Yohanes 17:20

Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere

17:20 “I am not praying ¹  only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe ²  in me through their testimony, ³ 

Yohanes 20:29

20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people ⁴  who have not seen and yet have believed.” ⁵ 

[17:20]  ¹ tn Or “I do not pray.”

[17:20]  ² tn Although πιστευόντων (pisteuontwn) is a present participle, it must in context carry futuristic force. The disciples whom Jesus is leaving behind will carry on his ministry and in doing so will see others come to trust in him. This will include not only Jewish Christians, but other Gentile Christians who are “not of this fold” (10:16), and thus Jesus’ prayer for unity is especially appropriate in light of the probability that most of the readers of the Gospel are Gentiles (much as Paul stresses unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Eph 2:10-22).

[17:20]  ³ tn Grk “their word.”

[20:29]  ⁴ tn Grk “are those.”

[20:29]  ⁵ tn Some translations treat πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") as a gnomic aorist (timeless statement) and thus equivalent to an English present tense: “and yet believe” (RSV). This may create an effective application of the passage to the modern reader, but the author is probably thinking of those people who had already believed without the benefit of seeing the risen Jesus, on the basis of reports by others or because of circumstantial evidence (see John 20:8).