John 17
http://childpsychiatryassociates.com/?p=2787 Bonnie’s Notes on Dr. Dave’s Commentary — John 17
This chapter more than any other may separate Christianity as the truth from all other religions. Exclusivity is the key theme in this portion of Scripture. There is only one speaker — Jesus to the Father. It could appropriately be called the Lord’s Prayer more than Matthew 6 which is better called the Model Prayer.
It begins with a refutation of a major heresy of our time: Oneness Pentecostalism. They do not believe in a distinction among the three persons of the Trinity.
The hour for the cross is coming. From Genesis all the way through, the Bible emphasizes the glorification of the Son through the Father. It puts together Justice and Mercy and the Love of the Son through the Father. Look at Psalm 85:10 — mercy and truth, righteousness and judgment. We hear this a lot — “God is loving, He’ll forgive me.” Where is the justice in that? God will judge sin and wrong. Where is the love in that? The Lord combines both justice and mercy. He can give mercy because He has provided the payment for sin Himself and told us how we can access it. Complete mercy and love is gained by an act of will on our part and sacrifice on the Lord’s part. In dying as our substitute, Christ did the love part to satisfy God’s need for justice. We can repent — only God can regenerate.
v. 2 — The exclusivity of Christianity is apparent here. Jesus Christ has power over life and death and complete authority for the coming judgment (the Father gave it to Him). This does not prove election as the Calvinists would wish. This produces the question of “Who does God give to the Son?” In this prayer of Jesus to His Father, the focus is on the 11 disciples – see verse 6 – it is clear that the reference in verse two is not to some imaginary “elect,” but rather to the 11. Certainly all men/women are drawn and have opportunity. Those who get converted are given to Jesus — not to Joseph Smith, Muhammad, Shiva etc. — to be kept now and forever.
v. 3 — Here is an incredible claim. It refers to experiential knowledge, not just “head” knowledge. In looking at the nature of salvation, could you prove to a Christian that God doesn’t exist? That’s ridiculous in view of the nature of the life of a Christian. A Christian knows God. He is real. The changes in the life of a believer make it clear. There seem to be many people who believe the same doctrines we do, but they don’t know the Lord. They are fooled into being false converts by their own trust and complacency. Many in the religious world know about Christ, but they have never met Him. This is a very important distinction. There is also the crowd that hears about just praying a prayer and asking Jesus into their heart. They try it and nothing in their life changes. “I tried Christianity and it didn’t work,” they say. The trouble is they didn’t really get regeneration and now they are harder than ever to talk to.
v. 4 — If a preacher made this claim, we would think he was a big liar. There are times when we glorify God, but Christ can claim it perfectly without question. “I have finished the work,” He said. He taught, preached, restored the lost, trained the disciples, died, came to life again and commanded His followers to do what He did. His was a life of obedience and service to God. He tells us to do the same. Paul was a great example of serving the Lord. 2 Tim. 4:1-8 is a good passage to describe what the life of the Christian should be about. Paul said he ran the race and finished his course. So should we.
v. 5 — We are reminded of the pre-existent Christ. From the beginning, God did not need us. He chose to create us. The character of Christ offering Himself was always there, but not revealed to us until the proper time. Glory has more meanings than we know. Jesus laid aside his former glory for a time to finish God’s work. Christ was desirous of being with His Father again.
It must have been somewhat lonely when He lived on earth. We certainly can feel that way, too. When others around us don’t respond to our pleas for salvation and reconciliation with God, we may walk a solitary path. There are hymns and a body of thought about how we shouldn’t be lonely because the Lord promises to be with us always. Don’t believe it. Many people in the Bible experienced lives of loneliness. Look at Abraham, Moses, Joseph, and many of the prophets like Hosea, Jonah, Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. They lived their lives to obey and honor God. Anyone who does, will feel a loneliness because he is not with his Father and other believers in heaven, and mankind seems to disregard him.
v. 6 — We can please the Lord. A verse commonly taken out of context is Isaiah 64:6. This example of righteousness as filthy rags was a testimony for the time in which Isaiah lived. This prophetic passage is telling us that in the closing days of the tribulation, Israel will humble themselves before God. They will confess their sin and acknowledge their wickedness. Their professed righteousness in following the rabbinical laws and the added regulations they enforced will be perceived as filthy rags. They will have to turn in utter humility and recognize their offense in practicing a works religion.
Of course, our sin is a great barrier between us and a righteous God, but we should not extend this thought to say that everything we do is this way. There are things that please Him and we can do those things. Take a look at Ephesians 4-6. Children that obey their parents please the Lord. Husbands and wives that love each other please Him. Walking worthy of our calling, loving the brethren, obeying Christ’s commandments are all things that He delights in. I John 3:22,23 says we receive of Him because we do those things that please Him. One of the most important commandments of all is to believe on the name of the Son and love one another. There are some people who feel they could never be loved by God. The Bible never says that. These verses and many others are some examples to use with them.
The disciples got a good report here. We can have one if we keep working for the Lord and finish our course.
v. 7 — Knowledge is important. Being familiar with Scripture is very important, but study of the lives of other Christians, missionaries, and historians who have the proper worldview can be good as well. Their experiences can be very encouraging when we feel isolated. They are connected with the Father through Christ and we see the same in our own experience. This continuity is special and wonderful. Paul traveled a great deal. He visited the churches he had started to tell them about other churches, needs, and blessings. Brother Andrew found that Christians behind the Iron Curtain were thrilled to have greetings from Christians on the outside and to know that they were not forgotten. Sharing God’s blessings with other believers is very encouraging and important.
v. 8 — To know God you must know Christ. It changes everything. There is a unity of faith in all true believers through the ages because of God’s Word and His presence in them. At this stage there was no doubt in the minds of the disciples that Jesus came from God and to know Jesus is to know God as well.
v. 9 — Here’s a curious thought. Why not pray for the world rather than just the eleven? They have the words and knowledge and will execute the Great Commission by preaching. It is their job to spread the Gospel.
v. 10 — Christ is glorified in His disciples and in us by bringing forth fruit, pointing to Him, pointing to the cross. We glorify Him when we do those things.
v. 11 — Jesus Christ is already looking beyond tomorrow and the cross. “Keep” means to “take care of,” “don’t let go of,” “watch over,” “guard.” God expects us to have unity based on the Word which comes from God through Jesus to His disciples. In this prayer, the Lord asks for unity among His disciples in the same way in which the Trinity has unity with each other. The unity of the Godhead is our example.
v. 12 — Since Jesus says here that He kept all that the Father gave Him, Judas was not one of them from the beginning. This term “son of perdition” is used later in 2 Thess. 2:3 in reference to the antichrist. It’s the spirit of Satan causing the trouble. See Psalm 41:9.
v. 13 — “My joy fulfilled in them” would be appropriate as more are brought into the family and the kingdom which is the ultimate goal of the disciples and all followers of Christ.
v. 14 — Nothing has changed since these words were recorded! The world would hate these first disciples because of the Word and the same is true for us. It is not uncommon today to have people think we are fools for believing in the Bible and in the saving grace of Christ. If they had kept to themselves and worshipped quietly there may have been no problem. As soon as they/we try to bring others into the same beliefs, the hackles rise and people are offended. These men would be different after having spent this time with the Lord and seeing Him defeat death and it showed. If your life doesn’t seem different to others, then you might not be living a true Christian life. Self examination may be in order. Satan focuses his work on the believers. It’s good to remember frequently that we are at war with him.
v. 15 — Christians have to remain here on earth to continue preaching the Word and the message of salvation. Keeping them from evil would involve resistance to Satan’s influences (everything that is evil in our world is traceable to Satan because there are only two forces on this planet. He uses people to accomplish his desires but he is the architect of much that is wrong in our culture).
Sorenson says, “Someone has likened the Christian experience to being in a boat floating on the ocean of the world, We get into trouble only as we allow the ocean into the boat. Jesus prayed that God would preserve His people in the world from the evil of the world. It is noteworthy as well that the phrase ‘the evil’ could also be rendered ‘the evil one.’”
v. 16 — Here is a mark of a disciple. We are no longer citizens of Earth but citizens of the heavenly kingdom. We serve here as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20).
v. 17 — Sanctify means to separate them out from the world — to make holy. If you are presenting the Gospel and living the Christian life, people will often choose to separate from you. Other truths teach that doing right will bring you honor. For example, acting according to Biblical principles on the job may bring you honor or help you gain more responsibility. With a Biblical foundation, the Christian knows how to do right in other areas of his/her life, too. It is the Word working in your life that makes you different.
v. 18 — The Great Commission is stated here in the Lord’s prayer. We have work to do still.
v. 19 — The Lord set Himself apart from the world as an example to us. Remember how He went out to pray by Himself and to talk to His Father. He acted in ways that were unconventional sometimes. For example, He went out of His way to rendezvous with the Samaritan woman. He took His time to get to Lazarus in order to show His power by bringing Him back to life. Sometimes our path seems a bit odd, but the Lord is working and accomplishing His will. He calls us to live a different life than ordinary folk.
In Acts 20, Paul spends a great deal of time meeting with the Christians and instructing them in Biblical truth. The disciples were commissioned to teach “whatsoever things I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20) and Paul worked at doing just that in all of the churches he was responsible for. The leaders in every church should try to teach their members the whole Word of God and not get stuck on a few pet themes. Notice in Acts 20:32, that the knowledge of the Word builds us up and sanctifies.
v. 20-22 — In this part of His prayer, He includes all future believers — that includes us! This is sometimes used by ecumenicals to say we should all get together, but Christ says it is the Biblical truth that unifies. Those who reject it will hate those who practice it.
The unity that He is referring to here is within the context of the local church — intra-church — not inter-church unity with other outside bodies. If fellow Christians cannot get along with each other in their own church, how can they have a ministry to those outside? Unity among the brethren shows the power of God.
The truth is the binding force for it produces unity and then glory to the Lord. Does the Father love the Son more or the Christian more? The same. This will only be apparent and appreciated in eternity because it is way beyond our understanding of student, teacher, creator relationships.
v. 23 — If you can say as President Bush said, “We all worship the same god,” you have so missed it! Our union with Christ becomes a testimony to the world that there is something different and supernatural going on — His love, His message.
v. 24-26 — The truth will be declared which allows God’s love to be shared and shown to believers. There is risk of hatred along the way, but Jesus is setting the pattern. He’s praying for the disciples to come through and do His will. It is only through His strength that we can accomplish anything that gives glory to God.
~~~Bonnie