John17:1-26

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever will believe in Him will have eternal life. 

John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Salvation is beyond our comprehension but a gift of the Triune Godhead that loves us so!! Glory be to God who loved us enough to die for us and wants us to be with Him for eternity.

Faith in God and the salvation He offers accomplishes what we cannot!

John17:1-26

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as 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 have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. 20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, 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. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  The New King James Version

Jesus’ prayer in this chapter is intimately linked with the themes and language of His teaching in the Gospel of John to this point. 

The prayer also serves as a summary of the major themes and underlying message of the Gospel leading up to the final climactic event of the passion of the Christ. Jesus foreshadowed His imminent return to the Father through death and suffering. That time is now at hand. He continues to exemplify obedience to the Father, following the inevitable path to His glorification through crucifixion. Faithlife Study Bible

glorify (Gk. doxazō) (7:39; 12:23; 13:31, 32; 17:5; Rom. 1:21; 8:30; Gal. 1:24) Strong’s #1392: This Greek term means “to give glory,” or “to make glorious.” It was one of John’s favorite expressions concerning what would happen to Jesus as the result of His crucifixion and resurrection. These events would show the world that Jesus was no ordinary man. The resurrection, especially, would show that He was the glorious Son of God worthy of all honor. In His final prayer, Jesus asked the Father to be glorified alongside of Him (that is, in the Father’s presence) by means of the glory He had with the Father before the world existed. In other words, Jesus was praying to enter into that pristine state of coequal glory with the Father, a position He possessed from eternity as God’s only Son. He would enter into that glory in a new way—as the God-man, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jesus made known the Father by completing the work God gave Him to do. Jesus looked to the Father to restore Him to the glory He had in heaven before He left. This is another indication of Christ’s preexistence and deity. I do not pray for the world indicates that Jesus was praying only for present and future believers. The NKJV Study Bible.

John 17:8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

John 17:21 that they all may be one, 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.

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

John 17:25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.