3. Prayer for Those Who Will Believe (17:20-26)
JOHN 17
G. THE HIGH-PRIESTLY PRAYER (17:1-26)
The farewell discourse is followed by the great high-priestly prayer. Barrett objects to describing the prayer in this way or as the "prayer of consecration," since this "does not do justice to the full range of material contained in it." Everything I suppose depends on the range one would expect to find in a "high-priestly prayer." This common name does draw attention to the solemn consecration that is so much a feature of the prayer and to the way it looks forward to the cross as the consummation of Christ's priestly work. This is the longest of Jesus' recorded prayers, and, spoken as it is in the shadow of the cross, it is invested with a peculiar solemnity. "No attempt to describe the prayer can give a just idea of its sublimity, its pathos, its touching yet exalted character, its tone at once of tenderness and triumphant expectation" (MiM). The last words are important. We so often understand this prayer as though it were rather gloomy. It is not. It is uttered by One who has just affirmed that he has overcome the world (16:33), and it starts from this Conviction. Jesus is looking forward to the cross, but in a mood of hope and joy, not one of despondency. The prayer marks the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, but it looks forward to the ongoing work that would now be the responsibility first of the immediate disciples and then of those who would later believe through them. Jesus prays for them all.
The prayer is difficult to subdivide, for it is essentially a unity, but it is possible to discern a movement. At the beginning Jesus prays about his own glorification (vv. 1-5), then he goes on to the main part of the prayer, which concerns the circle of the disciples (vv. 6-19), and he concludes by praying for those who will believe through their ministry (vv. 20-26). Common to all three sections is the desire that the Father's purpose be set forward.1
1. Prayer for the Glorification of the Son (17:1-5)
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2Foryou granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."
This part of the prayer is often said to be Jesus' prayer for himself. As he prays that he may be glorified (vv. 1, 5) there is perhaps something in this. But this is not prayer "for" himself in the way we usually understand this. Since his glorification is to be seen in the cross it is a prayer rather that the Father's will may be done in him. If we do talk about this as Jesus' prayer for himself we should at least be clear that there is no self-seeking in it.
1 The farewell discourse is ended and now comes prayer. Lifting up the eyes to heaven was the accepted posture for prayer (cf. 11:41; Ps. 123:1; Mark 7:34; it was a mark of recognition of personal unworthiness when the tax collector in the parable would not lift up his eyes to heaven, Luke 18:13).2 The form of address is the simple "Father," the address of a child to its parent (it is used six times in this prayer).3 It marks the close familiarity between Jesus and the Father. For "the hour" (NIV, "the time") in this Gospel see on 2:4. Now with the cross in immediate prospect Jesus can speak of the hour as having come.4 This is that to which the whole ministry of Jesus has led up. For the idea of "glory" see on 1:14; cf. also 12:28. It is significant that with the cross in view Jesus prays that God will glorify him. To human view the cross was an instrument of shame. To Christ it was the means of true glory. The prayer makes it clear, moreover, that the glory of the Son and the glory of the Father are closely connected. To glorify the Son is to glorify the Father.5 The two are one.
2 The thought of glory continues ("even as"; NIV, For"). The giving6 of eternal life to people is the outworking of the glory of which Jesus speaks. His authority is God-given, and it is an authority over the whole human race (cf. 5:27; Matt. 11:27; 28:18). This does not mean that he exercises a sovereignty over the people like the sovereignty of earthly kings. It is an authority7 given for the express purpose8 of conferring eternal life (cf. 3:35-36; 10:28; see on 1:4; 3:15). The thought that the authority is given to Christ to confer life, used as it is in a context dealing with the passion, reminds us of that other thought that meant so much to some of the Fathers, that Christ reigned from the tree. The cross was to be not defeat but victory. He exercised authority in bringing people life even as he hung, apparently helpless, on the cross. But, though life is his gift, he does not confer it on all indiscriminately. Once again we have the thought of the divine predestination. Life is given "to all those9 you have given him." For a discussion of "eternal life," see the commentary on 3:15.10
3 Here we have something of a definition of eternal life.11 Really to know12 God means more than knowing the way to life. It is life.13 In this world we are familiar with the truth that it is a blessing and an inspiration to know certain people. Much more is it the case when we know God. To know him transforms us and introduces us to a different quality of living. Eternal life is simply the knowledge of God.14 Throughout this chapter there is an emphasis on knowing rather than on John's characteristic thought of believing.15 Jesus stresses that there is but one God (cf. 5:44), and he is the true16 God. It is not knowledge of "a god" that is meant, but knowledge of the supreme Ruler of the universe. This is linked with the knowledge of Christ.17 The only way to know God is through the revelation he has made, and he has revealed himself in his Son. It is not possible to know God in any way that we choose. We must know him in the one whom he has sent,18 namely Jesus Christ (for "Christ" see on 1:20, 41).
4 Now comes a statement that Jesus has completed the task for which he came. "I have brought you glory"19 indicates a completed task. This is further described as "by completing the work you gave me to do." Jesus says that he has brought to its due end20 the task that was assigned him (see on 4:34). There is nothing flamboyant about this utterance. But there is a quiet recognition that Jesus has completed his task adequately, and brought glory to the Father in the process. The supreme place of the Father is guarded with the expression "gave." Even the work that Jesus did was work that the Father gave him. The initiative is seen as resting with the Father.
5 Now Jesus prays God to glorify him. He looks for glory in the last place that people would look for it, namely in the cross. And he sees this glory for which he prays as linked with his preincarnate21 glory with the Father.22
There is a clear assertion of Christ's pre-existence here (we have already seen such a claim, 1:1; 8:58; 16:28). There is also the claim that he had enjoyed a unique glory with the Father in that preexistent state.23 And now, as evil men are about to do their worst to him, he looks for the Father to glorify him again in the same way.24 It is the Father who will glorify him with true glory in the cross, and in what follows. Paul tells us that Christ "was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father" (Rom. 6:4). In the passion and all that was associated with it Jesus would be glorified with the true glory, a glory con-tinuous with, and indeed identical with, the glory he had "before the world began." For "the world" see Additional Note B, pp. 111-13. The noun occurs eighteen times in this prayer, which is considerably more than in any section of comparable length anywhere else in this Gospel. Clearly the right relation-ship of the disciples to the world was of great moment to our Lord as he contemplated leaving them.
2. Prayer for the Disciples (17:6-19)
6 "I have revealed youa to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13/ am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14/ have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. \6They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctifyb them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."
a. 6 Greek your name; also in verse 26
b. 17 Greek hagiazo (set apart for sacred use or make holy); also in verse 19
The main part of the prayer is concerned with the disciples. They had depended very heavily on the visible presence of their Master, a presence that was about to be taken from them. Though Jesus has already promised them that the Holy Spirit will come, and has even assured them that this will be better for them than his continuing bodily presence, yet he knows that the coming hours will be a great shock to them. Despite everything they are not ready for the stunning impact of Calvary. Tenderly now he commits them to the care of the heavenly Father.
6 Jesus recalls that he has revealed God to the disciples. The "name" (see mg.) stands for the whole person (see on 1:12). To manifest the name of God is accordingly to reveal the essential nature of God to people. Later Jesus says that he has made the Father's "name" known (v. 26), and in between he twice refers to the disciples as "kept" in the Father's "name" (v. 11, where he prays that God will keep (NIV, "protect") them in this name, and v. 12, where he says that he himself has kept them in that name). Clearly "the name" is an important concept for the understanding of this prayer. Here the point is that the revelation was not made indiscriminately. It was made to those25 whom God gave Jesus (cf. 6:37) out of26 the world27 (for "world" see Addi-tional Note B, pp. 111-13). The priority of the Father is implied in "yours"; these men belonged to him first, then he gave them to the Son (for the things the Father gives the Son see on 3:35). The disciples' continuance in the right way is described as a keeping of the Fathers word. They have persevered, and they have persevered in keeping the "word" of God. Elsewhere we are told that Jesus keeps God's word (8:55), but this is the only place where human beings are said to have kept it (as distinct from commands to keep it).28 "Word" is an important concept in this Gospel (see Additional Note A, pp. 102-11).
7 "Now" may be either logical or temporal, probably the latter. Jesus seems to be saying that only now, now at long last, have they come into the knowledge of which he speaks. This knowledge is not described so plainly as to be beyond any possible misunderstanding. But it appears to mean the knowledge that Jesus' mission is divine, that he has nothing except what the Father has given him. All is of God. This is an important truth. As long as we stay with the figure of the Galilean Jesus (perhaps romanticizing over the beauty of his holiness and lowliness) so long we miss what really matters. What is central is that all that we see in him is of God. It is not so much the Man of Galilee as the eternal God on whom our attention should rest.
8 "The words you gave me", point to a God-given message. It is this that Jesus passed on to the disciples (cf. 7:16; 12:48-49). It is important to notice the emphasis placed on the divine revelation in this passage. The essential thing is not the example of Jesus or the like, but "the words you gave me." The rest of the verse is taken up with the attitude of the disciples, which is described in three ways. First, they "accepted" these words. This sets them in contrast with other people of their day. Some, like the chief priests or the Pharisees, might have been expected to welcome a genuine divine revelation. They did not. But the disciples did.29 Second, they came to know, and to know for certain, that Jesus was of divine origin, that he came forth from God. This is, of course, an essential part of the revelation, so central indeed that it is given special mention. The disciples still had misconceptions and their faith was still weak. But Jesus recognizes that basically their attitude to him is right. They know that he has come from God (cf. 16:30). Third, they can be described as men of faith (for the connection between receiving and believing cf. 1:12; the parallel is all the more impressive in that there is no personal object expressed for "accepted" here; NIV supplies "them"). They have come to believe that the Father30 sent Christ. This point is very much like the previous one (the connection between knowledge and faith is close), but it is not identical. The second point concerns the Son's divine origin, the third his mission. He was sent to perform a divine task. It was this that the disciples had come to believe. There is a similar combination of believing and knowing in 6:69.
9 Very simply Jesus prays31 for them. He makes a distinction between the little band of disciples and the world. His prayer here is not for "the world." This does not mean that "the world" is beyond God's love. Elsewhere we are specifically told that he loves it (3:16, and in the Synoptics we learn that he taught people to pray for their enemies, Matt. 5:44, and did this himself, Luke 23:34). Moreover, throughout this chapter it is plain that Jesus came with a mission to the world, and that the disciples were now to carry it on. A little later Jesus prays that the disciples may do certain things "so that the world may believe . . ." (v. 21), and that the world may "know that you sent me . .." (v. 23). The world is to be reached through the disciples, and Jesus prays for his agents in this task.32 He could scarcely pray for "the world" as such, which would mean praying that the world might continue in its world-liness and its opposition to God. Prayer for the world could only be that it be converted, and no longer be the world. We see this in Jesus' prayer for those who crucified him (Luke 23:34).33 Now he prays rather for the little group of his friends. He again describes them in terms of their relationship to the Father. They have been "given" to Christ. They belong to the Father.34
10 It is characteristic of this Gospel to describe the disciples with reference to the divine act rather than their own. It is also a point frequently made that there is community between the Father and the Son. What35 belongs to the One belongs to the Other. "All you have is mine" goes beyond "all I have is yours." This latter expression might perhaps be used by any creature, but "all you have is mine" points to a very special relationship. As Luther is reported to have said, "This no creature can say with reference to God." Jesus now returns to the thought of glory that we saw in the earlier part of the chapter. But now he says that he has been glorified36 in the disciples. This is very much like Jesus' attitude to glory seen in the cross. Outwardly the little group was not distinguished. People of the day saw nothing about its members to mark them off as eminent in any respect. But, just as the world's values were all wrong concerning the cross, so were the world's values all wrong concerning the apostolic band. In them the Son of God, none less, was actually glorified.
11 Jesus' departure from the world is so near that he can refer to it with the present tense. His work in the world is done. He is no longer in it. But37 the disciples38 are in it. Just as it is his task to go out of the world, so is it their task to remain in the world. The address, "Holy Father," is unique (though cf. 1 Pet. 1:15-16; Rev. 4:8; 6:10). Holiness is ascribed to God the Father in surprisingly few New Testament passages, especially considering the importance of holiness in the Old Testament. We are probably right in deducing that the reason for this is that the work of the inspired men of the Old Testament had been well done. In their day people tended to presume on the love and the tender care of God. They thought that because God was the God of their nation they could rely on him to help them no matter what the circumstances. The dishonoring of Israel, they thought, meant the dishonoring of Israel's God. It was necessary that they be taught that God is a holy God and that no one may presume. If Israel did not respect the holiness of God, Israel could not expect the blessing of God. So the sovereignty of God and the awe-fulness of God and the holiness of God received great emphasis. But by New Testament days this lesson had been learned all too well. Now God was often thought of as remote and lofty, as a Being great and dignified indeed, but distant and aloof. The need now was for a stress on his love and his care. So Jesus speaks mostly of God in terms like "Father." But the holiness is still there. It is not to be overlooked or forgotten. The expression "Holy Father" is a reminder of both aspects of God's nature. Jesus goes on to pray that the Holy Father will "keep" (NIV, "protect") the disciples. This probably means keep them from evil, but the object is not expressed, and the end of the verse makes it possible that what is meant is keeping them from disunity. But the wider meaning is more likely.
"By the power of your name" (better "in your name," NRSV; cf. Ps. 20:1; 54:1; Prov. 18:10) points to the whole revealed character of God. Jesus prays that God, the God he has revealed, may in that revealed character keep those who have such need of him. This name is the name that39 "you gave me"; Jesus' prayer is that God, the God he has revealed, will in that character keep those who have such need of him. The purpose40 of his keeping of them is "so that they may be one,"41 a thought that recurs (vv. 21, 22, and 23). The latter half of our Lord's prayer for his followers reveals an impressive concern for unity and is a rebuke to our "unhappy divisions." The unity prayed for is a unity already given: Jesus does not pray that they may "become" one, but that they may "continually be" one.42 It is a unity "in" the Father and the Son (v. 21). Christ is to be "in" them (v. 23). We should be clear that the unity for which Jesus prays is a unity that rests on a common basic attitude, that of abiding in him and having him abide in them. "It is the Divine unity of love that is referred to, all wills bowing in the same direction, all affections burning with the same flame, all aims directed to the same end — one blessed harmony of love" (MiM). Enthusiasts for the ecumenical movement some-times speak as though the reunion of Christendom would be the answer to Jesus' prayer. While it is true that unity of organization can be an impressive witness to unity of spirit, yet as such it is merely outward. It is not this that is in mind here, but something much more difficult, a unity of heart and mind and will. It is well that we work to bring the sundered denominations together. But it is better to look for a grander unity than that, and it is this grander unity for which Jesus prays.
12 Now comes a brief retrospect. During his earthly ministry Jesus used to keep them. He did this "by that name you gave me." Again there is the thought of revelation. It was in the power of the God who revealed himself that Jesus kept the disciples. He guarded43 them safely so that none perished but Judas. "The one doomed to destruction"44 points to character rather than destiny. The expression means that he was characterized by "lostness," not that he was predestined to be "lost." Both parts of this statement are important. The disciples need not fear, for Jesus had kept them so that none of them was lost.45 And if attention be drawn to Judas, then it must be said that the Father's will was done both in the eleven and in the one, for Scripture was fulfilled. The reference to the fulfilling of Scripture brings out the divine purpose. This does not mean that Judas was an automaton.46 He was a responsible person and acted freely. But God used that man's evil act to bring about his own purpose. There is a combination of the human and the divine, but in this passage it is the divine aspect rather than the human that receives stress. In the end God's will was done in the handing over of Jesus to be crucified. The particular passage of Scripture that is meant is not said, but probably Psalm 41:9 is in mind (though some scholars prefer to see Ps. 109:4-13).
13 Once more we have the thought that Christ was going to the Father. But he is still "in the world." And as he is in the world he speaks these things with a view to47 the benefit of the disciples. He prays for them so that they may have his joy (see on 15:11) in all its fullness in themselves. On an earlier occasion he had said that he came "that they may have life, and have it to the full" (10:10). It is something like this that he speaks of here.
14 Jesus' gift to them was God's "word" (cf. v. 6). The supremely significant thing is the revelation. The word of the Father is not a natural possession, but is given only by Christ. "Word" here will mean the entire message that has been revealed. It is a natural transition to the thought that the world hated the disciples. During the time they had been with Jesus they had been given over to learning of God. This meant that inevitably the world opposed them. The disciples and the world were ranged on opposite sides. Now it can be said "they are not of the world." That Jesus is not of the world is easy enough to understand. This Gospel reiterates the truth that his essential being is heavenly; he came from God. But now he says that his followers are "not of the world" even as he is not "of the world." In one sense, of course, they were of the world. They were born into the world and as part of the world. But in his conversation with Nicodemus Jesus has made it clear that people must be born all over again if they are to see the Kingdom of God. It is in this reborn state that the disciples are "not of the world." And the reborn state is the significant state. Berkeley translates: "they are not worldly, just as I am not worldly." This is a valiant attempt, but perhaps it is not quite right; "they do not belong to the world" (Knox, Goodspeed, etc.) is better. It is origin and character rather than outlook that is in mind.48
15 Since they are not "of the world" it might be thought that the prayer would be made that they should be removed from the world. But Jesus now makes it plain that he has nothing of the sort in mind. Their place is still in the world. It would be bad for them and disastrous for the world if they were taken out of the world. Moses and Elijah and Jonah all prayed that they be taken out of the world (Num. 11:15; 1 Kings 19:4; Jon. 4:3, 8), but in no case was the request granted. The place for the people of God is in the world, though, of course, not of the world. The church has often sought to contract out, to become a kind of holy club. But this is not the prayer of the Master. Rather he prays that they would be kept from evil, or perhaps better, "from the evil one." With our background we should expect here a general reference to evil (Lagrange takes this view), but the thought is probably akin to that in 1 John 5:19, "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." Jesus recognizes the power of Satan and prays for his own to be kept from him (cf. 1 John 5:18, and for other significant references to the devil, 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 John 2:13-14; 3:12). They are to be "in" Christ (16:33; 1 John 5:20) and therefore "out of" the evil one. They have a task to do in the world, so it is important that they should be in the world. But it is equally important that they should be kept from evil, for evil is fatal to the discharge of their task.
16 The statement of verse 14 is repeated.49 As they belong to a Master they share his detachment from the world. The world is no more the source of their distinctives than it is of his.
17 "Sanctify" means "make holy, separate." They are not to be worldly people. They are to be holy men, men separated from the world to be of service to the world.50 This sanctification is to be "in (NIV 'by') the truth" (for "truth" see Additional Note D, pp. 259-62).51 Elsewhere we read that the disciples are to "do" the truth (3:21), and there may be some such idea here. The sanctification that Jesus looks for the Father to accomplish will be worked out in their doing of the truth. This is now connected with "your word."52 That is to say, the divine revelation is in mind once again. Sancti-fication is not effected apart from the divine revelation.53 And the divine revelation is eminently trustworthy. It is not only true, but truth. Jesus earlier connected his own "word" with truth, that truth which makes people free (8:31-32). The Father's word, all that he has revealed, is of the same kind. It is truth and may therefore be unhesitatingly accepted and acted on. It is in this way that sanctification takes place.
18 The mission of Christ forms the pattern for the mission of the apostles.54 Earlier we have read that the Father sanctified him and sent him into the world (10:36). He has just prayed that the Father would sanctify the apostles and now he sends55 them into the world. The parallel is impressive. Their lives are not to be aimless. They are given a definite commission by their Lord. Their task is to discharge it, even as he discharged his.
19 Again we have the thought of sanctification, but now Jesus says that he sanctifies himself.56 He sets himself apart for the doing of the Father's will, and in this context this must mean death. He dedicates himself to Calvary with all that Calvary means.57 This is connected with the disciples in two ways. It is "for them."58 He dies for them, to do for them that which they could not do for themselves. And further it is "that they too may be truly sanctified."59 It is purposeful. He dies with a view to the disciples being sanctified, being set apart for God. It is only on the basis of what he has done for them that his prayer for their being sanctified may be answered.
3. Prayer for Those Who Will Believe (17:20-26)
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 221 have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26/ have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
The concluding section of the prayer is of the greatest of interest, for in it Jesus prays for all believers. It is thus a prayer for us as for those of previous generations. The dominant concern is for unity and for the divine glory.
20 Jesus names those for whom he is about to pray. His intercession is not confined to the needs of the apostles, but looks out to the result of their mission. Jesus prays for60 all who will believe61 in him62 through their message. Three times in this prayer we have had references to "your word" referring to the Father (vv. 6, 14, and 17). Now Jesus refers to "their word" (NIV, "their message"), which will stand for their whole message. That message will be one that will lead to faith in Christ.
21 The content of the prayer follows. The first petition is "that all of them may be one" (cf. 10:30).63 This is followed by a statement of the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son and a prayer that believers may be "in" them both. The structure is markedly similar to that in verse 23, where there is also concern for unity. In both places we have four parts. Here they are as follows: (1) "Father... you are in me," (2) "I am in you," (3) "May they also be in us," (4) "so that the world may believe that you have sent me." In verse 23 these are the four parts: (1) "I in them" (2) "you in me" (3) that they may be "brought to complete unity" (4) "to let the world know that you sent me." In each case the effect of this structure is to add solemnity and emphasis. Jesus prays first that the disciples may be one and then that they may be "in" the Father and the Son, just as the Father64 and the Son are "in" one another (cf. 15:4ff.; 1 John 1:3). This does not mean that the unity between the Father and the Son is the same as that between believers and God, but it does mean that there is an analogy. The Father is in the Son and does his works (14:10). The Son is in the Father. The two are one (10:30) and yet are distinct. So in measure is it with believers. Without losing their identity they are to be in the Father and the Son. Apart from the Son they can do nothing (15:5).65 In other words, the unity for which he prays is to lead to a fuller experience of the Father and the Son. And this in turn will have the further consequences "that the world may believe."66 Typically the faith that is to be produced in the world is expressed in terms of Christ's mission ("that you have sent me"). The fact that the Father sent the Son is for this Gospel of the first importance.
22 Jesus now says that he has given his followers the glory that the Father gave him. That is to say, just as his true glory was to follow the path of lowly service culminating in the cross, so for them the true glory lay in the path of lowly service wherever it might lead them. The little band and its Master were both insignificant as the world counts importance. But the apostles are right with God and therefore they are supremely significant. They have the true glory. They are walking in the way of God. We have seen often in this Gospel that for Jesus the cross is the true glory. Elsewhere it is recorded that he called on his followers to take up their cross in following him (Luke 9:23). For them, too, the way of the cross is the way to true glory.67 The purpose68 of this giving of glory to the disciples is unity. This time Jesus prays that they may be one just as the Father and the Son are one. The bond that unites believers is to be of the very closest.
23 For the structure of this verse and its significance see on verse 21. Indwelling is the secret of it all. Christ indwells believers, and the Father indwells him. It is through Christ that they have their unity with the Father (cf. 14:6).69 This indwelling is purposive.70 It looks for the disciples to be "brought to complete unity."71 They already had a unity of a sort. But this unity is not regarded as being sufficient. There is to be a closer unity, a "perfected" unity. As in verse 21 the unity of believers is to impress the world. In the former place the purpose was that the world might believe that the Father sent the Son. Here it is that the world may know that the Father sent the Son. Actually there is little difference, since for John believing gives further knowledge, and knowledge to all intents and purposes means faith (cf. v. 8). The world is to know not only that the Father sent the Son, but also that he loves believers72 as he loves the Son73 (cf. Rev. 3:9). The unity of believers will be explicable to the world only on the basis of the divine love. It will transcend all human unity. The unity in question, while it is a spiritual unity rather than one of organization, as we have seen, yet has an outward expres-sion, for it is a unity that the world can observe, and that will influence the world.
24 Jesus' final petition is for them to be with him. "I want"74 is a verb that expresses the action of the will. It is more than a mere wish. Here when Jesus is thinking of the disciples he uses the expression "I will," but when he is thinking of himself he prays, "not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:36). The petition looks for the disciples75 to be with Jesus in the next world rather than in this (cf. 14:3). He wants them to be "where I am,"76 and he has already said, "I will remain in the world no longer" (v. 11). He looks for them to be with him so that they may see the glory that the Father has given him. It is possible that "glory" here is used in the more common sense, rather than denoting lowliness as earlier in this prayer. Jesus may be referring to the majesty and splendor that will be his in the life to come. It is also possible that he is praying that they will have the insight to know what the true glory really is, that is, that they may see lowly service as truly glorious. Paul gives us a somewhat similar thought when he says that "we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory" (2 Cor. 3:18). The glory that the Father gave the Son arose out of the love with which he loved him before this universe came into existence.77 Again we have the thought of preexistence, and again the greatness of the love of the Father for the Son.
25 The last two verses are something of a retrospect. They might, perhaps, be set off as a separate division of the prayer. There is no petition in them. Jesus is no longer praying for those who would believe through the apostolic witness. He is making statements about what he has done and the purpose of his doing it. The address "Righteous Father" is unique (though cf. "Holy Father," v. 11). It reminds us of the character of the Father. Jesus is not looking for an attitude of favoritism from the Father but bearing in mind, as he prays for his followers, that it is God's nature to be righteous. It is probably significant that immediately after addressing God as righteous he proceeds to distinguish between "the world" and his followers. It is because God is righteous that he treats both groups as he does.78 Jesus proceeds to contrast "the world"79 with himself. The world, in its very nature, is ignorant of God (cf. 8:55). But Jesus is different. He has a complete knowledge of God (see on 4:18). The knowledge of the disciples is related to the incarnation. It is not said that they knew God, but that they knew that God sent Jesus.
26 Throughout the ministry Jesus has made80 the Father known (cf. v. 6). For the use of "your name" (NIV, "you") in this prayer see on verse 6, and for "the name" on 1:12. Jesus has revealed the Father to his followers, and he says now that he will do this again. This may refer to the revelation in the cross, or it may refer to the work of the Holy Spirit whom he has promised to send (15:26). The following reference to love81 may perhaps make it a little more likely that it is the cross that is primarily in mind. The purpose of this future revelation is that the love with which the Father loved his Son might be "in" the disciples. In Johannine fashion this probably has a double meaning: the love in question will be "within" them ("in their hearts," Twentieth Century), and also "among" them (the relation uniting them to one another). With this purpose is linked another, that Christ himself may be "in" them (within them and among them). The love of God is thus associated with the indwelling of Christ. We know the love of God because the Son dwells in our hearts. The very last words of the prayer refer to Christ's continuing presence in his followers. Whatever the future holds he will be with them.82
1. Bernard draws attention to an interesting group of coincidences with the Lord's Prayer, and says, "None of these coincidences or parallels is likely to have been inventedby 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." Wright also sees a connection with the Lord's Prayer. He speaks of this prayer as "a kind of expanded paraphrase" of that prayer.
2. The worshipper might prostrate himself in prayer, presumably when he wished to adopt an especially lowly place in earnest petition. Our Lord did this in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39).
3. G. Dalman points out that the Greek πάτερ (used here), like ό πατήρ or πάτερ
μου, presupposes an Aramaic 
(as in Mark 14:36). The significance of this is that "The
usage of family life is transferred to God: it is the language of the child to its father" (The
Words of Jesus [Edinburgh, 1902], pp. 191-192), The Jews preferred a less intimate form
when addressing God, e.g., "Our Father in heaven."
4. There is an air of finality about the perfect, έλήλυθεν; cf. 12:23.
5. 'ίνα is fully telic. Jesus prays for his own glorification not as an end in itself, but as a means to the greater glory of the Father. For ίνα in John see on 1:8.
6. The repeated use of δίδωμι in this chapter should not be overlooked (see vv. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, and 24). The verb is a favorite one with this Evangelist, being found 76 times in his Gospel (Matthew has it 56 times, Mark 39 times, and Luke 60 times). In this prayer of our Lord it occurs 17 times; mostly the perfect tense is used (11-13 times depending on the resolution of textual points), denoting the permanence of the gift. Thirteen times the Father is the subject of the verb, and on every occasion the gift is made to the Son. The other four occasions all refer to the Son's giving to the disciples. Abbott comments on the frequency of the verb in this Gospel: "What 'grace' is in the Pauline Epistles, 'giving' is in the Fourth Gospel" (2742). For the Father's gifts to the Son see on 3:35, In this chapter Jesus says he has given him authority (v. 2), disciples (vv. 6, 9, 24), "all things" (v. 7), "the words" (v. 8), "the name" (vv. 11, 12), and glory (vv. 22 and 24),
7. έξουσία is also connected with the giving of life in the Prologue, though there it is translated "the right," and it refers to an authority given to believers (1:12).
8. Again we have the telic ίνα. It appears to be followed by the future indicative δώσει, though this is corrected in various ways, some of which have strong attestation. It is, of course, possible that δώσει is no more than an orthographical variant of δώστ!. This latter form presents problems. Some posit a rare future subjunctive that Moulton and Howard dismiss as an "imaginary mood," speaking of all the few examples cited (including the present term) as "only new aorists made from the future stem by the usual analogy" (Μ, II, p. 218).
9. The neuter παν δ, where we might have expected the masculine, puts the emphasis on the quality as God-given, rather than on the persons as such. There is also a hint at unity, which would not be conveyed in πάντες (i.e., "the whole" rather than "all"). In strict grammar, of course, the meaning ought to be "so that he should give them all that you have given him, namely eternal life," But there can be no doubt but that παν refers to all believers, not to all God's gift. There is a similar neuter in v. 24. It is a further example of John's love of variety that he refers to people in the present passage first with the use of "flesh," πάσης σαρκός, then with the neuter πάν, and finally with the masculine pronoun αύτοΐς. "All flesh" is, of course, a Hebrew expression to denote all people, especially people as weak and temporary over against the strength and eternity of God.
10. When "eternal life" is repeated in the next verse there is a characteristic slight alteration. Here we have ζωήν aic&viov, there ή αιώνιος ζωή. The article, of course, will point back to the previous use of ζωή.
11. This verse is often said to be a parenthesis in which John gives us his view of eternal life. In favor of this is the difficulty of understanding why Jesus should give such an explanation in prayer, and the use of "Jesus Christ" rather than "me" (but he uses the third person in vv. 1-2). Against it is the use of the second person (σέ and άπέστειλας), and the difficulty of seeing why John should put his explanation so late in the Gospel after having used the concept so often. A similar passage where the explanation is that of the writer (and is in the third person) may be seen in 1 John 5:20). John has the expression "eternal life" 17 times, but this is the only place in which it has the article and where αιώνιος precedes ζωή.
12. MiM maintains that "know" here "does not mean to know fully or to recognise, but to learn to know: it expresses not perfect, but inceptive and ever-growing knowledge." This may be reading a bit much into the use of the present tense, but the point is surely valid that Jesus has in mind an ever-increasing knowledge, not something given in its completeness once and for all.
13. This is overlooked by Barrett in his otherwise excellent note. He gathers many parallels to show the stress placed on the knowledge of God in both Hebrew and Hellenistic thought. But when he says, "Knowledge of God and Christ gives life," he is introducing a different thought. To say that the knowledge of God and Christ brings life is one thing; to say that it is life is quite another. Temple writes: "At one time I was much troubled that the climax of the Veni Creator should be
Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And Thee, of Both, to be but One.
It seemed to suggest that the ultimate purpose of the coming of the Holy Spirit was to persuade us of the truth of an orthodox formula. But that is mere thoughtlessness. If a man once knows the Spirit within him, the source of all his aspiration after holiness, as indeed the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and if he knows this Spirit of Jesus Christ within himself as none other than the Spirit of the Eternal and Almighty God, what more can he want? This is the eternal life." Tenney stresses the importance of the passage: "the definition of eternal life is important because Jesus differentiated it from the current concept of endless existence."
14. Philo comes close to this thought without actually reaching it when he speaks of "holding that the knowledge of him is the consummation of happiness and long life" 0De Spec. Leg. 1.345).
15. γινώσκω is used 7 times in this chapter, and πιστεύω only 3 times (though it occurs 98 times in the Gospel as a whole).
16. For άληθινός see on 1:9. Only here and at 4:23 does John have this adjective used attributively precede its noun. This makes it emphatic.
17. The compound name "Jesus Christ" is found elsewhere in this Gospel only at 1:17 (where see note). Here a few scholars take it to mean, "that they know . . . Jesus as Christ" (Lenski, e.g., favors this). It seems better, however, to take it in the normal fashion as the compound name. The alternative does seem to be straining the Greek.
18. The aorist άπέστειλας with its indication of a definite act will refer to the incarnation. See further on 3:17.
19. The juxtaposition of the pronouns έγώ and σέ is to be noted (though the latter is not emphatic. It points to the fact that the work of Christ was nothing other than to glorify the Father.
20. This will be the significance of τελειώσας. Jesus has glorified the Father in that he has finished his assigned task (cf. Rieu, "by finishing the task"). The expression, of course, looks forward to the cross (cf. the use of τετέλεσται in 19:30).
21. For the articular infinitive προ τοΰ . . . είναι see on 1:48. BDF notes the present passage as the only one in the New Testament where προ τού is followed by the present infinitive, the aorist being invariable elsewhere (403).
22. παρὰ σεαυτῷ looks for a glory with the Father beyond this world, and it is reinforced by παρά σοί. The preposition παρά when used with the dative often has the meaning "in the house of" (see LS, s.v.), and there may be a hint at such a meaning here. Cf. also 1:1, πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
23. Murray comments, "His words imply that for His human consciousness, presence in human flesh in this world involved the surrender, for the time, of the joy of full uninterrupted communion, an absence from the Father, even the possibility of that hiding of His face which makes the darkest of all human utterances a true expression of His experience as man: 'My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?' "
24. The statement of verse 4 and the prayer of this verse are illuminated by the principle laid down in 1 Sam. 2:30, which reads in LXX, τους δοξάζοντάς με δοξάσω.
25. Abbott draws attention to the fact that, whereas the accusative αυτούς is found often in the Synoptists in connection with what Jesus did to "them," it occurs four times only in this way in John until we come to this prayer. Here it is used of the disciples nine times (2376). Cf. also the use of the nominative αυτοί in verses 8, 11, 19, and 21.
26. έx here will have something of the thought of separation from.
27. Cf. Westcott, "It is only by the influence of the Father that men can come to Christ, vi.44, 65. Yet the critical act admits of being described from many sides. The Father is said to 'draw' men (vi.44), and Christ also draws them (xii.32). Christ 'chooses' men (vi.70, xv.16); and men freely obey his call."
28. For τηρέω see on 8:51.
29. Godet comments, "The harvest seems scanty, no doubt: eleven Galilean ar-tisans after three years of labor! But this is enough for Jesus: for in these eleven He beholds the pledge of the continuance of the divine work on the earth."
30. There is emphasis in the use of συ: "They believed that it was none less than you. . . ."
31. For the use of έρωτάω (here) and αίτέω in this Gospel see on 11:22. For περί see on verse 20.
32. Cf. Morgan: "He was praying for the instrument He was creating, through which He would reach the world."
33. Ryle ranges himself with those who think that Jesus did not pray for the world on the grounds "that it is derogatory to our Lord's honour to suppose that He can ever ask anything in vain; and that His intercession specially belongs to 'those who come unto God by Him' (Heb. vii.25)."
34. Haenchen points out that the Johannine community "is persuaded that the community itself is really no better than the others. . . . One does not thank himself or herself for a privileged position; one owes it to divine compassion."
35. Since persons are in view, we might have anticipated the masculine instead of the neuter possessives τά έμά and σά. But the neuter is more general and inclusive. Grammatically αύτοΐς could be neuter and refer to έμά and σά. But it is more likely to be masculine, perhaps looking back to ων (v. 9).
36. The perfect tense δεδόξασμαι may point to the very real measure of glorifi-cation that has already taken place. Perhaps it is more likely to be proleptic, looking forward to the glory yet to come, but which was certain. For this verb in John see on 7:39.
37. καί here in a contrasted statement has much the force of "but" (as NIV). Burney regards this as a literal translation of "I adversative, which is found in both Hebrew and Aramaic (Μ, II, p. 469; Howard, however, points out that this use of καί can be found in classical Greek).
38. The use of the pronoun αύτοί marks a certain emphasis on "they."
39. The reading ᾧ, which must be accepted on the evidence, can refer back only to ὂνομα. We might have expected ους (which in fact is read by A C3 Dc Θ fl fl3 28 69 lat etc.; it seems clearly to be a scribal "correction"). But Jesus here speaks of the "name" as being given him, that is, he has been entrusted with the revelation of God as he is.
40. Seven times in this prayer Jesus prays for his followers with the expression ἳνα ὦσιν (vv. 11, 19, 21 [bis], 22, 23, 24). Four of these are connected with unity.
41. "One" is neuter, έν: "The disciples are to be kept by God not as units but as a unity" (Barrett).
42. This appears to be the force of the present subjunctive ἳνα ὦσιν. Lenski stresses this, and points out that γένωνται would be required for the sense "get to be one."
43. There is probably little significance in the change of verb from έτῄ ρουν, "protected," to έφύλαξα, "kept safe." The imperfect tense, however, may indicate an activity continued through the years and the aorist regard the action as complete.
44. The exact expression, ό υίὸς της άπωλείας, is used of the man of sin in 2 Thess. 2:3, It is perhaps impossible to reproduce in English the wordplay of the original, where άπωλείας refers back to άπώλετο. Phillips tries with "not one of them was destroyed, except the son of destruction," while REB reads, "Not one of them is lost except the man doomed to be lost."
45. "Any true community of faith may harbor traitors or apostates, but the presence of such cannot endanger God's elect, who are kept safe by the power of his name" (Michaels).
46. Cf. Calvin, "It would be wrong for anyone to infer from this that Judas' fall should be imputed to God rather than to himself, in that necessity was laid on him by the prophecy."
47. ἳνα expresses purpose.
48. It has been suggested that there is a parallel with Qumran with its sharp division between the community and outsiders. But there is an important difference. As Raymond E. Brown puts it, "St. John's theology still presents a great clarification: our hatred is for evil as represented in the world, and not for the people who do evil" (SNT, p. 288, n. 74).
49. Characteristically with a small change, one of word order. In verse 14 we have ούx είσιν έx τοϋ κόσμου and in this verse, έx τοΰ κόσμου ούκ είσίν.
50. "The word 'sanctify' is not the same as 'purify'; the disciples have already been declared 'clean' (1310; 151). To be sanctified is to be made ready for a specific task, and the prayer seeks the endowment of the disciples for their apostolic mission" (Marsh).
51. With this we might compare the Qumran passage, "cleansing him with a holy spirit from all wicked deeds. And he will sprinkle upon him a spirit of truth" (1QS 6:20-21; DSS, p. 376).
52. This passage is possibly a quotation from LXX of Ps. 119:142. The MS evidence for that passage is divided between νόμος and λόγος, but Swete, for example, reads ό λόγος σου άλήθεια (cf. 2 Sam. 7:28).
53. There is no article with άλήθεια in the final clause. This may well be to indicate that "your word" and "truth" are not interchangeable terms (as the use of the article might be held to imply; see Robertson, p. 768). Or it may be an example of Colwell's rule that definite predicate nouns that precede the verb have no article (see on 1:1).
54. The emphatic έμέ and κάγώ stress this. For "send" see on 3:17.
55. The aorist άπέστειλας (referring to Christ) is plain enough. It will refer to a single past action involved in the incarnation. But when we come to the apostles we might have expected a present or a future rather than άπέστειλα. Jesus may be referring to his commissioning of his followers earlier, and to his sending of them out on missions. It is perhaps more probable that the word is used proleptically to add a touch of certainty to the future sending out of the disciples.
56. The verb αγιάζω is used in LXX of the setting apart of both people and things for the service of God (more often of people than things). Two uses in particular are important for the present passage, namely, those where the verb is used for the sanctifying of priests (Exod. 28:41; 29:1, 21, etc.), and of sacrifices (Exod. 28:38; Num. 18:9, etc.). Both are appropriate in the present passage. The verb does not signify in itself a setting apart for death, but in this context the meaning can scarcely be anything else. Some interpreters hold that this is excluded by the subsequent statement with respect to the disciples, but this does not follow. Jesus sets himself apart to do the will of God, and helooks for them to be set apart to do God's will. But the implications are not the same in the two cases. For him the consecration issued in an atoning death; for them in lives of service (sometimes crowned with a martyr's death). There does not appear to be a parallel to Jesus' statement, "I sanctify myself." See further the lengthy note in Hoskyns.
57. Cf. Lüthi: "He serves as Mediator between Heaven and earth. He sanctifies Himself by placing Himself completely at His Father's service and saying, 'Not my will, but thine, be done.' His path of duty leads through the Cross and the grave to Resurrection, and up to the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come again. This absolute, voluntary filial obedience is the secret of Christ's self-sanctification. That is what He means when He stands alone before the Father here and vows to Him, 'I sanctify myself.'"
58. For υπέρ see on 6:51.
59. For ἳνα ὦσιν in this prayer see on verse 11.
60. The preposition is περί, which is usual with this verb to convey the meaning "ask about." But John uses it of praying for people in 16:26; 17:9, as well as here. The meaning is much the same as that of ύπέρ, to which περί sometimes approximates (see BDF, 229[1]).
61. The present participle, τῶν πιστευόντων, might perhaps be held to signify those who at that moment believed on account of the disciples' word, but this is unlikely. The future almost certainly gives the sense of it. Turner regards this as a present participle for the future, perhaps under Hebrew or Aramaic influence (Μ, III, p. 87).
62. Taking είς έμέ with των πιστευόντων rather than with λόγου (i.e., "their word with respect to me"). The former is more in accordance with Johannine style, but the latter is not impossible and is favored by the word order.
63. For ἳνα ὦσιν in this prayer see the comments on verse 11. John sets πάντες and ἕν side by side to emphasize that the great number of believers is to be one.
64. The address is Πατήρ as in verses 24 and 25, whereas in verses 1,5, 11 the vocative Πάτερ is used (there is some textual variation, but this appears to be the true text). Clearly there is not much difference between the two.
65. Cf. Barrett: "The unity of the Church is strictly analogous to the unity of the Father and the Son; the Father is active in the Son — it is the Father who does his works (14.10) — and apart from the Father the deeds of the Son are meaningless, and indeed would be impossible; the Son again is in the Father, eternally with him in the unity of the Godhead, active alike in creation and redemption. The Father and the Son are one and yetremain distinct. The believers are to be, and are to be one, in the Father and the Son, distinct from God, yet abiding in God, and themselves the sphere of God's activity (14.12)."
66. Strachan has a helpful note: "The basis of this unity is religious. Even* what is called 'oecumenical' union, the world-wide Church remains imperfect without a unity in our doctrine of God and of salvation, and a unity of purpose in our mission. The size and extent of the Church alone will not impress the world. This inward unity expressing itself in a common mission and message will alone impress the world." J. C. Earwaker is of the opinion that the ἳνα which precedes this clause should not be taken as final but as introducing a third petition. Christ is praying, he thinks, "(1) that all may be one; (2) that they may be in us; (3) that the world may believe" (ExT, LXXV [1963-64], p. 317). This is attractive, but it does not face the fact that the prayer is "for those who will believe in me through their message" (v. 20). It is not easy to understand how a prayer for such people, who before believing were part of "the world," could include a petition "that the world may believe." Moreover, Earwaker's view seems almost to require a καί before the third ἳνα.
67. Cf. Barclay, "We must never think of our cross as our penalty; we must think of it as our glory. . . . The harder the task we give a student, or a craftsman, or a surgeon, the more we honour him. We, in effect, say that we believe that nobody but him could attempt that task at all. So when it is hard to be a Christian, we must regard it as our glory, as our honour given to us by God."
68. ἳνα here is fully telic; for ἳνα see on 1:8 and for κάγώ on 1:31.
69. Cf. Lagrange: "The manner of this union is explained here: the Son is in the faithful, He is in the Father: it is thus by Him that the faithful are united with the Father: not that they pass from the one to the other, but because they find the Father in the Son."
70. Again we have telic ἳνα.
71. The perfect τετελειωμένοι may denote a state they should attain and remain in. On the meaning of the verb Temple remarks: "The word translated perfected does not primarily suggest ethical perfection but complete realisation of ideal or type; a fair rendering of the original would be: that they may become full grown into one." εἰς is somewhat surprising in a context where we would expect έν. According to BDF είς here "denotes rather the purpose, the result" (205).
72. Taking αύτούς to refer to the same group as the preceding αύτοῖς. It is possible to take it as an ad sensum construction, referring to "the world" (so Bernard).
73. There is one δτι for σύ με άπέστειλας and ήγάπησας αύτούς κτλ. The two are a unity. The love of God and the sending of the Son are inseparable.
74. θέλω. We should bear in mind the point made by Bailey, that "the consciousness of the union of His will with the Father's destroys any distinction between 'I pray' and "I will.'"
75. As in verse 2 there is an alternation of genders. The neuter δ of that which the Father has given is quite general. Then we have the masculine κάκεΐνοι as the personal note becomes more prominent. The clause with the neuter δ δέδωκάς μοι is in an especially prominent position, which may indicate that John wants to give it emphasis. Turner thinks that "the gift is depicted first in its unity = ὅ, then individually = κάκεΐνος" (Μ, III, p. 21).
76. The word order ειμί έγώ distinguishes this from the formula έγώ ειμί used to such effect elsewhere in this Gospel (see on 8:58, etc.). But the personal pronoun enables emphasis to be given to "I" (see on 1:20).
77. Godet comments, "This saying of Jesus is that which leads us farthest into the divine depths. It shows Christian speculation on what path it must seek the solution of the relations of the Trinity; love is the key of this mystery,"
78. Cf. Dods: "The Father's justice is appealed to, that the believing may not share the fate of the unbelieving world." Cf. also Lenski, "Jesus closes with a word of complete confidence in the righteousness of the Father, yet he leaves unsaid what action he expects from this righteousness. He does not need to say this, for the Father will most assuredly act in righteous accord with what Jesus here lays before him."
79. καί before ό κόσμος is a little surprising. It can scarcely mean "even," but "also" is not much easier. Perhaps we should take έγώ δέ σε έγνων as a parenthesis and understand the two καίς as "both . . . and," "both the world did not know you . . . and these knew. . . ." The ignorance of the world and the knowledge of the disciples form a pair. Moule notes that Abbott favors this view, and proceeds, "but the first καί does not seem so easily explicable" (IBNTG, p. 167). However, he gives no alternative explanation, preferring apparently to regard the καί as misplaced. Turner favors the view adopted here (Μ, III, p. 335). REB renders "although" (as also Goodspeed, Schonfield, etc.). FF has "indeed."
80. The aorist έγνώρισα points to a completed activity.
81. For άγάπη see on 5:42. The cognate accusative coupled with a personal object, ή άγάπη ήν ήγάπησάς με, is most unusual. Abbott finds no parallel except Eph. 2:4, and there the accusative may be due to the attraction of the relative into the case of the antecedent. He thinks that the Evangelist "shrank from representing the love of God as instrumental ('wherewith')" and he proceeds to connect it with the statement that God is love (2014).
82. Cf. Westcott, "The last word of the Lord's prayer corresponds with the last word of His discourses; έγώ νενίκηκα τόν κόσμον (xvi.33). He is Himself the source of victory and life."