In the New Testament, Chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples immediately after the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion.
The discourse is generally seen as having distinct components. First, Jesus tells the disciples that he will be going away to the Father, that he will send the Holy Spirit to guide the disciples. Jesus bestows peace on the disciples and commands them to love one another. The expression of the unity of love between Jesus and his Father, in the Spirit, as it applies to his disciples in the love of Christ, is a key theme in the discourse, manifested by several reiterations of the New Commandment: "love one another as I have loved you".
The next part of the discourse contains the allegory of The Vine which positions Jesus as the vine (the source of life for the community) and the disciples as the branches, building on the pattern of discipleship in the gospels. The Vine again emphasizes the love among the disciples, but Jesus then warns the disciples of upcoming persecutions: "If the world hates you, remember that they hated me before you".
In the final part of the discourse (John 17:1-26) Jesus prays for his followers and the coming church. This is the longest prayer of Jesus in any of the gospels, and is known as the Farewell Prayer or the High Priestly Prayer. The key themes of the prayer are the glorification of the Father and petitions for the unity of the disciples through love. Jesus prays to the Father that his followers "may all be one as we are one" and that "the love with which you love me may be in them, and I in them."
Read more about Farewell Discourse: Structure and Overview, Historicity
Famous quotes containing the words farewell and/or discourse:
“It is impossible to say all that we think, even to our truest Friend. We may bid him farewell forever sooner than complain, for our complaint is too well grounded to be uttered.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In my experience, persons, when they are made the subject of conversation, though with a Friend, are commonly the most prosaic and trivial of facts. The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the character of individuals. Our discourse all runs to slander, and our limits grow narrower as we advance. How is it that we are impelled to treat our old Friends so ill when we obtain new ones?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)