted to the state of believers only. (He prays for the world at John 17:21, 23,

that they may believe-That they may know God hath sent him.) This no more proves that our Lord did not pray for the world, both before and afterward, than his praying for the apostles alone, John 17:6-19, proves that he did not pray for them also which shall believe through their word, John 17:20.

Verse 9. I pray not for the world] I am not yet come to that part of my intercession: see John 17:20. I am now wholly employed for my disciples, that they may be properly qualified to preach my salvation to the ends of the earth. Jesus here imitates the high priest, the second part of whose prayer, on the day of expiation, was for the priests, the sons of Aaron: see Clarke on “John 17:1”. These words may also be understood as applying to the rebellious Jews. God’s wrath was about to descend upon them, and Christ prays that his own followers might be kept from the evil, John 17:15. But he does not thus pray for the world, the rebellious Jews, because the cup of their iniquity was full, and their judgment slumbered not.

Verses 9, 10. I pray for them — Who have attended me as my apostles. These only he prays for here, as appears from verse 12, where he says, he had kept all the persons he was praying for in the faith and practice of true religion, except the son of perdition; and from verse 18, where he says, he had commissioned them to go forth into the world for the same purpose that the Father had sent him; and from verse 20, where he expressly distinguishes them from all other believers whatever. I pray not for the world — Not in these petitions, which are adapted to the state of believers only. But this no more proves that our Lord did not pray for the world, both before and afterward, than his praying for the apostles only in these verses proves that he did not pray for them also who should believe in him through their word, verse 20. But for them which thou hast given me, &c. — See on verse; for they are thine — The reason thus assigned for making them the subject of his prayers at this time is remarkable. It is as if he had said, “I employ the last moments of my life in praying particularly for my apostles, because their are more especially thy servants, destined for that work which is the great object of thy attention, the instruction and salvation of the world.” All mine are thine — All my servants are thy servants; that is, whosoever assists me in my work, serves thee in thy great designs of love and mercy to men. And thine are mine — Thy servants are my servants; every one who really serves thee must join issue with me, and assist me in my work. And I am glorified in them — By the zeal, faithfulness, and success of my servants in converting the world, I am greatly honoured. This, however, is not our Lord’s only meaning in this clause; the original words being ta ema panta sa esti, kai ta sa ema, not, all my servants are thy servants, &c., but, all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine; expressions too grand for any mere creature to use; as implying, that all things whatsoever, inclusive of the divine nature, perfections, and operations, are the common property of the Father and the Son. And this is the original ground of that peculiar property which both the Father and the Son have, in the persons who were given to Christ as Mediator, according to what is said in the close of the verse of his being glorified by them; namely, by their believing in him, and so acknowledging his glory.

Ver. 9. I pray for them. I pray not for the world. I pray for those peculiar endowments, and that special protection which their arduous mission will require. For the world I pray, that thou wouldst give them repentance and remission of sins, for in rejecting me they know not what they do. Luke 23:34.

9. Pray not for the world—For the world, as such, and while it stays such, (in the sense used here and in verse 14,) is not a possible object of the mercies and blessings he is now imploring; and so cannot be the object of his direct prayer. Indirectly he prays, in verses 21 and 23, for the world, that it may be brought under the scope and cover of his prayer, by conversion to faith in him. When Christ intercedes, as here, for his Church, it is that it may be, as here, preserved, sanctified, and glorified. When he prays for the world, it is that it may be converted and forgiven. Luke xxiii,

34. Then the world comes into the Church, and receives the blessing of Christ’s Church by intercession. For them which thou hast given me—The apostles, as in verses 6 and 8. They are thine—The Father gave them, yet still retained them. They were the common property of God and of Christ. Therefore did Christ confidently pray for them.

V. 10. All things that are mine are thine, and that are thine are mine-These are very high and strong expressions, too grand for any mere creature to use; as implying that all things whatsoever, inclusive of the Divine nature, perfections, and operations, are the common property of the Father and the Son. And this is the original ground of that peculiar property, which both the Father and the Son have in the persons who were given to Christ as Mediator; according to what is said in the close of the verse, of his being glorified by them; namely, believing in him, and so acknowledging his glory.

Verse 10. I am glorified in them.] Christ speaks of the things which were not, but which should be, as though they were. He anticipates the glorifying of his name by the successful preaching of the apostles.

Verses 9, 10. I pray for them — Who have attended me as my apostles. These only he prays for here, as appears from verse 12, where he says, he had kept all the persons he was praying for in the faith and practice of true religion, except the son of perdition; and from verse 18, where he says, he had commissioned them to go forth into the world for the same purpose that the Father had sent him; and from verse 20, where he expressly distinguishes them from all other believers whatever. I pray not for the world — Not in these petitions, which are adapted to the state of believers only. But this no more proves that our Lord did not pray for the world, both before and afterward, than his praying for the apostles only in these verses proves that he did not pray for them also who should believe in him through their word, verse 20. But for them which thou hast given me, &c. — See on verse; for they are thine — The reason thus assigned for making them the subject of his prayers at this time is remarkable. It is as if he had said, “I employ the last moments of my life in praying particularly for my apostles, because their are more especially thy servants, destined for that work which is the great object of thy attention, the instruction and salvation of the world.” All mine are thine — All my servants are thy servants; that is, whosoever assists me in my work, serves thee in thy great designs of love and mercy to men. And thine are mine — Thy servants are my servants; every one who really serves thee must join issue with me, and assist me in my work. And I am glorified in them — By the zeal, faithfulness, and success of my servants in converting the world, I am greatly honoured. This, however, is not our Lord’s only meaning in this clause; the original words being ta ema panta sa esti, kai ta sa ema, not, all my servants are thy servants, &c., but, all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine; expressions too grand for any mere creature to use; as implying, that all things whatsoever, inclusive of the divine nature, perfections, and operations, are the common property of the Father and the Son. And this is the original ground of that peculiar property which both the Father and the Son have, in the persons who were given to Christ as Mediator, according to what is said in the close of the verse of his being glorified by them; namely, by their believing in him, and so acknowledging his glory.

10. Thine are mine—Language which no created being could use.

V. 11. Keep them through thy name-Thy power, mercy, wisdom, that they may be one-with us and with each other; one body, separate from the world:

as we are-By resemblance to us, though not equality.

Verse 11. I am no more in the world] I am just going to leave the world, and therefore they shall stand in need of peculiar assistance and support. They have need of all the influence of my intercession, that they may be preserved in thy truth.

Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me] Instead of ouv dedwkav moi, THOSE whom thou hast given me, ABCEHLMS, Mt. BHV, and nearly one hundred others, read w, which refers to the tw onomati sou, thy name, immediately preceding. The whole passage should be read thus: Holy Father, keep them through thy own name WHICH thou hast given me, that they may be one, &c. By the name, here, it is evident that the doctrine or knowledge of the true God is intended; as if our Lord had said, Keep them in that doctrine WHICH thou hast given me, that they may be one, &c. This reading is supported by the most ample evidence and indisputable authority. Griesbach has admitted it into the text, and Professor White in his crisewv says of it, Lectio indubie genuina, “It is, without doubt, the genuine reading.”

That they may be ONE] That they, and all that believe through their word, (the doctrine which I have given them,) may be one body, united by one Spirit to me their living head. The union which Christ recommends here, and prays for, is so complete and glorious as to be fitly represented by that union which subsists between the Father and the Son.

Verses 11, 12. And now I am no more in the world — Having finished the work thou gavest me to do in it; but these — My apostles; are in the world — Exposed to various hardships and dangers; and I come to thee — Whom I have chosen and served, and whom my soul thirsteth after; to thee, the Fountain of light and life, the Crown and Centre of bliss and joy; now my longing shall be satisfied, my hopes accomplished, my happiness completed. Holy Father, keep through thine own name — Thy mercy, wisdom, and power; those whom thou hast given me — To be my messengers to mankind; that they may be one — One with us, and with each other; one body, separate from the world; as we are — By resemblance to us, though not equality. While I was with them, &c., I kept them in thy name — In the firm faith and steadfast practice of my religion, so far as I revealed it unto them. Or, as the clause may be read, through thy name, as in the preceding verse, through thy power and grace; those that thou gavest me — I say, the twelve persons whom thou gavest me for apostles: I have thus kept, and none of them is lost — None of them has apostatized; but the son of perdition — That wicked person who deserves perdition; that the Scriptures might be fulfilled — That is, whereby the Scripture is fulfilled. See note on John 12:40. As if he had said, His apostacy, has happened, not through any defect in my care, but in consequence of its being permitted, for the wisest reasons; and therefore long ago predicted in the Scriptures, particularly <19A908>Psalm 109:8. The son of perdition, signifies one that deservedly perishes: as, a son of death, 2 Samuel 12:5; children of hell, Matthew 23:15; and children of wrath, Ephesians 2:3; signify persons justly obnoxious to death, hell, wrath.

11. I am no more in the world—As above noted, his standpoint is after his ascension. Holy Father—The first petition for his apostles. The opening address, the first, is to Father simply; here, where holy preservation is petitioned, the address is Holy Father; in verse 25, where retribution in the world is indicated, it is Righteous Father. Stier elaborately argues that God’s holiness is identical with his absolute love. It may be, indeed, admitted that of God’s primary love, pure and absolute righteousness, mercy, and purity are the perfect forms. Yet that love is rather holy than holiness itself. That love is holy because it is absolutely right; and holiness consists in rightness, with all the intensity of infinite emotion, and all the firmness of an infinite Will eternally determining.

V. 12. Those whom thou hast given me I have guarded, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition-So one even of them whom God had given him is lost. So far was even that decree from being unchangeable!

That the Scripture might be fulfilled-That is, whereby the Scripture was fulfilled. The son of perdition signifies one that deservedly perishes; as a son of death, 2 Samuel 12:5; children of hell, Matthew 23:15, and children of wrath, Ephesians 2:3, signify persons justly obnoxious to death, hell, wrath. <19A908>Psalm 109:8.

Verse 12. I kept them in thy name] In thy doctrine and truth. But the son of perdition] So we find that Judas, whom all account to have been lost, and whose case at best is extremely dubious, was first given by God to Christ? But why was he lost? Because, says St. Augustin, he would not be saved: and he farther adds, After the commission of his crime, he might have returned to God and have found mercy. Aug. Serm. 125; n. 5; Psa. cxlvi. n. 20; Ser. 352, n. 8; and in Psa. cviii. See Calmet, who remarks: Judas only became the son of perdition because of his wilful malice, his abuse of the grace and instructions of Christ, and was condemned through his own avarice, perfidy, insensibility, and despair. In behalf of the mere possibility of the salvation of Judas, see the observations at the end of Acts 1. See Clarke “Acts 1:26”

Perdition or destruction is personified; and Judas is represented as being her son, i.e. one of the worst of men-one whose crime appears to have been an attempt to destroy, not only the Saviour of the world, but also the whole human race. And all this he was capable of through the love of money! How many of those who are termed creditable persons in the world have acted his crime over a thousand times! To Judas and to all his brethren, who sell God and their souls for money, and who frequently go out of this world by a violent voluntary death, we may apply those burning words of Mr. Blair, with very little alteration:

“O cursed lust of gold! when for thy sake

The wretch throws up his interest in both worlds,

First hanged in this, then damned in that to come.”

That the scripture might be fulfilled.] Or, Thus the scripture is fulfilled: see Psalms 41:9Psalm 41:9; 109:8; compared with Acts 1:20. Thus the traitorous conduct of Judas has been represented and illustrated by that of Ahitophel, and the rebellion of Absalom against his father David. Thus what was spoken concerning them was also fulfilled in Judas: to him therefore these scriptures are properly applied, though they were originally spoken concerning other traitors. Hence we plainly see that the treachery of Judas was not the effect of the prediction, for that related to a different case; but, as his was of the same nature with that of the others, to it the same scriptures were applicable.

Verses 11, 12. And now I am no more in the world — Having finished the work thou gavest me to do in it; but these — My apostles; are in the world — Exposed to various hardships and dangers; and I come to thee — Whom I have chosen and served, and whom my soul thirsteth after; to thee, the Fountain of light and life, the Crown and Centre of bliss and joy; now my longing shall be satisfied, my hopes accomplished, my happiness completed. Holy Father, keep through thine own name — Thy mercy, wisdom, and power; those whom thou hast given me — To be my messengers to mankind; that they may be one — One with us, and with each other; one body, separate from the world; as we are — By resemblance to us, though not equality. While I was with them, &c., I kept them in thy name — In the firm faith and steadfast practice of my religion, so far as I revealed it unto them. Or, as the clause may be read, through thy name, as in the preceding verse, through thy power and grace; those that thou gavest me — I say, the twelve persons whom thou gavest me for apostles: I have thus kept, and none of them is lost — None of them has apostatized; but the son of perdition — That wicked person who deserves perdition; that the Scriptures might be fulfilled — That is, whereby the Scripture is fulfilled. See note on John 12:40. As if he had said, His apostacy, has happened, not through any defect in my care, but in consequence of its being permitted, for the wisest reasons; and therefore long ago predicted in the Scriptures, particularly <19A908>Psalm 109:8. The son of perdition, signifies one that deservedly perishes: as, a son of death, 2 Samuel 12:5; children of hell, Matthew 23:15; and children of wrath, Ephesians 2:3; signify persons justly obnoxious to death, hell, wrath.

Ver. 12. None of them is lost, but the son of perdition. The Hebrews had many like phrases, as son of disobedience, son of Belial, &c.

12. While—In the five ensuing verses Jesus contemplates his apostles in relation to their earthly dangers, as by him faithfully kept, (albeit that one is lost,) in the midst of a hated world, from which they must not be withdrawn, though while in it they are not of it. While… in the world— Here, as throughout this intercession, his standpoint is beyond this world. I kept them—Kept them, not like a purse of coin, locked in an iron safe, as a mere thing; nor as a prisoner, locked in a bolted cell, as an unfree agent; but as a child is kept in a loved home, from which he is able to escape by a power of his own. Such keeping of a true free agent is intended to be sure only when the kept one prefers to be kept. No divine guardianship throughout the Bible engages to secure a Christian from voluntary apostacy. The son of perdition—Stier well remarks that wherever in the Holy Scriptures the figurative phrase child of an evil thing is used, it indicates the wilful, guilty, and fixed tendency of the being. So child of hell, Matthew 23:15; children of disobedience, Ephesians 2:2; so also man of sin, 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Son of perdition, therefore, indicates one who by his own wilful, guilty, personal tending, lands in final destruction. But it is plain, from the previous part of the verse, that this son of perdition was one of those whom thou gavest me, and was kept in thy name; and yet, in spite of that keeping, he was lost; and he became a final heir of perdition. Hence we have on this sacred record, presented in the very primal twelve, a type of genuine final apostacy in the Christian Church. Scripture might be fulfilled—This is the final good educed by God from the darkest evil: that therein his foreknowledge is verified, and God’s plans for his own conduct, which are conditioned upon the foreknowledge, are left underanged. The dark human side was for pure evil; the divine side is, that the unneeded and condemned sin does of itself fit in to the production of God’s best results.

V. 13. In the world-That is, before I leave the world. My joy-The joy I feel at going to the Father.

Verse 13. My joy fulfilled in themselves.] See Clarke on “John 15:11”.

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

13. Now come I to thee—The world is far behind; the agony is past; he stands upon the mount of God, approaching his Father’s smiling face. But all this is upon a conceptual standpoint; for he immediately adds, These things I speak in the world. Why speak them in the world? The words immediately following explain: that his apostles might hear; that one apostle might record; so that their joy, and the joy of the future Church, whom they represent, may be fulfilled.

Verse 14. I have given them thy word] Or, thy doctrine-tou logon sou. In this sense the word logov is often used by St. John. And the world hath hated them] The Jewish rulers, &c., have hated them.-Why? Because they received the doctrine of God, the science of salvation, and taught it to others. They knew Jesus to be the Messiah, and as such they proclaimed him: our Lord speaks prophetically of what was about to take place. How terrible is the perversion of human nature! Men despise that which they should esteem, and endeavour to destroy that without which they must be destroyed themselves!

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

14. The world hath hated them—See notes on John 15:18-25.

V. 15. That thou wouldest take them out of the world-Not yet: but that thou wouldest keep them from the evil one-Who reigns therein.

Verse 15. That thou shouldest take them out of the world] They must not yet leave the land of Judea: they had not as yet borne their testimony there, concerning Christ crucified and risen again from the dead. To take them away before this work was finished would not answer the gracious design of God.-1. Christ does not desire that his faithful apostles should soon die, and be taken to God. No: but that they may live long, labour long, and bring forth much fruit. 2. He does not intimate that they should seclude themselves from the world by going to the desert, or to the cloisters; but that they should continue in and among the world, that they may have the opportunity of recommending the salvation of God. 3. Christ only prays that while they are in the world, employed in the work of the ministry, they may be preserved from the influence, tou ponhrou, of the evil one, the devil, who had lately entered into Judas, John 13:27, and who would endeavour to enter into them, ruin their souls, and destroy their work. A devil without can do no harm; but a devil within ruins all.

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

15. Not… take… out of the world—Peter was ready (John 13:37) to follow his Lord out of the world. Wearied Christians often would sigh to depart and be with Christ. But that aspiration must be checked within the most reverent limits. What could the world’s great carcass do if the salt should all depart? What but suffer the fate of Sodom for want of ten righteous men? The good men hated by the world are the world’s preservers. Keep them from the evil—For how easy is it for them to assimilate by gentle shadings with the world. The world, then, will no longer hate, however much they will despise them for the compromise. God keeps them, not merely for themselves, but for the honour of his own name, and from mercy to the world that hates them.

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

V. 17. Sanctify-Consecrate them by the anointing of thy Spirit to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by means of thy word.

Verse 17. Sanctify them] aJgiason, from a, negative, and gh, the earth. This word has two meanings: 1. It signifies to consecrate, to separate from earth and common use, and to devote or dedicate to God and his service.

2. It signifies to make holy or pure. The prayer of Christ may be understood in both these senses. He prayed-1. That they might be fully consecrated to the work of the ministry, and separated from all worldly concerns. 2. That they might be holy, and patterns of all holiness to those to whom they announced the salvation of God. A minister who engages himself in worldly concerns is a reproach to the Gospel; and he who is not saved from his own sins can with a bad grace recommend salvation to others.

Through thy truth] It is not only according to the truth of God that ministers are to be set apart to the sacred work; but it is from that truth, and according to it, that they must preach to others. That doctrine which is not drawn from the truth of God can never save souls. God blesses no word but his own; because none is truth, without mixture of error, but that which has proceeded from himself. Our Lord still acts here in reference to the conduct of the high priest, to whom it belonged to sanctify the priests, the sons of Aaron: see Clarke on “John 17:1”.

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

Ver. 17. Sanctify them through thy truth, which truth regards all the leading principles of the gospel, in regeneration and purity of heart. Thy truth, the wisdom from above, requiring peculiar holiness in ministers; sanctify them by dedication to their ministry, which they must not leave for trades, unless some peculiar dispensation should so require. Men so called and commissioned, should be looking for their Lord’s return.

17. Sanctify them—In the three ensuing verses Jesus represents their consecration to their mission. God must sanctify them as Christ sanctifies himself. To sanctify is to set apart to some special divine use; and this may or may not require an inner purification of the being set apart. If an unholy being, as man, be set apart to a pure use, he must be rendered internally as pure as the use to which he is appropriated. Of an indifferent thing, neither intrinsically holy or unholy, as a vessel for the sanctuary service, there can be no purification but a physical one with an emblematical meaning. Where a holy being, as Christ, is set apart for a holy work, as for the work of redemption, no inward purification is possible; for he is already perfectly pure. It is a consecration of the holy to the holy. The use to which man is divinely consecrated is eternal service in the sanctuary of heaven; but to attain this use his entire purification must be perfect. If he fails in this his failure is total. Through thy truth—Rather in thy truth. Thy word is truth— Thy word doubtless means the Gospel revelation, both in its doctrinal and preceptive parts; its doctrinal parts exhibiting the scheme of salvation, its preceptive enjoining us to obey its conditions. The agent of this sanctification through or in the Gospel, according to Jesus’s prayer is God, who both gives the Gospel which sanctifies, and animates it by his Spirit to a sanctifying power. Hence it is not the mere instrumental truth, it is the divine Spirit, which sanctifies.

Verse 18. As thou hast sent me-so have I also sent them] The apostles had the same commission which Christ had, considered as man-they were endued with the same Spirit, so that they could not err, and their word was accompanied with the same success.

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

18. Sent me… I also sent them—So that both, primarily and secondarily, are from God; and as they were directed to ordain others to the same work, so it is evident that a body of ministry issuing from God himself, distinct from the laity, is a divine institution in the Christian Church.

V. 19. I sanctify myself-I devote myself as a victim, to be sacrificed.

Verse 19. I sanctify myself] I consecrate and devote myself to death-that I may thereby purchase eternal salvation for them. There seems to be here an allusion to the entering of the high priest into the holy of holies, when, having offered the sacrifice, he sprinkled the blood before the ark of the covenant. So Jesus entered into the holiest of all by his own blood, in order to obtain everlasting redemption for men: see Hebrews 9:11-13. The word, agiazw, to consecrate or sanctify, is used in the sense of devoting to death, in Jeremiah 12:3, both in the Hebrew and in the Septuagint: the Hebrew vdq signifies also to sacrifice.

III. Our Lord’s prayer for his Church, and for all who would believe on his name, through the preaching of the apostles and their successors: see Clarke on “John 17:1”.

Verses 13-19. These things I speak in the world — That is, before I leave the world; that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves — I offer this prayer in behalf of my apostles, with this intention; that being heard for them, they may receive all the endowments necessary to qualify them for converting the world, and be filled with my joy, the great joy I have in being the means of saving mankind. I have given them thy word, &c. — I have omitted nothing that on my part was necessary to fit them for converting the world, and partaking of my joy. And — Though they are indeed the greatest friends and benefactors of the human race, yet the world hath hated them — And will be sure to persecute them with the utmost violence; because they are not of the world — Are neither influenced by the principles, nor conformed to the spirit or conduct, of carnal men; even as I am not of the world — In which respects they resemble me. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world — As if he had said, Although these persecutions, which shall befall them, are another great reason why I offer up this prayer for them; nevertheless, my meaning is not that, on account of these difficulties, thou shouldest immediately remove them out of the world by death; but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil which is in the world, or rather, from the evil one, as apo tou ponhrou properly signifies, that is, from the influence of his subtlety and power; from being taken in the snares he will lay for them, deceived by his wiles, or led into sin by his temptations. They are not of the world, &c. — This sentiment he repeats, as reflecting with great pleasure on their being separated from the world, both in their dispositions and actions; and on their resembling himself in this respect; and hence he was the more solicitous that, after his departure, they might be preserved blameless, and therefore prays as in the following words, Sanctify them through thy truth — Consecrate them to their office, and perfect them in holiness, by the instrumentality of thy truth, accompanied by thy grace. Thy word is truth — Thy gospel, which they are to preach, is the great system of sanctifying truth, whereby real holiness is ever to be promoted: and may these my apostles experience more and more of its vital energy on their own souls, to qualify them more fully for the office of dispensing it to others. As thou hast sent me into the world — To be the messenger of this grace; even so have I sent them — Namely, on the same errand, to publish and proclaim what they have learned of me. And for their sakes — As well as for the salvation of all that do or shall believe in me; I sanctify myself — I set myself apart, as an offering holy to thee. Or, I devote myself as a victim to be sacrificed; that they also might be sanctified through the truth — That, taught by my example, and animated by my dying love, they may be fully fitted for, and wholly devoted to, their important work. To sanctify, signifies, in general, to set apart to some 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 this verse.

Ver. 19. For their sakes I sanctify myself, like a spotless lamb and victim for the high altar of the cross, to take away the sin of the world.

19. Sanctify myself—The great conditional sanctification or consecration of himself, by which Christ entitled himself to redeem a glorious Church from out the world, and present it pure and perfect before the Father, was the suffering of death. Thus as a redeemer he was made perfect through suffering. For their sakes—This consecrating agony was undergone for the sake of his apostles, constituting and representing his entire glorious Church.

Christ’s representation of future believers and the world, 20-26. Our Intercessor now broadens his scope so widely that every man may enrol himself in the limits of the prayer. Directly, he prays for the perfecting of all believers and their reception into glory. Indirectly, he prays that all may become believers.

Christ cannot, of course, pray that the world, as the world, should be taken to heaven. He cannot pray that the sinner should be glorified in his sins; any more than he can pray that the unchanged Satan should be reinstalled in the highest heaven. He can only pray that the world may, through appointed agencies, be so won as to come into the range of his prayers for his Church. None are excluded from his churchly prayer who do not exclude themselves.

V. 20. For them who will believe-In all ages.

Verse 20. Neither pray I for these alone] This prayer extends itself through all ages, and takes in every soul that believes in the Lord Jesus. And what is it that Christ asks in behalf of his followers? The greatest of blessings: unity, peace, love, and eternal glory.

Verses 20-23. Neither pray I for these alone — I do not make my apostles the only subjects of this my last prayer; I pray likewise for all such as shall by their word, whether preached or written, be brought to believe on me, in whatever age or nation; that they also, being influenced by the same Spirit, and possessed of the same love; may be one — Truly and intimately; (see on verse 11;) as thou, Father, art in me — Dwelling in me by thy Spirit; and I in thee — By a constant, indissoluble union; that they also may be one in us — Closely and vitally united to us, and deriving from us the richest supplies of divine wisdom and grace, power, purity, and consolation. This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality. That the world may believe — That, seeing their benevolence, charity, and holy joy, the people of the world, the carnal part of mankind, may believe that a religion productive of such amiable fruits is indeed of divine original. It is plainly intimated here by our Lord, that “dissensions among Christians would not only be uncomfortable to themselves, but would be a means of bringing the truth and excellence of Christianity 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 these divisions have given to infidels, to misrepresent it as a calamity, rather than to regard it as a blessing to mankind.” — Doddridge. Here we see Christ prays for the world, and may observe that the sum of his whole prayer is, 1st, Receive me into thy own and my glory; 2d, Let my apostles share therein; 3d, And all other believers; 4th, And let all the world believe. And the glory which thou gavest me — With respect to my human nature, namely, to be a habitation of thyself by the Spirit; I have given them — Have bestowed on them the honour and happiness of having a measure of the same Spirit dwelling in them, enriching them with various gifts and graces, stamping them with thine image, and communicating unto them thy divine nature, 2 Peter 1:4. That they may be one, even as we are one — May possess the closest union, and enjoy a most holy and happy fellowship with us and with each other here, and in consequence thereof may dwell together with us in eternal felicity hereafter. I in them — Dwelling in their hearts by faith; (Ephesians 3:17;) and thou in me — By thine indwelling presence; that they may be made perfect in one — May possess the most perfect and uninterrupted union of love and purity, without any jarring affection or disposition, and through that union may grow up into me their living head in all things, till they arrive at the measure of the stature of my fulness, and are perfected in that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That the world may know that thou hast sent me — That the clearest demonstration may thus be given of the efficacy of thy grace in creating men anew, and constituting them saints indeed, visibly and justly the favourites of Heaven; and that it may be manifest to all that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me — And hast conferred this grace upon them for my sake.

20. For these alone—Most merciful as is the interior of the Saviour’s intercession, there is a stern exclusiveness, a terrible outside to it, expressed not so much in words as in silence. Cold and dreary is the condition of those who stand without the boundary of the Christly supplication. Shall believe—Foreknown future voluntary receivers of the apostolic Gospel. The shall here is a mere future, equivalent to will. Faith is either a power or an act; as a power it is a gift of God, and may be prayed for; as an act it must be from ourselves, and cannot be a gift from any other. Their word—No traditions of an interior Christian doctrine are to be received by us which are uncorroborated in the written word. This, the written testament alone, can assure us that the tradition is apostolic and binding; for unwritten traditions are unstable, easily forged, and unreliable. But as it appears from verse 18 that the apostles were commissioned by Christ, as Christ by God, so the true written tradition of the apostles, whether it be John, or Paul, or Peter, are the authorized word both of Christ and God. Those, therefore, who endeavor to separate the apostles’ doctrine as contrary to Christ’s, are enemies of the truth, sacrilegiously endeavouring to cut the Gospel in two, that they may murder both parts.

V. 21. As thou art in me-This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality.

That the world may believe-Here Christ prays for the world. Observe the sum of his whole prayer, 1. Receive me into thy own and my glory; 2. Let my apostles share therein; 3. And all other believers: 4. And let all the world believe.

Verse 21. That they all may be one] This prayer was literally answered to the first believers, who were all of one heart and of one soul: Acts 4:32. And why is it that believers are not in the same spirit now? Because they neither attend to the example nor to the truth of Christ. That the world may believe] are have already seen that the word, kosmov, world, is used in several parts of this last discourse of our Lord to signify the Jewish people only.

Christ will have all his members to be one in spirit-one in rights and privileges, and one in the blessedness of the future world.

Verses 20-23. Neither pray I for these alone — I do not make my apostles the only subjects of this my last prayer; I pray likewise for all such as shall by their word, whether preached or written, be brought to believe on me, in whatever age or nation; that they also, being influenced by the same Spirit, and possessed of the same love; may be one — Truly and intimately; (see on verse 11;) as thou, Father, art in me — Dwelling in me by thy Spirit; and I in thee — By a constant, indissoluble union; that they also may be one in us — Closely and vitally united to us, and deriving from us the richest supplies of divine wisdom and grace, power, purity, and consolation. This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality. That the world may believe — That, seeing their benevolence, charity, and holy joy, the people of the world, the carnal part of mankind, may believe that a religion productive of such amiable fruits is indeed of divine original. It is plainly intimated here by our Lord, that “dissensions among Christians would not only be uncomfortable to themselves, but would be a means of bringing the truth and excellence of Christianity 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 these divisions have given to infidels, to misrepresent it as a calamity, rather than to regard it as a blessing to mankind.” — Doddridge. Here we see Christ prays for the world, and may observe that the sum of his whole prayer is, 1st, Receive me into thy own and my glory; 2d, Let my apostles share therein; 3d, And all other believers; 4th, And let all the world believe. And the glory which thou gavest me — With respect to my human nature, namely, to be a habitation of thyself by the Spirit; I have given them — Have bestowed on them the honour and happiness of having a measure of the same Spirit dwelling in them, enriching them with various gifts and graces, stamping them with thine image, and communicating unto them thy divine nature, 2 Peter 1:4. That they may be one, even as we are one — May possess the closest union, and enjoy a most holy and happy fellowship with us and with each other here, and in consequence thereof may dwell together with us in eternal felicity hereafter. I in them — Dwelling in their hearts by faith; (Ephesians 3:17;) and thou in me — By thine indwelling presence; that they may be made perfect in one — May possess the most perfect and uninterrupted union of love and purity, without any jarring affection or disposition, and through that union may grow up into me their living head in all things, till they arrive at the measure of the stature of my fulness, and are perfected in that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That the world may know that thou hast sent me — That the clearest demonstration may thus be given of the efficacy of thy grace in creating men anew, and constituting them saints indeed, visibly and justly the favourites of Heaven; and that it may be manifest to all that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me — And hast conferred this grace upon them for my sake.

Ver. 21. That they all may be one. United in one spirit to Christ our living head, however divided by continents, languages, and some variations of creed; for real saints cannot shake hands with the bloody tyrannies and idolatries of Rome, how much soever we may love and honour many characters within her pale. Our unity consists in a catholic spirit, and in brotherly love.

21. May be one—Amid every diversity there is among true Christians a true unity. So amid many varieties, external and striking, the human race has a unity internal and absolute. One touch of feeling makes the whole world akin. Universal man, and man alone, has the moral emotion, the religious susceptibility, the power to possess an idea of the infinite God. The European, the Chinaman, the Hottentot, can be brought to worship the Omnipotent; but not the dog, the elephant, or the gorilla. So, amid every outward diversity, there is in the Christian body the true unity of the Spirit. The attempt has been made to bring that body under one human head, the Pope, and what has been the result? The head became ambitious, corrupt, despotic, infidel, and bloody. This was substituting for God’s unity of the Spirit man’s unity of temporal power. As thou… and I—The opposer of the doctrine of the Trinity very vainly attempts to prove that the Logos, or Word, can be no more one with God, than one Christian man can be one with another. But the as here indicates not equality in degree, but similarity in nature according to the human likeness and proportion to the Divine. As of Christian perfection the ideal is God, so of Christian unity the model is the ever-blessed Trinity. (See note on Matthew 5:48. Also, John 14:9, 10.) For man was made in the image of God. Of the Church, as of the Trinity, the unity is spiritual.

That… that… that—There are three thats in this verse. The first two are parallel to each other, the latter enlarging the other, and both depend on pray in the previous verse. Christ directly prays that his followers may be one; and that they may be one in us. The third that depends upon these two. May they be one in us, that the world may be inspired, by that unity, with faith. The world—Stands in a double aspect: as the embodied enemy of Christ, and, as such, no object of prayer; and as the raw material from which the future Church must be won and shaped, and, as such, the object of this extension of prayer. And in the following verses Christ prays that the Church may be perfect in one, both for its own blessed sake and for the winning the world to faith. No limits are assigned to the diffusion of faith through the world; but the Saviour, justifying a holy ambition in his Church to win the whole, prays that the world may believe, and nothing less.

V. 22. The glory which thou hast given me, I have given them-The glory of the only begotten shines in all the sons of God. How great is the majesty of Christians.

Verse 22. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them] That is, the power to work miracles, and to preach unadulterated truth, say some; but as our Lord is not here praying for the disciples, but for all those who should believe on him through their word, John 17:20, it is more natural to understand the passage thus. As Christ, according to his human nature, is termed the Son of God, he may be understood as saying: “I have communicated to all those who believe, or shall believe in me, the glorious privilege of becoming sons of God; that, being all adopted children of the same Father, they may abide in peace, love, and unity.” For this reason it is said, Hebrews 2:11, Christ is not ashamed to call them brethren. However, our Lord may here, as in several other places, be using the past for the future; and the words may therefore be understood of the glory which they were to share with him in heaven.

Verses 20-23. Neither pray I for these alone — I do not make my apostles the only subjects of this my last prayer; I pray likewise for all such as shall by their word, whether preached or written, be brought to believe on me, in whatever age or nation; that they also, being influenced by the same Spirit, and possessed of the same love; may be one — Truly and intimately; (see on verse 11;) as thou, Father, art in me — Dwelling in me by thy Spirit; and I in thee — By a constant, indissoluble union; that they also may be one in us — Closely and vitally united to us, and deriving from us the richest supplies of divine wisdom and grace, power, purity, and consolation. This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality. That the world may believe — That, seeing their benevolence, charity, and holy joy, the people of the world, the carnal part of mankind, may believe that a religion productive of such amiable fruits is indeed of divine original. It is plainly intimated here by our Lord, that “dissensions among Christians would not only be uncomfortable to themselves, but would be a means of bringing the truth and excellence of Christianity 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 these divisions have given to infidels, to misrepresent it as a calamity, rather than to regard it as a blessing to mankind.” — Doddridge. Here we see Christ prays for the world, and may observe that the sum of his whole prayer is, 1st, Receive me into thy own and my glory; 2d, Let my apostles share therein; 3d, And all other believers; 4th, And let all the world believe. And the glory which thou gavest me — With respect to my human nature, namely, to be a habitation of thyself by the Spirit; I have given them — Have bestowed on them the honour and happiness of having a measure of the same Spirit dwelling in them, enriching them with various gifts and graces, stamping them with thine image, and communicating unto them thy divine nature, 2 Peter 1:4. That they may be one, even as we are one — May possess the closest union, and enjoy a most holy and happy fellowship with us and with each other here, and in consequence thereof may dwell together with us in eternal felicity hereafter. I in them — Dwelling in their hearts by faith; (Ephesians 3:17;) and thou in me — By thine indwelling presence; that they may be made perfect in one — May possess the most perfect and uninterrupted union of love and purity, without any jarring affection or disposition, and through that union may grow up into me their living head in all things, till they arrive at the measure of the stature of my fulness, and are perfected in that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That the world may know that thou hast sent me — That the clearest demonstration may thus be given of the efficacy of thy grace in creating men anew, and constituting them saints indeed, visibly and justly the favourites of Heaven; and that it may be manifest to all that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me — And hast conferred this grace upon them for my sake.

22. The glory which thou gavest me—The eternal celestial glory. I have given them—It is in them even now, in various degrees, a spark, a slender flame, a beaming luminousness, destined to shine in eternal splendour in the celestial firmament. “Even the slightest glimmering of heavenly light which begins to shine out of the countenance of a justified publican, is an outbeaming of this glorification; and so is the still brighter angel-face of the crowned martyr at his trial.”—Stier. May be one—For that glory has its source in a spark of divine love in the heart, and that love melts into one its various possessors, so that there is one love, one glory, one Church.

Verse 23. That the world may know] That the Jewish people first, and secondly the Gentiles, may acknowledge me as the true Messiah, and be saved unto life eternal.

Verses 20-23. Neither pray I for these alone — I do not make my apostles the only subjects of this my last prayer; I pray likewise for all such as shall by their word, whether preached or written, be brought to believe on me, in whatever age or nation; that they also, being influenced by the same Spirit, and possessed of the same love; may be one — Truly and intimately; (see on verse 11;) as thou, Father, art in me — Dwelling in me by thy Spirit; and I in thee — By a constant, indissoluble union; that they also may be one in us — Closely and vitally united to us, and deriving from us the richest supplies of divine wisdom and grace, power, purity, and consolation. This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality. That the world may believe — That, seeing their benevolence, charity, and holy joy, the people of the world, the carnal part of mankind, may believe that a religion productive of such amiable fruits is indeed of divine original. It is plainly intimated here by our Lord, that “dissensions among Christians would not only be uncomfortable to themselves, but would be a means of bringing the truth and excellence of Christianity 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 these divisions have given to infidels, to misrepresent it as a calamity, rather than to regard it as a blessing to mankind.” — Doddridge. Here we see Christ prays for the world, and may observe that the sum of his whole prayer is, 1st, Receive me into thy own and my glory; 2d, Let my apostles share therein; 3d, And all other believers; 4th, And let all the world believe. And the glory which thou gavest me — With respect to my human nature, namely, to be a habitation of thyself by the Spirit; I have given them — Have bestowed on them the honour and happiness of having a measure of the same Spirit dwelling in them, enriching them with various gifts and graces, stamping them with thine image, and communicating unto them thy divine nature, 2 Peter 1:4. That they may be one, even as we are one — May possess the closest union, and enjoy a most holy and happy fellowship with us and with each other here, and in consequence thereof may dwell together with us in eternal felicity hereafter. I in them — Dwelling in their hearts by faith; (Ephesians 3:17;) and thou in me — By thine indwelling presence; that they may be made perfect in one — May possess the most perfect and uninterrupted union of love and purity, without any jarring affection or disposition, and through that union may grow up into me their living head in all things, till they arrive at the measure of the stature of my fulness, and are perfected in that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. That the world may know that thou hast sent me — That the clearest demonstration may thus be given of the efficacy of thy grace in creating men anew, and constituting them saints indeed, visibly and justly the favourites of Heaven; and that it may be manifest to all that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me — And hast conferred this grace upon them for my sake.

23. Thou in me—So that the very centre and nucleus of this unity is God himself.

The unity of the Church consists in doctrine and in spirit. The historian of evangelical doctrine finds that the system, in its great outlines, forms a grand architectural structure, extending through ages, identical in its general outlines, and excluding all mere half-faiths, heresies, novelties, and infidelities. As such a system it does, by its self-consistency, strength, and permanence, form a powerful proof of the reality of the Christian faith, calculated to make the world believe.

Yet deeper and more absolute is the unity of the spirit. Doctrinal differences are many; Christian experience is vitally one. Says Dr. Shedd: “Tried by the test of exact dogmatic statement, there is a plain difference between the creed of the Arminian and the Calvinist; but tried by the test of practical piety and devout feeling, there is little difference between the character of John Wesley and John Calvin.” For this he assigns as a reason, that “the practical religions life is much more a product of the Holy Spirit than is the speculative construction of Scripture truth. Piety is certainly the product of divine grace; but the creed is not certainly formed under divine illumination.”

V. 24. Here he returns to the apostles. I will-He asks, as having a right to be heard, and prays, not as a servant, but a Son:

that they may behold my glory-Herein is the happiness of heaven, 1 John 3:2.

Verse 24. That they may behold my glory] That they may enjoy eternal felicity with me in thy kingdom. So the word is used, John 3:3; Matthew 5:8. The design of Christ is, that all who believe should love and obey, persevere unto the end, and be eternally united to himself, and the ever blessed God, in the kingdom of glory.

Verse 24. Father, I will — He asks as one having a right to be heard; and prays, not as a servant, but as a Son; that they also whom thou hast given me — Not only my apostles and first disciples, but all my believing, loving, and obedient people; may be with me where I am — Namely, in that heavenly world to which I am now removing. As if he had said, Since no improvements, either in holiness or comfort, can completely answer the purposes of my love and the promises of my grace to them; therefore I request felicity for them in another and more perfect state of things; that they may behold — May contemplate with everlasting and delightful admiration; my glory, which thou hast — By thy sure appointment; given me — And art just ready to bestow upon me; for thou lovedst 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. Observe, reader, the happiness of heaven chiefly consists in beholding the glory of the Father and of the Son, Matthew 5:8; 1 John 3:2.

Ver. 24. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. For qelw, volo, I will, Grotius reads velim, I would: and according to the philosophy of grammar he must be right, because no one in prayer must speak otherwise. Thus David, oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem; and Isaiah, oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down.

24. I will—Not I pray, nor I ask; but this is my will. He speaks as a Son returned to his Father’s house, who tells, in loving confidence, how he will have things. He will bring his beloved comrades with him, that they may see what a glorious Prince he is, and in what a glorious palace That they may behold my glory—And themselves participate and possess it, just as seeing the kingdom of God is sharing it. (John 3:3.) So, beholding his glory, we are all changed into the same image from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18.)

V. 25. Righteous Father-The admission of believers to God through Christ, flows even from the justice of God.

Verse 25. The world hath not known thee] Has not acknowledged me. See on John 1:11, 12.

And these have known] Here our Lord, returning to the disciples, speaks: 1st. Of their having received him as the Messiah; 2dly. Of his making the Father known unto them; 3dly. Of his purpose to continue to influence them by the Spirit of truth, that they might be perfectly united to God, by an indwelling Saviour for ever.

Verses 25, 26. O righteous Father — Faithful and just, as well as merciful. When he prayed that believers might be sanctified, he called him holy Father: but now, praying that they might be glorified, he terms him righteous Father: for it is a crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge will give, and the admission of believers into the presence of God, through Christ, flows, not only from the mercy, but even from the justice of God. The world hath not known thee — The world, being ignorant of thy nature and perfections, and of thy gracious counsels for the salvation of mankind, has rejected me; yet I have known thee — Have been perfectly acquainted with thy counsels and designs, and have accordingly directed the whole of my ministrations to thy glory. And these have known that thou hast sent me — And therefore have believed in me as the Messiah, a truth which they will courageously assert at the expense of their lives; which is the reason I am so solicitous that they should behold the glory thou hast given me. And I have declared to them thy name — Have made them acquainted with thy nature, perfections, and counsels, and especially thy new best name of love; and I will declare it — Still more fully, both by my word and by my Spirit; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them — That their graces and services may be more eminent, as an evidence of thy unspeakable love to 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.

25. O righteous Father—He addresses his Father in his stern aspect of righteousness, and his subject is the world in its contrast with his disciples and himself. Yet is its tone the awfulness of reserve. He utters no condemnation, pronounces no sentence. Note that God is not a mere Father, but also a righteous Father. He has not only his parental, but his judicial and governmental aspect. He is not only living Father, but stern Judge and absolute Sovereign. The world hath not known thee—This is his final brief word of appeal to the just God against a rejecting world. It is not passively and innocently and with no means of knowledge, that the world does not know thee. But, after all I have done to reveal thee, the guilty voluntary world has persistently ignored thee! I… and these—I have, spite of and in contrast with this world, determinately known thee, and have made thee known to these. He has no more to say of the world; his heart and speech catch and fasten upon the brighter topic.

V. 26. I have declared to them thy name-Thy new, best name of love; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me-That thou and thy love, and I and my love,

may be in them-That they may love me with that love.

Verse 26. I have declared unto them thy name, &c.] I have taught them the true doctrine.

And will declare it] This he did: 1st. By the conversations he had with his disciples after his resurrection, during the space of forty days. 2dly. By the Holy Spirit which was poured out upon them on the day of pentecost. And all these declarations Jesus Christ made, that the love of God, and Christ Jesus himself, might dwell in them; and thus they were to become a habitation for God through the eternal Spirit.

OUR Lord’s sermon, which he concluded by the prayer recorded in this chapter, begins at John 13:13, and is one of the most excellent than can be conceived. His sermon on the mount shows men what they should do, so as to please God: this sermon shows them how they are to do the things prescribed in the other. In the former the reader sees a strict morality which he fears he shall never be able to perform: in this, he sees all things are possible to him who believes; for that very God who made him shall dwell in his heart, and enable him to do all that He pleases to employ him in. No man can properly understand the nature and design of the religion of Christ who does not enter into the spirit of the preceding discourse. Perhaps no part of our Lord’s words has been less understood, or more perverted, than the seventeenth chapter of St. John. I have done what I could, in so small a compass, to make every thing plain, and to apply these words in that way in which I am satisfied he used them. ST. JOHN

Verses 25, 26. O righteous Father — Faithful and just, as well as merciful. When he prayed that believers might be sanctified, he called him holy Father: but now, praying that they might be glorified, he terms him righteous Father: for it is a crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge will give, and the admission of believers into the presence of God, through Christ, flows, not only from the mercy, but even from the justice of God. The world hath not known thee — The world, being ignorant of thy nature and perfections, and of thy gracious counsels for the salvation of mankind, has rejected me; yet I have known thee — Have been perfectly acquainted with thy counsels and designs, and have accordingly directed the whole of my ministrations to thy glory. And these have known that thou hast sent me — And therefore have believed in me as the Messiah, a truth which they will courageously assert at the expense of their lives; which is the reason I am so solicitous that they should behold the glory thou hast given me. And I have declared to them thy name — Have made them acquainted with thy nature, perfections, and counsels, and especially thy new best name of love; and I will declare it — Still more fully, both by my word and by my Spirit; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them — That their graces and services may be more eminent, as an evidence of thy unspeakable love to 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.

26. Declared thy name—Unfolding the mystery of grace and glory embraced in the name of the Father. And will declare it—Unfolding its still more gracious grace, and its still more glorious glory, to them, to the Church of all ages, and to their whole glorious assembly in eternity. Love wherewith thou hast loved me—Which, as said in verse 24, was a love before the foundation of the world. May be in them—Love from God resting upon them, and to God dwelling in them. They thus, by faith, come into a participation of God’s eternal love to his Son. They come into the everlasting beams of the eternal Sun. They enter into the embrace of God’s eternal purpose to glorify all who believe in Jesus. They fasten themselves to the golden chain of God’s election to eternal life of all who know him through his Son. And I in them—As the life-spring of their immortal existence, the well-spring of their eternal love, the day-spring of their eternal glory. For eternal life, love, and glory, embodied in Christ dwelling in them, are the full consummation of all that the sufferings and intercession of Christ himself can bring to his chosen. And in this consummation does this intercession most fitly end.

Thus close the valedictory utterances of Jesus to his disciples, extending through the last four chapters of this Gospel. They are, first, the colloquy and events during the supper, (chap. 13;) second, the Lord’s after-supper discourse, slightly interrupted by questions, (chap. 14;) third, his parting address of prediction, warning, and consolation, (chap. 15, and 16;) fourth, and last, this High Priestly prayer, (chap. 17.) It is pervaded with pathos, which runs as an undertone even through the triumphant passages both of the valedictory and the prayer. The pathos and the sorrow are soon to deepen into the immediate agonies of Gethsemane and the crucifixion; the triumphal tone is sustained by a prophetic recognition of the victory in the more distant future.