John 17 and the Power of Prayer: A Study of the Prayer of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel

By Judith A Diehl

What is the power of prayer? It is easy not to even think about prayer until trauma happens. Everything seems to be going very well until we slip and fall. Life is filled with beauty and joy until it isn't. Then is God listening?

Silence is deafening, and the lack of communication is frightening. Many people know the familiar "Lord's Prayer" found in Matthew's Gospel, and for good reason. Some of us memorized it in our childhood. But actually, we may know little about prayer, or we have tried to avoid it altogether. Within varied denominations and customs, people have rituals and practices about prayer that are deeply ingrained. Some are very helpful, but some do not raise prayer above a mysterious obligation and a duty. Sadly, perhaps we have lost our "prayer innocence" with time, traditions, and the painful experiences of life.

This book is a focus on unusual names or titles for God on the lips of Jesus in John's Gospel. Names reveal identity: who is God, who is Jesus, and who is the Holy Spirit? A better understanding of God can have a profound effect on one's prayer life. Knowing God is the power of prayer; it can move us from obligation to love.

There are numerous books on "effective" or "successful" prayer in the "religious" section of the bookstore or on the internet. This is not one of those books. It is not about how to pray, but it is a book about the One to whom we pray. Life is a rocky, craggy trail, and we all need dependable, available help when we slip and fall. Then, we can lift our hearts and thank Someone who loves us. That is the power of prayer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886856224

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John 17 and the Power of Prayer

A Study of the Prayer of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel

Judith A Diehl

ISBN 979-8-88685-621-7 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88685-622-4 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Judith A. Diehl

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

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Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Notes

The Passage of Prayer, Past and Present

Notes

Holy Father and Holiness

Notes

Righteousness of God

Notes

Jesus as Son and Savior

Notes

The Johannine Paraclete

Notes

The Trinity and the Church

Notes

How Do We Respond?

Notes

About the Author

Preface

I am blessed to be able to live west of Denver in the Rocky Mountains. We are nestled in a natural valley, about 8,700 feet above sea level, surrounded by tree-covered peaks. We ski in the winter months and hike in the hills all summer. I am not the only one who enjoys the freedom of living on the edge of the wilderness. One of the first things we learn is the importance of communication. No one ever wants to be alone in a remote area with no means of contact with other people.

A couple of summers ago, I was hiking with a group of ladies. We descended down a rocky, craggy trail, and one woman slipped and fell. She was seriously injured. Quickly, everyone with a cell phone attempted to call for help. We realized that in our position on the mountain, no one had any cell phone service. Our fearless leader had a rescue Garmin device and was able to get a message out. Unfortunately, the operator at the central station called her back to confirm our location, but she could not reach us because she had one number wrong in the callback number.

It was a critical lesson for all of us. What a helpless feeling to desperately need rescuing, but there was no communication available! We knew where we were, and we were fairly close to the end of the trail and to safety. So close and yet so far; trauma stopped us in our tracks. The minutes ticked by; still no answer. No one hears us; no one knows where we are.

This is a picture of prayer. It is easy not to even think about prayer until trauma happens. Everything seems to be going very well, until we slip and fall. Life is filled with beauty and joy, until it isn't. Then, where is God? When we do cry out to God in prayer, it is frustrating to wait for an answer—any answer. Is he listening? Silence is deafening and the lack of communication is frightening.

Even after more than thirty years of serving in Christian ministry, for me, there is still an element of the mystic about prayer. Most of my adult life has been serving in the church and teaching students on the seminary level. I have learned a great deal about prayer and people's perception of prayer. Everyone knows the familiar Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6:9–13, and for good reason. Many of us memorized it in our childhood.

But what is prayer really, and how does one do it correctly? How can I help other people to pray better? I noticed that many Christ followers knew little about prayer or tried to avoid it altogether. I have taught a wonderful collection of people from numerous religious backgrounds: various Protestant denominations, Roman Catholics, no religious background at all, and even non-Christian traditions. Within these varied customs, people had rituals and practices about prayer that were deeply ingrained and imprinted in cement in their brains. Some were very helpful and valuable, but some did not raise prayer above a mysterious obligation and a duty. Backgrounds and practices can divide us as believers, but prayer should be the one uniting force in which all of us can participate together (John 17:20–23). Sadly, I think we lose our prayer innocence with time, traditions, and the painful experiences of life.

In graduate school, I decided to write a doctoral dissertation on the prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of John 17. I had not paid much attention to this long prayer, and it never occurred to me that it could actually affect my own relationship with God. At the time, putting John 17 under the microscope was an academic exercise. After three years of research, I was still left with gnawing, unanswered questions about this prayer. To change metaphors, there were a number of pieces missing from my jigsaw puzzle of this is prayer.

Specifically, I needed to find out why the author of the prayer put two unusual epithets (titles) for God on the lips of Jesus—the Holy Father (John 17:11) and the Righteous Father (John 17:25). Aren't these just descriptions of God? But why are they included in a prayer? Each of these titles appear nowhere else in the entire canonical Bible. Furthermore, why would Jesus refer to himself in the third person—as Jesus Christ in a prayer to his Father (who knew him well) (John 17:3)? And finally, why did John use the title of Paraclete for the Holy Spirit in the Farewell Discourses (John 14:16, 16:7)? I needed to understand about God's holiness and his righteousness. I needed to comprehend exactly who the Paraclete is. What do such titles have to do with prayer? I did not anticipate that a better understanding of who God is can have a profound effect on one's own prayer life.

Knowing God does move us toward a more effective prayer life out of love, not obligation. Yet there are tons of books on effective or successful prayer in the religious section of the local bookstore or on the internet. This is not one of those books. It is not about methodology—how to pray—but it is a book about the One to whom we pray.

My intent is not to suggest more methods of doing prayer, but it is to create more love for the awesome God who wants very much to be in a relationship with us. Life is a rocky, craggy trail; and we all need totally dependable, reliable, and available help when we slip and fall. In addition, we need to lift our hearts and thank Someone who is bigger than we are when we experience the incredible beauty of this world. That is what prayer is all about. Please read on.

Introduction

I believe in prayer, my friend said, because I know who I am talking to. As Christians, do we really know who we are talking to when we pray?

Over the centuries, scholars, pastors, and laypersons have dissected and taught what we commonly call the Lord's Prayer of Matthew 6:9–13. It has been sung, preached, and recited in churches for no doubt hundreds of years; it is familiar and comfortable, repeated in even the most harrowing of circumstances. Yet for some people, it has lost its deep meaning and its significance because it is just another obligatory thing to do, words to repeat, and an address to God in odd language that is not common in our vernacular today.

On the other hand, relatively few people have spent much time and consideration on Jesus' prayer of John 17, the longest prayer on the lips of Jesus in the New Testament. In the past, it has been regarded as The High Priestly Prayer, which somehow removes it from the common person, the ordinary pray-er. The prayer of John 17 is not reserved for the church hierarchy today, and it is a very rich passage that informs and assures everyone.

Indeed, Dr. Craig Blomberg states that a better designation for the Lord's Prayer is John 17, as it really is a prayer of Jesus spoken on behalf of his followers. The familiar prayer in Matthew might be better labeled the Disciples' Prayer, spoken to teach his followers, then and now (see also Luke 11:1).¹ John 17 is less preachable, less teachable, and less memorable than Matthew's prayer. It is not an example of human requests brought before God that is easy to follow. Actually, John 17 is the Son communicating with his Father for the benefit of his human listeners. The Johannine prayer is not so much about getting God to do something for believers; it is more about what believers should be doing with God and why. If the familiar Lord's Prayer is Jesus' instructions on "how to pray (Matt. 6:9), then John 17 helps believers to understand to whom" they should pray.

David Clark recently explored the historical and functional background of the Lord's Prayer as presented in early literature. He investigated the familiar prayer in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Clark also explored the comments by the writer (or compiler) of the Didache (an early noncanonical Christian text), as well as comments made by the early Christian theologian Tertullian. What Clark suggested about Christian prayers in the New Testament is worth noting because he enlightens modern readers to the origins and intentions of the ancient authors as they interpreted and preserved early Christian prayers. Clark determines that to fully understand the Lord's Prayer, we must consider how the prayer was received and used historically. For example, historically the Matthean prayer may have close parallels in the standard Jewish Kaddish prayer.² With Clark, the same can be said about the importance of how John 17 was received and used by the original readers of John's Gospel. Even more than the Matthean Lord's Prayer, John 17 is rich in depth, purpose, and meaning. Hopefully, an exploration of the history and literary features of the Fourth Gospel can help present-day Christians to grasp the fullness and the beauty of the Johannine prayer, as well as understand the identities of the divine Persons who actually hear our prayers.

John 17 and unique titles

This study will investigate some very unusual names for God found in Jesus' Farewell Discourses (John 14–17). Why did John choose to use very unique epithets (titles) for God in Jesus' final instructions to his followers and in his final prayer? The distinctive titles used by John are an expression in human words (language) of the divine nature of God. To be sure, it is difficult to fully define the character and role of the God of the Old Testament and of the Messiah of the New Testament.

The historical milieu of John's Gospel can give us insight into the culture, the setting, and the original readers of the Gospel, which can help us to understand the names and titles for God. In the culture of the first-century AD Roman Empire, titles given to human beings would have been perceived as claims about the nature and character of that person. So the names used for God and for Jesus Christ by Christ-followers could be seen as direct challenges to the entitlements given to the Roman emperors, gods, and goddesses. Furthermore, the identities, roles, and positions of the Father and the Son introduced in the Johannine Prologue (John 1:1–18) can be mystifying to readers; and it may have been the intention of the Johannine author to unpack these titles in the rest of his Gospel.

In the Fourth Gospel, the author freely and explicitly used epithets to highlight his characterization of three main characters: God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In fact, Prof. Larry Hurtado wrote that,

One of the distinctive features of the Gospel of John is the emphasis on the divine name, and (a related topic) divine glory. The Gospel of John associates Jesus with the manifestation of God's name and glory. The author of the Gospel of John was inspired by the prophetic themes of a future manifestation of God's name and glory in Isaiah. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise that God will bring eschatological salvation by manifesting his name and glory.³

In particular, the Farewell Discourses and the prayer of John 17 reveal additional information about the triune God through the use of epithets. In the opening verse of the prayer (John 17:1), Jesus refers to God as Father and to himself as the Son. These are not unfamiliar designations for God and Jesus, as the author of John has referred to them as such in previous verses (i.e., John 6:37, 40). John 17:3 describes God as the only true God. The Greek grammar in 17:3 implies that these adjectives are descriptors of God, showing his authentic nature. In the text, there are no commas around ton monon alethinon theon. This indicates that the adjectives are not used as a title for God; they are an explanation of his uniqueness, especially in contrast to the polytheistic religious beliefs of the Romans familiar to John's audience.

The unique and distinctive epithets which are used for God in John 17—Holy Father (17:11) and Righteous Father (17:25)—beg for further research and attention from readers today. Both titles appear only in the Fourth Gospel and nowhere else in the entire Bible. We will also consider the theological truths which the titles reveal to the readers, especially concerning the theology of prayer, since that is where they occur. Our first consideration, then, will be the Old Testament background of the epithet Holy Father (chapter 2). What is the literary backdrop for such a title? Did Jesus create this title for God, or did the Gospel author borrow a title that was well-known to his congregation? What was Jesus' aim in using such a name before his central group of followers in a prayer?

Second, we will study the historical and cultural background of the exclusive epithet Righteous Father (John 17:25). If the original readers of the Gospel were indeed a congregation of both converted Jews and Gentiles who lived in the powerful Roman Empire, this would affect why the author subversively employed the title of Righteous Father (chapter 3). Again, why did Jesus use this particular attribute of God as a title in a prayer?

In addition, Jesus entitles himself Jesus Christ in John 17:3. It would be very odd for Jesus to refer to himself with the third-person title of Jesus Christ in a prayer to his Father and in the presence of his earliest followers. This odd phrasing implies that the titles in this prayer were created by the author of the Gospel, John. In fact, the first three verses of the prayer appear literarily to be the innovation of the Gospel author and not the actual words of Jesus. The words are lofty and are not indicative of an intimate relationship between the Father and the Son.

These verses serve as the closing bookends to the true identity of Jesus, which began in John's prologue, where Jesus is identified as the Word of God participating in creation (John 1:3). Although he is God and exists with God (John 1:1), he is apart from God and is at the Father's side (John 1:18). The title Son of God is used of Jesus in John's Gospel as a key to his Christology (chapter 4). This is revealed in the author's explicit purpose statement in John 20:30–31. John employs the title Son or Son of God twenty-nine times in the Gospel and refers to God as Father over a hundred times. The author's emphasis on Jesus as the divine Son of God is stronger than what we find in the other Gospels.⁴ There is a sense of mystery about the identity of Jesus as the Son, but in both the ancient Jewish and the Roman cultures, the idea of a son was critical to a man's lineage and character.

Fourth, John is the only Gospel writer to make reference to the "Paraclete (the Holy Spirit), as found in the Farewell Discourses (chapter 5). The gift of and the functions of the Paraclete to the followers of Jesus are distinctively Johannine. In the Farewell Discourses, John also called him the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13), which is a rare title. While there are numerous biblical names given to the third Person of the Trinity throughout Scripture, the author of John's Gospel stands alone in his use of the title Paraclete" (John 14:16–17, 15:26, 16:7).

The passages about the Holy Spirit, placed on the lips of Jesus in his farewell address, tell the readers that the presence of the Spirit in their lives is a gift from the Father through the Son (John 14:16, 15:26). By using this title, Jesus was telling his earliest disciples about the new nature of the Holy Spirit in their lives. While the work of the Spirit is apparent from the beginning of time (see Gen. 1:1), he takes on a new role in the lives of believers after the departure of the incarnate Son from the earth. Thus, Gospel readers today may notice quickly that the Johannine author emphasizes all the three persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in the final discourses of Jesus, especially in his climactic prayer (chapter 6).

As we explore the deeper artistic significance of John 17, we will consider what the author is doing for his readers by employing specific theological titles. We need to understand what Jesus is saying in the Farewell Discourses, specifically about the intertwined Trinity. Then, we can better determine what John is doing with the words of Jesus for the readers then and for Christian readers today. The prayer of John 17 was both redemptive and transformative for the original readers, just as it is for present-day Christians.

Biblical interpretation

How can we interpret the Johannine prayer in such a way that it is meaningful to every Christian who tries to communicate with God in prayer? Current biblical scholarship notes that biblical interpretation is both a science and an art. That is, the meaning of a communication is implied by the recognition of established codes: spelling, grammar, paragraphs, even tones of voice, which indicate the meaning of the communication (oral or written).⁵ We use these tools to help comprehend what we read (or hear). For example, we can perceive rules, principles, humor, irony, or other patterns of expression. As a result, we can evaluate the texts strictly as literary compositions, such as a poem or a story, with a happy ending. It is a good idea to ask what rules of communication is the author following to express his or her ideas? Indeed, we must also consider discrepancy or familiar commonality with other texts or passages.

In addition to the rules of communication, we must also investigate the historical and cultural backgrounds of the texts because there may be large gaps of time between our known culture and the culture known to the ancient authors and readers. There are time gaps as well as differences in language, acceptable behavior, political, and social systems as well. Even so, ancient texts can be descriptive of common human nature; and they can give us knowledge, evidence, and insight. Yet critical evaluation and decoding of a text may not ultimately reveal the human emotions expressed in the words. This approach to a text may not be totally adequate to determine what a text means.

Thus, there is also an artistic approach to the texts that goes beyond scientific expressions of information and empirical data. There is an analysis of the text on a different level, which brings to light expressions of emotions, beliefs, perspectives, attitudes, and wisdom. What does the text arouse or evoke in the reader? Ordinarily, an author intentionally expresses his or her thoughts and ideas in such a way as to create a response from the readers. That is, texts can give us feelings of despair, or grief, inadequacy, confidence, hope, and power. These are expressions of human sentiments, passions, and emotions. As we read biblical texts, both of these approaches—the scientific and the artistic—are necessary and deliberate. The meaning of the text is not one or the other; it is both. Meaning can be distorted or completely missed if we neglect either approach.⁶

To determine the full meaning of the biblical texts is, of course, a bit more complicated than these two brief approaches; but it is important to realize that understanding Scripture is both a decoding of the perfunctory text and a discerning of the implied artistic features. The latter are matters that are not expressed through the mechanics of communication and must be perceived through other types of expressions, such as imagery, symbols, and literary nuances. It has been suggested that as readers, to help us decipher this artistic approach, we can ask these types of questions: What does the text do to us? How does the text make us feel? What experience do we have in reading a passage? What is the author of the text doing or showing to his or her readers? What is the emotion, power, and pathos of a given passage?⁷

As we study the Bible, we are taking the approach that we are studying the very words of God given to his people through human authors to reveal himself for their transformation and edification. To teach and preach God's Word correctly becomes an awesome task. This book is an investigation that takes into account all three of these aspects of interpretation with respect to John's Gospel: the historical and cultural background to the Gospel; the language, vocabulary, imagery, significance, rhetoric, and emotional power of the given literature; and what is ultimately disclosed about who God is.

While it is important to decode the text as it is, it is also vital that we understand the texts in their fullness, as the chosen words of the human author (and the divine Author) who is attempting to do something that affects the readers. Briefly, then, the more scientific aspect of the study of a text discloses the what about the text (what is the grammar and the structure; what is the historical background of the text?), while the more artistic approach helps to answer the question why the author presented things as they are (why did he choose these words and why did he choose to use this image?).

Specifically, then, what was the author of John's Gospel doing to/for his readers in chapters 14 through 17? Perhaps it was quite intentional that the author chose to close the Farewell Discourses with a prayer to give his readers a sense of intimacy, unity, confidence, and hope. We can assume that the ancient author carefully chose specific words and phrases to intentionally offer care and support for his readers in their Christian walk. In the same way, it is not unusual for Christians today to close a worship service with a benediction or a prayer, sending the worshipers out of the service with hope and assurance.

Names and titles

As an educator, I thought it was very important to remember the names of my students, and I made an effort to know them by their names. After years of practice, I realized that I could easily remember the outstanding students (the A students), as well as the struggling students (the failing students who liked to skip class). But I had a hard time remembering the names of the average, C students. They disappeared into the ocean of average papers, average scores, and average participation.

Then, when I worked as a pastor in a fairly large church, the same