Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
JOHN 17
Jesus Prays to Be Glorified
1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you 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 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Application Notes
17:1-26 This entire chapter is Jesus' prayer. From it, we learn that the world is a tremendous battleground where the forces under Satan's power and those under God's authority are at war. Satan and his forces are motivated by bitter hatred for Jesus Christ and his forces. Jesus prayed for his disciples, including those of us who follow him today. He prayed that God would keep his chosen believers safe from Satan's power, setting them apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through his truth.
17:3 How do we get eternal life? Jesus tells us clearly here—by knowing God the Father himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal life requires entering into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. When we admit our sin and turn away from it, Jesus' love lives in us by the Holy Spirit.
17:5 Before Jesus came to earth, he was one with God. At this point, when his mission on earth was almost finished, Jesus was asking his Father to restore him to his original place of honor and authority. Jesus' resurrection and ascension—and Stephen's dying exclamation (Acts 7:56)—attest that Jesus did return to his exalted position at the right hand of God.
17:10 What did Jesus mean when he said .glory has come to me through them·? We glorify God when we reveal his presence and character in the way we live. The lives of Jesus' disciples reveal his character and show the world that he is present in them. In what ways does your life reveal Jesus' character and presence?
17:11 Jesus was asking that the disciples be united in harmony and love as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united—in the strongest of all unions (see the notes on 17:21-23). We achieve this harmony not through structures or organizations alone but through the work of God in and between us, unifying us and drawing our own wills into sync with his own (17:3). It is important to remember, however, that though our unity is essential, we must never abandon or compromise truth simply to be unified. As we all grow closer to God together, we should find that our perspectives on the truth do the same.
17:12 Judas was “the one doomed to destruction,” who was lost because he betrayed Jesus and never sought forgiveness (see Psalm 41:9).
17:13 Joy is a common theme in Jesus' teachings—he wants us to be joyful (see 15:11; 16:24). We find immeasurable joy when we keep in intimate contact with Jesus, the source of all joy. Then we will experience God's special care and protection and see the victory God brings even when defeat seems certain.
17:14 The world hates Christians because Christians' values differ from theirs. Because Jesus' followers don't cooperate with the world by joining in their rebellion and hostility to God's Word and his will, they are living accusations against the world's immorality. Without God, the world slides into Satan's agenda, and Satan is the avowed enemy of Jesus and his people.
17:17 A follower of Jesus becomes sanctified (set apart for sacred use, cleansed, and made holy) by believing and obeying the Word of God (also see Hebrews 4:12). He or she has already received forgiveness through Jesus' sacrificial death (Hebrews 7:26-27). But daily application of God's Word has a purifying effect on our minds and hearts. Scripture points out sin, motivates us to confess it, renews our relationship with God, and guides us back to the right path.
17:18 Jesus didn't ask God to take believers out of the world but instead asked to use them in the world. Because Jesus sends us into the world, we should not try to escape from the world, nor should we avoid all relationships with non-Christians. As salt and light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16), we must find ways to be more loving, more creative as we share our faith, and more consistent in staying in touch with unbelievers. God sent us to do this kind of work.
17:20 Jesus prayed for all who would follow him, including you and others you know. He prayed for unity (17:11), protection from the evil one (17:15), and sanctity (holiness) (17:17). Knowing that Jesus prayed for us gives us confidence as we work for his kingdom.
17:21-23 Jesus' great desire for his disciples was that they would become one. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God's love. Are you helping to unify the body of Christ, the church? You can pray for other Christians, build them up, work with them in humility, be generous with your time and money, avoid gossip, exalt Jesus, and refuse to get sidetracked arguing over divisive matters.
17:21-23 Jesus prayed for unity among believers based on the believers' unity with him and the Father. Christians can know unity among themselves if they are living in union with God. Each branch living in union with its vine is united with all other branches doing the same.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)