John 17:25 kjv
O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
John 17:25 nkjv
O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
John 17:25 niv
"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.
John 17:25 esv
O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
John 17:25 nlt
"O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.
John 17 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 7:9 | Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end... You, O righteous God... | God's righteous character |
| Ps 145:17 | The LORD is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. | Affirmation of God's righteousness |
| Rom 3:25-26 | God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement... to demonstrate His righteousness. | God's righteousness in salvation |
| Rev 16:5 | "You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be..." | Heavenly declaration of God's eternal righteousness |
| Rom 1:28 | As they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God... | The world's active rejection of God |
| 1 Cor 1:21 | For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God... | Humanity's inability to know God by worldly wisdom |
| Eph 4:18 | They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance... | The world's spiritual blindness |
| John 1:10 | He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. | The world's rejection of its Creator |
| 1 John 4:8 | Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. | Ignorance of God connected to lack of love |
| John 8:55 | You have not known Him, but I know Him. | Jesus' unique knowledge of the Father |
| Matt 11:27 | "No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him." | Jesus as the sole revealer of the Father |
| John 10:15 | Just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father... | Mutual, intimate knowledge between Father and Son |
| John 14:7 | "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him..." | Knowledge of Jesus is knowledge of the Father |
| John 16:3 | And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. | The world's persecution due to ignorance |
| John 6:68-69 | Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." | Disciples' foundational confession of Jesus' identity |
| John 16:27 | "for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from God." | Belief in Jesus' divine origin by disciples |
| 1 John 5:20 | And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true... | Understanding granted by the Son |
| Heb 1:1-2 | God, who at various times and in various ways spoke... has in these last days spoken to us by His Son... | Christ as the ultimate revelation |
| Col 1:15 | He is the image of the invisible God... | Jesus as the visible manifestation of God |
| 2 Cor 4:6 | ...God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. | Divine illumination to know God through Christ |
| John 14:6 | "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." | Exclusivity of knowing the Father through Jesus |
| John 1:18 | No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son... He has declared Him. | Jesus reveals the unseen God |
John 17 verses
John 17 25 Meaning
John 17:25 expresses a profound contrast concerning the knowledge of God. Jesus addresses God as "O righteous Father," establishing a foundational characteristic of the Divine. He then highlights the world's spiritual ignorance and rejection of God. In stark opposition, Jesus proclaims His unique and perfect experiential knowledge of the Father. Crucially, the verse reveals that a select group—His disciples—have come to an experiential understanding that Jesus Himself was sent by the Father, a knowledge granted through Jesus' revelation, forming the core of their relationship with God and distinction from the "world."
John 17 25 Context
John chapter 17 is known as Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, uttered shortly before His crucifixion and departure from the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. This intimate and extensive prayer marks a pivotal moment, revealing Jesus' heart and His relationship with the Father, His immediate disciples, and all future believers. In this chapter, Jesus intercedes for His glorification, the protection and sanctification of His followers, and their unity.
Verse 25 is positioned towards the end of the prayer, where Jesus contrasts the world's spiritual condition with the truth revealed to His own. It underscores the spiritual separation between the "world" (humanity alienated from God) and those who have received revelation through Him. Historically, the original audience, comprising Jewish followers of Jesus, would understand the gravity of God's "righteousness" (Hebrew tzedeq) and the unique claim Jesus made about knowing God intimately, a concept often reserved for the patriarchs or prophets, yet now asserted in an unparalleled manner by Jesus. The polemic is against any contemporary belief that posits an accessible or knowable God apart from Jesus' specific revelation.
John 17 25 Word analysis
- O righteous Father (Πάτερ δίκαιε, Patēr Dikaie):
- O righteous (δίκαιε, dikaie): This is a direct address, emphasizing God's intrinsic and unyielding attribute of righteousness. Greek dikaios denotes absolute moral uprightness, justice, and faithfulness to His own nature and promises. This serves as the unchanging standard against which all actions, including the "world's" ignorance, are measured. It implies God's integrity in all His dealings, especially in the plan of salvation, contrasting with the world's moral corruption and ignorance.
- Father (Πάτερ, Patēr): Signifies a relationship of deep intimacy, authority, and source. The combination "righteous Father" affirms His character both in justice and in His loving provision.
- the world (ὁ κόσμος, ho kosmos):
- Greek kosmos here refers not to the physical creation, but to fallen humanity organized in opposition to God, representing systems, values, and mindsets alienated from divine truth. It encapsulates the unbelieving human realm that rejects spiritual reality.
- hath not known thee (οὐκ ἔγνω σε, ouk egnō se):
- Hath not known (οὐκ ἔγνω, ouk egnō): From Greek ginoskō, indicating a lack of true, experiential, and relational knowledge, not merely intellectual information. It denotes a failure to perceive, acknowledge, or enter into communion with God. This spiritual blindness is presented as a moral failing rather than simply intellectual ignorance.
- but I (κἀγὼ, kagō - a contraction of kai egō):
- but I: The conjunction kai (and, but) emphasizes a stark contrast, and the emphatic personal pronoun egō ("I") underscores Jesus' unique identity and singular relationship with the Father. It highlights His unparalleled status.
- have known thee (ἔγνων σε, egnōn se):
- have known (ἔγνων, egnōn): Again, ginoskō, but here signifying a perfect, continuous, and absolute experiential knowledge and intimacy unique to the Son. Jesus knows the Father perfectly because He shares the divine essence with Him.
- and these (οὗτοι δὲ, houtoi de):
- and these: Refers specifically to the eleven disciples present with Jesus at the time of the prayer (excluding Judas). It highlights their distinct identity and status as those chosen by God and called by Jesus.
- have known (ἔγνωσαν, egnōsan):
- have known: Ginoskō, indicating the disciples' acquisition of genuine, saving, experiential knowledge. This knowledge is not identical in kind to Jesus' divine knowledge but is true, Spirit-enabled recognition of His identity and mission.
- that thou hast sent me (ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας, hoti sy me apesteilas):
- hast sent (ἀπέστειλας, apesteilas): From Greek apostellō, signifying a divine commission, divine origin, and divine authority. This is the crucial aspect of Jesus' identity that the disciples have known experientially—that Jesus is God's commissioned emissary, embodying His will and power. This foundational belief in Jesus' divine sending is the basis of their faith and the channel through which they come to know the Father.