Thoughts on the Gospel of John (167) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.
John 17:9–11

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (167)
In these verses we learn why the Lord prays for His disciples. He Himself had been with them for more than three years and had cared for them in love. But now a far-reaching change was to take place: He would go to the Father and physically no longer be in this world. But one thing remains unchanged: the Lord’s heart is with His own. He loves them “to the end” (ch. 13:1).

The Lord explicitly mentions that He now makes request for the disciples – and not for the world. The time will come when He will ask as King of kings in view of the whole world. Then the Father will say to Him, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Psalm 2:8). But now He is not concerned with His future inheritance in the Millennial Kingdom. His heart is with His fellow heirs because they still live in a world hostile to Christ.

God has entrusted the disciples to His Son. Yet the Son can say, “they are Yours”. So, they have not ceased to belong to the Father. Is this not the greatest assurance for all believers, that they belong to both the Father and the Son?

That which belongs to God the Father also belongs to God the Son, and vice versa. We could say to God, “All that is mine is Yours”, but never, “All that is Yours is mine”. But Jesus could speak like that because He is the eternal Son of God, one with the Father. Once again it is about the disciples: Jesus is glorified in them, so He is seen in them. That is what makes them so precious to the Father.

Today’s reading: Ezekiel 29:1-21 · Psalms 131:1-3