John Chapter 17 verse 9 Holy Bible

John 17 : 9 Bible Verse Songs

• I'll Pray For You by Gaither Vocal Band

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 9. - I - very emphatic - am praying for them (for this use of ἐρωτῶ see note, John 16:23). We must remember that this is perfectly consistent with the fact that, in the day of the spiritual manifestation to the disciples, when both the Father and Son came to them, the disciples would ask the Father for the gifts which his love to them was waiting to supply; and he, Christ himself, would hear them if they asked in his Name; and that then there would be no need that he should pray the Father for them. That time had not yet come, though it was coming. Both statements are also perfectly consistent with his "intercession" for us. Not concerning - or, not for - the world am I praying. Surely this is not an assertion that he would never pray, or that he had not already prayed, for the world. Nay, his entire ministry is the expression of the Father's love to the whole world (John 3:16). He came as Jehovah's Lamb to take away its sin (John 1:29), he bade his disciples (Matthew 5:44) pray for their enemies, and he cried at the last for a blessing on his murderers. He "came to seek and save the lost," to "call sinners to repentance," "not to condemn, but to save the world." Moreover, in this prayer (Ver. 21) he does pray for those who should ultimately, though they do not now, believe on him through the word of the disciples; therefore it is inconceivable that he should here dogmatically limit the range of his gracious desire. Calvin here observes, "We are commanded to pray for all (l Timothy 2:1)," and quotes Luke 23:34 that Christ prayed for his murderers. "We ought to pray that this man and that man and every man may be saved, and thus include the whole human race, because we cannot distinguish the elect from the reprobate." Calvin implies that Christ is here within the sanctuary, and places before his eyes the secret judgments of the Father. Lampe goes much further. Luther says, "In the same sense in which he prays for the disciples, he does not pray for the world." But the best explanation is that the high-priestly intercession at this supreme moment is concerned with those who were already given to him, and who have come to believe in his Divine Person and commission. He expressly and divinely commends to the Father those whom thou hast given me - the burden of the thought is contained in the motive he suggests for this commendation, viz. - because they are thine; i.e. though thou hast given them to me, though they have "come to me," through thy drawing, they are more than ever "thine." This most fervent yielding to the attraction of Jesus, and utter moral surrender to his control, do not alienate the heart from the Father, but make it more than ever his.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) I pray for them: I pray not for the world.--Better, I am praying for them: I am not praying for the world. Both pronouns are emphatic. "I who have during my work on earth taught them;" "they who have received the truth" (John 17:8). "I who am about to leave the world;" "they who will remain in the world" (John 17:11). The tense is the strict present, referring to the prayer which He is at this moment uttering, and not to His general practice, which the Authorised version may be taken to express. Against any limitation of the prayer of our Lord, see John 17:21, and His own prayer for His enemies, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Comp. also His command to His disciples to pray for "them which despitefully used them" (Matthew 5:44). The present prayer was like that which pious Rabbis were accustomed to offer for their pupils. (Comp. Sch?ttgen's Note here.) It is from its very nature applicable only to disciples. He is leaving them, and commends them to His Father's care.But for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.--This is the special claim on which He commends them to the Father. They were the Father's before they were given to the Son. By that gift they have become the Father's more fully (John 17:6-8). They are the Father's, for all things which are the Son's are the Father's, and all things which are the Father's are the Son's (John 17:10). . . .