John 17
John 17
By
Gary Primo
March 27, 2021
John’s gospel differs in several ways from the other three gospels. However, today I wish to focus on only one difference, His final prayer in the garden where he was arrested was recorded in all four gospels, but unlike the other three, John’s account goes into much greater detail. I have no idea why the other three skipped these details, but I am glad John did not. The degree of meaning in Yahushua’s final prayer is quite informative.
During this final prayer, Yahushua asks the Father three times to make his disciples and all future followers one with Him and the Father. This study will focus on this and other statements of note.
Yahushua Prays to Be Glorified
John 1:1 After Yahushua said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.
Just as Yahushua glorified the Father in becoming the Firstborn of the New Creation, so will we glorify Yahuwah in gaining His Kingdom – and He will glorify us in return.
2 - For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
3 - Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true Elohim, and Yahushua HaMashiyack, whom you have sent.
Yes, knowing Yahuwah is the key to receiving eternal life. And the only way to know Yahuwah is to know Yahushua. He came to earth expressly to be a model for us to follow. Previously, no one had ever seen Yahuwah, but, since Yahushua was a perfect reflection of the Father, man has indeed seen Yahuwah. (and it made little difference). The True Believers whom Yahuwah was calling, knew this. They believed so deeply and cared not for their own lives in spreading the gospel. They did their best to reflect Yahushua in everything they did and believed. And so must we.
4 - I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
5 - And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
In this passage we have proof that Yahushua pre-existed His earthly manifestation. He was with the Father prior to any created thing being created. And since the Father cannot dwell with corruption, it had to be the Son whom man had dealt with since the creation of Adam and Eve. The Father and the Son are one in mind and spirit and therefore, constitute one supreme authority.
John 17:6 - “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.
Here we have the definition of a True Believer; someone who obeys every word that comes from Yahuwah. This, unfortunately, leaves out pretty much the entire Christian population, as they believe that Yahuwah has been replaced by their “Jesus” and that He did away with His Fathers words. All they have to do is confess his name to gain salvation and not pay any attention to the mean old “god” of the OT. They cluelessly do not realize they are one and the same.
7 - Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.
8 - For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
9 - I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
Yahushua did not come to “save” the whole world; He came to save the Lost Sheep of Israel. The Old Covenant was only between Israel and Elohim. As we all know, the Northern tribes were taken into captivity and never returned to their land. It is these lost sheep whom Yahuwah is calling (His own sheep). They were stolen away by HaSatan and Yahushua wants them back. Of course, this remnant dwells with the Gentiles and have lost all sense of their true origins. However, I am willing to wager that mostly all being called into the true faith are descendants of those “lost” tribes.
10 - All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
Yes folks, when we believe and follow Yahushua’s every word, we glorify Yahushua. In return, he will glorify us when the long-awaited day comes.
11 - I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
12 - While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
Yes folks, there is power in the true names of the Father and Son. It reveals itself in the power of the Righteous Spirit of Yahuwah. That power has the ability to change us from sinful humans into glorious Elohim. And guess what? It won’t cost you a dime! No sir, it is a free gift from Yahuwah as a reward for obedience.
There is also safety that comes from exclusive use of the name. We glorify Yahuwah whenever we utter it. Combine that with obedience and viola, we have the recipe for salvation.
John 17:13 - “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
14 - I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
15 - My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16 - They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
17 - Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
18 - As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
19 - For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Sanctify
1. set apart as or declare holy; consecrate.
"a small shrine was built to sanctify the site"
synonyms:
consecrate · make holy · make sacred · bless · hallow · set apart · dedicate to God · anoint · ordain · canonize · beatify
· make legitimate or binding by religious sanction.
"they see their love sanctified by the sacrament of marriage"
synonyms:
approve · sanction · give the stamp of approval to · underwrite ·
[more]
· free from sin; purify.
synonyms:
purify · cleanse · free from sin · absolve · unburden · redeem · exculpate · wash someone's sins away · lustrate
· cause to be or seem morally right or acceptable.
"ancient customs that are sanctified by tradition"
The primary thing that HaSatan taught man was to hate the true Elohim and all truth in preference for his lies. In making the free-will choice to follow HaSatan, man automatically elevated him to their god. Naturally, they hate anyone who tries to tell them anything different. If the world hates us, we should not despair, for the world hated Yahushua also.
Yahushua called for us “not” to be taken out of the world because the world needed an example of truth to follow. We are His True Followers, obedient to His every word. We are as different from the world as night and day. And we have a mountain of lies to wade through before finding all truth. This is something we must pursue till we draw our last breath. Most of us lived under the grand deception since the day we were born. There are many truths when it comes to Yahuwah and we must never assume that we already know all truth. We must study and PROOVE all things before we can come to a complete understanding of all truth. That is something that does not come automatically, but with a lifetime of study.
In spite of whatever truths we now know, we do not know what we do not know. Therefore, how can we ever assume that we know everything. Until the day we die, we must diligently keep seeking all truth and verifying that it is, indeed, the truth.
John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Again, Yahushua uses the theme of oneness. This is the most important thing any of us can do – achieve the same oneness with the Father that Yahushua enjoyed. We achieve such oneness through obedience to Yahuwah’s word. If it were not entirely possible, it would not be asked of us. Therefore, Christians, in believing they are no longer required to obey Yahuwah, are denying themselves the opportunity to become one with the Father and Yahushua. Instead, they become one with the Adversary by obeying him in place of Yahuwah, making HaSatan the god they worship. Can we really expect anyone to believe us if we are not one with Yahuwah?
John 17:22 - I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
23 - I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 - “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 - “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
26 - I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
“Complete unity” is what we seek. This should be the theme in all of our festivals. It should be at the forefront of our minds and hearts continually, 24/7. We achieve such unity through obedience. As Yahushua obeyed His Father, we must obey Yahushua. In return, Yahuwah will overwhelm our minds and hearts so that we, by nature, become sinless and pure. We will no longer have a sinful thought in our heads. We will be just like Yahushua. And what a glorious state that will be.
Where was it that Yahushua was? In the spirit! We also must be living our lives as if we were already in the spirit. Then we will be with Yahushua and see His glory clearly.
And again, Yahushua confirms His glory in being the Firstborn of all the creation. Meanwhile there are millions of Christians who falsely believe that Yahushua did not exist prior to His earth manifestation. This takes glory away from Yahushua, denying that He was the Firstborn of all that was created and the actual creator of the universe (under the Father guidance, of course).
Naturally, since Yahushua dwelt with the Father for some unknown number of years before anything else was created, He is the only one that has ever walked the earth that truly knows the Father. He believed the Father and obeyed Him. He perfected the image of the Father within Himself. He demands that we do the same if we ever wish to achieve salvation.
We are “in Yahuwah” when we make ourselves over into the image of Yahushua. He in turn, is within us via His righteous spirit. However, we must “allow” Him inside of us for Him to dwell there. Man, instead invited the spirit of HaSatan to dwell in them and need Yahuwah’s spirit to flush HaSatan’s spirit out. We can know if that has happened only when all and any thoughts of sin have left us. If they remain, so does HaSatan’s spirit.
Conclusion
Many claim to “know” Yahuwah but few really do. Christians have replaced the names of the Father and the Son with pagan counterfeits. They have thrown away the Old Testament for the New and with that, all the commandments of Yahuwah. How can they ever hope to “know’ Yahuwah when they are worshipping HaSatan?
The purpose of the Passover is not only to commemorate specific events that occurred at this time, but to reflect on our progress over the past year in attaining oneness with Yahuwah. If we are still harboring sinful thoughts, we are not there yet. To be one with the Father and the Son, means that “no” sinful thought remains in our heads. Not even one tiny, secret one Until we reach that point, we have no cause to boast or to think we are “one” with Elohim.
The Passover season is the perfect time to demonstrate our degree of oneness and act like we are already one with Yahuwah. Do not get distracted by some who may attempt to divert our attention from the true meaning of this festival. As I have related previously, my last two Passovers with the WCG were horrible. At the first, the host used the opportunity to bash Herbert Armstrong the entire night. The second, the host used the opportunity to bash his neighbor (who was also a member) the entire night. If I had my own vehicle at either of these Passovers, I would have gotten up and left. However, I had gotten a ride with someone else and had to wait for them.
Yahuwah takes His holy days seriously. When we do not take them seriously, we fail to glorify Yahuwah. And if we fail to glorify Him, He will not glorify us. So, this Passover, let us all try to stick to the example given us and glorify Yahuwah that He might one day glorify us.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.