1 After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:
Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. 2 And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. 3 Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. 4 I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.
6 You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. 7 They know that you gave me everything I have. 8 I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. 9 I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. 10 All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.
11 Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.
13 I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. 14 I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.
15 Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. 17 Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. 18 I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. 19 I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.
20 I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. 21 I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.
22 I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. 23 I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.
24 Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. 25 Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. 26 I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.
Read John 17:1-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If you ever wondered if Jesus prayed for you personally, then you may be surprised to learn that He actually did. While John, who wrote down this prayer, didn’t have space or time to include your name in the millions of others, He includes Jesus’ words that ripple through history down to you and me.
In this prayer, Jesus broadens the focus away from just His immediate disciples by saying, “I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.” (v. 20-21)
Jesus clearly states that this prayer is not just for His followers present on the night of His betrayal; He extends this prayer to include everyone else who places their faith in Him because of what His followers say about Him. By extending His prayer in this way, Jesus includes the followers of followers of followers throughout history until He reaches into the 21st century where we are currently in history. Jesus’ prayer is a prayer for each of us as well.
And not only is this a prayer for mission and protection, this is a prayer requesting help and guidance towards unity.
When being assembled into a large group, probably one of the biggest challenges people face in the group is staying united. It seems that the larger a group gets, the easier it is for it to fragment or split apart. Sadly, this has happened a number of times in Christianity’s history. Unity, even while we are all unique and diverse, was supposed to be one of the ways we could show the world that God was with us.
But most of Christianity’s fragmentation happened before we were born. While I’m not here to justify or condemn what happened in history between Jesus’ prayer for unity and where we are today, I am able to adjust my perspective, attitude, and focus in my own life.
This portion of Jesus’ prayer is a call to stay connected with Him, to connect with others who are living for Him, and to unite under the incredible truth of what He did for each of us on the cross. While we may disagree with others regarding other aspects of God, other beliefs, or other doctrines, probably the best place for us to start being united is under the cross, and specifically under the amazing truth of God’s love for us that led Him to the cross. Jesus died for everyone, and through His death He offers salvation to all who want to accept His gift – and while it is challenging for us to accept, this might include people who we don’t agree with.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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