John 17 — The Intercessory Prayer: Jesus Prays for Himself, His Apostles, and All Believers

The last thing Jesus did before they came for him was pray. John 17 is that prayer, and it is the longest recorded prayer of the Savior in scripture. He spoke it somewhere between the upper room and the garden, after the discourse and before the arrest. The disciples heard every word.

I have read this chapter many times and it still catches me that Jesus prayed for himself first, then for the men standing with him, and then for people he would never meet. I am in that third group along with everyone else reading this.

What Is the High Priestly Prayer in John 17

The prayer moves in three arcs. Jesus asks the Father to glorify him so he can glorify the Father. He prays for the Apostles who have been with him every day. Then he prays for everyone who will believe because of their testimony.

It is called the high priestly prayer because Jesus acts as the mediator. He stands between the Father and his followers and asks for their protection and their sanctification and their unity.

The whole thing takes up twenty-six verses with no parables, no questions from anyone else. Just Jesus talking to his Father about the people he was leaving behind.

Meaning of Eternal Life in John 17 3

Verse 3 defines eternal life in a way that shifts everything. Jesus says, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Eternal life is not something that starts when you die. It is knowing the Father and the Son. Knowledge here is not information you carry around in your head. It is the kind of knowing you have of a person you have spent years with. The way you know the sound of your child's footsteps on the stairs. The way a carpenter knows the grain of the wood before he cuts it.

I think about that when I sit down to read in the morning. The goal is not to get through a chapter. The goal is to know someone better than I did yesterday. That changes how I read.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
— John 17:3

Why Does Jesus Pray for Unity in John 17

Jesus says he wants believers to be one the same way he and the Father are one. This is not uniformity and it is not agreement on every opinion. It is the kind of oneness you get when two pieces of wood are joined so well that the seam barely shows. Each piece keeps its own character but together they carry weight they could not carry alone.

Jesus prays this for a practical reason. He says that when believers are one, the world will know the Father sent him. Unity is evidence. People who watch a group of believers love each other across their differences see something they cannot explain any other way. That is the point.

I have seen this work and I have seen it fail. When it works, it is because the people involved want the truth more than they want to be right. When it fails, it is usually because someone decided being right was the same thing as being faithful. It is not.

What Does It Mean to Be in the World but Not of It

Jesus does not ask the Father to take the Apostles out of the world. He asks the Father to keep them from the evil one. That distinction matters. He wants them in the world but protected from what would pull them away from the truth.

I have thought about this more as I have gotten older. When I was younger I thought being not of the world meant keeping distance from it. Now I think it means being present in it without being shaped by its assumptions. You cannot love your neighbor if you are not around any neighbors. You also cannot love your neighbor if the neighborhood reshapes you into someone who does not love well.

The protection Jesus prays for is not a wall. It is a kind of grounding. Knowing who you are and whose you are so that the world does not have to define you.

How to Apply John 17 to Modern Discipleship

The practical application of this chapter is not complicated and it is not easy. You pray for people the way Jesus prayed for his disciples. You ask for their protection. You ask for their unity. And you stay in the world long enough to love the people in it.

I try to apply it in small ways. When I am in the shop and I am thinking about my kids or the people in my ward, I say the same kind of prayer Jesus said. Not a long one. Just a request that they be kept and that they be one. It is a simple thing but it orients me.

Jesus also says he has given us his glory so we can be one. I do not fully understand what that means but I know it is not a metaphor for something small. He gave us something real so that the unity he prayed for would be possible. That is the kind of gift you do not waste on minor disagreements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is John 17 called the high priestly prayer

It is called that because Jesus acts as the high priest in this passage, interceding between the Father and his followers. In temple worship the high priest represented the people before God. Jesus does the same thing here, except he is both the priest and the sacrifice.

What does Jesus mean by glorify thy Son in verse 1

He means complete the work. Glory in this context is not about fame or recognition. It is about fulfilling the mission he was sent to do. He is asking the Father to carry him through the end so the Father can be glorified in return.

How can we actually achieve the oneness Jesus prays for

The oneness comes through shared commitment to the truth and shared love for the Savior. It is not something you manufacture by agreeing on everything. It is something that emerges when a group of people wants the same thing more than they want their own way.

I have been sitting with this prayer all week, the last thing Jesus said to his Father before he walked into the garden. He did not ask for himself. He asked for us. If you are reading through John in order, the account of the arrest and the trials that follows this prayer shows how quickly the world responded.

-- D.