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17:1 ff. Of the Prayer of Jesus which is now recorded, it would be too much to suppose that we have the exact words, or even an exact translation of the Aramaic words which He used. We have not here a shorthand report, taken down at the time, but rather the substance of sacred intercessions preserved for half a century in the memory of a disciple. On the other hand, the occasion must have been felt by all who were present to be specially momentous, and the words used of extraordinary significance. They would be remembered when other things were forgotten, as the Last Prayer of Jesus, said in the hearing of His disciples, when the Last Discourse was ended, before He went to meet the Cross. The topics upon which He dwelt—His coming glorification, His committal of His chosen friends to the compassionate protection of the Father while they were in the world with its trials, His intercession for those other disciples who were to receive the Gospel through the ministry of the Eleven, His prayer that the mutual love of Christian for Christian might at last convince the hostile world of the truth of His claims—these things could never pass from the memory of one who heard Him speak of them at the last. Phrase after phrase is repeated, and more than once, as is characteristic of the style of Jn.; but Jn. is drawing all the while upon the tenacious memory of an old man recalling the greatest days of his life. This, at any rate, seems more probable than the hypothesis that the Prayer is a free composition of the evangelist himself. To take such a view would be to ascribe the deepest thoughts in the Fourth Gospel to the disciple rather than to the Master. As Harnack says, the confidence with which Jn. makes Jesus address the Father. “Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (v. 24), “is undoubtedly the direct reflection of the certainty with which Jesus Himself spoke.”1
No other long prayer of Jesus is recorded. His habit of prayer at crises or great moments is often mentioned (Mar_1:35, Mar_6:46, Luk_3:21, Luk_3:5:16, Luk_3:6:12, Luk_3:9:18, Luk_3:28, Luk_3:11:1), but these prayers were usually (as it seems) offered in private, and were overheard by none. Something, however, of His methods of prayer may be gathered from the Synoptists. Two, at any rate, of His ejaculations from the Cross were verses of the Psalms (Psa_22:1, Psa_31:5), hallowed by long and venerable use. That they should come to His lips in the agony of death, shows that they were familiarly used by Him in life. Again, it was His habit to begin with the word “Father” (cf. Luk_22:42, Luk_22:23:34, Luk_22:46, Mat_11:25, and Joh_11:41, Joh_12:27), as this great Prayer begins (17:1). He prayed, at the end at least, for His own needs, when distressed in spirit (Luk_22:43, Joh_12:27), and the prayer of c. 17 begins with intercession for Himself. He prayed for His disciples (Luk_22:32), and He is represented as doing so in 17:9-19. The solemn note of thanksgiving at the beginning of His Prayer of Consecration (17:1, 2) has a parallel at Joh_11:41, and also in Mat_11:25f., a passage which recalls the manner of Joh_17:1-3 more than any other passage in the Gospels: “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes; yea, Father, for so it was well pleasing in Thy sight. All things have been delivered unto me of my Father, etc.”
It has been pointed out1 that several of the thoughts underlying the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus prescribed for the use of His disciples, appear also in the great Prayer of Intercession in c. 17. With the opening address, “Our Father,” cf. 17:1, 5, 11, 21, 24, 25 where “Father” is used in the special and personal sense in which Jesus was accustomed to use it. “Hallowed be Thy Name” is recalled, vv. 6, 11, 12, 26. Perhaps “Thy kingdom come” is the form in which we may express something of what Christ expressed when He said “Glorify Thy Son” (vv. 1, 5). “As in heaven, so in earth,” has echoes in vv. 4, 5 With “lead us not into temptation” cf. “I kept them …I guarded them” (v. 12). And “deliver us from evil” is almost verbally reproduced (v. 15).
None of these coincidences or parallels is likely to have been invented by one setting himself to compose a prayer for the lips of Christ on the eve of His Passion; but, when taken together, they show that the spirit which breathes throughout c. 17 is similar to that with which we have been made familiar when reading Jesus’ words as recorded by the Synoptists and elsewhere in Jn.
The prayer of c. 17 falls naturally into three divisions. First, Jesus prays for Himself (vv. 1-8); then, for the eleven apostles, His intimate friends (vv. 9-19); and lastly, for the disciples of future generations, who were to be evangelised through the ministry begun by the apostles (vv. 20-26). That is, the prayer begins with what is immediate, intimate, and urgent, and only gradually passes into intercession for that which is distant and of universal import.
The Prayer of Jesus for Himself, and His Thanksgiving (17:1-8)
17:1. τῦαἐάηε Ἰσῦ, “these things said Jesus,” viz. the discourse ending 14:31. The rec. has ὁbefore Ἰς but אΘom. See on 1:29.
κὶἐάα τὺ ὀθλοςκλ See on 11:41. The rec. text has ἐῆε…κὶεπ with AC3NΓ; but ἐάα …επνis found in אΘ
πτρ For this beginning of the prayers of Jesus, see on 11:41; πτρis repeated, vv. 5, 11, 21, 24, 25.
ἐήυε ἡὥα sc. the hour of His “glorification,” as He had already told them (13:31, 32 and 12:23), had come. The same prescience is ascribed to Him at Gethsemane in Mar_14:41. The idea that the whole course of His Ministry and Passion was predetermined runs through the Gospel, e.g. 7:30, 8:20, 13:1; see on 2:4.
δξσνσυτνυό. Here is the only personal intercession throughout this Prayer of Consecration. He cared nothing for the “glory” which men can bestow (cf. 8:50, ἐὼο ζτ τνδξνμυ but He prays that the Father may “glorify” Him in His impending Passion (cf. 12:16, 23, 13:31, 32, and see on 7:39 for this use of δξζ). This goes deeper than a prayer for support in the hour of death. A martyr might pray for such signal measures of grace to be bestowed in the day of trial, that all who perceived his courage and faith might recognise that he was honoured of God. The “glorification” of Jesus included this. The centurion, standing by the Cross, was constrained to say, as he watched the bearing of the Crucified, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mar_15:39, Mat_27:54; cf. Luk_23:47). But there was more than this. The “glorification” of Jesus in the Passion was the Divine acceptance of His Sacrifice by the Father, the sealing of His Mission as complete. Cf. Php_2:9, “Wherefore God highly exalted Him (ὑεύωε) and gave Him the Name that is above every name.”
ἵαὁυὸ δξσ σ. The redemption of mankind through the Crucified is a glorification of the Father. The final cause of the Passion, viewed sub specie æ is “ad majorem dei gloriam,” as was every incident in the ministry of Jesus. See on 11:4 and cf. 1Pe_4:11.
2. The constr. ἵα…κθς…ἵα which we have here, appears also 13:34, 17:21, in each case the clause introduced by κθςbeing parenthetical, and the second ἵαbeing reiterative, the clause following it being identical in meaning with that introduced by the first ἵα Consequently ἵαπνὃδδκςατ κλ in this verse is only another way of saying ἵαὁυὸ δξσ σ of v. 1.
κθςἔωα ατ ἐοσα κλ To the Son, the Father gave authority to determine the final destinies of mankind (see on 5:27). His ἐοσαis over “all flesh” (although not fully acknowledged by the world), πσ σρ being the rendering of the phrase בָ־ּשָ, very common in the O.T., representing all humanity in its weakness (see Hort on 1Pe_1:24), but infrequent in the N.T. except in quotations (cf. Mat_24:22, Rom_3:20, 1Co_1:29, Gal_2:16).
ἵαπνὃδδκςατ κλ The meaning is “that He may give eternal life to all whom thou hast given to Him” (see on 6:37), the latter clause limiting the πσ σρ which has preceded. This consummation of His redemptive work is the “glorification” of the Father by the Son.
πνὃδδκςατ. The constr. with a nom.-pendens is like πνὃδδκνμιof 6:39, where see the note on the collective use of the neuter singular, which perhaps is here a forecast of ἵα…ἓ ὦι of v. 21. πνὃδδκςατ is the Universal Church (cf. v. 24).
There are many variants for δσ (א Westcott adopts δσι(with BNΓΘ but ἵαwith the future is infrequent in Jn. א has δσ, and D avoids all difficulty of construction by reading ἔῃ and omitting ατῖ. See Abbott (Diat. 2422, 2690, 2740).
ἵα…δσ ατῖ ζὴ αώιν Cf. 10:28, 1Jn_2:25, Rom_6:23, and see on 6:39, 40; and for the conception of ζὴαωίς see on 4:14.
ατῖ refers to all who are included in πνὃδδκςατ, with disregard of formal grammar. As Blass notes (Gram. p. 166), this is a usage with classical precedent.
3. This verse seems to be an explanatory comment on the phrase “eternal life,” which the evangelist says that Jesus used in His prayer. Jn. often supplies such comments (see Introd., p. cxvi), and this is quite in his manner. To suppose that he means to represent Jesus as introducing a definition of “eternal life” into His prayer, and as calling Himself “Jesus Christ” when speaking to His Father, is not a probable hypothesis. Further, the sequence of thought from v. 2 to v. 4 is direct, and the interposition of a parenthesis in a prayer is unlikely.
ατ δ ἐτν…ἵα…For this Johannine construction, cf. 1Jn_3:11, 1Jn_5:3 (also 15:12).
אΘhave γνσωι, but ADLNWΔread γνσοσν
For the possibility of “knowing” the Father, see on 14:7: the present tense (γνσωι) marking that continual growth in the knowledge of God which is a characteristic of spiritual life, as physical growth is a characteristic of bodily life. The prophet’s ideal was, “We will follow on to know the Lord,” δώοε τῦγῶα τνκρο (Hos_6:3). Cf. Jer_9:24.
τνμννἀηιὸ θό. For μνςas applied to God, see on 5:44 above. He is described as ἀηιό, Exo_34:6, Num_14:18, Num_14:1 Esd. 8:39, Psa_86:15, 1Th_1:9, Rev_6:10; and cf. especially 1Jn_5:20, οτςἐτνὁἀηιὸ θὸ κὶζὴαώις For ἀηιό, see on 1:9. The adjectives μνςand ἀηιό express the central truth of Monotheism.
Wetstein quotes a verbal parallel from Athenæ (vi. p. 523c): describing the flattery of the Athenians in their reception of Demetrius, he says, ἐᾴοτς ὡ εημνςθι ἀηνς This shows how natural is the combination of μνςand ἀηιό. Cf. Philo, Leg. All. ii. 17, μ τνἀηῆμννθό.
That to know God is, itself, eternal life, is a doctrine which has its roots in Jewish sapiential literature. Wisdom “is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her” (Pro_3:18). Again, πρσεαγώεςτςσφα ζοοήε τνπρ ατς(Ecc_7:12). An even nearer parallel to Jn.’s definition of eternal life is: εδνισυτ κάο ῥζ ἀααίς(Wisd. 15:3).
Alford appositely cites the words of Irenæ ἡδ ὕαξςτςζῆ ἐ τςτῦθο πργντιμτχς μτχ δ θο ἐτ τ γνσενθό, κὶἀοαεντςχητττςατῦ(Hæ iv. 20. 5). A little lower down (§5, where the Greek is deficient) Irenæ combines with wonderful insight the two thoughts that the giving of eternal life by the Son is a glorification of the Father (v. 2), and that eternal life is the knowledge of God (v. 3), although he does not cite the present passage. “Gloria enim dei uiuens homo; uita autem hominis uisio dei.” It would not be easy to express these profound thoughts more succinctly.
The writer of the last paragraphs of the Epistle to Diognetus (whom Lightfoot identifies with Pantæ commenting on the presence in Paradise of both the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life, says: οδ γρζὴἄε γώες οδ γῶι ἀφλςἄε ζῆ ἀηος(§12. 4).
κὶὃ ἀέτια Ἰ. χ. To “know” Jesus Christ is eternal life; cf. 6:68. Jn. treats this knowledge as on a par with the knowledge of “the only true God.” So the apostles were bidden to “believe” not only in God, but in Christ (14:1).
For the thought of Jesus as “sent” by God (cf. vv. 8, 18, 21, 23, 25), see on 3:17 above.
The only other place in the Fourth Gospel where the historical name “Jesus Christ” occurs Isa_1:17 (see note, in loc.)
4. ἐώσ ἐόααἐὶτςγς This is in direct sequence with v. 2 (v. 3 being parenthetical). He had spoken of the “glorification” of the Father by Him, which was to be consummated in the gift of eternal life through His ministry to those whom the Father had given Him. This “glorification” had been His aim throughout His earthly sojourn. “I glorified Thee on earth” (the aorist ἐόααbeing the aorist of historical retrospect) by making known as never before the nature of God.
τ ἔγντλισςὃδδκςμιἵαπισ. This had been His purpose throughout (see on 4:34), from the day when He asked οκᾔετ ὅιἐ τῖ τῦπτό μυδῖενίμ; (Luk_2:49). His “works” had been “given” Him by the Father to accomplish (3:35, 5:36). They had now been accomplished, and presently He would say ττλσα (19:30).
For τλισς(א the rec. (with Θ has ἐεεωα and for δδκς(אΘ CDW have ἔωα. The variants δδκ, ἔωαfrequently occur (cf. vv. 6, 8, 24, etc.) in similar contexts throughout the Gospel. Abbott (Diat. 2454) holds that “the aorist usually describes gifts regarded as given by the Father to the Son on His coming into the world to proclaim the Gospel; the perfect describes gifts regarded as having been given to the Son and as now belonging to Him.” But we cannot always press this distinction.
5. κὶνν “and now,” that this earthly ministry is ended (cf. 14:29 for κὶνν
δξσνμ. There is emphasis on νν The glorification prayed for here transcends the glorification in the Passion prayed for in v. 1. Here the thought is of a heavenly glorification already predicted, 13:32, ὁθὸ δξσιατνἐ ατ. For Jesus asks now, with lofty assurance (σ, πτρ that the eternal glory which was His before the Incarnation (cf. 1:1) may be resumed in fellowship with the Father (πρ σατ …πρ σί Cf. Pro_8:30, Joh_6:62, and Rev_3:21. The glory of the Eternal Word is distinguishable from the glory of the Incarnate Word (see on 1:14); the spheres of life are different, ἐὶτςγς(v. 4) implying the Incarnate Life, but πρ σατ implying life in the bosom of the Godhead.
As He had said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (8:58), so here He expresses His sure conviction that He was in eternal relation with God. τ δξ ᾗεχν…πρ σίindicates a real, and not only an ideal, pre-existence.
πὸτῦτνκσο ενι See 1:1, v. 24, and cf. Pro_8:23. For κσο, see on 1:9.
6. ἐαέωάσυτ ὄοα This means the same thing as ἐώσ ἐόααἐὶτςγςof v. 4, and as ἐνρσ τ ὄοάσυof v. 26, although different phrases are used to bring out the full meaning. For the “Name” of God as indicating His true nature, see on 12:28 and especially on v. 11 below.
For the verb φνρῦ, see on 1:31.
One of the Messianic Psalms has the aspiration, δηήοα τ ὄοάσυτῖ ἀεφῖ μυ(Psa_22:22), and in the apostolic age the words were interpreted of Christ (Heb_2:12). As He looks back on His ministry, He can say that this has been accomplished: ἐαέωάσυτ ὄοα Although the disciples had not appreciated all of His teaching, they had learnt, through Him, something more of the nature of God than any Jew had learnt before.
τῖ ἀθώοςοςἔωά μιἐ τῦκσο. See on 6:37 for the thought of disciples being “given” to the Son by the Father, which recurs throughout the Priestly Prayer of Jesus (vv. 2, 9, 12, 24).
σὶἦα, “they were thine,” and σίεσν “they are thine” (v. 9). This means more than that they were “Israelites indeed” (1:47); it is rather that they were among the men ἐ τῦθο of whom He spoke before (8:47).
κὶτνλγνσυττρκν This was some of the fruit of His ministry; the chosen disciples (except Judas) had “kept” the Divine word revealed to them through Jesus. Cf. 8:51, 14:23 for the phrase τνλγντρῖ, and see on 5:38.
ἔωα (אΘ is the true reading in this verse, in both places where it occurs, as against the rec. δδκς The reference is to the definite “gift” of the faithful disciples chosen ἐ τῦκσο. See on v. 4 above.
There is a passage in the Odes of Solomon (xxxi. 4, 5) which recalls the thought of this verse: “He offered to Him the sons that were in His hands. And His face was justified, for thus His holy Father had given to Him.” Cf. also v. 11.
7. ννἔνκνκλ The disciples had said (16:30) ννοδμνὄιοδςπνακλ but their confidence was not so deep-rooted as they had supposed. Yet they had come to recognise (ἔνκνexpressing the gradual growth of their spiritual insight) that His words were divine (v. 8), or (as it is expressed in this verse) that “all things which Thou hast given me are from Thee” (see on 3:35).
Godet calls attention to the apparent scantiness of the spiritual harvest for which Jesus gives thanks in these verses. “Eleven Galilæ peasants after three years’ labour ! But it is enough for Jesus, for in these eleven He beholds the pledge of the continuance of God’s work upon earth.”
For ἔνκν there is a Western variant, ἔνν(אlatt. syrr.), the mistaken correction of a scribe who returns to the first person of v. 6.
For δδκς(see on v. 4), AB have ἔωα. And for εσν(א the rec. has ἐτν with ADΓΘ
8. ὅιτ ῥμτ κλ “that the words which Thou gavest me I have given unto them.” For ῥμτ, see on 3:34: cf. 5:47, 6:63, 68.
These “words” of Jesus were “given” Him by the Father, as has been said before. See on 12:49, and cf. 15:15, 17:14.
κὶατὶἔαο. The chosen disciples had received and appropriated His words, which “abode” in them (cf. 15:7). Here was the token that the disciples were, indeed, ἐ τῦθο (cf. 8:47).
The rec. has δδκς(so אΓΘ for ἔωα (ABCDW), but the sense requires the aorist here (see on v. 4). The ῥμτ of Jesus were “given” to Him by the Father, when He entered on His mission (see on 3:35).
κὶἔνσν…κὶἐίτυα. Here, again, we have the aorist tense. The disciples recognised, “knew of a truth,” i.e. inferred from what they saw and heard, that Jesus had come from God (cf. 3:2); and, further, they believed (for this was not a matter of merely intellectual inference) that God had sent Him. But perhaps we must not lay stress on the distinction between ἔνσνand ἐίτυα here; for at 16:27 Jesus has already said to the Eleven, ππσεκτ ὅιἐὼπρ τῦπτὸ ἐῆθν And at 8:42 οδ γρἀʼἐατῦἐήυα ἀλ ἐενςμ ἀέτιε is a single sentence, the “sending” by the Father being the only possible alternative to Jesus having come “of Himself.” Cf. 11:42 ἵαπσεσσνὅισ μ ἀέτια, and for the “sending” of the Son by the Father, see on 3:17. For the combination of ππσεκμνand ἐνκμν see on 6:69.
σ μ ἀέτια is found five times in this Prayer of Christ (cf. vv. 18, 21, 23, 25), the phrase being repeated like a kind of solemn refrain (see on 15:21)
The Prayer of Jesus for the Eleven—(1) that They May Be Divinely Guarded (vv. 9-16) and (2) that They May Be Consecrated Men (vv. 17-19)
9. ἐὼπρ ατνἐωῶ From v. 9 to v. 19, we have the prayer of Jesus for His chosen disciples, that the Father may guard them from evil, and that He may sanctify them in the truth. He had prayed for Peter that his faith should not fail (Luk_22:32), but this prayer does not contemplate any failure of faith among the Eleven, in the days to come when their Master had returned to His glory. For ἐωᾶ, which is the verb generally used by Jesus of His own prayers, see on 11:22, 16:23, and cf. 16:26, 14:16.
ο πρ τῦκσο ἐωῶ i.e. “I am not praying for the world now”; the prayers which follow were for those who loved Him, not for those who rejected Him. But this is not to be interpreted as indicating that Jesus never prayed for His enemies (cf. Luk_23:34 and His own precept Mat_5:44). The κσο (see on 1:9) was hostile to Him, but God loved it (3:16); and even this Prayer of c. 17, which was primarily a prayer for Himself and His own disciples, present and future, does not exclude the thought of the world’s acceptance of Him at last (v. 21).
The language of 1Jn_5:16, “there is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray (ἐωήῃ for that,” is verbally similar, but the thought there is different, viz. of the propriety or duty of praying for a fellow-Christian whose sin is πὸ θντν
ἀλ πρ ὧ δδκςμι ὅισίεσν sc. because they are God’s. See on v. 6, from which verse this clause is repeated.
Only in this chap. (cf. vv. 15, 20) is ἐωᾶ used by Jn. absolutely or intransitively, being generally followed by the account of the person who is asked either to give something or to reply. See on [8]:7.
10. κὶτ ἐὰπνασ ἐτν So He had said before; see on 16:15.
κὶτ σ ἐά This goes further than the preceding clause. Meyer cites Luther’s comment: “This no creature can say in reference to God.”
κὶδδξσα ἐ ατῖ. The apostles were Jesus’ own men, not only because the Father “gave” them to Him, when they were chosen, not only because all that belonged to the
Father belonged to Him, but for the additional reason that He had been “glorified” in them. He was “glorified” in the physical miracle of the Raising of Lazarus (11:4), much more in the spiritual miracle of the faith of the Eleven. They exhibited and continued to exhibit (note the perfect tense δδξσα) the power of the message which He brought. So Paul said of his Thessalonian converts ὑεςγρἐτ ἡδξ ἡῶ (1Th_2:20). Cf. 2Th_1:10 of the future “glorification” of Christ in His saints.
Through misunderstanding of the meaning, for δδξσα D has ἐόαά μ (cf. v. 1).
11. The occasion and ground of the prayer are now more distinctly stated. He is going away from the disciples whom He had trained and guarded; henceforth the relations between Him and them will be different from those of the days of His ministry in the flesh. He had told them about this, but they had hardly understood it (13:33, 36; cf. 16:10, 16). They will need a special measure of the Father’s care. Swinburne has finely paraphrased some of the thoughts behind vv. 11, 12:
“Who shall keep Thy sheep,
Lord, and lose not one?
Who save one shall keep,
Lest the shepherd sleep?
Who beside the Son?”
οκτ εμ ἐ τ κσῳ Cf. v. 14. His visible ministry in the world of men is over. Meyer cites Calvin’s comment: “nunc quasi provincia sua defunctus.”
The rec. text has οτι but א have ατί
ατὶἐ τ κσῳεσν the disciples are still in the world and have their service and ministry to fulfil.
κγ πὸ σ ἔχμι repeated v. 13; cf. 13:3, 14:12.
After ἔχμιD adds οκτ εμ ἐ τ κσῳκὶἐ τ κσῳεμ, a Western gloss, which has some support from a c e, and which evidently was added because the scribe stumbled at the words, “I am no longer in the world.”
πτρ B reads πτρ(with N), as it also does at v. 21 (with D), at vv. 24, 25 (with A), and (teste Abbott, Diat. 2053) at 12:28. But, although the nom. with the article sometimes takes the place of the voc. (e.g. Mat_11:26, Luk_10:21), πτρwithout the article is not easy to defend. At v. 5 D, in like manner, has πτρfor πτρ
πτρἅι. The holiness of God is fundamental in the Hebrew religion. This is a characteristically Jewish mode of address in prayer; cf. 2 Macc. 14:36, ἅι πνὸ ἁισο Κρε and 3 Macc. 2:2, ἅι ἐ ἁίι, μνρε πνορτρ The conception goes back to Lev_11:44 (quoted 1Pe_1:16); cf. Isa_6:3, Psa_71:22, and esp. Luk_1:49, ἅιντ ὄοαατῦ(Psa_111:9). See also 6:69, ὁἅιςτῦθο, as used of Christ, and 20:22, λβτ πεμ ἅιν of the Spirit. We find πτρδκι in v. 25, but πτρἅι does not appear again in the N.T. A remarkable parallel, which may be a reminiscence of the language of this verse, occurs in the Post-Communion Thanks-giving in the Didache (§10), εχρσομνσι πτρἅι, ὑὲ τῦἁίυὀόαό συ ο κτσήωα ἐ τῖ κρίι ἡῶ, κὶὑὲ τςγώεςκὶπσεςκὶἀααίς ἧ ἐνρσς(cf. v. 26) ἡῖ δὰἸσῦτῦπιό συ
τρσνατύ, “keep them,” as now specially needing care. For τρῖ, of keeping persons safe, cf. vv. 12, 15, Act_16:23, Act_16:24:23, Act_16:25:4, Act_16:21, and esp. Jud_1:1, “kept for Jesus Christ,” ἸσῦΧιτ ττρμνι. For τρῖ, of keeping or observing commandments, see on 8:51.
ἐ τ ὀόαίσυ “in Thy Name,” i.e. under Thy Fatherly protection. The Name of God expresses (see on 5:43) the revelation of His Being, especially as exhibited in His help in time of need. Cf. Psa_44:6, ἐ τ ὀόαίσυἐοθνσμντὺ ἐαιτνμνυ ἡῖ, Psa_54:1, ὁθό, ἐ τ ὀόαίσυσσνμ, and Psa_124:8, ἡβήεαἡῶ ἐ ὀόαικρο. In such contexts the “Name” of God is equivalent to what a modern writer would call His “Providence”; and this, in the N.T. and especially in Jn., is associated with the doctrine of God as Father.
ᾧδδκςμι The reading here and in v. 12 presents difficulty, and the variants are important.
(1) The rec. text has οςδδκςμι but this is poorly attested (D2, 69 f g q vg. cop.), and οςmay have come from 18:9, or from v. 6. It gives an excellent sense; that His disciples were “given” to Jesus by the Father is said five times elsewhere in this chapter (vv. 2, 6, 9, 12, 24; see on 6:37 for other references).
(2) ὃδδκςμιis read by D2 ful. This might have the same meaning as ος and ὃδδκςis the right reading at vv. 2, 24. For this collective use of the neuter sing., see on 6:37. Field, whose opinion is always weighty, prefers ὅ
(3) But the harder reading, ᾧ has such strong attestation that it must be accepted. It is supported by the great bulk of MSS and vss., including אΘ ᾧmust refer to ὀόαι so that “in Thy Name, which Thou hast given me” is the only possible rendering. This is accepted by most modern editors, including Westcott and Abbott (Diat. 2408 f). Burney (Aramaic Origin, etc., p. 103), while recognising that ᾧis the reading best attested, holds that οςmust have been intended by the evangelist, and he traces the variants to the ambiguity of the relative particle דְ which might stand for either ος ὅ or ᾧ But this does not explain the superior attestation of ᾧ even if an Aramaic origin for the Fourth Gospel were accepted.
We have seen (on 3:35) that it is a favourite thought with Jn. that the Father gave all things to the Incarnate Son; but it is only here and at v. 12 that the idea is expressed that the Father has given His “Name” to Christ, and that it is in this “Name” that Jesus guarded His disciples. This does not mean only that the Son was “sent” by the Father (see on 3:17), and that therefore His ministry was accomplished “in the Name of the Father” (see on 5:43, 10:25) as His delegate and representative; but that in Christ God was revealed in His providential love and care, His “Name,” that is, His essential nature as Father, being exhibited in the Incarnate Son. Thus that “the Name” of the Father was “given” to Christ is yet another way of expressing the essential unity of the Father and the Son (see on 10:30). This transcends any such idea as that of Num_6:27, where the “Name” of Yahweh is “put” upon Israel by the priestly blessing; or of Exo_23:21, where it is said of the guardian angel of the people, “My Name is in him”; or of Jer_23:6, where the “Name” of the Messianic King is “Yahweh our Righteousness.” The nearest parallel is Php_2:9, ἐαίαοατ τ ὄοατ ὑὲ πνὄοα(cf. Rev_19:12); but in no N.T. passage except Joh_17:11, Joh_17:12 is found the conception of the Father giving His “Name,” in the sense of His revealed character as Fatherly Providence, to Christ. See on v. 22 for the δξ which the Father had given to the Son.
This interpretation (demanded by the reading, ᾧδδκς viz. that the Father gave His “Name” to the Son, is in consonance with the thanksgiving quoted above from the Didache, according to which the Father causes His “Name” to tabernacle in the hearts of believers, i.e. His Fatherly protection rests upon them.
ἔωα is read by א but the true reading is δδκς(see on v. 4), the perfect indicating not merely one act of giving at a definite moment in time, but a continuous “giving” of the Father to the Son, throughout His earthly ministry.
ἵαὦι ἓ κθςἡες sc. that the apostles might be united in will and purpose and spiritual fellowship even as the Father and the Son are united (see on 10:30). They had been given a “new” commandment, enjoining all disciples to love one another (see on 13:34), and the Fatherly protection of God is now invoked for them, that they may be kept of one mind in their sacred fellowship. At v. 21 the thought is no longer of the apostles only, but of all future generations of Christian disciples, for whom again the prayer is ἵαπνε ἓ ὦι.
The petition ἵαὦι ἕ, as applied to the apostles, was fulfilled in their case, for otherwise the earliest apostolic preaching could not have achieved its wonderful success; but it was not fulfilled in such fashion that no differences of opinion as to method were observed among the apostolic body, or that they were always right, as compared, e.g., with Paul (cf. Act_11:2, Gal_2:11, etc.) See further on v. 21.
It is probably due to its difficulty that the whole clause, ᾧδδκςμι ἵαὦι ἓ κθςἡες is omitted in the O.L. texts a b c e ff2 and by the Coptic Q.
12. After ὅεἤη μτ ατν the rec. with AC3NΓΘinserts the explanatory gloss ἐ τ κσῳ but om. א
ἐὼἐήονατύ κλ “I (ἐώbeing emphatic) used to keep them,” ἐήονmarking the continual training of disciples that was so great a feature of the ministry of Jesus.
ἐ τ ὀόαίσυᾧδδκςμι repeated from v. 11 (where see note) in the Johannine manner. It is “in the Name,” that is, in the sure protection of the Father’s providence and love, that Jesus guarded (and guards) His disciples.
κὶἐύαακλ “and I guarded them (sc. while I was with them in the flesh), and none perished.” For φλτεν cf. 2Th_3:3, Jud_1:24; and see Wisd. 10:5, where τρῖ and φλτενare both used of the Divine guardianship of Abraham.
The rec. text, as in v. 11, has οςfor ᾧ and omits κίbefore ἐύαα making the latter govern οςdirectly; א ins. κί
κὶοδὶ ἐ ατν(cf. for constr. 7:19) ἀώεοκλ “and not one of them perished, except the son of perdition.” The falling away of Judas has already been described (13:27); ἀολνιis used of the final “perishing,” as at 3:16 (where see note) 10:28. Jesus is represented as speaking of the fate of Judas as if it were already in the past (see 6:64, 70). Cf. 6:39, 10:28, where his exceptional case is not in view; and see note on 18:9, where is quoted this saying of Jesus that He lost none of those whom the Father had “given” to Him. It has often been discussed by theologians whether Judas had really been predestined to destruction, or whether his fall from faithfulness was of his free choice. Such questions are foreign to the philosophy of the first century. For Jn., all that happened to Judas was, indeed, predestined, but that this involves any difficulty as to his guilt does not suggest itself to the evangelist.
ε μ ὁυὸ τςἀωεα. The play on words ἀώεο…ἀωεα can hardly be reproduced in English. The constr. υό τνς(see on 12:36) is not exclusively Hebraic, but it is frequent in Eastern literature. Antichrist is called ὁυὸ τςἀωεα (2Th_2:3), the same expression being applied to those who perished in the Flood (Jubilees, x. 3), and to Satan (Evang. Nicodemi, xx.). It signifies one whose end will be perdition, not necessarily that this is inevitable but that it will be so because of his own acts. He is one of whom it may be said, “good were it for him if he had not been born” (Mar_14:21). Cf. υὸ γέη (Mat_23:15), υὸ θντυ(2Sa_12:5), and τκαἀωεα (Isa_57:4). Judas was “the son of loss,” although Jesus came to save the lost. For him Jesus did not pray (cf. 1Jn_5:16).
ἀώεαis generally used in the N.T. for the final “loss” of a man (it does not occur again in Jn.); but at Mar_14:4 it is the word for the “waste” of the ointment, of which (as Jn. tells, 12:4) it was Judas that complained. It has been suggested that possibly this incident was in mind when Judas was called ὁυὸ τςἀωεα, “the son of loss,” the man who really wasted what was precious.1 But the ordinary interpretation is simpler and more probable.
ἵαἡγαὴπηωῇ It is not quite certain whether this is a comment of Jn. on the words of Jesus which he has just narrated, or whether he means to place it in the mouth of Jesus Himself.2 It is to be observed that in 18:9, where the words, “of those whom Thou hast given me, I lost not one,” are cited from the present passage, there is no appeal to the O.T., but Jn. applies ἵαπηωῇὁλγςκλ to the saying of Jesus as carrying with it the certainty of its fulfilment. Probably here ἵαἡγαὴπ. is a reflective gloss or comment added by the evangelist or an early editor.
ἡγαήalways refers in Jn. to a definite passage of the O.T. (see on 2:22), and the Scripture here indicated was probably Psa_41:9, which was cited before (13:18) as foreshadowing the treachery of Judas. Psa_69:25 and 109:8 are cited in Act_1:20 in reference to his miserable and execrated end, and his replacement by Matthias, but Psa_41:9 is more in place here.
13. ννδ πὸ σ ἔχμι repeated from v. 11; cf. 14:12.
κὶτῦαλλ, “And I say these things,” viz. “I say them aloud,” for λλ implies this.
ἐ τ κσῳ sc. before my departure.
ἵαἔωι κλ The prayer was spoken aloud, so that the apostles might overhear His intercessions for them, and hearing might rejoice. See on 11:42, where Jesus is represented, in the rec. text, as having said explicitly that some words of His thanksgiving were uttered δὰτνὄλν
τνχρντνἐὴ ππηωέη ἐ ἑυος This is a phrase several times repeated in Jn.; see on 15:11, 16:24. To hear Jesus rejoice when speaking in prayer of the faithfulness of His chosen friends would awaken in them feelings of joy, which would be His joy “fulfilled in them.”
For ἑυος(א the rec. has ατῖ (probably from the next line).
14. ἐὼδδκ ατῖ τνλγνσυ repeated from v. 8, τνλγνbeing substituted for τ ῥμτ (see on 5:38), the perfect δδκ in both cases implying that Jesus had continued to give to the disciples the revelation of the Father, and was still giving it.
κὶὁκσο ἐίηε ατύ. This was the badge of a disciple (15:18, 19, where the verb is in the present tense, μσῖ which D substitutes here for the harder ἐίηε). We should expect the perf. μμσκνas in 15:24, if not μσῖ this is one of the cases in which Jn. uses the aorist as if it were a perfect (cf. 12:28, 13:34, 15:15; and see Abbott, Diat. 2441).
ὅιοκεσνἐ τῦκσο. A fine and eloquent exposition of the thought that Christian disciples generally, and not the apostles only, are in the world but not of the world is given in the second-century Ep. to Diognetus (vi. 3), with a probable allusion to vv. 11, 14. See on 3:16.
κθςἐὼοκεμ ἐ τῦκσο. So He had said at 8:23, where see note.
15. οκἐωῶἵαἄῃ ατύ κλ The question as to how far Christians were to separate themselves from the company of non-Christians, from the Jewish and heathen world, was urgent and difficult in the apostolic age. In 1Co_5:10, Paul explains, in terms similar to those of this passage, that for a complete dissociation from heathen of evil lives, a Christian disciple would have to “go out of the world.” On the other hand, he is equally explicit in his statement (Gal_1:4) that the purpose of the sacrifice of Christ was that He might deliver us from the present evil age (αῶο). These two principles are tersely enunciated in the present verse. The apostles would have to live in the world, for that was to be the theatre of their evangelical ministry; but they would need the special grace of God to keep them from its evil influences.
ἀλ ἵατρσςατὺ ἐ τῦπνρῦ This is the first petition of Jesus for the Eleven, viz. for their protection and deliverance. τρῖ ἐ is found again in N.T. only at Rev_3:10, a passage very similar to the present: ὅιἐήηα τνλγν(cf. v. 6, τνλγνσυττρκν …κγ σ τρσ ἐ τςὥα τῦπιαμῦ(cf. v. 11, τρσνατύ). A nearer parallel is in 1Jn_5:18, where it is said of a child of God, that Christ τρῖατν κὶὁπνρςοκἅττιατῦ
ὁπνρςappears again 1Jn_2:14, 1Jn_5:19 (ὁκσο ὅο ἐ τ πνρ κῖα). The agency of the personal devil, Satan, is not doubted by Joh_13:27, and the references to ὁἄχντῦκσο τύο (12:31, 14:30, 16:11).
In the words ἵατρσςατὺ ἐ τῦπνρῦ we probably have an echo of the clause in the Lord’s Prayer, ῥσιἡᾶ ἀὸτῦπνρῦ(Mat_6:13; see above on v. 1).1 Some commentators have endeavoured to distinguish the meaning of ἀὸfrom that of ἐ in constructions like this (see on 1:44), but this is over subtle. Cf. the parallelism in Psa_140:1:
ἐεο μ ἐ ἀθώο πνρῦ
ἀὸἀδὸ ἀίο ῥσίμ.
16. This verse is repeated from v. 14, οκεμ here preceding ἐ τῦκσο, according to א
17. Here is the second petition for the Eleven (cf. v. 15), viz. for their consecration. ἁιζι (see on 10:36) connotes not so much the selection of a man for an important work as the equipping and fitting him for its due discharge. It is applied to the divine separation of