An Assumptions

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

(John 17:6-8 ESV)

To assume what someone is referring to can lead to a misunderstanding and can even miss the mark and cause the one whom you have quoted to tell you and others, that was not what I was referencing.  So as we look at these three verses lets make sure we do not take liberties with what Jesus is saying. 

When Jesus tells the Father, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.”  It’s always wise to ask the question; to whom is Jesus speaking?  He may be referring back to John 16:29-30, “²⁹ His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! ³⁰ Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”  What about Peter’s confession in the gospel of Matthew 16:15-16, when Jesus ask, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
I do not claim to know much about the law, but have been told that an eyewitness account has a strong effect on a Judge and jury, could Jesus have been referring to John the Baptist in John 1:29-34, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Could Jesus have been referring to when He left Galilee and went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths?  This was a time when the Jews were seeking to kill Him, and the people were amazed that no one was trying to arrest Him.  This is what the people were saying; “Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?”  (John 7:26b)  And look at verse 31, “Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, "When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?"      

I believe that we are safe to assume Jesus was making reference to His disciples, but that list goes much further than twelve men, it included those who believed and placed their faith in what they heard and saw.  And just a note to you who are silent about your faith, Jesus did not leave those out of the mix; in the gospel of John 12:42, those also may be who Jesus is talking about.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice