John 14:13

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(13) And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do.—Comp. John 15:16; John 16:23. The prayer is thought of as addressed to the Father; but the answer here, and still more emphatically in the following verse, is thought of as coming from the Son, who is one with the Father. The width and limitation of the promise are both to be noted. It is “whatsoever ye shall ask,” and it is “ask in My name.” This means, as My representatives on earth (comp. Notes on previous verse), as persons doing My work, living in My spirit, seeking as I have sought to do the will of the Father. It follows from this that personal petitions are not contemplated here, except as far as they are for the glory of God; and that petitions asked in ignorance may be most truly answered when they are not granted. The prayer of Gethsemane—“If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done,” should teach what prayer in the name and spirit of Christ means. We commonly attach to our prayers, “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We do not always bear in mind that this implies an absolute self-sacrifice, and is a prayer that our very prayers may not be answered except in so far as they are in accordance with the divine will. (Comp. Note on 2Corinthians 12:8-9.)

That the Father may be glorified in the Son.—Comp. Notes on John 11:4; John 12:28; John 13:31.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:12-17 Whatever we ask in Christ's name, that shall be for our good, and suitable to our state, he shall give it to us. To ask in Christ's name, is to plead his merit and intercession, and to depend upon that plea. The gift of the Spirit is a fruit of Christ's mediation, bought by his merit, and received by his intercession. The word used here, signifies an advocate, counsellor, monitor, and comforter. He would abide with the disciples to the end of time; his gifts and graces would encourage their hearts. The expressions used here and elsewhere, plainly denote a person, and the office itself includes all the Divine perfections. The gift of the Holy Ghost is bestowed upon the disciples of Christ, and not on the world. This is the favour God bears to his chosen. As the source of holiness and happiness, the Holy Spirit will abide with every believer for ever.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Whatsoever ye shall ask - This promise referred particularly to the apostles in their work of spreading the gospel; it is, however, true of all Christians, if what they ask is in faith, and according to the will of God, James 1:6; 1 John 5:14.

In my name - This is equivalent to saying on my account, or for my sake. If a man who has money in a bank authorizes us to draw it, we are said to do it in his name. If a son authorizes us to apply to his father for aid because we are his friends, we do it in the name of the son, and the favor will be bestowed on us from the regard which the parent has to his son, and through him to all his friends. So we are permitted to apply to God in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, because God is in him well pleased Matthew 3:17, and because we are the friends of his Son he answers our requests. Though we are undeserving, yet he loves us on account of his Son, and because he sees in us his image. No privilege is greater than that of approaching God in the name of his Son; no blessings of salvation can be conferred on any who do not come in his name.

That will I do - Being exalted, he will be possessed of all power in heaven and earth Matthew 28:18, and he therefore could fulfill all their desires.

That the Father may be glorified in the Son - See the notes at John 13:31.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

13, 14. whatsoever ye … ask in my name—as Mediator.

that will I do—as Head and Lord of the kingdom of God. This comprehensive promise is emphatically repeated in Joh 14:14.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The whatsoever, in this text, must be limited by what the will of God hath revealed in other texts, as to the matter of our prayers; viz. they must be things that are for our good; such things as we stand in need of, and as God hath given us a liberty to ask: and indeed no other things can be asked in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; for to ask in Christ’s name, signifieth not only the making use of his sacred name in our prayers, (though the constant practice of the church in prayer, hath evidenced it the general opinion of divines, that this is a part of the sense), but also in asking for his merits, and such things as shall be conformable to his will, and for his glory. Whatsoever (saith he) you shall ask of this nature, I will do. He doth not say, my Father will do, but I will do it; to testify his Divine power, and oneness in power with his Father.

That the Father may be glorified in the Son: God hath set up his rest in Christ, and will be glorified in and through him; and hath therefore given him all power in heaven and earth.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,.... Whether it be for assistance in preaching of the Gospel; or for the performance of miraculous operations in confirmation of it; or for success to attend it; or for any blessings whatsoever, whether for themselves or others:

that will I do; he does not say, that he would be a Mediator between God, and them, an advocate with the Father for them, and would intercede, and use his interest with him that it might be done, which would have been saying much, and all which he does; but he declares he will do it himself, which is a proof of his deity, and an instance of his omnipotence:

that the Father may be glorified in the Son. This may be referred either to the petition, which must be made with this view, that the Father may be glorified by, or in the Son, in whose name it is put up, and for whose sake it is made; or to Christ's promise to do it; who in doing it, seeks not his own glory, at least not singly; but as the good of his people, so the glory of his heavenly Father.

Geneva Study Bible

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

John 14:13. τοῦτο ποιήσω, so what they do is still His doing; one condition being attached to their prayers, that they ask ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου. The name of a person can only be used when we seek to enforce his will and further his interests. This gives the condition of successful prayer: it must be for the furtherance of Christ’s kingdom. For the end of all is ἵνα δοξασθῇ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ, that is, that the fulfilment of God’s purpose in sending forth His Son may be manifest in Christ’s people and in their beneficent work in the world.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. whatsoever ye shall ask in my name] Comp. John 15:16, John 16:23-24; John 16:26. Anything that can rightly be asked in His name will be granted; there is no other limit. By ‘in My name’ is not of course meant the mere using the formula ‘through Jesus Christ.’ Rather, it means praying and working as Christ’s representatives in the same spirit in which Christ prayed and worked,—‘Not My will, but Thine be done.’ Prayers for other ends than this are excluded; not that it is said that they will not be granted, but there is no promise that they will. Comp. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9.

that the Father may be glorified] See notes on John 11:4, John 12:28, John 13:31.

Bengel's Gnomen

John 14:13. Ὅ τι ἄν) This differs from ἐάν τι, John 14:14. For ὅ τι ἄν and τοῦτο mutually refer to one another.—αἰτήσητε, ye shall have asked) A comprehensive promise, John 14:14; ch. John 15:7, “If ye abide in Me, etc., ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you;” 16, “That whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He may give it you;” John 16:23; John 16:26, “At that day ye shall ask in My name; and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you,” etc.—ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, in My name) Mine, who am the Son of God. The reference is to the words, He that believeth on Me, John 14:12. In the Old Testament they used to adore the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: in the New Testament the God and Father of our Lord is invoked in the name of Jesus Christ.—τοῦτο ποιήσω, this will I do) So will do [it] in the foll. ver. Both the thing and the person are hereby manifested [τοῦτο being expressed in the first case, ἐγώ in the second; τοῦτο ποιήσω—ἐγὼ ποιήσω], In both, the reference is to the he shall do, John 14:12.—ἐν, in) John 14:10-11, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.”

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - The great word that follows may hang closely on the "because" of Ver. 12. Whether that be so or not, the power of their hands to perform these greater works is in answer to prayer presented to himself, and their success is nothing less than his own activity. And whatsoever ye ask in my Name, that will I do (see Luther). Here for the first time our Lord uses these words. Frequently (John 5:43; John 10:25) he had spoken of the Father's Name, and in Matthew 18:20 εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα occurs; but now he suggests a new and vitalizing condition of prayer. Luthardt has suggested that the believer, being "in Christ," prays to the Father, who is also in Christ. But the ἐν is used here in two entirely distinct senses. Others have said, taking "Name" as the compendium of all his perfections, that asking "in his Name" meant in full recognition of his Person and his relation to them and to the Father. The Name of the Son reveals the Father, and by assuming this most excellent Name, and having its fullness of meaning avouched by the Resurrection and Ascension, the Father was truly manifested. Others, again, urge that Christ's "Name" is equivalent to "himself;" and "in my Name" means "in the full consciousness that he is the element in which prayerful activity lives and moves" (Meyer). Surely this passage is the true justification of prayer to Christ himself, as identically one with the Father (see Revelation 7:17). "This thing I will do" is strongly in favor of this interpretation. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. The end of this prayer-offering and the Lord's response is that the Father may be glorified; the Father who has such a Son is thereby glorified in the grateful love of his children, and in the Son himself, who is seen thus to be the link between him and his other children. John 14:13

Vincent's Word Studies

In my name

The first occurrence of the phrase. See on Matthew 28:19. Prayer is made in the name of Jesus, "if this name, Jesus Christ, as the full substance of the saving faith and confession of him who prays, is, in his consciousness, the element in which the prayerful activity moves; so that thus that Name, embracing the whole revelation of redemption, is that which specifically measures and defines the disposition, feeling, object, and contents of prayer. The express use of the name of Jesus therein is no specific token; the question is of the spirit and mind of him who prays" (Meyer). Westcott cites Augustine to the effect that the prayer in Christ's name must be consistent with Christ's character, and that He fulfills it as Savior, and therefore just so far as it conduces to salvation.