“These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
It is the quiet before the storm when Jesus speaks to His disciples concerning “tribulation” in the world, and of the world, but also of His peace. He then caps off this line of thought with the triumphal statement, “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Here is the Son of God, having basically completed his teaching ministry, drawing nigh to his betryal by Judas, his unjust trial, and then the unwaranted crucifixion. The storm of His suffering, rejection, and abandonment is approaching. Several times He will tell His disciples that in a little while they will not see Him. However, there is always the promise completing this statement: “…a little while, and ye shall see Me.” (Jn. 16:16) He went on to say, “…that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful,” but again there is a promise, “…but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” (v.20) The Lord does not go into a great deal of detail, but that which is clearly put before the disciples is this: “…I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” (v.22) The brutal, staggering terrible crucifixion is slowly approaching, the sight of which will seemingly destroy all hope the disciples have. Were it not for the proof of Jesus’ words, and the faithfulness by which He had accomplished all that He had declared, there would be no way to make it through such a time. For Christ, it was the “joy set before Him.” For the disciples it is the hope of seeing Him again, alive and well. These were Christ’s words for the disciples. What about His prayer for them, that final, detailed and ordered prayer, which would have magnificent and incomprehensible effects upon the disciples of Jesus’ day, but also for today?
The Lord Jesus, always in His praying, used specific truths to give Him altitude into the presence of the Father. We discover that in John’s gospel, the seventeenth chapter, that the Lord Jesus begins with the imminency of the moment, the time factor, and it is “now.” “Father the hour has come.” (17:1) The time has arrived for Him to pray this prayer because of the urgency of the moment. Perhaps never before in the history of the world has so much been put into a prayer that is relatively brief. After the issue of time, the Lord goes straight for the objective in prayer, the glory of the Father, and this by asking the Father to “glorify the Son.” What does this mean? It is a specific prayer for the Father’s intervention in His own way, to reveal Himself in meeting Christ’s every need. Christ is appealing for the intervention of the Father, so that He may indeed be victorious through the coming ordeal. And yet, never does the Lord Jesus lose the grasp of the issues at hand, as He speaks of the Father, who has “…given Him power over all flesh.” (v.2) That power and authority is given to Christ, that He in turn, “…should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.” Though the circumstances that Christ is now facing seem to be under the control of men and demons, Christ remains stedfastly supreme. Already He has declared His victory to the disciples. Now, He falls back upon the certainty of His calling, the authority of the Father given to Him, and the resources of the Spirit to enable Him to finish His work.
Never is it far from the lips of the Lord Jesus the words: “eternal life.” Here is the central issue, and that for which He will endure and conquer, so that those whom He loves, for whom He will die, will know this Life eternal. That eternal life is the knowledge of God by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Give us to know Thee. In Jesus’ name. Amen.