Written ~ 04-26-2024
Read John Chapter Seventeen
John 17
This chapter is another reason why I love John’s perspective on how He saw Jesus. The entire “Last Supper” scene is completely different from the other three gospels. John does not record Jesus praying to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, instead He details a conversation Jesus is having with the disciples starting in John chapter 13 all the way through chapter 16. In chapter 17 John records a prayer Jesus gave, possibly while they still sat around the Passover table. One Bible Commentary said that it is also possible that chapters 15-17 were spoken enroute to the Mount of Olives. At the very end of John 14:31 Jesus says, “Come, let’s be going.” John 17:1 starts off with Jesus beginning a prayer, “After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven…” (looking up to heaven was a customary posture for prayer.) Maybe Jesus did stop for a moment if they were actually walking towards Gethsemane so He could pray to the Father. With His disciples gathered around He prayed for Himself, then He prayed for His disciples, and finally He prayed for all believers both present and future.
Let’s summarize what Jesus talked to the disciples about in that last few chapters…
Chapter 13:
- Jesus used Himself as an example of servanthood by washing the disciples’ feet.
- Jesus predicts His betrayal.
- Jesus predicts Peter’s denial.
Chapter 14:
- Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”
- Jesus promises the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 15:
- Jesus talks about being the vine and we are the branches. The only way to produce fruit is to remain attached to the vine. “Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”
- Jesus explains the hatred the world will have for us because we follow Jesus.
Chapter 16:
- Jesus speaks of the role the Holy Spirit will have in our lives.
- Jesus promises that one day our sadness will be turned to joy – He said, “I have told you all this so you will have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
And now we begin chapter 17. The prayer of Jesus can be broken up into three distinct parts:
- Verses 17:1-5 ~ Jesus is praying concerning Himself
- Verses 17:6-19 ~ He is praying for His disciples
- Verses 17:20-26 ~ Jesus is praying for all believers both present and future (that would be us!)
John 17:1-5…
Prayer for Himself…
1 “After 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. 2 For You have given Him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one You have given Him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one You sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring Me into the glory We shared before the world began.”
Jesus is speaking to the Father, confirming the authority given Him and that He had glorified the Father in everything He did on the earth. He also reiterates that He is the only way to eternal life. As Jesus prepares for His upcoming betrayal, arrest and death, He points out that He will be brought to Glory and will be with the Father forever. At the end of verse 17:5 Jesus says, “…bring Me into the glory We shared before the world began.” This is significant as it points to what John said about Jesus in verse 1:1… “In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 17:6-19…
Prayer for His disciples…
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. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from You, 8 for 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.”
The disciples were His beloved friends, He spent day and night with them, He taught them things they could never have imagined. So here we have Jesus lifting them up in prayer. He asks the Father to protect them, to guard them. Jesus asks the Father to keep them safe from the evil one. Verse 17:17… “Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your Word, which is truth.”
John 17:20-26…
Prayer for all believers…
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message. 21 I 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. 23 I 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. 24 Father, 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. 26 I 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.”
What a way to end chapter 17! Doesn’t it give you peace and joy to know that in this sacred moment, Jesus is praying for you! I know I feel overwhelmed with emotion knowing my Savior was lifting His eyes towards heaven and lifting me up in prayer.
Do you realize, those men standing there with Jesus on that day, are the very ones who spread the Gospel message and because it has remained true and has such great power that it has reached our ears today! So if you have given your life to Jesus it is because these eleven men stood in faith and delivered the message of Jesus Christ to all who would listen! And as more people became believers throughout the ages, that’s why we worship the Lord today! And this wonderful message of Jesus Christ will continue just as strongly throughout all the years to come.
Even after Jesus raises from the dead and ascends back into the glory of heaven, He will continue to teach us through His Holy Spirit and through the Word of God. In verse 17:26 Jesus said, “I have revealed You to them, and I will continue to do so…” That statement right there is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Even though we do not have Jesus walking on this earth in human form we have something even better – we have His Holy Spirit. The rest of verse 17:26 confirms this, “…then Your love for Me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Part of the prayer Jesus said for us says, “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.” (vs.17:23)
Unity in Spirit is what floods this world with the light of Jesus. As believers it is important to show Christ’s love within us. If we don’t have unity when we speak the words of truth from the Scriptures it could lead to confusion and the message of Jesus can become watered down.
Jesus came to this world to show us the Father. And just like the disciples who walked with Jesus, we have accepted the truth and know that Jesus came from the Father and we believe the Father sent Jesus to the world (vs.17:8b). That’s why our actions are so important.
From everything Jesus talked about in chapters 13-16, we can’t pick and choose which to believe or what examples we want to exercise. We are to live by the complete example of Christ. We can’t do that if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit living within us to help us, guide us and unify us.
When your life seems to throw you into a tailspin – remember this prayer of Jesus. Keep in mind that all those years ago Jesus was praying for you! And He continues to do so!
We all have things that distract us from reading our Bibles – but let’s recall the words given to us in the prayer of Jesus, “…I told them many times while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with My joy. I have given them Your Word…”
We truly have everything we need within these pages of Scripture… It’s up to each of us to read the Word of God, we can either draw strength from the words written from the heart of God or we can continue to do life on our own.
Jesus knows His time on earth is drawing close to the end – I feel like in these last few chapters He is trying to impart as much wisdom as He can before He leaves.
My prayer is that each of us would cling to the words of Jesus. Learn them – Know them – have them be like second nature.
I’ll close with the apostle Paul’s words from Philippians 4:13…
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
Draw courage and strength from the words of Jesus.
~AMEN~