John 17:6-10 6I have revealed your name to the persons whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they have come to know that all things whatsoever you have given me are from you; 8for the words which you gave me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
Jesus prays specifically for his disciples in these verses. He says some affirming things about them. He begins by stating clearly that he followed the will of the Father by clearly proclaiming the name of God to the select group of disciples. The primary purpose Jesus came was to reveal the name of God. God’s name represents his person, character, and actions. Everything Jesus did somehow reflected God the Father’s purpose and will. The disciples saw this and believed Jesus to be the true and only full revelation of God.
They were once bound by the world and all its enticements. They walked in darkness, like everyone else. If they could be changed, anyone can be. God had been working in their lives, leading them to the point of encountering Jesus. The same is true for all people. God’s prevenient grace draws everyone to the Light of the world. The Father gave these disciples to Jesus as a gift in order to train them and send them out on the mission of proclaiming all that he commanded them.
God had a special plan for each one, but each had to make the decision to follow Jesus. The apostles were unique in all of history as the first witnesses of God’s revelation in Jesus. However, through their testimony, countless others have come to know and believe the same revelation as they did. Jesus’ mission was complete because the disciples had learned what they needed. Verses 7-8 give the topic of their learning: that Jesus came from God. The key purpose of John’s Gospel, later stated later in 20:30-31, is implicit in these verses.
The disciples did three significant actions that the reader of John and all people should. First, they received Jesus’ words (hrēmata, utterances, or actual verbal teachings). This implies listening, paying attention, being curious about, and wanting to learn more. Second, they truly understood. This idea gets deeper, with the seeds of Jesus’ words starting to grow. The descriptions of the disciples in John and the Synoptics show that the disciples were slow to understand, but they knew enough that they remained with Jesus and believed in him. The core issue, the third action, was that they believed Jesus to be from God. Understanding grew to the point of faith. Their faith was not blind or ignorant but based on the evidence before them. John’s Gospel has the same goals for the readers: to receive the testimony about jesus, come to understand the core claims of the gospel, and believe in Jesus.
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