John 17 - Expositor's Bible Commentary - Abridged

1. The prayer concerning himself (17:1–5)

1 John records even the gesture of Jesus: “He lifted up his eyes” (lit. tr.). This was a typical Jewish gesture of prayer, whether offered to God or to idols (Ps 121:1; 123:1; Eze 33:25; Da 4:34; Jn 11:41). The prayer begins with the announcement “The time has come.” Jesus’ consciousness of living by a “calendar” has been manifest from the beginning of the gospel (see 2:4; 7:8; 7:30; 8:20); but now he acknowledges that the time of crisis has arrived (Cf. 12:23; 13:1). This announcement enhances the significance of the prayer because it becomes Jesus’ evaluation of the purpose of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Jesus petitions the Father to glorify him. The word “glorify” (GK 1519) should be applied to the total complex of these events as the climax of the Incarnation. The Son glorified the Father by revealing God’s sovereignty over evil, his compassion for humans, and the finality of redemption for believers. His entire career was focused on fulfilling the Father’s purpose and on delivering the Father’s message (see also v.5).

2–3 The two sentences following the initial petition are parenthetical and explanatory. The first (v.2) indicates the scope of the authority Christ exercised in his incarnate state. He was empowered to impart eternal life to those who had been given to him. This gospel is replete with assertions that life is in Christ (see 1:4; 3:15–16; 4:14; 5:21, 26; 6:33, 54; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6). These words emphatically express the central purpose of Jesus: to glorify the Father by imparting life to humans.

The second sentence (v.3) defines the nature of eternal life. It is not described in chronological terms but by a relationship. Life is active involvement with environment. The highest kind of life is involvement with the highest kind of environment. A worm is content to live in soil; we need not only the wider environment of earth, sea, and sky but also contact with other human beings. For the complete fulfillment of our being, we must know God. This, said Jesus, constitutes eternal life. Not only is it endless, since the knowledge of God requires an eternity to develop fully, but qualitatively it must exist in an eternal dimension. As Jesus said further on in this prayer, eternal life will ultimately bring his disciples to a lasting association with him in his divine glory (v.24).

4–5 Although the final act of his career remains to be performed, Jesus asserts that he has completed his task. He takes for granted that the last step will be taken (Cf. 12:27–28). Though aware that he has the option of refusing the Cross and so escaping death, he has resolved irrevocably to complete the work for which he has been sent. To all intents and purposes it is already done. In spite of many obstacles, Jesus never once faltered from doing the Father’s will. He now has one main petition: that the Father will receive him back to the glory he relinquished to accomplish his task (see 1:18). This petition for a return to his pristine glory implies unmistakably his preexistence and equality with the Father, confirming 10:30.

C. The Last Prayer (17:1–26)

The prayer of Jesus recorded in this chapter is not identical with the prayer in Gethsemane reported in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 26:36–45; Mk 14:32–41; Lk 22:39–46). Its content is closely linked to that of the preceding chapters in John, especially those spoken in the upper room. The vocabulary, containing such familiar terms in John as “glory,” “glorify,” “sent,” “believe,” “world,” and “love,” connects its content with the same topics in preceding sections. And Jesus’ concern for his disciples makes more lucid his attitude toward them on previous occasions. The prayer is intended to summarize in Jesus’ own words his relationship with the Father and the relationship he wishes his disciples to maintain with him and the Father.

The prayer can be divided into three parts: (1) Jesus’ prayer concerning himself (vv.1–5), (2) his prayer for the disciples (vv.6–19), and (3) his prayer for all believers present and future (vv.20–26). The prayer was spoken either just before the small company left the room where they had eaten together or as they were making their way out of the city to Gethsemane (see comment on 14:31).

2. The prayer concerning the disciples (17:6–19)

By far the largest part of Jesus’ prayer relates to the disciples. He is much more concerned about them than about himself. He is sure of his own victory. The disciples, however, are a variable quantity; in themselves they are likely to fail, as he has already predicted (Mt 26:31; Jn 16:32). Nevertheless, he prays for them with confidence that they will be kept by the Father’s power and presented for a future ministry. Jesus gives the reasons for his confidence in the next three verses.

6–8 The disciples have been given to Jesus by the Father. The gift was irrevocable and the Father was able to guarantee it. Jesus has no doubt of the final outcome. The disciples were obedient; they have accepted the message Jesus gave them. In spite of much misunderstanding on their part, those who were with Jesus in the upper room did not reject or doubt the truth he imparted to them, though they may not have comprehended it instantly (see 2:22; 20:9). They recognize that Jesus’ message comes from God, and they accept him as a messenger of God (Cf. 16:30). From the outset of his ministry, the disciples have received him as the Messiah, and their conviction of his messiahship has grown progressively during the period of association with him. Now as the supreme test of their faith is impending, Jesus prays that they might be preserved against the persecution that can separate them from him and from one another.

9 At this point, Jesus’ intercession is confined to the Eleven who are present with him. He reminds the Father that these men are under his special care. As in his prayer at Lazarus’s grave, Jesus takes for granted the concern of the Father for the immediate need and the provision he has already made in order to meet it.

10 This verse assumes Jesus’ equality with the Father. Each has full title to the possessions of the other; they share the same interests and responsibilities. Jesus’ words are a sample of the continued intercession that constitutes his present ministry (Ro 8:34).

11 Jesus asks for the continuation of the Father’s protection of the disciples in the period of danger that lay ahead of them. The title “Holy Father” (like “Righteous Father” in v.25) is unique and occurs only in this prayer. The holiness of God contrasts with the selfishness and evil of the world that confronts the disciples. On the basis of the holiness of God’s character, Jesus requests the Father to preserve his disciples. The verb “protect” (GK 5498) here has the sense of “preserve,” with an implication of defense. “Name” (GK 3950) stands for the power of God manifested in his person (Cf. 5:43; 10:25; 12:28; 17:6, 26), for a name represents authoritatively the person it describes.

The unity mentioned here is not simply a unity achieved by legislation. It is a unity of nature because it is comparable to that of the Son and the Father. The unity of the church must spring from the common life that is imparted to all believers by the new birth; and it is manifested in their common love for Christ and for one another as they face a hostile world. The unity of the Son and the Father is manifested in the deep love that each sustains for the other and by the perfect obedience of the Son to the Father and the perfect response of the Father to the Son.

12 Jesus’ request for the protection of the disciples is occasioned by the prospect of his leaving the world. They will still remain in it, exposed to its temptations and hostility. In reviewing his care of them to date, he uses two different words: “protected” (see comment in v.11) and “kept them safe” (i.e., “guarded them against external attack”). Jesus has kept safely all the disciples except Judas, “the one doomed to destruction” (a phrase applied to the Antichrist in 2Th 2:3). This Semitic phrase denotes an abandoned character, one utterly lost and given over to evil. The language does not imply that Judas was a helpless victim who was destined to perdition against his will. Rather, it implies that, having made his decision, he had passed the point of no return; and, by so doing, he carried out what the Scriptures had indicated would happen (perhaps Ps 69:25; 109:6–8).

13 Jesus prays not only for the safety of the disciples but also that they may have joy in spite of the coming conflict (Cf. 15:11; 16:22, 24). There will be nothing in the attitude of the world to promote their joy; but, as with Jesus, their awareness of the Father’s approval and the consciousness of a task accomplished and the expectancy of glory will create true joy for them.

14 The very fact that the disciples received the message of God from Jesus differentiates them from the world at large. They have a different nature and a different affiliation. Such a radical contrast draws the hatred of the world, which always demands conformity to its viewpoint and practices. Having taken their stand with Jesus, they will be susceptible to the same rejection he experienced.

15–16 Jesus does not, however, ask that they be removed from a disagreeable and dangerous environment. Like him, they have a mission to discharge and must remain to fulfill it, however perilous it might be; but he does ask for protection for them from the evil one. The declaration that “they are not of the world” gives the negative aspect of the previous prayer that they may be one as Jesus and the Father are one. The disciples’ unity binds them to Christ and at the same time separates them from the world. John stresses the separation that results from difference of nature (cf. 1Jn 2:19). The separation is inherent, not artificial.

17 “Sanctify” (GK 39) means “to set apart,” usually for some specially good purpose or use; its derivative meaning thus becomes “dedicate” or “consecrate.” Believers are so changed by the working of God’s Word in their lives that they are separated from evil and to God. This new devotion, which results in separation from evil, produces purification of life and consecration to God’s service. Since the Word of God is truth, it provides the unchanging standard for the course and character of life. The form of the expression “your word” raises the possibility that Jesus may be referring to himself. He has said that he is “the truth” (14:6); as the Logos of God he embodies truth in its totality.

18 “Sent” (GK 690, related to the word “apostle”) implies equipment for a definite mission. Jesus unites the disciples with himself in the work he began and expects them to continue. Just as the Father has sent him with authority, so he gives them authority (cf. Mt 28:18–20); as he has come with a message of God’s love and forgiveness, so they must proclaim the same; as he has come into danger and peril of death, so they will encounter the same problems; and as the Father has sent him to the victory of the Resurrection, so they can expect the same. His words include warning, commission, and encouragement.

19 In keeping with his words in v.17, Jesus does not intend to make himself more holy than he already is. Rather, he is devoting himself to God in the interest of his work for the disciples. His example of dedication to the will of the Father, demonstrated in his unswerving acceptance of the Cross, will be the standard for their sanctification.

The petitions of Jesus’ prayer for the disciples define certain aspects of eternal life. The first is the authentic revelation of the Father in contrast to erroneous information or delusive myth. Jesus reinforces his claim to be the authorized revealer of the true God (v.6; Cf. 1:18; 14:9–11). As his revelation was accepted, the disciples progressed to a knowledge of the Father and to a solid faith (v.8; Cf. 16:25). This faith united them with Jesus so that they came under his protection and now experience security that eternal life imparts (v.12; Cf. 10:29–29). Eternal life also implies sanctification—being set apart for the service of God.

3. The prayer concerning future believers (17:20–26)

20 The last section of Jesus’ prayer shows that he expects the failure of the disciples to be only temporary. The entire tone of the farewell discourse is built on the assumption that after the Resurrection they will renew their faith and carry on a new ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. The provisions and warnings in Chs. 13–16 presuppose the continuation of Jesus’ work through these men (cf. Mt 16:18). He expects the ministry of the Spirit in the disciples to result in adding more believers to their number. So his prayer includes all believers in all ages.

21 At this point, the burden of the prayer is for unity (cf. “one”; GK 1651). Jesus has already stressed the need for mutual love that will bind them together for their common task. Now, foreseeing the addition of many more who will increase the diversity of temperaments, backgrounds, and interests, he makes a special plea that all may be one. The standard is not an institutional but a personal unity.

Nor is he calling for uniformity, since he and the Father are distinct from each other and have different functions. He predicates that the unity will be one of nature; for he and the Father, while distinguishable in person, are one being. The new birth brings believers into the single family of God by spiritual generation (1:12–13; Cf. 15:1–7; 1Co 12:12–13). The purpose of this unity is the maintenance of a convincing testimony before the world to the revelation of God in Christ and to his love for the disciples. Through the common witness and experience of the disciples, Jesus wishes to establish the fact of his divine origin and of the love of God for humankind.

22–23 The “glory” (GK 1518) the Father has given Jesus is the triumphant task of redeeming the human race to God (cf. Heb 2:9–10). By sharing in his calling, they participate in his glory and are united with him and with one another. God and humankind are together involved in bringing the new creation into being. The effect of this united testimony is a confirmation of the divine mission of Jesus and of God’s love for believers.

24 The final aspect of eternal life relates to ultimate destiny. The final attainment is to be with Christ (Cf. 14:3) and to observe his glory. The disciples have witnessed his incarnate life, which was a humiliation, voluntarily accepted for their sakes. Its process was epitomized by Jesus’ action at the Last Supper, when he took the place of a servant to wash the disciples’ feet (13:1–15). Now, on the eve of being “glorified,” he desires the disciples to see him as he really is (see also 1Jn 3:2). “Before the creation of the world” is a further assertion of Christ’s preexistence. This shows that the binding power of unity in the Triune God is love.

25–26 The entire prayer is based on the righteousness of God (see comment on v.11), who will vindicate the Son by glorifying him. Jesus’ revelation of God is founded on personal knowledge and personal communion. The essence of the revelation lies in the love of God, which Jesus exhibits toward the disciples. His purpose is to perfect his union with them, that they in turn may know the Father. Jesus wants to include them in the inner fellowship of the Triune God.