John 17 Glorify Your Son, brings us into one of the most intimate moments in Scripture: Jesus praying to His Father before His arrest and crucifixion. Jesus knows His earthly work is nearly finished, yet His prayer reaches beyond the disciples standing before Him. He prays for everyone who will believe through their message. His desire is that believers know God, remain protected from evil, live by truth, become one, and ultimately be with Him in glory.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Faith, Be Fruitful, Blessing, Grace, Judgment, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 John 17:1-3 (NIV)
“17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. “
“3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Jesus begins by asking the Father to glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father.
His mission on earth was not about seeking personal recognition—it was about completing the work God had given Him.
Jesus had revealed the Father to His disciples.
They had received His words, believed that He came from God, and learned that everything Jesus possessed came from the Father.
But Jesus knew He was leaving the world.
His disciples would remain behind, facing temptation, opposition, hatred, and the influence of evil.
So Jesus did not ask the Father to remove them from the world.
He asked Him to protect them from the evil one.
Then Jesus’ prayer reaches us.
He prays for those who would believe because of the disciples’ message.
That means the prayer of Jesus extends through generations of believers.
His desire is that His followers would be united in God, living by truth and showing the world that the Father sent Him.
And Jesus’ final desire is extraordinary: “that I myself may be in them.”
This is not simply a story about what Jesus did in the past. It is about Christ living in His people and God’s redemption plan continuing through them.
📖 John 17:4-6 (NIV)
“4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
“6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.”
Jesus said He had brought glory to the Father by finishing the work He was given.
That gives us an important lesson about obedience.
Our purpose is not measured only by what the world sees.
God sees the work He has placed before each person.
Jesus never lost sight of His mission, even when He knew suffering was coming.
Obedience does not always mean an easy road.
Sometimes obedience means continuing when the path becomes difficult because we know who sent us and why we are here.
Jesus completed His work. Through Him, God’s redemption plan moved toward the cross, resurrection, and salvation.
📖 John 17:7-9 (NIV)
“7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”
Jesus gives a remarkable description of eternal life:
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Eternal life is not simply about living forever.
It is about knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ.
Faith begins with believing that Jesus came from the Father and was sent into the world.
The disciples struggled, questioned, misunderstood, and sometimes failed.
Yet Jesus continued teaching them.
Faith grows as we receive God’s Word, trust His promises, and continue following Christ.
📖 John 17:10-12 (NIV)
” 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.”
That is a powerful reminder that our lives can bring glory to God.
Being fruitful is not about becoming famous, wealthy, or admired.
It is about allowing God’s work to become visible through our lives.
Obedience can encourage someone.
Faith can give someone hope.
Forgiveness can demonstrate grace.
Willingness to serve can show Christ’s love.
When our lives point people toward Jesus rather than ourselves, we become part of the work God is doing.
📖 John 17:13- 15 (NIV)
“13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
Jesus specifically prayed:
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
Jesus knew His followers would remain in the world.
God’s plan is not necessarily to remove every difficulty.
Sometimes His protection is found in giving us strength to stand through the difficulty.
The world may oppose God’s truth. Temptation may come.
Sin may try to pull us away. But Jesus prayed for His followers to remain protected and faithful.
We are not promised a life without trouble.
We are promised that we do not have to face the battle alone.
📖 John 17:16- 18 (NIV)
“16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. “
Jesus asked the Father to sanctify His followers through truth.
God’s Word becomes the foundation that separates truth from deception.
The world can change its opinions.
People can change their standards.
Human judgment can be wrong.
But God’s truth does not depend upon popularity.
Jesus did not ask His disciples to hide from the world.
He sent them into the world carrying the truth they had received.
That same responsibility continues today: live the truth, speak the truth, and let the truth of Christ shape the way we live.
📖 John 17:19- 21 (NIV)
“19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
“20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. “
One of the most beautiful parts of this chapter is that Jesus’ prayer extends beyond the original disciples.
He says:
“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.”
That reaches forward through history.
The Gospel would travel from the disciples to others, from one generation to another, until people around the world heard about Jesus.
Grace is seen in God’s invitation to believe.
We do not earn salvation by becoming perfect.
We come to Christ because He has provided the way.
Jesus knew humanity’s weakness, yet He still prayed for those who would believe.
📖 John 17:22- 26 (NIV)
“22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
“24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
“25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
The Gospel creates a choice.
I will we believe?
I will we follow?
We accept God’s truth?
Will we live according to His Word?
Judgment is not something Jesus hides from us.
God’s truth reveals the difference between following Him and following the world.
But the purpose of Jesus’ coming was not to leave humanity without hope.
He came to accomplish the work of salvation.
God’s covenant does not depend upon humanity being perfect.
Throughout Scripture, people fail, wander, doubt, and fall short.
Yet God’s promises continue.
In John 17, we see the Father giving people to the Son, Jesus protecting His followers, Jesus praying for those who will believe, and Jesus asking that His followers ultimately be with Him where He is.
The covenant points toward a relationship that God Himself establishes.
Jesus came from the Father.
He completed the work the Father gave Him.
Jesus went to the cross.
Jesus rose again.
And Jesus continues to draw people toward salvation.
God’s Covenant Stands because God’s faithfulness stands.
John 17 teaches us that Christianity is not simply about knowing facts about Jesus.
It is about knowing Him.
Jesus wants His followers to live in truth, remain faithful, love one another, bear fruit, withstand evil, and bring glory to God.
He does not ask the Father to take us completely out of the world.
Instead, He asks the Father to protect us while we are here.
That means our lives have a purpose.
We are here for a reason.
Faith can affect others.
Obedience can become a testimony.
Lves can point someone toward Jesus Christ.
And through God’s grace, we can become part of His continuing work.
John 17 brings the entire redemption plan into focus.
Jesus knew His hour had come.
He knew the cross was before Him.
He knew He would return to the Father.
Yet His concern was not only for Himself.
Prayed for His disciples.
Prayed for future believers.
Jesus prayed for unity.
He prayed for protection.
He prayed that believers would know the truth.
And He prayed for something even greater:
“I myself may be in them.”
The Gospel is ultimately about Jesus Christ making a way for humanity to be reconciled to God.
Cross would become the doorway to salvation.
Resurrection would reveal victory over death.
And faith in Christ would lead to eternal life.
Jesus was about to leave the world, but His work would continue through those who believed in Him.
