John 17

A Prayer for Oneness

I and my Father are one.—John 10:30

A verse by verse study in John 17

Jesus was a man of prayer. Many times in the gospel records we read of him going apart into a mountain or desert place to spend hours in communion with his heavenly Father. He taught his disciples how to pray. However there are not many accounts of the words of his prayers within the earshot of the disciples. The prayer of John 17 is a beautiful exception to this rule. This chapter preserves a model example of a prayer that rises out of concern for others.

Prayer for Himself—Verses 1–5

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Many artists picture Jesus as kneeling in prayer. But both here and in the simple prayer before the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:41), wesee Jesus standing and raising his eyes to heaven. Kneeling is appropriate for a Christian because it demonstrates humility and the attitude of a supplicant. Lifting up his eyes was equally appropriate for Jesus because he was initiating a conversation with his Father. He was having a personal dialog with the one with whom he had spent countless eons in the special relationship of father and son.

In this family prayer with the eleven Jesus again specifies that the "hour is come." He uses this expression some seven times in the gospels, always relating to his final hour as a human—to his death on Calvary’s cross.

He asks now, because he could not so ask in death, for his glorification. But it is not a selfish request; his object was to render greater glory to his father. In this simple and straightforward statement lies the highest motive for all Christian service—that it may redound to the greatest glory of the Creator of the universe.

Although he had not yet died as the atoning sacrifice for all mankind, his mind is set. He knows he will carry through with his sacrifice. Therefore he knows that he will be given power over all flesh and he also knows how he will use that power—to give eternal life to the ransomed race. More than this, Jesus defines that eternal life by giving its purpose and the only way of maintaining it when he states, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." It will take eternity to fully know both the Father and the Son.

In this prayer we have the only reference bythe Master to the combined phrase, "Jesus Christ." This adds yet another dimension to his life on earth. It is one thing to know Jesus as the man who came to earth to provide a ransom for Adam and his posterity, it is yet another matter to know him as "Christ," the anointed, the Messiah. Paul speaks of Christ having a body that is composed of "not one member, but many" (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). Therefore afull recognition implies a recognition of his body members, the Church, also.

The prayer continues by referring to the fact that his accomplished work (of which he would again say "It is finished" as his final words on the cross—John 19:30) was the method by which he glorified his father while on earth. It ison this basis that he requests a return to his former glory. It should be noted that this request is not to a former nature, but to a former glory. This prior glory was to be personally inhis father’s presence in the heavenly realm. His exaltation was to an even higher nature than he had in his pre-existence (Philippians 2:8-11).

Prayer for His Disciples—Verses 6–11

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Having finished his supplication for his Father’s glory and for the fact and purpose of his own glorification, Jesus’ prayer now turns to his followers. He begins with five assertions about his disciples:

1. That God was the one who had given Jesus the care of his disciples.

2. That he had been faithful in directing them to God as the Father.

3. That he had indeed instructed them with God-given words.

4. That his followers had understood all these instructions.

5. That they had been faithful in following them up to that time.

Jesus then limits this section of his prayer to his followers, excluding the rest of the world. This does not mean that he was disinterested in the balance of the human race, but it does mean that there is a recognizable distinction between those who followed him and those who did not. Later he will include the remainder of mankind, but the next requests concern his disciples alone.

The Master proceeds to establish that the close family relationship that exists not only between himself and God, also exists with his followers. He acknowledges that all those whose care God had entrusted to him belonged to the Creator and were only his as a result of his own familial relationship with God—they were his as an "heir of God" (Romans 8:17).

The statement "I am glorified in them" further cements this union. Jesus, through his life and in his death, glorified the name of his Father (John 12:28). As his works had glorified God, so he prays that his disciples’ work would be a glory to their Master. The words of Pastor Charles Taze Russell are noteworthy in this connection:

"It is blessed to mark this oneness between Christ Jesus and the members of his body. Our Lord does not selfishly grasp all the glory and seek to retain it for himself. On the contrary, with loving solicitude he marks the progress of his body-members as they develop in character-likeness to himself, and says, `They are mine; and I am glorified in them’ (John 17:10); and he would have them all bound up together with himself in the Father’s Love. He would also have them with himself, beholding and sharing the glory which the Father has conferred upon him as a reward for his loyalty and obedience throughout all the crucial testings which came upon him."—Reprints p. 5213.

His concern focuses on the fact that, although he had kept all (except Judas Iscariot) of those whom God had given him while he was with them, he pleads that God will continue to keep them after his departure from human life.

The translation of verse eleven is ambiguous, but much weight must be given to the American Standard Version (and many others) which renders the latter part of the text this way: "Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we (are)." Here the keeping power is through the special name which the Father had given Jesus—Jehovah-tsidkenu, the righteousness of Jehovah (Jeremiah 23:5,6).

A parallel illustration is found in Revelation 7 where 144,000 are seen as having a protective mark or "seal" in their foreheads. This mark is identified in Revelation 14:1 as being "his [Jesus’] name and the name of his Father" (ASV, following the most ancient manuscripts). It is by or through the obtaining and maintaining of this divine righteousness that the saints are kept. It is only through this that Jesus’ prayer will be answered, "that they may be one, even as we are one." Because they have the same character of righteousness, Jesus and his father can be said to "be one." Only through the attainment of the same character can the followers enjoy that same type of oneness.

This development of righteousness is further implied in the title of address which Jesus uses of Jehovah in this verse. This is the only instance where Jesus calls upon Jehovah as "Holy Father" instead of his usual "my father," implying that it is the particular quality of holiness in the Father’s character that is the basis of claim for a oneness in such holiness among his disciples.

Sanctifying Power—Verses 12–16

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Once again Jesus avers his faithfulness in keeping the twelve he had uniquely been given as apostles. Even the one who had been lost, Judas Iscariot, was lost so "that the scripture might be fulfilled." It appears that the eleven, at least, felt that the Old Testament references were to Psalm 41:9 and Psalm 109:6-8 which read, "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. . . . Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office." (See also Acts 1:15-20.)

Some feel that the word "perdition" indicates that Judas will not have a resurrection. In fact, the Greek word apoleia, translated "perdition," is neutral in that debate. The word appears 19 times in the New Testament and is first used in Matthew 7:13 where it is translated "destruction": "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat." In this text it certainly indicates a state from which recovery is possible.

The words he had spoken to his disciples "while in the world" may have reference to the entire body of his teachings for three and a half years. However, it was especially applicable to the words he had just spoken (John 14 through 16). In John 15:11 he uses a nearly identical expression: "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Jesus strongly felt the anxiety of his disciples. In fact, he was himself "troubled in spirit" (John 12:27). Now he was praying that that anxiety would be replaced with fullness of joy which would come from the "full assurance" that comes alone from the understanding which, through faith, produces hope (Colossians 2:2; Hebrews 10:22; 6:11).

Next he addresses the relationship of his disciples to the world. Not only are they separate from the balance of the human race, they will be despised for the very reason of their separateness and adherence to his words. He had warned his followers of this when he said earlier that evening, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18). It should be only for the cause of the Lord’s word that his adherents be looked down upon. It should be just as true of them asit was of Daniel: "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God" (Daniel 6:5).

Knowing that his followers could not be part of the world since they were following him who was not of the world, and knowing that this would bring upon them opposition, Jesus prays in almost the same words as he taught his disciples to pray, "deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13).

Sanctification and Unity—Verses 17–24

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

This holiness which would be the mark of spiritual oneness to the church was to be achieved through a process of sanctification. Not only would this bring their characters to maturity, it would also separate them for the future service of God. The process of this work was to be accomplished by the power of truth while they would be accomplishing the mission for which they were sent—the Master specifically stating that he "sent them into the world."

It was for their sakes that Jesus sanctified himself, so that through his example and instruction they would become set aside for the same future work of uplifting mankind from the pit of sin and death to the glories of everlasting life. Once again he petitions the Father to help them develop this oneness. It was the vision of the same glory and work which Jesus had been given as the future rehabilitator of humanity that would inspire them to the perfecting of holiness.

In verse 20 the prayer broadens from his immediate disciples to those who would believe on him through their word. While this primarily applies to the bride class to be selected in the next two millennia, it has a secondary application to all who will eventually serve him among the countless millions who will be raised from the grave.

Not only their words, but their conduct also, would be a witness to all who knew them, that the world would know that Jehovah had sent his son not only to redeem the race from the grave, but to lift them up to the standing of perfection before God.

Jesus prayed that this work which he shared in common with his followers on earth, would continue to be their mutual activity in the heavenly realms to which he would soon be going. Then they would share the ultimate unity with their Lord and Master—the same unity which Jesus shared with God. It was this oneness that the apostle Paul described as the object of Jesus’ ascension in Ephesians 4:12,13, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Thus, when the present work of perfecting the saints fades into their future work of instructing mankind in the rules of God and the principles of righteousness, "the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."

His final statement in this section, "for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world," leaves the strong implication that Jesus as the Logos had an essential part in the laying out of God’s plan for mankind. It was not only love for the church and for the entire race, but it was also love for his only-begotten son that sent Jesus into the world to suffer for man’s transgressions and to die for his sins.

The Close of the Prayer—Verses 25–26

O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

The Master concludes by summarizing the whole of his heart-felt feelings. The world, depraved by sin, knew not the true requirements and goodness of Jehovah. But Jesus did know God as he is and, through his ministry, his followers would also have such knowledge. Hehad not only proclaimed his name to them while on earth, he avers that he will again declare it. This includes not only the gospel message of this age, but the yet future declaration of God’s name that will come in the kingdom when he would be united with his followers in a oneness that will truly be indivisible.

We rejoice that Jehovah overruled that the words of this prayer, the only detailed prayer of the Master thus preserved, have been written for our edification. In it we have a wonderful glimpse into the planned oneness of the human race with the Creator when truly "God may be all in all" (1 Corinthians 15:28). It also provides an example of intercessory prayer and love of Jesus for his disciples.