NT Lesson 77-78 John 17-19

https://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-seminary-teacher-manual?lang=eng

Lesson 77: John 17

Introduction

Before the Savior suffered in Gethsemane, He offered His great Intercessory Prayer. He prayed that His disciples and all who follow Him would come to know Heavenly Father and obtain eternal life, and He prayed that they might be one with Him and His Father.

I. John 17:1–8  Jesus Christ addresses Heavenly Father in prayer

---Invite students to name famous people whom they know something about. Then ask them to name the people in their lives whom they know the best.

• What is the difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing that person?
• What does it take to really know someone?
• Who are some individuals whom you feel would be important for you to get to know better? Why?

---The Savior taught about the importance of coming to know Heavenly Father and Him. Invite students to look for truths as they study John 17 that will help them come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

---To help students understand the context of John 17, point out that at some point between the time when the Savior and His disciples had eaten the Last Supper and when they entered the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus offered a prayer that is traditionally known as the Intercessory Prayer. One meaning of the word intercede is to speak to someone in behalf of another person. In this case, Jesus Christ spoke to Heavenly Father in behalf of His disciples, pleading that they might receive eternal life.

---Read John 17:1–3 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how the Savior described eternal life.

John 17:3 is a scripture mastery passage. Studying scripture mastery passages will help students increase their understanding of basic doctrines and be prepared to teach them to others. You may want to suggest that students mark scripture mastery passages in a distinctive way so they will be able to locate them easily. Refer to the teaching idea at the end of the lesson to help students with their mastery of this passage.

---For an explanation of scripture mastery and a list of additional activities to help students master these selected passages, see the appendix of this manual.

• How did the Savior describe eternal life?
• Based on verse 3, how would you state a principle that teaches what we must do to receive eternal life? (Students may use different words, but make sure it is clear that to receive eternal life, we must come to know Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.)

---To help the class understand what it means to know God, invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“It is one thing to know about God and another to know him. We know about him when we learn that he is a personal being in whose image man is created; when we learn that the Son is in the express image of his Father’s person; when we learn that both the Father and the Son possess certain specified attributes and powers. But we know them, in the sense of gaining eternal life, when we enjoy and experience the same things they do. To know God is to think what he thinks, to feel what he feels, to have the power he possesses, to comprehend the truths he understands, and to do what he does. Those who know God become like him, and have his kind of life, which is eternal life” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:762).

• How is knowing the Father and the Son different from simply knowing about Them?
• Why can’t a person obtain eternal life without knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ?
• What are some ways we can come to know the Father and the Son?

---In John 17:4–5  the Savior reported to His Father that He had finished the work His Father had given Him to do. He asked His Father to glorify Him with the same glory He had had in the premortal life.

---Read John 17:6–8 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what His disciples had done to come to know the Savior.

• What had the disciples done to come to know the Savior? (You may want to encourage students to mark the phrases “received them,” “known surely,” and “believed” in verse 8.)

II. John 17:9–19 The Savior prays for His disciples

---Read John 17:9 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for whom the Savior specifically prayed for.

• Whom did the Savior pray for as He was about to begin carrying out the Atonement?
• Why do you think the Apostles may have benefited from hearing the Savior plead in their behalf?

---Write John 17:11–18 on the board. Divide students into pairs. Invite them to study these verses with their partners, looking for what Jesus pled for in behalf of His disciples. You may want to invite students to mark what they find. After sufficient time, ask several to report what they found to the class.

---Point out that the Savior mentioned that His disciples would continue living in a world that was evil and that hated them.

• What truth can we learn from verses 14–16 about living in the world as disciples of Jesus Christ? (After students respond, write the following truth on the board: As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be in the world but not of the world.)
• What do you think it means to be in the world but not of the world?

---Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“In the Church, we often state the couplet: ‘Be in the world but not of the world.’ …

“Perhaps we should state the couplet … as two separate admonitions. First, ‘Be in the world.’ Be involved; be informed. Try to be understanding and tolerant and to appreciate diversity. Make meaningful contributions to society through service and involvement. Second, ‘Be not of the world.’ Do not follow wrong paths or bend to accommodate or accept what is not right. …

“Members of the Church need to influence more than we are influenced. We should work to stem the tide of sin and evil instead of passively being swept along by it. We each need to help solve the problem rather than avoid or ignore it” (“The Effects of Television,” Ensign, May 1989, 80).

• Why does the Lord want us to remain in the world while not being of the world?

---Invite students to work with their partners again and think of an example of how a person could be in the world but not of the world in each of the following settings:

1. At school
2. With friends
3. Online

---After sufficient time, invite a few students to explain to the class the examples they thought of. Invite a few students to share experiences they have had when they, or someone they know, appropriately demonstrated being in the world but not of the world.

---Invite students to write in their class notebooks or scripture study journals one specific way they will seek to better follow the Savior by being in the world and not of the world.

III. John 17:20–26  The Savior prays for all people who accept His gospel

---Invite a student to come to the front of the class and perform a task that will get his or her hands dirty (such as cleaning off the erasers from the board or digging for an item in a bowl of dirt). Encourage the student to try to keep his or her hands clean while performing the task.

---After the student completes the task, ask the student to display his or her hands to the class.

• How might this activity be like our efforts to be in the world but not of the world? (Despite our best efforts, we do not remain completely clean from the sins and evil that exist in the world.)
• If we could not be cleansed from our sins, what consequences would we ultimately experience? Why? (We would be separated from the presence of God forever because no unclean thing can dwell in His presence [see 1 Nephi 15:33–34].)

---Thank the student, and ask him or her to be seated.

---Read John 17:20–23 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Jesus Christ prayed for.

• What did Jesus Christ pray for? (You may want to suggest that students mark the word one wherever it appears in verses 20–23.)
• What makes it possible for us to become one with the Father and the Son? (The blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which we receive by obeying His commandments, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.)

---Write the following truth on the board: As we come unto Jesus Christ and receive the blessings of His Atonement, we can become one with the Father and the Son.

---Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

“The literal meaning of the English word Atonement is self-evident: at-one-ment, the bringing together of things that have been separated or estranged” (“The Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Mar. 2008, 34–35).

• From what you know of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, why do you want to become one with Them?

---Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by President James E. Faust of the First Presidency. Ask the class to listen for the blessing that will come to those who seek to be one with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

“We should earnestly seek not just to know about the Master, but to strive, as He invited, to be one with Him (see John 17:21). …

“… The days ahead will be filled with affliction and difficulty. But with the assuring comfort of a personal relationship with God, we will be given a calming courage” (“That We Might Know Thee,” Ensign, Jan. 1999, 2, 5).

---Testify of the importance of coming to know Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and of seeking to be one with Them.

---Invite students to ponder what they can do to better know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and strengthen their relationship with Them.

---Invite students to record their thoughts in their scripture study journals or class notebooks. After sufficient time, invite a few students who are willing to share their thoughts and feelings with the class.

Scripture Mastery—John 17:3

To help students memorize John 17:3, invite them to carry the scripture mastery card containing this passage with them during the next week. Encourage them to review the passage and practice saying it as opportunities arise. You may want to suggest that they try to recite it from memory to a family member and explain its meaning. At the beginning of class for the next few days, invite students to report on their progress with memorizing this passage.

Commentary and Background Information

John 17:3. To know God the Father and Jesus Christ

To know the Father and the Son we must have a correct understanding of Them. Many people believe that God and the Godhead are incomprehensible, but this is a false doctrine.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

“The greatest truth known to man is that there is a God in heaven who is infinite and eternal; that he is the creator, upholder, and preserver of all things; that he created us and the sidereal heavens and ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby we might advance and progress and become like him. The truth pertaining to him is that he is our Father in heaven, that he has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s, that he is a literal person, and that if we believe and obey his laws we can gain the exaltation which he possesses. Now that is the greatest truth and the most glorious concept known to the human mind” (“The Seven Deadly Heresies” [Brigham Young University fireside, June 1, 1980], 7, speeches.byu.edu).

John 17:12. “The son of perdition”

It appears that Jesus Christ used the words “son of perdition” to refer to Judas Iscariot, who at this point had left Jesus and the other eleven Apostles in order to betray Jesus to the corrupt Jewish leaders. Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noted, “Judas … was probably not a son of perdition in the sense of one who is damned forever, but in the sense that he was a son or follower of Satan in this life. See Matt. 26:21–25” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:765).

John 17:20–23. “Them … which shall believe on me through their word”

Although Jesus Christ began His Intercessory Prayer by praying for the disciples who were with Him, He expanded His prayer to include all who believe on Him “through their word.” Members of the Lord’s Church will come to know Jesus Christ through the witness and teachings of the Apostles. This helps us understand the importance of studying the teachings of the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles today. The word them in verse 22 refers to the Apostles and faithful members who have studied their teachings and are in harmony with them as they are with the Son of God. For more information concerning how we “may be made perfect in one” (John 17:23), see Doctrine and Covenants 76:69.

Supplemental Teaching Idea

John 17:20–22. “That they may be one, even as we are one”

Explain that in order for us to become one with the Father and the Son as They are one, we must have a correct understanding of the nature of the Godhead. Copy the following chart on the board, and invite students to copy it into their class notebooks or scripture study journals. (If you prefer, you can provide students with copies.) Give students time to match each scripture reference in the chart with the correct explanation from John 17 of how the Father and the Son are one.

How the Father and the Son Are One
_____ 1. John 17:1, 5, 22 _____ 2. John 17:2 _____ 3. John 17:6–8, 17 _____ 4. John 17:3, 18 _____ 5. John 17:24–26	a. One in purpose b. One in word and truth c. One in love d. One in power e. One in glory

After sufficient time, invite students to share their answers. (Answers: 1-e; 2-d; 3-b; 4-a; 5-c.) Then write the following truth on the board: The Father and the Son are one in glory, power, truth, purpose, and love.

Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in which he described the unity that exists among Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost:

“We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true” (“The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 40).

© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lesson 78: John 18–19

Introduction

After Jewish leaders arrested and questioned Jesus, they delivered Him to Pilate to be tried and condemned. Pilate consented to Jesus’s Crucifixion, even though he became convinced of Jesus’s innocence. While on the cross, the Savior placed His mother in the Apostle John’s care. After Jesus was crucified, His body was placed in a tomb.

I. John 18:1–32  Jesus is arrested and questioned by Jewish leaders, who then bring Him before Pilate

---Write the following question on the board:

When is it most difficult to care about the well-being of others?

---Invite several students to explain how they would answer the question on the board.

---Jesus Christ and the Roman governor Pilate chose to prioritize, or value, different things during the events described in John 18–19. Write Jesus Christ’s concerns and Pilate’s concerns on opposite sides of the board. Invite students to look for a truth as they study John 18–19 that can help them know what concerns should take priority in their lives.

---John 18:1–3 says that after Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot arrived with officers from the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Jesus.

• If you knew that a band of armed officers was approaching to arrest you and ultimately put you to death, what might your reaction be?

---Take turns reading aloud from John 18:4–11 and Luke 22:50–51. Ask the class to follow along, looking for how Jesus responded when this group arrived.

• What did Jesus say to those who came to arrest Him? (You may want to explain that the words these in John 18:8 and them in John 18:9 refer to the Apostles who were with Jesus.)
• According to these verses, what was Jesus Christ concerned about? (As students respond, list the following phrases on the board under “Jesus Christ’s concerns”: protecting His Apostles; healing the servant’s ear; doing Heavenly Father’s will.)

---Ask a student to read aloud the following summary of John 18:12–32:

Jesus allowed the officers to arrest Him. They took Him to Annas, one of the Jewish leaders, and then to Caiaphas, the high priest who sought to condemn Jesus to death. Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. When three different people asked Peter whether he was one of Jesus’s disciples, Peter denied knowing Him each time. After Caiaphas questioned Jesus, the Jewish leaders took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman provincial governor of Judea, to be tried and sentenced. Only the Romans had the authority to carry out a death sentence in Jerusalem.

---This trial may have taken place in the Antonia Fortress near the temple. (You might consider inviting students to turn to Bible Map 12, “Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus,” in the Bible appendix and look for the Antonia Fortress [feature 3 on the map].)

II. John 18:33–19:16  Jesus Christ is tried before Pilate

---Invite two students to read aloud the words of the Savior and Pilate, respectively, recorded in John 18:33–37. (You might invite these students before class begins to locate the lines they will read.) Consider performing the role of the narrator, or invite another student to be the narrator. As these students read their parts, ask the class to follow along, looking for what Pilate wanted to know about Jesus.

• According to John 18:33, what did Pilate want to know about Jesus?

---The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of claiming to be the king of the Jews because if Jesus claimed to be a king, He could be charged with sedition, or treason, against the Roman government (see John 19:12), a crime that was punishable by death.

• What did Jesus explain to Pilate? (His kingdom was “not of this world” [John 18:36], and He had come to earth to “bear witness unto the truth” [John 18:37].)

---Read John 18:38–40 silently, looking for what Pilate concluded about Jesus.

• What did Pilate conclude about Jesus? (He said he could “find in him no fault at all” [verse 38].)
• According to verse 39, what did Pilate do to try to have Jesus released?

---In John 19:1–5  Roman soldiers scourged and mocked Jesus. Pilate then presented Jesus before the people.

---Read John 19:4, 6 silently, looking for what Pilate repeated to the Jews (“I find no fault in him”).

• Based on Pilate’s insistence that he had found no fault in Jesus, what did Pilate likely believe was the right thing to do?

---Read John 19:7 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Jewish leaders told Pilate about Jesus.

---Invite the students who read the words of Pilate, Jesus, and the narrator to resume their roles and read aloud from John 19:8–11. Ask the class to follow along, looking for Pilate’s response when he heard that Jesus had said He was the Son of God.

• How did Pilate respond after the Jewish leaders told him that Jesus had said He was the Son of God?
• If you had been in Pilate’s position, how might you have felt after hearing what Jesus said about your power as governor? Why?

---Jesus’s statement recorded in verse 11 about the Jewish leaders having the “greater sin” indicated that if Pilate yielded to the multitude’s request and ordered Jesus to be crucified, Pilate would be guilty of sin, but not to the same degree as those who actively sought Jesus’s death.

---Read Matthew 27:19 silently, looking for what Pilate’s wife counseled him to do. Ask students to report what they find.

---Read John 19:12–15 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Pilate sought to do regarding Jesus and how the Jews responded.

• According to verse 12, what did Pilate seek to do?
• What did the Jewish leaders say to Pilate when they learned he wanted to release Jesus?

---Remember that Caesar was the Roman emperor who had granted Pilate his position as Judea’s governor. On several previous occasions, Pilate had ordered Roman soldiers to slaughter Jews, and he had defiled some of their sacred religious traditions. Pilate’s actions had been reported to Caesar, and Caesar had rebuked Pilate (see chap. 34, note 7, in James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 648–49).

• What might have happened to Pilate if the Jews had reported that he was not a “friend” to Caesar (verse 12)? (If Caesar had suspected Pilate of being disloyal to him, Caesar might have stripped Pilate of his position and power as governor.)

---Point out that Pilate had to choose between protecting his own interests and releasing the Savior, whom he knew was innocent.

---Read John 19:16 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Pilate chose to do.

• What did Pilate choose to do?
• What does this choice indicate about what Pilate was most likely concerned with? (As students respond, write the following phrases on the board under “Pilate’s concerns”: himself; his position and power.)
• What principle can we learn from Pilate’s decision to place his own interests ahead of releasing the Savior, whom he knew was innocent? (After students respond, write the following principle on the board: Placing our own interests ahead of doing what is right will lead us to sin.)
• What are some situations in which we might be tempted to place our own interests ahead of doing what is right?
• What can we do to overcome the temptation to place our own interests ahead of doing what is right?

---Invite students to look for what they can learn about the character of Christ compared to the character of Pilate as they study the final moments of Jesus Christ’s mortal life.

III. John 19:17–42  Jesus is crucified, and His body is placed in a tomb

---In John 19:17–24 Jesus carried His cross to Golgotha, where He was crucified.

---Read John 19:25–27 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for who was present when Jesus was crucified.

• Who was standing near the cross when Jesus was crucified? (After students respond, explain that the phrase “the disciple … whom [Jesus] loved” [verse 26] refers to the Apostle John, also known as John the Beloved.)
• According to verses 26–27, whom was Jesus concerned for as He hung upon the cross? What did He instruct John to do? (Take care of His mother as if she were John’s own mother. On the board under “Jesus Christ’s concerns,” write His mother’s well-being.)

---If possible, provide students with copies of the following statement by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ask a student to read the statement aloud.

“Character is revealed … in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress. Thus, character is demonstrated by looking and reaching outward when the natural and instinctive response is to be self-absorbed and turn inward. If such a capacity is indeed the ultimate criterion of moral character, then the Savior of the world is the perfect example of such a consistent and charitable character” (“The Character of Christ” [Brigham Young University–Idaho Religion Symposium, Jan. 25, 2003], 2–3).

• Based on what we have learned from John 18–19 about the Savior’s character, what can we do to follow His example? (After students respond, write the following truth on the board: We can follow the Savior’s example by choosing to help others even when we are in need ourselves.)
• How can we overcome the desire to be concerned primarily with ourselves and choose to help others even when we may be in need ourselves?
• When have you seen someone follow the Savior’s example by choosing to help others even when he or she was in need?

---You may want to share your testimony of Jesus Christ and the perfect example He set of putting others’ needs before His own. Invite students to write in their class notebooks or scripture study journals what they will do to follow the Savior’s example.

---John 19:28–42 says that after Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’s body. Joseph and Nicodemus then prepared the Savior’s body and placed it in a tomb, which Joseph had donated.

Commentary and Background Information

John 18:5–8. “I am he”

“These words [‘I am he’] are translated from the Greek phrase egō eimi, used in many other places in John in reference to the divinity of Jesus Christ. … After the Savior said these words, the men and officers ‘went backward, and fell to the ground’ (John 18:6), ‘apparently unable to exercise power over Jesus unless permitted to do so’ (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:780). ‘The simple dignity and gentle yet compelling force of Christ’s presence proved more potent than strong arms and weapons of violence’ (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 615). This detail shows that the Savior had the ability to overpower his captors but voluntarily submitted to arrest and crucifixion” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 256).

John 19:12, 16. Why did Pilate make a decision he knew was wrong?

Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles provided this helpful insight into why Pilate made a decision that he knew was wrong:

“Wherein lay the cause of Pilate’s weakness? He was the emperor’s representative, the imperial procurator with power to crucify or to save; officially he was an autocrat. His conviction of Christ’s blamelessness and his desire to save Him from the cross are beyond question. Why did Pilate waver, hesitate, vacillate, and at length yield contrary to his conscience and his will? Because, after all, he was more slave than freeman. He was in servitude to his past. He knew that should complaint be made of him at Rome, his corruption and cruelties, his extortions and the unjustifiable slaughter he had caused would all be brought against him. He was the Roman ruler, but the people over whom he exercised official dominion delighted in seeing him cringe, when they cracked, with vicious snap above his head, the whip of a threatened report about him to his imperial master, Tiberius” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 641).

Elder Talmage further observed that “Pilate knew what was right but lacked the moral courage to do it” (chap. 34, note 7 in Jesus the Christ, 648).

John 19:31–36. “The Jews … besought Pilate that their legs might be broken”

Victims of crucifixion sometimes lived in torment for several days before dying. After crucified persons had died, Romans customarily left the bodies on crosses to deter other would-be criminals. The law of Moses, however, prohibited leaving the bodies of criminals to hang on a tree overnight (see Deuteronomy 21:22–23). Also, in the case of Jesus’s crucifixion, the next day was the Sabbath. Therefore the Jewish leaders, wanting to have the bodies removed from the crosses before the Sabbath began at sundown, sought to hasten the deaths of the three men on the crosses by asking that their legs be broken. This would cause the victims to suffer cramping in the chest and restricted breathing because they could no longer use their legs to support their weight. After breaking the legs of the other two crucified men, the Roman soldiers found Jesus already dead and so had no need to break His legs.

This important moment on the cross fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy: “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken” (Psalm 34:20). Additionally, the Lord had instructed Israel that Passover lambs, which foreshadowed Jesus’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God, were not to have their bones broken (see Exodus 12:46).

Supplemental Teaching Idea

John 18. Video presentation—“To This End Was I Born”

To help students understand the content of John 18:33–19:42, you may want to show a portion of the video “To This End Was I Born” (27:12), available on New Testament DVD Presentations 1–25 and on LDS.org. Pause the video after Jesus’s response to Pilate recorded in John 18:37 (“For this cause came I into the world” [time code 4:04]). Then ask the class:

Play

• According to John 18:33, what did Pilate want to know about Jesus?

Continue with the lesson as outlined. After the question “According to verse 39, what did Pilate do to try to have Jesus released?” resume showing the video, beginning at time code 11:30. Pause it at time code 15:35, just after Barabbas is summoned from his prison cell. Continue the lesson by inviting students to read John 19:4, 6 silently, looking for what Pilate repeated to the Jews (“I find no fault in him”). At the end of the lesson, instead of summarizing John 19:28–42, resume playing the video at time code 15:36 and stop it after the stone is rolled in front of the tomb (time code 22:13).

© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

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