John17

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¹These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee:

²even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life.

³And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.

⁴I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do.

⁵And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

⁶I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.

⁷Now they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are from thee:

⁸for the words which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and they believed that thou didst send me.

⁹I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me; for they are thine:

¹⁰and all things that are mine are thine, and thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.

¹¹And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

¹²While I was with them, I kept them in thy name which thou hast given me: and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

¹³But now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

¹⁴I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁵I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one.

¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth.

¹⁸As thou didst send me into the world, even so sent I them into the world.

¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word;

²¹that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me.

²²And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;

²³I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me.

²⁴Father, I desire 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.

²⁵O righteous Father, the world knew thee not, but I knew thee; and these knew that thou didst send me;

²⁶and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for John 17.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Christ's prayer for himself. (1–5). His prayer for his disciples. (6–10). His prayer. (11–26).

vv1-5

Our Lord prayed as a man, and as the Mediator of his people; yet he spoke with majesty and authority, as one with and equal to the Father. Eternal life could not be given to believers, unless Christ, their Surety, both glorified the Father, and was glorified of him. This is the sinner's way to eternal life, and when this knowledge shall be made perfect, holiness and happiness will be fully enjoyed. The holiness and happiness of the redeemed, are especially that glory of Christ, and of his Father, which was the joy set before him, for which he endured the cross and despised the shame; this glory was the end of the sorrow of his soul, and in obtaining it he was fully satisfied. Thus we are taught that our glorifying God is needed as an evidence of our interest in Christ, through whom eternal life is God's free gift.

vv6-10

Christ prays for those that are his. Thou gavest them me, as sheep to the shepherd, to be kept; as a patient to the physician, to be cured; as children to a tutor, to be taught: thus he will deliver up his charge. It is a great satisfaction to us, in our reliance upon Christ, that he, all he is and has, and all he said and did, all he is doing and will do, are of God. Christ offered this prayer for his people alone as believers; not for the world at large. Yet no one who desires to come to the Father, and is conscious that he is unworthy to come in his own name, need be discouraged by the Saviour's declaration, for he is both able and willing to save to the uttermost, all that come unto God by him. Earnest convictions and desires, are hopeful tokens of a work already wrought in a man; they begin to evidence that he has been chosen unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. They are thine; wilt thou not provide for thine own? Wilt thou not secure them? Observe the foundation on which this plea is grounded, All mine are thine, and thine are mine. This speaks the Father and Son to be one. All mine are thine. The Son owns none for his, that are not devoted to the service of the Father.

vv11-16

Christ does not pray that they might be rich and great in the world, but that they might be kept from sin, strengthened for their duty, and brought safe to heaven. The prosperity of the soul is the best prosperity. He pleaded with his holy Father, that he would keep them by his power and for his glory, that they might be united in affection and labours, even according to the union of the Father and the Son. He did not pray that his disciples should be removed out of the world, that they might escape the rage of men, for they had a great work to do for the glory of God, and the benefit of mankind. But he prayed that the Father would keep them from the evil, from being corrupted by the world, the remains of sin in their hearts, and from the power and craft of Satan. So that they might pass through the world as through an enemy's country, as he had done. They are not left here to pursue the same objects as the men around them, but to glorify God, and to serve their generation. The Spirit of God in true Christians is opposed to the spirit of the world.

Key Words

JesusG2424Greek

Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs): Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites

spokenG2980Greek

λαλέω (laléō): to talk, i.e. utter words

wordsG5023Greek

ταῦτα (taûta): these things

lifted upG1869Greek

ἐπαίρω (epaírō): to raise up (literally or figuratively)

hisG846Greek

αὐτός (autós): the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons

eyesG3788Greek

ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós): the eye (literally or figuratively); by implication, vision; figuratively, envy (from the jealous side-glance)

toG1519Greek

εἰς (eis): to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases

heavenG3772Greek

οὐρανός (ouranós): the sky; by extension, heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel (Christianity)

andG2532Greek

καί (kaí): and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words

saidG2036Greek

ἔπω (épō): to speak or say (by word or writing)