I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
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John 17:9-24 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed. I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me. I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Parallel Translations
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I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.
I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.
For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,
that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one;
I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
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I praye for them and praye not for the worlde: but for the which thou hast geve me for they are thyne.
And all myne are thyne and thyne are myne and I am glorified in them.
And now am I no moare in the worlde but they are in the worlde and I come to the. Wholy father kepe in thyne awne name the which thou hast geven me that they maye be one as we are.
Whyll I was with the in the worlde I kepte the in thy name. Those that thou gavest me have I kepte and none of the is lost but that lost chylde that the scripture myght be fulfilled.
Now come I to the and these wordes speake I in the worlde that they myght have my ioye full in them.
I have geven them thy wordes and the worlde hath hated them because they are not of the worlde even as I am not of the worlde.
I desyre not that thou shuldest take the out of the worlde: but that thou kepe them from evyll.
They are not of the worlde as I am not of the worlde.
Sanctify the with thy truth. Thy sayinge is truth.
As thou dyddest send me into the worlde even so have I sent them into the worlde
and for their sakes sanctify I my selfe that they also myght be sanctified thorowe the trueth.
I praye not for them alone: but for them also which shall beleve on me thorowe their preachynge
that they all maye be one as thou father arte in me and I in the that they maye be also one in vs that the worlde maye beleve that thou hast sent me.
And that glory that thou gavest me I have geven them that they maye be one as we are wone
I in them and thou in me that they maye be made perfecte in one and that the worlde maye knowe that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.
Father I will that they which thou hast geven me be with me where I am that they maye se my glory which thou hast geven me. For thou lovedest me before the makynge of the worlde.
Show all 3 translations
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I pray for them: I pray not for the worlde, but for them which thou hast giuen me: for they are thine.
And al mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.
And nowe am I no more in the world, but these are in the worlde, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keepe them in thy Name, euen them whome thou hast giuen mee, that they may bee one, as we are.
While I was with them in the worlde, I kept them in thy Name: those that thou gauest me, haue I kept, and none of them is lost, but the childe of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
And now come I to thee, and these things speake I in the worlde, that they might haue my ioy fulfilled in themselues.
I haue giuen them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou keepe them from euill.
They are not of the worlde, as I am not of the world.
Sanctifie them with thy trueth: thy word is trueth.
As thou diddest send me into the world, so haue I sent them into the world.
And for their sakes sanctifie I my selfe, that they also may bee sanctified through the trueth.
I praie not for these alone, but for them also which shall beleeue in mee, through their woorde,
That they all may bee one, as thou, O Father, art in me, and I in thee: euen that they may be also one in vs, that the worlde may beleeue that thou hast sent me.
And the glory that thou gauest me, I haue giuen them, that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them, and thou in mee, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the worlde may knowe that thou hast sent mee, and hast loued them, as thou hast loued me.
Father, I will that they which thou hast giuen me, be with me euen where I am, that they may beholde that my glorie, which thou hast giuen mee: for thou louedst me before the foundation of the world.
Cross-references (287)
- John 15:3 (v17) You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
- Psalms 119:160 (v17) All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.
- Ephesians 5:26 (v17) that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
- 1 Peter 1:22-23 (v17) Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from…
- John 17:19 (v17) For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
Show all 100 cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 (v21) For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
- Psalms 121:7 (v15) Yahweh will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul.
- John 8:32 (v17) You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
- James 1:21 (v17) Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your…
- Colossians 3:11-14 (v21) where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all,…
- Hebrews 12:2 (v13) looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and…
- Psalms 109:6-19 (v12) Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come out guilty. Let his prayer be turned…
- John 17:11 (v21) I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have…
- 1 John 5:18 (v15) We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him.
- Galatians 5:22 (v13) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (v17) But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation…
- Psalms 19:7-9 (v17) Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple. Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the…
- John 17:21 (vv18, 23) that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that…
- Hebrews 9:24 (vv9, 11) For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in…
- Psalms 119:11 (v17) I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
- Matthew 6:13 (v15) Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
- 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 (v21) that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. When one member suffers, all…
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (v15) But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
- Matthew 6:9 (v11) Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
- John 12:26 (v24) If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
- John 17:5 (v24) Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
- John 17:16 (v14) They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
- Philippians 1:27 (v21) Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state,…
- Proverbs 18:10 (v11) Yahweh’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.
- John 10:27-28 (v12) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch…
- John 17:2 (v9) even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
- John 17:14 (v16) I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
- Psalms 119:9 (v17) How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
- John 10:30 (vv10, 21) I and the Father are one.”
- John 14:3 (v24) If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
- John 16:27 (v23) for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God.
- John 18:9 (v12) that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, “Of those whom you have given me, I have lost none.”
- Ephesians 4:21 (v17) if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 (vv17, 22, 24) But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even…
- John 15:18-21 (vv11, 14) If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But…
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 (v24) seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
- 1 Peter 2:9 (v10) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
- John 13:35 (vv21, 23) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:10 (v15) Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you…
- Psalms 12:6 (v17) Yahweh’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
- Psalms 119:104 (v17) Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
- Psalms 119:151-152 (v17) You are near, Yahweh. All your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever.
- Galatians 1:4 (v15) who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—
- Titus 2:14 (v19) who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for…
- Genesis 45:13 (v24) You shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. You shall hurry and bring my father down here.”
- Matthew 25:21 (v24) “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things.…
- Luke 11:4 (v15) Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the…
- John 13:18 (v12) I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has…
- John 17:12-18 (v11) While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son…
- Hebrews 2:11 (v19) For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
- 1 John 3:2 (v24) Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him; for…
- John 10:29-30 (v11) My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
- John 17:6 (v9) I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept…
- John 17:21-22 (v11) that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that…
- 1 John 3:1 (v23) See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us,…
- Revelation 5:8-14 (v10) Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and…
- 2 Samuel 7:28 (v17) “Now, O Lord Yahweh, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.
- Luke 22:28-30 (v24) But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, that you may eat…
- John 6:37 (v12) All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
- John 15:11 (v13) I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
- John 17:22-23 (v21) The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and you in me, that they may…
- 1 John 5:19-20 (v14) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us…
- Romans 12:5 (vv11, 21) so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another,
- Luke 8:11 (v17) Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
- Luke 8:15 (v17) Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with…
- Luke 12:37 (v24) Blessed are those servants, whom the lord will find watching when he comes. Most certainly I tell you that he will dress himself, make them…
- John 8:23 (v14) He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.
- John 17:6-11 (v20) I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept…
- John 17:17 (v19) Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
- Acts 4:32 (v21) The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was…
- Ephesians 4:4 (v11) There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (v24) then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with…
- John 14:20 (vv11, 22) In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 (vv18, 22) We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
- Zechariah 14:9 (v21) Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- Luke 22:32 (v9) but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
- John 20:21 (v18) Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
- Acts 1:16-20 (v12) “Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning…
- Acts 2:41 (v20) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
- Acts 15:9 (v17) He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
- 1 Corinthians 13:12 (v24) For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
- Ephesians 4:3-6 (v21) being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one…
- Philippians 2:1-6 (v21) If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and…
- 2 Thessalonians 1:10 (v10) when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you…
- 1 John 4:12-16 (v23) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we…
- Revelation 3:21 (v24) He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.
- Galatians 3:28 (vv11, 21, 23) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- John 17:8 (vv18, 21) for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have…
- 1 John 5:19 (vv9, 11) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
- Matthew 25:34 (v24) Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of…
- Matthew 26:29 (v24) But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s…
- John 6:39-40 (v12) This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.…
- John 10:38 (v21) But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the…
- John 17:20 (v9) Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,
- John 17:26 (v23) I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (287 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv9–24 9. I pray for them. Hitherto Christ has brought…
9. I pray for them. Hitherto Christ has brought forward what might procure for the disciples favor with the Father. He now forms the prayer itself, in which he shows that he asks nothing but what is agreeable to the will of the Father, because he pleads with the Father in behalf of those only whom the Father himself willingly loves. He openly declares that he does not pray for the world, because he has no solicitude but about his own flock, which he received from the hand of the Father. But this might be thought to be absurd; for no better rule of prayer can be found than to follow Christ as our Guide and Teacher. Now, we are commanded to pray for all, (1 Timothy 2:8) and Christ himself afterwards prayed indiscriminately for all,
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do, (Luke 23:34.)
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I reply, the prayers which we offer for all are still limited to the elect of God. We ought to pray that this man, and that man, and every man, may be saved, and thus include the whole human race, because we cannot yet distinguish the elect from the reprobate; and yet, while we desire the coming of the kingdom of God, we likewise pray that God may destroy his enemies.
There is only this difference between the two cases, that we pray for the salvation of all whom we know to have been created after the image of God, and who have the same nature with ourselves; and we leave to the judgment of God those whom he knows to be reprobate. But in the prayer which is here related there was some special reason, which ought not to be produced as an example; for Christ does not now pray from the mere impulse of faith and of love towards men, but, entering into the heavenly sanctuary, he places before his eyes the secret judgments of the Father, which are concealed from us, so long as we walk by faith.
Besides, we learn from these words, that God chooses out of the world those whom he thinks fit to choose to be heirs of life, and that this distinction is not made according to the merit of men, but depends on his mere good-pleasure. For those who think that the cause of election is in men must begin with faith. Now, Christ expressly declares that they who are given to him belong to the Father; and it is certain that they are given so as to believe, and that faith flows from this act of giving. If the origin of faith is this act of giving, and if election comes before it in order and time, what remains but that we acknowledge that those whom God wishes to be saved out of the world are elected by free grace? Now since Christ prays for the elect only, it is necessary for us to believe the doctrine of election, if we wish that he should plead with the Father for our salvation. A grievous injury, therefore, is inflicted on believers by those persons who endeavor to blot out the knowledgeof election from the hearts of believers, because they deprive them of the pleading and intercession of the Son of God. These words serve also to expose the stupidity of those who, under the pretence of election, give themselves up to the indolence, whereas it ought rather to arouse us to earnestness in prayer, as Christ teaches us by his example.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 He prayeth that his people may peaceably agree and…
He prayeth that his people may peaceably agree and be joined together in one, that as the Godhead is one, so they may be of one mind and one consent together.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–24 9 I pray for them: I pray not for…
9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Ver. 9. I pray for them] Christ hath left us this prayer here recorded, as a pattern of that intercession he incessantly maketh for us at the right hand of his heavenly Father. Joab was heard for Absalom: shall not Christ for us? Solomon denied his mother’s request, 1Ki 2:22; God will not deny Christ’s. The prodigal came without a mediator to his father, and was embraced; much more shall we, presented by Christ.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–24 The world seemeth here to signify all mankind, for…
The world seemeth here to signify all mankind, for whom Christ in this place doth not pray; though some interpret it of reprobates, others of unbelievers. Christ afterward prays for the world, Joh 17:20; that is, for such who, though they at present were unbelievers, yet should be brought to believe by the apostles’ ministry. But to teach us to distinguish in our prayer, our Saviour here distinguishes, and prays for some things for his chosen ones, which he doth not pray for on the behalf of others: these he describes to be such as his Father (whose they were) had given him, either by an eternal donation, or by working faith in them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 That is, "I now offer up a prayer particularly,…
That is, "I now offer up a prayer particularly, 1. For my apostles, designed for so great a work as the preaching of the everlasting gospel to the obstinate Jews and obdurate Gentiles.
2. I intercede also for all believers at this time, for their perseverance in the faith, and constancy in persecution, but I do not now intercede for the wicked and impenitent world, they not being capable (whilst such) of these mercies and blessings;" though at other times we find him praying for the world, yea, for his very crucifiers: Father, forgive them, &c.
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Nay, in this very prayer, at the 20th verse, he prays for the world; that is, for the Gentile world; all those that, by the preaching of the apostles and their successors, should be brought to believe on him to the end of the world.
Learn hence, 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the great and gracious intercessor.
2. That all believers, all the children of God in general, are under the fruit and benefit of Christ’s intercession.
3. That as all the members of Christ in general, so the ministers and ambassadors of Christ in special, have a particular interest in Christ’s intercession: and great are the advantages of his intercession for them.
1. From the person interceding, Christ: consider the dignity of his person, God-man: the dearness of his person, God’s son.
2. From the manner of his intercession: not by way of entreaty, but meritorious claim.
3. From the sublimity of his office: our intercessor is near to God, even at his right hand.
4. From the fruits of his intercession: it procures the acceptance and justification of our persons, the hearing and answering of our prayers, the pardon and forgiveness of our sins, our preservation in grace, and our hopes of eternal glory.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv11, 17, 20, 24 After the general pleas with which Christ recommended his…
After the general pleas with which Christ recommended his disciples to his Father's care follow the particular petitions he puts up for them; and, 1. They all relate to spiritual blessings in heavenly things. He does not pray that they might be rich and great in the world, that they might raise estates and get preferments, but that they might be kept from sin, and furnished for their duty, and brought safely to heaven. Note, The prosperity of the soul is the best prosperity; for what relates to this Christ came to purchase and bestow, and so teaches us to seek, in the first place, both for others and for ourselves. 2. They are such blessings as were suited to their present state and case, and their various exigencies and occasions. Note, Christ's intercession is always pertinent. Our advocate with the Father is acquainted with all the particulars of our wants and burdens, our dangers and difficulties, and knows how to accommodate his intercession to each, as to Peter's peril, which he himself was not aware of (Luk 22:32), I have prayed for thee. 3. He is large and full in the petitions, orders them before his Father, and fills his mouth with arguments, to teach us fervency and importunity in prayer, to be large in prayer, and dwell upon our errands at the throne of grace, wrestling as Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Now the first thing Christ prays for, for his disciples, is their preservation, in these verses, in order to which he commits them all to his Father's custody. Keeping supposes danger, and their danger arose from the world, the world wherein they were, the evil of this he begs they might be kept from. Now observe,
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I. The request itself: Keep them from the world. There were two ways of their being delivered from the world: -
1. By taking them out of it; and he does not pray that they might be so delivered: I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world; that is,
(1.) "I pray not that they may be speedily removed by death." If the world will be vexatious to them, the readiest way to secure them would be to hasten them out of it to a better world, that will give them better treatment. Send chariots and horses of fire for them, to fetch them to heaven; Job, Elijah, Jonah, Moses, when that occurred which fretted them, prayed that they might be taken out of the world; but Christ would not pray so for his disciples, for two reasons: - [1.] Because he came to conquer, not to countenance, those intemperate heats and passions which make men impatient of life, and importunate for death. It is his will that we should take up our cross, and not outrun it. [2.] Because he had work for them to do in the world; the world, though sick of them (Act 22:22), and therefore not worthy of them (Heb 11:38), yet could ill spare them. In pity therefore to this dark world, Christ would not have these lights removed out of it, but continued in it, especially for the sake of those in the world that were to believe in him through their word. Let not them be taken out of the world when their Master is; they must each in his own order die a martyr, but not till they have finished their testimony. Note, First, The taking of good people out of the world is a thing by no means to be desired, but rather dreaded and laid to heart, Isa 57:1. Secondly, Though Christ loves his disciples, he does not presently send for them to heaven, as soon as they are effectually called, but leaves them for some time in this world, that they may do good and glorify God upon earth, and be ripened for heaven. Many good people are spared to live, because they can ill be spared to die.
(2.) "I pray not that they may be totally freed and exempted from the troubles of this world, and taken out of the toil and terror of it into some place of ease and safety, there to live undisturbed; this is not the preservation I desire for them." Non ut omni molestia liberati otium et delicias colant, sed ut inter media pericula salvi tamen maneant Dei auxilio - Not that, being freed from all trouble, they may bask in luxurious ease, but that by the help of God they may be preserved in a scene of danger; so Calvin. Not that they may be kept from all conflict with the world, but that they may not be overcome by it; not that, as Jeremiah wished, they might leave their people, and go from them (Jer 9:2), but that, like Ezekiel, their faces may be strong against the faces of wicked men, Eze 3:8. It is more the honour of a Christian soldier by faith to overcome the world than by a monastical vow to retreat from it; and more for the honour of Christ to serve him in a city than to serve him in a cell.
2. Another way is by keeping them from the corruption that is in the world; and he prays they may be thus kept, Joh 17:11, Joh 17:15. Here are three branches of this petition: -
(1.) Holy Father, keep those whom thou hast given me.
[1.] Christ was now leaving them; but let them not think that their defence was departed from them; no, he does here, in their hearing, commit them to the custody of his Father and their Father. Note, It is the unspeakable comfort of all believers that Christ himself has committed them to the care of God. Those cannot but be safe whom the almighty God keeps, and he cannot but keep those whom the Son of his love commits to him, in the virtue of which we may by faith commit the keeping of our souls to God, Pe1 4:19; Ti2 1:12. First, He here puts them under the divine protection, that they may not be run down by the malice of their enemies; that they and all their concerns may be the particular care of the divine Providence: "Keep their lives, till they have done their work; keep their comforts, and let them not be broken in upon by the hardships they meet with; keep up their interest in the world, and let it not sink." To this prayer is owing the wonderful preservation of the gospel ministry and gospel church in the world unto this day; if God had not graciously kept both, and kept up both, they had been extinguished and lost long ago. Secondly, He puts them under the divine tuition, that they may not themselves run away from their duty, nor be led aside by the treachery of their own hearts: "Keep them in their integrity, keep them disciples, keep them close to their duty." We need God's power not only to put us into a state of grace, but to keep us in it. See, Joh 10:28, Joh 10:29; Pe1 1:5.
[2.] The titles he gives to him he prays to, and them he prays for, enforce the petition. First, He speaks to God as a holy Father. In committing ourselves and others to the divine care, we may take encouragement, 1. From the attribute of his holiness, for this is engaged for the preservation of his holy ones; he hath sworn by his holiness, Psa 89:35. If he be a holy God and hate sin, he will make those holy that are his, and keep them from sin, which they also hate and dread as the greatest evil. 2. From this relation of a Father, wherein he stands to us through Christ. If he be a Father, he will take care of his own children, will teach them and keep them; who else should? Secondly, He speaks of them as those whom the Father had given him. What we receive as our Father's gifts, we may comfortably remit to our Father's care. "Father, keep the graces and comforts thou hast given me; the children thou hast given me; the ministry I have received."
(2.) Keep them through thine own name. That is, [1.] Keep them for thy name's sake; so some. "Thy name and honour are concerned in their preservation as well as mine, for both will suffer by it if they either revolt or sink." The Old Testament saints often pleaded, for thy name's sake; and those may with comfort plead it that are indeed more concerned for the honour of God's name than for any interest of their own. [2.] Keep them in thy name; so others; the original is so, en tō onomati. "Keep them in the knowledge and fear of thy name; keep them in the profession and service of thy name, whatever it cost them. Keep them in the interest of thy name, and let them ever be faithful to this; keep them in thy truths, in thine ordinances, in the way of thy commandments." [3.] Keep them by or through thy name; so others. "Keep them by thine own power, in thine own hand; keep them thyself, undertake for them, let them be thine own immediate care. Keep them by those means of preservation which thou hast thyself appointed, and by which thou hast made thyself known. Keep them by thy word and ordinances; let thy name be their strong tower, thy tabernacle their pavilion."
(3.) Keep them from the evil, or out of the evil. He had taught them to pray daily, Deliver us from evil, and this would encourage them to pray. [1.] "Keep them from the evil one, the devil and all his instruments; that wicked one and all his children. Keep them from Satan as a tempter, that either he may not have leave to sift them, or that their faith may not fail. Keep them from him as a destroyer, that he may not drive them to despair." [2.] "Keep them from the evil thing, that is sin; from every thing that looks like it, or leads to it. Keep them, that they do no evil," Co2 13:7. Sin is that evil which, above any other, we should dread and deprecate. [3.] "Keep them from the evil of the world, and of their tribulation in it, so that it may have no sting in it, no malignity;" not that they might be kept from affliction, but kept through it, that the property of their afflictions might be so altered as that there might be no evil in them, nothing to them any harm.
II. The reasons with which he enforces these requests for their preservation, which are five: -
1. He pleads that hitherto he had kept them (Joh 17:12): "While I was with them in the world, I have kept them in thy name, in the true faith of the gospel and the service of God; those that thou gavest me for my constant attendants I have kept, they are all safe, and none of them missing, none of them revolted nor ruined, but the son of perdition; he is lost, that the scripture might be fulfilled." Observe,
(1.) Christ's faithful discharge of his undertaking concerning his disciples: While he was with them, he kept them, and his care concerning them was not in vain. He kept them in God's name, preserved them from falling into any dangerous errors or sins, from striking in with the Pharisees, who would have compassed sea and land to make proselytes of them; he kept them from deserting him, and returning to the little all they had left for him; he had them still under his eye and care when he sent them to peach; went not his heart with them? Many that followed him awhile took offence at something or other, and went off; but he kept the twelve that they should not go away. He kept them from falling into the hands of persecuting enemies that sought their lives; kept them when he surrendered himself, Joh 18:9. While he was with them he kept them in a visible manner by instructions till sounding in their ears, miracles still done before their eyes; when he was gone from them, they must be kept in a more spiritual manner. Sensible comforts and supports are sometimes given and sometimes withheld; but, when they are withdrawn, yet they are not left comfortless. What Christ here says of his immediate followers is true of all the saints while they are here in this world; Christ keeps them in God's name. It is implied, [1.] That they are weak, and cannot keep themselves; their own hands are not sufficient for them. [2.] That they are, in God's account, valuable and worth the keeping; precious in his sight and honourable; his treasure, his jewels. [3.] That their salvation is designed, for to this it is that they are kept, Pe1 1:5. As the wicked are reserved for the day of evil, so the righteous are preserved for the day of bliss. [4.] That they are the charge of the Lord Jesus; for as his charge he keeps them, and exposed himself like the good shepherd for the preservation of the sheep.
(2.) The comfortable account he gives of his undertaking: None of them is lost. Note, Jesus Christ will certainly keep all that were given to him, so that none of them shall be totally and finally lost; they may think themselves lost, and may be nearly lost (in imminent peril); but it is the Father's will that he should lose none, and none he will lose (Joh 6:39); so it will appear when they come all together, and none of them shall be wanting.
(3.) A brand put upon Judas, as none of those whom he had undertaken to keep. He was among those that were given to Christ, but not of them. He speaks of Judas as already lost, for he had abandoned the society of his Master and his fellow-disciples, and abandoned himself to the devil's guidance, and in a little time would go to his own place; he is as good as lost. But the apostasy and ruin of Judas were no reproach at all to his Master, or his family; for, [1.] He was the son of perdition, and therefore not one of those that were given to Christ to be kept. He deserved perdition, and God left him to throw himself headlong into it. He was the son of the destroyer, as Cain, who was of that wicked one. That great enemy whom the Lord will consume is called a son of perdition, because he is a man of sin, Th2 2:3. It is an awful consideration that one of the apostles proved a son of perdition. No man's place or name in the church, no man's privileges or opportunities of getting grace, no man's profession or external performances, will secure him from ruin, if his heart be not right with God; nor are any more likely to prove sons of perdition at last, after a plausible course of profession, than those that like Judas love the bag; but Christ's distinguishing Judas from those that were given him (for ei mē is adversative, not exceptive) intimates that the truth and true religion ought not to suffer for the treachery of those that are false to it, Jo1 2:19. [2.] The scripture was fulfilled; the sin of Judas was foreseen of God's counsel and foretold in his word, and the event would certainly follow after the prediction as a consequent, though it cannot be said necessarily to follow from it as an effect. See Psa 41:9; Psa 69:25; Psa 109:8. We should be amazed at the treachery of apostates, were we not told of it before.
2. He pleads that he was now under a necessity of leaving them, and could no longer watch over them in the way that he had hitherto done (Joh 17:11): "Keep them now, that I may not lose the labour I bestowed upon them while I was with them. Keep them, that they may be one with us as we are with each other." We shall have occasion to speak of this, Joh 17:21. But see here,
(1.) With what pleasure he speaks of his own departure. He expresses himself concerning it with an air of triumph and exultation, with reference both to the world he left and the world he removed to. [1.] "Now I am no more in the world. Now farewell to this provoking troublesome world. I have had enough of it, and now the welcome hour is at hand when I shall be no more in it. Now that I have finished the work I had to do in it, I have done with it; nothing remains now but to hasten out of it as fast as I can." Note, It should be a pleasure to those that have their home in the other world to think of being no more in this world; for when we have done what we have to do in this world, and are made meet for that, what is there here that should court our stay? When we receive a sentence of death within ourselves, with what a holy triumph should we say, "Now I am no more in this world, this dark deceitful world, this poor empty world, this tempting defiling world; no more vexed with its thorns and briars, no more endangered by its nets and snares; now I shall wander no more in this howling wilderness, be tossed no more on this stormy sea; now I am no more in this world, but can cheerfully quit it, and give it a final farewell." [2.] Now I come to thee. To get clear of the world is but the one half of the comfort of a dying Christ, of a dying Christian; the far better half is to think of going to the Father, to sit down in the immediate, uninterrupted, and everlasting enjoyment of him. Note, Those who love God cannot but be pleased to think of coming to him, though it be through the valley of the shadow of death. When we go, to be absent from the body, it is to be present with the Lord, like children fetched home from school to their father's house. "Now come I 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 longings shall be satisfied, my hopes accomplished, my happiness completed, for now come I to thee."
(2.) With what a tender concern he speaks of those whom he left behind: "But these are in the world. I have found what an evil world it is, what will become of these dear little ones that must stay in it? Holy Father, keep them; they will want my presence, let them have thine. They have now more need than ever to be kept, for I am sending them out further into the world than they have yet ventured; they must launch forth into the deep, and have business to do in these great waters, and will be lost if thou do not keep them." Observe here, [1.] That, when our Lord Jesus was going to the Father, he carried with him a tender concern for his own that are in the world; and continued to compassionate them. He bears their names upon his breast-plate, nay, upon his heart, and has graven them with the nails of his cross upon the palms of his hands; and when he is out of their sight they are not out of his, much less out of his mind. We should have such a pity for those that are launching out into the world when we are got almost through it, and for those that are left behind in it when we are leaving it. [2.] That, when Christ would express the utmost need his disciples had of divine preservation, he only says, They are in the world; this bespeaks danger enough to those who are bound for heaven, whom a flattering world would divert and seduce, and a malignant world would hate and persecute.
3. He pleads what a satisfaction it would be to them to know themselves safe, and what a satisfaction it would be to him to see them easy: I speak this, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves, Joh 17:13. Observe,
(1.) Christ earnestly desired the fulness of the joy of his disciples, for it is his will that they should rejoice evermore. He was leaving them in tears and troubles, and yet took effectual care to fulfil their joy. When they thought their joy in him was brought to an end, then was it advanced nearer to perfection than ever it had been, and they were fuller of it. We are here taught, [1.] To found our joy in Christ: "It is my joy, joy of my giving, or rather joy that I am the matter of." Christ is a Christian's joy, his chief joy. Joy in the world is withering with it; joy in Christ is everlasting, like him. [2.] To build up our joy with diligence; for it is the duty as well as privilege of all true believers; no part of the Christian life is pressed upon us more earnestly, Phi 3:1; Phi 4:4. [3.] To aim at the perfection of this joy, that we may have it fulfilled in us, for this Christ would have.
(2.) In order hereunto, he did thus solemnly commit them to his Father's care and keeping and took them for witnesses that he did so: These things I speak in the world, while I am yet with them in the world. His intercession in heaven for their preservation would have been as effectual in itself; but saying this in the world would be a greater satisfaction and encouragement to them, and would enable them to rejoice in tribulation. Note, [1.] Christ has not only treasured up comforts for his people, in providing for their future welfare, but has given out comforts to them, and said that which will be for their present satisfaction. He here condescended in the presence of his disciples to publish his last will and testament, and (which many a testator is shy of) lets them know what legacies he had left them, and how well they were secured, that they might have strong consolation. [2.] Christ's intercession for us is enough to fulfil or joy in him; nothing more effectual to silence all our fears and mistrusts, and to furnish us with strong consolation, than this, that he always appears in the presence of God for us; therefore the apostle puts a yea rather upon this, Rom 8:34. And see Heb 7:25.
4. He pleads the ill usage they were likely to meet with in the world, for his sake (Joh 17:14): "I have given them thy word to be published to the world, and they have received it, have believed it themselves, and accepted the trust of transmitting it to the world; and therefore the world hath hated them, as also because they are not of the world, any more than I." Here we have,
(1.) The world's enmity to Christ's followers. While Christ was with them, though as yet they had given but little opposition to the world, yet it hates them, much more would it do so when by their more extensive preaching of the gospel they would turn the world upside down. "Father, stand their friend," says Christ, "for they are likely to have many enemies; let them have thy love, for the world's hatred is entailed upon them. In the midst of those fiery darts, let them be compassed with thy favour as with a shield." It is God's honour to take part with the weaker side, and to help the helpless. Lord, be merciful to them, for men would swallow them up.
(2.) The reasons of this enmity, which strengthen the plea. [1.] It is implied that one reason is because they had received the word of God as it was sent them by the hand of Christ, when the greatest part of the world rejected it, and set themselves against those who were the preachers and professors of it. Note, Those that receive Christ's good will and good word must expect the world's ill will and ill word. Gospel ministers have been in a particular manner hated by the world, because they call men out of the world, and separate them from it, and teach them not to conform to it, and so condemn the world. "Father, keep them for it is for thy sake that they are exposed; they are sufferers for thee." Thus the psalmist pleads, For thy sake I have borne reproach, Psa 69:7. Note, Those that keep the word of Christ's patience are entitled to special protection in the hour of temptation, Rev 3:10. That cause which makes a martyr may well make a joyful sufferer. [2.] Another reason is more express; the world hates them, because they are not of the world. Those to whom the word of Christ comes in power are not of the world, for it has this effect upon all that receive it in the love of it that it weans them from the wealth of the world, and turns them against the wickedness of the world, and therefore the world bears them a grudge.
5. He pleads their conformity to himself in a holy non-conformity to the world (Joh 17:16): "Father, keep them, for they are of my spirit and mind, they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Those may in faith commit themselves to God's custody, (1.) Who are as Christ was in this world, and tread in his steps. God will love those that are like Christ. (2.) Who do not engage themselves in the world's interest, nor devote themselves to its service. Observe, [1.] That Jesus Christ was not of this world; he never had been of it, and least of all now that he was upon the point of leaving it. This intimates, First, His state; he was none of the world's favourites nor darlings, none of its princes nor grandees; worldly possessions he had none, not even where to lay his head; nor worldly power, he was no judge nor divider. Secondly, His Spirit; he was perfectly dead to the world, the prince of this world had nothing in him, the things of this world were nothing to him; not honour, for he made himself of no reputation; not riches, for for our sakes he became poor; not pleasures, for he acquainted himself with grief. See Joh 8:23. [2.] That therefore true Christians are not of this world. The Spirit of Christ in them is opposite to the spirit of the world. First, It is their lot to be despised by the world; they are not in favour with the world any more than their Master before them was. Secondly, It is their privilege to be delivered from the world; as Abraham out of the land of his nativity. Thirdly, It is their duty and character to be dead to the world. Their most pleasing converse is, and should be, with another world, and their prevailing concern about the business of that world, not of this. Christ's disciples were weak, and had many infirmities; yet this he could say for them, They were not of the world, not of the earth, and therefore he recommends them to the care of Heaven.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–24 I pray for them,.... This is to be understood…
I pray for them,.... This is to be understood of Christ, not as God; for as such he is the object of prayer; nor need he pray to any other; nor is there any superior to him under that consideration to pray unto; but as man and Mediator: nor is his praying any argument against his deity; nor proof of inferiority to his Father with respect to his divine nature; since it is not in that, but in his human, nature, that he prayed; though this may be ascribed to his whole person as Godman; hence he had the greatest qualifications and abilities for this work, and his prayers were always heard: praying, as attributed to Christ, must be restrained to his state of humiliation; prayer is never spoken of Christ but whilst he was here on earth; his intercession in heaven is never expressed by prayer; and the saints when they come thither, will have done praying, Christ whilst on earth, was an excellent pattern of prayer; of private and solitary prayer; of social prayer; for and with his disciples; of frequent and fervent prayer; of submission to the will of God in prayer; and of praying even for enemies: the persons he is here said to pray for are his apostles; which shows their danger and their wants, his care over them, and concern for them, and his love unto them:
I pray not for the world; the inhabitants of it, the carnal unbelieving part of the world, which lie in sin, and will be condemned; as he died not for them, so he prayed not for them; for whom he is the propitiation, he is an advocate; and for whom he died, he makes intercession; and for no other in a spiritual saving way:
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but for them which thou hast given me; out of the world, as distinct from them, to be saved with an everlasting salvation by him; and to be preserved safe to his kingdom and glory; for these he prays, for the conversion of them, the application of pardon to them, their final perseverance and eternal glory:
for they are thine; not merely by creation, and as the care of his providence, but by eternal election, and special grace in calling; which is a reason why Christ prayed for them, and an argument why the Father should, and would regard his prayers.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 I pray not for the world - Not in…
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 ver. 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, ver. 6-19, proves that he did not pray for them also which shall believe through their word, ver. 20.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Verse 9. I pray not for the world] I…
Verse 9. I pray not for the world] I am not yet come to that part of my intercession: see Joh 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 Joh 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, Joh 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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 20, 24 Joh 17:9-10. I pray for them — Who have…
Joh 17:9-10. I pray for them — Who have attended me as my apostles. These only he prays for here, as appears from Joh 17:12, 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 Joh 17:18, 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 Joh 17:20, 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, Joh 17:20. 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 τα εμα παντα σα εστι, και τα σα εμα, 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.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24 I pray for them - In view of their…
I pray for them - In view of their dangers and trials, he sought the protection and blessing of God on them. His prayer was always answered.
Not for the world - The term world here, as elsewhere, refers to wicked, rebellious, vicious men. The meaning of this expression here seems to be this: Jesus is praying for his disciples. As a reason why God should bless them, he says that they were not of the world; that they had been taken out of the world; that they belonged unto God. The petition was not offered for wicked, perverse, rebellious men, but for those who were the friends of God and were disposed to receive his favors. This passage, then, settles nothing about the question whether Christ prayed for sinners. He then prayed for his disciples, who were not those who hated him and disregarded his favors. He afterward extended the prayer for all who should become Christians, Joh 17:20. When on the cross he prayed for his crucifiers and murderers, Luk 23:34.
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For they are thine - This is urged as a reason why God should protect and guide them. His honor was concerned in keeping them; and we may always “fill our mouths with” such “arguments” when we come before God, and plead that his honor will be advanced by keeping us from evil, and granting us all needful grace.
I am glorified in them - I am honored by their preaching and lives. The sense of this passage is, “Those who are my disciples are thine. That which promotes my honor will also promote thine. I pray, therefore, that they may have needful grace to honor my gospel, and to proclaim it among men.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 I pray for them, I pray not for the…
I pray for them, I pray not for the world. That is, now in this prayer, when I desire special graces and assistances for them, to discharge their duty, as my apostles; yet we must take notice, that (ver. 20.) Christ prays for all those, who should believe in him. He also prayed (Luke xxiii. 34.) for all, even for those that crucified him, Father, forgive the, for they know not what they do. (Witham) --- The prayer I now offer up to thee, O my Father, is all in behalf of my disciples, it is not for the world. I pray not now for the incredulous Jews, nor for such of the Gentiles as shall afterwards believe in me; for them I will pray at another time. At present I speak to thee for my apostles only: they call for my first care, because they are thine, and thou has given them to me. (Calmet) --- Jesus Christ prayed with an absolute and an efficacious prayer, for all those, for whom his prayer was to be heard: he begged for them, whatever his Father had predestined to give them; but he asked for nothing, that his Father had predestined not to give them.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 I pray for them--not as individuals merely, but as…
I pray for them--not as individuals merely, but as representatives of all such in every succeeding age (see on Joh 17:20).
not for the world--for they had been given Him "out of the world" (Joh 17:6), and had been already transformed into the very opposite of it. The things sought for them, indeed, are applicable only to such.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 9. Pray not for the world—For the world, as…
9. Pray not for the world—For the world, as such, and while it stays such, (in the sense used here and in Joh_17:14,) 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 Joh_17:21; Joh_17:23, 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 Joh_17:6; Joh_17:8.
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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.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–24 9. I pray for them, &c.] Literally, I am…
9. I pray for them, &c.] Literally, I am praying concerning them; concerning the world I am not praying, but concerning them whom, &c. ‘I,’ ‘them,’ and ‘the world’ are emphatic. ‘For them who have believed I in turn am praying; for the world I am not praying.’ On the word here used for ‘pray’ see on Joh_14:16. Of course this verse does not mean that Christ never prays for unbelievers; Joh_17:23 and Luk_23:34 prove the contrary; but it is for the chosen few, in return for their allegiance, that He is praying now.
they are thine] Although they have been given to the Son.
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9–19. The intercession for the disciples based on their need.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–24 (9) I pray for them: I pray not for…
(9) I pray for them: I pray not for the world.—Better, I am praying for them: I am not praying for the world. Both pronouns are emphatic. “I who have during my work on earth taught them;” “they who have received the truth” (Joh_17:8). “I who am about to leave the world;” “they who will remain in the world” (Joh_17:11). The tense is the strict present, referring to the prayer which He is at this moment uttering, and not to His general practice, which the Authorised version may be taken to express. Against any limitation of the prayer of our Lord, see Joh_17:21, and His own prayer for His enemies, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luk_23:34). Comp. also His command to His disciples to pray for “them which despitefully used them” (Mat_5:44). The present prayer was like that which pious Rabbis were accustomed to offer for their pupils. (Comp. Schöttgen’s Note here.) It is from its very nature applicable only to disciples. He is leaving them, and commends them to His Father’s care.
But for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.—This is the special claim on which He commends them to the Father. They were the Father’s before they were given to the Son. By that gift they have become the Father’s more fully (Joh_17:6-8). They are the Father’s, for all things which are the Son’s are the Father’s, and all things which are the Father’s are the Son’s (Joh_17:10).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–24 I very emphaticam praying for them (for this use…
I very emphaticam praying for them (for this use of erwtw see note, Joh_16:23). We must remember that this is perfectly consistent with the fact that, in the day of the spiritual manifestation to the disciples, when both the Father and Son came to them, the disciples would ask the Father for the gifts which his love to them was waiting to supply; and he, Christ himself, would hear them if they asked in his Name; and that then there would be no need that he should pray the Father for them. That time had not yet come, though it was coming. Both statements are also perfectly consistent with his "intercession" for us. Not concerning or, not for the world am I praying. Surely this is not an assertion that he would never pray, or that he had not already prayed, for the world. Nay, his entire ministry is the expression of the Father"s love to the whole world. (Joh_3:16) He came as Jehovah"s Lamb to take away its sin, (Joh_1:29) he bade his disciples (Mat_5:44) pray for their enemies, and he cried at the last for a blessing on his murderers. He "came to seek and save the lost," to call sinners to repentance," not to condemn, but to save the world." Moreover, in this prayer (Ver. 21) he does pray for those who should ultimately, though they do not now, believe on him through the word of the disciples; therefore it is inconceivable that he should here dogmatically limit the range of his gracious desire. Calvin here observes, "We are commanded to pray for all," (1Ti_2:1) and quotes Luk_23:34 that Christ prayed for his murderers. We ought to pray that this man and that man and every man may be saved, and thus include the whole human race, because we cannot distinguish the elect from the reprobate." Calvin implies that Christ is here within the sanctuary, and places before his eyes the secret judgments of the Father. Lampe goes much further. Luther says, In the same sense in which he prays for the disciples, he does not pray for the world." But the best explanation is that the high-priestly intercession at this supreme moment is concerned with those who were already given to him, and who have come to believe in his Divine Person and commission. He expressly and divinely commends to the Father those whom thou hast given me the burden of the thought is contained in the motive he suggests for this commendation, viz. because they are thine; i.e. though thou hast given them to me, though they have "come to me," through thy drawing, they are more than ever "thine." This most fervent yielding to the attraction of Jesus, and utter moral surrender to his control, do not alienate the heart from the Father, but make it more than ever his.
Vers. 9-11. Jesus praying for his own.
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I THE EXCLUSION. We have here a striking illustration of the definiteness of the prayers of Jesus. He knows exactly for whom he is praying, and what he wants for them. He defines them positively, and he defines them negatively. It is not enough for him to call them his own." It must also be said why they are his own. If they belonged to the world, and had in them, unchecked and unmixed, the spirit of the world, they would not be his. This is a very decided exclusion for the purpose which Jesus has in view; but no one who understands the whole drift of the work of Jesus will say that it is a harsh exclusion. When Jesus prays for his own, he is really doing the best he can for the world. What can the Father of Jesus do for the world, so long as it remains the world? He has nothing to give that the world cares for. What God bestows on the world is given irrespective of prayer given to all; given, a great deal of it, to the lower creation as well. If more is to be given, it is because of the appearing of a spirit of recipiency which is in itself a sign of passing from the world to the Church. When Jesus prays for his own, he is really praying that they may so let their light shine as to attract and persuade the world. The very best things that Jesus can do for the world are to be done through the character of his own people.
II THE GROUNDS OF THE REQUEST. Jesus prays to the Father for those whom the Father had given to him. What a view of the claims of the heavenly Father is here! When we give anything it implies that we have a right to give it. We have made it our own by purchase or manufacture; We could not take any human life and make a present of it to somebody else that he might use it for his own purposes. There would be a protest at once. But God makes this claim, and gives over human souls to the control of Jesus. To that control and to no other. The same truth is expressed when Jesus says that all authority is given to him in heaven and on earth. What an inspiration there should be in the thought that the Father reckons us worthy to be bestowed on the Son for him to use! What a folly and misuse of ourselves if we, who are intended for gifts to Jesus, should refuse to Jesus the necessary control! What an explanation of the frequent misery and waste of life! If Jesus cannot get a proper use of his own, how can we turn it to anything but misuse? But Jesus goes on to say how that in receiving he only receives to give back. "All mine are thine, and thine are mine." No wonder that, in the first fullness of Pentecostal blessing, the disciples had all things in common. The Father and the Son have all things in common. The Father gives humanity to the Son that Jesus may send out consecrated men and women to glorify him. And then these consecrated men and women, used as they only can be used by Jesus, are rendered up to the Father who bestowed them on the Son. The heavenly Father is the great Fountain of the highest good, and all that he gives comes back to him at last, having ministered strength and gladness to human hearts innumerable. All that is in God and all that is in Jesus are for us; and we are, not for ourselves that is only a small part of the truth but for the Son in the Father, and the Father in the Son. There is no serving the Son without serving the Father, nor glorifying the Son without glorifying the Father. And we need that the Father should strengthen and equip us through invisible means for all this serving and glorifying, because the Son no longer remains visibly in the world. The invisible ministry is far to excel in depth and extent the visible one. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24 I pray for them
Joh_17:9-16
I pray for them
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The keeping of the saints
I.
THE PERSONS. Those whom Thou hast given Me. The disciples in contrast
1. With the world (Joh_17:9). Christ meant, not that men, as men, were excluded from His intercessions, but that they were not then the object of His pleadings; He was then acting as the Churchs High Priest, preparing to sanctify Himself as a sacrifice for His believing people. Hence the unbelieving world had no direct interest in the blessings He was asking.
2. With the son of perdition. Judas had by this time been excluded from the apostolic circle (Joh_13:30).
II. THE BLESSING--preservation in
1. Unity (Joh_17:11), such as expresses itself in one faith, one love, one body, one life (Eph_4:3-6). This is not only the subject of Christs intercession with the Father, but the object of the Fathers keeping of the saints. He keeps them, not by forcible compulsion, but by spiritual persuasion, helping them to understand the oneness of love, life, power subsisting between the Father and the Son, in such fashion that they earnestly desire and labour after such oneness among themselves; in this showing that they follow God as dear children.
2. In safety (Joh_17:15). One can imagine reasons why Christ should have prayed that the disciples should be taken from the world with Himself, e.g., He would rather be accompanied by those who had loved Him; and that it would be better for them than to be left exposed to the world Php_1:23). But He discerns grounds why it was better that they should be left
(1) For themselves, inasmuch as they were as yet imperfectly sanctified.
(2) For Christ, for the vindication of His honour, for the propagation of His truth.
(3) For the world.
They were to remain as salt to preserve it, as light to illuminate it, as leaven to work in it. Hence Christ prayed that they might be shielded from evil, from hurtful things (Mar_16:18; Luk_10:19; Act_18:10); from wicked men (2Th_3:2); from the evil one (1Jn_5:8).
3. In felicity (verse 13).
III. THE ARGUMENTS.
1. They belonged to Him, the Father (verse 9). Believers are Gods
(1) By nature, as His creatures.
(2) By grace, as His children.
(3) By community of interest with Christ (verse 10).
2. Christs glory was involved in their preservation (verse 10). In them the world would behold His glorification, and the character of His religion. By them His glorification would be proclaimed, and the glory of His kingdom advanced (Act_2:33; Act_3:13).
3. They were about to be deprived of His presence (verse 11). Up to then Christ had shielded them; accordingly, like a dying parent, He commends them to His Heavenly Fathers care. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
The Divine Suppliant
The truths in this part of the prayer are
I. THAT THE SUPREME GOOD OF MAN IS SPIRITUAL AND NOT TEMPORAL. Christ prays that they may be kept from the evil, sanctified, and be one with themselves, Him, and the Father. He does not pray that they may be healthy in body, prosperous in circumstances, or long-lived. He does not undervalue these things, but temporal prosperity to Him was insignificant compared with spiritual. There are good reasons for this. Temporal prosperity is
1. Insufficient to satisfy the cravings of the human soul. A mans life [happiness] consisteth not in the abundance of things, &c. What shall it profit a man, &c.
2. Often leads to spiritual adversity and ruin. How often it happens that the higher a man rises in worldly things, the lower he sinks in moral destitution. Seek ye first the kingdom of God.
II. THAT THERE IS A COMPLETE UNITY OF INTEREST BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE FATHER. All Mine are Thine, &c. This is
1. True absolutely. God is the universal Proprietor. We are only trustees, not owners.
2. True subjectively. Thine are Mine.
III. THAT SINCE THE DEPARTURE OF CHRIST THE PRESERVATION OF A GOOD MAN IN HIS GOODNESS DEPENDS ON THE AGENCY OF THE GREAT FATHER (verse 11). THE MEANING IS, I have taken care of them until now; now I commend them to Thee. Note
1. The way of keeping them. Through Thine own Name, i.e., His moral character. This is enough to convert them to, and to keep them in goodness.
2. The reason for keeping them, that they may be one as we are, i.e., in supreme purpose, inspiring spirit, moral character. What attraction is in the material world, love is in the moral.
IV. THAT AMONGST THOSE WHO ARE GIVEN BY GOD TO THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST THERE ARE BAD MEN AS WELL AS GOOD (Joh_17:12). There has ever been a Judas in Christian communities: tares as well as wheat; goats as well as sheep. Bad men as well as good are
1. The property of God. He can give them.
2. Under the direction of God. Judas did not go into Christs school by accident, but that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.
3. Employed in the service of God. Judas did a useful work.
4. Must meet with a terrible end. The son of perdition went to his own place. It is better for a man to fall from the level sands than from a lofty cliff; to fall into ruin from a corrupt world than from the height of Christian privilege.
V. THAT THE GRAND DESIRE OF CHRIST IS THAT ALL HIS DISCIPLES SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN HIS JOY (Joh_17:13).
1. Although in one sense a Man of Sorrows, no man had so much joy as Christ. The joy of
(1) An innocent conscience.
(2) Disinterested love.
(3) Close communion with the Father.
2. Now His desire is that His disciples should participate in this joy, and
3. At last enter into the joy of the Lord.
VI. THAT THE FAITHFUL CARRYING OUT OF CHRISTS DESIRE WILL EXCITE THE WORLDS HATRED (Joh_17:14). The world is ever in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ. The man, therefore, who will act out the one and live the other will ever come in antagonism with the worlds passions and prejudices. The conduct of the godly acts on the sensibilities of the corrupt as the sun on diseased eyes, and music on diseased auricular nerves.
VII. THAT IT IS POSSIBLE SO TO LIVE IN THE WORLD AS NOT TO BELONG TO IT (Joh_17:16). (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Why Christ prayed for the disciples
Before proceeding to the more special petitions Jesus reproduces the two principal claims of the disciples to the Divine interest.
I. THOU HAST GIVEN THEM TO ME--watch over Thine own gift; and the more since, in becoming Mine, they have not ceased to belong to Thee, but have even become more than ever Thine. For what I receive from Thee; I receive only to restore to Thee, and to ensure to Thee its possession. The present are Thine is purposely substituted for the imperfect were Thine (Joh_17:6), to express the idea that the gift of them to the Son has only confirmed their being Gods.
II. THEY HAVE BECOME DEPOSITARIES OF THE SONS GLORY. Notwithstanding His form as a Servant, Jesus had appeared to their hearts in all His beauty as the Son of God. Even before restoration to His glory, He had regained it in them by the fact that they had recognized Him for what He truly was (Joh_17:7-8). (F. Godet, D. D.)
Why Christ did not pray for the world
Jesus has not the same reasons to bring forward in favour of the world, not the same request to make for it. Luther justly says, What must be asked for the world is that it may be converted, not that it may be sanctified or kept. Assuredly the statement of Jesus is no absolute one. He said on the cross, Father, forgive them. Was not this to pray for the world? Only He did not then, as He does now, bring forward as a reason they have known (Joh_17:8), but, on the contrary, they know not what they do; and instead of appealing, as here, to the care of God for beings precious and belonging to Himself, He invokes His compassion for beings guilty and perishing. The saying in Joh_17:21, that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, contains an implicit prayer for the world (cf. Joh_2:16)
. The statement of Jesus, that He prays not for the world, only becomes absolute in proportion as its moral characteristic of opposition to God is fixed, and as it becomes the association of those who are not only enemies of God, but who desire to remain such. (F. Godet, D. D.)
The mediatorial plea
I. A GRACIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT I pray for them.
1. The words which follow seem at first startling. Does He mean that the world had no place in His desires and formed no object of His supplications? No, for He had said, God so loved the world, &c., and was so soon to pray on the cross for His murderers. It is simply as if He had said, I am not now at this moment praying for the world at large, or else, I pray not in this way for the world. For the world He does pray (Joh_17:20-21), but He prays in another manner, viz., that it may cease to be what it is, attain to knowledge which it does not possess, and realize a life which it does not know, while in praying for His disciples He asks that they may be perfected in what they have received, confirmed in their faith and so prederved from forgetting or losing that which they know.
2. I pray for them. The word pray here is a word which Christ Jesus alone uses in relation to His prayers. The Saviour never uses the word ordinarily used to express prayers by man, but one which has the sense of authority in it, and which therefore it is not proper for us to use. How much, then, is involved in this announcement! Frequently in the course of social intercourse we say to a friend in difficulty or affliction, when we feel that our poor thoughts, counsels, or help can be of little or no avail, I will pray for you. Does that not include the highest thought, and the most effective aid that we can reach? What magnitude and depth of meaning, then, must there be in our Saviours words, I pray for you! The Lord who prayed for these disciples intercedes for His people now. There is not a single day of our life, how full soever of duty, difficulty, or darkness, in which we may not derive encouragement and comfort from this gracious word of Christ.
II. AN EXPLANATION. The disciples
1. Belong to God They are Thine,
(1) He had created them, selected them out of the many thousands of Israel, to be trained by His Son. The preparation they received under the minister of Jesus was altogether of God; and the variety of their dispositions, qualifying them for varied service and duty, was due to His wisdom and power. It is one thing to be Gods creatures, made originally in His image; it is much higher and grander to be Gods men, created anew in Christ Jesus.
(2) This interest was reciprocal: All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine. In the Fathers interest the Son had an interest, and in the Fathers property the Son has an equal right (chap.
V. 19). No language could more impressively show the Godhead and glory of Jesus than this claim of kindred interests.
2. Christ, as Mediator and Saviour, had an interest in these disciples peculiar to Himself: I am glorified in them.
(1) It may well excite our wonder and adoration that He, withoutwhom was not anything made that was made, should have glory in feeble, ignorant, and imperfect men, and only in the little band was He glorified. The life and attractiveness of the vine are in its branches, foliage, and fruit; and as Jesus said, I am the Vine, ye are the branches, His honour was essentially connected with them, as the first-fruits of a multitude of followers.
(2) How was Jesus glorified? To draw men to Himself, to secure their devotedness for God, that they might be redeemed from sin, and be made partakers of the Divine nature, was the very purpose for which He came into the world; and in these disciples, who were lovingly drawn around Him as the first-fruits of His advent, was He glorified. There is a depth and breadth of meaning in these words which we cannot fully comprehend. When the hero of many battles receives the thanks of a grateful country, and says in reply that he could have nothing but for the bravery and devotion of the troops under his command, we can appreciate his modesty and admire his candour. But when the strong Son of God says, I am glorified in them these My disciples, few and weak we cannot refuse our admiration and our love. (J. Spence, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22 9. I pray for them. The apostles. The prayer…
9. I pray for them. The apostles. The prayer from verse 9 to verse 19 is for these. I pray not for the world. Not at this time; he came into the world to save it, and we are not to conclude that he would never pray for its conversion and welfare, Now, however, his petition is confined to the apostles, the little band who are hanging upon his words.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv14, 17, 20, 24
John
THE INTERCESSOR
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‘THE LORD THEE KEEPS’
Joh 17:14 - Joh 17:16.
We have here a petition imbedded in a reiterated statement of the disciples’ isolated position when left in a hostile world without Christ’s sheltering presence. We cannot fathom the depth of the mystery of the praying Christ, but we may be sure of this, that His prayers were always in harmony with the Father’s will, were, in fact, the expression of that will, and were therefore promises and prophecies. What He prays the Father for His disciples He gives to His disciples. Once only had He to say, ‘If it be possible’; at all other times He prayed as sure that ‘Thou hearest Me always,’ and in this very prayer He speaks in a tone of strange authority, when He prays for all believers in future ages, and says: ‘I will that, where I am, they also may be with Me.’ In this High-priestly prayer, offered when Gethsemane was almost in sight, and the Judgment Hall and Calvary were near, our Lord’s tender interest in His disciples fills His mind, and even in its earlier portion, which is in form a series of petitions for Himself, it is in essence a prayer for them, whilst this central section which concerns the Apostles, and the closing section which casts the mantle of His love and care over all who hereafter shall ‘believe on Me through their word,’ witnesses to the sublime completeness of His self-oblivion. Gethsemane heard His prayer for Himself; here He prays for His people, and the calm serenity and confident assurance of this prayer, set against the agitation of that other, receives and gives emphasis by the contrast.
Our text falls into two parts, the enclosing circle of the repeated statement of the disciples’ isolation in an alien world, and the enclosed jewel of the all-sufficient prayer which guarantees their protection. We shall best make its comfort and cheer our own by dealing with these two successively.
I. The disciples’ isolation.
Of course we are to interpret the ‘world’ here in accordance with the ethical usage of that term in this Gospel, according to which it means the aggregate of mankind considered as apart from and alien to God. It is roughly equivalent to the modern phrase, ‘society.’
With that order of things Christ’s real followers are not in accord.
That want of accord depends upon their accord with Jesus.
Every Christian has the ‘mind of Christ’ in him, in the measure of his Christianity. ‘It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master’ But Christian discipleship has a better guarantee for the assimilation of the disciple to his Lord than the ordinary forms of the relation of teacher and taught ever present. There is a participation in the Master’s life, an implantation in the scholar’s spirit of the Teacher’s Spirit. ‘Christ in us’ is not only ‘the hope of glory,’ but the power which makes possible and actual the present possession of a life kindred with, because derived from, and essentially one with, His life.
They whose spirits are touched by the indwelling Christ to the ‘fine issues’ of sympathy with the law of His earthly life cannot but live in the world as aliens, and wander amid its pitfalls with ‘blank misgivings’ and a chill sense that this is not their rest. They are knit to One whose ‘meat and drink’ was to do the will of the Father in heaven, who ‘pleased not Himself,’ whose life was all one long service and sacrifice for men, whose joys were not fed by earthly possessions or delights. How should they have a sense of community of aims with grovelling hearts that cling to wealth or ambition, that are not at peace with God, and have no holdfasts beyond this ‘bank and shoal of time’? A man who has drunk into the spirit of Christ’s life is thereby necessarily thrown out of gear with the world.
Happy is he if his union with Jesus is so deep and close that it is but deepened by his experience of the lack of sympathy between the world and himself! Happy if his consciousness of not being ‘of the world’ but quickens his desire to help the world and glorify his Lord, by bringing His all-sufficiency into its emptiness, and leading it, too, to discern His sweetness and beauty!
But how little the life of the average Christian corresponds to this reiterated utterance of our Lord! Who of us dare venture to take it on our lips and to say that we are ‘not of the world even as He is not of the world’? Is not our relation to that world of which Jesus here speaks a contrast rather than a parallel to His? The ‘prince of this world’ had nothing in Christ, as He himself declared, but He has much in each of us. There are stored up heaps of combustibles in every one of us which catch fire only too swiftly, and burn but too fiercely, when the ‘fiery darts of the wicked’ fall among them. Instead of an instinctive recoil from the view of life characteristic of ‘the world,’ we must confess, if we are honest, that it draws us strongly, and many of us are quite at home with it. Why is this but because we do not habitually live near enough to our Lord to drink in His Spirit? The measure of our discord with the world is the measure of our accord with our Saviour. It is in the degree in which we possess His life that we come to be aliens here, and it is in the degree in which we keep in touch with Jesus, and keep our hearts wide open for the entrance of His Spirit, that we possess His life. A worldly Christian-no uncommon character-is a Christian who has all but shut himself off from the life which Christ breathes into the expectant soul.
II. The disciples’ guarded security.
Jesus encloses His prayer between the two parts of that repeated statement of the disciples’ isolation. It is like some lovely, peaceful plain circled by grim mountains. The isolation is a necessary consequence of the disciples’ previous union with Him. It involves much that is painful to the unrenewed part of their natures, but their Lord’s prayer is more than enough for their security and peace.
‘I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world.’ They are in it by God’s appointment for great purposes, affecting their own characters and affecting the world, with which Christ will not interfere. It is their training ground, their school. The sense of belonging to another order is to be intensified by their experiences in it, and these are to make more vivid the hopes that yearn towards the true home, and to develop the ‘wrestling thews that throw the world.’ The discipline of life is too precious to be tampered with even by a Saviour’s prayer, and He loves His people too wisely to seek to shelter them from its roughness, and to procure for them exemption which would impoverish their characters.
So let us learn the lesson and shape our desires after the pattern of our Lord’s prayer for us, nor blindly seek for that ease which He would not ask for us. False asceticism that shrinks from contact with an alien world, weak running from trials and temptations, selfish desires for exemption from sorrows, are all rebuked by this prayer. Christ’s relation to the world is our pattern, and we are not to seek for pillows in an order of things where He ‘had not where to lay His head.’
But He does ask for His people that they may be kept ‘from evil,’ or from ‘the evil One.’ That prayer is, as we have said, a promise and a prophecy. But the fulfilment of it in each individual disciple hinges on the disciple’s keeping himself in touch with Jesus, whereby the ‘much virtue’ of His prayer will encompass him and keep him safe. We do not discuss the alternative renderings, according to one of which ‘the evil’ is impersonal, and according to the other of which it is concentrated in the personal ‘prince of this world.’ In either case, it is ‘the evil’ against which the disciples are to be guarded, whether it has a personal source or not.
Here, in Christ’s intercession, is the firm ground of our confidence that we may be ‘more than conquerors’ in the life-long fight which we have to wage. The sweet strong old psalm is valid in its assurances to-day for every soul which puts itself under the shadow of Christ’s protecting intercession: ‘The Lord shall keep thee from all evil, He shall keep thy soul.’ We have not ‘to lift up our eyes unto the hills,’ for ‘vainly is help hoped for from the multitude of the mountains,’ but ‘Our help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.’ Therefore we may dwell at peace in the midst of an alien world, having the Father for our Keeper, and the Son, who overcame the world, for our Intercessor, our Pattern and our Hope.
The parallel between Christ and His people applies to their relations to the present order of things: ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.’ It applies to their mission here: ‘As Thou didst send Me into the world, even so sent I them into the world.’ It applies to the future: ‘I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee,’ and in that ‘coming’ lies the guarantee that His servants will, each in his due time, come out from this alien world and pass into the state which is home, because He is there. The prayer that they might be kept from the evil, while remaining in the scene where evil is rampant, is crowned by the prayer: ‘I will that, where I am, they also may be with Me, that they may behold My glory.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 23 kosmos = world-system. Joh 17:14; Joh 17:16; Joh 7:7.…
world
kosmos = world-system. Joh 17:14; Joh 17:16; Joh 7:7. (See Scofield "Rev 13:8").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 14, 20 The distinction between the disciples and the world:
The distinction between the disciples and the world:
v. 9. I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.
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v. 10. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.
v. 11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one as We are.
Jesus here makes a deliberate distinction. He expressly says that He is praying for His disciples; His intercession concerns them only. He sets aside the unbelieving world, for the unbelievers included under that name refuse to accept Him under any circumstances. "But this is the difference. In this way and in the same manner He does not pray for the world as He does for His Christians. For the Christians and for all that are to be converted He prays thus, that they may remain in the true faith, grow and continue in it, and not fall away from it, and that those that are still without faith leave their manner and also come. That means to pray right and well for the world, as we should all pray. " For those that God has given Him by a deliberate act of mercy, and that belong to God by His gracious choice and selection, Jesus prays. He is so certain of being heard in this instance because the believers are God’s own, in whom He will naturally take an interest. And Jesus here addresses the Father in a very bold manner: And what is Mine is all Thine, and what is Thine is Mine. He calmly claims absolute community of interests and property for Himself and the Father. "This no creature can say before God. For you must understand this not only of that which the Father has given Him on earth, but also of His one divine essence with the Father. For He speaks not only of His disciples and Christians, but comprehends in one heap all that is the Father’s, eternal, almighty essence, life, truth, righteousness, etc. , that is, He confesses freely that He is true God, for the word ’All that is Thine is Mine’ permits nothing to be excluded. If everything is His, then also the eternal Godhead is His; otherwise He cannot and dare not use the word ’all. ’" And so Jesus, the Son of God, that has everything in common with the Father, is glorified in His believers. He has taught them to know Him; He has brought His picture as the Redeemer of the world into their souls. Their understanding has been enlightened to enable them to understand, at least in a measure, the purpose of God in the salvation of the world, to place their trust in Christ, in the definite hope that the remaining revelation will be theirs in heaven. The career of Jesus in the world is now coming to its end; He is now leaving the world to return to His Father. But the disciples are still in the world, in the midst of unbelievers and enemies of the Gospel. Therefore the earnest petition of Christ is most necessary, that His Father, the holy Father, that desires to keep His holy name unsullied, would keep the believers in His name, in the confession of His name, in true faith, to the end. Only if the Father Himself takes care of His own, will the spiritual union of the believers in no wise be disturbed or brought to naught. God must keep the believers in the one true faith by the Word of His truth, which revivals and teaches His name. The preservation in faith is the work of God. To Him the believers of all times must look to keep them steadfast in His Word and faith, unto the end, as is His gracious and good will.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24 I do not pray for the world
I do not pray for the world
Here the word "world" is a metonym that refers to the people who oppose God. AT: "I am not praying for those who do not belong to you" (See: Metonymy)
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in the world
This is a metonym that refers to being on earth and being among the people who oppose God. AT: "among the people who do not belong to you" (See: Metonymy)
Holy Father, keep them ... that they will be one ... as we are one
Jesus asks the Father to keep those who trust in him so they can have a close relationship with God.
Father
This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)
keep them in your name that you have given me
Here the word "name" is a metonym for God's power and authority. AT: "keep them safe by your power and authority, which you have given me" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
pray
world
glory
holy
God the Father
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 17:9-19 Jesus prayed for his disciples, who must carry…
17:9-19 Jesus prayed for his disciples, who must carry on after his departure.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.