João 17
William Hendriksen · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 17
Hendriksen says, “Salt combats deterioration. Similarly Christians, by showing themselves to be Christians indeed, are constantly combating moral and spiritual decay....To be sure, the world is wicked. Yet God alone knows how far more corrupt it would be without the restraining example, life, and prayers of the saints.” (From New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew - BORRO) As the “light of the world” we are the bearers of the Good News of salvation. Jesus Himself is the true light and, just as it was said of John the Baptist, we are to be “a witness to testify concerning that light” (John 1:7–9). A Christian who witnesses in a spirit of genuine concern for another person is not likely to be corrupted by that person’s immorality. And through gracious, loving concern, he may perhaps win that person to the Savior. We do not act as the salt of the earth or shine as the light of the world by necessarily denouncing the sins of our worldly associates. Our own holy life will serve as a sufficient rebuke, and our interest in others at this point is not their conduct but their need of Jesus Christ as their Savior. Henry Clay Trumbull was, among other things, a great personal evangelist. One day he found himself seated on a train next to a young man who was drinking quite heavily. Each time the young man opened his bottle, he offered a drink to Mr. Trumbull, who declined with thanks. Finally the young man said to Mr. Trumbull, “You must think I’m a pretty rough fellow.” Mr. Trumbull’s gracious reply, “I think you’re a very generous-hearted fellow,” opened the way for an earnest conversation with the young man about his need to commit himself to Christ. (Charles G. Trumbull, Taking Men Alive ) After Jesus called Matthew the tax collector to Himself and was eating in Matthew’s house with a number of his friends, the Pharisees complained, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:30–32). Surely this is what God would have us do as we shine as lights in the world. Finally, despite all the suggestions in this chapter, there may be a time when the corrupt environment becomes intolerable; where we, like Lot, become tormented by the lawless deeds we see and hear (2 Peter 2:7–8; Genesis 19). Such a situation may occur, for example, in a coed dormitory where unmarried couples are living in open immorality, or in a business situation where there is unceasing pressure to break the law or compromise Christian principles. In these circumstances, we should prayerfully consider the need to leave that ungodly situation. (I realize this may not be humanly possible in a military situation, but we can resort to prayer, since with God all things are possible.) Maintaining personal holiness in an unholy world is admittedly difficult. The foregoing suggestions are not intended to make the problem seem easy, but to offer some practical help for a tough problem. Above all, we must look to Jesus who, though He ate with tax collectors and sinners, was Himself “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). And we must claim His promise that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). J R Miller - John 17:15 Christ does not wish that we shall be kept from suffering—but that in our suffering, we shall not sin. He does not wish that we may never have sickness—but that in our sickness, we may not fail of patience, sweetness, and trust. He does not wish that we may have no trials or struggles—but that in our trials and struggles, we may not be overcome and our lives hurt or marred. There is only one evil in the world—SIN, and it lurks everywhere! It comes even in our purest joys; we may forget God in them. The happiest home may become a place of peril to us, leading us to self-indulgence, love of ease, forgetfulness of the world's need and sorrow, neglect of duties, even to forgetfulness of God. There is no sin in our being hated by the world, in our being wronged or injured by others; but if we endure the hatred and the wrong resentfully, if we grow angry and seek to avenge ourselves—we have sinned. There is no sin in our being assailed by temptations, we cannot live a day without being tempted—but the moment we yield to the temptation, we have sinned. There is no sin in our suffering adversity, disappointment, loss, need; but the moment that in any such experience we repine, doubt God, or rebel against his will—we have done evil and sinned. God's Comfort I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. — John 17:15 Today's Scripture : Matthew 5:10-16 As you turn through the pages of your Bible, you may be surprised by how little God seems to care for the ease and comfort of His saints. Take those heroic characters of the Old Testament who faced danger and risked death rather than be disloyal to Him. Did God coddle them? Did He protect them from the rude winds of life? The writer to the Hebrews gives us the answer: “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Heb. 11:37). So much for comfort! In the New Testament too, there seems to be this strange unconcern for our comfort. When Jesus prayed for His followers just before His execution, He didn’t plead that the Father would shelter and protect them. Instead He said, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15). Our Lord Jesus was concerned not for their comfort but for their character. God does not shield us from the pain That sin has spread throughout the race; For if He did, how could we know His depths of wisdom, love, and grace? —DJD God does not keep us from life's storms—He walks with us through them. Pretend When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child . . . but when I became a man, I put away childish things. — 1 Corinthians 13:11 Today's Scripture : John 17:6-19 Our 4-year-old grandson loves to play pretend games with grand-ma. He comes over to our home once a week, and Ma-Ma (that’s what he calls her) takes him to the supermarket, to the botanical gardens to feed fish and turtles, and to ride the underground train—all without leaving our home! He guards this game of pretend so jealously as something between Ma-Ma and him that one day when we rode the real train, he asked, “Why are there other people in our train?” Pretending is normal for a young child. But some carry the habit of pretending into adulthood when they attend church. What they do in church has no bearing on what they do the rest of the week. On Sunday they praise God heartily, but on Monday they become different people. What they express in worship is not seen in their behavior. Our Lord Jesus Christ knows that we can fall into this trap easily. That is why in His prayer to His Father, He said, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). Consistency! How much we need To walk a measured pace, To live the life of which we speak, Until we see His face. —Anon. Some people have heaven on their tongues but the world in their hearts. THE ONE ANOTHERS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT One another is a term in the NT which is related to the unity between believers. The Positive ><> Ro 12:10+, Ro 12:16+; Ro 13:8+; Ro 14:13+, Ro 14:19+; Ro 15:5+, Ro 15:7+, Ro 15:14+; Ro 16:16+ ><>1Co 12:25; 1Co 16:20; 2Co 13:12 ><> Ga 5:13; Ep 4:2+, Ep 4:25+, Ep 4:32+; Ep 5:19+, Ep 5:21+ ><> Php 2:3+; Col 3:13+, Col 3:16+ ><> 1Th 3:12+; 1Th 4:9+, 1Th 4:18+; 1Th 5:11+, 1Th 5:13+, 1Th 5:15+; 2Th 1:3 ><> Heb 3:13+; He 10:24, 25+ ><> Jas 5:16, 1Pe 1:22+; 1Pe 4:8, 9+, 1Pe 4:10+; 1Pe 5:5+, 1Pe 5:14+ ><> 1Jn 1:7,3:11,23,4:7,11, 12, 2Jn 1:5 The Negative <>< 1Co 6:7, 7:5, 11:33, Ga 5:15, Ga 5:26+ Col 3:9+, Jas 4:11, 5:9 John 17:16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Related Passages: 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Philippians 3:20-21+ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME They (Jesus' disciples) are (ouk - absolutely) not of the (kosmos - godless) world, even as I am (ouk - absolutely) not of the (kosmos - godless) world - Jesus repeats the truth "they are not of the world" from John 17:14. The disciples are no longer citizens of the kingdom of darkness headed by Satan, but have been transferred to the kingdom of light headed by King Jesus (cf Col 1:13+, cf Acts 26:18+) Henry Morris on not of the world - We are now, because of Christ, citizens of His world rather than this world (Philippians 3:20+). We now serve in this world as "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20). The disciples’ unity binds them to Christ and at the same time separates them from the world Merrill Tenney points out that "The declaration that “they are not of the world” gives the negative aspect of the previous prayer that they may be one as Jesus and the Father are one. The disciples’ unity binds them to Christ and at the same time separates them from the world (ED: REMINDS ME OF BALL TETHERED TO THE STABILIZING POLE). John stresses the separation that results from difference of nature. This principle appears in the separation of antichrists from believers: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us” (1 John 2:19+). The separation is inherent (ED: I WOULD ADD SUPERNATURAL, SPIRIT ENABLED), not artificial." (BORROW The Expositor's Bible commentary PAGE 356) Jesus is not calling disciples to form a "holy huddle." Kenneth Gangel - Whatever the biblical doctrine of separation might mean, it certainly does not mean isolation. In the early Middle Ages when the world began to corrupt the purity of the church, some saw monasticism as the only solution. It was apparent to them that one could maintain purity of life and a clear relationship to God only by hiding from the world behind ten-foot walls (ED: HISTORY PROVES MONASTICISM WAS A FAILURE BECAUSE ASCETICISM, ETC IS "OF NO VALUE AGAIN FLESHLY INDULGENCE" Col 2:23+). Some believers even became lone hermits living in the hills until communal monasticism became more popular....Jesus prayed not for removal from the world but for an awareness of its evils so they could be avoided (ED: AND HE SENT HIS SPIRIT WHO GAVE THE POWER TO FEND OFF THE EVIL TEMPTATIONS). (See Holman New Testament Commentary - John - Page 317)
João 17
Hendriksen - Jesus offers himself willingly (ED: ON THE CROSS) in order that the disciples may be truly (not merely ceremonially or outwardly) set apart and qualified for the exalted task of proclaiming the Gospel to a world lost in sin; in other words, in order that they may be truly consecrated persons (literally, “in order that they also may be consecrated ones in truth”). (BORROW Exposition of the Gospel according to John PAGE 362) I must deliberately give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet. -- Oswald Chambers Leon Morris on that they....may be sanctified - This is connected with the disciples in two ways. It is “for them.” 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.” 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. (BORROW The Gospel According to John PAGE 732) Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. -- Oswald Chambers NET NOTE - In what sense does Jesus refer to his own ‘sanctification’ with the phrase I set myself apart? In 10:36 Jesus referred to himself as “the one whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,” which seems to look at something already accomplished. Here, however, it is something he does on behalf of the disciples (on their behalf) and this suggests a reference to his impending death on the cross. There is in fact a Johannine wordplay here based on slightly different meanings for the Greek verb translated set apart (ἁγιάζω, hagiazō). In the sense it was used in 10:36 of Jesus and in 17:17 and here to refer to the disciples, it means to set apart in the sense that prophets (cf. Jer 1:5) and priests (Exod 40:13, Lev 8:30, and 2 Chr 5:11) were consecrated (or set apart) to perform their tasks. But when Jesus speaks of setting himself apart (consecrating or dedicating himself) on behalf of the disciples here in 17:19 the meaning is closer to the consecration of a sacrificial animal (Deut 15:19). Jesus is “setting himself apart,” i.e., dedicating himself, to do the will of the Father, that is, to go to the cross on the disciples’ behalf (and of course on behalf of their successors as well). Phillip Brooks - John 17:19 - Do you remember, when Jesus was sitting with His disciples at the Last Supper, how He lifted up His voice and prayed, and in the midst of His prayer there came these wondrous words: “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified?” Is there anything in all the teachings that man has had from the lips of God that is nobler, that is more far-reaching than that—to be my best not simply for my own sake, but for the sake of the world? You can help your fellowmen—you must help your fellowmen; but the only way you can help them is by being the noblest and the best man that it is possible for you to be. Robert Hawker - John 17:19 - LET thy morning thoughts, my soul, be directed to this sweet view of thy Saviour. Behold thy Jesus presenting himself as the Surety of his people before God and the Father. Having now received the call and authority of God the Father, and being fitted with a body suited to the service of a Redeemer, here see him entering upon the vast work, and, in those blessed words, declaring the cause of it—I sanctify myself. Did Jesus mean that he made himself more holy for the purpose? No, surely; for that was impossible. But by Jesus’ sanctifying himself, must be understood (as the Nazarite from the womb, consecrated, set apart, dedicated to the service to which the Father had called him) a voluntary offering—an holy unblemished sacrifice. And observe for whom: for their sakes; not for himself, for he needed it not. The priests under the law made their offerings, first for themselves, and then for the people. But such an High-Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; and who needed not daily, as those high priests, so to offer. For the law maketh men high-priests which have infirmity; but the Son is concecrated for evermore. My soul! pause over this view of thy Jesus; and when thou hast duly pondered it, go to the mercy-seat, under the Spirit’s leadings and influences, and there, by faith, behold thy Jesus, in his vesture dipped in blood, there sanctified, and there appearing in the presence of God for thee. There plead the dedication of Jesus; for it is of the Father’s own appointment. There tell thy God and Father (for it is the Father’s glory when a poor sinner glorifies his dear Son in him) that He, that Holy One, whom the Father consecrated, and with an oath confirmed in his high-priestly office for ever, appeareth there for thee. Tell God that thy High-Priest’s holiness and sacrifice was altogether holy, pure, without a spot; and both his Person, and his nature, and offering, clean as God’s own righteous law. Tell, my soul, tell thy God and Father these sacred solemn truths. And while thou art thus coming to the mercy-seat, under the leadings of the Spirit, and wholly in the name and office-work of thy God and Saviour, look unto Jesus, and call to mind those sweet words, for whose sake that Holy One sanctified himself; and then drop a petition more before thou comest from the heavenly court: beg, and pray, and wrestle, with the bountiful Lord, for, suited strength and grace, that as, for thy sake, among the other poor sinners of his redemption-love, Jesus sanctified himself, so thou mayest be able to be separated from every thing but Jesus; and as thy happiness was Christ’s end, so his glory may be thy first and greatest object. Yes, dearest Jesus! methinks I hear thee say, thou shalt be for me, and not for another: so will I be for thee. Oh! thou condescending, loving God! make me thine, that whether I live, I may live unto the Lord; or whether I die, I may die unto the Lord; so that living or dying I may be thine. Vance Havner - Sanctified for Others For their sakes I sanctify myself. John 17:19. "Habits of life though harmless they seem" must be dropped if they get between the soul and the Saviour so that His blessed face is not seen There is a sense in which we, too, must sanctify ourselves for the sake of others. We live in a sin-sick world infested and infected by the microbes of evil. We live in a satanic world order, and as the physician seeks to save the patient while he fights the disease we must love the souls of men but contend with the sinful powers that beset them. Surgeons and nurses must keep fit and clean, and so must we who bear the vessels of the Lord. We must keep strong by the food of the Word, by resting in the Lord, by exercising unto godliness (1Ti 4:7-8). If we develop points of infection they must be dealt with (Pr 28:13, 1Jn 1:9). Any habit or interest that lowers our resistance to evil must be abandoned (Heb 12:1). The offending eye or hand must be plucked out or cut off, for sometimes spiritual surgery is indicated. "Habits of life though harmless they seem" must be dropped if they get between the soul And the Saviour so that His blessed face is not seen. For God's sake, for the sake of others, for our own sakes, let us sanctify ourselves. John 17:20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; I do not ask on behalf of these alone: John 17:6-11 Eph 4:11 but for those: Ac 2:41 4:4 Ro 15:18,19 16:26 2Ti 1:2 Related Passages: John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. JESUS NOW PRAYS FOR ALL BELIEVERS I do not ask on behalf of these alone - By these alone Jesus is referring to 11 disciples. This verse erases all doubts or objections that say Jesus' prayer does not apply to believers today. His intent is crystal clear in this passage. But for those also who believe (pisteuo) in Me through their word (logos) - Those who believe would be all the believers over the following centuries, including of course those of us today who are believers. Through their word (logos) is the Gospel that the sanctified disciples were now privileged to proclaim and through (dia - speaks of the instrument, by means of the Word) which sinners would believe and be saved. It is worth noting that Jesus knew the 11 would have a temporary faith failure, fleeing in fear of their lives, but He knew the Father would answer His prayer to sanctify them in preparation for sending them out so that they could "turn the world upside down!"