John: The High Priestly Prayer (Part 1)

John 17:1-12

In John 13-17, we witness a special moment of interaction in the shadow of the cross. Jesus and his disciples share the Passover meal, during which he takes on the role of a servant and washes their feet. Meanwhile, Judas is on his way to betray Jesus, and there is rich teaching about what is coming and what to expect. 

Next, Jesus will head to the garden, where he will be arrested and, as he predicted, the disciples will scatter, abandoning him. Before they leave the room where they have celebrated the Passover, John records Jesus’ final prayer with his disciples. It is often called “the High Priestly Prayer.” Jesus begins by praying for himself (John 17:1-5), then for his disciples (John 17:6-19), and concludes by praying for us, his future believers (John 17:20-26).

Let’s consider this impactful prayer before the cross.

Jesus finished his instructions with the disciples by declaring, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). After saying those powerful words of victory, Jesus “lifted up his eyes to heaven” and began to pray.

John 17:1-5
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 

From eternity past, the omniscient God knew the cross was coming, even the exact time. The public declaration of a Savior was first spoken of in Genesis 3:15. Adam and Eve had introduced sin and death into the world. Satan would be the god of the fallen creation and continue to lead humanity astray. But God promised that one day he would send a Redeemer to earth. Satan would “bruise his heel.” But this One sent by God would crush Satan’s head. The time for that Genesis 3:15 encounter had arrived.

Jesus prayed that the Father would give him the strength to complete his earthly mission. Jesus had the authority, through his work on the cross, to save all of God’s people from eternal death and grant them eternal life. This eternal life was purposed so that sinful humanity could have a relationship with the heavenly Father. Only Jesus could achieve this reconciliation through his obedience by going to the cross, just hours away. 

Jesus said that he had glorified the Father through his work on earth and now through the cross. To glorify means “to reveal the magnificence of.” Jesus prays twice for the Father to glorify him by his suffering, sacrifice, death for sin, his resurrection to life, and his return to heaven. 

Don’t miss the final request Jesus makes to the Father. He remembers the glory they shared before the world was created. Now, Jesus longs for that splendor to be restored. 

This is an intimate conversation between the Son and the Father, happening just before the most painful and ultimately love-defining event in history. We learn from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane about the unimaginable emotional pain Jesus endured. Undoubtedly, he yearned for the payment for sin to be finished so he could return to the relationship in heaven that he and the Father shared before the world began. 

Jesus transitions from praying for himself (John 17:1-5) to praying for his disciples (John 17:6-19). We will focus first on John 17:6-12.

John 17:6-8
I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.  For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 

In the first part of his prayer for the disciples, Jesus notes that they are a special group of men, chosen by God. Twice in John 17:6, Jesus states that the Father handpicked the disciples and gave them to Jesus. Throughout their time together, Jesus demonstrated to the Twelve that he came from the Father, and everything he had was given to him by the Father. 

Jesus said that he imparted to the disciples “the words that [God] gave [him].” The disciples “received them” and truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah, sent from the Father. Then Jesus prays for their protection.

John 17:9-12
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 

Jesus prayed for the disciples’ unity. He reiterates that God is the one who gave the disciples to him and stresses his equality with the Father (“all mine are yours, and yours are mine”). Jesus then says that he is “glorified” in the disciples. What does this mean?

Most of the time in John’s Gospel, the word “glorify” means to reveal God’s character and presence. When Jesus says that he is “glorified in them,” he means that his life and message are reflected in the disciples.

Jesus was getting ready to return to the Father, but the disciples would stay in the world. Only Jesus could go to the cross; it was the disciples who would spread the message to the world. Think about this: Jesus left the message of eternity with eleven men who sometimes struggled to understand what he was saying! The Holy Spirit would change all of that. 

Jesus prays for his disciples’ continued unity and protection, just as he has safeguarded them during his time on earth. Not one of the disciples given to Jesus was lost except for Judas, “that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”

We’ll stop here for today. Tomorrow, we will consider the rest of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples and his prayer for us.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on John 17:1-12.  What is highlighted in your mind as you read “the High Priestly Prayer”?

Talking to God:  In what ways can your life reflect the message and character of Jesus, as the disciples did?

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