John17

Jesus prays to the Father, seeking glorification after completing His earthly work, and desires to return to His pre-existent glory. He then intercedes for His immediate disciples, asking for their preservation, unity, and sanctification through truth, as they are in the world but not of it. Finally, He extends His prayer to all future believers, requesting their perfect unity with each other and with the Father and Son, so the world may believe.

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Jesus Prays for His Glorification

These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee:

even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life.

And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.

I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do.

And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Jesus Prays for His Immediate Disciples

I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.

Now they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are from thee:

for the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me.

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine:

and all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.

And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth.

As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world.

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus Prays for Future Believers' Unity

Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word;

that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me.

And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me.

Father, I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, the world knew thee not, but I knew thee; and these knew that thou didst send me;

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.

Study Notes for John 17

Verse 1

The “hour” refers to the climax of Jesus’ ministry—the cross, resurrection, and ascension—which brings ultimate glory and completes the Father’s plan.

Verse 3

This verse defines eternal life not merely as endless existence, but as a relational, intimate knowledge (Greek: *ginōskō*) of the Father and the Son.

Verse 4

Jesus declares his earthly mission completed, having fully revealed the Father and accomplished the redemptive work required of him.

Verse 5

This is a profound declaration of Jesus' eternal pre-existence and deity, requesting restoration to the divine glory shared with the Father before creation.

Verse 6

To 'manifest the name' means to reveal the Father's character, nature, and purpose, which Jesus did through his teaching and life.

Verse 9

Jesus clarifies that this specific, foundational prayer is focused on those already entrusted to him, preparing them for the mission ahead, rather than the 'world' (humanity hostile to God).

Verse 11

Jesus prays for the disciples’ unity, modeled after the perfect unity (perichoresis) of the Father and the Son, emphasizing shared purpose and love.

Verse 12

'Son of perdition' refers specifically to Judas Iscariot. His betrayal was not a failure of Jesus’ keeping, but a tragic fulfillment of Scripture (e.g., Psalm 41:9).

Verse 15

Jesus recognizes that the disciples must remain in the world to carry out their mission, but they require spiritual protection from the moral and spiritual evil (*ponēros*) inherent in the world system.

Verse 17

To 'sanctify' means to set apart for sacred use. This process is accomplished through God's truth, which Jesus explicitly identifies as God's Word.

Verse 18

Jesus models his disciples’ mission (apostolic sending) after his own: they are sent *into* the world, not to be *of* the world.

Verse 19

Jesus sets himself apart (consecrates himself) for the sacrificial work on the cross, establishing the means by which the disciples can be truly sanctified and set apart for service.

Verse 20

The prayer now expands dramatically to include all generations of believers who would come to faith through the apostles' testimony (the universal Church).

Verse 21

The ultimate purpose of Christian unity is missional: that the world may observe the Church's harmonious love and believe in Jesus as the one sent by the Father.

Verse 22

The 'glory' shared is not necessarily divine omnipotence, but the revealed character, love, and mission of God, which enables believers to reflect His unity.

Verse 24

This final request expresses Jesus' desire for his followers to share in his eternal presence and to witness the glory he possessed before the foundation of the world (an eschatological hope).

Verse 26

The goal of Jesus’ declaration of the Father’s name is the indwelling of divine love (the love with which the Father loved the Son) and the abiding presence of Christ in the believer.

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John17

Jesus Prays for His Glorification

Jesus Prays for His Immediate Disciples

Jesus Prays for Future Believers' Unity

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