In John chapter 17 we embark upon one of the most remarkable and profound passages in the whole of Scripture. Every believer reading this chapter must surely feel they are standing on holy ground for the majesty of the subjects involved and the blessedness of those things requested from God by our Lord Jesus Christ. As we enter into this chapter let us do so with excitement and humility, and let us note this fact; there never was a request made by the Son of God that was not abundantly granted by His loving Father.

It is a wonder of divine mercy that the holy Lord God has stooped to speak to sinful men. Twice in these verses the Lord Jesus tells His disciples, ‘These things have I spoken unto you’. God’s creatures should listen when their Maker speaks. We ignore Him at our peril. A day is coming when the Lord will say ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire’ and no one will resist. Until then Paul says, ‘to you is the word of this salvation sent’. May God give us ears to hear the Saviour when He says ‘these things have I spoken unto you’. 

We ought not to forget joy. There is joy in the Lord and a joy from the Lord that belongs to all believers, a joy the world knows nothing of and no man can take away. Paul says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice’ and here the Lord Jesus promises His disciples that in a little while their joy will be full. As believers in Christ our cup is running over. The joy of the Lord is given in good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.