John 17

Introduction

John 17 is often called the "High Priestly Prayer" -- the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in any Gospel. It comes at the end of the Farewell Discourse (chapters 13-16), after Jesus has washed the disciples' feet, announced his departure, promised the Holy Spirit, and spoken of the vine and branches. Now, before crossing the Kidron Valley to Gethsemane and his arrest, Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven and prays aloud in the hearing of his disciples. The prayer is at once intimate and cosmic: Jesus speaks to his Father about the completion of his mission, the protection of his followers, and the ultimate unity of all who will believe.

The prayer moves in three expanding circles. First, Jesus prays about himself and his glorification -- not for personal exaltation, but so that the Father may be glorified through the Son's completed work (vv. 1-5). Second, he prays for his immediate disciples, the ones the Father "gave" him out of the world, asking that they be protected, unified, and sanctified (vv. 6-19). Third, he widens the circle to include all future believers -- everyone who will come to faith through the apostolic message -- praying that they too may share in the divine unity of Father and Son (vv. 20-26). The prayer ends where it began: with the love between the Father and the Son, now extending to encompass all believers.

Prayer for Glorification (vv. 1-5)

¹ When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. ² For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him. ³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. ⁴ I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed."

¹ After Jesus had said these things, he raised his eyes toward heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you -- ² just as you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he might give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. ⁴ I glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory I had alongside you before the world came into being."

Notes

The chapter opens with a gesture: ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν -- "having lifted up his eyes to heaven." This was the customary Jewish posture for prayer, as in Psalm 123:1, and it signals that what follows is addressed directly to the Father, not to the disciples.

The word ὥρα -- "the hour" -- has been building throughout John's Gospel. At Cana, Jesus said "My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4). In John 7:30 and John 8:20, no one could seize him because his hour had not yet arrived. In John 12:23, at the arrival of the Greeks, Jesus declared, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." Now that announcement reaches its climax. The hour is not merely the hour of death; it is the hour of glorification -- the cross, resurrection, and ascension understood as a single act of divine display.

The imperative δόξασόν -- "glorify!" -- is an aorist imperative, conveying urgency and decisiveness. The purpose clause that follows reveals the Johannine logic of glory: the Son's glorification is not an end in itself but the means by which the Father is glorified. Glory flows in a circle between Father and Son.

In v. 2, πάσης σαρκός -- "all flesh" -- is a Hebraic expression (Hebrew kol basar) for all humanity, used here in a Greek sentence. It underscores the universal scope of the Son's authority. The phrase ἐξουσία ("authority") recalls John 5:27, where the Father gave the Son authority to execute judgment, and John 10:18, where Jesus claimed authority to lay down his life and take it up again.

Verse 3 contains one of the most remarkable definitions in the New Testament: eternal life is not a quantity of time but a quality of relationship. γινώσκωσιν is a present subjunctive of γινώσκω -- "that they may be knowing" -- suggesting an ongoing, deepening relationship rather than a one-time intellectual act. In Hebrew thought, to "know" God is to be in covenant relationship with him (compare Hosea 6:6, Jeremiah 31:34).

In v. 4, the word τελειώσας -- "having completed, having brought to perfection" -- is a participle from the same root as Jesus' final word on the cross: τετέλεσται, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Even before the cross, Jesus speaks of his work as accomplished, because in God's purposes it is already certain.

Verse 5 is one of the clearest statements of the pre-existence of the Son in the New Testament. Jesus asks to be glorified παρὰ σεαυτῷ -- "alongside yourself" -- τῇ δόξῃ ᾗ εἶχον πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι παρὰ σοί -- "with the glory I was having alongside you before the world existed." The double use of παρά ("alongside, in the presence of") emphasizes personal, intimate fellowship. This echoes the Prologue: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God" (John 1:1). The glory Jesus requests is not new; it is a return to what was his before the incarnation.

Prayer for the Disciples (vv. 6-19)

⁶ "I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You. ⁸ For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

⁹ I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours. ¹⁰ All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.

¹¹ I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. ¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth."

⁶ "I made your name known to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they have come to know that everything you have given me is from you, ⁸ because the words you gave me I have given to them, and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from you, and they believed that you sent me.

⁹ I am asking on their behalf. I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they are yours. ¹⁰ And all that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.

¹¹ I am no longer in the world, yet they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name -- the name you have given me -- so that they may be one, just as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name -- the name you have given me -- and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

¹³ But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

¹⁷ Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I set myself apart, so that they too may be set apart in truth."

Notes

The section opens with ἐφανέρωσα -- "I revealed, I manifested" -- from φανερόω. What Jesus revealed was the Father's ὄνομα -- "name." In Hebrew thought, the "name" of God is not simply a label but a disclosure of God's character, nature, and presence. When God revealed his name to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) and again at Sinai (Exodus 34:5-7), he was revealing who he is. Jesus claims to have done the same thing: through his words and works, he has made the Father's essential character visible.

The repeated language of giving in vv. 6-8 is striking. The Father gave the disciples to the Son; the Son gave the Father's words to the disciples; the disciples received those words. The Greek ῥήματα in v. 8 (as distinct from λόγος in v. 6) refers to specific spoken utterances -- the particular things Jesus said, not just his teaching in general. The disciples' response is described with two verbs: they ἔλαβον ("received") and they ἔγνωσαν ἀληθῶς ("truly knew/recognized") that Jesus came from the Father.

In v. 9, Jesus draws a sharp distinction. He prays περὶ αὐτῶν -- "concerning them" -- not περὶ τοῦ κόσμου -- "concerning the world." This is not a refusal to care about the world (he came to save it, John 3:16-17), but a recognition that his prayer here has a specific purpose: to intercede for those whom the Father entrusted to him. The wider reach comes in v. 20.

Verse 10 contains an extraordinary statement of mutual possession between Father and Son: τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά -- "All that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine." This total reciprocity of ownership goes beyond anything a mere prophet could say. It is a claim of divine equality.

The address Πάτερ ἅγιε -- "Holy Father" -- in v. 11 is unique in the entire New Testament. No one else addresses God this way. It combines the intimate "Father" with the transcendent "Holy," holding together the nearness and the otherness of God. The request τήρησον αὐτούς -- "keep them, guard them" -- uses the same verb (τηρέω) that describes what Jesus himself has been doing (v. 12). As Jesus departs, he asks the Father to continue the same protective work.

The unity Jesus prays for -- ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν -- "that they may be one" -- uses the neuter ἕν, meaning "one thing," not "one person." It is a unity of purpose, love, and mission that mirrors the unity between Father and Son, not a merging of identities.

In v. 12, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας -- "the son of destruction" -- refers to Judas Iscariot. This Semitic idiom ("son of X") identifies a person by their defining characteristic or destiny: Judas is the one defined by ruin. The same phrase appears in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 in reference to the man of lawlessness. The clause "so that the Scripture might be fulfilled" likely refers to Psalm 41:9, which Jesus quoted at the Last Supper (John 13:18).

In v. 13, τὴν χαρὰν τὴν ἐμὴν πεπληρωμένην -- "my joy made full" -- the perfect passive participle indicates a joy that has been filled up and remains full. This is Jesus' own joy, not a separate kind of joy -- and he wants it reproduced in them. He speaks these words aloud precisely so that the disciples, hearing his prayer, will know the Father's care and find joy even in the coming crisis.

Verses 14-16 establish a paradox that defines the Christian existence: believers are "in the world" but "not of the world" (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου). The preposition ἐκ ("out of, from") indicates origin and essential belonging. The disciples' origin is no longer the world-system opposed to God; yet their location remains within it. Jesus does not pray for their removal but for their protection from τοῦ πονηροῦ -- "the evil one." This could grammatically be neuter ("evil") or masculine ("the evil one," i.e., Satan). Given John's usage elsewhere (1 John 2:13-14, 1 John 5:18-19), the masculine reading -- a reference to Satan -- is more likely.

In v. 17, ἁγίασον -- "sanctify, set apart, make holy" -- is another aorist imperative, like δόξασον in v. 1. To sanctify is to set something apart for God's purposes. The instrument of sanctification is ἀλήθεια -- "truth" -- and Jesus immediately identifies the Father's λόγος ("word") as that truth. In the Johannine framework, truth is not merely propositional accuracy but the reality of God as disclosed in Jesus himself (see John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth, and the life").

Verse 18 reveals the missional logic: καθὼς ἐμὲ ἀπέστειλας ... κἀγὼ ἀπέστειλα αὐτούς -- "Just as you sent me ... so I have sent them." The verb ἀποστέλλω (from which "apostle" derives) indicates being sent with a commission and the authority of the sender. The disciples' mission into the world mirrors Christ's own mission from the Father.

Verse 19 is one of the most theologically dense statements in the prayer. Jesus says ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἁγιάζω ἐμαυτόν -- "for their sake I sanctify myself." When applied to Jesus, who is already holy, "sanctify" must mean "set apart, consecrate for a particular purpose" -- namely, the sacrifice of the cross. He consecrates himself as the offering so that they may be ἡγιασμένοι ἐν ἀληθείᾳ -- "sanctified in truth." Their sanctification depends on his self-consecration. The priestly overtones are unmistakable: the High Priest consecrates himself before offering the sacrifice. I have translated ἁγιάζω as "set apart" throughout this section to preserve the consistency of the term across vv. 17-19.

Prayer for All Believers (vv. 20-26)

²⁰ "I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

²² I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one -- ²³ I in them and You in Me -- that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

²⁴ Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them."

²⁰ "I am not asking for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one -- just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you -- that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, so that they may be one just as we are one -- ²³ I in them and you in me -- so that they may be brought to complete unity, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them just as you loved me.

²⁴ Father, I desire that those you have given me may also be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory -- the glory you gave me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵ Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. ²⁶ I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them."

Notes

In v. 20, the prayer breaks open beyond the Twelve. Jesus prays περὶ τῶν πιστευόντων διὰ τοῦ λόγου αὐτῶν εἰς ἐμέ -- "for those who believe through their word in me." The present participle πιστευόντων ("those believing") includes every generation of believers who come to faith through the apostolic testimony -- which is to say, through the very message that became the New Testament. When Christians read the Gospels and believe, they are the people Jesus was praying for in this verse.

The prayer for unity in v. 21 -- ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, "that all may be one" -- is not a call for organizational uniformity but for the kind of interpenetrating love and purpose that characterizes the relationship between Father and Son. The model is καθὼς σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοί -- "just as you, Father, in me and I in you." This mutual indwelling (περιχώρησις, as the later church fathers would call it) is the pattern for the unity of believers. The purpose is evangelistic: "so that the world may believe that you sent me." The watching world is meant to see in the love and unity of Christians a visible argument for the truth of the gospel.

In v. 22, Jesus says he has given believers the δόξα ("glory") that the Father gave him. This is a staggering claim. The glory of God -- his radiant, weighty, manifest presence -- is shared with ordinary human beings. The purpose of this shared glory is again unity: "so that they may be one just as we are one." Glory and unity are not separate themes; the shared experience of God's glory is what produces genuine unity.

Verse 23 contains the prayer's most concentrated statement of purpose: τετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν -- "having been perfected into one." The word τετελειωμένοι is a perfect passive participle from τελειόω, meaning "to bring to completion, to perfect." It is the same root as τελειώσας in v. 4 (the completed work) and τετέλεσται on the cross. The perfect tense indicates a completed action with ongoing results: believers are to be brought to a state of complete unity and to remain there. The result is that the world will γινώσκῃ -- "know" -- two things: that the Father sent the Son, and that the Father has loved believers with the same love he has for the Son. This is perhaps the most astonishing statement in the prayer: the Father's love for Christians is the same in kind as his eternal love for his own Son.

In v. 24, Jesus uses the verb θέλω -- "I will, I desire, I want." This is remarkably bold language in a prayer. Jesus does not merely ask; he expresses his will to the Father. What he desires is that believers may be μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ -- "with me" -- ὅπου εἰμὶ ἐγώ -- "where I am" -- so that they may θεωρῶσιν ("behold, gaze upon") his glory. This is the eschatological hope: to see Christ as he truly is, in the unveiled glory he had with the Father πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου -- "before the foundation of the world." The phrase echoes Ephesians 1:4, where believers were chosen in Christ "before the foundation of the world." The same language appears in 1 Peter 1:20 regarding Christ's foreordination. Compare also 1 John 3:2: "We know that when he appears, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is."

The final address, Πάτερ δίκαιε -- "Righteous Father" -- is the second unique address in this prayer (the first was "Holy Father" in v. 11). "Righteous" here means that the Father's character is just and true: he can be trusted to act rightly in relation to both the world that rejects him and the believers who know him. The contrast in v. 25 is stark: the world οὐκ ἔγνω -- "did not know" -- the Father, but Jesus ἔγνων -- "knew" -- him, and the disciples ἔγνωσαν -- "came to know" -- that the Father sent Jesus. Knowledge of God, which is eternal life (v. 3), comes through Jesus' mediation.

The prayer ends in v. 26 with ἐγνώρισα ... καὶ γνωρίσω -- "I made known ... and I will make known." The first verb is aorist (past, completed); the second is future. Jesus' revelation of the Father's name is not over; it will continue through the Spirit's work in the church (see John 16:13-15). The final purpose is breathtaking: ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη ἣν ἠγάπησάς με ἐν αὐτοῖς ᾖ κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς -- "so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them." The prayer ends not with a request but with a vision: the eternal love between Father and Son dwelling inside believers, and Christ himself dwelling in them. The great circle is complete -- from the glory of the Father and Son before creation (v. 5), through the incarnation and mission (vv. 4, 18), to the indwelling of divine love in human hearts (v. 26).