John 17

King James Version

Full text for John Chapter 17

1¶ 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:›

2‹As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.›

3‹And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.›

4‹I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.›

5‹And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.›

6¶ ‹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.›

7‹Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.›

8‹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.›

9‹I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.›

10‹And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.›

11¶ ‹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].›

12‹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.›

13‹And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.›

14‹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.›

15‹I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.›

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

17¶ ‹Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.›

18‹As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.›

19‹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.›

20¶ ‹Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;›

21‹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.›

22‹And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:›

23‹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.›

24¶ ‹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.›

25‹O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.›

26‹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.›

AI Analysis

AI Summaries

Short Summary

Jesus prays to the Father, seeking glorification after completing His earthly work, and desires to return to His pre-existent glory. He then intercedes for His immediate disciples, asking for their preservation, unity, and sanctification through truth, as they are in the world but not of it. Finally, He extends His prayer to all future believers, requesting their perfect unity with each other and with the Father and Son, so the world may believe.

Medium Summary

In John 17, Jesus offers a profound high priestly prayer, first for Himself, requesting glorification from the Father now that His work on earth is finished, and desiring to resume the glory He had before the world began. He defines eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. Next, He prays for His immediate disciples, whom the Father gave Him, asking for their protection and unity in God's name, acknowledging that He kept them save for the son of perdition. Jesus emphasizes that they are not of the world, and requests their sanctification through God's truth, as He sends them into the world just as He was sent. Lastly, Jesus prays for all who will believe through their word, that they may achieve perfect unity with each other and with the Father and Son, reflecting divine unity. This unity, He states, will lead the world to believe in His divine mission and God's love for them.

Long Summary

John chapter 17 records Jesus' solemn high priestly prayer to His Father, offered just before His crucifixion. He begins by praying for Himself, stating that "the hour is come" and requesting glorification from the Father, so that He, the Son, may in turn glorify the Father. Jesus affirms that He has finished the work given to Him on earth and now desires to be glorified with the same glory He possessed with the Father "before the world was." He defines eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He sent. Subsequently, Jesus shifts His intercession to His immediate disciples, those whom the Father "gavest me out of the world." He declares that He has manifested God's name to them, and they have received His words and believed in His divine origin and mission. Jesus prays not for the world, but specifically for these disciples, asking the Holy Father to keep them in His name, that they "may be one, as we are." He recounts how He kept them while He was with them, losing none "but the son of perdition," fulfilling scripture. Jesus acknowledges that His disciples are in the world but "not of the world," and therefore hated by it, just as He is not of the world. He prays not for their removal from the world, but for their preservation "from the evil," and for their sanctification "through thy truth: thy word is truth." He states that He sends them into the world just as the Father sent Him, and He sanctifies Himself for their sake, that they also might be sanctified. Finally, Jesus extends His prayer to encompass all future believers, those who "shall believe on me through their word." His primary petition for them is that "they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." This profound unity is desired so "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." He grants them the glory given to Him, further emphasizing their unity with the divine. Jesus desires that these believers ultimately be with Him where He is, to behold His glory, which the Father loved Him with "before the foundation of the world." He concludes by reiterating His declaration of God's name to them, so that the Father's love and Jesus' presence may abide in them.

Core Concepts

  • Glorification of Father and SonJesus requests the Father to glorify Him, having completed His earthly work, so that He may in turn glorify the Father. He desires to return to the pre-existent glory He shared with the Father before the world began.
  • Eternal LifeJesus defines eternal life not merely as endless existence, but as a profound knowledge and relationship: "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
  • Unity of BelieversA central theme of Jesus' prayer is the unity of His disciples, both immediate and future. He prays that they "may be one, as we are," mirroring the unity between the Father and the Son, so the world may believe.
  • Not of the WorldJesus repeatedly states that His disciples are "not of the world," even though they remain in it. This signifies their distinct spiritual nature and allegiance, which often leads to the world's hatred.
  • Sanctification through TruthJesus prays for His disciples' sanctification, meaning their setting apart and purification. This process is achieved "through thy truth," which Jesus explicitly identifies as "thy word."
  • Preservation and SendingJesus prays for the Father to "keep" His disciples from evil while they are in the world. He also commissions them, stating, "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."
  • Divine Love and PresenceJesus declares God's name to His disciples so that the love with which the Father loved Him may be in them, and that Jesus Himself may be in them, signifying an intimate indwelling.