John 17 - NKJV Study Bible

17:1,2 the hour has come: Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus referred to the Cross as His “hour” (2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1). The time for Him to die had arrived. Glorify Your Son: Jesus was asking that His mission to the world would be made known through the Cross. The reasons for this request are twofold: (1) that Your Son also may glorify You. In the Cross, Jesus reveals the Father to the world, that is, His love and justice; and (2) that through Jesus’ death on the Cross, God would provide forgiveness of sins and give eternal life to all those who believe in His Son.

17:3 that they may know You: Eternal life consists of a growing knowledge of the only true God, as opposed to false gods.

17:4,5 I have glorified You: Jesus made known the Father by completing the work God gave Him to do. glorify Me: Jesus looked to the Father to restore Him to the glory He had in heaven before He left (see Phil. 2:6). This is another indication of Christ’s preexistence and deity (1:1–14).

17:9 I do not pray for the world indicates that Jesus was praying only for present and future believers (see 17:20; Luke 23:34).

17:11 This verse reveals Jesus’ keen sensitivity to the plight of His disciples brought on by His departure. He was going to the Father, but they would be left behind. Jesus asked the Father to keep the disciples through His name, that is, to keep them true to the revelation of God that Jesus had given to them while He was with them. The disciples would have a new union with the Father and Son through the future indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

17:12 none of them is lost: Jesus protected the disciples during His earthly ministry (18:9). Judas, the son of perdition, is distinguished from the rest of the apostles. He was never really one of those given to Christ (18:8,9). He had never really been a believer (6:64–71); he had not been cleansed (13:11).

17:13 I speak in the world: Jesus prayed aloud (v. 1) so that His words would comfort the apostles when they remembered that Jesus gave them into His Father’s keeping.

17:14–16 of the world: This verse has profound implications for discipleship. Our desire should not be to isolate ourselves from the world, but to use Christ’s word and the Holy Spirit’s power to serve Him while our life lasts. Yet at the same time, we should not become like the world, succumbing to the evil influences of the world. The term evil one can be translated as a common noun, evil, or as a reference to a person, Satan.

17:17 Sanctify means “to set apart.” There are two ways to understand this statement: (1) as separate for holiness, or (2) as set apart for service. According to the first view, Jesus was praying not only that the disciples should be kept from evil, but that they should advance in holiness. However in v. 18, sanctification seems to refer to the disciples’ mission, indicating that sanctify may also mean that Jesus was setting apart His disciples for this. Your word is truth is a strong statement of Jesus’ confidence in the veracity of Scripture. People’s opinions may vary, and experiences are notoriously untrustworthy, but God’s Word always remains true.

17:20 those who will believe: Jesus not only prayed for those the Father had given Him (v. 9) but for all future believers—for their unity (vv. 20–23) and their future glory (vv. 24–26). If you are a believer, these words are Jesus’ prayer for you.

17:21 all may be one: The present tense of the verb “to be” indicates that Jesus was praying for the unity that takes place through the sanctification of believers. This is what Jesus was commanding in 13:34,35: His followers had to love each other so that the world may believe in the reality of Jesus’ love. The loving relationship of believers to each other is the greatest witness to Jesus Christ.

17:22 The glory, the revelation of Jesus Christ through His disciples, is the means to unity. Such unity begins with belief and correct thinking about Jesus and God the Father, that is, with doctrine. But correct belief must bear fruit—a life that demonstrates God’s love and produces the unity between all the believers.

17:23 I in them, and You in Me: The mutual indwelling of the Father in the Son and the Son in the church is also the means to unity, the ultimate expression of God’s love (see 13:35; Rom. 8:17).

17:24 May be with Me is a prayer for the future glorification of believers. may behold My glory: The apostles saw Christ’s glory in His words and works (v. 22). Christ prayed for all believers to behold His glory, unveiled in the full revelation of His deity.

17:25,26 The ultimate reason for future believers to know the love of God is so that God’s love may be replicated in them, thus drawing the entire world to Christ.