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.
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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.
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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.
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I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
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They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
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As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
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And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
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Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
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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.
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And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
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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.
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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.
John 17 Study & Commentary
Overview & Chapter Summary
John 17 is the "High Priestly Prayer," the longest recorded prayer of Jesus. It provides a rare glimpse into the communion between the Father and the Son, focusing on the themes of glory, protection for the disciples, and the unity of the future church.
Theological Context & Insights
CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS
1. The Definition of Eternal Life: Knowing God and Jesus Christ is life eternal (v. 3). This redefines salvation not as a "destination" after death, but as an intimate, experiential knowledge of God starting now.
2. In the World, Not of It: Jesus prays for our protection *within* the world (v. 15). We are not called to isolation, but to a distinct, sanctified presence that acts as salt and light.
3. The Power of Unity: Jesus prays that we may be "one" so that the world may believe (v. 21). Disunity in the church is a major stumbling block to the Gospel; our unity is a primary tool for evangelism.
Practical Lessons & Daily Application
FORMAL PRAYER
Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given us. Sanctify us through Thy truth; Thy word is truth. Grant us such unity in the Spirit that the world may know Thou hast sent Thy Son. May we behold Thy glory and be with Thee where Thou art, world without end. Amen.