Knowledge of the Son of God and his compassionate redemption is necessary for eternal life
Fr. Steven Scherrer, MM, Th.D.
Homily of Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 21, 2023
Acts 1:12-14, Psalm 26 (27), 1 Peter 4:13-16, John 17:1-11

Scripture quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that thy Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do; and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made.

“‘I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept by word. Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee; for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one’” (John 17:1-11).

This is Jesus high priestly prayer that comes at the end of his farewell discourse to his disciples during the Last Supper. He addresses this prayer to his Father, asking his Father to glorify him, the Son, so that he, the Son, may glorify his Father. Then he says, “Thou hast given him [the Son] the power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him” (John 17:2). Who are these whom the Father has given him? They are those who believe in the Father and in the Son. This he says in the next verse, “And this is eternal life, that they know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

To have eternal life one must not only know God in some general sense or as the pagan Greeks and Romans knew him through their mythology, which was a very low and unworthy understanding of God. Eternal life is knowing God as he is revealed by Jesus. But in addition to knowing God correctly they must also know Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Messiah whom God has sent.

This is a very clear statement that eternal life requires a true knowledge of God as well as a knowledge of the Son of God, the Messiah Jesus Christ. “This is eternal life, that they know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

Faith in the Son of God is necessary for eternal life, as Jesus says, “He who believes in him [the Son] is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). Jesus also said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him” (John 3:36).

St. John also says, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life” (1 John 5:11-12).

Saint Peter calls Jesus Christ a stone, saying, “This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12). There is only one Savior sent to the world by God by which salvation can be obtained, and this one Savior is Jesus Christ.

So eternal life comes through knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ. We need both. “The knowledge of God here spoken of, is not the knowledge of him by the light of nature, and the works of creation; for a man may know God in this sense, and not know him in Christ nor anything of Christ” (John Gill, 1697-1771).

“Nor is eternal life known hereby, nor connected with it: nor is such a knowledge of God as is obtained by the law of Moses, in which God is represented as a righteous and incensed Being” (John Gill).

The knowledge necessary for salvation is rather “to be understood of an evangelic knowledge of God, as the God and Father of Christ, as the God of all grace, pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin, and of Christ Mediator; not a general, emotional, and speculative knowledge; but a practical and experimental one; a knowledge of approbation and appropriation; a fiducial one, whereby a soul believes in Christ, and trusts in his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice for salvation; and which, though imperfect, is progressive” (John Gill).

“‘It is life eternal to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.’ The mere knowledge of God is not sufficient, and saves not. We must know the Son as well as the Father. God known without Christ, is a Being whom we can only fear, and dare not approach. It is ‘God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself,’ who alone can give to the soul life and peace” (JC Ryle, 1816-1900).

“Wherever the glorious Savior of sinners sees true faith in Himself, however feeble, He looks with compassion on many infirmities, and passes by many defects. It was even so with the eleven apostles. They were weak and unstable as water; but they believed and loved their Master when millions refused to own Him” (JC Ryle).

Christ’s special love is for those who come to him with faith. “It is true that Christ loves all sinners, and invites all to be saved; but it is also true that He especially loves the ‘blessed company of all faithful people,’ whom He sanctifies and glorifies. It is true that He has wrought out a redemption sufficient for all mankind, and offers it freely to all; but it is also true that His redemption is effectual only to those who believe. Just so it is true that He is the Mediator between God and man; but it is also true that He intercedes actively for none but those who come to God by Him” (JC Ryle).  

We see that “this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). We see here the urgency and centrality of mission in New Testament Christianity, since it is necessary that we know not only God but also Jesus Christ to obtain eternal life.

Jesus next says, “I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus glorifies his Father by accomplishing the work of redemption. He speaks as though it were already accomplished, namely his death on the cross and resurrection.

Now Jesus is thinking of his return to his Father in heaven, saying, “And now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made” (John 17:5). He wants to return to the glory of his pre-incarnate state but now with his human body with him.

He goes on to say, “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word” (John 17:6). Jesus has gathered his disciples, taught them the name of God, and they have kept God’s commandments and word.

He says, “Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee; for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me” (John 17:7-8). In other words, his disciples now know that all the teaching that he has given them comes from the Father, for he has given them the words that his Father gave him. And they have received them and now they truly know that he came from God, and they believe that God sent him. In other words, they believe that he is the Messiah and Savior sent to the earth from God to preach to them God’s good news of salvation.

Next, he says that he is praying for his disciples, not for the world: “I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine” (John 17:9). Jesus may have prayed for the world at other times, but now he is focusing on those who have believed that he truly came from God and is the only Savior that God has sent to the world.

He says, “All mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them” (John 17:10). In other words, all his own disciples are his Father’s disciples, and his Father’s special people are also Jesus’ special people. And says that he is glorified in them: “I am glorified in them” (John 17:10). He is glorified by their preaching this same good news of salvation.

Next, Jesus refers to his bodily departure from this world, leaving his disciples behind. He is departing to go to his Father. So he asks his Father to keep them in his Father’s name so that they may be one among themselves, even as Jesus and the Father are one. He says, “And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:11).