John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which you have given me… I. THE TONE OF THE PRAYER. 1. Wonderful majesty. "Father, I will!" How awful this sounds! Such a petition was never heard before. Compare it with the prayers of the most eminent of God's people — Abraham, David, and Solomon. 2. Authority as well. Here is no condition, qualification, or contingency expressed or implied. It is the language of Him whose will is absolute law through all the universe. And this is the foundation on which the ultimate salvation of the redeemed is made to rest. II. THE SCOPE OF THE PRAYER 1. The persons prayed for are — "those whom Thou hast given Me" — believers of every age. It takes in all the redeemed. 2. What is asked is "that they be with Me where I am." This is a comprehensive petition. It embraces all that Christ could ask for His people, all that they can desire, or that God can give. There has been much curious discussion of the question whether heaven is a state or a place. It is clear from the teachings of the chapter, that heaven is a stale (vers. 21, 23). The unity prayed for in the former and the perfection in the latter of these verses prove this conclusively. No locality can be heaven to us, unless we attain unto the state there described. At the same time this verse proves that heaven is a distinct locality (John 14:2). If He were speaking here as the Creator alone, the language used would not necessarily imply locality. But He is speaking as "the Man Christ Jesus." "True, 'where I am' is a wide, wide phrase. Where He is, heaven is; where He is not, there is hell. A throne without Him is but the devil's dungeon of darkness, wherever it be placed; a dungeon with Christ in it, a fiery furnace with Christ in the midst, is a palace of glory. If we be where He is, what is there that can be worth seeing, or knowing, or having besides? 'Whom have I in heaven but Thee?'" III. THE DESIGN OF THE PRAYER. "That they may behold My glory," &c. This refers to the glory which pertains to Him by virtue of His mediatorial office. It is the glory of revealing God's will; of bringing to an end the great rebellion which sin had introduced into God's dominions; of lifting off the curse from this groaning creation; of making all things new; of gathering His elect out of all nations, of raising them from the dead, and carrying them with approval through the solemn scenes of the last judgment, and assigning them the place of dignity they will occupy in His everlasting kingdom; and of conducting the affairs of that kingdom through all eternity. IV. THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH THE PRAYER RESTS. "For Thou lovedst Me," &c. There is something very striking and sublime in this argument. It is not our love for one another or of God, nor Christ's or the Father's love for us, but God's love of His own blessed Son. In conclusion, this subject suggests — 1. How unspeakable is the glory on which the redeemed will gaze! 2. The true philosophy of salvation, or the secret of the Christian's security. (R. Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. |
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