Cheryl Schatz

Hi Peter, You wrote: I agree that in John 17, Jesus may not have care over those second generation believers – but that isn’t ruled out by the text. If He is still alive when they also begin to follow Him, it seems that He would be caring for them as well. In John 17:11,12 Jesus uses specific words that should help us know who He was talking about. These were ones that Jesus said had already been given to Him. He was “keeping” them in the Father’s name. He “guarded” them and only one perished. To “Keep” means to maintain, to keep in a certain state, position, or activity. To “Guard” means to keep watch over. “Perished” means to be lost – to be or become no longer in one’s possession, whether physically or abstractly. In John 17:15, 16 Jesus asks the Father to “keep” the believing eleven from the evil one. Also, in John 17:11 Jesus asks the Father to “keep” them in the Father’s name, the name which the Father had given to Jesus. In John 18:8, 9 Jesus asks that the eleven disciples be allowed to leave and the reason is given to fulfill what He prophesied, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” From John 18:8, 9 it appears that Jesus had physical care of the disciples so that those in His care would not die prematurely. From John 17:11, 12 it appears that Jesus “keeping” them also involved spiritual care – a keeping free from the evil one. Can we agree that the “keeping” of the eleven involved saving them from physical death before their time and it also involved a spiritual “keeping” that kept them safe from the evil one? Could we also agree that the will of Jesus is that the Father would “keep” from the evil one those who believed because of the preaching of the disciples?