John17

New King James Version

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¹Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

²as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.

³And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

⁴I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

⁵And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

⁶“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

⁷Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.

⁸For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

⁹“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.

¹⁰And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

¹¹Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

¹²While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

¹³But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

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

¹⁵I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

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

¹⁷Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

¹⁸As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

²⁰“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

²¹that they all may be one, 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.

²²And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

²³I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

²⁴“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

²⁵O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.

²⁶And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved 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)