John17

New Living Translation

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¹After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.

²For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.

³And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

⁴I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

⁵Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

⁶“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

⁷Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you,

⁸for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

⁹“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.

¹⁰All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory.

¹¹Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.

¹²During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.

¹³“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy.

¹⁴I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

¹⁵I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.

¹⁶They do not belong to this world any more than I do.

¹⁷Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

¹⁸Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.

¹⁹And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

²⁰“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.

²¹I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

²²“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.

²³I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

²⁴Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

²⁵“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me.

²⁶I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be 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)