Bible Glide

John 17

John 17 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

John 17 gives a close look at Jesus praying to the Father before His arrest. He speaks about His mission, asks for His disciples to be kept and made holy, and prays for everyone who will believe through their message. The chapter centers on glory, unity, truth, and divine love.

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What happens in John 17?

Jesus begins by asking the Father to glorify Him so that the Father may be glorified, and He speaks of eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ. He then prays for the disciples, saying they belong to the Father, have received His word, and need protection, joy, and sanctification. Jesus does not ask that they be removed from the world, but kept from evil as they are sent into it. He ends by praying for all future believers, asking for unity, shared glory, and a full share in the Father's love.

This chapter closes Jesus' farewell teaching in John and comes just before His arrest and suffering. After long conversations with the disciples, He turns from instruction to prayer. The chapter gathers major themes from the Gospel of John, including mission, belief, life, and the relationship between the Father, the Son, and those who follow Jesus.

Themes to notice

  • GloryJesus looks ahead to the cross and asks the Father to be glorified through His completed work.
  • ProtectionHe prays that His followers would be kept safe from evil while remaining faithful in the world.
  • UnityJesus asks for believers to be one, showing the world that He was sent by the Father.

Questions for John 17

  • What does Jesus say eternal life is in this chapter?
  • How does Jesus pray for His disciples while they remain in the world?
  • What does Jesus want future believers to experience together?

Read the full text of John 17 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

John 17

Prayer for the Son

1When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.4I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

Prayer for the Disciples

6I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.7Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.8For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.9I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.10All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.13But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.14I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.15I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.18As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.19For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.

Prayer for All Believers

20I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.22I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.25Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.26And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

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