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

1
When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. ​
2
For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. ​
4
I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do. ​
5
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed. ​

Jesus Prays for His Immediate Disciples

6
I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ​
7
Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.
8
For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
9
I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours. ​
10
All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.
11
I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one. ​
12
While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. ​
13
But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.
14
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15
I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. ​
16
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17
Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. ​
18
As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. ​
19
For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth. ​

Jesus Prays for Future Believers' Unity

20
I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, ​
21
that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. ​
22
I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— ​
23
I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
24
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ​
25
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
26
And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for 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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