John Chapter 17

At a Glance

  • In John 17, we enter the intimate, prayerful moment at the heart of Jesus’ farewell discourse.
  • First, Jesus speaks of his own glorification and the reciprocal glory he shares with the Father.
  • Next, the focus narrows to the disciples.
  • The final portion expands outward in mission and hope.
  • Historical & Literary Context.

Chapter Overview

In John 17, we enter the intimate, prayerful moment at the heart of Jesus’ farewell discourse. The chapter presents a single extended prayer in which Jesus lifts his eyes to heaven and speaks to the Father with remarkable clarity and tenderness. It unfolds in three movements: Jesus’ requests for glory and completion of his mission (verses 1–5), the prayer for protection and unity for his disciples (verses 6–19), and a final petition for continued revelation and divine assemblage of those who will believe through the disciples’ witness (verses 20–26).

First, Jesus speaks of his own glorification and the reciprocal glory he shares with the Father. He acknowledges that the hour has come for him to be glorified through suffering, death, and resurrection, and prays that the Father would glorify him so that he may glorify the Father. This is not a self-centered request but a hinge moment for the cosmos: through the Son’s mediating work, humanity can come into life and knowledge of the Father.

Next, the focus narrows to the disciples. Jesus frames them as the ones given to him by the Father, affirming their trust and retention of his word. He prays for them in concrete ways: that they may be kept safe from the evil one, that they may be one, and that they may experience joy fulfilled in themselves. He emphasizes that their mission will require continued divine protection and the preservation of their communal unity, modeled after the relational unity within the Trinity.

The final portion expands outward in mission and hope. Jesus does not pray merely for his immediate circle but for all who will believe through the apostles’ testimony—that they may all be one, so the world may believe that the Father has sent Jesus. He also prays for future believers to know the Father as they know him, and that the love with which the Father loves the Son may be in them, fostering a shared, intimate relationship with God.

John 17 offers the theological centerpiece of Jesus’ identity, mission, and the intended life of the church: faithfulness to the Father, unity among Jesus’ followers, and a mission that wins the world through demonstrated love and truth. The chapter blends personal destiny with communal vocation, showing that Jesus’ glory is inseparably linked to the Father’s glory and to the fruitfulness of a united, steadfast people.

Historical & Literary Context

John 17 is part of the Gospel of John, likely written toward the end of the first century, with a distinct, reflective portrayal of Jesus’ identity, mission, and the new covenant community. The Gospel is characterized by high Christology, emphasizing Jesus as the eternal Word (Logos) who reveals the Father. Chapter 17 is embedded within the final pericopes where Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure and grounds their future mission in intimate communion with God.

Literarily, John interweaves intimate direct speech, monologue prayer, and pastoral instruction. The chapter functions as a hinge: it anchors the disciples’ identity (faithful followers of the Son), grounds their safety in divine protection, and launches the mission of proclamation to future believers. The structure mirrors the Gospel’s overarching arc: Jesus’ glory through self-giving love leads to a community shaped by unity, truth, and mission.

Key Themes

- The Glory and Fulfillment of Jesus’ Mission: Jesus expects his hour, the cross, and resurrection to bring glory to the Father. The cross is not a defeat but the climactic expression of divine glory.

- Knowledge and Relationship: Eternal life is defined as knowing the Father and Jesus Christ. Knowledge is relational and experiential, not merely doctrinal assent.

- Prayer and Preservation: Jesus’ intercessory prayer for his disciples highlights dependence on the Father for protection, unity, and perseverance in a hostile world.

- Unity as Witness: The plea for oneness among believers is a strategic missional sign—unity demonstrates the reality of Jesus’ mission to a watching world.

- Mission to the World: The oneness and truth given to the disciples are intended to spill over to future believers, enabling a transformed community that testifies to the Father-sent Son.

Modern Application

John 17 invites contemporary readers into a reoriented life: core aims become fidelity to God, deepening knowledge of the Father, and active participation in a unified, resilient body of believers. Practically, this chapter calls for:

- Reorienting priorities around God’s glory rather than personal success. When we seek to “glorify” God in daily choices, we align with Jesus’ mission.

- Pursuing intimate knowledge of God through prayer, Scripture, and obedient living. Eternal life is not merely future but a present, knowing relationship that reshapes identity.

- Cultivating unity in a fractured church. Jesus’ request for oneness challenges factions, hierarchies, and petty offenses, urging believers toward humility, reconciliation, and shared purpose.

- Intercessory posture. Believers are invited to pray for others—neighbors, leaders, enemies—echoing Jesus’ intercession for his disciples.

- Witness through love. The world recognizes the Father’s sending through the visible love, truth, and integrity of the community.

Cross-References (3–5)

- John 15:12–17 (the command to love one another and the fruit of that love in unity)

- John 14:6–11 (the knowledge of the Father through Jesus)

- John 10:28–30 (security in the Father’s hands)

- Romans 8:29–30 (glorification and unity in God’s plan)

- Ephesians 4:1–6 (one body, one Spirit, unity in the Spirit)

Recommended Personas (1–2)

- Jesus (primary): for understanding the self-giving love, prayer, and mission.

- Paul: for unpacking church unity, eschatological hope, and living in light of Christ’s glory.

Chapter Text

1

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2

As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

4

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

5

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

6

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7

Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

10

And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

12

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13

And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

18

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

19

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

20

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

25

O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

26

And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

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