“1 After Jesus had spoken these words, He looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You, 2 since You have given Him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on earth by finishing the work that You gave Me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had in Your presence before the world existed.
6 “I have made Your name known to those whom You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words that You gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom You gave Me, because they are Yours. 10 All mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them in Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one, as We are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them in Your name that You have given me.
I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy made complete in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in You, may they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me. 22 The glory that You have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as We are one, 23 I in them and You in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that You have sent me and have loved them even as You have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom You have given me, may be with Me where I am, to see my glory, which You have given me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know You, but I know You; and these know that You have sent Me. 26 I made Your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them” John 17:1-26.
Dear friends, take time, a lot of your time today, luxuriating in this chapter 17 of John’s Gospel, because in it is the final discourse of Jesus when He crosses over into the threshold of eternity. And if you are still wondering how Jesus saw Himself here on earth, how Jesus understood His life Mission to be, let His very own words speak for themselves. For here I have counted no less than 52 times in this chapter alone that Jesus makes a specific and deliberate reference to His Father, using the word Father, or You or Yours. Everything about Jesus is about His Father whom He loves and who loves Him and loves all of us. It is an incredible revelation to see that every thought, every moment, every breath of Jesus’ life was directed by and in obedience to His Father.
And while Jesus is still in this world when He speaks these words He views His earthly ministry as a thing of the past. Notice that He says to His Father “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You” (verse 1), for “4 I glorified You on earth by finishing the work that You gave Me to do” (verse 4). Jesus has finished the work that His Father gave Him to do! In these verses we see the most beautiful and intimate prayer of Jesus to His Father as He is returning to His Father in heaven as the glorified Son of God. If ever there was a prayer of union it is this prayer. In Jesus’ opening words He “looked up into heaven” just as we saw Him do previously: “5 When He looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward Him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat’” (John 6:5)?, and when “41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people; and He divided the two fish among them all” Mark 6:41. Jesus can now be the source of eternal life because only when Jesus is glorified is the glory of the Father fully visible, for the Son of God because man to reveal the father whom no one had ever seen, and we finally know the Father through His glorious Son. In this prayer eternal life becomes clear: it is the knowledge of God.
“6 I have made Your name known to those whom You gave Me from the world. They were Yours, and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words that You gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent me” (verses 6-8). Can you see here that the Son
actually never left the Father, but now the human nature of Jesus is glorified in the Father’s presence, in the words of truth that always came from the Father!
Jesus prays for the chosen believers, for their protection (verses 9-16), not one of whom was lost except the one (Judas) who was destined to be lost, and for their dedication to God (verses 17-19). And Jesus prays for them that they will continue to be protected as He leaves this earth, praying to His Father: “Holy Father, protect them in Your name that You have given Me” (verse 13), for “15 I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one” (verse 15). These verses and this prayer for our protection is a promise of our Divine mission here on earth, a mission given to us on Easter night after the sacrifice of Jesus has been completed, as evidenced in Jesus’ first words repeated to them after His resurrection from the dead: “21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I send you’” John 20:21.
Vital to all of these beautiful and prayerful words of prayer are prayers for those who believe through the words of the disciples: “20 I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one” (verse 20). All generations share in the salvation brought about through the presence of Jesus in their lives. Jesus’ glory cannot be only for those who were present to witness Jesus personally, but for all the generations that follow who will share in the glory of the Son. And in a most triumphant cry of love Jesus concludes His prayer with this shout: “25 Righteous Father, the world does not know You, but I know You; and these know that You have sent Me. 26 I made Your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which You have loved me may be in them, and I in them” John 17:25-26.
I ask you, are there any more beautiful and hopeful words of prayer — ever?
Oh dear Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner. I turn to You humbly, repenting of my sins that are before me, and pray that You have mercy on me a sinner. Remember me when I get into Paradise. In Your name I pray, amen.
From the Bible:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10.
“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” 1 John 4:16.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends”
John 15:13.
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