John 17
1
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you—
2
just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.
3
Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
4
I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
5
And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created.
6
“I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word.
7
Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you,
8
because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
9
I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me because they belong to you.
10
Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I have been glorified by them.
11
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.
12
When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled.
13
But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves.
14
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
15
I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.
16
They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world.
17
Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.
18
Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.
19
And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.
20
“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony,
21
that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.
22
The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one—
23
I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you 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, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25
Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me.
26
I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”
Commentary
John 17
In John 17, Jesus prays for himself, his disciples, and all believers. He asks for unity among believers and for them to be sanctified by the truth. He also prays for future believers who will come to faith through the disciples' message.
John 17
1
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you—
2
just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him.
3
Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
4
I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
5
And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created.
6
“I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word.
7
Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you,
8
because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
9
I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me because they belong to you.
10
Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I have been glorified by them.
11
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.
12
When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled.
13
But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves.
14
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
15
I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.
16
They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world.
17
Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.
18
Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.
19
And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.
20
“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony,
21
that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.
22
The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one—
23
I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you 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, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25
Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me.
26
I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”