Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the Gospel of John, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, fall 2009 through late spring 2010, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy, health care and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded, there are floods in India, earthquake and tsunami in Samoa. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Seek His wisdom. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked…Stacey
Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 17 of the book of John. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations…
17:2,6,9,24 – “those You have given Me” – If you’ve come to faith in Christ, this is no accident. God gave you to Jesus!
17:1 – Jesus prayed that God would be glorified and that He would glorify the Father.
17:2 – Jesus acknowledged the authority that God gave to Him. What authority did Christ have?
17:3 – eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ. Does this change your view on eternal life? In what way?
17:4 – Jesus says that He has glorified the Father by completing the work He gave Him to do. How can this be? According to the previous verses in this chapter, God gave Jesus the authority to make the Father and Himself known to those the Father gave Him. Jesus most definitely completed that task. So, where does the cross fit into all of this? Isn’t the cross part of the work God gave Jesus? If it is, how can Jesus say that the work the Father gave Him is already complete?
17:5 – Jesus asks the Father to glorify Him in the Father’s presence with the glory They shared before the world began. What does this mean?
17:6 – Jesus declares that He gave the gift of eternal life to those the Father gave Jesus out of the world. Christ revealed the Father and Himself to the disciples.
17:7 – The disciples know that everything Jesus has came from the Father because Jesus told them so. Do you glorify God in this way? Do you credit Him with your talents and gifts and abilities? What about your resources and opportunities?
17:8 – The disciples received and accepted the words that the Father gave to Christ. They believed that Christ came from the Father.
17:9 – Jesus specifies that He is praying for those the Father gave Him, not the world. Since this is the portion of the prayer dedicated to the disciples, I believe that Jesus is specifying that this prayer is not for Judas and other disciples who have walked away from Him. I also believe that this includes disciples other than just the twelve who were closest to Him – like Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
This implies that there will be some people who will not believe in Him.
17:10 – How has Jesus received glory through “them”? Who is “them”? Does “them” refer to what Jesus has that belongs to the Father and vice versa?
17:13 – How does Christ saying these things while He is still in the world give the disciples a full measure of Jesus’ joy? He was praying this right in front of them. How would hearing Jesus pray for you like this give you a full measure of His joy?
17:14 – Jesus states that He has given the disciples the Father’s word. He also states that the world has hated them because they don’t belong to the world.
17:17 – sanctify – hagiazo – set apart for sacred use, make holy. (The Student Bible)
How are we sanctified by the truth?
17:18 – Jesus sent the disciples into the world as the Father sent Jesus into the world. What do you think this means according to the rest of this chapter? (Take a look at verse 20 if you need to.)
17:19 – sanctify – hagiazo – set apart for sacred use, make holy. (The Student Bible)
What did Jesus mean by “sanctify Himself”?
17:20-26 – Jesus’ prayer for me!
17:20 – Jesus prays for those who will believe because of the disciples’ teaching. Watch for what He has prayed for us. Are you living it?
17:21 – He prays for our unity with other believers and with the Father and Christ. This apparently testifies to the world that the Father sent Jesus.
17:22-23 – How can giving us the glory that the Father gave to Jesus unify us? With Jesus in us and the Father in Jesus, we are unified. And this unity will let the world know that the Father sent Jesus and loves them as He loved Jesus.
17:24 – Jesus wants us to be with Him. He wants us to see His glory. Can we see His glory now? Or must we wait until we are with Him?
17:25 – The world doesn’t know the Father. But Jesus does and they know that the Father sent Jesus. Who is “they”? Us? Certainly not the world. Right?
17:26 – How has Jesus made the Father known to you?
• The book of John is called the “Love Gospel”. How have you seen God’s love at work in this chapter of scripture and how will you apply it to your life this week?
• What attributes of God do you see in this book?
• What verse of scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
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