John 17 - NIV Application Bible

17:1–2 This section of the prayer finds Jesus talking to his Father about his efforts on earth to glorify him and to be obedient to his will. Now, with the work of the incarnation complete, Jesus anticipates his return to the glory he had before creation.

Addressing God as “Father” was a hallmark of Jesus’ spirituality. For Jesus, the cross is not a place of shame but a place of honor. His oneness with the Father means that as he is glorified, so too is the Father glorified.

17:3 Eternal life comes through knowing God. The Hebrew notion of knowing encompasses experience and intimacy. For Christians, this means obedience to and love for God. Moreover, such knowledge must include a commitment to Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

17:4–5 The first accomplishment of the incarnation was Jesus’ display of God’s glory for the world. Now Jesus says that he has accomplished this task God has given him to do. But does Jesus say that he is finished at this point in his life? No, because his work includes his death, resurrection, and return to the Father.

17:6 What has Jesus finished? Jesus has revealed God’s “name” (v. 6, see NIV footnote). Throughout the Gospel, Jesus refers to his work as empowered by God’s name. Jesus bears the name of God. Thus, in revealing himself, he has disclosed God’s personhood (his name) to the entire world.

17:7–8 Those who have faith have truly understood what was happening in this divine revelation. They know that Jesus has come from God and his words are divine. Jesus’ disciples can be described as followers who belonged to God—a remnant whom God delivered to Jesus.

17:9 The thought of this leads Jesus to pray for them specifically. They are precious because they belong to the Father. The failure to read these verses in the wider context of John’s theology has led many to misrepresent them. God loves the world and entered the world in his Son for the sake of the world. Now Jesus’ work in the world is near completion, and he is praying exclusively for his immediate followers who will be left behind as he departs. Like a shepherd about to lay down his life for his sheep, he prays for his flock whom he has led and who now must persevere in the wilderness.

17:10 Note the similarity between Jesus’ prayer in v. 10 and that in v. 1. God is glorified through his Son, and the Son is glorified through his disciples. Therefore, those features of Jesus’ life that brought glory to God may likewise be the characteristics of discipleship that bring glory to Jesus. When a disciple’s life bears fruit, God himself is glorified directly.

17:11–12 Jesus’ first petition for his followers is that they remain united. Remarkably he desires that his disciples enjoy a oneness that is like the oneness he shares with the Father.

His disciples, however, remain in the world. This is an environment of hostility. The mission of the church is to challenge this world, drawing closer to those who love the truth and bringing them into the flock.

17:13–15 Jesus’ next point concerns his disciples’ strength in the world. Their assignment is dangerous, and so he prays for their protection. Jesus has given them his word; the Spirit will recall it and keep it secure. This divine revelation will become essential equipment in their survival.

Jesus also prays for their protection. He recognizes the power of evil, for he lost one of his disciples to Satan. He understands that representing God in this world is an invitation to genuine battle. His disciples must contend with these powers since they remain in this world. God’s “name” will be a refuge.

17:16 Jesus’ next concern has to do with holiness. The disciples live in the world, and yet Jesus can say that they are not “of the world” (vv. 14,16). This points not to their location geographically but to their position spiritually.

17:17–18 Jesus prays that his disciples might be “sanctified” in the truth. This word refers to something made holy (“set apart”). To be holy is not a description of perfection (though this is included). It refers to a life that is so aligned with God that it reflects God’s passions completely.

Jesus was “set apart” for a divine mission. The disciples also have a mission like Jesus. Their purpose for living is shaped by the mission God has for them.

17:19 When Jesus says that he sanctifies himself, what does he mean? Jesus is recommitting himself to the mission assigned by the Father. This priestly mission of service involves his sacrifice. Through his death on the cross, the disciples will experience something never known before. His death will enable them to experience a new holiness in a deep attachment with God.

17:20–21 Jesus next turns to pray for followers whom he has not yet met, which includes believers all throughout time and in the church today. He first prays that they will have a unity like that of his first disciples. This unity must be visibly based on love. When the world sees them, it will know they represent Jesus. This love is an outgrowth of the union Christians will enjoy with Jesus himself, a union modeled on the oneness of the Father and the Son.

17:22–24 Jesus was the bearer of God’s glory, and now the church bears that glory. The thought is of the glory of God passing to Jesus’ followers, indwelling them. The confidence of the church’s mission rests here: If it lives in the Spirit, if it reflects God’s glory and love, if it demonstrates unity, then its testimony will astonish the world. Jesus prays that his followers will see the true glory that has existed in heaven since the beginning of time.

17:25–26 This anticipated glory, however, finds its counterpoint in the prayer’s last sentences. Jesus addresses God as “righteous Father” (v. 25), reminding us that it is God’s righteousness that has led to his justified judgment of the world. Yet all those who accept the Son will experience the love known only between Father and Son. These are the last words Jesus prays before his arrest: “that I myself may be in them” (v. 26). His last desire is to love his followers and indwell them.

✜ 17:1–26 We should see ourselves as the subjects of this prayer. Jesus is our Lord and Shepherd as much as he was the shepherd of this small circle of men. Therefore, when he prays he invites us to listen, to hear the quality of the love and honor shared between himself and God. He invites us to listen as he prays for all believers throughout time. We are the church, the body of believers built on the apostles’ word.