John 17:6-19

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• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
  • The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
  • Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit: Separation from the World
  • Chapter IV, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110). (Longer version only - 4th cent interpolation.)
  • XLVII.24-37; Tatian's Diatessaron (c. 150-160).
  • II.XX.5, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
  • Chapter III, Chapter XII, On Prayer,  Tertullian (c. 199)
  • III.2, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • I.II.10, II.III.6, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
  • XIII.20, XIII.21, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
  • From Augustine's Tractates on John
    • Tractate 106 (17:6-8)
      • "This joy of His that is bestowed on them by Him, was to be fulfilled, He says, in them; and for that very end declared that He had spoken in the world. This is that peace and blessedness in the world to come, for the attaining of which we must live temperately, and righteously, and godly in the present."
    • Tractate 107 (17:9-13)
      • "It was therefore a gracious privilege bestowed upon them, that they, like Himself, should not be of the world, through the deliverance which He was giving them from the world. He, however, was never of the world; for even in respect of His servant-form He was born of that Holy Spirit of whom they were born again. For if on that account they were no more of the world, because born again of the Holy Spirit; on the same account He was never of the world, because born of the Holy Spirit."
    • Tractate 108 (17:16-19)
      • "In this prayer, therefore, all whom He redeemed, whether then alive or thereafter to live in the flesh, were prayed for by our Redeemer when, praying for the apostles who were then with Him, He also conjoined those who were yet to believe on Him through their word."
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "He shows what type of deliverance he means: not that they should be in no danger, but that in being preserved from all they might prove by experience that the doctrine of salvation is true, which doctrine they received from his mouth to deliver to others."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "They are not left here to pursue the same objects as the men around them, but to glorify God, and to serve their generation. The Spirit of God in true Christians is opposed to the spirit of the world."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "So one even of them whom God had given him is lost. So far was even that decree from being unchangeable!"
  • "Christ's Prayer for his People," John 17:15, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1855.
    • "Every one of us, beloved, when we listen to the words of Christ should recollect that he is praying for us; that while it is for the great body of his elect he intercedes in this chapter and the one preceding it, yet it is also for each believer in particular that he offers intercession."
  • "The Character of Christ's People," John 17:16, Charles H. Spurgeon, 1856.
    • "The people for whom Christ prays are an unearthly people. They are a people somewhat, above the world, distinguished altogether from it."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "Such a strain befits rather the upper sanctuary than the scene of conflict; but I speak so "in the world," that My joy, the joy I experience in knowing that such intercessions are to be made for them by their absent Lord, may be tasted by those who now hear them, and by all who shall hereafter read the record of them."
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
    • "He now goes to the Father; these are left behind to preach the gospel, establish his kingdom, manifest his glory. Hence, he pleads that he may "keep them through his name," or power and love. He especially pleads that they may be kept "one," united as the Father and the Son."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, John 17:6-19, Susan Hedahl, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
  • "Guided in Prayer," Kate Huey, Weekly Seeds, iucc.org, 2009.
    • "What are your top priorities? Does your way of life contradict or express those priorities?"
  • "First Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Easter 7, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "Another form of denial is to relegate the idea of unity to a very abstract level, where it counts for the oneness all Christians have in worshipping the one God and one Jesus, but is not allowed to affect how people work together and live together."
  • Gospel Analysis, Pastor Edward Markquart, Sermons from Seattle, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
  • Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, John 17:6-19, David Ewart, 2009.
    • "Whenever we are offered a blessing in the Bible, we might be tempted to run and hide - because a blessing never comes without a God-sized mission. And God-sized missions never come without a cost."
  • Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks.
    • "Can 'being weird' be similar to 'being sanctified'? I think so."
  • Sermon Preparation Thoughts and Questions by Wesley White, 2006.
  • "Armed with the Truth," Walter Wink, The Christian Century, 1994.
    • "THE TRUTHTELLER speaks: I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. I have revealed your essence to those who have been responsive to me, despite everything the Domination System [kosmos] could do to stop me."
  • "One with the Father and the Son," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
    • "Jesus prays that we will not be overcome by the powers of darkness such that we lose our eternal standing in the sight of God."
  • "Keep and Guard," Jerry Goebel, One Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study and activities.
    • "How often I wish that God would give me the resources to take people 'out of their world'; out of homelessness, jails, nursing facilities, cycles of abuse or addiction.  And yet, he doesn’t!  Instead, he tells me to go into their world and be present through the despair."
  • Wellspring of the Gospel, Easter 7B, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
  • Marginally Mark, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia.
  • "That They May Be One," F. Dean Lueking, The Christian Century, 1997. At Religion Online.
    • "It is wearisome, deadly wearisome, to endure church battles that split not once but repeatedly. The blight of triumphalism, of power games, and the obsession with always being right still throw up huge, offensive roadblocks against Jesus’ prayer. Such sin drags us back to the Upper Room, to dull disciples among whom we now sit, to the grief of our Lord over our tearing apart the seamless robe of unifying love in which he would wrap us."
  • Commentary by Hall Harris at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
  • "The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus (John 17)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "The name of a person in the days of our Lord represented a person’s character. The character of our Lord in His earthly life and ministry is well depicted by the name, Jesus. It is on the basis of our Lord’s character as God’s Savior for man that this prayer of our Lord is grounded."
• Articles & Background:
  • "Worship in the Fourth Gospel: A Cultural Interpretation of John 14-17," Jerome H. Neyrey, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2006. Part 2.
    • "...the personnel of worship are clearly defined: the Patron Father who bestows benefaction on his clients by means of Jesus, the Broker. Jesus, in turn, brokers the concerns of the clients to the Patron. Finally, the household with many rooms is not space out of the world, but relationships brokered by Jesus."
  • "The Disunity of the Church and the Credibility of the Gospel," Bruce D. Marshall, St Olaf College. Theology Today, 1993.
    • "Identifying such an ecumenical doctrinal consensus will not by itself unify the divided churches, and there are many other tasks to which theology must attend. But if there is no such consensus, then the gospel is false, and all other theological projects are, in the nature of the case, quite useless."
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
  • Anderson, Paul N., "The Having-Sent-Me Father: Aspects of Agency, Encounter, and Irony in the Johannine Father-Son Relationship," Semeia, 1999.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Appold, Mark, "Christ Alive! Church Alive! Reflections on the Prayer of Jesus in John 17," Currents in Theology and Mission, 1978.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Black, David Alan, "On the Style and Significance of John 17," Criswell Theological Journal, 1988.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Burghardt, William, S.J., "Gospel Joy, Christian Joy," The Living Pulpit, 1996. (see Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit 5.4, 1996.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Cadier, Jean, "The Unity of the Church: An Exposition of John 17," Interpretation, 1957.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Cook, W. Robert, "The 'Glory' Motif in the Johannine Corpus," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 1984.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • D'Angelo, Mary Rose, "Imitating Deity in the Gospel of John: Theological Language and 'Father' in 'Prayers of Jesus'," Semeia, 1999.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Esselstyn, Micki Bingham, "The Angel of Joy Demands Our Participation," The Living Pulpit, 1996. (see Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit 5.4, 1996.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Janzen, J. Gerald, "The Scope of Jesus's High Priestly Prayer in John 17," Encounter, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Killinger, John, "Missing the Resurrection," The Christian Century, 2006.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Laskey, Dennis A., "Luther's Exposition of John 17," Currents in Theology and Mission, 1991.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Lueking, F. Dean, "That They May Be One," The Christian Century, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Marshall, Bruce D., "The Disunity of the Church and the Credibility of the Gospel," Theology Today, 1993.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Minear, Paul S., "Evangelism, Ecumenism, and John 17," Theology Today, 1978.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Minear, Paul Sevier, "John 17:1-11," Interpretation, 1978.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Morgan, Richard, "Fulfillment in the Fourth Gospel," Interpretation, 1957.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Morrison, Clinton D., "Mission and Ethic: An Interpretation of John 17," Interpretation, 1965.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Newheart, Michael Willett, "The Soul of the Father and the Son: A Psychological (yet Playful and Poetic) Approach to the Father-Son Language in the Fourth Gospel," Semeia, 1999.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Payton, James R., Jr., "On Unity and Truth: Martin Bucer's Sermon on John 17," Calvin Theological Journal, 1992.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Sheppard, Beth M., "The Rise of Rome: The Emergence of a New Model for Exploring the Fourth Gospel," American Theological Library Association Summary of Proceedings, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Wink, Walter, "Armed with Truth," The Christian Century, 1994.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Reviews:
  • Review: George L. Parsenios, Departure and Consolation: The Johannine Farewell Discourse in Light of Greco-Roman Literature. Brill, 2005. Review by Jan van der Watt, Review of Biblical Literature, 2007.
• Sermons:
  • "In But Not Of the World," the Rev. Dr. James C. Howell, Day 1, 2009.
  • "A Fire Where No One Expects One," Easter 7 - 28 May 2006, David Zersen, Göttinger Predigten im Internet: Every Sunday Sermons based on the RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors.
  • "The Evil Among Us," Bishop Minerva Carcano, Day 1, 1997.
  • Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary and Homily
    • Easter 7, 2008
    • Easter 7, 2006
    • Easter 7, 2000
• With Children:
  • "In the World, but Not of the World," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
• Drama:
  • "Jesus the Man of Prayer," Michael English, Milton Parish Church Drama Resources.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • John 17:11-19, at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
  • Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
  • John 17:17, Heartlight - Free Christian PowerPoint Backgrounds.
  • Commercial Site: "Jesus Said These Things," (John 17) Visual liturgy for Easter 7B, The Work of the People.
• Hymns and Music:
  • Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: John 17:11, 17. The Cyber Hymnal.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
  • Pentecost/Holy Spirit
  • Prayer
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
  • Holy Spirit
  • Prayer
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of John