John 17 Bible Study

by Greg Stephens
(Hamilton, Ohio)

This notebook chronicles Greg's John 17 Bible Study.


About me...I pastor the Talawanda Baptist Church in Oxford, Ohio, and believe in the strong teaching and preaching of God's inerrant Word. I have been married for thirteen years and have two small children.

Date of Entry: May 19, 2008


Scriptures: John 17:9-26, 17:15, 17:18


My thoughts...

It's interesting to realize that Jesus prayed specifically in verse fifteen that the Father would leave us in the world as the church. It would be so much easier for us to get saved and then go immediately to heaven. Of course, Jesus never promised us an easy path, but He prayed that the Father would keep us from evil.

Verse eighteen is a two-edged sword verse. We can rejoice in that we have been sent into the world as Jesus Himself, but we also need to appreciate the meaning of that verse. Jesus came into the world poor, lowly and defenseless. That's exactly the way we as the church exist in this world around us.



Questions it brought to my mind...

In verse twelve, I had never noticed the reference to Judas before, '...the son of perdition.' I knew it refered to Judas, but hadn't paid attention to the part of the verse where Jesus said He had lost Judas.

Verse twenty-one continues Jesus' on-going theme of unity in the spirit of God. Wouldn't it be nice if 'the church' could unify so denominations didn't exist without sacrificing the true meaning and spirit of the Word?

How can anyone, in Jesus' time or now, claim that Jesus never claimed deity in light of verse twenty-one?


My closing prayer...
Father God, I pray that as you continue to enlighten us in your Word, that you would give us the faith and passion to pray for the church as Jesus did. We thank you for what you have given to us as your children and ask that you would continue to lift us up in your love and grace. We ask your continued blessings and guidance. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.