THE LAST WEEK OF JESUS' PUBLIC MINISTRY AND HIS CRUCIFIXION
-Jesus’ Farewell Discourse – John chapters 14-17
-“Chapters 13 to 17 in John really belong together. There is first the effort of Jesus to stop the
bickering of the Twelve, then his warning and their reply. Jesus continues to address them with
repeated interruption (dialogue), but finally they fear to ask him further (monologue). The
discourse concludes with the wonderful prayer (the real Lord’s Prayer) in chapter 17”
(Robertson, pg 149, fn).
-There is a wealth of information within the comforting words of John chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17.
We simply will not be able to do them justice in this study. Please spend time in these chapters
and explore their contents more fully. By digging deeper within them, the student of the
scriptures can discover more of the treasures contained within and, as a result, can gain more
spiritual wealth.
-John 14
-“Under the shadow of the cross, carrying, as He was, a broken heart, Christ was not unmindful
of the anguish of His own. The only bequest the poverty-stricken Master had to leave was the
legacy of Peace (verse 27). Are we truly living on this legacy? As the Way, Truth and Life,
Christ meets the three-fold need of man, who is, in error and dead. It will be seen that this is a
God-glorifying chapter: the way to God (verses 1-6); the personification of God (verses 7-14);
the gift of God (verses 15-20); the love of God (verses 21-26); and the greatness of God (verses
27-31)” (Lockyer, All the Books and Chapters, pg 244).
-“Jesus had impressed them with the truth that he would leave them; that Judas had gone to
bring a band of soldiers to arrest him; that Peter, the boldest of the disciples, would deny that he
knew him, and more or less discouragement took possession of the hearts and minds of the
disciples. Jesus under these circumstances spoke words of comfort and assurance to them.
[There was everything to fill their hearts with gloom, and doubtless a silence like death had
settled upon the little company, and they needed the comforting words spoken by Jesus]”
(Lipscomb, pg 219).
-“That they should go out as homeless wanderers without the presence of their Lord and be
subjected to persecution, was also in their thoughts” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 660).
-vs 1-6 – Words of Comfort
-The word “be troubled” (here in verse 1 and again in verse 27) “…translate a present passive
verb which means some external pressure was weighing on the apostles, causing them incessant
stress. And, note, these words were used as an antonym for ‘peace’ (John 14:27, 33). ‘Sorrow,’
‘weep,’ ‘lament,’ ‘sorrowful,’ and ‘tribulation’ are also used to indicate the apostles’
consternation during this visit (John 16:6, 20, 22)” (Winkler, Dan, pgs 273-274).
-The focus of these eleven apostles needed to remain upon God with confidence to Him. “One
of the difficulties of translating the Greek NT is that certain sentences are capable of more than
one rendition, as here. These words mean either: ‘Ye believe in God’ (indicative affirmation of
fact), or ‘Believe (ye) in God’ (imperative commandment to be obeyed)” (Coffman, John, pg
325).
-It seems that the imperative (a command to be obeyed) is the most likely here. Yes, these
men already believed in God. Yet, in view of the coming distress, Jesus was instructing
them to maintain that belief with as much strength and confidence as they could muster.
-Notice, to believe in God is to believe in Jesus (and vice-versa). Although they would see
Jesus in the hands of His enemies, brutally abused and crucified, they were to continue to
believe in Him.
-Yes, He would be leaving their company. Yet, He would prepare a place for them and, upon
His eventual return (from heaven – His second coming), they would once again dwell with Him
in the glorious abode of heaven.
-These words of comfort to the eleven serve as words of great comfort to us today.
-“To be so purified as to be able to dwell where Jesus is, and to be so ennobled as to share his
life and glory is to reach the most exalted destiny of which created intelligences are capable”
(Lipscomb, pg 220).
-Jesus was going to return to the Father and, in so doing, provide the way for us to follow.
-With the lack of spiritual perspective, Thomas wanted to know the physical location of this
place and the physical way to follow.
-Jesus indicated that He is:
-the way – Sin stands as an obstacle and separates mankind from God. Since forgiveness of
sins is available only through Jesus (see Acts 13:38, Eph 1:7), there is only one source of
access to God, Jesus Christ. (See Acts 4:12, 1 Tim 2:5.) If one is separated from Christ, he
is then separated from God and all of the spiritual blessings He offers (See Eph 1:3). To
follow the path of righteousness in faithful service to God, one must look to the life of our
Lord, the perfect example to pattern our lives after (see 1 Pet 2:21).
-the truth – “He was the embodiment of the truth of God, and embodied that truth in his life
and words. [He was not merely truth, but the truth – the key of all truth – the revelation of
all truth necessary to elevate man to God]” (Lipscomb, pg 221).
-the life – Without Jesus, and therefore without forgiveness of sins, one dwells in a state of
spiritual death. Yet, thanks to the sacrifice of our Lord, those who properly respond in
obedience and live faithfully to Him are freed from that death (see Rom 6:16-18) and dwell
in the hope, assurance and confidence of spiritual life.
-No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.
-vs 7-14 – Jesus Identifies With the Heavenly Father
-Here we see the unity of the Father and the Son. To see and know one is to see and know the
other.
-“Philip here referred to some outward and visible manifestation of God. God had manifested
himself in various ways to the prophets and saints of old, and Philip affirmed that if some such
manifestation should be made to them they would be satisfied. It was right to desire evidence
that Jesus was the Messiah, but such evidence ‘had been’ afforded abundantly in the miracles
and teachings of Jesus, and that ‘should’ have sufficed them” (Barnes).
-“As Thomas asked for a physical instead of a spiritual approach to God, so Philip asked for
a physical instead of a spiritual revelation of him. The answer of Jesus tenderly rebukes
Philip. The excellency of God is not physical, but spiritual. Righteousness, truth, love,
holiness, etc., are all spiritual. A physical revelation of God, if such a thing had been
practical or even possible, would have been of little or no benefit to the apostles. All the
physical demonstrations at Mt. Sinai did not prevent the manufacture and worship of the
golden calf” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pgs 661-662).
-Jesus spoke of His harmonious relationship with the Father – “…he that hath seen me hath seen
the Father…” (vs 9), “…I am in the Father, and the Father in me…” (vs 10).
-“The oneness is so complete that the words of Jesus came from the Father and God dwelling
in Jesus did the works done by Jesus. [The personalities of the Son and the Father was
perfect union, and we may never on earth comprehend fully its nature, but we can
understand it to be so complete that he was the manifestation of God in the flesh]”
(Lipscomb, pg 223).
-The works that Jesus performed served as evidence of the relationship with (and power of)
God.
-Not only did the power of God work through Jesus, it would also work through the followers of
Jesus. Jesus even states “…greater works than these shall he [the follower] do…” (vs 12).
-“By this the Lord does not mean that the disciples shall perform greater miracles, but that
they should produce moral and spiritual revolutions which are intrinsically more divinely
wonderful than miracles” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 662).
-“The ‘greater works’ did not consist of greater miracles but the far-reaching effects of
preaching the Gospel of Christ to the whole creation. Thousands of people would
become Christians even on one day” (DeHoff, pg 331).
-The church, in its mission to carry the truth of the Gospel into a lost and dying world –
beyond times of miraculous manifestations – would be part of a powerful and effective work.
Therefore, the teaching of the spiritual truth delivered by avenue of the Spirit (see 1 Cor 1:9-
11; 2 Tim 3:16) would be more powerful than miraculous manifestations.
-Of course, this impact is made possible because Jesus returned victoriously to the Father.
-Jesus then offered comfort and reassurance to the apostles by turning their attention to prayer.
-Even though Jesus would not be with them physically, His followers could still make
requests of Him. And, those requests would be answered to the glory of the Father and, of
course, in accordance with the Father’s will. Those answered prayers would serve as
additional evidence of the unity between Father and Son.
-vs 15-24 – The Promise of the Holy Spirit
-Obedience is a required necessity to demonstrate love – “If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments” (vs 15, NASB). Such an attitude carried out by these apostles in obedient
actions would provide fertile soil for the receiving of the Holy Spirit and His powerful
manifestation.
-Although we are now removed from the times of miraculous gifts, we must also understand
the necessity of loving obedience. Such will provide fertile soil for the receipt of the truth
of God’s word which was delivered through inspiration of the Spirit.
-Upon the request of Jesus, the Father would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
-The word “Comforter” is translated from the Greek word “parakletos…an intercessor, consoler”
(Strongs). This comes from the Greek words “para, ‘beside,’ kaleo, ‘to call’” (Vines). It
represents one who is called to the side of another.
-Notice, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “another” Comforter. While Jesus was here, the
apostles were not alone due to the fact that He was at their side. Upon His departure, the
apostles would not be left alone but would have the Holy Spirit at their side.
-Let us note though that Jesus continues to serve as an advocate (parakletos) – 1 John 2:1.
-Even though these words were spoken to the apostles and had immediate application to them,
we see that there is a more far reaching application as well – “that he may abide with you
forever” (vs 16).
-“We take the word in the heart to bring the Spirit that dwells in the word into contact with
the warm affection of the heart that the germ in all principle may spring forth and bear fruit
in the life” (Lipscomb, pg 227).
-“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is
the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Pet 1:24-25).
-“We should note, too, the distinction between the present ‘abideth with you,’ and the future
‘shall be in you.’ The Spirit, being present in the person of Christ, had been abiding with the
apostles who followed him. Hereafter the intimacy of the relation would be increased, and the
Spirit should abide within them” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 663).
-The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of truth for He would guide the apostles into all truth
and inspire the recording of the truth to the saving of future generations. Therefore, the world
who, as a whole, rejects God’s truth, cannot receive such a Spirit. It is not the world who has a
relationship with God, but His children (see Gal 4:6).
-In regards to verse 19, once Jesus died upon the cross and was buried, the world would no
longer see Him for His post-resurrection appearances were to believers only.
-On that day (the day they would receive the promised Holy Spirit – the Day of Pentecost) the
apostles would realize the fullness of the words being spoken by Jesus and would be reassured
of His relationship with the Father.
-Again, the Father being in Jesus and Jesus in the Father was indicative of their harmonious
relationship. By having the Spirit within them, the apostles would know they had a
relationship with the Son and Father as well.
-What must we do in order to have a relationship with the Father and Son? – “He that hath
my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall
be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).
-“Jesus gives the test: If we are willing to do what he commands us to please him, he will
accept us” (Lipscomb, pgs 229-230).
-Judas, the brother of James, still expecting an earthly kingdom asked, “Lord, what then has
happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us, and not to the world?” (vs 22, NASB).
-Rather than delve into a discussion regarding the physical expectations of the apostles,
Jesus continued to teach them spiritual truth. He once again spoke of the relationship that
would exist between He and His Father and those who would demonstrate their love through
obedience to His word. Such a relationship would not be obtained through a physical
kingdom but a spiritual one.
-vs 25-31 – Additional Words of Comfort
-Jesus once again reminds them that He is about to depart and that the Holy Spirit would be
sent. All the things that Jesus had taught them would be brought to their remembrance by the
Holy Spirit. Of course, thanks to the Holy Spirit, they would not only be able to remember the
teachings of Jesus but they would also understand them.
-Oh, the things that they failed to see clearly prior to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
must have seemed so clear afterward with the inspiration of the Spirit.
-In verse 27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you…” “This was a common form of benediction
among the Jews…It is the invocation of the blessing of peace and happiness. In this place it was,
however, much more than a mere form or an empty wish. It came from Him who had power to
make peace and to confer it on all, Eph 2:15. It refers here particularly to the consolations
which he gave to his disciples in view of his approaching death. He had exhorted them not to be
troubled (John 14:1), and he had stated reasons why they should not be. He explained to them
why he was about to leave them, he promised them that he would return; he assured them that
the Holy Spirit would come to comfort, teach, and guide them. By all these truths and promises
he provided for their peace in the time of his approaching departure. But the expression refers
also, doubtless, to the peace which is given to all who love the Saviour” (Barnes).
-The night and days that followed would be troublesome, distressing and confusing for the
apostles. Yet, had they been able to understand the fullness of what was taking place and
the blessings which would be offered to all humanity as a result, they would have realized
that Christ was not being humiliated in defeat but exalted in victory.
-The words of Jesus were drawing to a close. Satan, through the avenue of those who had
rejected and withstood Jesus, was at work and the time of betrayal was approaching.
-Yet, knowing what awaited Him, Jesus pressed forward in loving obedience to the will of
the Father.
-“Jesus here announced that Satan’s strategy had failed. The price of human redemption
would be paid by the Saviour” (Coffman, John, pgs 341-342).
-“…Arise, let us go hence.”
-“Some think that Jesus then left the room, and that the next three chapters of John’s
Gospel contain matters spoken on the way to Gethsemane. But it is likely that the words
of these chapters were spoken in the upper room after they had risen from the table and
prepared to depart, and that John xviii 1 marks the leaving of the upper room as well as
the crossing of the Kidron” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 667).
-John 15
-“There are four words to which his discourse in this chapter may be reduced; 1. Fruit v. 1-8.
2. Love v. 9-17. 3. Hatred v. 18-25. 4. The Comforter v. 26-27” (Henry).
-vs 1-8 – Jesus, the True Vine
-The nation of Israel had been referred to as a vine planted and cared for by God. Sadly though,
they failed to produce fruit (Ps. 80:8, Isa. 5:1-2, Jer. 2:21).
-Now, in contrast to the type seen in Israel, Jesus is the true vine. God is the husbandman and
the apostles were branches as are we as faithful Christians. Our responsibility is to bear good
fruit. It is only while abiding in Christ that we can do so. Apart from Him, we are fruitless
(vs 5).
-Those branches that do not bear fruit will be taken away (vs 2) to be cast into the fire (vs 6).
Those branches that do bear fruit will be pruned so that they can bear more fruit.
-“As the husbandman cuts off the unfruitful branches, so God severs the unfruitful branches
from His Son. This had just been done to Judas…The husbandman prunes, dresses, and
cares for the healthy vines that they may be more fruitful” (DeHoff, pg 333).
-“And of the three degrees of fruit, we ought to come to the ‘much more fruit (verses 2,5)’”
(Lockyer, All the Books and Chapters, pg 245).
-In verse 3, Jesus indicates that the apostles were clean through the word which He had spoken
to them.
-The word is the avenue of spiritual cleansing – “Seeing ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see the ye love one
another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:22-23).
-Spiritual cleansing is available through the shed blood of our Savior. The avenue through
which we come into contact with His cleansing blood is obedience to the Word of God.
-Notice, to have Jesus abiding in us we must be abiding in His word (vs 7). “So if we
abide in Christ, his word must be in and abide with us and mold our thoughts and
feelings, and control our lives, and form our characters” (Lipscomb, pg 239).
-Jesus once again turned His attention to the blessings of prayer. Sincere prayers uttered with the
desire of increased fruitfulness and combined with faithful obedience would be answered. The
results: fruit would be produced and God would be glorified.
-“’Fruit…’ may not be understood here as meaning exclusively the manifestation of the
graces and virtues of holy living, although the fruit of the Spirit is definitely said to be such
things (Gal 5:22). A larger and more comprehensive meaning is included here, namely, that
of producing more Christians” (Coffman, John, pg 347).
-vs 9-17- Abide in the Love of Christ
-Jesus urged His apostles (and extending beyond them to us) to continue in loving obedience –
“…continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love…”
(vs 9-10).
-In regards to verse 11, “we take ‘these things which Christ had spoken unto them’ to mean, not
all that Christ uttered on this occasion – as interpreters generally do – but more definitely, the
things He had just before said about the true secret of His abiding in His Father’s love and of
their abiding in His love. In that case, the sense will be this: ‘As it is My joy to have My
Father’s love resting on Me in the keeping of His commandments, so have I told how ye
yourselves may have that very joy of Mine abiding in you and filling you full’” (Jamieson,
Fausset, and Brown).
-“Jesus gives, as his supreme commandment, this law of love. The disciples are to love one
another as intensely as Jesus loved them, and the measure of the intensity of his love is
prophetically set forth by an allusion to his death on their behalf. But he died for his enemies
as well as for his friends – Rom. v. 6” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 669).
-“If we may be allowed the expression, this is the divine sap which runs from the vine
through the branches, and from the branches back through the vine, keeping up the divine
circulation which is essential to divine life” (Lipscomb, pg 240).
-Jesus was and is the Master. The apostles and all who are faithful are His servants. Yet, the
relationship is much more tender than simply that of a Master and His servants. Jesus plainly
stated that the apostles were His friends. And, I’m glad that our Savior – amidst the trials and
difficulties of His life on earth – had those He could consider friends.
-Yet, let us realize that Jesus considers each faithful follower a friend.
-Friends in this world may let us down, disappoint us and even hurt us. Not Jesus. He
has never let us down and He never will.
-So, with full sincerity may we sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus…”
-Let’s each be a good friend to our Lord by submitting to His will and obeying His word.
-These men had not initially chosen Jesus. Instead, He had chosen them to be apostles and
friends. He had appointed them to go forth with the saving message of the Gospel, to bring
forth fruit by helping to save the souls of their fellow man with the privilege of answered
prayers.
-What were they to do? – love one another.
-vs 18-25 – Hated of the World
-The opportunity and privilege of going into the world to bear fruit for the Father was not going
to be an easy task. The world that hated Jesus would hate His followers.
-Yet, since there were those that had kept the word of Jesus, there would be those that would
keep the word delivered through His followers.
-May we always remember that we still represent our Lord and that there are those that will
still receive and heed His message of truth. May we never convince ourselves otherwise.
-Whether a person rejects the word and persecutes those who carry it or whether the person
responds to the word and receives those who carry it, it is done in the name of Christ. Jesus is
the driving force and motivation for the response whether the response be good or bad. Those
that reject the truth and persecute those who deliver it simply do not know God. This is not
indicative of not knowing that there is a God but not knowing the God that is.
-Verses 22-25 reveal that there is no excuse for not accepting and responding to Christ. He
came to this earth in a manifestation of Deity. He lived in perfection, demonstrated the power
of God and delivered truth. All of mankind is accountable to that which has been revealed.
-The widespread rejection of Jesus, and therefore the Father, was certainly not unexpected.
Instead, it was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
-By the message of the Gospel many will be condemned and some saved. The eternal state of
one’s soul depends upon what he does in response to the Gospel.
-vs 26-27 – The Promised Holy Spirit
-Once again Jesus offers words of comfort specifically to these apostles with a reference to the
Holy Spirit.
-They would not be left alone in their task of spreading the Gospel of Christ. The Spirit of truth,
sent by the Father, would testify of Jesus.
-“The Spirit could aid them to testify accurately, and with a full intelligence as to the real
meaning of things. The Spirit also gave attestation to apostolic testimony by enabling the
apostles to work miracles” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 671).
-Coffman aptly commented that “…it is simply not true, nor do the scriptures teach it, that the
Holy Spirit will guide Christians into all truth. The proof of this is apparent in the fact that
‘all truth’ is something that cannot be accurately associated with any Christian! Note also the
fact that the guidance into truth (in the apostles) by the Spirit was to be accomplished by
bringing to their remembrance whatsoever Jesus had said unto them (14:26). How could the
Holy Spirit help just any Christian to ‘remember what Jesus had said unto him,’ when, as a
matter of fact, the Christian has never heard Jesus say anything at all?” (pg 355).
-Thus these words regarding the role of the Holy Spirit applied specifically to the apostles.
-John 16
-In this chapter, Jesus continues and concludes His final discourse to the apostles prior to
offering His prayer on their behalf and on our behalf. He continues to indicate that persecutions
awaited His faithful followers (vs 1-4). He once again informs the apostles of the future
blessings that they would receive by way of the Holy Spirit (vs 5-15). He tells them that their
sorrow over His departure (death) would be turned into joy upon His return (resurrection) –
(vs 16-24). Then, He informs them that they would be scattered and, although experiencing
tribulation in the world, they would find peace in the One who had overcome the world (vs 25-
33).
-vs 1-4 – Persecution Awaited
-Jesus forewarned His apostles of the troubles and tribulations that were to come. Even though
they did not fully comprehend that which awaited, Jesus was giving them advanced warning so
that they would not be caught off guard so much as to fall away.
-There would be varying degrees of persecution even to the point of loss of life. Much of the
persecution would come from those that thought they were serving God by exacting
punishment against Christians. Of course, Saul of Tarsus is an excellent example of such.
-“It is common to patronise an enmity to religion with a color of duty to God, and service to
his church. God’s people have suffered the greatest hardships from conscientious
persecutors…This does not at all lessen the sin of the persecutors, for villanies will never be
consecrated by putting the name of God to them; but it does enhance the sufferings of the
persecuted, to die under the character of being enemies to God…” (Henry).
-Persecution that is carried out under a supposed banner of God against those who proclaim
and live according to truth reveals a lack of knowledge and a lack of relationship with the
Father and the Son. Individuals may claim to be/do right while being dead wrong.
-There were times in which Jesus had foretold of trials and persecutions to come. Yet,
undoubtedly, the apostles envisioned the facing of such trials with Jesus physically in their
presence. “While he was with them the bolts of hatred and malice would be thrust at him, but
when he was gone and they represented him on the earth these bolts would hit them. As long as
Jesus was with them these personal trials of the apostles would not begin, and therefore he
saw no necessity of burdening their hearts prematurely with their anticipation. But now he was
to be taken from them, so he unfolds it” (Lipscomb, pg 251).
-“He did not deal in specific details of these matters in the outset of his ministry because
the disciples were prepared neither in heart nor in mind to receive them. Now, however,
he was about to leave them and they would need support and encouragement for the trials
they were soon to face. Some expositors, assuming that the Lord meant by ‘these things’
no more than the fact of impending persecution, have affected to see a contradiction
between what is said here and in Matt. 5: 10; 10: 17-28, where the Lord, early in his
ministry, did indeed warn of persecution. The ‘difficulty’ vanishes however when the
context is considered and note is taken of the fact that among ‘these things’ spoken by
the Lord is his announcement of departure from the earth, his return to heaven, and the
coming of the Comforter” (Woods, 1981, pg 338).
-When facing the persecutions to come, the apostles could reflect upon these words of Jesus
and thereby be assured and strengthened for the endurance of such.
-vs 5-15 - Blessings From the Holy Spirit
-“The apostles, overwhelmed with the sorrowful implications of the Lord’s departure for
themselves, were not considering the implications of that departure for the Lord himself.
Instead of rejoicing that Jesus would shortly resume his eternal glory with the Father, they
thought only of their own loneliness and suffering” (Coffman, John, pg 358).
-With their focus on self, the thoughts of Jesus’ departure fill the apostles’ hearts with
sorrow. Jesus informed the apostles that, even with their focus on self, they still had
reason to rejoice. His departure would be advantageous for them in that they would
receive the Holy Spirit.
-“Space does not permit us to discuss why the Spirit could not come until the Lord had
departed, but the verses which follow give us one good and sufficient reason, for they
show that his work had to do with the conviction of human hearts through the preaching
of a completed gospel, and the ascension or return of Christ to heaven, and his enthrone-
ment in glory there, are essential parts of that completed gospel” (McGarvey/Pendleton,
pg 673).
-Jesus indicated to these eleven men that the Holy Spirit would “reprove” (KJV), “convict”
(NASB, NIV, ESV) the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.
-sin - The Holy Spirit came to bear witness of Jesus - through the apostles and then
through the inspired word. Anybody who rejects His message regarding the truth
of Jesus forfeits the opportunity for forgiveness and remains in sin.
-righteousness - Through the message of the Holy Spirit one can find that righteousness
is a prerequisite of salvation (see Acts 10:34). While here, Jesus demonstrated the
righteousness of God. Now it is communicated through the inspired word. In response
to it, one must not continue to live in the ways of a sinful world but must live a new life
“...which after God is created in righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24).
-judgment - “The time will come when the world will be forced to face the fact of judgment
and he who is its rule - the devil - has already been judged, i.e., condemned for this
reason. The judgment is certain and sure and its decrees unavoidable; and of this the
Spirit would clearly and positively speak. (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:12)” (Woods, 1981,
pg 341).
-Jesus still had many things to say to the apostles but they simply could not bear them. “Christ
had many things to say; but he found that his disciples could only bear general truths; yet, in
saying what he did, he sowed the seeds of the whole system of theological knowledge, and
heavenly wisdom, which the Holy Spirit of this truth afterward watered and ripened into a
glorious harvest of light and salvation” (Clarke).
-As the apostles journeyed closer to the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan for mankind
they could not see clearly through the “windshield.” Later, with the death, burial,
resurrection and ascension of Jesus in the “rear-view mirror” things would become much
clearer.
-With the working of the Holy Spirit in/through them, they would be guided into all truth.
Those “many things” that Jesus had for the apostles would be communicated by the
Comforter. “He takes up the work where Christ stops and carries it to completion”
(Lipscomb, pg 256).
-Just as their was complete harmony between Jesus and the Heavenly Father, such was the case
with the Holy Spirit as well. Rather than communicating His own message, He would present
the teachings of Christ. In so doing, Christ would be glorified.
-In these words of Jesus, we see the involvement of all three personalities of the Godhead –
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Perfectly united in character and purpose, they
worked collectively to bring about the hope of salvation for sin-burdened mankind.
-vs 16-24 – Joy to Come at the Resurrection of Jesus
-Jesus now returns to the topic of His departure (his death). Yet, He offers some comfort in
telling the apostles that they would see Him again (following His resurrection). Again, the
apostles did not understand.
-“Having been unable to entertain the idea of our Lord’s burial and resurrection, no wonder
the apostles were mystified by these allusions to it” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 675).
-Jesus, perceiving that the apostles desired to ask Him more about this, gave further explanation.
At the time of His death, the apostles would sorrow and lament but the world (his enemies)
would rejoice. However, things would change soon after – just as the pain and labor
experienced by a mother during childbirth quickly turns to joy and rejoicing thereafter.
-“Our Lord's meaning appears to have been this: that his resurrection should be so
completely demonstrated to them, that they should never have a doubt concerning it; and
consequently that their joy should be great and permanent, knowing that the atonement was
made, the victory gained, and the kingdom of heaven opened to all believers” (Clarke).
-As faithful Christians, we can share in this joy which cannot be stolen. Let’s be careful
not to forfeit/abandon it.
-The day was quickly approaching when the apostles would ask nothing of Jesus. With Jesus in
their presence, they had grown accustomed to inquiring of Him. This would no longer be the
case. The time of His departure grew closer as did the enlightenment to be brought about by
the Spirit. Hence, their questions would be changed to understanding and certitude.
-Jesus is informing the apostles of a coming change. In His role as mediator and High Priest,
Jesus would provide the apostles and all faithful Christians direct access to the Father. From
that time on, they would appeal directly to the Father in the name of Christ.
-“It surfaces also that the giving, as well as the asking, shall be in Jesus’ name” (Coffman,
John, pg 368).
-Once again, in a troublesome time, Jesus directed the apostles’ minds to the blessings of prayer.
-vs 25-33 – Tribulation in the World, Peace in Christ
-The apostles had struggled to understand the meaning and magnitude of Jesus’ words.
However, through the avenue of the coming Holy Spirit, Jesus would teach the apostles
plainly and more fully.
-Again, they would be able to petition the Heavenly Father who would answer their
prayers due to His love and the relationship that had been established through Jesus.
-Jesus had come from the Father to the world. Now, the time was approaching for Him
to leave the world and return to the Father.
-“They now clearly understood that as Jesus came from heaven so would he return to
heaven, but they did not understand the process by which this return would be effected”
(McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 678).
-“They were also impressed with the fact that the Lord had correctly anticipated their
problem and had solved it and that he had been able to do this because of his divine
ability to read their thoughts and to know the content of their hearts and this prompted
them to assert their complete conviction of his deity” (Woods, 1981, pg 350).
-Upon the assertion of their faith, Jesus drew a contrast to the present and the near future.
Whether He was asking, “Do you now believe?” (vs 31, KJV) or stating, “You believe at
last!” (NIV), the contrast still stands. They had just confessed their faith in Him. Shortly,
they would be scattered in desertion of our Lord.
-However, Jesus would not be alone because the Father would be with Him. Notice the
present tense utilized with the presence of the Father. The Father was with Him and
would continue to be with Him.
-As He brought this discourse to a close, Jesus once again reflected upon the peace that He
made available to these men. In Christ, they had peace. In the world, they would experience
tribulation. Yet, they could take courage and enjoy the victory that Jesus was going to
provide – “I have overcome the world.”
-Through Him, the apostles and all faithful Christians can also overcome the world and
share in the victory He provides.
-John 17
-“The little band, consisting of Jesus and the eleven apostles, were about to leave the upper
room, where the Passover feast had been observed and the Lord’s Supper had been instituted
and go out into the night, a night most fateful in all the world’s history; but, before they
disbanded, the Saviour did not wish to terminate the warm and close association they had
enjoyed without a prayer to the Father” (Woods, pg 352).
-In this prayer, Jesus prays for Himself (vs 1-5), specifically for the apostles (vs 6-19) and
then for all those who would believe through their word (vs 20-26).
-As Christians, may we all take comfort in knowing that our Lord and Savior prayed for us.
-This prayer overflows with much information and wonderful themes. This study will simply
not do it justice but will only present a brief overview.
-vs 1-5 - Jesus Prays For Himself
-Having now concluded His final discourse to the apostles, Jesus turned His attention to
the Father and approached Him in prayer.
-All along the way, Jesus knew his purpose in coming to this earth. He had known that every
step was bringing Him closer to the cross. Yet, in loving submission to the will of the Father
and with love for the souls of mankind, He steadfastly kept His course and had now arrived at
that moment. The hour was come. Within 24 hours, His body would lay in the tomb.
-It is important to note that, even at a very difficult moment, Jesus’ focus was upon glorifying
the Father. Jesus could see beyond the cross to His own glorification and to the overall
glorification of the Father through the victorious sacrifice which would make eternal life
available to mankind.
-Jesus had been given authority over all flesh. Yet, with that authority He gave Himself
for all. And, with such authority, He can grant eternal life to those whom are given to
Him. “Thus the gift of eternal life is conditional and available to them alone who are
Christ’s” (Coffman, John, pg 376).
-To be Christ’s and therefore have the hope of salvation, one must “know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” “Thus, then, ‘the life eternal’ of which Jesus
here speaks, and which He says it is His proper office to confer, is no merely conscious,
unending existence, but a life whose most distinguishing characteristic is acquaintance with
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with Jesus Himself as the Way to the Father, and the
Truth and the Life (Job 22:21; Matt 11:27, etc.)” (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown).
-Interestingly, this is the first time that Jesus uses the word “Christ” in a compound
fashion with His name. However, the compound reference to “Jesus Christ” is found
191 times in the epistles (in the KJV).
-With “the hour” having now arrived, Jesus, with great certainty of its fulfillment, speaks from
the perspective of it already being completed - “...I have finished the work...”
-“Jesus stands upon an elevation from which he looks back over his whole earth life as well
as that of the few hours remaining. He sees in it only the glorification of the Father. He
does not see in his life at this supreme moment either any evil committed or any good
omitted. The duty of every hour had been fulfilled” (Lipscomb, pg 263).
-Jesus had properly glorified the Father and now requested that the Father would grant Him
the glory which He formerly and willingly set aside to come to this earth (see Phil. 2:5-11).
-vs 6-19 - Jesus Prays for the Apostles
-“To this point in this unparalleled prayer, the thoughts of the Saviour were inward and for
himself he prayed; here, however, he turns his attention to his disciples, to whom he had
manifested the Father’s name (i.e., revealed the Father to them); whom he regarded as gifts
from the Father; and of whose worthiness he testifies” (Woods, 1981, pg 355).
-Jesus stated that the apostles had: kept the word (vs 6), had come to know that the things
Jesus taught originated with the Father (vs 7) and believed the fact that Jesus was the One
sent from heaven (vs 8).
-Jesus stated that He was praying specifically for the apostles and “not for the world.” They
were the men who had a spiritual relationship with the Father through the Son due to the fact
that they believed in Him and kept the word. And, in them, Jesus would be glorified.
-Jesus had “kept them” (KJV, NASB), “protected them and kept them” (NIV) while He was
on earth. The only exception was Judas described here as the “son of perdition.” His
departure from faithfulness was by his own doing - not any shortcoming of the Lord - and
was in fulfillment of O.T. scripture (see Ps. 45:9).
-With his departure at hand, Jesus petitioned the Father for continued protection and
deliverance for the apostles. They, of course, would remain in the world and would face
many trials and temptations within it.
-In His petition, Jesus stated “keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given
me.” "Keep them in the knowledge and fear of thy name; keep them in the profession and
service of thy name, whatever it cost them. Keep them in the interest of thy name, and let
them ever be faithful to this; keep them in thy truths, in thine ordinances, in the way of thy
commandments” (Henry).
-Jesus, in comparison to the unity between the Father and Son, wanted the apostles to be
unified in their faithfulness. Unity is a characteristic, desire and command of Deity.
Therefore, division is a violation of Divine will.
-Jesus knew that these apostles would be hated by the world due to His word. Yet, once again,
He makes reference to His joy and asked that it would be fulfilled in them.
-“His prayer is that the disciples may keep on having His kind of joy realized in their
hearts to fullness and completion. He had given them the heavenly teaching and the
world hated them because they had His mind and spirit which was essentially in
antagonism to that of the world. But joy in the disciple’s heart is founded in the
sacrifice and service of the Kingdom” (Shepard, pg 564).
-Through the influence of Jesus, these men had become separated from the world. They still
lived in it but were not of it. The significance of this fact can be seen in Jesus’ repeated
reference to it in verse 14 and then again in verse 16. He asked not that they be taken out of
the world but that they be protected from the “evil” (KJV), “evil one” (NASB, NIV, ESV)
within it.
-Jesus had shown these men how to be set apart from the ways of the world. He
prayed that their sanctification would continue through the avenue of God’s word.
-“Our Lord’s prayer as to the apostles is, therefore, a threefold petition; viz.: that they may be
kept in unity, kept from the world and the devil, and that they may be set apart and equipped
for the gospel service” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 682).
-vs 20-26 - Jesus Prays for Future Disciples
-At this point in His prayer, Jesus shifted the focus from the apostles to future Christians.
-Note that the first item that He prayed for was unity.
-It must be with sorrow that God looks down upon what is now referred to in this world as
Christendom - segmented and divided amongst numerous variations of teachings rather than
unified and harmonious in accordance with the intent and desire of Deity as revealed in the
word.
-Once again, Jesus utilizes His relationship with the Father as the ultimate example of unity.
-“The Father and Son have no separate will, kingdom or interest. Such a union is here
demanded of the disciples of Christ. It is impossible to convert and save the world to Christ
as long as they who claim to be his followers are divided into various denominations, each
having a different doctrine, property and interest, separate churches, colleges, papers, and
missions. Denominationalism is utterly opposed to this prayer, and every apologist for it is
disloyal to the spirit of the prayer and working against the salvation of the world” (Lipscomb,
pg 269).
-It seems that the glory which Jesus refers to in verse 22 is the relationship that He had
with the Heavenly Father in His role as the Son - a relationship that had been clearly
demonstrated. Now, Jesus had glorified the apostles with a relationship with the Father
through Him. That relationship is available to us as well through the avenue of faithful
submission to the word of God.
-As the time for Jesus’ departure from the world grew closer, He expressed His will for the
apostles (and those that would believe through their word) to be united with Him in eternity
to come. There, they would see Him in His glorified state.
-“The design of Christ is, that all who believe should love and obey, persevere unto the
end, and be eternally united to himself, and the ever blessed God, in the kingdom of glory”
(Clarke).
-Jesus’ reference to the Father’s love for Him “before the foundation of the world” (vs 24) is
another clear indication of Christ’s eternal nature.
-Those of the world - even though they were created by God in His image - had long since
forgotten Him and followed their own ways. Even those who claimed to be God’s chosen
people had, as a whole, rejected the One sent from heaven. However, the apostles had come
to know God through the works and teachings of Jesus. Now, we can know God through the
word given by the Holy Spirit.
-It is simply not enough to know that there is a God. We must know the God that is and
must abide in His love!
-With such thoughts, this remarkable prayer ends. Further contemplation and study of its
wonderful precepts would benefit any Bible student.
-Dan Winkler properly observed the following regarding the words and actions of Jesus recorded
in John chapters 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17: “First, in his time of personal crisis, Jesus surrounded
himself with friends (John 13:1)...Second, in his time of personal crisis, Jesus thought about
heaven (John 13:1-3)...Third, in his time of personal crisis, Jesus maintained a strong sense of
purpose (John 13:4-20)...Fourth, in his time of personal crisis, Jesus talked about ‘love’ (John
13:34-35)...Finally, in his time of personal crisis, Jesus took the time to pray (John 17:1-26)...
First, in helping the apostles with their fears, Jesus gave them a friend (John 13:36-14:1)...
Second, in helping the apostles with their fears, Jesus talked about heaven (John 14:2-11)...Third,
in helping the apostles with their fears, Jesus maintained a strong sense of purpose (John 14:12-14)
...Fourth, in helping the apostles with their fears, Jesus talked about love (John 14:1-16:27)...
Finally, in helping the apostles with their fears, Jesus repeatedly talked about prayer (John 14:
13-18; 15; 16:23-26)” (pgs 272-275).