John Chapter Seventeen Commentary

I. Introduction

A commentary on the Gospel of John, chapter seventeen. Here we find our Savior Jesus making HIs final report and requests to He who sent Him on the Salvation ministry about which we are made privy to hear Him pray in this sacred chapter of the Gospel of John. The Cross lies just before Him yet His prayers are for His beloved going forward, that they be kept holy and whole by the Word of God, in that spirit spreading like a mustard bush, and that in all things going forward Father God is glorified in the Son, who sanctified Himself through thick and thin down here to make it so. We will follow this format:

• Verse of Scripture utilizing the YLT text followed by an NASB mouse-over of that verse. Key words in the YLT text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Greek text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not Greek scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).

• Commentary We shall be commenting on this passage keeping before us at all times the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way, for this prayer of our Lord’s is deep, and gripping, and rich…and beyond mere commentary. Help us Lord to catch a glimpse of what you meant…

II John Chapter Seventeen Commentary Verses

17:1-5 Father, the Hour Hath Come-Glorify [=Punish] Thy Son That [In Turn] Thy Son May Glorify [=Exalt] Thee

Jhn 3:16, Eph 3:14-19, Hbr 2:10

YLT TEXT: These things spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to the heaven, and said — `Father [1], the hour [2] hath come, glorify [3] Thy Son [4], that [5] Thy Son also may glorify Thee, according as Thou didst give to him authority [6] over all flesh [7], that — all that Thou hast given [8] to him — he may give to them life age-during [9]; and this is the life age-during, that they may know [10] Thee, the only true God, and him whom Thou didst send [11] — Jesus Christ; I did glorify Thee on the earth, the work I did finish [12] that Thou hast given me, that I may do [it]. `And now, glorify me, Thou Father, with Thyself, with the glory that I had before the world was, with Thee; Jhn 17:1-5

COMMENTARY: The full implication of these words of Jesus, especially those centering on “glorify,” really tug at the heart. As said in footnote [3], Jesus’ first use of “glorify” is in the imperative mood, but He is not calling for the kind of glory that might first come to mind, He is calling for our punishment—His sufferings—to be unleashed upon Himself. And then when He uses the word glorify just next He is using it in the sense that does typically come to mind, but not for His own benefit but for the benefit of our Father. This is highly revealing of the nature of Jesus Christ. It shows us how much He loves us, and our Father God. He is a great savior God.

Our blessed Savior’s earthly ministry is all but over now—there remains yet the Cross. His Hour has come. It is the Hour of His glorification (and accordingly, ours). One would think that Jesus would make reference to glory, first with respect to His status as the Eternal, the Sovereign—One ever so high and lofty, and exalted in majesty—but no, He does so last: “…And now, glorify me, Thou Father, with Thyself, with the glory that I had before the world was…”—our great savior God sees His impending sufferings first, preeminently; sees them preeminently as His crown of glory (please note that here is scriptural proof that Jesus laid aside His deity in His incarnation: “..glorify me, Thou Father, with Thyself, with the glory that I had before the world was…” (red font added, updated here and just below, 08/14/2016, A.s.). What is it about this crown that makes it so ( even divinely) glorious in God’s sight, this bitter-sweet crown won by Jesus’ Suffering? It is the Sacrifice of Jesus (Jhn 10:17), and not least it is the jewels with which it is studded (the children of God, owing to Redemption | Salvation, glorified with the glory of the Father, like unto their Savior, Zec 9:16; note our Father’s answer to Jesus: Hbr 1:3!, Saints). What a picture of God’s love for humankind this Suffering, this expensive, divine Crown our great savior God wears; what a picture of God’s love per se; God, indeed, truly, is love (Jhn 3:16, 1Jo 4:8, 16). Of course there is an aspect of the Son’s love for the Father in this and vice versa. Yes, as the Son is the Son of the Father’s love (Col 1:13-14), so the Father is the Father of the Son’s love: “…that thy Son also may glorify thee…” The mortar of God’s unity is love (1Cr 13:4-7); in this way, God is One. Though we rightly speak of the “members of the Godhead,” the blessed Trinity, yet God is One. Only an infinitely intimate bond of love explains a passage such as this one; explains God’s indistinguishable yet distinct nature. Small wonder that God over and over identifies Himself with Love—it is the very essence of who He is.

Notice: God, Father God, gave Jesus, the Beloved Son, an Inheritance; a Trust; a People. And Jesus has been given authority over this People; nay, not just this People, over all people: “…as Thou didst give to him authority over all flesh, that — all that Thou hast given to him — he may give to them eternal life…” Yet it is His peculiar interest to give eternal life unto a peculiar few; unto those few who know Father God—this only makes sense, for if Father God gave this authority to Jesus, one can hardly expect otherwise. It is incumbent, therefore, upon all peoples to come to know the great Father, Jehovah, the only true God. That is, if eternal life has any place in their hoped for final estate. And the knowledge of and accessibility to Father Jehovah God comes through Jesus Christ alone (Mat 11:27, Jhn 14:6, “Be Holy”), the One whom Father God sent for this very purpose.

It is fair to ask about some of the particulars in these verses: How did Jesus glorify the Father in His ministry, and what was the work which the Father gave Him to do? The answer lies in the question—Jesus glorified the Father precisely through His Work, His ministerial work; particularly by accomplishing this Work Jesus glorified the Father. Jesus manifestly made known, like none other could, just exactly who God is; Jesus revealed God’s Name, that is, all that expressly characterizes God. Note that the Cross lies just presently before Jesus, but He speaks here already of accomplishment—so steadfast is His salvific resolve (else He would never have said “…the hour has come…”): “…I did glorify Thee on the earth, the work I did finish that Thou hast given me…” The Work which the Father gave Jesus consisted of the revelation of God, and the redemption of humankind: the “R & R” bookends if you will. In another context it is appropriate to add yet another “R”–Resurrection—R&R&R—Revelation, Redemption, Resurrection—this is the special Work of Jesus Christ for Father God, for His people—we, His people, are particularly the beneficiaries of each “R”. Jesus put these bookends in place, and accomplished everything in between, completely, satisfactorily. And in this great Work God is glorified, because God cannot help but be glorified when He is revealed, simply because of the nature of the revelation—He is deity after all—and Redemption is His special glory because He is glorified through His Redeemed. Let the Redeemed thus glorify this great, this wonderful God of ours (it goes without saying that Resurrection bespeaks of God’s glory also).

17:6-10 Father, I Have Manifested Thy Name to Those Whom Thou Gavest Me

YLT TEXT: I did manifest Thy name [13] to the men whom Thou hast given to me out of the world [14]; Thine they were, and to me Thou hast given them, and Thy word [15] they have kept [16]; now they have known that all things, as many as Thou hast given to me, are from Thee, because the sayings that Thou hast given to me, I have given to them, and they themselves received [17], and have known truly, that from Thee I came forth, and they did believe [18] that Thou didst send me. `I ask in regard to them; not in regard to the world do I ask, but in regard to those whom Thou hast given to me, because Thine they are, and all mine are Thine, and Thine [are] mine, and I have been glorified in them; Jhn 17:6-10 (red font added)

COMMENTARY: See how crucial revelation was (is) to Jesus: “I did manifest thy name…” It is incumbent upon all Christians to manifest the Name of our God, in our work places, in our homes, wherever God has planted us, by our speech, by our conduct, by our love for our fellow human, by witnessing outright about Him. Thus we glorify our Savior.

The apostles and disciples were men of the world before Jesus sought them and called them to follow Him; still, they belonged to Father God, who entrusted them to Jesus. How is this possible? That is, How could they belong to the Father, from eternity past one must assume, and at the same time be men of the world? This is natural actually, in that all human beings belong to Jehovah God by virtue of Creation and procreation; and of course we all start out in the world, surrounded by its predominant bent away from God, and its largely willful misconceptions about Him. We reckon that these men were entrusted to Jesus precisely because in His omniscience God knew that they belonged to the Few who had a heart and a hunger for Himself. And God in His benevolence here satiates their hunger by calling them out of the world and its misconceptions about the only true God, Jehovah. He reveals His Name to them, thus satisfying their inner cravings for true knowledge of God their Creator. It follows that revelation of God would be the first order of business by the One sent by God in order to reorient the lost, that nevertheless belong to God, and to feed them with real nourishment—the truth about God. The guidance, and feeding, inherent in this Truth is embodied by God’s very Name, which itself is revealed in His blessed Word, to which Old Testament Scripture served as an authenticating touchstone as concerns Jesus’ revelation of God to these men: “…because the sayings that Thou hast given to me, I have given to them, and they themselves received, and have known truly, that from Thee I came forth…” Thus when Jesus prays “…Thy word they have kept…” He is in effect reporting to the Father that these men have embraced Him, Father God, for His Name is tantamount to His Word—both fully characterize Him; yea, both fully stand in place of Him. This is a blessed announcement that must have evinced a joyful moment in the communion here between Father and Son. Here is a mission proclaimed successful. From such a group of men, once indued with Power from on high (= the Holy Spirit), a Church may indeed spring. And on our Savior’s prayer goes in this direction: Now that they have been instructed in the Truth, and have identified the Truth with its Source (Father God), and have embraced Him by treasuring up His Name, they recognize Jesus Christ by way of His words, which resonate and agree and align with the Name they have appropriated, and are thus able to identify Him, Jesus, as being intimately one with Father God: “…and have known truly, that from Thee I came forth, and they did believe that Thou didst send me…” Here now finally is the foodstuff of Redemption: It is belief in Jesus Christ, and in the One who sent Him (Jhn 12:44, 17:3, 21), a belief expressly manifested by these disciples. In no small way, probably by design, we have before us a picture that portrays Salvation’s flow—belief that Jesus Christ is one with God the Father, and that Father God sent Him to instruct humankind in the Truth and to rescue humankind from the wickedness that pervades the world; to ransom the believing Few, and to present them holy before Father God. This connects well with our opening paragraph in this section which states that the revelation of God is crucial to His salvific interests for humankind, for Salvation ultimately springs forth for those who believe in that Revelation. That is why our witness is of paramount importance as we live out our Christian lives, for God works through us in this way to His glory. Like our Savior, it is God’s Name that we manifest to those that belong to Him, but are presently lost, and He is glorified when even one of these “comes home to Papa” (Luk 15:1-10, 11-32).

We must reference the previous section’s opening verses in order to proceed: ‘…Father, glorify thy Son that thy Son may glorify thee…’, for Jesus asks this of the Father for the sake of those entrusted to Him, not for the sake of the world: “… I ask in regard to them; not in regard to the world do I ask…” (cf. Jer 7:16). Why? It is likely so because the world [14] here is brazenly oblivious to His Revelation. That is to say, Jesus wills that Father God punish Him Jesus “…Father, Glorify [punish] thy Son…” so that the Few who do believe His Revelation would indeed realize the fruit of their redemption, which is Salvation, for this Redemption-Salvation had to be purchased for the believer before it could be realized by the believer. Thus Jesus is by these words condemning the worldly unbeliever: “ …I ask [a reference to Jhn 17:1] in regard to them; not in regard to the world do I ask, but in regard to those whom Thou hast given to me…” Try to grasp the weight of this request—the Atonement—the undue punishment of Jesus Christ in place of due punishment for sinful humankind—is not for the unbelieving world. These words seal the unbeliever’s fate, as is their fate sealed in other places in Scripture (e.g., Hbr. 10:26-31). It is a terrible thing to be sure, but it is soberingly true. Again, this is not necessary, for by an act of the will, by the grace of God, unbelief may be turned into belief; belief in the Object of Jesus Christ’s Revelation, and the One—Jesus–He sent. Friend, it is our prayer that if you are not one of His already, that you make your peace with Him at this time, and embrace this tremendous and great savior God Jesus for your eternal good and joy (“A Letter of Invitation” if you wish). Do it just now in the quiet of your heart and be ever blessed friend.

Notice again the oneness of our great triune God Jehovah: “…because Thine they are, and all mine are Thine, and Thine [are] mine…” It simply could not be any other way than what Jesus says here. When God created, He created as one God (Gen 1:1-31), thus divine “ownership” is necessarily indistinguishable, but when it comes to Redemption-Salvation, God acts in distinct roles. Each member of the Godhead acts somewhat differently in regard to Redemption-Salvation, yet as One. Father God, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit each steward Redemption-Salvation slightly different, but as co-owners of Creation (which is the fallen object, and wanting), the mutual interest is necessarily the same, as must the gravity of the mutual labor necessarily be the same.

“…I have been glorified in them…” says Jesus at the close of our passage. How so? Each believer must give account here personally… Let us remember that His glorification on our behalf was a bitter-sweet one, and so, great savior God, help us to glorify you to the giving of our very lives if it be necessary. Help us Lord Jesus, for we, your People, will to glorify you.

17:11-16 Holy Father, Those Whom Thou Gavest Me Remain: Bring Them Safely Home to Thyself

YLT TEXT: and no more am I in the world, and these are in the world, and I come unto Thee. Holy Father, keep [19] them in Thy name, whom Thou hast given to me, that they may be one as we; when I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Thy name; those whom Thou hast given to me I did guard [20], and none of them was destroyed, except the son of the destruction, that the Writing [21] may be fulfilled. But now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy [22] made full in themselves. I have given to them Thy word, and the world did hate them, because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world; I do not ask that Thou mayest take them out of the world, but that Thou mayest keep them out of the evil. `Of the world they are not, as I of the world am not Jhn 17:11-16

COMMENTARY: ‘Ahhh…Papa…I am coming home soon…There is but yet a Cross…But these Beloved remain in this fallen, unholy world; preserve them holy in unity, in thy holy Name (the Word does this; the Word is tantamount to God’s Name), and bring them safely home to us…’

O how like a mother hen our Lord lovingly “fusses” over His Beloved here. ‘I am leaving, but they remain, I guarded them in thy Name while I was here, but now I leave; Father, be now thou their Guardian directly. There is much around them that seeks to harm them, to devour them; preserve them, holy Father, in unity like unto ours, until I return to gather them…’

How does Father God keep the Beloved in His Name these days; that is, in Jesus’ absence, how do we know this is the case presently? It is being done in a manner that yet again confirms the solidarity of purpose and unity of the Godhead: The blessed Holy Spirit— PARAKLHTOS—literally, “the One called [to be] nearby” is the believer’s very present and real Helper and Guardian—this is the gift of Father God in respect of Jesus Christ’s prayer request (Jhn 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7). It is the Holy Spirit, who perfectly reflects the Name of God, Father God, who is Himself God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer here. Practically, it is the Holy Spirit that animates the Word in us and quickens our conscience, for our preservation (Psa 119:105, Hbr 4:12). We realize the indwelling of the blessed Holy Spirit, this awesome God within, because our great savior God willed it to be so for us, His Beloved. What a great, great God we have “on our side” so to speak, One ever attuned to our physical and spiritual well-being. Let us praise Him, amen?!

Notice the report—our Lord turns in His report concerning His mission in these verses: ‘All went well, the seedlings are planted, and have sprouted; not one was lost except the son of destruction’ (perdition, same thing; Judas Iscariot of course). God is never mocked—Jesus anticipated Judas’ betrayal all along is what we may understand of these words by Jesus here before the fact. And directly our Lord says again, with great joy one must assume—’Father, I come to thee…’ Jesus clearly sees the Cross and His death before Himself, something no one else sees at this time but He; He sees it all unfolding: ‘Father, I come to thee…’ But no sooner than He speaks of His returning to the Father do His concerns with laser-like focus return to the disciples, and we may rightly guess that in their hearing He relates that His sayings, His mission-long pronouncements and declarations, His promises, were all meant for them, that the memory of these things, nay, that the memory of Him who said these things, and the hope found in Him, may evince thoroughgoing joy in their hearts, and those to follow them through their testimony (Jhn 15:11)—please allow us, in no particular order, to loosely paraphrase a few of these beautiful mission-long things:

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega…I have come to make all things new…To what shall I liken the kingdom of heaven, it is like a pearl that one found in the field, and selling all, he goes and buys that field…Suffer the little children to come to me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven…Philip, have I been with you so long and do you not know that whoever has seen me has seen the Father…And He was transfigured before them, and His raiment was a blitzing white, and His face shone as the sun in its strength…Lazarus, come forth…I am the Resurrection and the Life, he who believes in me shall never die…I am the Bread of Life…And He fed the multitudes and healed their sick…In my Father’s house are many dwelling places, I go to prepare a place for you….Yea I leave, I go to the Father, but I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you…It is expedient that I go, for I shall ask of the Father and He shall send you another Helper..IT IS FINISHED…Lord, the thought of you fills us with overwhelming joy (“Is Your Joy Full?”).

Jesus gave the disciples the Word of God: “…I have given to them Thy word and the world did hate them, because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world…”, and we may take it that these disciples gave it their best to live up to that Word, and shared it with others, and they were hated by the world for it—Notice: Hate is an extremely strong word; but such is the enmity toward the things of God by the world; we must never expect otherwise, for that is their bent; it is a Satanic, antiGod bent. Notwithstanding, we must love them, and minister to them, in the strength of God and by His grace—thus His cause is exercised and He is glorified. My Lord, help me; help us, to leave all retaliatory hatred, yea, all hatred, at the foot of your O so fully loving Cross; may you be glorified in this, as we walk your walk and minister to the world for you. Given this thick animosity toward His Church, our Lord prays that the disciples (we, His followers as well) be not removed from this struggle, but instead that we be not consumed by it: “…I do not ask that Thou mayest take them out of the world, but that Thou mayest keep them out of the evil…” It goes without saying that our Lord will keep this evil from consuming us, even though we are confronted by it daily as we minister for Him. Our struggles for Jesus are not easy; He knows that of course, and will watch over us and keep us, and guard us, in His blessed Name, which Name is greater than the evil that is in the world (Jhn 10:29, Phl 1:6, Jud 1:24-25). Let us ever pray, be instant in prayer, like He felt it necessary to pray (Hbr 5:7), when the weight of evil bearing down upon us seems unbearable. Help us Lord; we are not of this world, like you, in your visitation, were not of this world—let us never forget that; lift us up and deliver us; pour out your Spirit upon us without measure as we do your Work great savior God.

17-19 Father, Sanctify Those Whom Thou Gavest Me in the Truth: Thy Word Is Truth

YLT TEXT: sanctify [23] them in Thy truth [24], Thy word is truth; as Thou didst send me to the world, I also did send them to the world; and for them do I sanctify myself, that they also themselves may be sanctified in truth. Jhn 17:17-19

COMMENTARY: In the next few verses Jesus prays for the preservation of His own to come specifically through sanctification. Jesus sanctified Himself through His sufferings, His Work, His sacrifice of self. It is because of what He has done that we may receive the Holy Spirit, and in turn may be sanctified in the Truth: It is the Holy Spirit, our Timeless Worker, that does this sanctifying work (1Pe 1:2, Tab. 1), for He makes lucid God’s Word in our minds, and enables us both to see its inherent Truth and to walk in this Truth, a walk that is motivated to do God’s will—here is sanctification (since our Lord suffered in His sanctification, we should not expect otherwise in our sanctification—sanctification will typically involve suffering). Notice that this prayer request by Jesus was answered quite precisely when God sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which Gift would not have been possible had not our Savior sanctified Himself as said. And it only follows that once sanctified by God, one is fit to do the work of God, but only then, thus Jesus sends His own into the world to witness for God, just as Father God sent holy Jesus into the world “…as Thou didst send me to the world, I also did send them to the world…” Saints are by definition sanctified in the Truth, and thus fit to minister for God on His behalf to the world, because it is Truth that God wishes for the world to learn and embrace; this Truth is embodied in Jesus Christ (Psa 138:2, Jhn 1:14, 8:31-32, 14:6, 18:37). It is not overdone to say again that all of this unfolds only because our Lord sanctified Himself. Praised be our great savior God.

17:20-23 Father, Sanctify Those Whom Thou Gavest Me into the Unity of Our Love

YLT TEXT: And not in regard to these alone do I ask, but also in regard to those who shall be believing, through their word, in me; that they all may be one [25], as Thou Father [art] in me, and I in Thee; that they also in us may be one, that the world may believe that Thou didst send me. `And I, the glory that thou hast given to me, have given to them, that they may be one as we are one; I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected [26] into one, and that the world may know that Thou didst send me, and didst love them as Thou didst love me. Jn 17:20-23 (red font added)

COMMENTARY: Here Jesus has a vision of the saints to come—you and I, and prays that we be the beneficiaries of the same blessings heretofore prayed for concerning His immediate disciples “…not in regard to these alone do I ask, but also in regard to those who shall be believing, through their word, in me …”— it is good to remember that Jesus foreknew His holy family (Act 13:48) and has ever been concerned to care for us.

Again the import of witnessing surfaces; it is by our witness that one after another might come into God’s holy family (1Jo 1:3). This witnessing is the most important work of our lives. It does the greatest good for humankind simply because of its holy nature and because it promotes the interests of the Creator, whose very interests for the Creation serve it best. It is not an accident that you and I were “born for such a time as this…”

The keynote address of these verses is unity. Again we see the inherent unity of the Godhead …”as thou Father [art] in me, and I in Thee…” Here is perfect harmony—the one is seamlessly in the other as though in self (Jas 3:17). As said, the mortar of God’s unity is love; this is a deep love that we are invited to enter, a unity that we are invited to enter here, indeed, a harmony that we are invited to enter: “…That they also in us may be one…” If we say we have love and have not unity, it is clear that love is somewhat lacking, and therefore the nature of God is not borne out. When Christ prays for our unity, He is in effect praying that the bond of love among us be like unto the very bond of love that harmonizes and unifies the Godhead. If there is love in the Christian community then there will be unity, and by this the world knows that our witness concerning Jesus Christ is of God (=legitimate), for God is love—the people of the world to whom we witness are intelligent, and realize this, and more than a few probably have it as a metric by which to judge our witness. Unity in the Christian community authenticates the Christian witness as truly being of God. Said negatively: Where there is disunity, there is not the love of God, for God is perfectly unified; is one, in love. Love motivates God’s unity [27]. Notice that it is not in and of themselves that Christians manifest this love in the Christian community or otherwise for that matter, it is a manifestation of the glory of Christ, which He gave (=grace) to His Bride, the Christian Church, expressly for her melding into unity with God: “…And I, the glory that thou hast given to me, have given to them, that they may be one as we are one; I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfected into one, and that the world may know that Thou didst send me, and didst love them as Thou didst love me. …” Of what glory does Jesus speak, and how does all this unfold, practically? It is highly probable that the glory He refers to is His righteousness (“Righteous Faith”), which is animated in the believer by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Who is God’s gift for faith in Jesus Christ. He (God) literally is in the believer (1Cr 6:17), and we are in each other (=unity) through the common stamp and unifying power of God the Spirit. Here, clearly, is entry into the unity of God, and thus necessarily an infolding into, or inclusion in, or sharing of the unifying love of God: “…That they also in us may be one…”, “…Thou didst send me, and didst love them as Thou didst love me. …” Father, Son, Spirit of adoption, Church—one God, one Church… one Body. This structure is consistent with God’s Harmony and unity as motivated by love [28]. Dearest Jehovah God, help us to see beyond our differences, unto the common stamp of your Spirit. Bless your Bride with unity; smash asunder our pride and anything that prevents our unity great savior God.

17:24-26 Righteous Father, I Desire That Those Whom Thou Gavest Me Be Where I Am-I Have Manifested Thy Name to Them So That the Love with Which Thou Lovest Me Be in Them, and I in Them

YLT TEXT:`Father, those whom Thou hast given to me, I will that where I am they also may be with me, that they may behold [29] my glory that Thou didst give to me, because Thou didst love me before the foundation [30] of the world. `Righteous [31] Father, also the world did not know Thee, and I knew Thee, and these have known that Thou didst send me, and I made known to them Thy name, and will make known, that the love with which Thou lovedst me in them may be, and I in them.’ Jhn 17:24-26 (cf. Col 1:26-27, red font added)

COMMENTARY: We love and treasure our Lord’s prayer, all of it, yea, we especially love and treasure these verses.

It is with such a mindset as reflected in these verses that our Lord engaged the Cross presently before Him (Hbr 12:2). We are the joy that overrode His sufferings: “…Father, I will that where I am they also may be with me…” And where the enemy endeavored to impress shame upon Him, His eternal glory overrides, as we shall see in that blessed day: “…that they may behold my glory…”

This prayer is a great expression of love; no greater love has ever been known. This love of which we speak, our Savior Jesus’ love, is one and the same with the love of our Father God: “…that the love with which Thou lovedst me be in them…” This is divine love; the highest, purest, deepest love; the quintessence of love. God wishes that this love be in us. How so? It is by knowing God that this love comes to humankind: “I made known to them Thy name, and will make known, that the love with which Thou lovedst me in them may be…” God’s Name resonates with love; it is who He is, and He wishes for us to be like Him; wishes for us to appropriate His Name, which stands for love. It is Jesus Christ that shines light on that holy Name (“Be Holy”), that imparts that Name to lovers of that Name.

“…and I in them…” The close of this blessed prayer, its final words, like a punctuation mark warm, and glowing, and embracing, and longing for fellowship, underscores and punctuates the love of God so tenderly put forth throughout: ‘…Righteous Father, I shall make all things right for their account. I long for intimate and eternal fellowship with these, our Beloved—grant this in thy lovingkindness and in thy righteousness. Papa, I in them, and thou in me, and we as one, forever…’ Thank you great Jehovah God for making it so, for loving us so! (Gen 3:8, Lev 26:12, Hbr 11:16, Rev 21:7, 22:1-5).

Praised and cherished be your Name great savior God