John 17:1-26

Jesus’ glory. Knowing God. Jesus’ work. Belonging to God. None was lost. Sanctified by the Word.

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JOHN 17:1-26

JESUS’ GLORY

¹ When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you - ² just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. (John 17:1-2)

Although “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands,” (Psalms 19:1), the glory manifested through creation is dwarfed by the glory yet to come. It won’t be a visual spectacle like the creation of galaxies and stars, but it will be deeply felt in the hearts of lost sinners yearning for God’s grace and mercy.

Who could have fathomed that God would be glorified as Jesus willingly heads to the cross to redeem sinful humanity?

KNOWING GOD

³ Now this is eternal life - that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. (John 17:3)

The rich young ruler in Matthew 19, Nicodemus in John 3, the lawyer in Luke 10, and the crowd in Capernaum after witnessing the miracle of feeding thousands in John 6, all approached Jesus with the same fundamental question: how can they obtain eternal life? Jesus responds to their inquiries in an unexpected manner: by emphasizing the importance of knowing God.

In John 14, Jesus offers insight into how to develop this knowledge of God the Father, emphasizing that knowing Him equates to knowing God the Father.

If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:7)

So, what is the path to understanding Jesus better? Some might suggest that getting to know Jesus involves reading the Bible. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that many individuals read the Bible without truly grasping His presence within it.

³⁹You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. … ⁴⁵ “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. ⁴⁶ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:39-40,45-47)

Moses symbolizes the law, and according to the teachings in Galatians, the purpose of the law is to guide us to Christ and ends its involvement there.

²⁴Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. ²6 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. (Galatians 3:24-26)

If you remain under the guidance of the law, you will not come to know Christ, and consequently, you will not come to know God either.

JESUS’ WORK

⁴ I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. (John 17:4)

Jesus brought glory to his Father by fulfilling the task assigned to him, which was to offer himself on the cross for the sins of humanity. This might prompt you to wonder what kind of work you can do to bring glory to God, similar to what Jesus did. Jesus provides the answer in the following verses:

When people asked him, “What must we do to perform the works God requires?” Jesus responded, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

The mission of Jesus is to make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the sins of humanity. Your role is to place your faith in the redemptive work He has accomplished.

BELONGING TO GOD

⁶ “I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you, ⁸ because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. (John 17:6-8)

While someone might be fortunate enough to have a strong and positive relationship with their earthly father, this doesn’t automatically guarantee a close or trusting connection with our heavenly Father. Therefore, many of us tend to approach God the Father through an intermediary, and in this case, that intermediary is Jesus.

The passage mentioned above carries a profound revelation for me: “They belonged to you.” This realization deeply moved me, as it signifies a wonderful truth. While Jesus served as my mediator before I placed my trust in God through him, I now understand that I belonged to the Father even before I knew Him.

This understanding sheds light on the fact that “everything [God] has given [Christ] originates from [God Himself].” This includes my very existence and identity.

NONE WAS LOST

¹² When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. … ¹⁵ I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one. (John 17:12,15)

Even though they all lost their lives as followers of Christ, none of them lost their faith and hope in Him.

SANCTIFIED BY THE WORD

¹⁷ Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)

The term “set apart” is occasionally translated as “sanctified,” which might lead to the interpretation of being made holy. When viewed in this way, it could be misconstrued as believers actively sanctifying themselves.

As indicated in the mentioned verse, believers are indeed set apart or sanctified by the truth found in God’s Word. It’s important to emphasize that this sanctification occurs through faith in Christ and not through any observance of the law or self-driven efforts.

One of the truths in God’s Word states, “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). This truth doesn’t distinguish you for salvation; it simply informs the whole world that they need a Savior.

Another truth says, “For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law” (Romans 3:20). Neither does this truth set you apart, but it does inform you of what doesn’t work: the law.

The truth overwhelmingly declared throughout Scripture is well represented by John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

You are set apart because you “believe in him.”

This is the deed God requires - to believe in the one whom he sent. (John 6:29)

(Next study: John 18:1-40)

Nghi Nguyen

- Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.