2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES
Wednesday in the Word
Second Baptist Church
April 8, 2026
John 17:6-John 18:6
We continue our study of Jesus’s prayer before he is crucified. This happened on the night that he washed the disciples’ feet and ate the Passover meal. His prayer is in three sections. Jesus prays for Himself (1-5), Jesus prays for His disciples (6-19), and Jesus prays for the believers in the future (20-26).
Verses 6-10. It is awesome to know that Jesus prays for his disciples knowing full well they will betray and abandon him. Jesus prayed this entire prayer with His soon departure in mind. He realized that He would no longer remain in the world, but His disciples would. They therefore needed special prayer. They needed prayer because the unique three years of disciplesldp during His earthly ministry would be over. They needed prayer because of the circumstances surrounding the departure of Jesus; His betrayal, arrest, trial, beatings, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. They needed prayer because Jesus would not be there in His bodily presence to help them. They needed prayer because of the necessary role of the Holy Spirit; both for the sending of the Spirit and their constant reliance upon Him. Jesus doesn’t base his love for us based on our failures but based on our victory in him. Jesus knows that we can recover from any setback in his power. Jesus acknowledges the disciples as God’s gift to Him. He has faithfUlly taught and guided them, and they have responded with obedience to God’s Word. Their relationship with Him reflects God’s initiative in choosing and sustaining His followers.
Verses 11-14. The second request for protection from the evil one acknowledges the spiritual battles and temptations the disciples will face. Jesus does not ask for their removal from the world but prays for their strength and resilience against spiritual adversities.
Verses 15-19. The third request for sanctification reveals Jesus’ concern for the disciples’ spiritual growth and holiness. Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God’s purposes, and Jesus identifies God’s word as how this sanctification is accomplished. This highlights the transformative power of Scripture in the believers’ lives.
Verses 20-26. Jesus prays for all the believers not just his immediate disciples. Our Lord desires us to conduct ourselves as though His return were imminent, even though it may not happen in our lifetime. Jesus does not petition the Father to save these people. Those who will come to faith have already been given to Him as a gift by the Father (see verses 2, 24). Our Lord prays that all those who believe may be one. This is not mere organizational unity; it is an organic and functional unity. It is the same kind of unity that the Father has with the Son. As the Father is “in” the Son, and the Son is “in” the Father, and thus the two are one, so all believers are “in” Christ. Because of their unity with the Son, they are also one with the Father, and one with each other. This unity is both positional and practical. It is also supernatural. It is for the practical outworking of this supernatural unity that our Lord prays here. The unity of those who are believers in Jesus Christ should be visible to the unsaved world. As the world beholds this unity, they see the presence and the power of the resurrected Christ in His church. Much of verses 22 and 23 is a repetition of verses 20 and 21. In both places, Jesus prays for unity among believers. Again, in both places, this unity is based upon the unity that exists between the Father and the Son. Further, the purpose for demonstrating this unity is so that the world may know that the Father sent the Son. Two new elements are introduced, however, which are very significant, The first additional element is that of the “glory” which the Father gave to the Son and the Son has given to believers in Him. The glory the Father gave the Son was the glory of the humility of the incarnation, culminating both in the glorification of the Son at the crucifixion and in the glory of his resurrected and exalted state. The glory the disciples get is the glory of sevanthood and of sacrificial service. The second new element in our text has to do with the intended impact of the believers’ unity upon unbelievers. Our unity should express itself in love toward one another. And since this is a divine love, it reveals God’s love to the world. Men should see God’s love in action, as Christians love one another, because they are one with one another, and
John 18. Verse 1. Jesus and his disciples moved towards the Garden of Gethsemane. John does not give us the details of Matthew and Luke but gets right to the point. The Hour had come for Jesus to be offered up as an atoning sacrifice for the souls of mankind. The mention of the garden is important because it holds great symbolism. The word Gethsemane means oil press or wine press. This would mean that the garden was a place where the olives came to maturity and were pressed into oil. It is here that our savoir is at the point where he is also to be pressed and crushed. He has completed his task and now all that is left is for the crushing of his body. Sometimes preceding the greatest victories comes the hardest pressing. Oil cannot flow without the olives being pressed. The Spirit of God would not flow like oil until Jesus was pressed for our sins.
Verses 2-3. The details of the garden are not the focus, but the fact that Jesus willingly surrendered to the temple guards there was. Jesus would be betrayed by a familiar person in a familiar place. Judas who had been with Jesus from the beginning has led a group to arrest Jesus. John informs us that among those present in this arresting “mob” were a significant number of Roman soldiers (detachment). What a sight this must have been. It was something like a torchlight parade, streaming out of Jerusalem toward the Mount of Olives and into the Garden of Gethsemane. There were the chief priests and Pharisees, accompanied by the temple police, a sizeable crowd of Jews, and a group of Roman soldiers. They were armed with torches, swords, and even elubs. (I doubt that the Romans allowed the Jews to bear arms, so it is likely that the club-bearers were Jews.) it would seem they had prepared for the worst. They expected Jesus to attempt to escape, or at least to resist arrest. They came with torches, ready to pursue Him into the darkness if He attempted to evade them. They came expecting trouble, and they were prepared to deal with it. As an added precaution they had enlisted Rome’s help as well. Since the Roman soldiers (and others, perhaps) did not know what Jesus looked like, Judas was to identify Him by going up to Him and giving Him a kiss. It seemed like such a great plan. They could not fail this time. And they did not. But it was not due to their brilliant scheme, nor to their superior numbers. It was because this was our Lord’s “hour,” and He was in complete control. This will be evident in the events that follow.
Verses 4-6. From the gospels of Mark Matthew and Luke, we know what the plan was. Judas had prearranged a signal (a kiss) by which he would positively identify Jesus. John, however, leaves the kiss of Judas out of his account. The only purpose it serves is to reveal the character of Judas. How fitting that our Lord’s betrayer should do so with a kiss. He used the token of love and affection as the means to hand Jesus over to His adversaries. Even today we can betray the cause of Christ while we are seemingly affectionate to the Lord. John tells us in verse 4 that Jesus “knew everything that was going to happen to Him,” and this is why He stepped forward and asked them, “Who are you looking for?” Did the Jews think that Jesus would run and seek to hide from them? Did they expect to conduct a manhunt that night? Did they wonder how they would identify Jesus for sure? Jesus stepped forward and asked who it was they were seeking, and then when they gave His name, He identified Himself as the One they were looking for. The Jewish religious leaders expected trouble when they set out to arrest Jesus. This is why they brought a large crowd with them, equipped with weapons ranging from clubs to swords. But instead of the scenario they had pictured in their minds, it was completely different. Jesus did not flee from them; He boldly walked right up to them. Then He asked who they were seeking. When they indicated they were seeking “Jesus of Nazareth,” Jesus identified Himself as the One they were seeking. Jesus responded, “I Am He),” but I do not believe that they grasp the full significance of these words. They were disarmed (so to speak) by our Lord’s boldness, and those nearest Jesus stepped backward. If the Jewish officials and the temple police were trying to maintain an aura of authority, it was no longer possible.
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