Though not given the designation “The Lord’s Prayer”, Jesus’ prayer to His Father in John 17 deserves the designation above His model prayer given to His disciples in Matthew 6. This prayer, provided by John’s pen in its entirety, consists of three main sections. His prayer for Himself (1-5); His prayer for His disciples (6-19); and then His prayer for all who believe in Him (20-26). This latter section is especially relevant to us, as it applies to all Christians, past, present and future.
His Prayer for Himself (1-5)
“Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You…” The events immediately to come, His death on the cross, His resurrection from the death, His ascension into heaven, served to exalt Jesus. As Peter noted, God’s raising of Jesus from the dead after His crucifixion was proof that He was “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Jesus’ glorification brought glory to the Father as well. The scheme of redemption in God’s mind from the beginning was accomplished as He had proclaimed!
As noted in the prayer, God gave Jesus authority over all (cf. Matthew 28:18). He chose to save man through His Son, and Jesus had accomplished all that God had sent Him to do. All that remained was His death. All else had been accomplished. Jesus looked forward to and petitioned for His return to His Father’s right hand.
Jesus’ Prayer for His disicples (6-19)
The purpose of the apostles of the Lord was to take up the cause after His departure. He made this clear to them in the previous chapter when He told them, “…It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:7-13).
The apostles had been faithful to Jesus (note: This prayer was offered just before the betrayal of Judas. Jesus’ knew this would happen). They would (and did) continue the proclamation of God’s truth following Christ’s death. Therefore, a special prayer was offered by Jesus on their behalf, asking His Father to “keep through Your name those who You have given Me, that they may be one as We are” (11). In verse 12 he alludes to Judas’ coming betrayal, calling him the “son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” Other than Judas, Jesus had kept them while He was with them, now He asked for His Father’s help.
The apostles had obtained God’s word. In their faithfulness, they were now sojourners, not of this world. As with many messengers of God, they would be the subject of hate because of their message. Jesus said, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (15). In verse 19 we see Christ’s express purpose for dying. He was to sanctify Himself through death, so that those who believe might be sanctified unto life. The apostles were the firstfruits of this action. Notice how closely Jesus ties this sanctification with His truth! This is a strong case for our defense of the “faith which was once for all delivered (by the apostles) to the saints” (Jude 3).
Jesus’ Prayer for all (20-26)
Now we get to the most applicable part of Jesus’ prayer to His Father. His petition, as seen in verse 20, included not only the apostles, “but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” In effect, you and me. As such it behooves us to give careful consideration to Jesus’ desires for us, lest we refuse to cooperate with the Father in the answer to Jesus’ prayer. May we not strive against God!
As shown here, His pressing petition was unity among believers. Not just any unity, but a specific kind. He prayed, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that they world may believe that You sent Me” (21). He emphasized this, “that they may be one just as We are one”, “that they may be made perfect in one.” (22-23). His expressed reason for this is “that the world may believe” (21, 23). It is a simple observation that those who claim allegiance to Christ are divided, causing much unbelief in the world. This is seen in the very existence of denominations. While the non-denominational movement purports to deal with this problem, it does NOT! Their approach is merely division with tolerance. “You believe what you want, I’ll believe what I want, and we will get along!” That is not the unity of the Father and Son. Rather, it is seen more correctly in Paul’s appeal, “I plead with you…that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Here we see again why truth is tied so closely to our sanctification! (cf. John 17:19).
Finally, Jesus’ desire is for us to go to heaven! “Father, I desire that they also whom you gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which you have given Me” (24). This eternal standing with Jesus is for those who believe in Him through the apostle’s word. For you and me as Christians! It is our eternal destiny because the Father and His Son showed us their love by His sacrificial death. It was Jesus’ purpose for coming, and as He was about to experience that death, these final petitions came from His love for us!
