
John 17:1-26
In Jesus’ High Priestly prayer, He interceded not just for the disciples but for all who would believe in Him.
17:2 | Jesus’ authority and power came from the Father. Jesus’ purpose was to be the Provider of eternal life.
17:3 | Everyone will live eternally somewhere, but for those who believe, the eternal life Jesus spoke of means living forever in God’s presence. Eternal life is not just length of life but a quality of life - knowing God as Lord, Father, Friend.
17:4 | The work of Jesus’ life on earth was finished, and His final work of death on the cross was in sight.
17:6-8 | True disciples belong to God the Father - the origin of discipleship rests in His heart. But the operation of discipleship is through Jesus Christ: You gave them to Me. Speaking specifically of the twelve, Jesus said these men have kept Your word. This is the obligation of discipleship: obedience to the written Word of God. The way a person regards the Bible is the way he or she regards Christ, the living Word.
17:9-11 | Here, Jesus prays specifically for the Twelve rahter than the world in general (17:2). These men were chosen by God and would be the nucleus of the soon-to-emerge church. For His followers - the disciples and the church - to be one was essential (Eph. 4:4-13; Col. 3:14).
17:12 | What a promise from Jesus! It is easy to become obsessed with circumstances, with what is in the world. Christians only need to remember that Jesus has promised to keep them (Jude 24).
17:13 | To let His joy be fulfilled in their lives is at the heart of the Christian message (Phil. 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16). Happiness depends on happenings in one’s life, but joy depends on Jesus.
17:14-19 | As long as believers are in this world but living for the Lord, they will be protected from the evil one and indelibly marked as His by the truth. God promises to one day take His children home with Him, but until then, Jesus prays for their spiritual wellbeing and pleads for their safekeeping.
17:16 | Christians are called to be engaged in the world but not worldly (opposing God) in their ways and thinking. They should be shining lights in the darkness.
17:17-19 | God’s children participate in His sanctifying activity by resisting the evil one and living out the truth found in His word. They are sanctified so that Christ can send them into the world to share the gospel.
17:20 | When Jesus prayed for those who will believe in Me, He was praying for every believer who would come to know Him into the future!
17:21-23 | Christians who operate on the same agenda as Jesus understand these things as His heartbeat: He longs that the Father be glorified, that His followers be sanctified, and that the church be unified to reach the world for Him.
17:24-26 | The power of Christian unity is God’s love within His people.