_These words spake Jesus_ CHRIST’S PRAYER FOR HIMSELF I. THE CIRCUMSTANCE. 1. The place--probably the west bank of the Kidron; but to a devout soul any spot serves as an oratory (John 4:21; 1 Timothy 2:8). 2. The time--the last night of His life. Not surprising that sinful men should pray then:... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is life eternal_ THE EVERLASTING LIFE I. THE INESTIMABLE BLESSING OF WHICH OUR LORD SPEAKS. Life is a great boon. “My kingdom,” a dying monarch is reported to have said, “for an inch of time.” Yet after all what is this present life in itself (James 4:14)? And when it is most eagerly prized... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have glorified Thee on the earth_ THE GLORIFICATION OF GOD The words may be considered I. IN A MEDIATORY SENSE; so they are proper to Christ; 1. “I have glorified Thee.” Christ glorified God (1) By His person (Hebrews 1:3). (2) By His life and perfect obedience (John 8:46; John 8:49). (3)... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest Me._ CHRIST’S WORK UPON EARTH I. ITS NATURE. The manifestation of the name of God. (John 17:6). In Himself invisible and incomprehensible (John 1:18, John 6:46; Job 11:7, Job 37:23; 1 Timothy 6:16), who and what He was must have remained a... [ Continue Reading ]
_I pray for them_ THE KEEPING OF THE SAINTS I. THE PERSONS. “Those whom Thou hast given Me.” The disciples in contrast 1. With the world (John 17:9). Christ meant, not that men, as men, were excluded from His intercessions, but that they were not then the object of His pleadings; He was then acti... [ Continue Reading ]
_All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine_ I. THE SAME NAMES AND TITLES: Jehovah (Hebrews 1:10); God Romans 9:11; 1 Timothy 3:16). II. THE SAME NATURE AND ESSENCE: “I and My Father are one.” III. THE SAME PROPERTIES: Eternity (John 1:1); omnipotence, as seen in Christ’s miracles; omniscience: “He... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world_ CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES I. CHRIST IS NO MORE IN THE WORLD. All the purposes for which He came are accomplished. There is no further employment, therefore, for Him here. 1. His humiliation is past and His glory begun. 2. His work is... [ Continue Reading ]
_These things I speak in the world, that they might have My Joy fulfilled in themselves_ CHRIST’S PRAYER FOR HIS DISCIPLES’ JOY I. CHRIST IS THE AUTHOR AND ORIGINAL OF THE JOY OF HIS PEOPLE. 1. As He is their Prophet to instruct them. The state of ignorance is a state of darkness. And that is an... [ Continue Reading ]
_I hath given them Thy Word, and the world hath hated them._ THE BELIEVER’S POSITION IN THE WORLD It was one distinguished by I. SPIRITUAL PRIVILEGE. “I hath given them Thy Word.” 1. These terms are comprehensive of the revelation of Divine grace and truth as a whole, which Christ Jesus taught a... [ Continue Reading ]
_I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil_ THE PARTING PRAYER I. THE MOTIVES WHICH PROMPTED THIS PRAYER. 1. To evince the tenderness of His heart toward His people. Usually, when any master-grief takes possession of the mind, we se... [ Continue Reading ]
_They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world_ THE UNWORLDLINESS OF CHRIST This does not mean 1. That He cared nothing for the world. There are men so utterly selfish, and absorbed with their own concerns that in a sense they may be said to be “not of the world.” They care nothing fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sanctify them through Thy truth._ THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE SAINT’S I. AN OBJECT DEAR TO CHRIST. 1. He prayed for this on earth. Prayer is always the sign of earnest desire for another’s good: how earnest, then, must have been that desire which could bid back the onrush of sorrow from Gethsemane... [ Continue Reading ]
_As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world_ CHRISTIAN MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES: THEIR IDEALS It is our privilege to enter at once, by the open door of this utterance, into the interior of our Lord’s ideas. He speaks of missions and missionaries. Addressing His F... [ Continue Reading ]
_Neither pray I for these alone, but for those also which shall believe on Me through their word_ SAVING FAITH THROUGH THE WORD I. THE BENEFITS OF CHRIST’S MEDIATION ARE LIMITED TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE ON HIM. 1. In the very passage of this prayer, in which He designs expressly to set forth the wide... [ Continue Reading ]
_The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them_ THE CHURCH’S UNITY AND ITS INFLUENCE I. THE GIFT WHICH CHRIST BESTOWS ON HIS disciples. 1. What was the glory which Christ received? A glory belonged to the Son of God in His own Divine right (John 17:5). But the glory GIVEN to Him must refer to... [ Continue Reading ]
_I in them and Thou in Me_ THE THREE UNIONS There are three most admirable unions proposed to our faith in the Christian religion. The Unity of Essence, in the Trinity; the Unity of Person, in Jesus Christ; and the union between Christ and His Church. The first of these is an ensample and prefigu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Father I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me._ CHRIST’S LAST WILL Jesus no longer says, “I pray” but “I will.” This expression, found nowhere else, in the mouth of Jesus, is generally explained by saying that the Son thus expressed Himself, because He felt Himself on this point... [ Continue Reading ]
_O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee_ THE “AMEN” TO THE SUBLIMEST OF ALL PRAYERS I. GOD AND THE WORLD. 1. God. (1) His relationship--“Father.” No relationship is more intelligible, attractive, morally assimilating. It means causation, affection, resemblance. Christ’s God was not a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I have declared unto them Thy name_ THE DIVINE NAME The name of God is His moral character. This is the stability and glory of the universe. These words present it I. AS THE HIGHEST OBJECT FOR REVELATION. “I have declared.” Paul said at Athens, “Him declare I unto you.” Not only is this the... [ Continue Reading ]