Joh 17:6, 19 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 6. I have manifested thy name ] εφανερωσα, I have brought it into light , and caused it to shine in itself, and to illuminate others. A little of the Divine nature was known by the works of creation ; a little more was known by the Mosaic revelation : but the full manifestation of God, his nature, and his attributes, came only through the revelation of Christ. The men which thou gavest me ] That is, the apostles , who, having received this knowledge from Christ, were, by their preaching and writings, to spread it through the whole world. Out of the world ] From among the Jewish people; for in this sense is the word κοσμος to be understood in various parts of our Lord's last discourses. Thine they were ] Objects of thy choice; and thou gavest them to me from among this very unbelieving people, that they might be my disciples and the heralds of my salvation. And they have kept thy word. ] Though their countrymen have rejected it; and they have received me as thy well beloved Son in whom thou delightest.

‏ John 17:6

Verse 6. I have manifested thy name] εφανερωσα, I have brought it into light, and caused it to shine in itself, and to illuminate others. A little of the Divine nature was known by the works of creation; a little more was known by the Mosaic revelation: but the full manifestation of God, his nature, and his attributes, came only through the revelation of Christ.

The men which thou gavest me] That is, the apostles, who, having received this knowledge from Christ, were, by their preaching and writings, to spread it through the whole world.

Out of the world] From among the Jewish people; for in this sense is the word κοσμος to be understood in various parts of our Lord's last discourses.

Thine they were] Objects of thy choice; and thou gavest them to me from among this very unbelieving people, that they might be my disciples and the heralds of my salvation.

And they have kept thy word.] Though their countrymen have rejected it; and they have received me as thy well beloved Son in whom thou delightest.

‏ John 17:19

Verse 19. I sanctify myself] I consecrate and devote myself to death-that I may thereby purchase eternal salvation for them. There seems to be here an allusion to the entering of the high priest into the holy of holies, when, having offered the sacrifice, he sprinkled the blood before the ark of the covenant. So Jesus entered into the holiest of all by his own blood, in order to obtain everlasting redemption for men: see Heb 9:11-13. The word, αγιαζω, to consecrate or sanctify, is used in the sense of devoting to death, in Jer 12:3, both in the Hebrew and in the Septuagint: the Hebrew signifies also to sacrifice.

III. Our Lord's prayer for his Church, and for all who would believe on his name, through the preaching of the apostles and their successors: See Clarke on Joh 17:1.