In today’s Daily Devotional on John 17, we witness an extraordinary moment where Jesus prays for His disciples and for all future believers, offering a profound example of how we might approach prayer in our own lives. This passage reveals Jesus’ deep intercession for His followers, highlighting the importance of prayer in maintaining a close relationship with God and seeking His guidance and protection. It challenges us to reflect on our own prayer life, asking whether we feel the need and desire to pray and whether we include others in our prayers. By examining Jesus’ prayer in John 17, we gain insight into the significance of prayer and its role in fostering unity, sanctification, and love among believers. To learn how Jesus overcame the world, check out the Daily Devotional on John 16.
Who is Jesus Praying for in John 17?
Allen J. Huth shares personal reflections on John 17, written at different points in his life, demonstrating a deepening understanding of Jesus’ words. In 1990, the focus was on Jesus’ prayer for His disciples to be kept from the evil one and to be unified in joy and glory. By 2005, the emphasis had shifted to glorifying the Father, passing on the mission, and being sanctified in truth. In 2018, the reflections encapsulated the entire chapter, highlighting eternal life, the inevitability of being hated, and the importance of knowing both God and Jesus Christ. These evolving reflections underscore the richness of John 17, and its timeless relevance to our spiritual journey.
As we delve deeper into John 17, we see Jesus’ unwavering commitment to His disciples, asking the Father to protect, sanctify, and unify them. This prayer extends to all future believers, illustrating Jesus’ far-reaching love and foresight. He prays for our sanctification through the truth of God’s Word and our unity as believers, just as He and the Father are one. This powerful intercession reminds us of our mission in the world—to live out the truth and love of Jesus Christ. By immersing ourselves in God’s Word and allowing His love to flow through us, we can fulfill the calling Jesus has placed on our lives and continue the work He began.
John 17 Commentary by Allen J. Huth
In John 17, Jesus prays. He prays for His disciples, and He prays for us. How is your prayer life? Do you need to pray? Do you want to pray? Do you pray for others? Please read or listen to John 17.
What Is the Main Verse in John 17?
In 1990, after reading John 17 (NASB), I wrote, “Jesus prays for His disciples and for all those who will believe. They received and understood, referring to verse 8. Keep them, make them one, verse 11. Give them joy, verse 13. Keep them from what? ‘From the evil one’ (v. 15).Jesus gave them His glory, verse 22.Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus and His disciples were one, verses 21 and 23, therefore, God the Father and the disciples are one. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit? ‘Thy Word is truth’” (v. 17, KJV).
What Is the Truth in John 17?
In 2005, I wrote, “Jesus prays for His disciples. Glorify the Father through Him. Pass on mission to others. Keep them. ‘Keep them from the evil one’ (v. 15, NKJV). Sanctify them in the truth of Your Word. Unify them and all that follow them. Pass on Your love to them.”
In 2018, I wrote, “Jesus prays all of chapter 17. Eternal life. One needs to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, both, according to verse 3. Jesus prays for His disciples, verse 9. Even Jesus was subject to the Scriptures, verse 11. We will be hated, verse 14. He prays that we can fend off the evil one with truth, verses 15-17. Jesus prays for future believers, verse 20. Jesus existed ‘before the foundation of the world’ (v. 24). He passes love to us, verse 26.”
What Did Jesus Mean in John 17:3?
John 17 is Jesus praying. If you want to know how to pray, this is a great chapter revealing how Jesus Himself prayed to the Father. Verse 1 tells us, “he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said”. That is how Jesus prayed. He defines eternal life, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (v. 3). One cannot have eternal life with only God. It has to be both.
What follows is a very compassionate prayer for His disciples. He knows He is going to the cross and He prays to the Father to protect and strengthen them, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours” (v. 9). He goes on, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (v. 15).
We are the same; we are not of this world, but we live in this world. And Jesus does not expect us to leave this world, He expects us to dominate the evil one while we are in this world. How? By being sanctified in the truth. This great famous verse, John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” To be strong in the Lord, we need to be sanctified in the truth. We get sanctified in the truth by knowing God’s Word.
Jesus Himself is sending His disciples into the world, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (v. 18).Then He prays for us, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (v. 20). That is us, because we have believed from what they did as they spread the gospel across the corners of the earth. Jesus prays for unity, “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one” (v. 23). In the following verse, Jesus reminds us He was there “before the foundation of the world”. “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (v. 24).
Finally, He prays that the love He has will be poured into each one of them, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (v. 26). Jesus prays with power and compassion for His disciples. Today, He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you and me. Maybe He is whispering a prayer like John 17.
Let’s look at a couple of applications from this chapter. First, Jesus, the Son of God, needed to pray. He wanted to pray. And He prayed for others. Do you feel a need to pray? Do you want to pray? And do you pray for others?
Secondly, Jesus expressed tremendous compassion for those the Father had given Him. Who are you compassionate about? Do you lift them up in prayer?
Thirdly, Jesus asks the Father to sanctify them in the truth, “thy Word is truth” (v. 17, KJV). Are you sanctified in the truth? Are you immersed in God’s Word?
Lastly, He prayed that the love He had would be poured out in them so they could pour it out to others. Have you been filled with the love of Jesus? Have you been spreading it to others? Let’s pray.
Father, we come to You in prayer like Your Son prayed in John 17. We thank You for giving this example of how Jesus prayed. Holy Spirit, empower us to pray like Jesus prayed. Might we pray for those closest to us, but might we also pray for those everywhere. As we pray, Lord, sanctify us in Your truth. Keep us immersed in Your Word. Pour Your love in us and through us to others. May the world see Jesus through us. In whose name we pray, amen.
