Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 17:26

"and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them." — John 17:26 (ASV)

And I in them.

Sacred, mystical union! May our souls enjoy it day by day.

And will declare it: that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

This prayer is for you, and for me, as much as for the twelve apostles. May the Lord fulfill it in all of us as well as in them, for his dear name's sake!

Amen.

That the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Oh, that this love may be in us, for Christ's sake! Amen.

And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it

I read it to you as it stands.

Our good translators were always afraid of using a word too often, for fear of falling into tautology.

So, for what they considered the beauty of the language, they used the word "declared" instead of "made known"; but why should they have done so?

Who were they that they should have wanted to improve on Christ's words?

It should be the same word consistently: The world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have made known unto them thy name, and will make it known:

And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it:

As long as Christ lived, he revealed his Father's glory, and so should we. If we have declared it, we should say, And will declare it. That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26) Thus the glorious union stands. May we always rejoice in it.