7th Sunday of Easter
Exgetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen
7 Easter A: Exegetical Notes on John 17:1-11
The Gospel readings for 7 Easter all come from John 17: Year A -- vv.
1-11; Year B -- vv. 6-19; Year C -- vv. 20-26.
While the prayer is a unified whole, it is usually given 3 subsections
based on whom Jesus is praying for.
In vv. 1-8 Jesus is praying for himself -- "glorify your son" (v. 2)
// "glorify me" (v. 5).
In v. 9, Jesus prays "for them" = those God has given to Jesus.
In v. 20 Jesus prays for "those believing through their word in me".
There are two different interpretations of the second and third parts.
If "them" in v. 9 refers to the original disciples, then v. 20 would
refer to all believers since those original disciples. Raymond Brown
(_The Gospel According to John_, Anchor Bible) interprets the verses
this way.
However, O'Day (_John_, New Interpreter's Bible), suggests that v. 9
refers to all believers, even us, whom God has given to Jesus; and v.
20 to those who will believe because of the believers' [including our]
witness.
Since vv. 9-11 are part of the lesson, the interpreter/preacher needs
to decide whether Jesus is praying just for the original disciples or
for all of us believers. The second option seems more preachable to
me.
By using a prayer form, both the disciples and readers are outsiders
overhearing Jesus' words -- and it follows the typical pattern of a
farewell discourse. A contrast can be made between this prayer of
Jesus and his prayer at Gethsemane in the synoptics -- both coming
just before he is arrested. In the synoptics Jesus asks that he might
not face the hour of suffering. In John, this hour of "glory"
completes the work God has given him to do (17:4).
17 times in this prayer Jesus uses the word "given" (_didomi_) -- (11
times in our verses!).
13 times God gives to Jesus
> people (vv. 2, 6, 6, 9, 12, 24)
> glory (vv. 22, 24)
> authority (v. 2)
> the work (v. 4)
> everything (v. 7)
> the word (v. 8)
> God's name (v. 11)
4 times Jesus gives to people
> eternal life (v. 2)
> the word (vv. 8, 14)
> the glory (v. 22)
This supports Malina and Rohrbaugh's (_Social-Science Commentary on
the Gospel of John_) presentation of the "patronage" system that was
part of the Mediterranean world, and a key to understanding John.
There are three characters in this system:
> _Patrons_ are powerful individuals who control resources and are
> expected to use their positions to hand out favors to inferiors
> based on "friendship," personal knowledge and favoritism.
> Benefactor-patrons were expected to generously support city,
> village, or client. ... Throughout the New Testament, God is seen
as
> the ultimate patron.
> _Brokers_ mediate between patrons above and clients below.
> First-order resources -- land, jobs, goods, funds, power -- are all
> controlled by patrons. Second-order resources -- strategic contact
> with or access to patrons -- are controlled by brokers who mediate
> the goods and services a patron has to offer. ... This is clearly a
> role in which John casts Jesus. Jesus says, "You are from below, I
> am from above" (8:23). He also makes clear that the Patron (God,
> Father) has given his resources to the Son to distribute as he
will:
> "The Father loves the son and has placed all things in his hands"
> (3:35).
> _Clients_ are those dependent on the largesse of patrons or brokers
> to survive well in their society. They owe loyalty and public
> acknowledgement of honor in return. Patronage was voluntary but
> ideally lifelong. Having only one patron to whom one owed total
> loyalty had been the pattern in Rome from the earliest times. But
in
> the more chaotic competition for clients/patrons in the outlying
> provinces, playing patrons off against one another became
> commonplace. Note that, according to Luke, one cannot be client of
> both God and the wealth/greed system (Luke 16:13). ...
> In the New Testament the language of "grace" is the language of
> patronage. God is seen as the ultimate patron whose resources are
> graciously given and often mediated through Jesus as broker (note
> John's comment that Jesus or acted with the authority of his
patron;
> 5:27; 17:2). [pp. 118-119]
Besides the image of God (the patron) giving to Jesus (the broker) who
gives to disciples (clients); throughout John, Jesus is the "sent"
one. Malina and Rohrbaugh point out: "Forty-three times in John we are
told that Jesus was 'sent' by God, language that appears only twice in
Matthew (10:40; 15:24), once in Mark (9:37), four times in Luke (4:18,
43; 9:48; 10:16), and once in Paul (Rom 8:3). ... 'send' belongs to
the vocabulary of patronage" [p. 118].
> The "sent" messenger is one beholden to a patron. He acts as an
> intermediary between the patron and those for whom the message is
> intended -- that is, he acts as a broker. This is a role Jesus
plays
> throughout John's Gospel. Note also that eight times we are
reminded
> that Jesus will return to his patron (7:33; 13:1; 14:12, 28; 16:5,
> 10, 17, 28), suggesting that the broker has ready access to and
from
> the patron who sent him. Eventually, Jesus will turn over the
broker
> role to his own favored clients (disciples), who will take up the
> role on behalf of Jesus: "As you have sent me into the world, so I
> have sent them into the world" (17:18). [p. 118]
In the above lists of gifts, Jesus passes on to the people "the word"
and "the glory," which God had given him. Jesus as the broker of God's
word and God's glory, now turns the brokerage of these over to the
disciples. In addition, there are these two implications: (1) God is
the source of everything for Jesus and the faith community; and (2)
The relationship between the Father and the Son as illustrated by the
"giving" Father, is the same relationship between the "giving" Jesus
and the faith community.
I've pointed out in earlier exegetical notes, Jesus' prayer in v. 24:
"Where I am they also might be with me," refers more to the
relationship with the Father than being at a particular place. Where
Jesus is, is in an intimate relationship with the Father. This
relationship is described as Father/Son, and also as being one with
each other. We are offered the same relationship. This puts us in the
position of being glorified by the Father and glorifying the Father on
earth by doing the work God has given us to do (part of the
reciprocity of being "clients" of the giving God).
"Glory," according to Malina and Rohrbaugh, is very important in an
honor/shame society.
> Simply stated, honor is public reputation. It is symbolized in good
> name or eminent family of origin. It is one's status or standing in
> the village together with the public recognition of it. Public
> recognition is all-important. In John 5:23 God has acted so that
> "all" will honor the Son. To claim honor that is not publicly
> recognized is to play the fool. To grasp more honor than the public
> will allow is to be a greedy thief. To try to claim honor for
> oneself is shameful: Jesus speaks a truism when he says, "If I
> glorify myself, my glory is nothing" (John 8:54; also 7:18; 8:50).
> Thus, when Jesus says in 5:41 (also 12:43) that he does not accept
> glory from human beings, he is rejecting a core value of
> Mediterranean societies. When he claims in 5:44 that one should
seek
> only the honor that comes from God, he is saying that only God has
> the wisdom to legitimate an honor gain. This, of course, makes
> perfect sense for members of John's antisociety, given their
> experience in "straight" society. [pp. 121-122]
Jesus asks God to glorify him precisely when the world will shame and
humiliate him.
The other "gift" from Jesus is eternal life. While this phrase is
quite common in the "Book of Signs" (John 1-12), it only occurs in
17:2-3 in the "Book of Glory" (John 13-21). "Love" becomes the word
for the believing community in the second half of John.
17:3 appears to be an editorial insertion. The idea of "knowing you,
the only true God" could have Gnostic origins, except that:
(1) The knowledge is centered in the historical events of the one God
sent, Jesus Christ -- not in some secret understanding. [NOTE: the
only other occurrence of the phrase "Jesus Christ" is at 1:17. The
only other occurrence of "Christ" in the "Book of Glory" is at 20:31.
They are not common terms for John.]
(2) Eternal life is something granted to people on earth, not in some
spiritual world.
(3) Knowledge of God has OT antecedents: as part of the new covenant
(Jer 24:7; 31:33-34); and a promise of the eschatological era (Hab
2:14).
(4) "Knowing" in the Hebrew understanding -- which also carried over
to Greek, can mean "having a(n intimate) relation with". To avoid the
sexual example, I've talked about "knowing pain". That doesn't mean
reading a book about pain so that one can better understand it. It
means experiencing pain -- having a relationship with a painful
situation. Thus "eternal life" is experiencing God through the one God
sent. It is having a relationship with God through the one God sent.
This type of "knowing" a person is different than "knowing" *about* a
person. One is relational. The other is intellectual.
In v. 4 Jesus mentions "the work" God has given him to do -- what God
(the patron) offers us (the clients) through Jesus (the broker). Vv.
6-8 present the work which Jesus did. He reveals God. The proper
responses from those whom God had given Jesus are:
(1) "Keeping" (_tereo_) God's word (_logos_) (v. 6) -- as I
paraphrased last week, "keeping" implies "holding dear," "consider
important," such as the relationship one might have with a "keepsake".
(2) Knowing that everything Jesus did came from God (v. 7); knowing
that Jesus came from God and believing that God sent Jesus (v. 8).
That connection between Jesus and God is vital, especially in the
Gospel of John.
(3) Receiving the words (_rhema_) God gave to Jesus, which Jesus gave
to believers (v. 8). [Jesus gives God's logos in v. 14 -- it's also
used in vv. 17, 20.] _Logos_ and _rhema_ overlap in meanings. At times
they have exactly the same meaning, but other times they are slightly
different.: _logos_ can refer to the "message" or "logic" of the
message, while _rhema_ can refer to the actual "words" or "rhetoric"
that convey the message. _Logos_ is also used of Jesus in ch. 1. How
does one "receive" words (whether _logos_ or _rhema_)? By listening.
The emphasis in the prayer of God giving the believers to Jesus
expands no. 2 above. Not only do the believers know that Jesus came
from God, so we also know that our faith comes as a gift from God. We
are God's gift to Jesus. Or, to use an experience most of us have been
through -- choosing up sides for teams -- God has chosen us to be on
Jesus' team. God puts us on Jesus' team. God must think that we are
valuable assets for Jesus' team. However, the unity theme later in the
prayer stresses the need for all of us to be "team players".
To understand vv. 9-11, we might start with v. 12. While Jesus was on
earth, he protected (_tereo_ -- the same word for "keep" or "hold
dear" discussed above) and guarded (_phylasso_) the believers. Now
that he is leaving, he asks God to do it. Why the need for protection?
We live "in the world". One of John's definitions of _kosmos_ is
"those at enmity with God" (see also v. 14 & 25). They are the
people
for whom Jesus does not pray (at least in this prayer). There is a
contrast between believers and "the world". However, there are also
other definitions of _kosmos_ in this prayer.
It is from the world that the believers have come (v. 6). Here
_kosmos_ seems to mean the "secular society" or "people without
God" -- not necessarily people who are hostile to God. It is to the
world that Jesus was sent and the believers are sent (v. 18). The
unity between the Father, Jesus, and believers might cause the world
to believe (v. 21) and to know that God sent Jesus (v. 23). Are we to
understand _kosmos_ in these verses as the "enemies of God" or the
less hostile "people without God"?
_Kosmos_ can also mean "the created universe" -- part of God's good
creation (vv. 5 & 24) or simply "the surface of the earth" -- which
has no negative connotations (vv. 11?, 13, 18?).
The faith community exists in the world (on this planet?). It was
called out of the world (from secular society) and witnesses to that
society who may believe and know the truth about God. There also
exists the "world" which is hostile to Jesus and his followers; for
whom the church needs divine protection.
Jesus entrusts the future of the faith community to God. The church
needs to understand that its life rests in and depends on God's care.
The future of the church does not rest in the church, but in God. The
fact that the church still exists indicates to me that God has
protected the faith community from the powerful forces (both from
within and without), which have sought to destroy it.
O'Day raises this question: "It is interesting to ponder how the
Christian community's self-definition would be changed if it took as
its beginning point, 'We are a community for whom Jesus prays'" [p.
798].
After I had a minor health problem, I put myself on our congregation's
prayer chain. I am in a new congregation. Should I put my name on the
prayer list? Does having a group in the congregation pray for the
pastor make the pastor more effective? What about a pastor
systematically praying for all the members of a congregation? Would it
make a difference if members knew the pastor was praying for them?
We have been assured that Jesus' prays for us. Which means, first of
all, that we are in need of prayer. We can't do it by ourselves.
Secondly, we are guaranteed help from God. How could God refuse the
Son's requests? However, we may not always want God's help that Jesus
has asked for. We may want to be part of the world, rather than hated
by the world. We may not want to be sent into the world where God
would have us go. We may not want the unity that becomes our witness
to the world.
Do we want Jesus praying for us? If so, we need to listen carefully to
what he has requested from God. We need to prepare ourselves for God
to answer.
Brian Stoffregen
Faith Lutheran Church, 2215 S 8th Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364
e-mail: brian.stoffregen@gmail.com