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The Gospel of John for Youth
Commentary by Pastor Ron
Beckham
John Chapter 17
(Words in red in the Scriptures are the words of Jesus)
Verse 1.
“Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said,
‘Father, the hour has
come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,’”
Jesus Christ was sent by God the
Father to die in your place. He would be “glorified” because many would
be saved by Him, and He showed us the glory of God in what He did.
Verse 2. “even
as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given
Him, He may give eternal life.”
God the Father gave this world and
everyone in it, to God the Son. He can help you, and if you trust in Him,
He will give you life – forever!
Verse 3. “This
is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.”
What does “eternal life” mean? It’s
to be ALIVE in Him – forever. There’s only one way to have that life, and
it is to know (love, receive) God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We
are to TRUST in the Lord.
Verse 4. “I
glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have
given Me to do.”
God the Father had a PLAN for God the
Son, while He was on this earth. Jesus brought GLORY to His Father,
because He did exactly what the Father wanted. And the work has now been
completed – He died for you and me.
Verse 5. “Now,
Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with
You before the world was.”
Jesus Christ is full of GLORY because
He died for you and me. After He rose from the dead, He went back to the
glorious life He lived with the Father, before this world existed.
Verse 6. “I
have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world;
they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you
have been given to Him by God the Father. His disciples (students) loved
Him and trusted in Him. You can do that, too. Just say: “Lord,
I love You. Forgive me. I trust you now. In Jesus Name. Amen.”
Verse 7. “Now
they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;”
Everything that Jesus said and did
while He was here, came from God the Father. Jesus emptied Himself of
everything when He came here, and depended on God, just like you and I
need to do.
Verse 8. “for
the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them
and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that
You sent Me.”
Jesus’ disciples (students) were
beginning to really BELIEVE that He is the Son of God. The words Jesus
spoke, are words from God. It’s time for us to BELIEVE in Him, too.
Verse 9. “I
ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those
whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;”
The whole of John Chapter 17 is a
prayer. He is not praying for the world, but He always prays for those
who trust in Him (those the Father has given to the Son). We belong to
the Father when we trust in the Son.
Verse 10. “and
all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been
glorified in them.”
God the Father and God the Son are
One. They love each other completely and are in complete agreement about
- everything. God is glorified because there is no division between Them.
Verse 11. “I
am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I
come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have
given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”
Jesus was leaving this world (He was
about to die on the cross), but His disciples (students) would still be
here on earth. He prayed that God the Father would keep them safe from
all harm. He prayed they would be “one” – that the love of God would be
in them.
Verse 12. “While
I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me;
and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition,
so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
While Jesus was on earth, He protected
His disciples (students) by praying for them in the power of God. None of
them was lost except Judas Iscariot, who who never trusted in Jesus.
Psalm 41:9 said that one of Jesus’ “friends” would turn on Him. The
“friend” was Judas.
Verse 13. “But
now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may
have My joy made full in themselves.”
Jesus was now going back to be with
God the Father. His disciples (students) were listening to Jesus pray for
them, and He prayed to give them JOY. He was going to continue to pray
for (protect) them, even though He would soon die.
Verse 14. “I
have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are
not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
Jesus Christ gave His disciples (and
you and me) the Word of God. By learning of Jesus and trusting in Him, we
are not part of this world anymore. Some who ARE of this world, won’t
like us.
Verse 15. “I
do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the
evil one.”
You might think Jesus would just take
us right out of the world, but that’s not what He prayed. He wants us to
be here, but He also wants us to be safe from harm. Jesus Christ is
praying for you.
Verse 16. “They
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
It’s easy to understand that Jesus
Christ, God the Son, is not part of this world. What’s hard to see is
that, when we trust in Him, we are not part of this world either. We are
now part of Him.
Verse 17. “Sanctify
them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
When we read His Word, the Bible, we
are reading the truth. When we read His Word, we are changed and
sanctified (set apart) from this world.
Verse 18. “You
sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
Just like God the Father sent Jesus
Christ, God the Son, into this world, so His disciples (students) were
sent out to the world. He makes us strong in His Word, and then He sends
us, too.
Verse 19. “For
their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified
in truth.”
Jesus Christ did things for His
disciples that He did not have to do. He went into the wilderness and was
tempted (Matthew 4) – for their sake! He was baptized (John 1:29-34) –
for us. He showed us how to live and told us what to do.
Verse 20. “I
do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me
through their word;”
Jesus is continuing to pray to God the
Father. He was not only praying for His disciples (students) but He also
prays for you and me. “Their word” is the Bible – He was praying for
those who believe in Jesus by reading His Word.
Verse 21. “that
they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that
they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
Jesus could have prayed for us to be
healthy, wealthy, intelligent, good looking, or a lot of things. But
that’s not what He prayed. He asked that we will be one in His love. He
wants us to be in love with God and with each other, so people will
believe that God the Father sent Jesus Christ to save us.
Verse
22. “The
glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one,
just as We are one;”
The real “glory” that God gives us is
His love. He has given us His love, and is praying that you and I will be
ONE. Just as the Father and the Son are one, so we are to be one in His
love.
Verse 23. “I
in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the
world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved
Me.”
If Christ is “in” you, God the Father
is in you, too. You will not argue with others like you may have done
before. You will want to be gentle with others, because the love of God
is in you.
Verse 24. “Father,
I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so
that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me
before the foundation of the world.”
Jesus wants us to come and be with
Him. He wants us to go and see His glory, which the Father gave to Him
before the world was made.
Verse 25. “O
righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known
You; and these have known that You sent Me;”
God the Father is righteous (pure and
holy). The world does not understand Him, but Jesus Christ personally
knows God the Father. His disciples were beginning to understand that the
Father sent Jesus to this world.
Verse 26. “and
I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the
love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus Christ has shown God the Father
to this world. He helped us understand His “name” (what kind of Person He
is), and has given us the love of God. If we trust in Jesus, the love of
God the Father will be inside of us, and our Lord will be in us also.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
ron@fridaystudy.org
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