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NASB | John 17:2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 17:2 "Just as You have given Him power and authority over all mankind, [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him [to be His--permanently and forever]. |
Bible Question:
First, I am thankful to find such a forum as this, where God's word is held in it's proper regard. I firmly believe that comparing scripture with scripture is the single best method of Bible interpretation, but this one has me stumped. In my studies in John, I don't find the significance of the use of the third person, in this and related verses, by Jesus. "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Is there a significance or is it a peculiarity of the translation? Thanks for your input. |
Bible Answer: Greetings Pkbldr, At the end of John chapter 16, Jesus is referring to Himself by saying "I have conquered the world." But we notice a change in point of view when Jesus raises His eyes to heaven in chapter 17 and says, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.." speaking of Himself from the third person point of view. But the action of Jesus looking up into heaven and beginning with address Father are typical of Jesus at prayer: John 11:41, Luke 11:2, even though John 17:1-3 is different from these two passages in which Jesus is referring to Himself but in the third person. Actually there are more than 80 places where Jesus refers to Himself in the third person as the "Son of Man". In most of those places, He is associating it with one of two prophecies concerning Himself; either that the Son of Man will suffer and be killed, (Matt. 17:12, Mark 8:31, 9:12, Luke 9:22) or that the Son of Man will come again in glory and final judgement (Matt. 16:27, 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26, 21:27). Only in a very few places He doesn't use "Son of Man" that way. Therefore, I would conclude that the reason that there is a switch to third person perspective is due to the fact that Jesus is speaking of God's overall plan of salvation, which is the Son's mission. It had not been finished yet, but soon would, and Jesus is speaking first to the Father, then about Himself, and then switching back to the first person (17:4-26), speaking of His disciples, and then all who would come to believe (v. 20). Jesus begins speaking in the third person perspective because He is speaking of God's plan of salvation for all humankind - it is not an 'I' or a 'we' or a 'me' or a 'you': salvation affects everyone - all humankind. The mission of Jesus was not for Jesus alone, nor was it ever meant to be - it was meant to drastically and forever rewrite the relationship between God and his creation, thus having an affect on all creation. A first person persective in verses 1-3 just would not seem to be appropriate in that context. Blessings to you, Makarios |