John 17 - NLT Student Life Application Study Bible

17:1-26 Jesus’ Prayer This entire chapter is a prayer of Jesus. He prayed that God would keep his chosen people safe from Satan’s power, setting them apart from the world, making them holy by the truth, and uniting them in him. Jesus prayed for all who would follow him, including us. Knowing that Jesus prayed for us can give us great confidence as we follow him.

17:3 The Key to Life How do we get eternal life? Jesus tells us clearly here: by knowing God the Father himself and entering into a personal relationship with him through his Son, Jesus Christ. When we admit our sin and turn away from it, turning to God instead, Jesus’ love will live in us by the Holy Spirit.

17:13 Filled with Joy Joy is a common theme in Jesus’ teachings—he wants us to be joyful (see 15:11; 16:24). Jesus said that one of his objectives is to give his followers “a rich and satisfying life” (10:10), and part of that life is soul-deep gladness even if we don’t have easy or comfortable circumstances. We find immeasurable joy when we keep in intimate contact with Jesus, the source of all joy.

17:21-23 One Jesus’ great desire for his disciples was that they would become one. He prayed for unity among believers that would be based on the believers’ unity with him and the Father. Christians can know unity among themselves if they are living in union with God, connected to him like branches are to a grapevine (15:1-8). We can practice this unity by praying for other Christians, building them up, working with them in humility, being generous with our time and money, avoiding gossip, worshiping together, and refusing to get sidetracked arguing over divisive matters.