John 17:1 Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; 2 even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed. 6 I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, 8 for the words which you have given me I have given to them, and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves. 14 I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. Psalm 119:142 18 As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. 19 For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; 23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus begins by acknowledging that the time for his death has come, “Father, the time has come… I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.” In this amazing statement Jesus is saying that the Covenant Promise first given to Adam immediately after he sinned against God is about to be fulfilled. The Promise that one born of woman would come to defeat the deceiver, Satan, and defeat death. Genesis 3:15 The Promise that has echoed throughout all of the Scriptures looking forward to the Lamb of God, is about to be fulfilled. “The time has come.”
Christ’s selfless sacrifice for his rebellious children, planned before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4, brings glory to Jesus and brings glory to God the Father. By his obedience, Jesus Christ brought glory to God the Father. “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” John 6:38 Though it was not an easy task, Hebrews 4:14, his whole earthly life was devoted to obeying his Father.
Jesus not only came to be the sacrificial Lamb of God, he also revealed [God’s] name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. In addition to revealing God to the disciples, Jesus taught them the truth about God. “They have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, 8 for the words which you have given me I have given to them.”
In a world lost in confusion, striving for meaning, purpose, and true light, Christ has made known the Words of God. With the help of the Spirit the Apostles have recorded the Words of God, the teachings of Christ, the Words that bring true life in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament.
Find happiness in the teaching of the Lord…think about it day and night. Psalm 1:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Do you regularly study the words of God so that you life may be renewed?
Knowing that he will soon be leaving the world Jesus prays for his disciples. “I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” What does Jesus ask of the Father? In a world that hates the followers of Jesus, Jesus asks that his disciples may have [his] joy made full in themselves.
Even though the world will hate his followers, Jesus does not want them to be taken out of the world because they have a job to accomplish there. “I pray not that you would take them from the world.” Rather, Jesus asks that God “keep them from the evil one.” The evil one twists the truth. The evil one tempts believers to compromise with the world to gain acceptance, prestige, and praise. The evil one tempts believers to dilute and even abandon the truth. The evil one makes sin look enticing and seem like a good idea.
Every time we sin, we are putting something else ahead of God’s glory … there is something that our hearts are valuing at that moment more than the glory of God or obedience to him. That rebellious attitude is what makes each individual sin, however “small,” serious in God’s sight. It is an act of cosmic treason against our Creator, in which we choose to believe his mortal enemy, Satan, instead of trusting his word. Iain M. Duguid, The Aquila Report, 8-15-25
In contrast, Jesus prays that his disciples will be sanctified meaning they will be set apart. How are the disciples to be both in the world and set apart from the sinful ways of the world? Jesus explains, “Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.” Psalm 119:142 By being trained in the truth of the Scriptures, by daily bathing your minds in God’s truth, his Word, believers will be aware of the lies of the evil one.
Why must the disciples be set apart, sanctified in God’s truth?
Just as God sent Jesus into the world, Jesus is sending his disciples into the world to teach everyone about the way of salvation. “As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.”
At this point, Jesus’ prayer changes from praying exclusively for his disciples to praying for all who may come to believe down through the ages as a result of the disciples’ preaching and writings.
Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
What is Jesus’ prayer for you and for all of those who will come to believe in him?
Just as God the Father and Jesus the Son are one, and the disciples are one with Jesus in calling and message, Jesus asks that all future Christians be united in love.
Why is it important for all Christians to be united in love?
Unity among Christians is vital so that the world may believe that you sent me. When the unbelievers in the world look at Christians, when they look at the church they should see the true way of life that is beautiful and appealing. They should see the glory which you have given me [Jesus], I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; 23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
Many find the world to be a cruel place. At every turn there are broken relationships and disappointments. We long for acceptance, forgiveness, belonging, and love. We long to know how to truly live. We long to overcome death. When unbelievers look at the church that is exactly what they should see: the glory of the Creator, Savior, God, lived out in demonstrable ways in the lives of his followers. The church made up of individual Christians should display the love of Christ to the world, the love that alone can fill the longings of their hearts. As Christ has taught earlier, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
Christians are an assembly of forgiven sinners, but sinners nonetheless. It can be difficult to forgive our fellow believers, but that is just what Christ has commanded us to do. When we live out the love of Christ in such a countercultural way the world takes notice that the love with which [the Father] loved [Jesus] may be in [Christians], and I in them. Although they are not yet ready to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah, as pointed out on page 118, even atheists like Richard Dawkins and Tom Holland recognize the beauty of God’s truth as displayed in the followers of Christ and in the civilization that they have built on the earth in the past two thousand years.
Just as the love of God the Father had strengthened and sustained Jesus during his earthly mission, now, the love of Jesus will strengthen and sustain Christians as they live life in obedience to God’s commands.
Paul asked the Galatians, “Have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Galatians 4:16 Like Jesus, you will be hated without cause, John 15:23, when you tell the truth in a world that loves the lies of Satan. You will face the hostility and persecution of those blinded by the deceiver when you expose their illusions to the light of truth.
After his prayer Jesus, knowing full well what would happen next, took his disciples to the garden where he would be betrayed and turned over to the authorities.