New Russian translation. Large Christian Library

17:1 Father! Favorite address of Jesus to the First Person of the Trinity; occurs 109 times in this gospel. In this prayer, it is used six times, four times alone and once each with the adjectives Holy and Righteous.

the time has come. Wed from 2.4.

glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you. The theme of God's glory, which was first mentioned in 1:14, takes on special significance in this prayer. The glory given to any of the persons of the Trinity extends to the whole Trinity; the service perfectly performed by the Son in His incarnation brings glory to the Godhead as a whole. The Son is glorified in crucifixion, resurrection, and accession to the throne (see N on 12:23; 13:31).

17:2 gave. The verb "give" is used sixteen times in this prayer. This emphasizes what God gave to Jesus and what Jesus in turn gave to His disciples.

everything you gave him. It is emphasized here (see also vv. 6:9,24; cf. 6:44; 10:29) that the initiative in salvation belongs to God.

eternal life. See com. to 3.16.

17:4 did the work. These words anticipate the cry of victory from the cross: "It is done!" (19.30). Everything in the life of Jesus was aimed at glorifying God.

17:5 glorify me... with glory. Here Jesus bears witness to His divinity in two ways. First, in His very request, He states that His glory existed "before the world was," which implies that Jesus was not created, but existed forever. Secondly, in referring to the "glory" that He had there (with the Father), He speaks of the very glory that throughout the Bible is always associated with the true, living, and only God.

17:6 revealed your name. The word "name" designates God - in all His perfection, as it is revealed to the human race.

from the world. An indication that the redeemed are in the world, but are destined to be separated from it.

they were yours. Everything in the world, including people, belongs to God by the right of the Creator, but here it means that some people are determined by God for redemption. God gave the elect to the Redeemer (cf. Heb. 2:12-13).

17:7 everything...is from You. The perfect unity of the Father and the Son is one of the fundamental aspects of Jesus' teaching (5:17).

17:8 Here are three criteria that the disciples of Jesus must meet: to believe in the words of Jesus, to recognize His divine origin, and to believe in Himself.

17:9 I do not pray for the whole world. No matter how kindly Jesus treats all creation, His redeeming priestly activity extends only to the elect - to those whom the Father has given Him (10:14.15.27-29). This verse is a powerful argument in support of the doctrine of the redemption of the elect: it would be absurd for Jesus to die for those for whom He refused to pray!

17:10 and yours is mine. This is a clear assertion by Jesus of His divinity.

and I am glorified in them. See com. to 16.14.

17:11 Holy Father! This form of address occurs only in this passage in the NT, but it best expresses both the closeness of the relationship between God and His children and the majesty of God. God wants to protect His chosen ones because He cares about them, and He can protect them because His power is unlimited.

in your name. Those. "by Thy power and Thy authority, which no one can dispute." The revelation of God about Himself, manifested in word and deed, corresponds to the concept of "Your name", since for the ancients the name was an expression of essence.

so that they may be one as we are. The unity of the Persons of the Trinity serves as a majestic model for the communion of believers through their union with Christ (see 14:10-11N). This is especially emphatically emphasized in Jesus' prayer (vv. 21-23). Therefore, every Christian must constantly strive for such unity in order to glorify God, and to show love for all the children of God.

17:12 I kept them... and none of them perished. A wonderful description of the ministry that Jesus did for the apostles.

son of perdition. In 2 Thess. 2:3 the same expression is used of the Antichrist. The betrayal of Judas served as the fulfillment of the words of Scripture (Ps. 40:10) and was necessary for the fulfillment of many other prophecies that describe the sufferings of our Lord. Jesus viewed many passages of Scripture as prophesying various details of His messianic ministry and emphasized that they must all come true because they are the Word of God. In choosing Judas, Jesus was aware of the role this disciple would play in His suffering.

17:13 My joy. From these words we can conclude that Jesus prayed in the presence of the disciples so that they could draw joy in His prayer (cf. 15:11; 16:24).

17:14 I gave them your word. This is undoubtedly referring to the teaching of Jesus, which is identified with the Word of God, just as the Old Testament is the Word of God (cf. Mark 7:13; Acts 10:36; Rom. 9:6).

they are not of the world. The new birth entails a deep split in humanity. Believers also come from a fallen human world, but they continue to live in this world, no longer belonging to it (v. 16).

17:17 Sanctify them with your truth. Two notable aspects of this request of Jesus are: 1) He is not praying for the temporary welfare of the disciples, but for their sanctification; He desires above all that they should be holy; 2) He points to the means by which holiness (i.e. truth) can be attained. Just as error and deceit are the roots from which evil grows, so godliness grows from truth.

17:18 How You sent Me...and I sent them. Wed 20.21. Jesus is the ultimate missionary. Every true Christian is a "missionary" sent into the world to testify of Christ, reach lost sinners wherever they can be found, and lead them to the Savior.

17:19 I consecrate myself. The Greek verb used here can also mean "I sanctify," but Jesus, being absolutely holy, needs no further sanctification (Heb. 7:26). Being the high priest, He gives Himself (Ex. 28:41) to the work, for the fulfillment of which perfect holiness is necessary. It follows that those who belong to Him must be inspired and consecrated to their service.

17:20 about those who believe in me according to their word. From this moment on, the Lord embraces in His prayer all believers, even those of them who must come to faith after many centuries. Every true Christian can be sure that in this prayer Jesus prayed for him too.

17:21 let the world believe that you sent me. The object of this prayer is not some invisible unity, but a unity visible to the whole world, so that the world may believe (see 17:11N).

17:23 are perfected together. We have here a model of unity, according to which relationships are built both between the Father and the Son, and between the Son and the Christian (see 14:10-11N)

loved them as you loved me. This statement concerns the love of God the Father for the redeemed (3:16). Sometimes this love is not given due importance, focusing all attention on Christ's love for them.

17:24 let them see my glory. Jesus' second request in His prayer for the Church is that she be with Him in glory. He does not ask for temporary prosperity either for the disciples or for the Church as a whole, but asks that His chosen ones be holy and united on earth and then be taken to heaven.

17:25 Righteous Father! See com. to 17.11. The same as Saint.

17:26 This prayer ends with a repetition of the basic concepts: unity, knowledge, service and love. Jesus' teaching reaches its climax here.

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1-26 This prayer of Christ is called the High Priestly, for He pronounces it in preparation for the sacrifice of the cross. "The hour has come", i.e. the time of the death and glorification of the Messiah.

3 "Let them know" - the biblical word "know" means unity in love (cf. John 10:14).

1. The Apostle John the Theologian (as the Eastern Church calls the fourth evangelist), the younger brother of the Apostle James, was the son of the fisherman Zebedee and Salome (Mt 20:20; Mk 1:19-20; Mk 9:38-40; Lk 9:54) ; his mother subsequently accompanied the Savior, along with other women who served Him (Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40-41). For their impulsive nature, the Zebedee brothers received from Christ the nickname Boanerges (sons of Thunder). In his youth, John was a disciple of John the Baptist. When the Forerunner pointed Andrew and John to Jesus, calling Him the Lamb of God (hence, according to Isaiah, the Messiah), both of them followed Christ (John 1:36-37). One of the three disciples closest to the Lord, John, together with Peter and James (John 13:23), witnessed the Lord's transfiguration and the Gethsemane prayer for the cup (Mt 17:1; Mt 26:37). Beloved disciple of Christ, he reclined at His breast at the Last Supper (John 1:23); dying, the Savior entrusted his filial care to His Most Pure Mother (John 19:26-27). One of the first he heard the news of the Resurrection of Christ. After the ascension of the Lord, John preached the good news in Judea and Samaria (Acts 3:4; Acts 8:4-25). According to legend, he spent the last years of his life in the city of Ephesus, where he died c. 100 AD In the epistle to the Galatians (Gal. 2:9) ap. Paul calls him a pillar of the Church.

2. The early fathers of the Church of St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Justin Martyr is called the fourth Ev. Gospel of John. It is also called in the list of canonical books that has come down to us, compiled in the 2nd century. St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a disciple of St. Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John, indicates that John wrote his Gospel after the other evangelists during his stay in Ephesus. According to Clement of Alexandria, John, fulfilling the desire of his disciples, who found that in the gospels the predominantly human appearance of Christ is depicted, wrote the “Spiritual Gospel”.

3. The very text of the Gospel testifies that its author was a resident of Palestine; he knows her cities and villages, customs and holidays well and does not neglect specific historical details. In the language of the evangelist, there is a Semitic overtone and the influence of Jewish literature of that time. All this confirms the ancient tradition that the fourth gospel was written by the beloved disciple of the Lord (not mentioned by name in Ying). The oldest manuscript of Ying dates back to 120, and the Gospel itself was written in the 90s. The Gospel of John differs from the synoptic gospels both in content and form of presentation. This is the most theological of the gospels. It devotes much space to the speeches of Christ, in which the mystery of His mission and sonship is revealed. The God-Man is presented as the Word descending into the world from Heaven and returning to the Father. John pays great attention to issues almost untouched by other evangelists: the pre-eternity of the Son as the Word of God, the incarnation of the Word, the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son, Christ as the bread descending from heaven, the Comforter Spirit, the unity of all in Christ. The evangelist reveals the mystery of the divine-human consciousness of Jesus, but at the same time does not obscure His earthly features, speaking about the friendly feelings of Christ, about His fatigue, sorrow, tears. The miracles of the Lord are shown in Ying as "signs", signs of the coming new era. The evangelist does not cite the eschatological speeches of Christ, focusing on those of His words where the Judgment of God is proclaimed to those who have already come (i.e. from the moment when Jesus began preaching; for example, John 3:19; John 8:16; John 9:39; John 12:31).

3. The construction of the gospel story in Ying is more thorough than that of the weather forecasters. The author (who begins with the period after the temptation of Christ in the wilderness) dwells on each visit of the Lord to Jerusalem. Thus the reader sees that Christ's earthly ministry lasted about three years.

4. Plan of Ying: Ying is clearly divided into two parts, which can be conditionally called: 1. Signs of the Kingdom (Jn 1:19-12:50); 2. Ascension to the Glory of the Father (John 13:1-20:31). They are preceded by a prologue (John 1:1-18). Jn ends with an epilogue (Jn 21:1-25).

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament were written in Greek, with the exception of the Gospel of Matthew, which is said to have been written in Hebrew or Aramaic. But since this Hebrew text has not survived, the Greek text is considered the original for the Gospel of Matthew. Thus, only the Greek text of the New Testament is the original, and numerous editions in various modern languages ​​around the world are translations from the Greek original.

The Greek language in which the New Testament was written was no longer the classical Greek language and was not, as previously thought, a special New Testament language. This is the colloquial everyday language of the first century A.D., spread in the Greco-Roman world and known in science under the name "κοινη", i.e. "common speech"; yet the style, and turns of speech, and way of thinking of the sacred writers of the New Testament reveal the Hebrew or Aramaic influence.

The original text of the NT has come down to us in a large number of ancient manuscripts, more or less complete, numbering about 5000 (from the 2nd to the 16th century). Until recent years, the most ancient of them did not go back beyond the 4th century no P.X. But lately, many fragments of ancient manuscripts of the NT on papyrus (3rd and even 2nd c) have been discovered. So, for example, Bodmer's manuscripts: Ev from John, Luke, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude - were found and published in the 60s of our century. In addition to Greek manuscripts, we have ancient translations or versions into Latin, Syriac, Coptic, and other languages ​​(Vetus Itala, Peshitto, Vulgata, etc.), of which the oldest existed already from the 2nd century AD.

Finally, numerous quotations from the Church Fathers in Greek and other languages ​​have been preserved in such quantity that if the text of the New Testament were lost and all ancient manuscripts were destroyed, then specialists could restore this text from quotations from the works of the Holy Fathers. All this abundant material makes it possible to check and refine the text of the NT and to classify its various forms (the so-called textual criticism). Compared with any ancient author (Homer, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Cornelius Nepos, Julius Caesar, Horace, Virgil, etc.), our modern - printed - Greek text of the NT is in an exceptionally favorable position. And by the number of manuscripts, and by the brevity of time separating the oldest of them from the original, and by the number of translations, and by their antiquity, and by the seriousness and volume of critical work carried out on the text, it surpasses all other texts (for details, see "The Hidden Treasures and New Life, Archaeological Discoveries and the Gospel, Bruges, 1959, pp. 34 ff.). The text of the NT as a whole is fixed quite irrefutably.

The New Testament consists of 27 books. They are subdivided by the publishers into 260 chapters of unequal length for the purpose of providing references and citations. The original text does not contain this division. The modern division into chapters in the New Testament, as in the whole Bible, has often been attributed to the Dominican Cardinal Hugh (1263), who worked it out in his symphony to the Latin Vulgate, but it is now thought with good reason that this division goes back to Stephen the Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton, who died in 1228. As for the division into verses now accepted in all editions of the New Testament, it goes back to the publisher of the Greek New Testament text, Robert Stephen, and was introduced by him into his edition in 1551.

The sacred books of the New Testament are usually divided into law-positive (Four Gospels), historical (Acts of the Apostles), teaching (seven epistles and fourteen epistles of the Apostle Paul) and prophetic: the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John the Evangelist (see the Long Catechism of St. Philaret of Moscow).

However, modern experts consider this distribution outdated: in fact, all the books of the New Testament are law-positive, historical, and instructive, and there is prophecy not only in the Apocalypse. New Testament science pays great attention to the exact establishment of the chronology of the gospel and other New Testament events. Scientific chronology allows the reader to trace with sufficient accuracy, according to the New Testament, the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles and the original Church (see Appendixes).

The books of the New Testament can be distributed as follows:

1) Three so-called Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and, separately, the fourth: the Gospel of John. New Testament scholarship devotes much attention to the study of the relationship of the first three Gospels and their relation to the Gospel of John (the synoptic problem).

2) The Book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul ("Corpus Paulinum"), which are usually divided into:

a) Early Epistles: 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

b) Greater Epistles: Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Romans.

c) Messages from bonds, i.e. written from Rome, where ap. Paul was in prison: Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon.

d) Pastoral Epistles: 1st to Timothy, to Titus, 2nd to Timothy.

e) The Epistle to the Hebrews.

3) Catholic Epistles ("Corpus Catholicum").

4) Revelation of John the Theologian. (Sometimes in the NT they single out "Corpus Joannicum", i.e. everything that ap Ying wrote for a comparative study of his Gospel in connection with his epistles and the book of Rev.).

FOUR GOSPEL

1. The word "gospel" (ευανγελιον) in Greek means "good news". This is how our Lord Jesus Christ Himself called His teaching (Mt 24:14; Mt 26:13; Mk 1:15; Mk 13:10; Mk 14:9; Mk 16:15). Therefore, for us, the "gospel" is inextricably linked with Him: it is the "good news" of salvation given to the world through the incarnate Son of God.

Christ and His apostles preached the gospel without writing it down. By the middle of the 1st century, this sermon had been fixed by the Church in a strong oral tradition. The Eastern custom of memorizing sayings, stories, and even large texts helped the Christians of the apostolic age to accurately preserve the unwritten First Gospel. After the 1950s, when eyewitnesses to Christ's earthly ministry began to pass away one by one, the need arose to record the gospel (Luke 1:1). Thus, the “gospel” began to denote the narrative recorded by the apostles about the life and teachings of the Savior. It was read at prayer meetings and in preparing people for baptism.

2. The most important Christian centers of the 1st century (Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Ephesus, etc.) had their own gospels. Of these, only four (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn) are recognized by the Church as inspired by God, i.e. written under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. They are called "from Matthew", "from Mark", etc. (Greek “kata” corresponds to Russian “according to Matthew”, “according to Mark”, etc.), for the life and teachings of Christ are set forth in these books by these four priests. Their gospels were not brought together in one book, which made it possible to see the gospel story from different points of view. In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus of Lyon calls the evangelists by name and points to their gospels as the only canonical ones (Against Heresies 2, 28, 2). Tatian, a contemporary of St. Irenaeus, made the first attempt to create a unified gospel narrative, composed of various texts of the four gospels, the Diatessaron, i.e. gospel of four.

3. The apostles did not set themselves the goal of creating a historical work in the modern sense of the word. They sought to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ, helped people to believe in Him, correctly understand and fulfill His commandments. The testimonies of the evangelists do not coincide in all details, which proves their independence from each other: the testimonies of eyewitnesses are always individual in color. The Holy Spirit does not certify the accuracy of the details of the facts described in the gospel, but the spiritual meaning contained in them.

The minor contradictions encountered in the presentation of the evangelists are explained by the fact that God gave the priests complete freedom in conveying certain specific facts in relation to different categories of listeners, which further emphasizes the unity of meaning and direction of all four gospels (see also General Introduction, pp. 13 and 14) .

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17 The farewell conversation of Christ with the disciples is over. But before going towards the enemies who will lead Him to judgment and torment, Christ pronounces a solemn prayer to the Father for Himself, for His disciples and for His future Church, as the great high priest of mankind. This prayer can be divided into three parts. In the first part (verses 1-8), Christ prays for Himself: He asks for His own glorification or for the granting to Him, as the God-man, of divine majesty, since He is the cornerstone of the Church, and the Church can achieve her goal only then, when its Head Christ will be glorified. In the second part (9-19 st.) Christ asks for His disciples: He prays the Father for their protection from the evil that reigns in the world and for their sanctification by the divine truth, for they are the continuers of the work of Christ in the world. The world will receive the word of Christ in purity and in all heavenly power only when the apostles themselves are confirmed in this word and sanctified by its power. In the third part (20-26 st.) Christ prays for those who believe in Him: in order for those who believe in Christ to fulfill their purpose - to compose the Church of Christ, they must maintain unity among themselves, and Christ pleads for the maintenance of this unity between believers Father. But above all they must be in union with the Father and Christ.

17:3 This is eternal life. Apparently, true eternal life consists, therefore, only in the knowledge of God. But Christ could not express such a thought, because true knowledge of God does not protect a person from the impoverishment of love ( 1 Corinthians 13:2). It would be more correct to say, therefore, that here cognition means not only the theoretical assimilation of the truths of faith, but the attraction of the heart to God and Christ, true love.

One True God. This is what Christ says about God to point out the opposite of the knowledge of God that He has in mind, to that wrong knowledge that the pagans had about God, transferring the glory of the One to many gods ( Rome 1:23).

And Jesus Christ sent by you. Here, for the first time, Christ calls Himself so. “Jesus Christ” is here His name, which then in the mouths of the apostles becomes His usual designation ( Acts 2:38; 3:6 ; 4:10 etc.). Thus, in this last prayer of His, spoken in the hearing of the disciples, the Lord gives, so to speak, a well-known formula, which should subsequently be used in Christian society. It is very likely that this designation is proposed by Christ, in opposition to the Jewish view of Him, according to which He was simply "Jesus" (cf. 9:11 ).

According to negative criticism (for example, Beishlyaga), Christ is here clearly saying that His Father is God, and He Himself is not God at all. But against such an objection, it must be said that Christ here opposes the Father, as the One true God, not to Himself, but to the false gods that the pagans honored. Then, Christ says that the knowledge of God the Father is attainable only through Him, Christ, and that the knowledge of Christ Himself is just as necessary for obtaining eternal life or salvation as is the knowledge of God the Father. Is it not clear that in this He testifies of Himself as One with God the Father in essence? As for what He says about knowing Him separately from the knowledge of God the Father, this, according to the remark of Mr. Znamensky, is explained by the fact that in order to achieve eternal life, not only faith in God is necessary, but also in the redemption of man before God, which It was accomplished by the Son of God through the fact that He became the Messiah — the God-Man, sent from God (the Father) into the world (p. 325).

Evidence of the ancient Christian tradition about the origin of the fourth gospel. The conviction of the Orthodox Church that the beloved disciple of Christ, the Apostle John, was the writer of the Fourth Gospel is based on the firm testimony of ancient Christian church tradition. First of all, St. Irenaeus of Lyon, in his "refutation of gnosis" (circa 185), referring to the tradition of the Church of Asia Minor, to which he belonged in his upbringing, says that the Lord's disciple John wrote the Gospel in Ephesus. He also cites excerpts from the Gospel of John to refute the teachings of the Valentinian heretics. In the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch, there are hints that he knew the Gospel of John. So he says that Christ did nothing without the Father (Magn. VII, 1; cf. John 5:19), speaks of the bread of life, which is the body of Christ (Rom VII, 3; cf. John 6:51), about the Spirit who knows where he is going and from where he comes (Philad. VII, 1; cf. John 3:8), about Jesus as the door of the Father (Philad. IX, 1; cf. John 10:9). Justin Martyr, who lived in Ephesus before settling in Rome, not only adheres to the teaching of the Gospel of John in his teaching on the Logos, but says that his teaching is based on the “memoirs of the apostles,” i.e., obviously on the Gospels (Trif. 105 and Apol. I, 66). He mentions Jesus' word to Nicodemus about regeneration (Apol. 61; cf. John 3:3ff.). Around the same time (about the 60s of the second century) the Montanists formally based their teaching that the Spirit of Comfort speaks through them on the Gospel of John. The attempt of their enemies-alogues to attribute the 4th Gospel itself, as having served as a formal support for the heretics, to the heretic Kerinfus did not have any success and only served as an excuse to testify to the faith of the Church in the origin of the 4th Gospel precisely from John (Irenaeus. Against heresy III, 11, 1). In the same way, the attempt of the Gnostics to use different terms from the Gospel of John did not shake the faith in the authenticity of this Gospel in the Church. In the era of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), both in the Church of Asia Minor and outside it, the Gospel 4 is recognized by all as the work of St. John. So the attes of Carp and Papila, Theophilus of Antioch, Meliton, Apollinaris of Hierapolis, Tatian, Athenagoras (Old Latin and Syriac translations already have the Gospel of John) - all, obviously, are well acquainted with the Gospel of John. Clement of Alexandria even speaks of the reason for which John wrote his Gospel (Eusebius, Church History VI, 14:7). The Muratorian Fragment also testifies to the origin of the Gospel of John (see Analecta, published by Preishen 1910, p. 27).

Thus, the Gospel of John undoubtedly existed in Asia Minor from the beginning of the second century and was read, and about half of the second century it found access to other areas where Christians lived, and gained respect for itself as the work of the Apostle John. Given this state of affairs, it is not at all surprising that in many writings of the apostolic men and apologists we still do not find quotations from the Gospel of John or allusions to its existence. But the very fact that the disciple of the heretic Valentinus (who came to Rome around 140), Heracleon, wrote a commentary on the Gospel of John, indicates that the Gospel of John appeared much earlier than the second half of the 2nd century, since, undoubtedly, writing an interpretation on a work that has only recently appeared, it would be rather strange. Finally, the evidence of such pillars of Christian science as Origen (3rd century), Eusebius of Caesarea and Blessed. Jerome (4th century) speaks clearly about the authenticity of the Gospel of John because nothing unfounded can be concluded in the church tradition about the origin of the fourth Gospel.

Apostle John the Theologian. Where was ap. John, nothing definite can be said about this. Of his father, Zebedee, it is only known that he, with his sons, James and John, lived in Capernaum and was engaged in fishing on a fairly large scale, as indicated by the fact that he had workers (John 1:20). A more prominent personality is the wife of Zebedee, Salome, who belonged to those women who accompanied Christ the Savior and from their own means acquired what was required for the maintenance of a rather large circle of Christ's disciples, who made up almost a constant retinue of Him (Luke 8:1-3; Mk 15: 41). She shared the ambitious desires of her sons and asked Christ to fulfill their dreams (Matthew 20:20). She was present from a distance at the removal of the Savior from the cross (Mt 27:55 et seq.) and participated in the purchase of fragrances for anointing the body of the buried Christ (Mk 16; cf. Lk 23:56).

The Zebedee family was, according to legend, related to the family of the Blessed Virgin: Salome and the Blessed Virgin were sisters, and this tradition is in full accordance with the fact that the Savior, while He was to betray His Spirit from minute to minute Hanging on the cross, he entrusted the Most Holy Virgin to the care of John (see explanation on John 19:25). This kinship can also explain why, of all the disciples, James and John claimed the first places in the Kingdom of Christ (Matthew 20:20). But if James and John were nephews of the Most Holy Virgin, then they, therefore, were also related to John the Baptist (cf. Lk 1:36), whose preaching should therefore have been of particular interest to them. All these families were imbued with one pious, truly Israeli mood: this is evidenced, among other things, by the fact that the names that the members of these families bore are all real Jewish, without admixture of Greek or Latin nicknames.

From the fact that James is everywhere called before John, we can confidently conclude that John was younger than James, and tradition calls him the youngest among the apostles. John was no more than 20 years old when Christ called him to follow Himself, and the tradition that he lived to the reign of the emperor Trajan (king in 98 to 117) does not include improbability: John was then about 90 years old. Shortly after the call to follow Him, Christ called John to a special, apostolic ministry, and John became one of the 12 apostles of Christ. By virtue of his special love and devotion to Christ, John became one of the closest and most trusted disciples of Christ, and even the most beloved among all of them. He was honored to be present at the most important events in the life of the Savior, for example, at His transfiguration, at the prayer of Christ in Gethsemane, etc. In contrast to Ap. Peter, John lived a more inward, contemplative life than an outward, practically active one. He observes rather than acts, he more often plunges into his inner world, discussing in his mind the greatest events that he was called to witness. His soul hovers more in the heavenly world, which is why the symbol of an eagle has been established in church iconography since ancient times (Bazhenov, pp. 8-10). But sometimes John showed the ardor of the soul, even extreme irritability: this was when he stood up for the honor of his Teacher (Lk 9:54; Mk 9:38-40). An ardent desire to be closer to Christ was also reflected in John's request to grant him, together with his brother, the first positions in the glorious Kingdom of Christ, for which John was ready to go with Christ and suffer (Matthew 20:28-29). For such a capacity for unexpected impulses, Christ called John and James "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17), at the same time predicting that the preaching of both brothers would irresistibly, like thunder, act on the souls of listeners.

After the ascension of Christ into heaven, St. John, along with St. Peter appears as one of the representatives of the Christian Church in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1 et seq.; Acts 2:4; Acts 13:19; Acts 8:14-25). At the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem in the winter of 51-52, John, together with Peter and the Primate of the Jerusalem Church, James, recognizes the Apostle Paul's right to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, without obliging them at the same time to observe the Law of Moses (Gal 2:9). Already at this time, therefore, the value of an. John was great. But how it must have increased when Peter, Paul, and James died! Settling in Ephesus, John for another 30 years held the position of leader of all the churches of Asia, and of the other disciples of Christ around him, he enjoyed exceptional respect from the believers. Tradition tells us some features of the activities of St. John during this period of his stay in Ephesus. Thus, it is known from tradition that he annually celebrated the Christian Easter at the same time as the Jewish Passover and fasted before Easter. Then one day he left the public bath, seeing here the heretic Kerinth: “Let’s run away,” he said to those who came with him, “so that the bathhouse does not collapse, because Kerinth, the enemy of truth, is in it.” How great was his love and compassion for people - this is evidenced by the story of the young man whom John converted to Christ and who, in his absence, joined a gang of robbers. John, according to the legend of Clement of Alexandria, himself went to the robbers and, meeting the young man, begged him to return to the good path. In the very last hours of his life, John, no longer able to speak long speeches, only repeated: “children, love one another!” And when the listeners asked him why, he repeats the same thing, the apostle of love - such a nickname was established for John - answered: "because this is the commandment of the Lord, and if only to fulfill it, this would be enough." Thus, the will that does not allow any compromise between the holy God and the sinful world, devotion to Christ, love for the truth, combined with compassion for the unfortunate brothers - these are the main features of the character of John the Theologian, which are imprinted in Christian tradition.

John, according to tradition, testified to his devotion to Christ by his sufferings. So, under Nero (king 54-68), he was brought to Rome in chains, and here he was first forced to drink a cup of poison, and then, when the poison did not work, they threw him into a cauldron of boiling oil, from which, however, , the apostle was not harmed either. During his stay in Ephesus, John, at the behest of Emperor Domitian (king from 81-96), had to go to live on Fr. Patmos, located 40 geographical miles from Ephesus to the southwest. Here, in mysterious visions, the future destinies of the Church of Christ were revealed to him, which he depicted in his Apocalypse. On about. The apostle remained in Patmos until the death of the emperor Domitian (in 96), when, at the command of the emperor Nerva (kings 96-98), he was returned to Ephesus.

John died, probably in the 7th year of the reign of Emperor Trajan (105 A.D.), having reached the age of one hundred.

The occasion and purpose of writing the Gospel. According to the Muratorian Canon, John wrote his Gospel at the request of the bishops of Asia Minor, who wished to receive instructions from him in faith and piety. Clement of Alexandria adds to the fact that John himself noticed some incompleteness in the stories about Christ contained in the first three Gospels, which speak almost only of the bodily, that is, of external events from the life of Christ, and therefore he himself wrote a spiritual Gospel. Eusebius of Caesarea, for his part, adds that John, having reviewed and approved the first three Gospels, nevertheless found in them insufficient information about the beginning of Christ's activity. Bliss. Jerome says that the reason for writing the Gospel was the emergence of heresies that denied the coming of Christ in the flesh.

Thus, on the basis of what has been said, one can conclude that John, when writing his Gospel, on the one hand, wanted to fill in the gaps he noticed in the first three Gospels, and on the other hand, to give believers (primarily Christians from the Greeks This is proved by the fact that the Gospel often gives an explanation of Jewish words and customs (eg, John 1:38-42; John 4:9; John 5:28, etc.).It is not possible to accurately determine the time and place of writing the Gospel of John. It is only probable that the Gospel was written in Ephesus, at the end of the first century.) in the hands of a weapon to combat the heresies that have appeared. As for the evangelist himself, he defines the purpose of his gospel as follows: “this is written so that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). It is clear that John wrote his Gospel in order to give Christians support for their faith in Christ precisely as the Son of God, because only with such faith can one achieve salvation or, as John puts it, have life in oneself. And the entire content of the Gospel of John fully corresponds to this intention expressed by its writer. Indeed, the Gospel of John begins with the conversion of John himself to Christ and ends with the confession of faith by St. Thomas (chapter 21 is an addition to the Gospel, which John made after). Throughout his Gospel, John wants to depict the process by which he himself and his co-apostles came to faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, so that the reader of the Gospel, following the deeds of Christ, would gradually understand that Christ is the Son of God... The readers of the Gospel already had this faith, but it was weakened in them by various false teachings that distorted the concept of the incarnation of the Son of God. At the same time, John could mean to find out how long the public ministry of Christ to the human race continued: according to the first three Gospels, it turned out that this activity lasted one year and a little, and John explains that more than three years have passed in this

Plan and content of the Gospel of John. The Evangelist John, in accordance with the goal that he set for himself when writing the Gospel, undoubtedly had his own special plan of narration, not similar to the traditional presentation of the history of Christ common to the first three Gospels. John does not simply report the events of the gospel history and speech of Christ in order, but makes a choice from them, primarily over the rest of the Gospels, putting forward in appearance everything that testified to the divine dignity of Christ, which in his time was questioned. Events from the life of Christ are reported by John in a well-known way, and all are directed towards clarifying the basic position of the Christian faith - the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Not received a second time in Judea, Christ again withdrew to Galilee and began to perform miracles, of course, while preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. But here, too, the teaching of Christ about Himself as such a Messiah, who did not come to restore the earthly Kingdom of Judea, but to found a new Kingdom - spiritual and to inform people of eternal life, arms the Galileans against Him, and only a few disciples remain around Him, namely the 12 apostles, faith which expresses ap. Peter (John 6:1-71). Having spent this time in Galilee both Pascha and Pentecost, in view of the fact that in Judea His enemies were only waiting for an opportunity to seize and kill Him, Christ only went to Jerusalem again on the Feast of Tabernacles - this is already the third trip there and here again appeared before the Jews with affirmation of his divine mission and origin. The Jews again rise up against Christ. But Christ, nevertheless, on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles boldly declares his high dignity - that He is the giver of the true water of life, and the servants sent by the Sanhedrin cannot fulfill the assignment given to them by the Sanhedrin - to capture Christ (ch. 7th). Then, after the forgiveness of the sinner's wife (John 8:1-11), Christ denounces the unbelief of the Jews in Him. He calls Himself the Light of the world, and they, His enemies, the children of the devil, the ancient murderer. When, at the end of his speech, He pointed to His pre-eternal existence, the Jews wanted to stone Him as a blasphemer, and Christ fled from the temple, where His dispute with the Jews took place (ch. 8). After this, Christ healed the man born blind on the Sabbath, and this increased the hatred of Jesus even more among the Jews (ch. 9). However, Christ boldly calls the Pharisees hirelings, who do not value the well-being of the people, but Himself as a true shepherd, who lays down His life for His flock. This speech arouses a negative attitude towards her in some, some sympathy in others (John 10:1-21). Three months after this, on the feast of the renewal of the temple, a clash occurs again between Christ and the Jews, and Christ retires to Perea, where many Jews who believed in Him also follow Him (Jn 10:22-42). The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, testifying to Christ as the giver of resurrection and life, arouses faith in Christ in some, and a new explosion of hatred for Christ in others of Christ's enemies. Then the Sanhedrin makes the final decision to kill Christ and announces that whoever knows about the whereabouts of Christ should immediately report this to the Sanhedrin (ch. 11). After more than three months, which Christ spent outside of Judea, He again appeared in Judea and, near Jerusalem, attended a friendly dinner in Bethany, and the day after that, solemnly entered Jerusalem as the Messiah. The people greeted Him with delight, and the Greek proselytes who came to the feast expressed their desire to talk with Him. All this prompted Christ to announce aloud to all those around Him that He would soon give Himself up for the true good of all people to death. John concludes this section of his gospel with the statement that although the majority of the Jews did not believe in Christ, in spite of all His miracles, yet there were believers among them (ch. 12).

Having depicted the gap that occurred between Christ and the people of the Jews, the evangelist now draws the attitude towards the apostles. At the last, secret, supper, Christ washed His disciples' feet, like a simple servant, thus showing His love for them and together teaching them humility (ch. 13). Then, in order to strengthen their faith, He tells them about His forthcoming visitation to God the Father, about their future position in the world, and about His forthcoming rendezvous with them. The apostles interrupt His speech with questions and objections, but He constantly leads them to the idea that everything that will happen soon will be beneficial both for Him and for them (ch. 14-16). In order to finally calm the anxiety of the apostles, Christ, in their ears, prays to His Father that He take them under His protection, saying at the same time that the work for which Christ was sent has now been completed and that, consequently, the only thing left for the apostles is proclaim it to the whole world (ch. 17).

John devotes the last section of his Gospel to depicting the history of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here we are talking about the capture of Christ by the soldiers in Gethsemane and about the denial of Peter, about the judgment of Christ at the spiritual and secular authorities, about the crucifixion and death of Christ, about piercing the side of Christ with the spear of a soldier, about the burial of the body of Christ by Joseph and Nicodemus (Ch. 18-19). .) and, finally, about the appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene, to ten disciples, and then to Thomas, together with other disciples, a week after the resurrection (John 20:1-29). A conclusion is attached to the Gospel, which indicates the purpose of writing the Gospel - to strengthen faith in Christ in the readers of the Gospel (John 20:30-31).

The Gospel of John also has an epilogue, which depicts the appearance of Christ to the seven disciples at the Sea of ​​Tiberias, when the restoration of St. Peter in his apostolic dignity. At the same time, Christ predicts to Peter about his fate and the fate of John (21 ch.).

Thus, John developed in his Gospel the idea that the incarnate Logos, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, the Lord Jesus Christ, was rejected by His people, among whom He was born, but nevertheless gave His disciples who believed in Him grace and truth, and the opportunity to become children of God. This content of the Gospel is conveniently divided into the following sections: Prologue (John 1:1-18). First department: Testimony of Christ by John the Baptist before the first manifestation of Christ's majesty (John 1:19-2:11). Second department: The beginning of Christ's public ministry (John 2:12-4:54). Third department: Jesus is the giver of life in the fight against Judaism (John 5:1-11:57). Fourth department: From the last week before Easter (12th ch.). Fifth department: Jesus in the circle of His disciples on the eve of His suffering (ch. 13-14). Section Six: Glorification of Jesus through death and resurrection (ch. 18-20). Epilogue (21 ch.).

Objections to the Authenticity of the Gospel of John. From what has been said about the plan and content of the Gospel of John, it can be seen that this Gospel contains a lot of things that distinguish it from the first three Gospels, which are called synoptic by the similarity of the image given in them of the face and activity of Jesus Christ. So, the life of Christ in John begins in heaven ... The story of the birth and childhood of Christ, which is introduced to us by the Jews. Matthew and Luke, John passes over in silence. In its majestic prologue to the Gospel of John, this eagle between the evangelists, to which the symbol of the eagle is also adopted in church iconography, takes us with a bold flight straight into infinity. Then he quickly descends to earth, but here, in the incarnate Word, he makes us see the signs of the divinity of the Word. Then John the Baptist speaks in the Gospel of John. But this is not a preacher of repentance and judgment, as we know him from the Synoptic Gospels, but a witness of Christ as the Lamb of God, Who takes upon Himself the sins of the world. The Evangelist John says nothing about the baptism and temptation of Christ. The evangelist looks at the return of Christ from John the Baptist with His first disciples to Galilee not as something that was undertaken by Christ, as the weather forecasters seem, with the aim of starting a sermon about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Gospel of John, the chronological and geographical framework of activity is not at all the same as that of the weather forecasters. John touches on the Galilean activity of Christ only at its highest point - the story of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand and the conversation about the bread of heaven. Then only in the depiction of the last days of the life of Christ, John converges with the weather forecasters. The main place of Christ's activity, according to the Gospel of John, is Jerusalem and Judea.

John differs even more in his depiction of Christ as the Teacher from the synoptic evangelists. For the latter, Christ appears as a popular preacher, as a teacher of morality, expounding to the simple inhabitants of the Galilean cities and villages in the most accessible form for them the doctrine of the Kingdom of God. As a benefactor of the people, He walks around Galilee, healing every disease in people who surround Him with whole crowds. In John, the Lord appears either before individuals, like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, or in the circle of His disciples, or, finally, before priests and scribes, and other Jews more knowledgeable in the matter of religious knowledge — He speaks about the divine dignity of His person. At the same time, the language of His speeches becomes somewhat mysterious and we often encounter allegories here. The miracles in the Gospel of John also have the character of signs, that is, they serve to explain the basic provisions of Christ's teaching about His Divinity.

More than a hundred years have passed since German rationalism turned its blows on the Gospel of John to prove that it was not genuine. But it was not until the time of Strauss that the real persecution of this greatest witness of the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ began. Under the influence of Hegel's philosophy, which did not allow the possibility of the realization of the absolute idea in an individual, Strauss declared the Johannine Christ a myth ... and the entire Gospel a tendentious fiction. Following him, the head of the new Tübingen school, F. H. Baur, attributed the origin of the 4th Gospel to the second half of the 2nd century, when, according to him, reconciliation began between the two opposite directions of the apostolic age - petrinism and peacockism. John's Gospel, according to Baur, was a monument of reconciliation between these two trends. It aimed to reconcile the various disputes that were taking place at that time (about 170) in the Church: Montanism, Gnosticism, the doctrine of the Logos, the Paschal disputes, etc., and for this it used the material contained in the first three Gospels, putting everything depending on one idea of ​​the Logos This view of Baur was wanted to be developed and substantiated by his students—Schwegler, Koestlin, Zeller, and others—but in any case, nothing came of their efforts, as even such a liberal critic as Harnack admits. The early Christian Church was by no means an arena of struggle between petrinism and peacockism, as the latest church-historical science has shown. However, the newest representatives of the New Tübingen school, G. I. Holtzman, Gilgenfeld, Volkmar, Kreienbühl (his work in French: “The 4th Gospel”, vol. I - 1901 and vol. II - 1903) all they still deny the authenticity of the Gospel of John and the reliability of the information contained in it, and most of them are attributed to the influence of Gnosticism. Thoma attributes the origin of the Gospel to the influence of Philonism, Max Müller to the influence of Greek philosophy An example of a critical attitude to the Gospel of John is a book translated into Russian in 1910 by O. P. Fleider. The emergence of Christianity. pp. 154-166. .

Since, nevertheless, the New Tübingen school could not disregard those testimonies of the authenticity of the Gospel of John, which come from the very first decades of the second century A.D., it tried to explain the origin of such testimonies with something like the self-hypnosis of those ancient church writers, who have the aforementioned evidence. Just a writer, like, for example, St. Irenaeus, read the inscription: "The Gospel of John" - and immediately it became firmly established in his memory that this is really the Gospel belonging to the beloved disciple of Christ ... But most of the critics began to defend the position that under "John", the author of 4- of the gospel, the whole of the ancient Church understood “prester John”, the existence of which Eusebius of Caesarea mentions. So think, for example, Busse, Harnack. Others (Julicher) consider some disciple of John the Theologian to be the author of the 4th Gospel. But since it is rather difficult to admit that at the end of the first century there were two Johns in Asia Minor - an apostle and a presbyter - who enjoyed equally great authority, some critics began to deny the stay of ap. John in Asia Minor (Lützenberger, Keim, Schwartz, Schmidel).

Not finding it possible to find a substitute for John the Apostle, modern criticism, however, according to the assertion that the 4th Gospel could not come from St. John. Let us see, then, how well-grounded are those objections which modern criticism expresses in the form of a refutation of the general church conviction of the authenticity of the 4th Gospel. When analyzing the critics' objections to the authenticity of the Gospel of John, we will necessarily have to speak about the reliability of the information reported in the 4th Gospel, because criticism specifically points, in support of its view of the origin of the 4th Gospel not from John, to the unreliability of various cited in the Gospel John of the facts and the general improbability of the idea that is made about the face and work of the Savior from this Gospel Evidence of the integrity of the Gospel will be given in its place, when explaining the text of the Gospel. .

Keim, followed by many other critics, points out that according to the Gospel of John, Christ “was not born, was not baptized, did not experience any internal struggle or mental suffering. He knew everything from the beginning, shone with pure divine glory. Such a Christ does not conform to the conditions of human nature." But all this is wrong: Christ, according to John, became flesh (John 1:14) and had a Mother (John 2:1), and His acceptance of baptism is clearly indicated in the speech of John the Baptist (John 1:29-34). That Christ experienced an inner struggle is clearly stated in ch. 12 (v. 27), and the tears He shed at the tomb of Lazarus testify to His spiritual suffering (John 11:33-35). As for foreknowledge, which Christ reveals in the Gospel of John, it is in full agreement with our faith in Christ as the God-man.

Critics further point out that the 4th Gospel allegedly does not recognize any gradualness in the development of the faith of the apostles: the originally called apostles from the very first day of their acquaintance with her by Christ become completely confident in His messianic worth (ch. 1st). But critics forget that the disciples fully believed in Christ only after the first sign in Cana (John 2:12). And they themselves say that they believed in the divine origin of Christ only when Christ told them a lot about Himself in a farewell conversation (John 16:30).

Then, if John says that Christ went to Jerusalem from Galilee several times, while the synoptics seem to show that He visited Jerusalem only once on the Passover of the Passion, then we must say about this that, in - firstly, and from the Synoptic Gospels it can be concluded that Christ was in Jerusalem more than once (see, for example, Luke 10:38), and secondly, the most correct, of course, is the evangelist John, who designates the chronological sequence of events wrote his Gospel after the synoptics and naturally had to come to the idea of ​​the need to replenish the insufficient chronology of the synoptics and depict in detail the activities of Christ in Jerusalem, which was known to him, of course, much better than any of the synoptics, two of whom did not even belong to to face 12. Even app. Matthew could not know all the circumstances of Christ's activity in Jerusalem, because, firstly, he was called relatively late (John 3:24; cf. Mt 9:9), and, secondly, because Christ went to Jerusalem sometimes secretly (Jn 7:10), without being accompanied by the whole crowd of disciples. John, of course, was honored to accompany Christ everywhere.

But most of all doubts about the authenticity are excited by the speeches of Christ, which the Evangelist John cites. Christ in John, according to critics, speaks not like a practical teacher of the people, but like a subtle metaphysician. His speeches could only be "composed" by a later "writer" who was under the influence of the views of Alexandrian philosophy. On the contrary, the speeches of Christ in the weathermen are naive, simple and natural. Therefore, the 4th Gospel is not of apostolic origin. With regard to such a statement of criticism, it must first be said that it greatly exaggerates the difference between the speeches of Christ in the Synoptics and His speeches in John. One can point to three dozen sayings that are given in the same form by both the weather forecasters and John (see, for example, John 2 and Mt 26:61; John 3:18 and Mark 16:16; John 5:8 and Luke 5:21 ). And then, the speeches of Christ cited by John should have differed from those cited by the synoptics, since John set himself the goal of acquainting his readers with the activities of Christ in Judea and in Jerusalem - this center of rabbinic education, where Christ had before Himself completely a different circle of listeners than in Galilee. It is clear that the Galilean speeches of Christ, quoted by the synoptics, could not be devoted to such sublime teachings as are the subject of the speeches of Christ spoken in Judea. Moreover, John cites several speeches of Christ spoken by Him in the circle of His closest disciples, who, of course, were much more than ordinary people capable of comprehending the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that John, by his nature, was predominantly inclined to be interested in the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and the high dignity of the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one was able to assimilate in such fullness and clarity the teaching of Christ about Himself as precisely John, whom therefore Christ loved more than His other disciples.

Some critics argue that all the speeches of Christ in John are nothing but the disclosure of the ideas contained in the prologue of the Gospel and, therefore, were composed by John himself. To this, it must be said that rather the prologue itself can be called the conclusion that John made from all the speeches of Christ quoted in John. This is evidenced, for example, by the fact that the root concept of the prologue Logos does not occur in the speeches of Christ with the meaning that it has in the prologue.

As for the fact that John alone cites the speeches of Christ, which contain His teaching about His divine dignity, then this circumstance cannot be of particular importance, as proof of the contradiction that allegedly exists between the synoptics and John in the teaching about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. . Indeed, the weather forecasters also have sayings of Christ, in which a clear indication of His divine dignity is made (see Mt 20:18; Mt 28:19; Mt 16:16, etc.). And, besides, all the circumstances of the birth of Christ and the numerous miracles of Christ, reported by the weather forecasters, clearly testify to His divine dignity.

They also point out, as proof of the idea of ​​the “composition” of Christ’s speeches in John, their monotony in relation to content. Thus, the conversation with Nicodemus depicts the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God, and the conversation with the Samaritan woman depicts the universal character of this Kingdom, etc. If, however, there is some uniformity in the outward construction of speeches and in the method of proving thoughts, this is due to the fact that the speeches of Christ in John's mission is to explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to the Jews, and not to the inhabitants of Galilee, and therefore naturally take on a monotonous character.

It is said that the speeches cited by John do not stand in connection with the events described in the Gospel of John. But such a statement does not correspond to reality at all: it is in John that each speech of Christ has for itself a firm support in previous events, one might even say - it is caused by them. Such, for example, is the conversation about the bread of heaven, spoken by Christ about the saturation of the people with earthly bread (Chapter 6).

They object further: “how could John remember such extensive, difficult in content and dark speeches of Christ until a ripe old age?” But when a person pays all his attention to one thing, it is clear that he surveys this “one” in all its details and imprints it firmly in his memory. It is known about John that in the circle of the disciples of Christ and in the apostolic church, he did not have a particularly active significance and was rather a silent companion of St. Peter than an independent figure. All the ardor of his nature - and he really had such a nature (Mk 9) - he turned all the abilities of his outstanding mind and heart to the reproduction in his consciousness and memory of the greatest personality of the God-Man. From this it becomes clear how he could subsequently reproduce in his Gospel such extensive and deep in content speeches of Christ. In addition, the ancient Jews were generally able to memorize very long conversations and repeat them literally. Finally, why not assume that John could write down individual conversations of Christ for himself and then use what was written down?

They ask: “Where did John, a simple fisherman from Galilee, get such a philosophical education as he finds in his Gospel? Wouldn't it be more natural to assume that the 4th Gospel was written by some Greek Gnostic or Christian brought up on the study of classical literature?

This question must be answered as follows. First, John does not have that strict sequence and that logical construction of views, which distinguish the Greek philosophical systems. Instead of dialectics and logical analysis, John is dominated by a synthesis characteristic of systematic thinking, reminiscent of Eastern religious-theological contemplation rather than Greek philosophy (Prof. Muretov. Authenticity of the Lord's conversations in the 4th Gospel. Right. Review. 1881 Sept., p. 65 etc.). It can therefore be said that John writes as an educated Jew, and the question: where could he get such a Jewish education is resolved quite satisfactorily by the consideration that John's father was a rather wealthy man (he had his own workers) and therefore both of his sons, James and John , could get a good education for that time in any of the rabbinical schools in Jerusalem.

What confuses some critics is the similarity that is noticed both in the content and in the style of Christ's speeches in the 4th Gospel and in the 1st Epistle of John. It seems as if John himself composed the words of the Lord... To this it must be said that John, having joined the ranks of the disciples of Christ in his earliest youth, naturally assimilated His ideas and the very manner of expressing them. Then, the speeches of Christ in John do not represent a literal reproduction of everything that Christ said in this or that case, but only an abbreviated transmission of what Christ actually said. Moreover, John had to convey the speeches of Christ, uttered in Aramaic, in Greek, and this forced him to look for turns and expressions more appropriate to the meaning of Christ's speech, so that the coloring that was characteristic of the speech of John himself was naturally obtained in Christ's speeches. Finally, there is an undoubted difference between the Gospel of John and his 1st epistle, namely between the speech of John himself and the speeches of the Lord. Thus, the salvation of people by the blood of Christ is often mentioned in the 1st Epistle of John and is silent in the Gospel. As for the form of presentation of thoughts, in the 1st Epistle we find everywhere brief fragmentary instructions and maxims, and in the Gospel - whole big speeches.

In view of all that has been said, contrary to the assertions of criticism, it remains only to agree with the propositions expressed by Pope Pius X in his Syllabus of July 3, 1907, where the Pope recognizes as heresy the assertion of the modernists that the Gospel of John is not history in the proper sense of this words, but mystical reasoning about the life of Christ and that it is not a genuine testimony of the Apostle John about the life of Christ, but a reflection of those views on the person of Christ that existed in the Christian Church towards the end of the first century A.D.

The Self-Evidence of the Fourth Gospel. The author of the gospel clearly identifies himself as a Jew. He knows all the Jewish customs and views, especially the views of the then Judaism on the Messiah. Moreover, about everything that was happening at that time in Palestine, he speaks as an eyewitness. If, however, he sort of separates himself from the Jews (for example, he says “the feast of the Jews”, and not “our feast”), then this is due to the fact that the 4th Gospel was written, no doubt, already when Christians completely separated from Jews. In addition, the Gospel was written specifically for Gentile Christians, which is why the author could not speak of the Jews as "his" people. The geographical position of Palestine at that time is also outlined in the highest degree precisely and in detail. This cannot be expected from a writer who lived, for example, in the 2nd century.

As a witness to the events that took place in the life of Christ, the author of the 4th Gospel shows himself further in the special chronological accuracy with which he describes the time of these events. It designates not only the holidays on which Christ went to Jerusalem - this is important for determining the duration of Christ's public ministry The chronology of the life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of John is as follows. - After receiving baptism from John, Christ stays near the Jordan for some time and here calls His first disciples (1st ch.). Then He goes to Galilee, where He lives until Passover (John 2:1-11). On Passover He comes to Jerusalem: this is the first Passover during His public service (John 2:12-13; John 21). Then after that Passover, probably in April, Christ leaves Jerusalem and stays in the land of Judea until the end of December (John 3:22-4:2). By January, Christ comes through Samaria to Galilee (John 4:3-54) and lives here for quite a long time: the whole end of winter and summer. On the Passover (alluded to in John 4:35), the second Passover in the course of His public activity, He apparently did not go to Jerusalem. Only on the Feast of Tabernacles (John 5:1) He appears again in Jerusalem, where he probably stayed for a very short time. He then spends several months in Galilee (John 6:1). On the Passover of this year (John 6:4) Christ again did not go to Jerusalem: this is the third Passover of His public ministry. On the Feast of Tabernacles, He speaks in Jerusalem (John 7:1-10:21), then spends two months in Perea, and in December, on the feast of the renewal of the temple, He again comes to Jerusalem (John 10:22). Then Christ soon leaves again for Perea, from there he goes for a short time to Bethany (ch. 11). From Bethany until the fourth Passover, He remains in Ephraim, from where He comes on the last Passover, the fourth, to Jerusalem, in order to die here at the hands of enemies. – Thus, John mentions the four feasts of Pascha, within which the history of the public ministry of Jesus Christ is concluded, which apparently lasted more than three years., but even days and weeks before and after this or that event and, finally, sometimes hours of events. He also speaks with precision about the number of persons and objects in question.

The details that the author gives about various circumstances from the life of Christ also give reason to conclude that the author was an eyewitness to everything that he describes. Moreover, the features with which the author characterizes the then leaders are so marked that they could only be indicated by an eyewitness, who, moreover, well understood the differences that existed between the then Jewish parties.

That the author of the Gospel was an apostle from among the 12 is clearly evident from the reminiscences that he conveys about many circumstances from the inner life of the circle of 12. He knows well all the doubts that disturbed the disciples of Christ, all their conversations among themselves and with His Teacher. At the same time, he calls the apostles not by the names under which they later became known in the Church, but by those that they bore in their friendly circle (for example, he calls Bartholomew Nathanael).

The attitude of the author to weather forecasters is also remarkable. He boldly corrects the testimony of the latter on many points as an eyewitness, who also has a higher authority than they: only such a writer could speak so boldly, without fear of condemnation from anyone. Moreover, this was undoubtedly an apostle from among those closest to Christ, since he knows much that was not revealed to other apostles (see, for example, John 6:15; John 7:1).

Who was this student? He does not identify himself by name, and yet identifies himself as the beloved disciple of the Lord (Jn 13:23; Jn 21:7.20-24). This is not app. Peter, because this ap. throughout the 4th Gospel is referred to by name and directly distinguished from the unnamed disciple. Of the closest disciples, then two remain - James and John, the sons of Zebedee. But it is known about Jacob that he did not leave the Jewish country and suffered a martyr's death relatively early (in the year 41). Meanwhile, the Gospel was undoubtedly written after the Synoptic Gospels and probably at the end of the first century. Only John alone can be recognized as the closest apostle to Christ, who wrote the 4th Gospel. Calling himself "another student", he always adds a term (ο ̔) to this expression, clearly saying by this that everyone knew him and could not confuse him with anyone else. In his humility, he also does not name his mother, Salome, and his brother Isakov (John 19:25; John 21:2). Only App could do so. John: Any other writer would certainly mention by name at least one of the sons of Zebedee. They object: “But the Evangelist Matthew found it possible to mention his name in his Gospel” (John 9:9)? Yes, but in the Gospel of Matthew the personality of the writer completely disappears in the objective depiction of the events of the Gospel story, while the 4th Gospel has a pronounced subjective character, and the writer of this Gospel, realizing this, wanted to put in the shade his own name, which already everyone was asking for a memory.

Language and exposition of the 4th Gospel. Both the language and the presentation of the 4th Gospel clearly indicate that the writer of the Gospel was a Palestinian Jew, not a Greek, and that he lived at the end of the first century. In the Gospel, first of all, there are direct and indirect references to places in the sacred books of the Old Testament (this can also be seen in the Russian edition of the Gospel with parallel passages). Moreover, he knows not only the LXX translation, but also the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament books (cf. John 19:37 and Zech 12:10 according to the Hebrew text). Then, “the special plasticity and figurativeness of speech, which are an excellent feature of the Jewish genius, the arrangement of the members of the assumption and their simple construction, the conspicuous detail of the presentation, reaching tautology and repetition, the speech is short, jerky, the parallelism of members and whole sentences and antitheses, the lack of Greek particles in connecting sentences” and much more clearly indicates that the Gospel was written by a Jew, not a Greek (Bazhenov, Characteristics of the Fourth Gospel, p. 374). Member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences D. G. Müller, in his essay “Das Iohannes-Evangelium im Uchte der Strophentheorie” of 1909, even, and very successfully, attempts to divide the most important speeches of Christ contained in the Gospel of John into stanzas and concludes by saying the following : “At the end of my work on the Sermon on the Mount, I also studied the Gospel of John, which in content and style is so different from the Synoptic Gospels, but to my considerable surprise I found that the laws of strophic rule here to the same extent as in the speeches of the prophets, in the Conversation on the Mount and in the Quran. Doesn't this fact testify that the writer of the Gospel was a real Jew, brought up on the study of the prophets of the Old Testament? The Jewish flavor in the 4th Gospel is so strong that anyone who knows the Hebrew language and has the opportunity to read the Gospel of John in the Hebrew translation will certainly think that he is reading the original, and not the translation. It can be seen that the writer of the Gospel thought in Hebrew, but expressed himself in Greek. But this is exactly how the app should have been written. John, who from childhood was used to thinking and speaking in Hebrew, learned Greek already in adulthood.

The Greek language of the Gospel was undoubtedly original, and not translated: both the testimonies of the Church Fathers, and the lack of evidence from those critics who for some reason want to assert that the Gospel of John was originally written in Hebrew - all this is quite enough to be sure in the originality of the Greek of the 4th Gospel. Although the author of the Gospel has in his dictionary a few terms and expressions of the Greek language, but these terms and expressions are as valuable as a large gold coin, which is usually calculated by large owners. From the point of view of its composition, the language of the 4th Gospel has a κοινη ̀ διάλεκτος character common to everything. There are here in places the words of Hebrew, Latin and some terms peculiar only to this Gospel. Finally, some words in John are used in a special sense that is not characteristic of other New Testament writings (for example, Λόγος, α ̓ γαπάω, ι ̓ ου ̓ δαι ̃ οι, ζωή, etc., the meaning of which will be indicated when explaining the text of the Gospel). With regard to etymological and syntactic rules, the language of the 4th Gospel does not generally differ from the rules κοινη ̀ διάλεκτος, although there is something special here too (for example, the use of a term, the composition of a predicate in the plural with the subject of unity, etc.).

Stylistically, the Gospel of John is distinguished by the simplicity of the construction of phrases, approaching the simplicity of ordinary speech. Here we find everywhere short fragmentary sentences connected by a few particles. But these brief expressions often produce an unusually strong impression (especially in the prologue). To give special power to a well-known expression, John puts it at the beginning of a phrase, and sometimes the sequence in the structure of speech is not even observed (for example, John 7:38). The reader of the Gospel of John is also struck by the extraordinary abundance of dialogues in which this or that thought is revealed. As for the fact that in the Gospel of John, in contrast to the synoptic gospels, there are no parables, this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that John did not consider it necessary to repeat those parables that were already reported in the synoptic gospels. But he has something reminiscent of these parables - these are allegories and various images (for example, figurative expressions in a conversation with Nicodemus and with a Samaritan woman, or, for example, a real allegory about the good shepherd and the door to the sheepfold). In addition, Christ probably did not use parables in His conversations with educated Jews, and it is precisely these conversations that John mainly cites in his Gospel. The form of parables did not fit the content of Christ's speeches spoken in Judea: in these speeches Christ spoke of His divine dignity, and for this the form of images and parables was completely inappropriate - it is inconvenient to conclude dogmas in parables. The disciples of Christ could also understand the teachings of Christ without parables.

Commentaries on the Gospel of John and other writings that have this Gospel as their subject. Of the ancient works devoted to the study of the Gospel of John, the first in time is the work of the Valentinian Heracleon (150-180), fragments of which were preserved by Origen (there is also a special edition of Brook). This is followed by a very detailed commentary by Origen himself, which, however, has not been preserved in its entirety (ed. Preishen 1903). Then there are 88 conversations on the Gospel of John, belonging to John Chrysostom (in Russian, translated by Pet. D. Acad. 1902). The interpretation of Theodore of Mopsuetsky in Greek has been preserved only in fragments, but now a Latin translation of the Sirian text of this work has appeared, almost reproducing everything in full. Interpretation of St. Cyril of Alexandria was published in 1910 at the Moscow. Spirit. Academy. Then there are 124 conversations on the Gospel of John, belonging to the blessed. Augustine (in Latin). Finally, noteworthy is the interpretation of Ev. John, belonging to the blessed Theophylact (translation, under the Kaz. Spirit. Academy).

Of the new interpretations of Western theologians, the works of Tolyuk (last ed. 1857), Meyer (last ed. 1902), Luthardt (last ed. 1876), Godet (last ed. on it. 1903), Keil (1881), Westcott (1882), Schanz (1885), Knabenbauer (1906 2nd ed.), Schlatter (2nd ed. 1902) ), Loisy (1903 in French), Heitmüller (by Weiss in Novovoz. Writings, 1907), Tzan (2nd ed. 1908), G. I. Holtzman (3rd ed. 1908).

Of the most outstanding works of Western scholars of the so-called critical direction, the Gospel of John is devoted to the works of: Brechneider, Weisse, Schwegler, Bruno, Bauer, Baur, Gilgenfeld, Keim, Tom, Jacobsen, O. Holtzman, Wendt, Keijenbühl, I. Reville, Grill, Vrede , Scott, Wellhausen and others. The last major work of the critical direction is the work: Spitta [Spitta]. Das Joh a nnes evangelium als Quelle d. Geschtehe Iesu. Gött. 1910. C. 466.

In an apological direction about Ev. John wrote: Black, Stir, Weiss, Edersheim (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, the first volume of which was translated into Russian), Shastan, Delph, P. Ewald, Nesgen, Kluge, Camerlinck, Schlatter, Stanton, Drummond, Sunday, Smith, Bart, Goebel, Lepin The latest in time is the work of Lepin "a [Lepin]. La valeur historique du IV-e Evangile. 2 vol. Paris. 1910. 8 fran.. But even these works must be used with caution.

In Russian theological literature there are many explanations of the Gospel of John and individual articles and pamphlets relating to the study of this Gospel. In 1874, the first edition of the work of Archimandrite (later Bishop) Mikhail (Luzin) was published under the title: "The Gospel of John in the Slavic and Russian dialect with prefaces and detailed explanatory notes." In 1887, the “Experience in the Study of the Gospel of St. John the Theologian" by Georgy Vlastov, in two volumes. In 1903, a popular explanation of the Gospel of John, compiled by Archbishop Nikanor (Kamensky), was published, and in 1906, the Interpretation of the Gospel, compiled by B. I. Gladkov, in which the Gospel of John was also popularly explained. There are also popular explanations for the Gospel of John: Eusebius, archbishop. Mogilev (in the form of conversations on Sundays and holidays), Archpriests Mikhailovsky, Bukharev and some others. The most useful guide for getting acquainted with what was written about the Gospel of John before 1893 is M. Barsov's "Collection of Articles on the Interpretive and Edifying Reading of the Four Gospels". The subsequent literature up to 1904 on the study of the Gospel of John is indicated by prof. Bogdashevsky in Prav.-Bogosl. Encyclopedia, vol. 6, p. 836-7 and partly prof. Sagarda (ibid., p. 822). Of the latest Russian literature on the study of the Gospel of John, the following dissertations deserve special attention: I. Bazhenov. Characteristics of the fourth gospel in terms of content and language in connection with the question of the origin of the gospel. 1907; D. Znamensky. The teaching of St. app. John the Evangelist in the Fourth Gospel of the Person of Jesus Christ. 1907; Prof. Theological. The Public Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1908, part 1.

Gospel

The word "Gospel" (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον) in the classical Greek language was used to denote: a) the reward given to the messenger of joy (τῷ εὐαγγέλῳ), b) the sacrifice sacrificed on the occasion of receiving some kind of good news or a holiday made on the same occasion and c) the good news itself. In the New Testament, this expression means:

a) the good news that Christ accomplished the reconciliation of people with God and brought us the greatest blessings - mainly establishing the Kingdom of God on earth ( Matt. 4:23),

b) the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, preached by Himself and His apostles about Him as the King of this Kingdom, the Messiah and the Son of God ( 2 Cor. 4:4),

c) all New Testament or Christian teaching in general, primarily the narrative of events from the life of Christ, the most important ( ; 1 Thess. 2:8) or the identity of the preacher ( Rome. 2:16).

For quite a long time, stories about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ were transmitted only orally. The Lord Himself left no record of His words and deeds. In the same way, the 12 apostles were not born writers: they were “unlearned and simple people” ( Acts. 4:13), although they are literate. Among the Christians of the apostolic time there were also very few "wise according to the flesh, strong" and "noble" ( 1 Cor. 1:26), and for the majority of believers, oral stories about Christ were much more important than written ones. Thus the apostles and preachers or evangelists "transmitted" (παραδιδόναι) the tales of the deeds and speeches of Christ, and the faithful "received" (παραλαμβάνειν), but, of course, not mechanically, only by memory, as can be said of the students of rabbinic schools, but whole soul, as if something living and giving life. But soon this period of oral tradition was to end. On the one hand, Christians must have felt the need for a written presentation of the Gospel in their disputes with the Jews, who, as you know, denied the reality of the miracles of Christ and even claimed that Christ did not declare Himself the Messiah. It was necessary to show the Jews that Christians have authentic stories about Christ of those persons who were either among His apostles, or who were in close communion with eyewitnesses of Christ's deeds. On the other hand, the need for a written presentation of the history of Christ began to be felt because the generation of the first disciples was gradually dying out and the ranks of direct witnesses of the miracles of Christ were thinning out. Therefore, it was necessary to fix in writing individual sayings of the Lord and His whole speeches, as well as the stories about Him of the apostles. It was then that separate records of what was reported in the oral tradition about Christ began to appear here and there. Most carefully they wrote down the words of Christ, which contained the rules of the Christian life, and much more freely related to the transmission of various events from the life of Christ, retaining only their general impression. Thus, one thing in these records, due to its originality, was transmitted everywhere in the same way, while the other was modified. These initial notes did not think about the completeness of the narrative. Even our Gospels, as can be seen from the conclusion of the Gospel of John ( In. 21:25), did not intend to report all the words and deeds of Christ. This is evident, among other things, from what is not included in them, for example, such a saying of Christ: “it is more blessed to give than to receive” ( Acts. 20:35). The Evangelist Luke reports such records, saying that many before him had already begun to compose narratives about the life of Christ, but that they did not have the proper fullness and that therefore they did not give sufficient “confirmation” in the faith ( OK. 1:1-4).

Evidently, our canonical gospels arose from the same motives. The period of their appearance can be determined at about thirty years - from 60 to 90 (the last was the Gospel of John). The first three gospels are usually called synoptic in biblical science, because they depict the life of Christ in such a way that their three narratives can be easily viewed in one and combined into one whole narrative (forecasters - from Greek - looking together). They began to be called gospels each separately, perhaps as early as the end of the 1st century, but from church writing we have information that such a name was given to the entire composition of the gospels only in the second half of the 2nd century. As for the names: “The Gospel of Matthew”, “The Gospel of Mark”, etc., then these very ancient names from Greek should be translated as follows: “The Gospel according to Matthew”, “The Gospel according to Mark” (κατὰ Ματθαῖον, κατὰ Μᾶρκον). By this, the Church wanted to say that in all the Gospels there is a single Christian gospel about Christ the Savior, but according to the images of different writers: one image belongs to Matthew, the other to Mark, etc.

four gospel

Thus the ancient Church looked upon the depiction of the life of Christ in our four gospels, not as different gospels or narratives, but as one gospel, one book in four forms. That is why in the Church the name of the Four Gospels was established behind our Gospels. Saint Irenaeus called them "the fourfold Gospel" (τετράμορφον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον - see Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus haereses liber 3, ed. A. Rousseau and L. Doutreleaü Irenée Lyon. Contre les hérésies, livre 3 ., vol. 29 11, 11).

The Fathers of the Church dwell on the question: why did the Church accept not one gospel, but four? So St. John Chrysostom says: “Is it really impossible for one evangelist to write everything that is needed. Of course, he could, but when four people wrote, they did not write at the same time, not in the same place, without communicating or conspiring among themselves, and for all that they wrote in such a way that everything seemed to be pronounced by one mouth, then this is the strongest proof of the truth. You will say: "However, the opposite happened, for the four Gospels are often convicted in disagreement." This is the very sign of truth. For if the Gospels were exactly in agreement with each other in everything, even regarding the very words, then none of the enemies would believe that the Gospels were not written by ordinary mutual agreement. Now, a slight disagreement between them frees them from all suspicion. For what they say differently about time or place does not in the least impair the truth of their narration. In the main thing, which is the foundation of our life and the essence of preaching, not one of them disagrees with the other in anything and nowhere - that God became a man, worked miracles, was crucified, resurrected, ascended into heaven. ("Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew", 1).

Saint Irenaeus also finds a special symbolic meaning in the quaternary number of our Gospels. “Since there are four parts of the world in which we live, and since the Church is scattered throughout the earth and has its affirmation in the Gospel, it was necessary for her to have four pillars, from everywhere emanating incorruption and reviving the human race. The all-arranging Word, seated on the Cherubim, gave us the Gospel in four forms, but imbued with one spirit. For David also, praying for His appearance, says: "Seated on the Cherubim, reveal Yourself" ( Ps. 79:2). But the Cherubim (in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel and the Apocalypse) have four faces, and their faces are images of the activity of the Son of God. Saint Irenaeus finds it possible to attach the symbol of a lion to the Gospel of John, since this Gospel depicts Christ as the eternal King, and the lion is the king in the animal world; to the Gospel of Luke - the symbol of the calf, since Luke begins his Gospel with the image of the priestly service of Zechariah, who slaughtered the calves; to the Gospel of Matthew - a symbol of a person, since this Gospel mainly depicts the human birth of Christ, and, finally, to the Gospel of Mark - a symbol of an eagle, because Mark begins his Gospel with a mention of the prophets, to whom the Holy Spirit flew, like an eagle on wings "(Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus haereses, liber 3, 11, 11-22). In other Church Fathers, the symbols of the lion and calf are moved and the first is given to Mark, and the second to John. Starting from the 5th c. in this form, the symbols of the evangelists began to join the images of the four evangelists in church painting.

Reciprocity of the Gospels

Each of the four Gospels has its own characteristics, and most of all - the Gospel of John. But the first three, as already mentioned above, have extremely much in common with each other, and this similarity involuntarily catches the eye even with a cursory reading of them. Let us first of all speak of the similarity of the Synoptic Gospels and the causes of this phenomenon.

Even Eusebius of Caesarea in his "canons" divided the Gospel of Matthew into 355 parts and noted that all three forecasters have 111 of them. In recent times, exegetes have developed an even more precise numerical formula for determining the similarity of the Gospels and calculated that the total number of verses common to all weather forecasters goes up to 350. In Matthew, then, 350 verses are peculiar only to him, in Mark there are 68 such verses, in Luke - 541. The similarities are mainly seen in the transmission of the sayings of Christ, and the differences - in the narrative part. When Matthew and Luke literally converge in their Gospels, Mark always agrees with them. The similarity between Luke and Mark is much closer than between Luke and Matthew (Lopukhin - in the Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia. T. V. C. 173). It is also remarkable that some passages in all three evangelists go in the same sequence, for example, the temptation and speech in Galilee, the calling of Matthew and the conversation about fasting, the plucking of ears and the healing of the withered hand, the calming of the storm and the healing of the demoniac of Gadarene, etc. The similarity sometimes extends even to the construction of sentences and expressions (for example, in the citation of the prophecy Mal. 3:1).

As for the differences observed among weather forecasters, there are quite a few of them. Others are reported only by two evangelists, others even by one. So, only Matthew and Luke cite the conversation on the mount of the Lord Jesus Christ, tell the story of the birth and the first years of Christ's life. One Luke speaks of the birth of John the Baptist. Other things one evangelist conveys in a more abbreviated form than another, or in a different connection than another. The details of the events in each Gospel are different, as well as the expressions.

This phenomenon of similarity and difference in the synoptic gospels has long attracted the attention of interpreters of Scripture, and various assumptions have long been put forward to explain this fact. More correct is the opinion that our three evangelists used a common oral source for their narrative of the life of Christ. At that time, evangelists or preachers about Christ went everywhere preaching and repeated in different places in more or less extensive form what it was considered necessary to offer to those who entered the Church. In this way a well-known definite type was formed oral gospel, and this is the type we have in writing in our synoptic gospels. Of course, at the same time, depending on the goal that this or that evangelist had, his gospel took on some special features, only characteristic of his work. At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility that an older gospel might have been known to the evangelist who wrote later. At the same time, the difference between synoptics should be explained by the different goals that each of them had in mind when writing his Gospel.

As we have already said, the synoptic gospels are very different from the gospel of John the Theologian. Thus they depict almost exclusively the activity of Christ in Galilee, while the apostle John depicts mainly the sojourn of Christ in Judea. In regard to content, the synoptic gospels also differ considerably from the gospel of John. They give, so to speak, a more external image of the life, deeds and teachings of Christ, and from the speeches of Christ they cite only those that were accessible to the understanding of the whole people. John, on the contrary, omits a lot of the activities of Christ, for example, he cites only six miracles of Christ, but those speeches and miracles that he cites have a special deep meaning and extreme importance about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, while the synoptics portray Christ primarily as the founder of the Kingdom of God, and therefore direct their readers' attention to the Kingdom he founded, John draws our attention to the central point of this Kingdom, from which life flows along the peripheries of the Kingdom, i.e. on the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, whom John depicts as the Only Begotten Son of God and as the Light for all mankind. That is why the ancient interpreters called the Gospel of John predominantly spiritual (πνευματικόν), in contrast to synoptic ones, as depicting a predominantly human side in the person of Christ (εὐαγγέλιον σωματικόν), i.e. bodily gospel.

However, it must be said that weather forecasters also have passages that indicate that, as weather forecasters, the activity of Christ in Judea was known ( Matt. 23:37, 27:57 ; OK. 10:38-42), so John has indications of the continuous activity of Christ in Galilee. In the same way, weather forecasters convey such sayings of Christ, which testify to His divine dignity ( Matt. 11:27), and John, for his part, also in places depicts Christ as a true man ( In. 2 etc.; John 8 and etc.). Therefore, one cannot speak of any contradiction between the synoptics and John in the depiction of the face and deed of Christ.

Reliability of the Gospels

Although criticism has long been expressed against the authenticity of the Gospels, and recently these attacks of criticism have become especially intensified (the theory of myths, especially the theory of Drews, who does not at all recognize the existence of Christ), however, all objections of criticism are so insignificant that they are shattered at the slightest collision with Christian apologetics. . Here, however, we will not cite the objections of negative criticism and analyze these objections: this will be done when interpreting the text of the Gospels itself. We will only speak about the main general grounds on which we recognize the Gospels as completely reliable documents. This is, firstly, the existence of the tradition of eyewitnesses, of whom many survived until the era when our Gospels appeared. Why should we refuse to trust these sources of our gospels? Could they have made up everything that is in our gospels? No, all the Gospels are purely historical. Secondly, it is incomprehensible why the Christian consciousness would want - so the mythical theory asserts - to crown the head of a simple rabbi Jesus with the crown of the Messiah and the Son of God? Why, for example, is it not said about the Baptist that he performed miracles? Obviously because he did not create them. And from this it follows that if Christ is said to be the Great Wonderworker, then it means that He really was like that. And why would it be possible to deny the authenticity of the miracles of Christ, since the highest miracle - His Resurrection - is witnessed like no other event in ancient history (see ch. 1 Cor. fifteen)?

Bibliography of Foreign Works on the Four Gospels

Bengel J. Al. Gnomon Novi Testamentï in quo ex nativa verborum VI simplicitas, profunditas, concinnitas, salubritas sensuum coelestium indicatur. Berolini, 1860.

Blass, Gram. - Blass F. Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch. Göttingen, 1911.

Westcott - The New Testament in Original Greek the text rev. by Brooke Foss Westcott. New York, 1882.

B. Weiss - Wikiwand Weiss B. Die Evangelien des Markus und Lukas. Göttingen, 1901.

Yog. Weiss (1907) - Die Schriften des Neuen Testaments, von Otto Baumgarten; Wilhelm Bousset. Hrsg. von Johannes Weis_s, Bd. 1: Die drei alteren Evangelien. Die Apostelgeschichte, Matthaeus Apostolus; Marcus Evangelista; Lucas Evangelista. . 2. Aufl. Göttingen, 1907.

Godet - Godet F. Commentar zu dem Evangelium des Johannes. Hanover, 1903.

Name De Wette W.M.L. Kurze Erklärung des Evangeliums Matthäi / Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zum Neuen Testament, Band 1, Teil 1. Leipzig, 1857.

Keil (1879) - Keil C.F. Commentar über die Evangelien des Markus und Lukas. Leipzig, 1879.

Keil (1881) - Keil C.F. Commentar über das Evangelium des Johannes. Leipzig, 1881.

Klostermann A. Das Markusevangelium nach seinem Quellenwerthe für die evangelische Geschichte. Göttingen, 1867.

Cornelius a Lapide - Cornelius a Lapide. In SS Matthaeum et Marcum / Commentaria in scripturam sacram, t. 15. Parisiis, 1857.

Lagrange M.-J. Études bibliques: Evangile selon St. Marc. Paris, 1911.

Lange J.P. Das Evangelium nach Matthäus. Bielefeld, 1861.

Loisy (1903) - Loisy A.F. Le quatrième evangile. Paris, 1903.

Loisy (1907-1908) - Loisy A.F. Les evangeles synoptiques, 1-2. : Ceffonds, pres Montier-en-Der, 1907-1908.

Luthardt Ch.E. Das johanneische Evangelium nach seiner Eigenthümlichkeit geschildert und erklärt. Nürnberg, 1876.

Meyer (1864) - Meyer H.A.W. Kritisch exegetisches Commentar über das Neue Testament, Abteilung 1, Hälfte 1: Handbuch über das Evangelium des Matthäus. Göttingen, 1864.

Meyer (1885) - Kritisch-exegetischer Commentar über das Neue Testament hrsg. von Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Abteilung 1, Hälfte 2: Bernhard Weiss B. Kritisch exegetisches Handbuch über die Evangelien des Markus und Lukas. Göttingen, 1885. Meyer (1902) - Meyer H.A.W. Das Johannes-Evangelium 9. Auflage, bearbeitet von B. Weiss. Göttingen, 1902.

Merckx (1902) - Merx A. Erläuterung: Matthaeus / Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte, Teil 2, Hälfte 1. Berlin, 1902.

Merckx (1905) - Merx A. Erläuterung: Markus und Lukas / Die vier kanonischen Evangelien nach ihrem ältesten bekannten Texte. Teil 2, Hälfte 2. Berlin, 1905.

Morison J. A practical commentary on the Gospel according to St. Morison Matthew. London, 1902.

Stanton - Wikiwand Stanton V.H. The Synoptic Gospels / The Gospels as historical documents, Part 2. Cambridge, 1903. Toluc (1856) - Tholuck A. Die Bergpredigt. Gotha, 1856.

Tolyuk (1857) - Tholuck A. Commentar zum Evangelium Johannis. Gotha, 1857.

Heitmüller - see Jog. Weiss (1907).

Holtzmann (1901) - Holtzmann H.J. Die Synoptiker. Tubingen, 1901.

Holtzmann (1908) - Holtzmann H.J. Evangelium, Briefe und Offenbarung des Johannes / Hand-Commentar zum Neuen Testament bearbeitet von H. J. Holtzmann, R. A. Lipsius etc. bd. 4. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1908.

Zahn (1905) - Zahn Th. Das Evangelium des Matthäus / Commentar zum Neuen Testament, Teil 1. Leipzig, 1905.

Zahn (1908) - Zahn Th. Das Evangelium des Johannes ausgelegt / Commentar zum Neuen Testament, Teil 4. Leipzig, 1908.

Schanz (1881) - Schanz P. Commentar über das Evangelium des heiligen Marcus. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1881.

Schanz (1885) - Schanz P. Commentar über das Evangelium des heiligen Johannes. Tubingen, 1885.

Schlatter - Schlatter A. Das Evangelium des Johannes: ausgelegt fur Bibelleser. Stuttgart, 1903.

Schürer, Geschichte - Schürer E., Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi. bd. 1-4. Leipzig, 1901-1911.

Edersheim (1901) - Edersheim A. The life and times of Jesus the Messiah. 2 Vols. London, 1901.

Ellen - Allen W.C. A critical and exegetical commentary of the Gospel according to st. Matthew. Edinburgh, 1907.

Alford - Alford N. The Greek Testament in four volumes, vol. 1. London, 1863.

17:1 Father! Favorite address of Jesus to the First Person of the Trinity; occurs 109 times in this gospel. In this prayer, it is used six times, four times alone and once each with the adjectives Holy and Righteous.

the time has come. Wed from 2.4.

glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you. The theme of God's glory, which was first mentioned in 1:14, takes on special significance in this prayer. The glory given to any of the persons of the Trinity extends to the whole Trinity; the service perfectly performed by the Son in His incarnation brings glory to the Godhead as a whole. The Son is glorified in crucifixion, resurrection, and accession to the throne (see N on 12:23; 13:31).

17:2 gave. The verb "give" is used sixteen times in this prayer. This emphasizes what God gave to Jesus and what Jesus in turn gave to His disciples.

everything you gave him. It is emphasized here (see also vv. 6:9,24; cf. 6:44; 10:29) that the initiative in salvation belongs to God.

eternal life. See com. to 3.16.

17:4 did the work. These words anticipate the cry of victory from the cross: "It is done!" (19.30). Everything in the life of Jesus was aimed at glorifying God.

17:5 glorify me... with glory. Here Jesus bears witness to His divinity in two ways. First, in His very request, He states that His glory existed "before the world was," which implies that Jesus was not created, but existed forever. Secondly, in referring to the "glory" that He had there (with the Father), He speaks of the very glory that throughout the Bible is always associated with the true, living, and only God.

17:6 revealed your name. The word "name" designates God - in all His perfection, as it is revealed to the human race.

from the world. An indication that the redeemed are in the world, but are destined to be separated from it.

they were yours. Everything in the world, including people, belongs to God by the right of the Creator, but here it means that some people are determined by God for redemption. God gave the elect to the Redeemer (cf. Heb. 2:12-13).

17:7 everything...is from You. The perfect unity of the Father and the Son is one of the fundamental aspects of Jesus' teaching (5:17).

17:8 Here are three criteria that the disciples of Jesus must meet: to believe in the words of Jesus, to recognize His divine origin, and to believe in Himself.

17:9 I do not pray for the whole world. No matter how kindly Jesus treats all creation, His redeeming priestly activity extends only to the elect - to those whom the Father has given Him (10:14.15.27-29). This verse is a powerful argument in support of the doctrine of the redemption of the elect: it would be absurd for Jesus to die for those for whom He refused to pray!

17:10 and yours is mine. This is a clear assertion by Jesus of His divinity.

and I am glorified in them. See com. to 16.14.

17:11 Holy Father! This form of address occurs only in this passage in the NT, but it best expresses both the closeness of the relationship between God and His children and the majesty of God. God wants to protect His chosen ones because He cares about them, and He can protect them because His power is unlimited.

in your name. Those. "by Thy power and Thy authority, which no one can dispute." The revelation of God about Himself, manifested in word and deed, corresponds to the concept of "Your name", since for the ancients the name was an expression of essence.

so that they may be one as we are. The unity of the Persons of the Trinity serves as a majestic model for the communion of believers through their union with Christ (see 14:10-11N). This is especially emphatically emphasized in Jesus' prayer (vv. 21-23). Therefore, every Christian must constantly strive for such unity in order to glorify God, and to show love for all the children of God.

17:12 I kept them... and none of them perished. A wonderful description of the ministry that Jesus did for the apostles.

son of perdition. In 2 Thess. 2:3 the same expression is used of the Antichrist. The betrayal of Judas served as the fulfillment of the words of Scripture (Ps. 40:10) and was necessary for the fulfillment of many other prophecies that describe the sufferings of our Lord. Jesus viewed many passages of Scripture as prophesying various details of His messianic ministry and emphasized that they must all come true because they are the Word of God. In choosing Judas, Jesus was aware of the role this disciple would play in His suffering.

17:13 My joy. From these words we can conclude that Jesus prayed in the presence of the disciples so that they could draw joy in His prayer (cf. 15:11; 16:24).

17:14 I gave them your word. This is undoubtedly referring to the teaching of Jesus, which is identified with the Word of God, just as the Old Testament is the Word of God (cf. Mark 7:13; Acts 10:36; Rom. 9:6).

they are not of the world. The new birth entails a deep split in humanity. Believers also come from a fallen human world, but they continue to live in this world, no longer belonging to it (v. 16).

17:17 Sanctify them with your truth. Two notable aspects of this request of Jesus are: 1) He is not praying for the temporary welfare of the disciples, but for their sanctification; He desires above all that they should be holy; 2) He points to the means by which holiness (i.e. truth) can be attained. Just as error and deceit are the roots from which evil grows, so godliness grows from truth.

17:18 How You sent Me...and I sent them. Wed 20.21. Jesus is the ultimate missionary. Every true Christian is a "missionary" sent into the world to testify of Christ, reach lost sinners wherever they can be found, and lead them to the Savior.

17:19 I consecrate myself. The Greek verb used here can also mean "I sanctify," but Jesus, being absolutely holy, needs no further sanctification (Heb. 7:26). Being the high priest, He gives Himself (Ex. 28:41) to the work, for the fulfillment of which perfect holiness is necessary. It follows that those who belong to Him must be inspired and consecrated to their service.

17:20 about those who believe in me according to their word. From this moment on, the Lord embraces in His prayer all believers, even those of them who must come to faith after many centuries. Every true Christian can be sure that in this prayer Jesus prayed for him too.

17:21 let the world believe that you sent me. The object of this prayer is not some invisible unity, but a unity visible to the whole world, so that the world may believe (see 17:11N).

17:23 are perfected together. We have here a model of unity, according to which relationships are built both between the Father and the Son, and between the Son and the Christian (see 14:10-11N)

loved them as you loved me. This statement concerns the love of God the Father for the redeemed (3:16). Sometimes this love is not given due importance, focusing all attention on Christ's love for them.

17:24 let them see my glory. Jesus' second request in His prayer for the Church is that she be with Him in glory. He does not ask for temporary prosperity either for the disciples or for the Church as a whole, but asks that His chosen ones be holy and united on earth and then be taken to heaven.

17:25 Righteous Father! See com. to 17.11. The same as Saint.

17:26 This prayer ends with a repetition of the basic concepts: unity, knowledge, service and love. Jesus' teaching reaches its climax here.

J. Jesus' Intercessory Prayer (chapter 17)

1. JESUS' PRAYER FOR HIMSELF (17:1-5)

After washing the disciples' feet (13:1-30) and admonishing them in private (chapters 14-16), Jesus prayed (chapter 17). It is called the "priestly prayer" or the "Lord's Prayer."

Jesus ends his instruction to his disciples with a triumphant cry: I have conquered the world (16:33). In essence, this was a foreshadowing of His victory on the cross. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus did the will of the Father (Luke 4:42; 6:12; 11:1; Matt. 20-26). Now, before returning to the Father, He first prayed for Himself (17:1-5), then for the apostles (verses 6-19), and finally for the Christians of later times (verses 20-26).

John. 17:1. Jesus had special access to God in prayer as His Son. Appeal Father! repeated by Him four times in this prayer (John 17:1,5,21,24); moreover, in verse 11 Christ calls God "Holy Father", and in verse 25 - "Righteous Father".

The time has come. The time for the fulfillment of God's plan of redemption was appointed by the Father Himself. Repeatedly before that, Jesus had said that "the time had not yet come" (2:4; 7:6,8,30; 8:20). But now it has arrived (compare 12:23; 13:1).

Praise Thy Son, Jesus prayed. This request for "glorification" meant both helping in suffering and accepting the sacrifice of Jesus, and resurrecting Him, and restoring Him to His original glory. The ultimate goal was to glorify the Father in the Son, that is, Jesus' prayer was that in Him God's wisdom, power and love would be revealed. The appointment of believers is also in the glorification of God (verse 10); in essence, this is the main purpose of man (Rom. 11:36; 16:27; 1 Cor. 10:31; Eph. 1:6,12,14).

John. 17:2. From the words Because You have given Him authority over all flesh (here meaning "the whole human race"), it follows that what Jesus asked in prayer was in accordance with the plan of the Father. For the Father established the dominion of the Son over the earth (Ps. 2). Hence the right of the Son to execute judgment (John 5:27) on those who reject Him, and to give eternal life to those whom the Father has given Him. Five times in this prayer (17:2,6 - twice, 9, 24) Jesus mentions those whom the Heavenly Father has given Him.

John. 17:3. According to the definition of Jesus Christ, eternal life corresponds to the constant knowledge of the one true God through His Son (Matt. 11:27), which occurs (is implied) in the process of constant and dynamic intimate fellowship with Him. The Greek, gynoskosin ("let them know") implies precisely a deeply intimate knowledge, which follows from the use of this word both in the Septuagint and in the Greek text of the New Testament.

So, eternal life is not identical with infinite existence. For everyone will exist in one way or another indefinitely (Matt. 25:46), the point, however, is where and how exactly.

John. 17:4-5. Jesus prays for Himself on the basis of the work He has done (4:34) - the one the Father has given Him to do. By doing it, He glorified the Father on earth (compare 17:1). Despite the fact that the sufferings on the cross were just ahead of Jesus, He speaks of them as having already taken place. And proceeding from this, he repeats the request for "glorification" by His Father, that is, for the restoration of Him in the glory that He originally had with the Father.

2. JESUS' PRAYER FOR THE APOSTLES (17:6-9)

Jesus prayed for His disciples before choosing them (Luke 6:12), He prayed for them during His earthly ministry (John 6:15) and at the end of it (Luke 22:32; John 17:6- nineteen); He prays for His followers even now in heaven (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). He prays an intercessory prayer of love, which he has for "His own".

John. 17:6-8. I have revealed Your name to men, i.e., "revealed" You to them as a loving Father. Jesus is talking here about a small group of disciples that was given to Him by the Heavenly Father (verse 2, 9, 24). For this purpose they were separated from the world by the Father.

And they kept your word - in this phrase, Jesus pays tribute to the disciples for the fact that from Him and in Him they received (despite all their imperfections) the Gospel of God. Their faith in Jesus was faith in His oneness with the Father and that He came from Him, having been sent by Him.

John. 17:9-10. This prayer of His (verses 6-10) Christ in the "narrow sense" offered up for the eleven apostles, although it can also be considered as a prayer for all believers (verse 20). In any case, here Jesus did not pray for the whole world, mired in unbelief and hostility towards God. His prayer is for two things: a) that the Father would keep ("keep" verse 11) His disciples and b) sanctify them (verse 17). The Son prayed for His disciples as God's "property" from the creation of the world and according to the choice of the Father (they are Yours). The words of the Lord: And all that is Mine is Yours, and Yours is Mine - testify to His unity, closeness and equality with the Father.

From ancient times, God dwelt among people and more than once showed them His glory, but in a very special way He revealed it in His Son - Jesus Christ (1:14).

Jesus speaks of His future glorification in His disciples as a fact that has already taken place: I have also been glorified in them. This glorification of the Son through believers continually occurs in the Church Age through the work of the Holy Spirit (16:14; compare Eph. 1:12).

John. 17:11. Jesus was soon to go to the Father, while the disciples remained in the world, where, in accordance with God's plan, they were to preach the Good News of Redemption and "plant" the Church of Christ. With the formation of the Church, the world, as it were, was divided into two "kingdoms": divine and human. Because the apostles remained in an environment hostile to God and to them, Jesus prayed that the Father would protect them.

In his address to God the Holy Father, Jesus expresses the idea of ​​God's "separation" from the sinful creatures of this world; this holiness is also the basis for believers to be "separated" from the world. The world, however, is under the complete control of God, and He is able to protect believers from his sinful influence and hostile actions and "keep" them in His name (i.e., "by the power of His name"; Prov. 18:10) . (In ancient biblical times, the name symbolized the person who bore it.)

The idea of ​​Jesus is that in God - as in His refuge - Christians should find unity (the guarantee of their survival and successful work for the glory of the Son), similar to the unity of the Father and the Son: so that they may be one, like We are (compare with verses 21- 22).

John. 17:12. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus cared for the "flock" entrusted to Him by the Father. "Lost" was only Judas Iscariot. The Lord calls him the son of perdition. But in essence, Judas was never the "sheep" of Christ, and his true nature only revealed itself in his act of betrayal. He was a "dead branch" (commentary on John 15:2,6). Judas seemed to act as he wanted, however, without realizing it, he was an instrument in the hands of Satan (13:2,27). It is important to note that seemingly arbitrary actions of people in one way or another "correspond" to what God provided in His plans (Acts 2:23; 4:28). Thus, the betrayal of Judas took place in fulfillment of the prophecy recorded in Ps. 40:10 (may the Scripture be fulfilled); in it King David, betrayed by his friend, is a type of Jesus Christ.

John. 17:13. This is what Jesus says and is a consolation to his disciples. After His suffering, they will remember His words, and their joy will be perfect - from the knowledge that Jesus defeated evil and gave them eternal life.

John. 17:14. By continuing to intercede for the disciples, Jesus, as it were, reminds the Father of their "value" and of the danger that threatens them. Their value in the eyes of God was due to their acceptance of His word: I gave them Your word. The danger came for them from the worldly satanic system, to which they became alien, which is why the world hated them. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, everything in the world - "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life" (1 John 2:16) - loses its former attractiveness. Those who still share these "values" repay them with dislike.

John. 17:15. God's plan does not provide for the deliverance of believers from troubles and sorrows by "taking" them out of the world. His goal is to keep them from evil in its very abyss, so that in the midst of darkness they testify to the light.

John. 17:16-17. Just as Jesus did not belong to the satanic worldly system (I am not of the world), neither do believers. They are citizens of the kingdom of heaven (Col. 1:13) - by their new birth (John 3:3). As such, Jesus asks the Father to preserve them through sanctification (or literally, "by separating them for a special purpose").

The means of the Christian's constant sanctification is God's truth, which is "hidden" in God's word. As a person hears, accepts, and believes the truth about Jesus Christ, his heart and mind will obey it. And as a result of the change in his "mindset", his way of life also changes. At one time, God's truth sanctified the apostles, separating them from the world (15:3) to do the will of the Father, not Satan. It also applies to believers of all ages, whose purpose is to glorify God.

John. 17:18. Jesus is the model for all who believe in Him. He was in the world, but He was not of the world (14b, 16b). He was sent into the world by His Father. Christians are sent into the world by the Son - with a mission similar to the one that He fulfilled - to proclaim to mankind about the Father (20:21). And since the prayer of Jesus was offered by Him not only for a narrow circle of the apostles (17:20), then in a sense these verses (18-20 and further) echo the Great Commission of Christ recorded in Matthew (Matt. 28:18-20 ). Every Christian should consider himself as a missionary called to bring God's truth to people.

John. 17:19. In the Greek text, there is the same verb here, which in one case is translated into Russian as "I consecrate", and in another - as "sanctified." Literally in the original it says: "sanctified in the truth." This should probably be understood in the sense that God's truth is the means of sanctification (commentary on verse 17). Jesus "consecrates Himself" to the work of the Heavenly Father to the end, without stopping before suffering on the Cross, with the aim that the disciples might also be sanctified by the truth (or "in truth"), in other words, that henceforth believers would be separated from the world (sanctified) for implementation of God's plan on earth.

3. PRAYER OF JESUS ​​FOR ALL BELIEVERS (17:20-26)

John. 17:20. The final part of the Jesus Prayer (verses 20-26) was dedicated to future generations of believers who would turn to Him according to the word of the apostles. All who throughout the history of the Church have become Christians have become so (directly or indirectly) through the testimony left by the early followers of Christ. Jesus knew that His mission would be successful. He was to die and rise again and then send the Spirit to the earth, and the apostles were to go around the world with a sermon, thanks to which people would turn to the Lord, and the Church, once having arisen, would grow and strengthen.

Just as the high priest of Israel "carried" the names of all 12 tribes of Israel when he came into the presence of God (whether in the tabernacle or in the temple; Ex. 28:9-12,21-29), now Jesus, as the Great High Priest He brought into the holy presence of His Father in Heaven the "names" of all those who were to believe in the future (Heb. 4:14 - 5:12; 7:24 - 8:2).

John. 17:21. Jesus prays for the unity of believers in the coming ages (compare with verses 11, 22). This verse is most often referred to by members of the modern ecumenical movement. It cannot be denied, of course, that a divided Church is a sad phenomenon in many respects. However, formal unification or unity cannot help the cause.

And Christ prayed here not for some worldwide ecumenical Church, in which the doctrinal heresy would be "combined" with the traditional vision of God's truth, as it was preached by the apostles from the very beginning, but for unity in love, for unity in obedience to God and His word, and in this sense - about the "single" desire of Christians to fulfill His will. There is a difference between uniformity, unification and unity in the above meaning.

All believers belong to the same "body" of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), and their spiritual unity must be manifested in their way of life. The ideal of this unity to which they should aspire is the unity between the Son and the Father: …as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so they also may be one in Us (compare with John 10:38; 17: 11.23). The Father creates through the Son, and the Son always does what pleases the Father (5:30; 8:29).

This spiritual unity must be reflected in the Church. Without unity with Jesus and with the Father (and so they...in Us) Christians cannot do anything (compare 15:5). On the other hand, this unity of the disciples of all generations with Jesus in His body convincingly testifies to the world that He was indeed sent to earth by the Heavenly Father (17:23).

John. 17:22-23. By the glory that Christ gave them (apparently the Church), He may have meant the glory of the cross (verses 1-5). As the Church comprehended the full significance of the redemptive feat of Jesus Christ, the unity of believers had to be strengthened and perfected (to be perfected) - for the sake of realizing God's purposes on earth and His plan of redemption. And again the unity of Christians (let them be one is likened to the unity of the Father and the Son as We are one; compare verses 11:21).

The key to this unity of believers is the presence of Jesus Christ in them (I am in them; verse 23). And its purpose is twofold: a) for the world to believe in the Divine mission of the Son (may the world know that You sent Me) and b) for the world to realize that God's love for believers is as strong and eternal as His love for His only begotten Son (verse 26).

John. 17:24. The intimacy and fellowship of the disciples with Jesus in this life will grow immeasurably in eternity. The believer's salvation provides for his future glorification, which includes his eternal stay with Jesus (compare 14:3; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:17). Here the words of Christ, addressed to the Father, no longer sound like a request, but as an expression of His desire, will: I want them to be with Me, so that they can see My glory. Jesus speaks of the glory which He had with the Father and which He will have again (17:5). His will here will be, like a seal, sealed by His death and resurrection. And since the desire He expressed was identical to the desire and will of the Father (4:34; 5:30; 6:38), there is no doubt about its fulfillment.

John. 17:25-26. Jesus' prayer for believers ends with His appeal to God with the words: Righteous Father! The Heavenly Father is righteous, just, and the world, unlike the disciples of Christ, who did not know Him, is unrighteous. A just God will not refuse His Son's request regarding those people to whom He, who knew the Father, revealed Him, so that they also now know that Jesus was sent by God.

God is love (1 John 4:8). Christ revealed this to people in all its fullness, accepting martyrdom for them on the cross (it seems that His words should be understood in this meaning I have revealed Your name to them and will reveal it). The Son is the unchanging (and above all else) object of the Father's love, Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him. And He will transfer His love for Him to people who believe in the Son, and with it in their souls the Son - the incarnate love of the Father - will abide Himself: that the love with which You loved Me will be in them, and I in them.

So, four things Jesus asked the Father for Christians: that they be preserved by Him (John 17:11) and sanctified (verse 17); that they may be one (verse 11, 21-22) and share in his glory (verse 24). His prayer, of course, did not go unanswered (compare 11:42; 1 John 5:14).

Just as You sent Me into the world, so I sent them into the world.

And for them I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

I do not only pray for them, but also for those who believe in me according to their word,

May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they too may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

And the glory that You gave Me, I have given them: that they may be one as We are one.

I in them and You in Me; let them be perfected in one, and let the world know that you sent me and loved them as you loved me.

Father! whom You have given Me, I want them to be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory, which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father! and the world did not know you; but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me.

And I have revealed Your name to them, and will reveal it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

Interpretation of Theophylact of Bulgaria

He adds: “As you sent me into the world ... and for them I consecrate myself,” that is, I offer it as a sacrifice; so you also sanctify them, that is, set them apart as a sacrifice for preaching and make them witnesses of the truth, just as you sent me as a witness of the truth and a sacrifice. For whatever is sacrificed is called holy. “So that they too,” like I, “be sanctified” and offered to You, God, not as sacrifices under the law, slaughtered in an image, but “in truth.”

For the Old Testament sacrifices, for example, the lamb, doves, turtledoves, and so on, were images, and everything holy in the type was consecrated to God, prefiguring something else, spiritual. The souls offered to God are in truth sanctified, set apart, and consecrated to God, just as Paul says, “Present your bodies a living, holy sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

Therefore, sanctify and consecrate the souls of the disciples, and make them true offerings, or strengthen them to endure and die for the truth.

John 17:20. I do not only pray for them, but also for those who believe in me according to their word,

Said, "I consecrate myself for them." Lest anyone think that He died only for the apostles, he adds: “Not only for them, but also for all who believe in Me according to their word.” Here again He encouraged the souls of the apostles that they would have many disciples. And so that, hearing “I do not only pray for them,” the apostles would not be offended, as if He does not give them any advantage over others, consoles them, declaring that for many they will be the authors of faith and salvation.

John 17:21. May they all be one

And how He gave them enough to the Father, so that He would sanctify them by faith and make a holy sacrifice for them for the truth, finally, he speaks again about like-mindedness, and from what he began, that is, with love, he ends his speech and says: “Let there be all are one,” that is, may they have peace and unanimity, and in Us, that is, by faith in Us, may they preserve complete harmony. For nothing tempts students so much as if the teachers are divided and not of one mind.

as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so that they also may be one in Us,

For who wants to obey those who are not of one mind? Therefore, he says: "And let them be one in faith in Us, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You." The particle "as" again does not mean perfect equality. For it is impossible for us to unite with one another, as the Father with the Son. The particle "as" should be understood in the same way as in the words "be merciful, even as your Father" (Luke 6:36).

let the world believe that you sent me.

The unanimity of the disciples will prove that I, the Teacher, have come from God. But if there be dissension between them, no one will say that they are the disciples of the Conciliator; but if I am not the Reconciler, then they will not recognize me as sent from you. Do you see how He fully affirms His unanimity with the Father?

John 17:22. And the glory that You gave Me, I have given them: that they may be one as We are one.

What glory did he give? The glory of miracles, the dogmas of teaching, and also the glory of unanimity, "let them be one." For this glory is greater than the glory of miracles. “How we are amazed before God, because in His nature there is neither rebellion nor struggle, and this is the greatest glory, so,” he says, “let them be glorious for the same, that is, unanimity.”

John 17:23. I in them and You in Me; let them be perfected in one,

"I am in them, and You are in Me." This shows that the apostles contained the Father in themselves. “For I,” he says, “in them; but I have you in myself, therefore you also in them.”

In another place he says that the Father and He Himself will come and make an abode (John 14:23). By this He stops the mouth of Sabellius and shows two Faces. This also overthrows the fury of Arius; for he says that the Father dwells in the disciples through him.

and let the world know that you sent me

"Let the world know that you have sent me." Often speaks of this in order to show that the world can attract more than a miracle. For as enmity destroys, so harmony strengthens.

and loved them as he loved me.

Here again understand the “how” particle in the sense of how much a person can be loved.

John 17:24. Father! whom you have given me, I want them to be with me where I am,

Therefore, having said that they will be safe, that they will be holy, that many will believe through them, that they will receive great glory, he now speaks of the rewards and crowns that are set before them after their departure from here. “I want,” he says, “so that where I am, they should be”; and lest you, when you hear this, think that they will receive the same dignity as He, he adds:

let them see my glory,

He did not say, "Let them receive My glory," but, "Let them see," for the greatest pleasure for a man is to contemplate the Son of God. And in this is glory for all who are worthy, just as Paul says, “But we are all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). By this he shows that then they will not contemplate Him as they see Him now, not in a humble form, but in the glory that He had before the foundation of the world.

which You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

“But I had,” he says, “this glory because you loved me.” For "he loved me" is placed in the middle. Just as he said above (John 17:5): “Glorify Me with the glory that I had before the world was,” so now he says that the glory of the Godhead was given to Him before the foundation of the world. For truly the Father gave Him the Godhead, as the Father gave the Son, according to nature. Since He gave birth to Him, then, as the Cause of being, He is necessarily called the Cause and Giver of glory.

John 17:25. Righteous Father! and the world did not know you; but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me.

After such a prayer for the believers and the promise of so many blessings to them, he finally expresses something merciful and worthy of His philanthropy. He says: “Father Righteous! I would like all people to receive such benefits as I asked the faithful, but they did not know You and therefore will not receive that glory and those rewards.

"But I have known you." Alludes here to the Jews, who said they know God, and shows that they do not know the Father. For "peace" in many places he calls the Jews.

John 17:26. And I have revealed Your name to them, and will reveal it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

Although the Jews say that You did not send Me; but I have unto these My disciples "and I have made known thy name, and will make it known." How will I open it? Sending down on them the Spirit, who will guide them into all truth. And when they know who You are, then the love with which You loved Me will be in them, and I in them. For they will know that I am not alienated from You, but much loved, that I am Your true Son and united with You. Knowing this, they will keep faith in Me and love, and finally I will abide in them because they are such that they know You and honor Me as God. And they will keep their faith in Me unshakable.