With Dale Ratzlaff
John 17:7-8
Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
Throughout this marvelous prayer, our Lord is commending His men to the Father. Not once in this section is there any accusation of wrongdoing. There is not a hint of deficiency; there is no mention of their frequent failures or lack of faith. Elsewhere in the Gospels, we find the record of their many failures.
But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?” (Mt. 16:8)
And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” (Lk. 8:25)
When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of” (Lk. 9:54-55).
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Mt. 16:22-23).
All these failures, deficiencies, lack of faith, and misunderstanding of Christ’s person and mission are recorded for a reason. When we compare Christ’s prayer as He presents these chosen men to the Father, we see how they are covered in Christ’s righteousness. Here we find a demonstration of what it means for Christ to intercede for us.
This prayer is offered before the cross. However, Jesus anticipates the relationship between believers and God as if the death, burial, and resurrection are an accomplished event.
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34).
Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You.
We might ask why this statement is so important that it finds itself near the center of this intercessory prayer. This theme in its various forms is repeated over and over again in John’s Gospel.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (Jn. 6:38).
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father (Jn. 10:17-18).
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you (Jn. 15:15).
If Jesus had said nothing about the Father initiating salvation and directing it at every step of the way from the incarnation to the ascension, then we would understand Christ to be the loving, saving One who was totally responsible for our salvation. This, then, by contrast, would have cast the Father as one who was distant, uncaring, and judgmental. In our thinking it would have driven a wedge between the Father and the Son. It would have pitted one member of the Trinity against the other. For this, and perhaps other reasons, it was necessary for the disciples, and us, that John record these words of Jesus so that we could see the boundless love of God was designed and carried out by all members of the Trinity.
…for the words which You gave Me I have given to them.
As one reads through John 17, the truth of this phrase becomes evident.
…even as You gave Him authority over all flesh(Jn. 17:2a).
…that to all whom You have given Him(Jn 17:2b).
… He may give eternal life (Jn. 17:2c).
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do (Jn. 17:4).
I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me (Jn. 17:6).
…for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me (Jn. 17:8).
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one (Jn. 17:22).
Here are seven—a complete number—gifts given to Christ by the Father. The purpose of these gifts is clear. They are given for His people. They are for the eleven and believers of all ages. These gifts provide eternal life to the recipients and more. They are all gifts leading to ultimate glory when we shall see God as He is.
Let us look again at the phrase.
…for the words which You gave Me I have given to them.
The message from the Father is conveyed by “words.” This entails objective revelation. Jesus, in turn, relays the Father’s words to His men. Jesus, knowing that He would no longer be with the eleven, gave them the promise of the Holy Spirit who would come alongside them, help them remember the words of Christ and guide them into all truth.
When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me (Jn. 15:26).
Here is the framework for communicating “the words” of the Father to us. God the Father gave His words to Christ. Christ gave these words to His chosen disciples. After the resurrection on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit becomes the active link in the communication between Christ and the Apostles. They, in turn, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who brought to their remembrance all that Christ said and did, wrote these “words” down in Scripture.
How blessed we are to be able to access the very words of God. Words of intelligence, wisdom, power, love, salvation and everlasting life, all leading to the true freedom we have as sons and daughters of God.
…that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:21)
It is these divine words given by God to us that invite us into God’s family. These are the words that comfort our hearts in times of trouble.
James, the brother of our Lord, understood the importance and power of “the word.”
In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures (Jam. 1:18).
The communication of the Father’s “words” to Christ was a direct fulfillment of prophecy.
I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him (Deut. 18:18-19).
In harmony with this word from God to Moses, Jesus said,
For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me (Jn. 5:46).
He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day (Jn. 12:48).
There is much truth hiding in this short phrase.
…for the words which You gave Me I have given to them.
We move now to the final phase of this short section.
…they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
Consider that the words “give” or “given” are used some 17 times here in Chapter 17. Not once is “earned,” “deserved” or “merited” mentioned. Just as there are no shortcomings, deficiencies, or failures cited, neither are there any works of merit done by these men that are even alluded to. The apostles only claim to the multitude of blessings included in these words from God is that they “received them” and “believed” that Jesus was sent from God the Father. The only “work” mentioned in this prayer is the “work” of atonement, reconciliation, and redemption.
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do (Jn. 17:4).
Jesus “work” for the Father in giving His life as a ransom for sin is done once and for all time. Now, the father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in the business of freely bestowing to us gift after gift after gift.
May our response be that which is outlined in this short passage.
…they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
Application
- Let us take heart that in His prayer to the Father, Jesus does not mention any shortcomings, sins or deficiencies of any kind. His prayer characterizes the eleven, and us as well, as fully righteous.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
- Our only claim to the blessings of God is that we “receive” and “believe” the words of the gospel as recorded in Scripture. We would do well to dwell on the gospel passages, knowing, that our Lord presented the eleven, He will also present us without fault before His father.
- We would do well to search the Scripture for gifts we may not have received. Paul’s writings are peppered with the many gifts of God. Yes, and they are all free!
Prayer
Father, I thank you for giving your eternal “words” to Christ, who with the Holy Spirit, has given them to the Apostles who wrote your words in Scripture. Help me to prayerfully study these words carefully as they carry the message of eternal life. Thank you for the gifts you have given to me. Help me explore the many gifts mentioned in Scripture so that I may receive and believe all the grace gifts you have provided.
In Jesus name.
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