John 19

John 19:1

The Holy Spirit and the World

The coming of the Holy Spirit has consequences for the world and for the believers. The Lord first speaks about the consequences for the world. Through the coming of the Spirit on earth the world will be convicted concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

By this the Lord does not mean that the Holy Spirit will cause the message of the gospel to be proclaimed to convict sinners. Of course, every sinner only comes to conviction of his sins through the working of the Holy Spirit. However, here it is not about a sinner, but about the world. Nor is it about the world coming to repentance through the work of the Holy Spirit.

What the Lord says is that the presence of the Spirit on earth is the convicting proof of the sin of the world. Regardless of whether the world sees it or not, believes it or not, the mere presence of the Holy Spirit means the rejection of Christ by the world and thereby establishes the sin of the world once and for all.

The Lord explains what He means by this convicting. The conviction of sin by the Spirit goes far beyond the law, the Divine measure of man’s duty, which also convicts of sin. The world does not merely fail in its duty, but rejects grace. The mere presence of the Holy Spirit on earth is proof of the sinfulness of the world.

Why did the Holy Spirit come to earth? Because the Lord Jesus went away out of the world. And why did He go? Because the world rejected Him, because it did not believe in Him. The Holy Spirit is here because Christ is no longer on earth. The rejection of Christ by the world is the absolute proof of its sinfulness. The world as a depraved system is marked for judgment.

The second testimony associated with the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth is that of righteousness. We could say that His presence on earth is proof of the unrighteousness of the world, shown in rejecting Christ. However, there is also, and the Lord speaks of this here, righteousness connected with the presence of the Spirit on earth.

God has acted righteously toward His Son, where the world has only acted unjustly toward Him. God was righteous when He judged Him for our sins. When Christ had accomplished the work, it was equally righteous of God to raise Him from the dead and glorify Him in heaven. On this basis the Holy Spirit was able to come and with His coming proved convincingly the righteousness that the Father did toward the Son.

We no longer see the Lord Jesus, but the Father sees Him and the Holy Spirit bears witness to His righteousness. There is no greater testimony of righteousness than the Son’s going away to the Father. The world may deny or reject that testimony, but that cannot change the very testimony provided by the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth.

The third and final testimony given by the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth is that of the judgment of the ruler of the world, the devil. This judgment has actually still to be fulfilled, but it is definitely fixed by the presence of the Spirit here, for His presence means that the judgment rests on the world.

Led by the devil, the world has rejected Christ. It shows once again the utter and incorrigible depravity of the world which has made itself available to the devil to express its hatred toward Christ. The verdict has been passed on the ruler and will be carried out in God’s time. At the same time, the judgment of the world rendered by the Spirit Who came to earth indicates how we, as believers, have to see the world.

John 19:2

The Holy Spirit and the World

The coming of the Holy Spirit has consequences for the world and for the believers. The Lord first speaks about the consequences for the world. Through the coming of the Spirit on earth the world will be convicted concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

By this the Lord does not mean that the Holy Spirit will cause the message of the gospel to be proclaimed to convict sinners. Of course, every sinner only comes to conviction of his sins through the working of the Holy Spirit. However, here it is not about a sinner, but about the world. Nor is it about the world coming to repentance through the work of the Holy Spirit.

What the Lord says is that the presence of the Spirit on earth is the convicting proof of the sin of the world. Regardless of whether the world sees it or not, believes it or not, the mere presence of the Holy Spirit means the rejection of Christ by the world and thereby establishes the sin of the world once and for all.

The Lord explains what He means by this convicting. The conviction of sin by the Spirit goes far beyond the law, the Divine measure of man’s duty, which also convicts of sin. The world does not merely fail in its duty, but rejects grace. The mere presence of the Holy Spirit on earth is proof of the sinfulness of the world.

Why did the Holy Spirit come to earth? Because the Lord Jesus went away out of the world. And why did He go? Because the world rejected Him, because it did not believe in Him. The Holy Spirit is here because Christ is no longer on earth. The rejection of Christ by the world is the absolute proof of its sinfulness. The world as a depraved system is marked for judgment.

The second testimony associated with the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth is that of righteousness. We could say that His presence on earth is proof of the unrighteousness of the world, shown in rejecting Christ. However, there is also, and the Lord speaks of this here, righteousness connected with the presence of the Spirit on earth.

God has acted righteously toward His Son, where the world has only acted unjustly toward Him. God was righteous when He judged Him for our sins. When Christ had accomplished the work, it was equally righteous of God to raise Him from the dead and glorify Him in heaven. On this basis the Holy Spirit was able to come and with His coming proved convincingly the righteousness that the Father did toward the Son.

We no longer see the Lord Jesus, but the Father sees Him and the Holy Spirit bears witness to His righteousness. There is no greater testimony of righteousness than the Son’s going away to the Father. The world may deny or reject that testimony, but that cannot change the very testimony provided by the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth.

The third and final testimony given by the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth is that of the judgment of the ruler of the world, the devil. This judgment has actually still to be fulfilled, but it is definitely fixed by the presence of the Spirit here, for His presence means that the judgment rests on the world.

Led by the devil, the world has rejected Christ. It shows once again the utter and incorrigible depravity of the world which has made itself available to the devil to express its hatred toward Christ. The verdict has been passed on the ruler and will be carried out in God’s time. At the same time, the judgment of the world rendered by the Spirit Who came to earth indicates how we, as believers, have to see the world.

John 19:3

The Holy Spirit and the Believers

The Lord knows His disciples and their expectations. In His grace, He takes that into account. Everything He has said is completely opposite to their thoughts as Jews. This not only applies to their thoughts about the Messiah, but also to their expectations of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

They also know about the coming of the Spirit. Joel prophesied that He would come, but then as poured out on all flesh and to bring blessing to God’s people (Joel 2:28-29). But what the Lord tells here about the coming of the Spirit, they can only understand when the Spirit has come after He has gone to heaven.

The Lord therefore says that they will not remain in ignorance, but that the Spirit will make all known to them. The Spirit will guide them into all the truth, including all truths that are related to His glorification and about which He cannot yet speak.

That the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own initiative means that He will say nothing apart from the Son. Everything He will hear from and about the Son, He will speak. Just as the Son has come in dependence on the Father to glorify the Father, the Spirit will come in dependence on the Son to glorify the Son.

He will also be the Spirit of disclosure or of prophecy. This is how we see Him especially when we read the book of Revelation. Even if He serves as the Spirit of prophecy, it is with the purpose of drawing our attention to the revelation of the Lord Jesus in glory. His public glory is seen both in the exercise of judgment and in the establishment of the realm of peace and thereafter the new heaven and the new earth. By speaking about the things to come, the Holy Spirit disconnects the saints from the world under judgment.

It does not say that the Spirit will not speak about Himself, but that He will not speak on His own initiative. The Lord Jesus is the Object of His ministry. The Spirit did speak about Himself. It is therefore important to know Who He is, what He does and how He works. If it becomes clear to us that He does everything to glorify the Lord Jesus, it also becomes clear that praying to or worshiping the Holy Spirit is not His work. We don’t read about it anywhere in the Bible either. Whatever He brings forward, it always relates to the Lord Jesus. He also takes it from what is of the Lord Jesus. There is no other source for the Holy Spirit to take from than the Son Himself.

The Son is an inexhaustible source of glory. He is that as the eternal Son, and He is also that as Man on earth. Also as Man on earth, He could say that everything the Father has is His, for everything the Father has, is given to Him by the Father (John 3:35; John 13:3; cf. Genesis 25:5). Here the humble Man speaks as the eternal Son. The Lord Jesus, as Man, received everything from the Father to share it with people. Out of everything the Son possesses – and that is really all things – the Holy Spirit takes to disclose it to us. What a privilege the coming of the Holy Spirit is!

John 19:4

The Holy Spirit and the Believers

The Lord knows His disciples and their expectations. In His grace, He takes that into account. Everything He has said is completely opposite to their thoughts as Jews. This not only applies to their thoughts about the Messiah, but also to their expectations of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

They also know about the coming of the Spirit. Joel prophesied that He would come, but then as poured out on all flesh and to bring blessing to God’s people (Joel 2:28-29). But what the Lord tells here about the coming of the Spirit, they can only understand when the Spirit has come after He has gone to heaven.

The Lord therefore says that they will not remain in ignorance, but that the Spirit will make all known to them. The Spirit will guide them into all the truth, including all truths that are related to His glorification and about which He cannot yet speak.

That the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own initiative means that He will say nothing apart from the Son. Everything He will hear from and about the Son, He will speak. Just as the Son has come in dependence on the Father to glorify the Father, the Spirit will come in dependence on the Son to glorify the Son.

He will also be the Spirit of disclosure or of prophecy. This is how we see Him especially when we read the book of Revelation. Even if He serves as the Spirit of prophecy, it is with the purpose of drawing our attention to the revelation of the Lord Jesus in glory. His public glory is seen both in the exercise of judgment and in the establishment of the realm of peace and thereafter the new heaven and the new earth. By speaking about the things to come, the Holy Spirit disconnects the saints from the world under judgment.

It does not say that the Spirit will not speak about Himself, but that He will not speak on His own initiative. The Lord Jesus is the Object of His ministry. The Spirit did speak about Himself. It is therefore important to know Who He is, what He does and how He works. If it becomes clear to us that He does everything to glorify the Lord Jesus, it also becomes clear that praying to or worshiping the Holy Spirit is not His work. We don’t read about it anywhere in the Bible either. Whatever He brings forward, it always relates to the Lord Jesus. He also takes it from what is of the Lord Jesus. There is no other source for the Holy Spirit to take from than the Son Himself.

The Son is an inexhaustible source of glory. He is that as the eternal Son, and He is also that as Man on earth. Also as Man on earth, He could say that everything the Father has is His, for everything the Father has, is given to Him by the Father (John 3:35; John 13:3; cf. Genesis 25:5). Here the humble Man speaks as the eternal Son. The Lord Jesus, as Man, received everything from the Father to share it with people. Out of everything the Son possesses – and that is really all things – the Holy Spirit takes to disclose it to us. What a privilege the coming of the Holy Spirit is!

John 19:5

The Holy Spirit and the Believers

The Lord knows His disciples and their expectations. In His grace, He takes that into account. Everything He has said is completely opposite to their thoughts as Jews. This not only applies to their thoughts about the Messiah, but also to their expectations of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

They also know about the coming of the Spirit. Joel prophesied that He would come, but then as poured out on all flesh and to bring blessing to God’s people (Joel 2:28-29). But what the Lord tells here about the coming of the Spirit, they can only understand when the Spirit has come after He has gone to heaven.

The Lord therefore says that they will not remain in ignorance, but that the Spirit will make all known to them. The Spirit will guide them into all the truth, including all truths that are related to His glorification and about which He cannot yet speak.

That the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own initiative means that He will say nothing apart from the Son. Everything He will hear from and about the Son, He will speak. Just as the Son has come in dependence on the Father to glorify the Father, the Spirit will come in dependence on the Son to glorify the Son.

He will also be the Spirit of disclosure or of prophecy. This is how we see Him especially when we read the book of Revelation. Even if He serves as the Spirit of prophecy, it is with the purpose of drawing our attention to the revelation of the Lord Jesus in glory. His public glory is seen both in the exercise of judgment and in the establishment of the realm of peace and thereafter the new heaven and the new earth. By speaking about the things to come, the Holy Spirit disconnects the saints from the world under judgment.

It does not say that the Spirit will not speak about Himself, but that He will not speak on His own initiative. The Lord Jesus is the Object of His ministry. The Spirit did speak about Himself. It is therefore important to know Who He is, what He does and how He works. If it becomes clear to us that He does everything to glorify the Lord Jesus, it also becomes clear that praying to or worshiping the Holy Spirit is not His work. We don’t read about it anywhere in the Bible either. Whatever He brings forward, it always relates to the Lord Jesus. He also takes it from what is of the Lord Jesus. There is no other source for the Holy Spirit to take from than the Son Himself.

The Son is an inexhaustible source of glory. He is that as the eternal Son, and He is also that as Man on earth. Also as Man on earth, He could say that everything the Father has is His, for everything the Father has, is given to Him by the Father (John 3:35; John 13:3; cf. Genesis 25:5). Here the humble Man speaks as the eternal Son. The Lord Jesus, as Man, received everything from the Father to share it with people. Out of everything the Son possesses – and that is really all things – the Holy Spirit takes to disclose it to us. What a privilege the coming of the Holy Spirit is!

John 19:6

The Holy Spirit and the Believers

The Lord knows His disciples and their expectations. In His grace, He takes that into account. Everything He has said is completely opposite to their thoughts as Jews. This not only applies to their thoughts about the Messiah, but also to their expectations of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

They also know about the coming of the Spirit. Joel prophesied that He would come, but then as poured out on all flesh and to bring blessing to God’s people (Joel 2:28-29). But what the Lord tells here about the coming of the Spirit, they can only understand when the Spirit has come after He has gone to heaven.

The Lord therefore says that they will not remain in ignorance, but that the Spirit will make all known to them. The Spirit will guide them into all the truth, including all truths that are related to His glorification and about which He cannot yet speak.

That the Holy Spirit will not speak on His own initiative means that He will say nothing apart from the Son. Everything He will hear from and about the Son, He will speak. Just as the Son has come in dependence on the Father to glorify the Father, the Spirit will come in dependence on the Son to glorify the Son.

He will also be the Spirit of disclosure or of prophecy. This is how we see Him especially when we read the book of Revelation. Even if He serves as the Spirit of prophecy, it is with the purpose of drawing our attention to the revelation of the Lord Jesus in glory. His public glory is seen both in the exercise of judgment and in the establishment of the realm of peace and thereafter the new heaven and the new earth. By speaking about the things to come, the Holy Spirit disconnects the saints from the world under judgment.

It does not say that the Spirit will not speak about Himself, but that He will not speak on His own initiative. The Lord Jesus is the Object of His ministry. The Spirit did speak about Himself. It is therefore important to know Who He is, what He does and how He works. If it becomes clear to us that He does everything to glorify the Lord Jesus, it also becomes clear that praying to or worshiping the Holy Spirit is not His work. We don’t read about it anywhere in the Bible either. Whatever He brings forward, it always relates to the Lord Jesus. He also takes it from what is of the Lord Jesus. There is no other source for the Holy Spirit to take from than the Son Himself.

The Son is an inexhaustible source of glory. He is that as the eternal Son, and He is also that as Man on earth. Also as Man on earth, He could say that everything the Father has is His, for everything the Father has, is given to Him by the Father (John 3:35; John 13:3; cf. Genesis 25:5). Here the humble Man speaks as the eternal Son. The Lord Jesus, as Man, received everything from the Father to share it with people. Out of everything the Son possesses – and that is really all things – the Holy Spirit takes to disclose it to us. What a privilege the coming of the Holy Spirit is!

John 19:7

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:8

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:9

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:10

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:11

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:12

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:13

A Little While

After the unfolding about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the marvelous consequences for them, the Lord once again speaks about His own situation with respect to them. His rejection and death are near. He tells them that it will only be a little while, that they will not see Him again. Now they still see Him, i.e. they look at Him as spectators of His works and His path. Soon He will no longer be seen by them. However, He immediately lets it follow that this period of not seeing will also be short. After those two brief periods they will see Him again.

What He says raises questions with some of His disciples. As Jews who truly believe in Him as the Messiah, they are convinced that the Messiah will remain. But precisely because their thoughts are still so Jewish, they do not know what He is talking about. What does He mean by not seeing Him for a little while and yet seeing Him again after another little while? They also do not understand what He said in John 16:10 about His going to the Father. How will they be able to see Him if He will go to the Father?

We know that when the Lord Jesus speaks about going to the Father, He speaks about His ascension. The consequence will be that they will not see Him for a long time, i.e. until His return. Therefore, what He says here about ‘a little while’ cannot be related to this. The little while it will take before they will no longer see Him is the time that will elapse between the moment He says this and the tomb. The little while before they will see Him again is the time He is lying in the tomb. After that they will see Him when He has risen.

The disciples do not understand this and therefore the Lord responds to their questions. He puts their problem into words once again to make it clear that He understands what they are struggling with. It is also good for us, if someone asks us something, to repeat the question in order to be sure that we understand the other person well. For us that may be necessary because our repetition may reveal that we have misunderstood the question. Of course, the Lord did not have to repeat the question for that reason. He repeats the question in order to comfort them and make His answer fit in with it.

The importance of the subject is again apparent from the double “truly” and the authoritative “I say to you” with which the Lord introduces His answer. By “a little while, and you will not see Me“, He means that He will be killed by the world. That will be the end of His presence with them as a living Messiah. That event will cause them to weep and lament.

The world, on the contrary, will rejoice over that event. They think they will have dealt with Him and that will make them happy (cf. Revelation 11:7-11). But the world does not have the last word. He will rise and while the disciples are sad, He will come to them and they will rejoice.

The Lord compares their sadness to that of a woman in labor. When the birth pains overtake her, she suffers and is sad. However, this sadness is short-lived. Once the child is there, she has forgotten the distress. The child she holds in her arms is the source of her joy.

The Lord applies what happens at the birth of a child to His death and resurrection. His death and what He said about it caused grief with His disciples. But He will meet them again as the Living One after He has passed through the birth pains of death. Then they will rejoice (John 20:20) and nothing and no one will be able to take that joy away, even if they were tortured (Acts 5:40-41). The change from sadness to joy is also the experience of the disciples at Emmaus (Luke 24:17; 32) and a little later, of all the disciples when the Lord Jesus goes away from them to heaven. Then they are full of joy (Luke 24:52).

John 19:14

Pray in the Name of the Son

The Lord connects even more joy to His resurrection and ascension. Once He has gone to heaven, “that day”, or period, begins in which He is with the Father and the Holy Spirit is on earth. In that day or period, the disciples will comprehend the new relationship in which they are placed. They will enter into the wonderful relationship with the Father that was until then the unique part of the Son. Because of this they will have the opportunity to come to the Father in the Name of the Lord Jesus. When they come to the Father, He sees the Son coming, because the Son is their life.

Until now they went to the Lord with all their questions. They had confidence in Him and they dealt with Him in a confidential way. They asked Him all their questions and He had provided for all their needs. That is now over. But He has revealed the Father and they are now allowed to go to the Father themselves.

When they have received the Spirit, they will receive power to replace Christ on earth and also to pray in His Name. During His stay on earth, He taught His disciples to pray in a way that is consistent with their relationship as pious Jews to God. They were allowed to address God as the Father – in the sense of origin (Deuteronomy 32:6) – of His people. In this way they went to God as long as the Lord Jesus was with them.

That will change when He is in heaven and the Holy Spirit is on earth. The Lord teaches His disciples to pray in a new way. Until now, they had prayed nothing in His Name, i.e. in accordance with His place in heaven and their place in the presence of the Father as His children. This can happen after Christ has accomplished the work of salvation and the Spirit has been given, because this brings them into a new relationship.

Until now they could not pray in the Name of the Lord Jesus. It is a specific Christian privilege. The life that the Christian possesses in Christ expresses itself in the same desires that the Lord Jesus has. The Holy Spirit gives strength and insight to such desires. The Father, for His part, wants nothing more than to hear such a prayer in which His Son is recognized. It will give complete joy to the disciple.

John 19:15

Pray in the Name of the Son

The Lord connects even more joy to His resurrection and ascension. Once He has gone to heaven, “that day”, or period, begins in which He is with the Father and the Holy Spirit is on earth. In that day or period, the disciples will comprehend the new relationship in which they are placed. They will enter into the wonderful relationship with the Father that was until then the unique part of the Son. Because of this they will have the opportunity to come to the Father in the Name of the Lord Jesus. When they come to the Father, He sees the Son coming, because the Son is their life.

Until now they went to the Lord with all their questions. They had confidence in Him and they dealt with Him in a confidential way. They asked Him all their questions and He had provided for all their needs. That is now over. But He has revealed the Father and they are now allowed to go to the Father themselves.

When they have received the Spirit, they will receive power to replace Christ on earth and also to pray in His Name. During His stay on earth, He taught His disciples to pray in a way that is consistent with their relationship as pious Jews to God. They were allowed to address God as the Father – in the sense of origin (Deuteronomy 32:6) – of His people. In this way they went to God as long as the Lord Jesus was with them.

That will change when He is in heaven and the Holy Spirit is on earth. The Lord teaches His disciples to pray in a new way. Until now, they had prayed nothing in His Name, i.e. in accordance with His place in heaven and their place in the presence of the Father as His children. This can happen after Christ has accomplished the work of salvation and the Spirit has been given, because this brings them into a new relationship.

Until now they could not pray in the Name of the Lord Jesus. It is a specific Christian privilege. The life that the Christian possesses in Christ expresses itself in the same desires that the Lord Jesus has. The Holy Spirit gives strength and insight to such desires. The Father, for His part, wants nothing more than to hear such a prayer in which His Son is recognized. It will give complete joy to the disciple.

John 19:16

The Father Himself Loves You

The Lord Jesus has shown the Father in His works which He had received from the Father to do. His works and also all the signs mentioned in the Gospels have shown the grace and power of the Father.

After His resurrection He will no longer speak about the Father in that way, but He will speak freely about Him. Mary is the first to whom He speaks in this way, without figurative language, about the Father (John 20:17). He will do this especially when He will be glorified, as we may already hear in His prayer to the Father in the next chapter.

When that day has come – and it has been since the resurrection of Christ – we may ask the Father in His Name. Asking in the Name of the Lord Jesus is not in a formal utterance of words like ‘we ask this of You in Jesus’ Name’ or something like that. Asking in His Name is not a formula, but the realization that we go to the Father in the value of the Son Himself and His acceptance by the Father. The value of Who He is, is attributed in its fullness to those who ask in this way.

Through His work the Son brings us into such an intimate and personal relationship with the Father that we ourselves may go directly to the Father. Through the power of the Spirit we have free and direct access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18), without intermediary, to speak freely. We say “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5-6) to Him. The reason for this confidentiality and intimacy is that the believer is the object of the Father’s love. We may know that He Himself loves us.

As a reason for the Father’s love for the disciples of the Lord Jesus, the Lord mentions that the disciples loved Him and believed in His unity with God and His actions by order of God. However, He not only came forth from God, but He also came forth from the Father and as such He came into the world. Now He is about to leave the world again and go to the Father.

These few words encompass His whole life in connection with His stay on earth. He speaks about His coming forth from the Father, His coming into the world, His leaving the world and His going to the Father. After all, the purpose of this Gospel is to declare God as Father in the world, to reveal Him. He has come as the eternal Son of the Father and returns to His Father, now also as Man. What a joy it must be for Him to return to that glory where nothing is contrary to God.

John 19:17

The Father Himself Loves You

The Lord Jesus has shown the Father in His works which He had received from the Father to do. His works and also all the signs mentioned in the Gospels have shown the grace and power of the Father.

After His resurrection He will no longer speak about the Father in that way, but He will speak freely about Him. Mary is the first to whom He speaks in this way, without figurative language, about the Father (John 20:17). He will do this especially when He will be glorified, as we may already hear in His prayer to the Father in the next chapter.

When that day has come – and it has been since the resurrection of Christ – we may ask the Father in His Name. Asking in the Name of the Lord Jesus is not in a formal utterance of words like ‘we ask this of You in Jesus’ Name’ or something like that. Asking in His Name is not a formula, but the realization that we go to the Father in the value of the Son Himself and His acceptance by the Father. The value of Who He is, is attributed in its fullness to those who ask in this way.

Through His work the Son brings us into such an intimate and personal relationship with the Father that we ourselves may go directly to the Father. Through the power of the Spirit we have free and direct access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18), without intermediary, to speak freely. We say “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5-6) to Him. The reason for this confidentiality and intimacy is that the believer is the object of the Father’s love. We may know that He Himself loves us.

As a reason for the Father’s love for the disciples of the Lord Jesus, the Lord mentions that the disciples loved Him and believed in His unity with God and His actions by order of God. However, He not only came forth from God, but He also came forth from the Father and as such He came into the world. Now He is about to leave the world again and go to the Father.

These few words encompass His whole life in connection with His stay on earth. He speaks about His coming forth from the Father, His coming into the world, His leaving the world and His going to the Father. After all, the purpose of this Gospel is to declare God as Father in the world, to reveal Him. He has come as the eternal Son of the Father and returns to His Father, now also as Man. What a joy it must be for Him to return to that glory where nothing is contrary to God.

John 19:18

The Father Himself Loves You

The Lord Jesus has shown the Father in His works which He had received from the Father to do. His works and also all the signs mentioned in the Gospels have shown the grace and power of the Father.

After His resurrection He will no longer speak about the Father in that way, but He will speak freely about Him. Mary is the first to whom He speaks in this way, without figurative language, about the Father (John 20:17). He will do this especially when He will be glorified, as we may already hear in His prayer to the Father in the next chapter.

When that day has come – and it has been since the resurrection of Christ – we may ask the Father in His Name. Asking in the Name of the Lord Jesus is not in a formal utterance of words like ‘we ask this of You in Jesus’ Name’ or something like that. Asking in His Name is not a formula, but the realization that we go to the Father in the value of the Son Himself and His acceptance by the Father. The value of Who He is, is attributed in its fullness to those who ask in this way.

Through His work the Son brings us into such an intimate and personal relationship with the Father that we ourselves may go directly to the Father. Through the power of the Spirit we have free and direct access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18), without intermediary, to speak freely. We say “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5-6) to Him. The reason for this confidentiality and intimacy is that the believer is the object of the Father’s love. We may know that He Himself loves us.

As a reason for the Father’s love for the disciples of the Lord Jesus, the Lord mentions that the disciples loved Him and believed in His unity with God and His actions by order of God. However, He not only came forth from God, but He also came forth from the Father and as such He came into the world. Now He is about to leave the world again and go to the Father.

These few words encompass His whole life in connection with His stay on earth. He speaks about His coming forth from the Father, His coming into the world, His leaving the world and His going to the Father. After all, the purpose of this Gospel is to declare God as Father in the world, to reveal Him. He has come as the eternal Son of the Father and returns to His Father, now also as Man. What a joy it must be for Him to return to that glory where nothing is contrary to God.

John 19:19

The Father Himself Loves You

The Lord Jesus has shown the Father in His works which He had received from the Father to do. His works and also all the signs mentioned in the Gospels have shown the grace and power of the Father.

After His resurrection He will no longer speak about the Father in that way, but He will speak freely about Him. Mary is the first to whom He speaks in this way, without figurative language, about the Father (John 20:17). He will do this especially when He will be glorified, as we may already hear in His prayer to the Father in the next chapter.

When that day has come – and it has been since the resurrection of Christ – we may ask the Father in His Name. Asking in the Name of the Lord Jesus is not in a formal utterance of words like ‘we ask this of You in Jesus’ Name’ or something like that. Asking in His Name is not a formula, but the realization that we go to the Father in the value of the Son Himself and His acceptance by the Father. The value of Who He is, is attributed in its fullness to those who ask in this way.

Through His work the Son brings us into such an intimate and personal relationship with the Father that we ourselves may go directly to the Father. Through the power of the Spirit we have free and direct access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18), without intermediary, to speak freely. We say “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5-6) to Him. The reason for this confidentiality and intimacy is that the believer is the object of the Father’s love. We may know that He Himself loves us.

As a reason for the Father’s love for the disciples of the Lord Jesus, the Lord mentions that the disciples loved Him and believed in His unity with God and His actions by order of God. However, He not only came forth from God, but He also came forth from the Father and as such He came into the world. Now He is about to leave the world again and go to the Father.

These few words encompass His whole life in connection with His stay on earth. He speaks about His coming forth from the Father, His coming into the world, His leaving the world and His going to the Father. After all, the purpose of this Gospel is to declare God as Father in the world, to reveal Him. He has come as the eternal Son of the Father and returns to His Father, now also as Man. What a joy it must be for Him to return to that glory where nothing is contrary to God.

John 19:20

Peace in the Son

The disciples think that they now understand the Lord and they tell Him that. From their explanation it appears that they are still not able to realize the full scope of what He has said. They speak about their faith in Him as the One Who came from God, while the Lord spoke about the Father. It is still faith in Him as God’s anointed King. Despite their failure to truly understand that He tells all about His relationship with the Father, they know that He totally knows them.

The Lord says nothing about their failure to understand what He has told them about Himself and the Father. He takes their confession seriously. Then He speaks about the consequences of their confession. Their faith in Him will confront them with the opposition of the world. When they come to capture Him, they will be scattered, they will flee in all directions and they will leave Him all alone. Thinking that everything is over, they will return each to his own home, each to his own activities and daily circumstances (John 21:3). The Lord speaks about this without a trace of reproach in their direction. To Him it is sufficient that the Father is with Him.

His disciples may all leave Him, He knows that He is not alone after all, but that the Father is with Him. This marks His peace and at the same time it is the peace He wishes for them. So instead of reproach, He has words of peace in His wonderful grace for His disciples. In spite of their failure that will soon be apparent from their fleeing, He has their peace in mind. That is why He has spoken to them. They will find that peace in Him if they keep His words in mind.

And as for the world, He gives them good courage. He has conquered the world for them. This means that they don’t have to fear the world with all its threats and horrors. By believing in Him, they can be sure that the world has been overcome for them (1 John 5:4-5).

John 19:21

Peace in the Son

The disciples think that they now understand the Lord and they tell Him that. From their explanation it appears that they are still not able to realize the full scope of what He has said. They speak about their faith in Him as the One Who came from God, while the Lord spoke about the Father. It is still faith in Him as God’s anointed King. Despite their failure to truly understand that He tells all about His relationship with the Father, they know that He totally knows them.

The Lord says nothing about their failure to understand what He has told them about Himself and the Father. He takes their confession seriously. Then He speaks about the consequences of their confession. Their faith in Him will confront them with the opposition of the world. When they come to capture Him, they will be scattered, they will flee in all directions and they will leave Him all alone. Thinking that everything is over, they will return each to his own home, each to his own activities and daily circumstances (John 21:3). The Lord speaks about this without a trace of reproach in their direction. To Him it is sufficient that the Father is with Him.

His disciples may all leave Him, He knows that He is not alone after all, but that the Father is with Him. This marks His peace and at the same time it is the peace He wishes for them. So instead of reproach, He has words of peace in His wonderful grace for His disciples. In spite of their failure that will soon be apparent from their fleeing, He has their peace in mind. That is why He has spoken to them. They will find that peace in Him if they keep His words in mind.

And as for the world, He gives them good courage. He has conquered the world for them. This means that they don’t have to fear the world with all its threats and horrors. By believing in Him, they can be sure that the world has been overcome for them (1 John 5:4-5).

John 19:22

Peace in the Son

The disciples think that they now understand the Lord and they tell Him that. From their explanation it appears that they are still not able to realize the full scope of what He has said. They speak about their faith in Him as the One Who came from God, while the Lord spoke about the Father. It is still faith in Him as God’s anointed King. Despite their failure to truly understand that He tells all about His relationship with the Father, they know that He totally knows them.

The Lord says nothing about their failure to understand what He has told them about Himself and the Father. He takes their confession seriously. Then He speaks about the consequences of their confession. Their faith in Him will confront them with the opposition of the world. When they come to capture Him, they will be scattered, they will flee in all directions and they will leave Him all alone. Thinking that everything is over, they will return each to his own home, each to his own activities and daily circumstances (John 21:3). The Lord speaks about this without a trace of reproach in their direction. To Him it is sufficient that the Father is with Him.

His disciples may all leave Him, He knows that He is not alone after all, but that the Father is with Him. This marks His peace and at the same time it is the peace He wishes for them. So instead of reproach, He has words of peace in His wonderful grace for His disciples. In spite of their failure that will soon be apparent from their fleeing, He has their peace in mind. That is why He has spoken to them. They will find that peace in Him if they keep His words in mind.

And as for the world, He gives them good courage. He has conquered the world for them. This means that they don’t have to fear the world with all its threats and horrors. By believing in Him, they can be sure that the world has been overcome for them (1 John 5:4-5).

John 19:23

Peace in the Son

The disciples think that they now understand the Lord and they tell Him that. From their explanation it appears that they are still not able to realize the full scope of what He has said. They speak about their faith in Him as the One Who came from God, while the Lord spoke about the Father. It is still faith in Him as God’s anointed King. Despite their failure to truly understand that He tells all about His relationship with the Father, they know that He totally knows them.

The Lord says nothing about their failure to understand what He has told them about Himself and the Father. He takes their confession seriously. Then He speaks about the consequences of their confession. Their faith in Him will confront them with the opposition of the world. When they come to capture Him, they will be scattered, they will flee in all directions and they will leave Him all alone. Thinking that everything is over, they will return each to his own home, each to his own activities and daily circumstances (John 21:3). The Lord speaks about this without a trace of reproach in their direction. To Him it is sufficient that the Father is with Him.

His disciples may all leave Him, He knows that He is not alone after all, but that the Father is with Him. This marks His peace and at the same time it is the peace He wishes for them. So instead of reproach, He has words of peace in His wonderful grace for His disciples. In spite of their failure that will soon be apparent from their fleeing, He has their peace in mind. That is why He has spoken to them. They will find that peace in Him if they keep His words in mind.

And as for the world, He gives them good courage. He has conquered the world for them. This means that they don’t have to fear the world with all its threats and horrors. By believing in Him, they can be sure that the world has been overcome for them (1 John 5:4-5).

John 19:24

Peace in the Son

The disciples think that they now understand the Lord and they tell Him that. From their explanation it appears that they are still not able to realize the full scope of what He has said. They speak about their faith in Him as the One Who came from God, while the Lord spoke about the Father. It is still faith in Him as God’s anointed King. Despite their failure to truly understand that He tells all about His relationship with the Father, they know that He totally knows them.

The Lord says nothing about their failure to understand what He has told them about Himself and the Father. He takes their confession seriously. Then He speaks about the consequences of their confession. Their faith in Him will confront them with the opposition of the world. When they come to capture Him, they will be scattered, they will flee in all directions and they will leave Him all alone. Thinking that everything is over, they will return each to his own home, each to his own activities and daily circumstances (John 21:3). The Lord speaks about this without a trace of reproach in their direction. To Him it is sufficient that the Father is with Him.

His disciples may all leave Him, He knows that He is not alone after all, but that the Father is with Him. This marks His peace and at the same time it is the peace He wishes for them. So instead of reproach, He has words of peace in His wonderful grace for His disciples. In spite of their failure that will soon be apparent from their fleeing, He has their peace in mind. That is why He has spoken to them. They will find that peace in Him if they keep His words in mind.

And as for the world, He gives them good courage. He has conquered the world for them. This means that they don’t have to fear the world with all its threats and horrors. By believing in Him, they can be sure that the world has been overcome for them (1 John 5:4-5).

John 19:26

The Glorification of the Son

This chapter is unparalleled in depth and range of vision. It breathes perfect holiness, devotion and love. We may listen to the Son opening His heart to the Father at the moment He is about to die and leave His own, to go to Heaven.

Because we hear the Son speaking to the Father, we cannot speak of a ‘high priestly prayer’, because then we would hear Him speaking as Man to God. If we can speak of a prayer, it is in the sense of a confidential asking of the Son to the Father and not begging the Father for anything.

We hear the Son asking the Father to glorify Him, then to care for His disciples when He will no longer be with them, and finally to give the disciples a place with Him in glory. These are questions that are not really a request, but a sharing with the Father of things that live in the heart of the Father in exactly the same way. The Lord knows all that, but He wants us to know that He intercedes for us with the Father. This prayer shows us how He is Helper.

In His prayer, which forms a beautiful unity, we can roughly distinguish two sections: 1. In the first section, John 17:1-8, the Lord speaks to the Father in view of His glorification and His connection with His disciples. 2. In the second section, John 17:9-26, the disciples are the subject, in which He clearly distinguishes them from the world.

We can also make a somewhat finer division into seven parts: 1. In John 17:1-5 the Lord Jesus asks the Father for His glorification as Man on the basis of the work accomplished by Him. 2. In John 17:6-8 He speaks to the Father about what the disciples mean to Him. 3. In John 17:9-12 He asks His Father to keep His disciples in unity. 4. In John 17:13-19 He entrusts His disciples to His Father in order to keep them in the world. 5. In John 17:20-21 He extends His prayer and asks the Father for the unity of all the believers on earth. 6. In John 17:22-23 it is about a unity that still lies in the future and that will become visible at His revelation. 7. In John 17:24-26 it is about being with the Son in the Father’s house.

After these introductory words we now want to focus on the prayer. I will express myself as limited as possible because speaking about this prayer makes you feel as if you want to illuminate the sun with a flashlight. When reading this chapter it is especially important that the Holy Spirit can work in each reader the feelings appropriate to this chapter. I hope that this is the case with me and that I can pass something of it in this explanation. I myself have also been helped by what others have discovered of beauty in this prayer.

When the Lord addresses Himself to the Father in His prayer, He does so while lifting up His eyes to heaven. Similarly, He raised His eyes at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:41). There He asked the Father for the resurrection of Lazarus. Here He does not ask for the resurrection, here He asks for the glorification of Himself. Yet the question of His glorification is not about Himself. He immediately adds that with His question He is aiming at the glorification of the Father.

With this question the Lord places Himself behind the work as accomplished by Him. That is why He says that “the hour has come”. By this He means the hour that He will go back to the Father. When He asks for His glorification by the Father, it means that He asks this question as a result of the work He has accomplished. And when He asks for His own glorification with a view to the glorification of the Father, it means that He continues to glorify the Father after He is glorified in heaven. He has glorified the Father both on earth and on the cross and He does the same in heaven.

He does this glorification of the Father in connection with the power over all flesh that He has received from the Father based on His work. He always remains faithful to the place He has taken and does not exercise power according to His own right. He will exercise the power over all flesh when He returns to judge Israel and the world. In the present time He uses this power to give eternal life to all He has received from the Father. Now that the Son is in heaven, He glorifies His Father by giving eternal life to those He receives from the Father. He still glorifies the Father every day in every sinner who comes to faith.

John 19:27

The Glorification of the Son

This chapter is unparalleled in depth and range of vision. It breathes perfect holiness, devotion and love. We may listen to the Son opening His heart to the Father at the moment He is about to die and leave His own, to go to Heaven.

Because we hear the Son speaking to the Father, we cannot speak of a ‘high priestly prayer’, because then we would hear Him speaking as Man to God. If we can speak of a prayer, it is in the sense of a confidential asking of the Son to the Father and not begging the Father for anything.

We hear the Son asking the Father to glorify Him, then to care for His disciples when He will no longer be with them, and finally to give the disciples a place with Him in glory. These are questions that are not really a request, but a sharing with the Father of things that live in the heart of the Father in exactly the same way. The Lord knows all that, but He wants us to know that He intercedes for us with the Father. This prayer shows us how He is Helper.

In His prayer, which forms a beautiful unity, we can roughly distinguish two sections: 1. In the first section, John 17:1-8, the Lord speaks to the Father in view of His glorification and His connection with His disciples. 2. In the second section, John 17:9-26, the disciples are the subject, in which He clearly distinguishes them from the world.

We can also make a somewhat finer division into seven parts: 1. In John 17:1-5 the Lord Jesus asks the Father for His glorification as Man on the basis of the work accomplished by Him. 2. In John 17:6-8 He speaks to the Father about what the disciples mean to Him. 3. In John 17:9-12 He asks His Father to keep His disciples in unity. 4. In John 17:13-19 He entrusts His disciples to His Father in order to keep them in the world. 5. In John 17:20-21 He extends His prayer and asks the Father for the unity of all the believers on earth. 6. In John 17:22-23 it is about a unity that still lies in the future and that will become visible at His revelation. 7. In John 17:24-26 it is about being with the Son in the Father’s house.

After these introductory words we now want to focus on the prayer. I will express myself as limited as possible because speaking about this prayer makes you feel as if you want to illuminate the sun with a flashlight. When reading this chapter it is especially important that the Holy Spirit can work in each reader the feelings appropriate to this chapter. I hope that this is the case with me and that I can pass something of it in this explanation. I myself have also been helped by what others have discovered of beauty in this prayer.

When the Lord addresses Himself to the Father in His prayer, He does so while lifting up His eyes to heaven. Similarly, He raised His eyes at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:41). There He asked the Father for the resurrection of Lazarus. Here He does not ask for the resurrection, here He asks for the glorification of Himself. Yet the question of His glorification is not about Himself. He immediately adds that with His question He is aiming at the glorification of the Father.

With this question the Lord places Himself behind the work as accomplished by Him. That is why He says that “the hour has come”. By this He means the hour that He will go back to the Father. When He asks for His glorification by the Father, it means that He asks this question as a result of the work He has accomplished. And when He asks for His own glorification with a view to the glorification of the Father, it means that He continues to glorify the Father after He is glorified in heaven. He has glorified the Father both on earth and on the cross and He does the same in heaven.

He does this glorification of the Father in connection with the power over all flesh that He has received from the Father based on His work. He always remains faithful to the place He has taken and does not exercise power according to His own right. He will exercise the power over all flesh when He returns to judge Israel and the world. In the present time He uses this power to give eternal life to all He has received from the Father. Now that the Son is in heaven, He glorifies His Father by giving eternal life to those He receives from the Father. He still glorifies the Father every day in every sinner who comes to faith.

John 19:28

This Is Eternal Life

The eternal life that every sinner who comes to faith in the Lord Jesus receives is a new life within him. It is a new birth, a new nature. It is life within the believer, life given to him (John 10:28; 1 John 5:11), it is life that he has (John 3:16; John 5:24; John 6:47; 54; 1 John 5:13). He has that life because the Son is his life (1 John 5:11; Colossians 3:3-4). But here the Lord Jesus speaks about eternal life in a different sense. He is not talking about eternal life within the believer, but about eternal life as the sphere of life into which the believer enters. We hear the Son talking about eternal life as an environment, a sphere of life, a life in which is lived.

So there is a difference between the life that is within someone and the life in which someone lives. On the one hand we talk about plant life, animal life, human life. By this we mean that something or someone lives as a plant or an animal or a human being. But we also speak, for example, of city life, outdoor life, a difficult life. By this we mean the state of life, a way of life, an environment in which people live. It is the same with eternal life. It is both a principle of life within us, a life through which we live, and a way of life in which we have entered, a life in which we live. This second is what the Lord Jesus indicates when He says here: “This is eternal life.”

Eternal life is knowing Him Who is addressed by the Son as Father (John 17:1) and knowing the Son as sent by the Father. He is the only true God. In that way He was also known in the Old Testament. What is new now – and that is also eternal life – is to know that one true God personally as Father through a living connection with Him and to know Jesus Christ as sent by Him, through which the Father can be known.

The Son speaks of Himself as “Jesus Christ”. ”Jesus” is the name of His humiliation. ”Christ” is His name as the Chosen One by God and of His glorification. This goes far beyond knowing Him as the Messiah. It is to know Him as the Father knows Him through a personal relationship with Him. Knowing eternal life is about a living relationship with Divine Persons. This knowledge brings us into the atmosphere of eternal life, the atmosphere in which eternal life is enjoyed.

In short, perhaps we can say that eternal life is this: fellowship with the Father and the Son, i.e. enjoying the same part as the Father and the Son, together with Them.

John 19:29

The Request to Be Glorified

The Lord Jesus glorified the Father on earth, this little planet in the immeasurable universe, where He was and still is dishonored by the sin of man and his generation. The Son can say this from the absolute knowledge that He has done the will of the Father in everything and thus glorified Him. An ordinary person could never say that because what man does is never perfect. The Son can say this even in advance, for He is the eternal Son, even though He has accomplished the work as Man. The work of which He speaks here is the entire work of the Father’s revelation.

Before we could enter into a life connection with the Father, the Father first had to be revealed. The climax of that revelation is the cross. Here it is not the cross as the solution to the need of our sins, but as the complete revelation of the Father’s heart for His own. Based on that glorious work, the Son, as the resurrected Man, asks for the glory that He, as God, possesses eternally. He asks for a glory He never lost. He has become Man, but has not ceased to be God and thus His glory has not vanished.

His question is to receive that glory in a new way, that is as Man. As Man He never possessed that glory because He was not always Man. He became Man and will remain this forever. Now He asks for the same glory as Man that He as Son possesses eternally. That is because He wants to share that glory with us, men. If He had not become Man, He would never have been able to share His glory with us, because we cannot become God.

John 19:30

The Request to Be Glorified

The Lord Jesus glorified the Father on earth, this little planet in the immeasurable universe, where He was and still is dishonored by the sin of man and his generation. The Son can say this from the absolute knowledge that He has done the will of the Father in everything and thus glorified Him. An ordinary person could never say that because what man does is never perfect. The Son can say this even in advance, for He is the eternal Son, even though He has accomplished the work as Man. The work of which He speaks here is the entire work of the Father’s revelation.

Before we could enter into a life connection with the Father, the Father first had to be revealed. The climax of that revelation is the cross. Here it is not the cross as the solution to the need of our sins, but as the complete revelation of the Father’s heart for His own. Based on that glorious work, the Son, as the resurrected Man, asks for the glory that He, as God, possesses eternally. He asks for a glory He never lost. He has become Man, but has not ceased to be God and thus His glory has not vanished.

His question is to receive that glory in a new way, that is as Man. As Man He never possessed that glory because He was not always Man. He became Man and will remain this forever. Now He asks for the same glory as Man that He as Son possesses eternally. That is because He wants to share that glory with us, men. If He had not become Man, He would never have been able to share His glory with us, because we cannot become God.

John 19:31

Given by the Father to the Son

The Lord Jesus now explains how mortal people could be brought into such close relationship with the Father. First He mentions the manifestation of the Name of the Father. This manifestation can only be given to people who no longer belong to the world. Therefore they have been taken out of the world by the Father and thus given to the Son. Those who now belong to the Son are thereby clearly distinguished from the world.

The world has become completely revealed in its hatred of the Father and His Son. On the other hand, the greatest possible contrast is the manifestation of the Name of the Father to those who are the object of the Father’s love. To them the Son has manifested the Name of the Father in order to make them know the Father.

This manifestation of the Name of the Father was done through His life, His words and His works. The people the Father gave to the Son belonged to the Father. This indicates the Father’s eternal purpose and election to give them to the Son. This is completely separate from any connection with Israel and with Him as Yahweh. They have been given to Him by the Father.

That they belonged to the Father and now belong to the Son is evident from their keeping of the word of the Father. The word of the Father is everything the Father has spoken about the Son. The Lord Jesus sees His own as a precious treasure that the Father has given Him. He ignores all the incomprehension that they had and revealed. They have kept the word of the Father – and in fact, that is the Son Himself.

However, they have not only kept the word of the Father about the Son. They have also acknowledged that the Father is the source of all that has been given to the Son. The fact that the Father has given everything to the Son does not mean that the Father has lost it. The Lord Jesus does not say ‘was Yours’, but “is Yours”. The Son has received what is and remains of the Father.

He speaks to His Father as a recommendation that His own not only kept the word of the Father concerning the Son, but that they also received and accepted the words of the Father through the Son. The words of the Son were no other words than those of the Father. By accepting the words of the Son, they have truly acknowledged that the Son came forth from the Father and they have believed that the Father sent Him.

However little they have understood of all that He has said about this, He sees their heart in it. They have received His words and with them everything that was expressed in those words, however much that exceeded their thoughts. By receiving His words, which are the words of the Father, they have accepted the whole relationship in which the Son stands to the Father.

That He came forth from the Father means that He, as the eternal Son, revealed the Father. The fact that the Father has sent Him means that as a dependent Man He has done everything the Father commanded Him to do.

John 19:32

Given by the Father to the Son

The Lord Jesus now explains how mortal people could be brought into such close relationship with the Father. First He mentions the manifestation of the Name of the Father. This manifestation can only be given to people who no longer belong to the world. Therefore they have been taken out of the world by the Father and thus given to the Son. Those who now belong to the Son are thereby clearly distinguished from the world.

The world has become completely revealed in its hatred of the Father and His Son. On the other hand, the greatest possible contrast is the manifestation of the Name of the Father to those who are the object of the Father’s love. To them the Son has manifested the Name of the Father in order to make them know the Father.

This manifestation of the Name of the Father was done through His life, His words and His works. The people the Father gave to the Son belonged to the Father. This indicates the Father’s eternal purpose and election to give them to the Son. This is completely separate from any connection with Israel and with Him as Yahweh. They have been given to Him by the Father.

That they belonged to the Father and now belong to the Son is evident from their keeping of the word of the Father. The word of the Father is everything the Father has spoken about the Son. The Lord Jesus sees His own as a precious treasure that the Father has given Him. He ignores all the incomprehension that they had and revealed. They have kept the word of the Father – and in fact, that is the Son Himself.

However, they have not only kept the word of the Father about the Son. They have also acknowledged that the Father is the source of all that has been given to the Son. The fact that the Father has given everything to the Son does not mean that the Father has lost it. The Lord Jesus does not say ‘was Yours’, but “is Yours”. The Son has received what is and remains of the Father.

He speaks to His Father as a recommendation that His own not only kept the word of the Father concerning the Son, but that they also received and accepted the words of the Father through the Son. The words of the Son were no other words than those of the Father. By accepting the words of the Son, they have truly acknowledged that the Son came forth from the Father and they have believed that the Father sent Him.

However little they have understood of all that He has said about this, He sees their heart in it. They have received His words and with them everything that was expressed in those words, however much that exceeded their thoughts. By receiving His words, which are the words of the Father, they have accepted the whole relationship in which the Son stands to the Father.

That He came forth from the Father means that He, as the eternal Son, revealed the Father. The fact that the Father has sent Him means that as a dependent Man He has done everything the Father commanded Him to do.

John 19:33

Given by the Father to the Son

The Lord Jesus now explains how mortal people could be brought into such close relationship with the Father. First He mentions the manifestation of the Name of the Father. This manifestation can only be given to people who no longer belong to the world. Therefore they have been taken out of the world by the Father and thus given to the Son. Those who now belong to the Son are thereby clearly distinguished from the world.

The world has become completely revealed in its hatred of the Father and His Son. On the other hand, the greatest possible contrast is the manifestation of the Name of the Father to those who are the object of the Father’s love. To them the Son has manifested the Name of the Father in order to make them know the Father.

This manifestation of the Name of the Father was done through His life, His words and His works. The people the Father gave to the Son belonged to the Father. This indicates the Father’s eternal purpose and election to give them to the Son. This is completely separate from any connection with Israel and with Him as Yahweh. They have been given to Him by the Father.

That they belonged to the Father and now belong to the Son is evident from their keeping of the word of the Father. The word of the Father is everything the Father has spoken about the Son. The Lord Jesus sees His own as a precious treasure that the Father has given Him. He ignores all the incomprehension that they had and revealed. They have kept the word of the Father – and in fact, that is the Son Himself.

However, they have not only kept the word of the Father about the Son. They have also acknowledged that the Father is the source of all that has been given to the Son. The fact that the Father has given everything to the Son does not mean that the Father has lost it. The Lord Jesus does not say ‘was Yours’, but “is Yours”. The Son has received what is and remains of the Father.

He speaks to His Father as a recommendation that His own not only kept the word of the Father concerning the Son, but that they also received and accepted the words of the Father through the Son. The words of the Son were no other words than those of the Father. By accepting the words of the Son, they have truly acknowledged that the Son came forth from the Father and they have believed that the Father sent Him.

However little they have understood of all that He has said about this, He sees their heart in it. They have received His words and with them everything that was expressed in those words, however much that exceeded their thoughts. By receiving His words, which are the words of the Father, they have accepted the whole relationship in which the Son stands to the Father.

That He came forth from the Father means that He, as the eternal Son, revealed the Father. The fact that the Father has sent Him means that as a dependent Man He has done everything the Father commanded Him to do.

John 19:34

The Request to Be Kept and Unity

The disciples – and we – hear the Lord Jesus once again saying that He is asking on their behalf. He no longer has any connection with the world or with Israel. The distinction is no longer between Jews and Gentiles, but between His disciples and the world.

He does not ask on behalf of the world. For the world He has no more prayer; the world is under judgment. The time when He will ask for the world to claim it as His rightful possession, as His inheritance, will come when the Father tells Him to do so (Psalms 2:8). He is, so to speak, concerned here with the heirs and not with the inheritance.

Until the time comes when He will ask for the inheritance, He asks the Father for those whom He still brings before the Father as “Yours”. As stated above, the Father has not lost what He has given to the Son. It remains His. At the same time, they are also the Son’s. For everything that is of the Son, applies that it is of the Father. The reverse is also true, that everything that is of the Father is His. The first could be said by a man to God, the second cannot. Only the Son can say that all that is the Father’s is also His, for He is one with the Father. The disciples belong to both the Father and the Son. At the same time, whatever the Father gives to the Son is for the glorification of the Son.

Without any restraint or limitation He speaks of it to the Father that He is glorified in His own. We see here again that the Son sees His own in their perfect relation to Him and not in their weak practice. He is glorified in them because they believe in Him and acknowledge Him in Who He is, even though they have so often shown that they did not understand the depth of it.

When the Lord Jesus says that He is no longer in the world, it means that He already places Himself behind the cross as already being glorified. He also knows perfectly well that His own are still in the world and that that world is very hostile to them. Therefore He comes to the Father for them in their defenselessness with the request to keep them in His Name, the Father’s Name.

He addresses the Father as “Holy Father.” This emphasizes the complete separation between the Father and the world. The Father stands completely apart from the world; He has no connection with it at all. Nothing of it clings to Him or is able to have any influence on Him at all. On this basis, a few verses later, the Lord Jesus will also ask for them to be sanctified. Here He asks for them as those whom the Father Himself has given to Him. He reminds the Father, as it were, of that great gift as a special motive to keep them, that is, to safeguard them from the influences of the world.

He asks that they be kept and not whether the Father will intervene in power for their benefit by exterminating their enemies. That time is yet to come and will come for His own from Israel. Their keeping does not only relate to the aspect of safety in the face of an evil world. In asking for their keeping, He also has their unity among themselves in mind.

This unity is realized through the gift of the Holy Spirit as the fruit of His redemptive work. This being one concerns the twelve apostles in their testimony concerning the Son. It is important that in spite of their differences, they will give a unified testimony concerning the Son. No difference of opinion should spoil that testimony. That unity in their testimony has been maintained is evident when we read about their service in the book of Acts and the letters we have from them in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus asks for His Father’s safekeeping because He Himself will no longer be with them and cannot safekeep them in that way in the Name of the Father. In the three and a half years during which His own walked with Him, He cared for them in unfailing faithfulness. In that care He was always focused on the Name of the Father. He has that in mind also when He will no longer be with them.

His safekeeping did not include Judas because he had closed his heart to the work of God’s Spirit. He was not a child of God, but “the son of perdition”. He loved money and therefore made himself available to satan. That things turned out this way with Judas was not due to the Lord’s failing care. He did not slip out of His hand. The doom of such a course of action is foretold by Scripture. It is not the name of Judas that is foretold, but the result of one who would act in such a way.

John 19:35

The Request to Be Kept and Unity

The disciples – and we – hear the Lord Jesus once again saying that He is asking on their behalf. He no longer has any connection with the world or with Israel. The distinction is no longer between Jews and Gentiles, but between His disciples and the world.

He does not ask on behalf of the world. For the world He has no more prayer; the world is under judgment. The time when He will ask for the world to claim it as His rightful possession, as His inheritance, will come when the Father tells Him to do so (Psalms 2:8). He is, so to speak, concerned here with the heirs and not with the inheritance.

Until the time comes when He will ask for the inheritance, He asks the Father for those whom He still brings before the Father as “Yours”. As stated above, the Father has not lost what He has given to the Son. It remains His. At the same time, they are also the Son’s. For everything that is of the Son, applies that it is of the Father. The reverse is also true, that everything that is of the Father is His. The first could be said by a man to God, the second cannot. Only the Son can say that all that is the Father’s is also His, for He is one with the Father. The disciples belong to both the Father and the Son. At the same time, whatever the Father gives to the Son is for the glorification of the Son.

Without any restraint or limitation He speaks of it to the Father that He is glorified in His own. We see here again that the Son sees His own in their perfect relation to Him and not in their weak practice. He is glorified in them because they believe in Him and acknowledge Him in Who He is, even though they have so often shown that they did not understand the depth of it.

When the Lord Jesus says that He is no longer in the world, it means that He already places Himself behind the cross as already being glorified. He also knows perfectly well that His own are still in the world and that that world is very hostile to them. Therefore He comes to the Father for them in their defenselessness with the request to keep them in His Name, the Father’s Name.

He addresses the Father as “Holy Father.” This emphasizes the complete separation between the Father and the world. The Father stands completely apart from the world; He has no connection with it at all. Nothing of it clings to Him or is able to have any influence on Him at all. On this basis, a few verses later, the Lord Jesus will also ask for them to be sanctified. Here He asks for them as those whom the Father Himself has given to Him. He reminds the Father, as it were, of that great gift as a special motive to keep them, that is, to safeguard them from the influences of the world.

He asks that they be kept and not whether the Father will intervene in power for their benefit by exterminating their enemies. That time is yet to come and will come for His own from Israel. Their keeping does not only relate to the aspect of safety in the face of an evil world. In asking for their keeping, He also has their unity among themselves in mind.

This unity is realized through the gift of the Holy Spirit as the fruit of His redemptive work. This being one concerns the twelve apostles in their testimony concerning the Son. It is important that in spite of their differences, they will give a unified testimony concerning the Son. No difference of opinion should spoil that testimony. That unity in their testimony has been maintained is evident when we read about their service in the book of Acts and the letters we have from them in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus asks for His Father’s safekeeping because He Himself will no longer be with them and cannot safekeep them in that way in the Name of the Father. In the three and a half years during which His own walked with Him, He cared for them in unfailing faithfulness. In that care He was always focused on the Name of the Father. He has that in mind also when He will no longer be with them.

His safekeeping did not include Judas because he had closed his heart to the work of God’s Spirit. He was not a child of God, but “the son of perdition”. He loved money and therefore made himself available to satan. That things turned out this way with Judas was not due to the Lord’s failing care. He did not slip out of His hand. The doom of such a course of action is foretold by Scripture. It is not the name of Judas that is foretold, but the result of one who would act in such a way.

John 19:36

The Request to Be Kept and Unity

The disciples – and we – hear the Lord Jesus once again saying that He is asking on their behalf. He no longer has any connection with the world or with Israel. The distinction is no longer between Jews and Gentiles, but between His disciples and the world.

He does not ask on behalf of the world. For the world He has no more prayer; the world is under judgment. The time when He will ask for the world to claim it as His rightful possession, as His inheritance, will come when the Father tells Him to do so (Psalms 2:8). He is, so to speak, concerned here with the heirs and not with the inheritance.

Until the time comes when He will ask for the inheritance, He asks the Father for those whom He still brings before the Father as “Yours”. As stated above, the Father has not lost what He has given to the Son. It remains His. At the same time, they are also the Son’s. For everything that is of the Son, applies that it is of the Father. The reverse is also true, that everything that is of the Father is His. The first could be said by a man to God, the second cannot. Only the Son can say that all that is the Father’s is also His, for He is one with the Father. The disciples belong to both the Father and the Son. At the same time, whatever the Father gives to the Son is for the glorification of the Son.

Without any restraint or limitation He speaks of it to the Father that He is glorified in His own. We see here again that the Son sees His own in their perfect relation to Him and not in their weak practice. He is glorified in them because they believe in Him and acknowledge Him in Who He is, even though they have so often shown that they did not understand the depth of it.

When the Lord Jesus says that He is no longer in the world, it means that He already places Himself behind the cross as already being glorified. He also knows perfectly well that His own are still in the world and that that world is very hostile to them. Therefore He comes to the Father for them in their defenselessness with the request to keep them in His Name, the Father’s Name.

He addresses the Father as “Holy Father.” This emphasizes the complete separation between the Father and the world. The Father stands completely apart from the world; He has no connection with it at all. Nothing of it clings to Him or is able to have any influence on Him at all. On this basis, a few verses later, the Lord Jesus will also ask for them to be sanctified. Here He asks for them as those whom the Father Himself has given to Him. He reminds the Father, as it were, of that great gift as a special motive to keep them, that is, to safeguard them from the influences of the world.

He asks that they be kept and not whether the Father will intervene in power for their benefit by exterminating their enemies. That time is yet to come and will come for His own from Israel. Their keeping does not only relate to the aspect of safety in the face of an evil world. In asking for their keeping, He also has their unity among themselves in mind.

This unity is realized through the gift of the Holy Spirit as the fruit of His redemptive work. This being one concerns the twelve apostles in their testimony concerning the Son. It is important that in spite of their differences, they will give a unified testimony concerning the Son. No difference of opinion should spoil that testimony. That unity in their testimony has been maintained is evident when we read about their service in the book of Acts and the letters we have from them in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus asks for His Father’s safekeeping because He Himself will no longer be with them and cannot safekeep them in that way in the Name of the Father. In the three and a half years during which His own walked with Him, He cared for them in unfailing faithfulness. In that care He was always focused on the Name of the Father. He has that in mind also when He will no longer be with them.

His safekeeping did not include Judas because he had closed his heart to the work of God’s Spirit. He was not a child of God, but “the son of perdition”. He loved money and therefore made himself available to satan. That things turned out this way with Judas was not due to the Lord’s failing care. He did not slip out of His hand. The doom of such a course of action is foretold by Scripture. It is not the name of Judas that is foretold, but the result of one who would act in such a way.

John 19:37

The Request to Be Kept and Unity

The disciples – and we – hear the Lord Jesus once again saying that He is asking on their behalf. He no longer has any connection with the world or with Israel. The distinction is no longer between Jews and Gentiles, but between His disciples and the world.

He does not ask on behalf of the world. For the world He has no more prayer; the world is under judgment. The time when He will ask for the world to claim it as His rightful possession, as His inheritance, will come when the Father tells Him to do so (Psalms 2:8). He is, so to speak, concerned here with the heirs and not with the inheritance.

Until the time comes when He will ask for the inheritance, He asks the Father for those whom He still brings before the Father as “Yours”. As stated above, the Father has not lost what He has given to the Son. It remains His. At the same time, they are also the Son’s. For everything that is of the Son, applies that it is of the Father. The reverse is also true, that everything that is of the Father is His. The first could be said by a man to God, the second cannot. Only the Son can say that all that is the Father’s is also His, for He is one with the Father. The disciples belong to both the Father and the Son. At the same time, whatever the Father gives to the Son is for the glorification of the Son.

Without any restraint or limitation He speaks of it to the Father that He is glorified in His own. We see here again that the Son sees His own in their perfect relation to Him and not in their weak practice. He is glorified in them because they believe in Him and acknowledge Him in Who He is, even though they have so often shown that they did not understand the depth of it.

When the Lord Jesus says that He is no longer in the world, it means that He already places Himself behind the cross as already being glorified. He also knows perfectly well that His own are still in the world and that that world is very hostile to them. Therefore He comes to the Father for them in their defenselessness with the request to keep them in His Name, the Father’s Name.

He addresses the Father as “Holy Father.” This emphasizes the complete separation between the Father and the world. The Father stands completely apart from the world; He has no connection with it at all. Nothing of it clings to Him or is able to have any influence on Him at all. On this basis, a few verses later, the Lord Jesus will also ask for them to be sanctified. Here He asks for them as those whom the Father Himself has given to Him. He reminds the Father, as it were, of that great gift as a special motive to keep them, that is, to safeguard them from the influences of the world.

He asks that they be kept and not whether the Father will intervene in power for their benefit by exterminating their enemies. That time is yet to come and will come for His own from Israel. Their keeping does not only relate to the aspect of safety in the face of an evil world. In asking for their keeping, He also has their unity among themselves in mind.

This unity is realized through the gift of the Holy Spirit as the fruit of His redemptive work. This being one concerns the twelve apostles in their testimony concerning the Son. It is important that in spite of their differences, they will give a unified testimony concerning the Son. No difference of opinion should spoil that testimony. That unity in their testimony has been maintained is evident when we read about their service in the book of Acts and the letters we have from them in the Bible.

The Lord Jesus asks for His Father’s safekeeping because He Himself will no longer be with them and cannot safekeep them in that way in the Name of the Father. In the three and a half years during which His own walked with Him, He cared for them in unfailing faithfulness. In that care He was always focused on the Name of the Father. He has that in mind also when He will no longer be with them.

His safekeeping did not include Judas because he had closed his heart to the work of God’s Spirit. He was not a child of God, but “the son of perdition”. He loved money and therefore made himself available to satan. That things turned out this way with Judas was not due to the Lord’s failing care. He did not slip out of His hand. The doom of such a course of action is foretold by Scripture. It is not the name of Judas that is foretold, but the result of one who would act in such a way.

John 19:38

The Disciples in the World

The Son is now going to speak to the Father in particular about the disciples in their relation to the world. He comes to the Father and turns to Him to speak to Him about His own, to entrust the continued care of the disciples to Him. He does this in the world in which He too still finds Himself, so that they can hear it. They are also in the world and will remain there when He has gone away from them to the Father. They are no longer of the world, they no longer belong to the world, but they still have to go through it.

Now they hear the Son speaking about them with full knowledge of the situation in which they find themselves. How it must have delighted their hearts to hear Him speak of them in this way to the Father. This awareness of the Father’s attention and love going out to Him always filled the Lord Jesus Himself with joy in His life on earth. He always finds His joy in fellowship with His Father.

Through His prayer the disciples may know that they too may always have fellowship with the Father, that the Father always pays perfect attention to them and desires fellowship with them. The Son has been here in the Name of the Father and has found His joy in serving the interests of the Father. Thus, from now on they will be here in His Name and have the same joy in them as those who serve the Father by presenting the Son.

To enable them to do so, the Son has given them the word of the Father. Again, the word here is the full revelation of the Father that He has brought. The Lord does not say ‘words’, remata, which means ‘utterances’, but ‘word’, logos, which means the expression of His thoughts. Furthermore, He asks the Father to keep them because of taking His place in the presence of the world. He connects Himself with them in the presence of the Father which is a great blessing. He connects Himself with them no less in their presence in the world, and that too is a great blessing. In both cases it is His place. Where He is, there are His own, and where His own are, there He is.

The Lord Jesus says that they are not of the world. By this He does not mean that they should not be part of it. What He means is that fundamentally they do not belong to the world because they are joined to Him. That must have the effect of making them behave that way. It is terrible if they, and also we, would even give the impression of being of the world after all. That would be a denial of the true relationship to the Father.

The Lord does not ask the Father to take them out of the world. The taking out of the world of His own happens when the believers are caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until that time they must remain in the world where darkness, hatred and death reign. With that in mind, He asks for their keeping.

There is no question that they should keep themselves by leaving the world, for example by retreating behind the thick walls of a monastery. Monasticism and monastery life is contrary to what the Lord Jesus is saying here. The separation from the world sought by God is not realized by isolating oneself. Evil is within us. The Son asks the Father that the evil one who is behind the evil system of the world will not get hold of them (cf. Matthew 6:13).

He emphatically repeats their identification with Him in their separation from the world (John 17:14). This repetition is necessary because we easily forget this separation. Only if our focus remains on Christ we will continue to see our being separated from the world. Christ Himself is the absolute example of separation from the world. He did come into the world, but never for a moment He was part of it. His place and attitude toward the world are determining for those of the disciples and also for ours.

John 19:39

The Disciples in the World

The Son is now going to speak to the Father in particular about the disciples in their relation to the world. He comes to the Father and turns to Him to speak to Him about His own, to entrust the continued care of the disciples to Him. He does this in the world in which He too still finds Himself, so that they can hear it. They are also in the world and will remain there when He has gone away from them to the Father. They are no longer of the world, they no longer belong to the world, but they still have to go through it.

Now they hear the Son speaking about them with full knowledge of the situation in which they find themselves. How it must have delighted their hearts to hear Him speak of them in this way to the Father. This awareness of the Father’s attention and love going out to Him always filled the Lord Jesus Himself with joy in His life on earth. He always finds His joy in fellowship with His Father.

Through His prayer the disciples may know that they too may always have fellowship with the Father, that the Father always pays perfect attention to them and desires fellowship with them. The Son has been here in the Name of the Father and has found His joy in serving the interests of the Father. Thus, from now on they will be here in His Name and have the same joy in them as those who serve the Father by presenting the Son.

To enable them to do so, the Son has given them the word of the Father. Again, the word here is the full revelation of the Father that He has brought. The Lord does not say ‘words’, remata, which means ‘utterances’, but ‘word’, logos, which means the expression of His thoughts. Furthermore, He asks the Father to keep them because of taking His place in the presence of the world. He connects Himself with them in the presence of the Father which is a great blessing. He connects Himself with them no less in their presence in the world, and that too is a great blessing. In both cases it is His place. Where He is, there are His own, and where His own are, there He is.

The Lord Jesus says that they are not of the world. By this He does not mean that they should not be part of it. What He means is that fundamentally they do not belong to the world because they are joined to Him. That must have the effect of making them behave that way. It is terrible if they, and also we, would even give the impression of being of the world after all. That would be a denial of the true relationship to the Father.

The Lord does not ask the Father to take them out of the world. The taking out of the world of His own happens when the believers are caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until that time they must remain in the world where darkness, hatred and death reign. With that in mind, He asks for their keeping.

There is no question that they should keep themselves by leaving the world, for example by retreating behind the thick walls of a monastery. Monasticism and monastery life is contrary to what the Lord Jesus is saying here. The separation from the world sought by God is not realized by isolating oneself. Evil is within us. The Son asks the Father that the evil one who is behind the evil system of the world will not get hold of them (cf. Matthew 6:13).

He emphatically repeats their identification with Him in their separation from the world (John 17:14). This repetition is necessary because we easily forget this separation. Only if our focus remains on Christ we will continue to see our being separated from the world. Christ Himself is the absolute example of separation from the world. He did come into the world, but never for a moment He was part of it. His place and attitude toward the world are determining for those of the disciples and also for ours.

John 19:40

The Disciples in the World

The Son is now going to speak to the Father in particular about the disciples in their relation to the world. He comes to the Father and turns to Him to speak to Him about His own, to entrust the continued care of the disciples to Him. He does this in the world in which He too still finds Himself, so that they can hear it. They are also in the world and will remain there when He has gone away from them to the Father. They are no longer of the world, they no longer belong to the world, but they still have to go through it.

Now they hear the Son speaking about them with full knowledge of the situation in which they find themselves. How it must have delighted their hearts to hear Him speak of them in this way to the Father. This awareness of the Father’s attention and love going out to Him always filled the Lord Jesus Himself with joy in His life on earth. He always finds His joy in fellowship with His Father.

Through His prayer the disciples may know that they too may always have fellowship with the Father, that the Father always pays perfect attention to them and desires fellowship with them. The Son has been here in the Name of the Father and has found His joy in serving the interests of the Father. Thus, from now on they will be here in His Name and have the same joy in them as those who serve the Father by presenting the Son.

To enable them to do so, the Son has given them the word of the Father. Again, the word here is the full revelation of the Father that He has brought. The Lord does not say ‘words’, remata, which means ‘utterances’, but ‘word’, logos, which means the expression of His thoughts. Furthermore, He asks the Father to keep them because of taking His place in the presence of the world. He connects Himself with them in the presence of the Father which is a great blessing. He connects Himself with them no less in their presence in the world, and that too is a great blessing. In both cases it is His place. Where He is, there are His own, and where His own are, there He is.

The Lord Jesus says that they are not of the world. By this He does not mean that they should not be part of it. What He means is that fundamentally they do not belong to the world because they are joined to Him. That must have the effect of making them behave that way. It is terrible if they, and also we, would even give the impression of being of the world after all. That would be a denial of the true relationship to the Father.

The Lord does not ask the Father to take them out of the world. The taking out of the world of His own happens when the believers are caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until that time they must remain in the world where darkness, hatred and death reign. With that in mind, He asks for their keeping.

There is no question that they should keep themselves by leaving the world, for example by retreating behind the thick walls of a monastery. Monasticism and monastery life is contrary to what the Lord Jesus is saying here. The separation from the world sought by God is not realized by isolating oneself. Evil is within us. The Son asks the Father that the evil one who is behind the evil system of the world will not get hold of them (cf. Matthew 6:13).

He emphatically repeats their identification with Him in their separation from the world (John 17:14). This repetition is necessary because we easily forget this separation. Only if our focus remains on Christ we will continue to see our being separated from the world. Christ Himself is the absolute example of separation from the world. He did come into the world, but never for a moment He was part of it. His place and attitude toward the world are determining for those of the disciples and also for ours.

John 19:41

The Disciples in the World

The Son is now going to speak to the Father in particular about the disciples in their relation to the world. He comes to the Father and turns to Him to speak to Him about His own, to entrust the continued care of the disciples to Him. He does this in the world in which He too still finds Himself, so that they can hear it. They are also in the world and will remain there when He has gone away from them to the Father. They are no longer of the world, they no longer belong to the world, but they still have to go through it.

Now they hear the Son speaking about them with full knowledge of the situation in which they find themselves. How it must have delighted their hearts to hear Him speak of them in this way to the Father. This awareness of the Father’s attention and love going out to Him always filled the Lord Jesus Himself with joy in His life on earth. He always finds His joy in fellowship with His Father.

Through His prayer the disciples may know that they too may always have fellowship with the Father, that the Father always pays perfect attention to them and desires fellowship with them. The Son has been here in the Name of the Father and has found His joy in serving the interests of the Father. Thus, from now on they will be here in His Name and have the same joy in them as those who serve the Father by presenting the Son.

To enable them to do so, the Son has given them the word of the Father. Again, the word here is the full revelation of the Father that He has brought. The Lord does not say ‘words’, remata, which means ‘utterances’, but ‘word’, logos, which means the expression of His thoughts. Furthermore, He asks the Father to keep them because of taking His place in the presence of the world. He connects Himself with them in the presence of the Father which is a great blessing. He connects Himself with them no less in their presence in the world, and that too is a great blessing. In both cases it is His place. Where He is, there are His own, and where His own are, there He is.

The Lord Jesus says that they are not of the world. By this He does not mean that they should not be part of it. What He means is that fundamentally they do not belong to the world because they are joined to Him. That must have the effect of making them behave that way. It is terrible if they, and also we, would even give the impression of being of the world after all. That would be a denial of the true relationship to the Father.

The Lord does not ask the Father to take them out of the world. The taking out of the world of His own happens when the believers are caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until that time they must remain in the world where darkness, hatred and death reign. With that in mind, He asks for their keeping.

There is no question that they should keep themselves by leaving the world, for example by retreating behind the thick walls of a monastery. Monasticism and monastery life is contrary to what the Lord Jesus is saying here. The separation from the world sought by God is not realized by isolating oneself. Evil is within us. The Son asks the Father that the evil one who is behind the evil system of the world will not get hold of them (cf. Matthew 6:13).

He emphatically repeats their identification with Him in their separation from the world (John 17:14). This repetition is necessary because we easily forget this separation. Only if our focus remains on Christ we will continue to see our being separated from the world. Christ Himself is the absolute example of separation from the world. He did come into the world, but never for a moment He was part of it. His place and attitude toward the world are determining for those of the disciples and also for ours.

John 19:42

Sanctification

Then the Son asks the Father to sanctify them. Through sanctification we are brought into conformity with the Holy Father. Sanctification is being set apart for Him. They have been brought into contact with the truth of the word of the Father that has come to them in the Son. They have acknowledged and accepted that word. As a result, they have entered into another world, the world of the Father and the Son. The Son has given the word of the Father that introduces us into His love, into His thoughts, into His counsels, into His glory. By being in it, we are truly set apart (sanctified). That is what the truth produces.

Again, this is far beyond the law, which also sets apart, but nationally and only for Israel from the nations around them. That we are set apart from the world does not mean that we have nothing to do with the world anymore. We are not in the world because we happen to be there, but we are in the world for a purpose. We are sent into the world as the Son was sent into the world by the Father. That means we have a word for that world, as He had. Sanctification does not lead to isolation, but to usefulness in bringing the truth to a world that lives in the lie.

Our sanctification occurs not only through the Father’s word, but also through the Son’s sanctification for us. This sanctification consists in His literally leaving the world to take up a sanctified place with the Father. He is there for us. He is there our model of sanctification. His place with the Father is our place. There is sanctifying power in the truth (John 17:17) and there is sanctifying power in seeing Christ in glory (John 17:19).

So there are two wonderful truths that sanctify the believer in the present tense. The first truth is the revelation of the Father in His word that has come to us through and in the Son. The second truth is the knowledge of the glory of the Son as the risen and glorified Man in heaven. When these two truths are before our attention through the Holy Spirit, we will live a sanctified life.