John 17

Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;

even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.

Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.

“I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.

Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you,

for the words which you have given me I have given to them; and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.

I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.

For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

“Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,

that they may all be one; even 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.

The glory which you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one,

I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.

Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.

I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter records Jesus’ high-priestly prayer on the night of His betrayal, offered after His final teachings to the disciples. It stands at the theological heart of John’s Gospel, revealing the depth of Christ’s communion with the Father and His intercession for those given to Him. The prayer unfolds in three movements: Jesus prays for His own glorification, for the sanctification and unity of His present disciples, and for the future, unified body of believers who will come to faith through their witness.

Flow.

Jesus begins by asking the Father to glorify Him, affirming that His earthly mission is complete and that eternal life consists in knowing the true God and the Son He has sent.
He turns to His immediate disciples, thanking the Father for giving them to Him, acknowledging His faithfulness in preserving them (except the one destined to perish), and praying for their protection, unity, and sanctification through God’s truth.
Finally, He extends His prayer to include all future believers, asking that they may be one as the Father and Son are one, so the world may believe in His divine mission and know the depth of divine love.

Connections.
Following chapter 16, where Jesus speaks of the coming persecution and the work of the Holy Spirit, this prayer serves as a spiritual climax before His passion. It internalizes the themes of glory, obedience, and relationship with the Father that Jesus has taught throughout His ministry. The unity and sanctification He petitions for His followers directly prepare for chapter 18, where Jesus enters willingly into suffering, demonstrating the very love and obedience for which He has just prayed. The transition from intercession to action underscores the integrity of Christ’s person and mission.

What it teaches.
The chapter reveals the profound unity between the Son and the Father in purpose, glory, and love (WCF 8.6). Eternal life is defined not merely as duration but as personal knowledge of God and Christ (WCF 17.3; HC LD 12). The sanctification of believers is grounded in the truth of God’s Word (WLC 32.55; HC LD 24.66–67), and their unity is not organizational but spiritual, reflecting the relational oneness of the Trinity (WCF 25.1). Christ’s priestly intercession confirms His role as mediator, and His self-consecration for the sake of His people anticipates His atoning work (WCF 7.4; LD 16–18). The elect are preserved by divine power, not human fidelity (WLC 54; Canons of Dort I.9).

Apply.
Believers are joined to Christ’s eternal prayer, held in the Father’s name, and sent into the world as witnesses of His unity and truth.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.