John 17 - King James Version Bible Commentary

Jn 17:1. Lifted up his eyes to heaven. This was a common practice when one prayed, since He was addressing Himself to God. Father. Christ uses this term six times in His prayer. The hour. The moment of crisis had come when Christ would consummate His earthly ministry. Glorify thy Son. The hour that Christ referred to was not only the hour of death, but also His resurrection and exaltation.

Jn 17:2-3. Christ had been given power (authority) over all flesh (all mankind). This authority extended to the giving of eternal life. As many as thou hast given. This refers specifically to the disciples and generally to those of all flesh whom God has given to Christ. Eternal life results in a true knowledge of both God and Jesus Christ.

Jn 17:4. I have glorified thee. Christ has brought glory to the Father by fulfilling His will and completing His task (Jn 4:34; Jn 6:38). Note that Christ views His death as having been completed. He is so certain and sure of His atonement that He can speak as if it had already been completed.

Jn 17:5. Christ again asks the Father to glorify Him. He desires that glory which He had in eternity past, but which He voluntarily laid aside to redeem mankind (Jn 1:1-3, Jn 1:14).

Jn 17:6. Christ made known (manifested) the Father’s name to those who followed Him. These disciples had been given to Christ by the Father. Note the results of Christ’s revelation of the Father: they have kept thy word. An evidence of true conversion is obedience to the Word of God.

Jn 17:7-8. The disciples had come to understand that all things (the message and the mission of Christ) which Christ had were ultimately from the Father. Christ was faithful in giving the Father’s words to the disciples. The disciples accepted the message, and obtained a twofold knowledge: they understood that Christ had come from God, and that God had sent Him.

Jn 17:9. I pray for them. Christ’s concern was for His own (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25). I pray not for the world. This does not mean that Christ is unconcerned about the unsaved (Lk 23:34). However, His prayer for sanctification, glorification, and protection is only applicable to those who belong to Him.

Jn 17:10. Christ is praying to the Father in behalf of the disciples, and is confident that His prayers will be answered, since the disciples belong to the Father as well as the Son.

Jn 17:11. Note that Christ is again speaking as if His death had already occurred (Jn 17:4). Keep (Gr te¯reo¯, keep watch over, guard, or preserve). Christ prays for the Father to stand guard over the disciples in the wicked world. That they may be as one. This does not mean that Christ wants all denominations to be as one; He is praying that the disciples would be united in their stand against the wickedness of the world.

Jn 17:12. Christ states that during His earthly ministry, He guarded the disciples. None of them perished (compromised with the wicked world). The son of perdition. The word perdition means the lost one. Note the synthesis of human responsibility and God’s purpose. Judas was lost by his own volition, but his behavior was a fulfillment of divine prophecy (Ps 41:9).

Jn 17:13-14. Christ was about to leave the earth, and He was conscious of the void that He would leave with His disciples. He requests that His joy would fill them. It was the disciples’ acceptance of Christ’s word that caused the world so hate them.

Jn 17:15. Christ did not want the disciples taken out of the world because He would fulfill His purpose in their lives while they were in the world. He wanted them to be delivered from the evil one (Satan himself, Mt 6:13; I Pet 5:8).

Jn 17:16. The disciples did not belong to the world, they belonged to Christ (Jn 17:9-10).

Jn 17:17-18. Sanctify (Gr hagiazo¯, make holy, consecrate, dedicate, purify, set apart). This is the positive aspect of being delivered from the world. This process of becoming holy could only be accomplished through the Word of God. The disciples had been commissioned to go into the world.

Jn 17:19. I sanctify myself. Christ does not state that He is in the process of becoming holy; He is referring to His self-sacrifice and total commitment. It is His example that should stir His followers to that same type of surrender.

Jn 17:20. Beginning in this verse and continuing through the remainder of the prayer, Christ now prays for His entire church. The first part of the prayer was for the disciples; this part includes believers today. He prays for everyone who will believe on Him.

Jn 17:21. May be one (see notes on Jn 17:11).

Jn 17:22. The Father had manifested Himself through the Son, and now the Son manifests Himself through His followers. This is glory.

Jn 17:23. Made perfect. The idea here is that of completeness, not sinless perfection. The ultimate result of that unity will be that the world will see God’s love revealed through the believers.

Jn 17:24. This is Christ’s final request. He desires that all who believe on Him would see His glory (Rev 1:12-18).

Jn 17:25-26. Righteous Father. Because the Father is righteous, He will fulfill all that the Son has requested for His followers. To declare God’s name is to declare God’s love, for God is love.

In this prayer, Christ prays for Himself (vss. Jn 17:1-5); for His disciples (vss. Jn 17:6-19); and for His entire church (vss. Jn 17:20-26).