Thoughts on the Gospel of John (166) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
John 17:6–8

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (166)
The first and very special request of the Lord Jesus in His prayer is that the Father be glorified (vv. 1?5). Before He expresses further requests with regard to His disciples, He describes them in words that go to the heart.

The disciples no longer belong to this world, just as Christ never belonged to this world. Are they thereby disadvantaged? No, on the contrary – they know the name of the Father. A name in the Bible stands for all that a person is. Thus, in the life and works of Jesus, the disciples were able to know the Father (ch. 14:9).

Further, the Lord says that the disciples belonged to the Father. They had always been part of the counsel that the Father made in past eternity.

“They have kept Your word” – how gracious is this assessment! Let us only think of how slow-witted the disciples were and how sluggish and unresponsive when the Lord spoke to them! Nevertheless, they had thoroughly believed and recognised that everything their Lord did and said came from God the Father.

The disciples had to learn one thing in particular: Jesus was not only the promised Messiah, but He was also the eternal Son who had come forth from the Father – a proof of His own love. Furthermore, the fact that the Father sent His Son proves the Father’s love for His children, those who believe.

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 22:1-31 · Psalms 124:1-8