John 17 - Life Application Bible Commentary (NT)

17:1 Jesus began his petition by praying for himself: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”NIV Jesus knew that his “hour” of suffering had come —several times previously in the Gospel, John had pointed out that Jesus time had not come (2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20). But the time for Jesus’ glorification had arrived. As stated earlier (see 13:31), Jesus’ glorification is one of the central themes of the extended discourse (13:31–16:33). Jesus’ motives are quite clear. If the Father would glorify the Son in the Crucifixion and Resurrection, the Son could, in turn, give eternal life to the believers and so glorify the Father. Jesus asked the Father to restore to him the full rights and power as Son of God (as described in Philippians 2:5-11).

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIMSELF / 17:1-5 / 219

John 17 contains Jesus’ great intercessory prayer. It is not the prayer of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane but an open conversation with the Father about his followers. This prayer brings to a close Jesus’ discourse in 13:31–16:33. It expresses the deepest desires of Jesus’ heart for his return to the Father and for the destiny of his chosen ones. Jesus asked the Father to grant the believers the same kind of unity that he and the Father enjoyed from eternity —a unity of love.

From Jesus’ prayer in this chapter, we see the world as a tremendous battleground where the forces under Satan’s power war against those under God’s authority. Satan and his forces are motivated by bitter hatred for Christ and his forces. Jesus prayed for his disciples, including those who follow him today, that God would keep his chosen believers safe from Satan’s power, setting them apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through his truth.

As Jesus began to pray, he spoke first of himself. The focus of Jesus’ request, however, was that his Father would be glorified. These few sentences are packed with profound truths: Jesus has authority over all people to give eternal life; the essence of eternal life is knowing the Father; Jesus had been sent to earth to complete his Father’s work; Jesus existed in glory with the Father before creation. As Jesus was about to finish his work on earth, he asked to be glorified and thereby bring glory and honor to the Father.

17:2 “You have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.”NRSV Jesus made his requests to the Father, knowing that from eternity past the Father had given him authority over all people so that he could give eternal life to as many as (literally, “all which”) the Father had given him.

17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”NKJV Jesus here defines eternal life. Eternal life means to know experientially God and his Son, Jesus Christ —having personal knowledge of the eternal God. And the God we know is the only true God, not some man-made religion or some feel-good ideas. We find eternal life only by knowing the one true God. This knowledge is ongoing and personal (see also Matthew 11:27).

KNOWING GOD

How do we know God? Jesus explained knowing God as the essence of having eternal life. Eternal life is a gift we receive when we enter into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ. We cannot know God unless we have eternal life; and at the core of eternal life is intimate knowledge of God.

Eternal life means having the capacity for intimacy with others who have eternal life. Jesus is the source of eternal life. Our first step toward eternal life includes realizing we don’t have it. That sense of separation, rebellion, lostness, or inadequacy before God is defined as “sin” in the Bible. When we admit our sin, turn away from it and then to Christ, Christ’s love lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Eternal life is not just being around forever; for believers it means eternity with God, their loving Father.

17:4 “I have glorified You on the earth.”NKJV In this statement, Jesus affirmed that he had glorified the Father on earth by finishing “the work which You have given Me to do.”NKJV The last phase of Jesus’ revealing work was about to be accomplished through his death on the cross. Jesus spoke of his work as though it had already happened —his obedience to death on the cross was a certainty. Jesus requested again to be returned to glory based on the certainty of his completing the work of the cross.

JESUS’ PREVIOUS GLORY

Before the Son of God became a man, he lived eternally with the Father. In this preincarnate form, he shared the glory of the Father. John 1:18 shows that his preexistence enabled him to fully reveal the Father to people. In John 8:58 (KJV), Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” thereby revealing his eternal existence. All throughout this Gospel, Jesus declares that he has come from heaven (see 3:13). The one who existed from all eternity with the Father laid aside his glory and rights to become a man (Philippians 2:5-11).

17:5 “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.”NRSV Looking beyond the Cross to his resurrection and ascension, Jesus asked the Father to restore the glory he had enjoyed with the Father before the world existed. In saying this, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his relationship with the Father before the beginning of time. Jesus wanted to return to the glory he had with the Father before the world was created (see 1:1, 18). Jesus would enter into that glory as the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus’ return to God was not simply a return to his preincarnate state, since Jesus would have his resurrected body. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension —and Stephen’s dying exclamation (Acts 7:56) —attest that Jesus’ prayer was answered. He returned to his exalted position at the right hand of God.

GET TO WORK

Jesus gave us a remarkable example in his prayer. He asked the Father to glorify him because he was completing the work God had given him to do (see John 4:34). He prayed confidently as the obedient Son. Do our prayers lack confidence because we are not committed to do what God wants? Jesus’ work was to reveal God to his disciples and to enable them to continue that work through others to the present day.

How do we bring glory to God? By completing the work he has given us to do. What is God’s work for us?

• Show mercy, justice, and humility before God (Micah 6:8).
• Pass on the gospel and make disciples to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20).
• Care for those who are needy around us (James 1:27).
• Do good and share with others (Hebrews 13:16).

As we practice obedience in these areas, God will strengthen us.

JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES / 17:6-19 / 220

Jesus could have closed his opening personal remarks to his Father about their relationship by repeating what he said outside Lazarus’s grave: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41-42 NIV). Jesus turned his attention to his followers. He wanted them to hear what he had to say to his Father about them and his desires for their future. The prayer almost takes the form of a progress report on the success of Jesus’ ministry. He reviewed their identity as owned by God. He repeated his own objective to give them the words that came from the Father. He formally turned them over to the Father for safekeeping. He was pointed in stating that his prayer was not for their safe removal from the world, but for their safe conduct within the world. They would need that protection because he was sending them into the world in the same way the Father had sent him into the world.

This prayer is one of several mentioned in the Bible that focused on the disciples. Before choosing the Twelve, Jesus spent the night in prayer (Luke 6:12). During their ministry together (John 6:15; Luke 10:18-22), we assume Jesus’ prayers included his disciples. We know that before the final days, Jesus had been praying specifically for Peter (Luke 22:32). The Scriptures also tell us that part of Jesus’ present activity is to pray for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). Jesus made it clear that although we have direct access to the Father (16:26-27), we are still the objects of his loving concern.

17:6-7 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.”NIV After praying for his own glorification, Jesus turned the direction of his petition to his disciples. These were the men God had selected to give to his Son as his disciples (see 15:19). To these men, Jesus had revealed the Father; in other words, he had expressed the reality of the Father’s person to them (see 1:18). And they had obeyed. Sure, their faith wasn’t perfect, and they would fail their Savior in the coming hours; but their commitment was in the right place, and they would return to this faith and to obedience to God.

17:8 “For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.”NIV The disciples had received Jesus’ words as coming from God; as a result, they had come to believe that Jesus had been sent from the Father (see 16:28-30). Before Jesus instituted God’s plan of salvation by dying on the cross, he introduced it to his disciples. They had to believe the words of Christ to benefit from the work of Christ. Jesus effectively demonstrated that what he said came from God. The disciples were not in a position to accept the saving purpose of Jesus’ death until they had accepted the fact that God had sent him. Once they knew God had sent Jesus, they were ready to learn that God had sent him to die! Jesus was declaring that the disciples were ready for the next lesson, as difficult as it might be.

17:9 “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”NIV We know that God loves the world (3:16), but at this time Jesus was focusing on the disciples, not the world. These disciples were the object of Jesus’ affection and Jesus’ prayer. He was not praying for the world, for the world was hostile and unbelieving. Instead, he was praying for the ones the Father had given him. He prayed that they would be protected (17:11) and sanctified (17:17).

17:10 “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.”NIV Jesus’ words reveal his oneness, closeness, and equality with God the Father. These disciples belonged to both him and the Father, and they were the ones in whom Jesus would be glorified on earth after he had returned to the Father. The disciples’ lives would reveal Jesus’ essential character to those who had not yet believed, so Jesus was present in the world through them.

HOW CAN WE GLORIFY CHRIST?

While you cannot predict exactly how Jesus will receive glory through your life, you can remove any hindrances to his glory.

• Get rid of any immorality. The moral quality of your life must not even tarnish Jesus’ good name. Is Jesus honored by your life?
• Get rid of pride. Focus on Christ so that he receives honor and acclaim rather than you. Does he get the credit?
• Get rid of ambiguity. Your words and actions must clearly show that you are his disciple. Does anyone know you are a Christian?

17:11 “And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me —so that they may be one, as we are one.”NRSV Jesus would leave the world to rejoin the Father; the disciples would stay in the world to carry out God’s plan by spreading the good news of salvation. Such a mission would arouse great hostility from the evil one, so the disciples needed special protection from the evil one. Therefore, Jesus asked that the Holy Father would keep his disciples in his name —the name that the Father had given him, for “the name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10 NIV). Nowhere else in John does Jesus use this term Holy Father in prayer. By adding Holy to his usual, familiar way of addressing the Father, Jesus emphasized the significance of being kept “in your name.” Being able to approach God as “Father” is an acknowledgment of his love, but Holy reminds us that the one to whom we pray is God.

The prayer itself indicates confidence in God’s ability to “keep” his children, while at the same time allowing the disciples to hear Jesus’ desire for how they are to be kept. Jesus’ use of “in your name” could be a reference to the authority and power represented by the divine title (as is conveyed in the NIV, “by the power of your name”), but the context indicates that Jesus was speaking of a relationship between the believers and himself. In other words, Jesus wasn’t saying “Holy Father, use the power connected with your name to keep my disciples”; rather, he was praying, “Holy Father, keep these disciples intimately connected with yourself.”

STILL IN THE WORLD

We, like Jesus’ original disciples, still live in the world. What is “the world”? It is a system of values typified by Satan himself, centered on power, deceit, and self-will. While we’re in the world, Satan wants to neutralize or destroy us. In 1 John 2:16, John explains that “the world” is the cravings of sinful human beings, the lusting of the eyes, and the boasting of what one has and does. As Christ’s disciples today, we are on a collision course with the world’s values. We need God’s protection more than ever because it is so easy for us to emulate the world’s character.

The fact that we are in the world does not grant us license to become of the world. We must not betray Jesus by loving the world. We must recognize and resist the pervasive attractions presented to us through advertising, self-help psychology, public opinion polls, and charismatic public figures. We must be sure that we allow Christ —not the media and the world around us —to define who we are.

Jesus prayed for this connection because it would help the believers be unified with a unity patterned after that of the Father and the Son. They would have a unified desire and purpose to serve and glorify God. Jesus prayed that they would be one, even as the Son and Father are one. Just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in harmony, so should all believers be united. Then they would have the strongest of all possible unions.

17:12 “While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them.”NRSV Jesus’ physical presence had provided the obvious point of unity for the disciples. The more they were “in Christ,” the more they were united and protected. Jesus had carefully protected these disciples as a precious gift given to him from the Father; here he gave an account of the job he had done. All of the disciples had been guarded —“and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.”NRSV The one who had been lost was Judas Iscariot, who by his own volition betrayed Jesus. Thus, Jesus sadly identified Judas as one who had rejected the protection offered. This fulfilled Scripture is Psalm 41:9, “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me” (NRSV). Judas, though never a true follower, indeed had been a bosom friend (he was one of the twelve disciples), who had eaten with Jesus yet had lifted his heel against him by selling him out to the religious leaders. (For more about Judas, see 13:2, 11, 18, 27).

The place of Judas among the disciples and his choice to betray Jesus highlight the balance that we find throughout the Bible between the awesome sovereignty of God and the freedom he allows people to exercise. We would tip the balance toward error if we would say that Jesus intentionally withheld his protection of Judas to expose him to the temptation of Satan so that the betrayal could happen. We would also be in error if we would say that the temptation of Satan was stronger than Jesus’ ability to protect Judas. Judas was not a puppet on a string. Judas shared the protection offered by the presence of Jesus all during their time together. Judas made his decision to betray Jesus, and by so doing he removed himself from Christ’s protection. He passed the point of no return and thereby fulfilled the scriptural prediction.

The extent of God’s protection over us every single day is beyond our comprehension. His sovereignty is complete, including his choice to allow us to actually be able to effectively reject him. God could have created persons whose choices didn’t really matter. Instead, because of his love for us, he created us with enough freedom to live in relationship with him.

17:13 “But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.”NRSV Jesus had told his disciples all about his coming death —hardly a joyful topic. But after these events would take place —especially after the Resurrection —the disciples would be filled with joy, for they would then understand that Jesus had conquered death and Satan and had brought eternal life to all who believe in him.

Joy is a common theme in Christ’s teachings —he wants us to be joyful (see 15:11; 16:24, 33). The key to immeasurable joy is living in intimate contact with Christ, the source of all joy. When we do, we will experience God’s special care and protection and see the victory God brings, even when defeat seems certain.

17:14 “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.”NIV The world hates Christians because Christians’ values differ from the world’s, and because Christians expose the world’s values for what they are —absolutely worthless. Because Christ’s followers don’t cooperate with the world by joining in their sin, they are living accusations against the world’s immorality. The world follows Satan’s agenda, and Satan is the avowed enemy of Jesus and his people (see 15:18; 16:2).

17:15 “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.”NRSV Jesus did not pray that the disciples would be removed from the hatred and persecution to come, rather that they would be protected through the difficult circumstances from falling prey to the devil. The only way believers can be witnesses to the world is to be witnessing for Christ in the world. We must carry our message, trusting God for his protection.

17:16 “They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.”NRSV Jesus was not a part of the world’s system, headed by Satan (indeed, he had been tempted to that end and had refused —see Matthew 4:1-11). Neither are believers a part of the world; instead they belong to “the kingdom of the Son” (Colossians 1:13 NIV) because they have been born again (3:3).

17:17 “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”NKJV Three distinct views have emerged to explain what Jesus meant by “Sanctify them by Your truth”: (1) The truth found in God’s Word accomplishes our sanctification. (2) The central truth of God’s saving love sets into motion God’s sanctifying work in us. (3) The process of passing on (preaching, teaching) God’s truth would have a sanctifying effect in the disciples’ lives. These views are actually complementary, describing different aspects of sanctification: the second view highlights the initial pouring of God’s grace into our lives through the truth of the gospel; the first view summarizes the ongoing effects of the applied truths from God’s Word; and the third view emphasizes that progress in sanctification will be seen in our desire and practice of communicating the gospel. God’s Word, then, works as a divine cleansing agent that God uses to bring about our sanctification.

A BRAND-NEW GAME

Imagine a young boy’s experience as a baseball fanatic. He plays the game, collects the cards, memorizes statistics, and idolizes the players. In fact, all the boys in his neighborhood follow his leadership. But then a new boy moves next door and introduces a new game none of them have ever played. His personality draws the other boys to him. Soon, along with the new game, there is also a new leader, with new rules and new loyalties. The former leader feels alienated, angry, and confused. He regards the new game as an intrusion and the new leader as an enemy. He is torn between his desire for friendship and his fear of betraying “his” game. He wants to be loyal to the old game.

The world sees our allegiance to Jesus Christ in the same way. Christ threatens to shatter the neighborhood structure. His rules are different. His words are attractive. But loyalty to Christ means disloyalty to the world. We can understand the world’s confusion, but we should never forget that we were also part of that life. But precisely because we have been there, we need to build bridges and find common ground with unbelievers so they can see the difference Christ makes in our lives. But we must never return to the old game.

17:18 “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”NRSV Jesus came into the world on a mission for the Father; so he sent these disciples into the world on a mission by the Son. That mission was to make God known. This is an important and exciting theme in John’s Gospel. The Father sent the Son into the world, the Father and the Son send the Spirit to the disciples, and the disciples are sent by the Father and Son into the world.

SET APART

A follower of Christ becomes sanctified (set apart for sacred use, cleansed and made holy) through believing and obeying the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). He or she has already accepted forgiveness through Christ’s sacrificial death (Hebrews 7:26-27). But daily application of God’s Word has a purifying effect on our minds and hearts. Scripture points out sin, motivates us to confess, renews our relationship with Christ, and guides us back to the right path.

It is up to us to carry on Jesus’ mission —to make God known to others. Because Jesus sends us into the world, we should not try to escape from the world, nor should we avoid all relationships with non-Christians. We are called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), and we are to do the work that God has sent us to do.

17:19 “For them I sanctify myself.”NIV Jesus set himself apart to do the Father’s will like a priest consecrating himself to make the sacrifice. His final act of dedication was his offering himself on the cross (see Hebrews 10:10). The purpose of that death was so that the disciples (and all believers) would “be truly sanctified.”NIV Jesus died to set us apart for him.

JESUS PRAYS FOR FUTURE BELIEVERS / 17:20-26 / 221

Jesus concluded his prayer by including us. His words, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (17:20), can bring real comfort during times of discouragement. We can easily replace “those” with our own names and realize that Jesus had us in mind as he prepared for the cross.

The pattern of Jesus’ prayer provides a helpful outline for us. He prayed for himself, for those close to him, and for those beyond his immediate sphere who would be affected by the ministry of his friends.

The purpose of Jesus’ prayer should be our purpose in praying. He asked for unity. He desired to see a deep connection between those who were connected to him. The unity of which he spoke was clearly a reference to his earlier command to “love one another” (13:34) In Jesus’ words, both unity and love have the same purpose: “to let the world know” (17:23) or so that “all men will know” (13:35). In a world where unity means to broaden the labels or enlarge the structure, Jesus commands us to be united in him. Passionate commitment to Jesus Christ leads a believer to discover fellow believers in the most unusual places. The unity that the world seeks to impose, whether it is sociological, governmental, legal, or religious, will actually bring discord. The unity that Christ offers brings peace within and between persons. “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” (16:33 NRSV).

17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.”NIV After praying for his disciples, Jesus prayed for all those who would believe in him through their message. In a sense, everyone who has become a Christian has done so through the apostles’ message because they wrote the New Testament and were the founders of the Christian church. So Jesus was praying for all the believers who would ever exist. He was praying for you and others you know. And he was praying for those he wants us to reach! Knowing that Jesus prayed for us should give us confidence as we work for his kingdom.

17:21 There are three requests in verse 21, each beginning with the word that: (1) “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You”; (2) “that they also may be one in Us”; (3) “that the world may believe that You sent Me.”NKJV All the requests hinge on one another. In the first request, the Lord asked for unity —that all the believers would be one. This all-encompassing petition includes all the believers throughout time. This oneness does not readily fit the idea of one unified church structure. Rather, this unity becomes most visible through love, obedience, and commitment to the Father’s will.

BECOMING ONE

Jesus’ great desire for his disciples was that they would become one. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God’s love. Unity between believers is not often mentioned as the catalyst for someone becoming a Christian. However, Christian unity does provide an environment for the gospel message to make its clearest impact, and lack of unity among Christians frequently drives people away. Are you helping to unify the body of Christ, the church? You can pray for other Christians, avoid gossip, build others up, work together in humility, give your time and money, exalt Christ, and refuse to get sidetracked by arguing over divisive matters.

In the second request, Jesus prayed for a unity among the believers that is based on the believers’ unity with him and the Father. Christians can be unified if they live in union with God. For example, each branch living in union with the Vine is united with all other branches (see 15:1-17); or each part of the body is united with the other parts so that when one hurts, they all hurt, and when one rejoices, they all rejoice (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

This union with the Father and Son would result in people all over the world believing that Jesus had been sent by God as the world’s Savior —and not only believing, but receiving this Savior as their own. This is the third request.

17:22-23 Jesus further explained this oneness in terms of mutual indwelling: “The glory that you have given me I have given them.”NRSV Jesus was still referring to all his followers, not just the immediate disciples. The phrase is a promise. Jesus gave all true believers his glory by completing his mission of revealing God (17:4-6). Jesus’ work was not only to speak and model the character of God. His ultimate purpose was to present both the splendor and character of God (God’s glory) in such a way that God would become personally real to the disciples. They, in turn, were to pass on what they had received to others who would also believe. Those who, in fact, received the glory would become unified by their shared relationship with Christ.

“That they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”NIV Complete and perfect unity between God and believers results in worldwide belief. When we demonstrate this oneness, we will convince the world that the Father sent the Son, and that the Father loves believers deeply and eternally, just as he loves the Son.

17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”NIV Jesus wants all believers (the eleven disciples and all others) to be with him where he is so they can see his glory. What wonderful assurance Jesus’ prayer gives us to know that the Lord of heaven wants us to be with him. This request impacts our present experience and future hope. In the present, we unite with Christ in God the Father (see 14:6; Colossians 3:3). In the future, we will be with Christ in eternal glory and enjoy with him the love he experienced with the Father forever.

VISIBLE UNITY

Christian unity begins in the heart of individual believers. Are we willing to be unified with others who may be completely different from us other than the fact that we both follow Jesus Christ?

Unity in Christ grows as local church groups practice Christ’s teachings. This unity can expand as groups of local churches discover they can practice larger efforts in obedience to Christ. Because Satan’s power is directly challenged by these examples of unity, we can expect resistance. We can also expect simple resistance from people who confuse human loyalties and traditions with the command to obey Jesus. To achieve Christian unity, we need Christ’s help and the Holy Spirit’s restraining power.

To promote unity in Christ, take these steps:

• Focus on the nature, attributes, splendor, and holiness of God. Filling our minds with God will keep us from being occupied with ourselves.
• Keep mind, heart, and ears open while keeping the mouth closed longer. Realize that not all believers use the same terms, nor speak the same “language.” Impulsive conclusions can prevent us from getting along with those who share allegiance to Jesus Christ.
• Steer clear of persons who closely measure everyone else by their standards. We may be the next to be “dissected” and judged.
• Remember that Jesus died for persons, not principles or a system.
• Stay out of endless arguments over various denominational methods and church traditions. Satan uses these to distract the church from obeying its commission. Better to fail as we obey than to neither fail nor obey!

OUR RESOURCES IN CHRIST

John 17 contains a storehouse of resources God makes available to us as disciples of Jesus. What more could we ask for? What else could we need?

• Jesus give us eternal life (17:2).
• Jesus prays for us (17:9, 20).
• The Holy Father protects us (17:11).
• Jesus gives us the words of God (17:8, 14).
• Jesus sets us apart for special service (17:17-18).
• We are unified with God and Christ (17:21, 23).
• We have God’s love (17:23-24, 26).
• Christ is in us (17:23).
• Jesus reveals God to us (17:26).

Because we have these wonderful resources, we can persevere in our faith.

17:25-26

Jesus addressed his Father as “Righteous Father” because God’s righteous judgment reveals that the world’s knowledge of God is incorrect and that the disciples’ knowledge is correct. Just as Jesus had chosen the name “Holy Father” (17:11) to present his request for protection of the disciples, so here Jesus added righteous as a highlight to the gulf that exists between the world and God. Jesus knew he was the living connection between the lost world and his loving, righteous Father.

“Though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.”NIV The world failed to recognize that Jesus was God’s communication to them. The disciples did recognize this, for they had come to believe that Jesus was the one sent from God. Jesus, who knew the Father personally and intimately, had revealed the Father to his disciples and would continue to do so. Thus, Jesus could say, “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known.”NIV Finally, Jesus asked the Father to love the disciples with the same love he (the Father) had for his Son.

“In order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”NIV Jesus asked that the Father’s love would be in believers and that he himself (Jesus) would be in them. This expresses the heart of the Father’s desire, which is to have his Son in his people: “I . . . in them.” And because it is the Father’s desire, he will make sure it is accomplished. How do you understand your relationship with God the Father. Is his love in you?

FAULTY KNOWLEDGE

The world does not know Jesus truly, for its information comes from biased sources. Consider where most people get what they know about Jesus:

1. Television/cinema —These media constantly portray God, Christians, evangelists, and the Bible in connection with perversion, mental illness, child abuse, and dishonesty. Religious characters are stereotyped as deranged or weak and often are objects of destructive humor.
2. History —Accounts are written blaming Christians for most of the evils in the world. They highlight serious failures of Christians (the Crusades, the Inquisition, genocidal acts) so as to imply that God and the Bible prompted these injustices. Many of these acts were done in ignorance or blatant disobedience to God’s revealed commands. Often injustices were done as by-products of political moves by people who used the Bible to justify their sinful desires.
3. Religious training —Some people were forced to adopt a church’s or religious school’s “view” of God without opportunity for questions or real understanding. Required religious instruction can cause students to rebel. They not only resist the system but dismiss what may well be the truth. Wrong views taught by well-meaning teachers, or even right truths conveyed to children in an unloving manner can devastate a person’s adult understanding of God. Those who “haven’t paid much attention to God since Sunday school (or confirmation)” should be challenged to think again.
4. Philosophy —In philosophy, God is reduced to a concept for purposes of discussion and understanding. Unfortunately, many attempt to keep him in that state. As long as God is nothing more than a concept, people will invent any number of creative ways of “seeing” him. When we allow God’s revelation, the Bible, to guide our thinking about God, many of the philosophies of the world will be shown to be in serious error about God.

Believers need to be aware of the mistakes and biases against Christianity that they will face in the world. One of our bridge-building efforts with nonbelievers will be to guide them in questioning their sources of knowledge about God.