Hamblin, John 17:8, Accepting the Words 1 Dec 15, 2010

John 17:8, Accepting the Words

John 17:8 (KJV, literal) John 17:8 (Greek, transliteration)

For I have given unto them the words o¢ti ta» rJh/mata a± e¶dwka¿ß moi
which thou gavest me; de÷dwka aujtoi√ß,
and they have received them, kai« aujtoi« e¶labon
and have known surely kai« e¶gnwsan aÓlhqw◊ß
that I came out from thee, o¢ti para» souv e˙xhvlqon,
and they have believed kai« e˙pi÷steusan
that thou didst send me. o¢ti su/ me aÓpe÷steilaß.
For the words which you-gave to-me hoti ta rhēmata ha edōkas moi
I-have-given to-them dedōka autois,
and them they-have-received kai autoi elabon
and they-have-know truly kai egnōsan alēthōs
that from-beside you I-have-come-out hoti para sou eksēlthon
and they-have-believed kai episteusan
that you me have-sent hoti su me apesteilas

For I have given them the words which you have given me, and they have
accepted [them]. So they truly know that I have come from beside you; and they
have believed that you have sent me.

17.8a: For I have given them the words which you have given me, and they have accepted

[them].

This passage reiterates and expands upon the concepts of 17.6-7. In those verses Jesus

reveals:

• the Name of the Father (17.6a)

• that the disciples were given to Jesus by the Father (17.6b)

• the Father’s logos/word/teaching (17.6c)

• that “all things” were given to Jesus by the Father (17.7)

Hamblin, John 17:8, Accepting the Words 2 Dec 15, 2010

Now, in verse 17.8, Christ gives the disciples the words (rhēmata, rJh/mata) which the

Father has given Christ.1 At first glance this would seen to be simply a reiteration, in John’s

frequently seemingly redundant way, of the concept in 17.6c that the disciples have “kept your

word/logos.” However, there are some subtle differences which shift the emphasis. In 17.6c the

disciples keep the words/logos. In 17.8a the disciples accept/receive (lambanō, lamba¿nw) the

words (rhēma, rJhvma, plural rhēmata). In the entire Gospel of John rhēma occurs 12 times,

while logos occurs 40 times. These two terms for word--logos and rhēma--seem to be nearly

synonymous in John, though logos may imply teachings, discourse, message or sayings, while

rhēma seems to have reference to actual words as discrete lexical items. Only in 1.1-18 does

logos seem to have the technical meaning of Christ as the cosmic and primordial Word of God.

In 17.6 the disciples keep the words, that is, they obey and follow the teachings of Jesus. While

in 17.8, the disciples accept/receive the words of Jesus, that is, they believe or learn the

teachings. This points to the dual nature of the required response of the disciples to Christ. One

element is to believe or accept the words, a second is to do or live the teachings. Both elements

are crucial in true discipleship, and will be discussed further later.

In chapter 17 Jesus uses the term logos four times (17.6, 14, 17, 20), and rhēma twice

(17.1, 8). It is quite possible that the terms are simply broadly synonyms. But it could be that

here rhēma may have very specific antecedent: a reference to specific words Christ gave the

disciples in 17.5--that is, the word of the name of the Father. Thus, when the disciples receive/

accept the words/rhēma of Jesus here, they are receiving the Name of the Father. I will discuss

1Elsewhere in his Gospel John also emphasizes that Jesus teaches the words of the Father (Jn
3.34, 8.47, 14.10, 17.4).
Hamblin, John 17:8, Accepting the Words 3 Dec 15, 2010

the implications of the reception of the Name of the Father by the disciples further in my

commentary to 17.12.

Be this as it may, the point of this verse is that Jesus has received words/rhēmata from the

Father, has given these words to the disciples, and that they have received/accepted these words.

This is in stark distinction to the repeated rejection of the words of Jesus by the world/kosmos

throughout the Gospel of John.2 Thus an important characteristic that distinguishes the disciples

from the world is that the disciples accept Jesus’ words, while the world rejects them. This is

consistent with the overall dualistic themes of John’s Gospel. 3

This passage also emphasizes another consistent theme in John, that the authority,

teachings, power, works etc. of Jesus are given from the Father, and then are transferred from the

Son to the disciples. In all things the Son serves as the intermediary between the Father and the

disciples. Likewise, as we shall see, the disciples are later called upon to serve as the

intermediaries between the Son and the world/kosmos. The importance of this concept will be

discussed in the commentary to 17.18.

17.8b: So they truly know that I have come from beside you; and they have believed that

you have sent me.

Accepting the words given by Jesus--that is, believing and living his teachings--leads the

disciples to know that Christ came from beside (para) the Father in different circumstances and

passages of John. Para is one of several different prepositions that described Christ’s

2 Jn 5.24, 38, 47, 8.47, 10.19, 12.47-48.

3 On Johannine dualism, see R. Kysar, John: The Maverick Gospel, 3rd ed. (2007), 71-92.
Hamblin, John 17:8, Accepting the Words 4 Dec 15, 2010

relationship to the Father. In the general sense these prepositions reflect simple relationships:

with, from, by, and so forth. On the other hand, in John’s theological framework these

prepositions could have a more technical meaning. In John 17 we see that Christ had his glory

“beside/para” the Father before the world was (17.5), and his teachings cause the disciples to

realize that Christ has come “from-beside/para” the Father (17.8). As I noted in 17.5a, para

technically means “beside” and could imply the enthronement of Christ on the right hand of the

Father discussed in other scriptures.

How does accepting Jesus’ words/rhēma bring the disciples to know (ginōskō) that Jesus

has come from beside the Father. The essence of the issue here is is that Christ repeatedly

testified that he came from the Father.4 It is thus a type of tautology: if the disciples accept

Christ’s words as true, they must naturally accept Christ’s claim that he comes from the Father.

In this passage we also again find the idea that the Father has “sent” (apostellō, aÓposte÷llw)

Christ to the disciples. Christ is thus the apostle/sent-one of the Father just as the disciples are to

be the apostles/sent-ones of Christ to the world. This idea will be discussed in detail in 17.18.

On the other hand, the last phrase in 17.8b raises an interesting question of the

relationship between faith and knowledge in John. We have already discussed the importance of

the Johannine concept of knowledge in the commentary to 17.3b. Here, however, a seeming

paradox appears, where the disciples simultaneously know and believe that Christ comes from

the Father. In many epistemologies, faith and knowledge are quite different. Especially in light

of Enlightenment epistemologies, knowledge is seen as a superior form of cognition to faith.

Knowledge implies certainty and objectivity, while faith implies a hopeful notion that is both

4 Jn 6.33, 8.44, 13.3, 16.27.

Hamblin, John 17:8, Accepting the Words 5 Dec 15, 2010

uncertain, unprovable, and subjective. If we are to understand John’s conceptualization, we must

banish this type of Enlightenment epistemology from our minds.

The first thing to realized is that English vocabulary on faith is rather inadequate to

express John’s conception. In English faith is a noun, with no associated verb. We can’t “faith”

someone. Rather we express this idea by saying that we believe or trust someone. In Greek the

verb pisteuō (pisteu/w) has a matching noun, pistis (pi÷stiß). These words imply “trust, belief,

confidence, reliability, and dependability”5 When reading John in English we must take two

different words--the noun “faith” and the verb “to believe”--to express a single Greek concept.

For this reason I prefer the English word trust to express the Greek pistis. Trust is both a noun

and a verb, and sometimes implies a stronger confidence than faith.

Throughout much of his gospel John talks about believing/trusting in Christ.6 But in two

passages John implies that faith and knowledge are synonyms. One is here in 17.8b, where the

disciples both know and believe that Christ is sent from the Father. The other is 6.69, where the

disciples “have believed (pisteuō), and have come to know, (ginōskō) that you are the Holy One

of God.” In this passage, Peter, speaking for the twelve, says that they simultaneously have both

faith/trust and knowledge that Jesus is the “Holy One.” Knowledge does not eliminate or even

fulfill faith. Knowledge exists simultaneous with faith. That’s why I believe trust is a better

translation for pistis/pisteuō. For John, trust and knowledge are thus two different sides of the

same coin. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot trust something you don’t know.

And if you have true and intimate knowledge of someone, you will know whether to trust them

5 BADG 816-21.
6 Jn 3.15-16, 36, 5.24, 6.40, 47, 8.31, 11.25, 20.31.
Hamblin, John 17:8, Accepting the Words 6 Dec 15, 2010

or not. Thus, while you must believe in/trust Christ to have eternal life, for John this does not

contradict, but rather compliments the idea that we must also know Christ to have eternal.