1‐5. *As man, Christ prays to the Father for Himself.*
6‐19. *He prays for the Apostles.*
20‐23. *He prays for all the faithful.*
24‐26. *His last prayer for the Apostles.*
1. Haec locutus est Iesus: et 1. These things Jesus spoke,
sublevatis oculis in coelum, and lifting up his eyes to
dixit: Pater venit hora, heaven, he said: Father, the
clarifica Filium tuum ut hour is come, glorify thy Son,
Filius tuus clarificet te: that thy Son may glorify thee.
1. *These things*, we understand here of all that is comprised in the
discourses just recorded (xiii. 31‐xvi. 33). Having completed His words of
warning and consolation and love, Jesus now turns from teaching to prayer,
from earth to heaven, from His children to His Father.
*Glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee.* Christ, _as man_, prays
to His Father; and the sense is: The time of My trial is come; do not
desert Me, but glorify Me by exalting My humanity to a participation in
the glory of the Divinity; that so, by My resurrection and ascension, I
may give glory to Thee, by giving eternal life to all whom Thou hast given
me(107) (verse 2).
2. (_a_) Sicut dedisti ei 2. As thou hast given him
potestatem omnis carnis, ut power over all flesh, that he
omne quod dedisti ei, det eis may give eternal life to all
vitam aeternam. whom thou hast given him.
2. These words explain _how_ Christ will glorify the Father, namely, by
giving eternal life to all whom the Father had given Him.
*All flesh* is a Hebraism for all mankind (John i. 14); and by another
Hebraism the nominative “omne” of the Vulgate is redundant, the sense
being as in our English version.
This verse we connect with the last clause of verse 1, and take the sense
to be: That Thy Son may glorify Thee, _according as_ Thou hast given Him
power over all men, _in order that_ in them He may glorify Thee. In other
words, Christ prays that the Father may bring about His own glory, which
He had in view in giving Christ power over all men. There are various
other interpretations, but the above seems to us best, as it connects
naturally with the preceding, and retains the ordinary signification of
καθώς and ἵνα.
This power over all men, Christ, as God, possessed from eternity, and as
God‐man He obtained at His incarnation.
Though He has power over all men, yet He does not give eternal life to all
men, but only to those _whom God has given Him_ (vi. 37), because only
these correspond with His grace. This is implied in Christ’s language
here, for the words, “to all whom Thou has given Him,” explain the
expression all flesh, and show that it is only in those who believe that
the universal Power over “all flesh” is efficacious.
3. Haec est autem vita 3. Now this is eternal life:
aeterna: ut cognoscant te, that they may know thee, the
solum Deum verum, et quem only true God, and Jesus
misisti Iesum Christum. Christ, whom thou hast sent.
3. *Now this is eternal life*, &c. The sense is: this is the pledge, the
cause of eternal life (see John iii. 36), that they know Thee _with the
knowledge of faith_, know Thee to be the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom Thou hast sent. The Greek ἵνα γινώσκωσίν σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεόν
shows that the Father is here said to be the only God, to the exclusion of
other Gods, but not to the exclusion of other Persons who participate in
the same Godhead. It is not meant that the Father is the only Divine
Person. There are other Persons in the Godhead, but there is no other
Godhead. The words mean, then, that they may know Thee to be the only true
God, to the exclusion of all other Gods; but do not mean that they may
know Thee alone to be the true God, to the exclusion of the Son and Holy
Ghost.
Many of the fathers adopt another interpretation of the verse, holding
that the order of the words is inverted, and that Divinity is predicated
of both the Father and Christ. They understand the verse thus: that they
may know Thee and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent, to be the only true
God. So SS. Aug., Amb., Hil., Greg. Naz., Athan., Cyp. The latter
interpretation more clearly establishes Christ’s Divinity against the
Arians; but in any interpretation it is clear that Christ implies His own
Divinity, since He declares that the knowledge of Himself, equally with
that of the Father, is the cause and pledge of eternal life. He who had
said: “I and the Father are one” (John x. 30), and who, a few verses
farther down in this prayer, says to the Father: “All my things are thine,
and thine are mine,” cannot reasonably be supposed to withdraw His claims
to Divinity in the words before us.
Some of the fathers, and many of the scholastics, hold that there is
question in verse 3 not of the knowledge of God through _faith_, but of
the knowledge of the blessed in heaven; and they argue from this verse to
prove that the essence of life eternal consists in _knowing_ God; in other
words, that the happiness of the blessed consists in an act of the
_intellect_; namely, the vision of God.(108) Since we believe that the
question here is of the knowledge of God through faith, and not through
the beatific vision, we hold that no argument can be drawn from this verse
as to the essence of the happiness of the blessed.
4. Ego te clarificavi super 4. I have glorified thee on
terram: opus consummavi, quod the earth: I have finished the
dedisti mihi ut faciam: work which thou gavest me to
do:
4. Some understand these words as proleptic, and take the sense to be: I
am about to glorify Thee by My death, to finish the work of _redemption_
which thou gavest Me to do. Others understand of the work of preaching,
which was now actually completed, and by which the Father’s name and glory
had been manifested _upon the earth_. The latter interpretation seems to
us the more natural, and more suited to the context, especially to verse
6: “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou hast given me out of
the world.”
5. Et nunc clarifica me tu, 5. And now glorify thou me, O
Pater, apud temetipsum, Father, with thyself, with the
claritate, quam habui, prius glory which I had, before the
quam mundus esset, apud te. world was, with thee.
5. In return for His having given glory to the Father _upon the earth_,
Christ, as man, prays the Father to glorify Him in heaven. There is a
difficulty here, arising from the fact that Christ seems to pray that the
glory which as God He possessed from all eternity may be given to Him _as
man_. Now, the glory of God is incommunicable, and even the blessed
humanity of Christ is incapable of partaking fully thereof. Hence various
interpretations have been advanced in order to explain this difficulty:—
(1) Some say that Christ, as man, prays merely for that glory which, _in
the decrees of God, was given_ to His humanity from all eternity. But
against this view is the fact that the fathers generally quoted the latter
part of this verse to prove the eternal existence and Divinity of Christ.
(2) Hence others, and we believe rightly, hold that in the latter part of
the verse there is question of the Divine and eternal glory of Christ, and
understand Him to pray that His humanity, according to its capacity, may
be made to partake of the glory of the Divinity. Of course, the humanity
was incapable of receiving the infinite glory of the Divinity; but the
glorious qualities of Christ’s glorified body are a participation,
according to the capacity of the body, of the eternal glory of the Son.
“Da ut claritas et gloria quam ego ut Deus ab aeterno tecum habeo,
communicetur et extendatur usque ad carnem meam, quae propter
dispensationem hactenus est suspensa”(109) (Tolet.)
6. Manifestavi nomen tuum 6. I have manifested thy name
hominibus, quos dedisti mihi to the men whom thou hast
de mundo. Tui erant, et mihi given me out of the world.
eos dedisti: et sermonem tuum Thine they were, and to me
servaverunt. thou gavest them: and they
have kept thy word.
6. This passage from verse 6‐19 refers primarily to the Apostles, as
appears from verses 12 and 18; and Christ prayed specially for them
because He was sending them into the world, the heralds of His Gospel
(verse 18), the foundations upon which His earthly kingdom was to be
reared (Eph. ii. 20). The sense is: I have manifested Thy name, Thy glory
_effectually_ (He had manifested it to others, who refused to believe) to
those whom Thou hast given Me to be My Apostles; they were Thine by
election, &c.
In this verse, as well as in verses 7 and 8, the correct reading is ἔδωκας
(gavest), not δέδωκάς (hast given).(110)
7. Nunc cognoverunt quia 7. Now they have known that
omnia, quae dedisti mihi: abs all things which thou hast
te sunt: given me are from thee.
8. Quia verba quae dedisti 8. Because the words which
mihi, dedi eis: et ipsi thou gavest me, I have given
acceperunt, et cognoverunt to them: and they have
vere quia a te exivi, et received them, and have known
crediderunt quia tu me in very deed that I came out
misisti. from thee, and they have
believed that thou didst send
me.
9. Ego pro eis rogo: non pro 9. I pray for them: I pray not
mundo rogo, sed pro his quos for the world, but for them
dedisti mihi, quia tui sunt: whom thou hast given me:
because they are thine:
9. *I pray for them.* The pronouns are emphatic. For these men who on so
many grounds are deserving of Thy grace and care, do I, to whom Thou
gavest them, ask. But what does the Saviour of the world mean by saying
that He does not pray for the world, He who on the cross prayed for the
very men that crucified Him: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do”? (Luke xxiii. 34). Some reply that Christ speaks not of
sufficient, but of efficacious prayer; but the true view is that He is
speaking only of this particular prayer, in which He asks for the Apostles
what the world was unfit and unwilling to receive (see verses 13, 17, 18).
The fact, then, that He prays in this prayer, not for the Father’s
enemies, but for those who belong to both the Father and Himself is put
forward as a reason why He ought to be heard by the Father.
*Because they are thine.* These words sum up this first reason, and we
take them as depending upon the phrase: “I pray for them” at the
commencement of the verse.
10. Et mea omnia tua sunt: et 10. And all my things are
tua mea sunt: et clarificatus thine, and thine are mine: and
sum in eis. I am glorified in them.
10. *And all my things are thine, and thine are mine.* Could anyone but
God address God so? These words seem to be thrown in to give a reason for
the statement: “they are thine,” the reason being that since they were
Christ’s (the Father had made them Christ’s), they must be the Father’s
also, for “all my things are thine, and thine are mine.”
The remaining words of this verse afford a second reason why the Father
ought to hear Christ’s prayer for the Apostles and watch over them,
because Christ, through them, had been glorified before men, as a teacher
is honoured by disciples attaching themselves to him. Or the words: “I am
glorified,” may possibly be proleptic, and mean that Christ was to be
glorified _afterwards_ through the preaching of the Apostles.
11. Etiam non sum in mundo, et 11. And now I am not in the
hi in mundo sunt, et ego ad te world, and these are in the
venio. Pater sancte, serva eos world, and I come to thee.
in nomine tuo, quos dedisti Holy Father, keep them in thy
mihi: ut sint unum, sicut et name, whom thou hast given me:
nos. that they may be one, as we
also are.
11. A third reason why they ought now to receive the Father’s special care
was because Christ was now leaving them, and they were to remain in the
world.
*Keep them in thy name, whom thou hast given me.* The sense of this
reading is sufficiently evident. The best‐supported Greek reading,
however, is ὧ(111) (not οὕς), ὧ being attracted into the dative case of
the preceding noun, and standing for ὁ. The most probable meaning of this
Greek reading is: keep them in the confession of Thy name, in the
knowledge of Thee, which Thou hast given to Me, and which I in turn have
given to them; that they may be one by a union of faith and charity
resembling, though in an imperfect way, the union between the Persons of
the Blessed Trinity.
12. Cum essem cum eis, ego 12. While I was with them, I
servabam eos in nomine tuo. kept them in thy name. Those
Quos dedisti mihi, custodivi: whom thou gavest me have I
et nemo ex eis periit, nisi kept: and none of them is
filius perditionis, ut lost, but the son of
scriptura impleatur. perdition, that the scripture
may be fulfilled.
12. *I kept them.* In the original, the imperfect tense ἐτήρουν brings out
more clearly Christ’s continuous care.
In this verse, too, there is a difference of opinion as to whether οὐς or
ὦ is the correct reading, but the Vulgate reading is more strongly
supported here than in verse 11.
*And none of them is lost, but the son of perdition.* “Son of perdition”
is a Hebraism, signifying one devoted to destruction, as Judas was,
through his own fault.
None of them was lost in either soul or body except Judas, who was already
lost as to his soul, though not irreparably; and who was soon to be
irreparably lost both as to soul and body. But this loss of Judas was not
to be ascribed to Christ, but took place _in order that_ (see above on
xii. 37‐40) the Scripture (Ps. xl. 10) might be fulfilled. The Holy Ghost
had predicted the ruin of Judas, because it was foreseen that this would
certainly come about through the wretched Apostle’s own fault. In the
words: “none of them is lost,” we think there is question of both the
bodies and souls of the Apostles; for while it is generally admitted that
Christ here claims to have guarded the _souls_ of the Apostles from
spiritual ruin, John xviii. 8, 9, seems to prove, as we shall there show,
that in the words before us Christ speaks of having guarded from harm
their bodies also.
13. Nunc autem ad te venio: et 13. And now I come to thee:
haec loquor in mundo, ut and these things I speak in
habeant gaudium meum impletum the world, that they may have
in semetipsis. my joy filled in themselves.
13. *These things* we refer to what Christ had already spoken in the
hearing of the Apostles in this prayer to the Father; namely, that He
should give them life eternal (verse 2); that He should be glorified with
the Father (verse 5); and that in His absence the Father would watch over
them, and keep them in His name (verse 11).
*That they may have my joy filled* (made full) *in themselves*. “My joy”
might mean the joy they had received from Christ, or the joy they felt
_because_ of Christ; but we think the most probable and most natural
meaning is: that they may have the joy which _I feel_ in going to the
Father, made full in themselves. Before this time He had said to them: “If
you loved Me, you would indeed _be glad_, because I go to the Father”
(xiv. 28); and now He has spoken in this prayer of the glory which awaited
Him, and of the care of the Father for the Apostles, in order that they
may be reconciled to, and fully rejoice in, His departure to the Father.
14. Ego dedi eis sermonem 14. I have given them thy
tuum, et mundus eos odio word, and the world hath hated
habuit, quia non sunt de them, because they are not of
mundo, sicut et ego non sum de the world; as I am not of the
mundo. world.
14. *I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them.* “I” (ἐγώ)
is emphatic; I, Thy Son. This is a _fourth_ reason why the Father ought to
watch over and guard the Apostles—the world hated them, and this because
they had received the words of Christ, which are the words of the Father.
Though _in_ the world, the Apostles were not _of_ the world, not imbued
with its spirit, nor pandering to its tastes.
15. Non rogo ut tollas eos de 15. I pray not that thou
mundo, sed ut serves eos a shouldst take them out of the
malo. world, but that thou shouldst
keep them from evil.
15. *From evil* (ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ). This may refer to the evil of the wicked
world which is sin, or to the devil, the _evil one_. The parallel passage
in 1 John v. 18, 19 favours the latter view. These words, to which the
Apostles were listening, gave them to know that they must not despair, and
wish to quit the world when trials should come; but rather, remaining in
the world, keep themselves unspotted from its defilements.
16. De mundo non sunt, sicut 16. They are not of the world:
et ego non sum de mundo. as I also am not of the world.
16. The last clause of verse 14 is repeated as the ground of another
petition, namely, that the Father may “sanctify” them.
In order to emphasize the point in their hearing, and also as a motive why
God ought to hear the petition that follows, the fact that the Apostles
are not men of the world is repeated and insisted upon by Christ.
17. Sanctifica eos in 17. Sanctify them in truth.
veritate. Sermo tuus veritas Thy word is truth.
est.
17. *In the truth*, is the correct reading; not “in _thy_ truth,” nor “in
truth.” The word in which they are to be sanctified is probably the word
of God, which Christ had preached, and which is referred to in the end of
the verse: “Thy word is truth;” and not, as Mald. holds, the real
sanctification of the New Law as opposed to the typical and merely
external sanctification by which the priests of the Old Law were set apart
for their functions.
In the Gospel, then, and for the preaching of the Gospel Christ prays that
the Apostles may be sanctified. But what does the word “sanctify” here
mean? Sometimes the word ἁγιάζειν signifies to make holy, or to make more
holy, or to keep more holy (1 Cor. vii. 11; 1 Thess. v. 23); at other
times, it means to set apart or destine for an office; and in this sense
it is generally used throughout the Old Testament. Both senses are
probably combined in the word here, for it was by making and keeping them
holy that the Apostles were to be efficaciously set apart by the Father
for the sacred mission to which Christ had already called them.
18. Sicut tu me misisti in 18. As thou hast sent me into
mundum, et ego misi eos in the world, I also have sent
mundum. them into the world.
18. This verse shows that the sanctification is prayed for especially with
a view to their mission as Apostles. *Have sent* (Greek “did send”) is
used proleptically, for the Apostles had not yet received their mission to
the _Gentile_ world. See John xx. 21; Matthew xxviii. 18, 19; Mark xvi.
15.
19. Et pro eis ego sanctifico 19. And for them do I sanctify
meipsum: ut sint et ipsi myself: that they also may be
sanctificati in veritate. sanctified in truth.
19. *And for them do I sanctify myself.* St. Aug. understands of the
sanctification wherewith the Son of God sanctified the humanity He
assumed. “Quando Verbum caro factum est, tunc sanctificavit se in se, id
est hominem se in Verbo se, quia unus Christus Verbum et homo: propter sua
vero membra dicit: et pro eis ego sanctifico meipsum, hoc est, ipsos in
me, quoniam in me etiam ipsi sunt et ego. Ut sint et ipsi sanctificati in
veritate. Quid est ‘et ipsi’ nisi quemadmodum ego.” (St. Aug. _in loc._).
But the common opinion is that Christ speaks of the sacrifice of Himself
which He was about to offer a few hours afterwards. In this view the
meaning is: and for them do I set Myself apart, do I consecrate Myself as
a victim, that they may be truly and efficaciously set apart and
consecrated for the preaching of the Gospel. Thus while the word
“sanctify” has in both clauses the same generic meaning of setting apart,
there is yet a difference. Christ sets Himself apart, devotes Himself to
death, that they may be consecrated in the fulness of grace for the work
of the Apostleship. Christ sets Himself apart, but the Apostles are
evidently to be set apart by the Father; that is to say, effectually
fitted by the Father for the work to which Christ had already called them.
*In truth.* (ἐν ἀληθείᾳ). The absence of the Greek article distinguishes
this clause from that in verse 17. There the question is of “_the_ truth,”
the word of God; here “in truth,” seems to be equivalent to truly,
really—that they also may be truly sanctified. Compare 2 John 1; 3 John 1.
20. Non pro eis autem rogo 20. And not for them only do I
tantum, sed et pro eis qui pray, but for them also who
credituri sunt per verbum through their word shall
eorum in me: believe in me:
20. Instead of *shall believe* the more probable Greek reading has the
present tense, as if Christ looked upon the Church of the future as
actually present. He now prays not alone for the Apostles, but for all who
should believe through their preaching. There is direct reference to the
Apostles and their converts, but the prayer of Christ included the
successors of both.
21. Ut omnes unum sint, sicut 21. That they all may be one,
tu Pater in me, et ego in te, as thou, Father, in me, and I
ut et ipsi in nobis unum sint: in thee: that they also may be
ut credat mundus quia tu me one in us: that the world may
misisti. believe that thou hast sent
me.
21. The unity of the faithful cannot, of course, equal the unity of nature
in the Persons of the Blessed Trinity; but since it is here compared with
the latter, we are justified in concluding that it is as perfect as
possible; and hence a unity of intellect through faith, of will through
charity, and of government through the due subordination of the different
members. Such a moral miracle as this unity implies, must suppose a
_principle_ of unity in the Church; that is to say, a teaching and ruling
authority by which this marvellous unity is Divinely secured.
The words *That the world may believe that thou hast sent me* show that
this unity was to be a _note_ of the true Church, pointing it out even to
the wicked world as the Church of God.
22. Et ego claritatem quam 22. And the glory which thou
dedisti mihi, dedi eis: ut hast given me, I have given to
sint unum, sicut et nos unum them: that they may be one, as
sumus. we also are one.
22. *And the glory which thou hast given me, I have ** given to them.*
Some understand “the glory” here mentioned to be the gift of working
miracles; others, the glory _about to be enjoyed_ by Christ’s humanity,
which is to be shared in by all the faithful after the day of judgment;
others, the glorious privilege of Divine filiation which makes the
faithful the adopted sons, as Christ was the natural Son, of God; others,
in fine, the glory of the Divinity which Christ had just shared with the
Apostles that night, and which He was to share with all the faithful in
future, in giving them His own glorious and Divine Person in the Blessed
Eucharist.
We believe that either the third or fourth is the correct opinion. But it
is not easy to choose between these two. The third is the more obvious,
and is certainly very probable; but in favour of the fourth it must be
said it was very natural that Christ speaking of the union of the faithful
on this night when He had instituted the Blessed Eucharist, should refer
to that wonderful cause and pledge of union which He had just left to the
faithful in the Blessed Sacrament: “For we, being many, are one bread, one
body, all that partake(112) of one bread” (1 Cor. x. 17). See also John
vi. 57.
23. Ego in eis, et tu in me: 23. I in them, and thou in me:
ut sint consummati in unum: et that they may be made perfect
cognoscat mundus, quia tu me in one; and the world may know
misisti, et dilexisti eos, that thou hast sent me, and
sicut et me dilexisti. hast loved them as thou hast
also loved me.
23. *I in them, and thou in me.* This clause is in apposition to the last
clause of the preceding verse: “that they may be one, as we also are one,”
and explains how the union there spoken of is effected, namely, by the
presence of Christ in the faithful.
24. Pater, quos dedisti mihi, 24. Father, I will that where
volo ut ubi sum ego, et illi I am, they also whom thou hast
sint mecum: ut videant given me may be with me: that
claritatem meam, quam dedisti they may see my glory which
mihi, quia dilexisti me ante thou hast given me, because
constitutionem mundi. thou hast loved me before the
creation of the world.
24. Here, too, as in verses 11, 12, some of the critics read the neuter
pronoun ὃ (that which) instead of ὁὺς (they whom). The Vulgate reading is
at least equally probable. Having prayed in verses 20‐21 for all the
faithful, Christ now continues His prayer for the Apostles, as a
comparison of this verse with verses 11 and 12 proves. And this, His last
petition for them, is, that they may one day be made partakers of that
glory which He as God enjoyed eternally, and into which as man He was to
enter at His ascension.
*That they may see my glory*; that is to say, see and enjoy the glory of
My Divinity (reflected also in My humanity; see above on verse 5). We
believe there is not question merely of the glory of Christ’s humanity,
for He seems to pray here that the Apostles may enjoy the bliss of heaven,
which does not consist in the vision of Christ’s humanity, but in the
vision and enjoyment of the Divinity. If this is the correct view, and we
think, with A Lap., that it is, then this glory was given from all
eternity to the Son. The words: *Because thou hast loved me*, do not, in
this view, state the _cause_ of the communication of the eternal glory of
the Father to the Son. See above on chapter v., verse 20.
If the words be understood, as St. Aug. understood them, of Christ’s
humanity, then the meaning is: Share with My Apostles the glory which Thou
art _about to bestow_ upon Me because from all eternity Thou hast loved
Me, and predestined Me _as man_ for this glory. In this view the love of
the Father for Christ as man is the reason why He glorifies Christ’s
humanity.
The phrase *before the creation of the world*, or more accurately, “before
the foundation of the world,” denotes that the world is not eternal; while
Christ’s claim to have been loved by the Father before creation, is a
claim to personal existence before the world began, and indirectly,
therefore, a claim to an eternal Personality.
25. Pater iuste, mundus te non 25. Just Father, the world
cognovit: ego autem te hath not known thee: but I
cognovi, et hi cognoverunt have known thee: and these
quia te me misisti. have known, that thou hast
sent me.
26. Et notum feci eis nomen 26. And I have made known thy
tuum, et notum faciam: ut name to them, and will make it
dilectio, qua dilexisti me, in known; that the love wherewith
ipsis sit, et ego in ipsis. thou hast loved me, may be in
them, and I in them.
25, 26. These verses give a reason why the Father who is _just_, and who
rewards man’s merits, even though these merits are themselves the result
of His grace, ought to hear Christ’s prayer. The reason is, because He who
prays had known and loved the Father, and they for whom He prays had known
and received Himself as the Messias. Moreover, He had made known the
Father to them, and would do so still more, afterwards, through the Holy
Ghost.
*That the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in
them.* Here He states His object in making known the Father’s name. It was
in order that the special love of the Father might extend to them, and
that He Himself might remain intimately united to them by His grace, and
by the presence of the Divinity in their souls.
With these beautiful and consoling words, which bespoke the special love
of the Father for the Apostles, and His own enduring presence with them
notwithstanding His departure, Christ concludes this sublime prayer to His
eternal Father.