The Will of God in Prayer - John 17
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Apart from the “disciples prayer,” John 17 is the only extended prayer of Jesus recorded in the gospels. Some have attempted to associate the content of the prayer with Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. That is certainly not an impossibility; however, it is equally possible that Jesus is still in the upper room with his disciples. It is hardly likely that Jesus, whose life was punctuated with prayer, only prayed once on the most significant evening of his earthly ministry. What is crystal clear regarding Jesus’ ‘high priestly prayer’ (so called because of its distinctively mediatorial content) is its emphasis on the glory of the Son an a basis for intercession. As he does with the details of the upper room discourse, so, too, John records the details of Jesus’ intercessory prayer.
This prayer is not free-standing; it is intimately connected by themes and link-words with the discourse that precedes it (chs. 14-16), as even the first words of 17:1 (‘After Jesus said this …’) intimate. … What is unique about this prayer rests neither on form nor on literary associations but on him who offers it, and when. He is the incarnate Son of God, and he is returning to his Father by the route of a desperately shameful and painful death. He prays that the course on which he is embarked will bring glory to his Father, and that his followers, in consequence of his own death and exaltation, will be preserved from evil and for the priceless privilege of seeing Jesus’ glory, all the while imitating in their own relationship the reciprocity of love displayed by the Father and the Son.
In some respects the prayer is a summary of the entire Fourth Gospel to this point. Its principal themes include Jesus’ obedience to his Father, the glorification of his Father through his death/exaltation, the revelation of God in Christ Jesus, the choosing of the disciples out of the world, their mission to the world, their unity modeled on the unity of the Father and the Son, and their final destiny in the presence of the Father and the Son. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, p. 550-51)
Praying according to God’s will
If one accepts the “disciples prayer” as instruction about prayer, with the subject about the kingdom of God as a major focus (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven), then in John 17 Jesus presents a model of intercession for the kingdom of God. Though in John’s Gospel Jesus makes only passing references to the kingdom (John 3.3; 18.36), the new birth as a requisite requirement for entrance into the kingdom is essential nevertheless. Now that the hour has come for Jesus to return to the Father, thereby securing salvation and eternal life to everyone who believes in him (John 1.12-13; 5.24), Jesus prays that the Father will glorify the Son just as the Son glorified the Father by completing the work given him: I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began (vv. 17.4-5). Jesus focuses his prayer on those things that bring glory to his Father and the prayer itself is comprised of three sections: Jesus prays for his glory and that he may glorify the Father; he prays for his disciples and the glory he receives through them (v. 10); and he prays for all those who will believe their message and so come to possess a saving faith with the result that they may see his glory and experience his love. The priestly intercession of Jesus provides the attentive reader with a window into the heart of Jesus.
Glorify your son (John 17.1-5)
Jesus’ ‘priestly prayer’ is not an isolated event: John connects it to Jesus’ upper room discourse with the words, After Jesus had spoken these words. The reader overhears the Son addressing the Father with some of his final concerns, the foremost of which is his own glory and the glory of the Father. The ‘hour’ to which Jesus so frequently referred throughout his ministry (2.4; 7.6, 8, 30; 8.20) had finally arrived (12.23; 17.1). There is a sense of anticipation, not fatalism, in Jesus’ prayer. The time has come for his vindication and his return to the glory he enjoyed with the Father before the world existed. As always, when properly understood, God’s sovereignty is an impetus for prayer not a hindrance. It is the means whereby the believer cooperatively participates with the Father to accomplish his sovereign will. While the synoptic gospels record Jesus’ passion in the garden of Gethsemane, John records his passion to complete the Father’s redemptive work. The death of the Son will vindicate his Messianic work and bring glory to the Father. Jesus’ willingness to suffer for the sake of God’s elect demonstrates the awesome worth of God’s glory: the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3.18; 2 Corinthians 5.21). Jesus does not plead to be spared from this hour; to the contrary, it is for this very hour that he has come (John 12.23-28; Matthew 26.39; Luke 22.42). It is through the obedience of his death that he glorifies the Father (cp. Isaiah 53.10). Thus, Jesus’ petition to be glorified is based on the predetermined will of the Father (Isaiah 53.11-12). “This is an unspeakably wonderful truth. The foundation of our justification—our acquittal, our forgiveness—is not a flimsy sentimentality in God, nor is it a shallow claim of human worth. It is the massive rock of God’s unswerving commitment to uphold the worth of his own glory, to promote the praise of his holy name and to vindicate his righteousness. The God centeredness of God is the foundation of his grace to the ungodly” (John Piper, The Pleasures of God).
Jesus glorifies the Father by giving eternal life to all those whom the Father has given to the Son. This is the reason for Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. So any patronizing nonsense about Jesus merely being our “model,” a “good man,” or even a prophet is not in keeping with what Jesus has to say about himself and is contrary to the central message of Scripture (John 8.24). The clearest evidence of Jesus glorifying the Father is his death on the cross, and the cross is his glory as well. This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17.3). True knowledge about God comes through knowing Jesus (John 5.44; 14.9-11; 1 John 5.20; 1 Thessalonians 1.9). Thus, truth about God cannot be separated from knowledge about Jesus (John 1.18; Matthew 11.27), and knowledge about God comes from fellowship with his Son.
Prayer for his disciples (John 17.6-19)
Based on his first petition, namely, his glorification resulting from the finished work of redemption, Jesus now prays for his disciples. They belong to God because the Father gave them to Jesus; moreover, they have received and obeyed the word given to them (John 14.23-24; 15.7), they now know and accept that Jesus came from God (John 16.27-31). As Jesus’ ministry progresses toward the final hour of his death, there is a growing animosity toward him (e.g., John 6.60-66). While others are turning away from him the disciples continue to affirm their trust in him: Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God (John 6.68-69; cp. 11.16; 13.37). However limited their knowledge or flawed their courage, with the exception of Judas Iscariot (17.12), they had been separated from the world and were committed to Jesus as Lord.
The distinction between the disciples and the world is clear: they do not belong to the world because they belong to the Father. “The fundamental reason for Jesus’ self-imposed restriction as to whom he prays for at this point is not utilitarian or missiological between theological: they are yours. However wide is the love of God (3:16), however salvific the stance of Jesus toward the world (12:47), there is a peculiar relationship of love, intimacy, disclosure, obedience, faith, dependence, joy, peace, eschatological blessing and fruitfulness that binds the disciples together and with the Godhead. These themes have dominated the farewell discourse. The world can be prayed for only to the end that some who now belong to it might abandon it and join with others who have been chosen out of the world. … To pray for the world, the created moral order in active rebellion against God, would be blasphemous; there is no hope for the world. There is hope only for some who now constitute the world but who will cease to be the world and will join those of whom Jesus says for they are yours” (Carson, p. 560). If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15.19; cp. 1 John 3.1-3).
The prayer of protection for the disciples (with the notable exception of the son of destruction [Judas Iscariot]) is not that they would be preserved from all harm, Jesus has already forewarned them that they can expect trouble (I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. [John 16.33]), but that they would be protected from the evil one. The conflict that the disciples face is both worldly and other worldly. So Jesus prays that they will be protected from the influences of the devil (cp. Matthew 6.13; 1 John 2.13-14). It is the death, resurrection, ascension, exaltation, session and reign of Jesus that marks the overthrow of Satan (John 12.31; 14.30; 16.11). The protection that comes by the power of God’s name (cp. Psalm 54.1; Proverbs 18.10) is not for physical safety, but character safety. That is, that they may remain true to their calling and confession that Jesus is Lord (John 20.28-31; cp. Romans 10.9; 2 Peter 1.10-11). By this confession they will maintain a unity that is like the one enjoyed by the Father and the Son. Jesus’ prayer of consecration is preparatory for sending the disciples into the world to propagate the gospel. This is the purpose of the good news that those who hear it might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they might have life in his name (John 20.31).
Prayer for all believers (John 17.20-26)
What Jesus had prayed for his disciples, he now prays for those who will come to believe through their witness: that in believing they will experience a unity that comes by faith. The oneness that they will experience is analogous to the oneness Jesus shares with the Father. “The Father is actually in the Son, so much so that we can be told that it is the Father who is performing the Son’s works (14:10); yet the Son is in the Father, not only in dependence upon and obedience to him, but his agent in creation (1:2-3) and his wholly concurring Son in the redemption and preservation of those the Father has given him (e.g., 6:37-40; 17:6, 19). The Father and the Son are distinguishable (the pre-incarnate Word is ‘with’ God, 1:1; the Son prays to his Father; the Father commissions and sends, while the Son obeys), yet they are one. Similarly, the believers, still distinct, are to be one in purpose, in love, in action undertaken with and for one another, in joint submission to the revelation received” (Carson, p. 568). Jesus has revealed the glory of the Father to the disciples and through them all who believe in their message glimpse something of the glory of God (John 1.14; 2 Peter 1.16-21; 1 John 1.1-4).
The longest prayer of Jesus recorded in Scripture focuses on the consecration and the winning of souls. So it ought to be the great focus of believers today just as it was emphasized in the epistles (Ephesians 6.18-20; 1 Corinthians 16.5-9; 2 Corinthians 2.12; Colossians 4.3-4; 2 Thessalonians 3.1-2).
This prayer is not free-standing; it is intimately connected by themes and link-words with the discourse that precedes it (chs. 14-16), as even the first words of 17:1 (‘After Jesus said this …’) intimate. … What is unique about this prayer rests neither on form nor on literary associations but on him who offers it, and when. He is the incarnate Son of God, and he is returning to his Father by the route of a desperately shameful and painful death. He prays that the course on which he is embarked will bring glory to his Father, and that his followers, in consequence of his own death and exaltation, will be preserved from evil and for the priceless privilege of seeing Jesus’ glory, all the while imitating in their own relationship the reciprocity of love displayed by the Father and the Son.
In some respects the prayer is a summary of the entire Fourth Gospel to this point. Its principal themes include Jesus’ obedience to his Father, the glorification of his Father through his death/exaltation, the revelation of God in Christ Jesus, the choosing of the disciples out of the world, their mission to the world, their unity modeled on the unity of the Father and the Son, and their final destiny in the presence of the Father and the Son. (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, p. 550-51)
Praying according to God’s will
If one accepts the “disciples prayer” as instruction about prayer, with the subject about the kingdom of God as a major focus (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven), then in John 17 Jesus presents a model of intercession for the kingdom of God. Though in John’s Gospel Jesus makes only passing references to the kingdom (John 3.3; 18.36), the new birth as a requisite requirement for entrance into the kingdom is essential nevertheless. Now that the hour has come for Jesus to return to the Father, thereby securing salvation and eternal life to everyone who believes in him (John 1.12-13; 5.24), Jesus prays that the Father will glorify the Son just as the Son glorified the Father by completing the work given him: I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began (vv. 17.4-5). Jesus focuses his prayer on those things that bring glory to his Father and the prayer itself is comprised of three sections: Jesus prays for his glory and that he may glorify the Father; he prays for his disciples and the glory he receives through them (v. 10); and he prays for all those who will believe their message and so come to possess a saving faith with the result that they may see his glory and experience his love. The priestly intercession of Jesus provides the attentive reader with a window into the heart of Jesus.
Glorify your son (John 17.1-5)
Jesus’ ‘priestly prayer’ is not an isolated event: John connects it to Jesus’ upper room discourse with the words, After Jesus had spoken these words. The reader overhears the Son addressing the Father with some of his final concerns, the foremost of which is his own glory and the glory of the Father. The ‘hour’ to which Jesus so frequently referred throughout his ministry (2.4; 7.6, 8, 30; 8.20) had finally arrived (12.23; 17.1). There is a sense of anticipation, not fatalism, in Jesus’ prayer. The time has come for his vindication and his return to the glory he enjoyed with the Father before the world existed. As always, when properly understood, God’s sovereignty is an impetus for prayer not a hindrance. It is the means whereby the believer cooperatively participates with the Father to accomplish his sovereign will. While the synoptic gospels record Jesus’ passion in the garden of Gethsemane, John records his passion to complete the Father’s redemptive work. The death of the Son will vindicate his Messianic work and bring glory to the Father. Jesus’ willingness to suffer for the sake of God’s elect demonstrates the awesome worth of God’s glory: the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3.18; 2 Corinthians 5.21). Jesus does not plead to be spared from this hour; to the contrary, it is for this very hour that he has come (John 12.23-28; Matthew 26.39; Luke 22.42). It is through the obedience of his death that he glorifies the Father (cp. Isaiah 53.10). Thus, Jesus’ petition to be glorified is based on the predetermined will of the Father (Isaiah 53.11-12). “This is an unspeakably wonderful truth. The foundation of our justification—our acquittal, our forgiveness—is not a flimsy sentimentality in God, nor is it a shallow claim of human worth. It is the massive rock of God’s unswerving commitment to uphold the worth of his own glory, to promote the praise of his holy name and to vindicate his righteousness. The God centeredness of God is the foundation of his grace to the ungodly” (John Piper, The Pleasures of God).
Jesus glorifies the Father by giving eternal life to all those whom the Father has given to the Son. This is the reason for Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. So any patronizing nonsense about Jesus merely being our “model,” a “good man,” or even a prophet is not in keeping with what Jesus has to say about himself and is contrary to the central message of Scripture (John 8.24). The clearest evidence of Jesus glorifying the Father is his death on the cross, and the cross is his glory as well. This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (John 17.3). True knowledge about God comes through knowing Jesus (John 5.44; 14.9-11; 1 John 5.20; 1 Thessalonians 1.9). Thus, truth about God cannot be separated from knowledge about Jesus (John 1.18; Matthew 11.27), and knowledge about God comes from fellowship with his Son.
Prayer for his disciples (John 17.6-19)
Based on his first petition, namely, his glorification resulting from the finished work of redemption, Jesus now prays for his disciples. They belong to God because the Father gave them to Jesus; moreover, they have received and obeyed the word given to them (John 14.23-24; 15.7), they now know and accept that Jesus came from God (John 16.27-31). As Jesus’ ministry progresses toward the final hour of his death, there is a growing animosity toward him (e.g., John 6.60-66). While others are turning away from him the disciples continue to affirm their trust in him: Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God (John 6.68-69; cp. 11.16; 13.37). However limited their knowledge or flawed their courage, with the exception of Judas Iscariot (17.12), they had been separated from the world and were committed to Jesus as Lord.
The distinction between the disciples and the world is clear: they do not belong to the world because they belong to the Father. “The fundamental reason for Jesus’ self-imposed restriction as to whom he prays for at this point is not utilitarian or missiological between theological: they are yours. However wide is the love of God (3:16), however salvific the stance of Jesus toward the world (12:47), there is a peculiar relationship of love, intimacy, disclosure, obedience, faith, dependence, joy, peace, eschatological blessing and fruitfulness that binds the disciples together and with the Godhead. These themes have dominated the farewell discourse. The world can be prayed for only to the end that some who now belong to it might abandon it and join with others who have been chosen out of the world. … To pray for the world, the created moral order in active rebellion against God, would be blasphemous; there is no hope for the world. There is hope only for some who now constitute the world but who will cease to be the world and will join those of whom Jesus says for they are yours” (Carson, p. 560). If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15.19; cp. 1 John 3.1-3).
The prayer of protection for the disciples (with the notable exception of the son of destruction [Judas Iscariot]) is not that they would be preserved from all harm, Jesus has already forewarned them that they can expect trouble (I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. [John 16.33]), but that they would be protected from the evil one. The conflict that the disciples face is both worldly and other worldly. So Jesus prays that they will be protected from the influences of the devil (cp. Matthew 6.13; 1 John 2.13-14). It is the death, resurrection, ascension, exaltation, session and reign of Jesus that marks the overthrow of Satan (John 12.31; 14.30; 16.11). The protection that comes by the power of God’s name (cp. Psalm 54.1; Proverbs 18.10) is not for physical safety, but character safety. That is, that they may remain true to their calling and confession that Jesus is Lord (John 20.28-31; cp. Romans 10.9; 2 Peter 1.10-11). By this confession they will maintain a unity that is like the one enjoyed by the Father and the Son. Jesus’ prayer of consecration is preparatory for sending the disciples into the world to propagate the gospel. This is the purpose of the good news that those who hear it might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they might have life in his name (John 20.31).
Prayer for all believers (John 17.20-26)
What Jesus had prayed for his disciples, he now prays for those who will come to believe through their witness: that in believing they will experience a unity that comes by faith. The oneness that they will experience is analogous to the oneness Jesus shares with the Father. “The Father is actually in the Son, so much so that we can be told that it is the Father who is performing the Son’s works (14:10); yet the Son is in the Father, not only in dependence upon and obedience to him, but his agent in creation (1:2-3) and his wholly concurring Son in the redemption and preservation of those the Father has given him (e.g., 6:37-40; 17:6, 19). The Father and the Son are distinguishable (the pre-incarnate Word is ‘with’ God, 1:1; the Son prays to his Father; the Father commissions and sends, while the Son obeys), yet they are one. Similarly, the believers, still distinct, are to be one in purpose, in love, in action undertaken with and for one another, in joint submission to the revelation received” (Carson, p. 568). Jesus has revealed the glory of the Father to the disciples and through them all who believe in their message glimpse something of the glory of God (John 1.14; 2 Peter 1.16-21; 1 John 1.1-4).
The longest prayer of Jesus recorded in Scripture focuses on the consecration and the winning of souls. So it ought to be the great focus of believers today just as it was emphasized in the epistles (Ephesians 6.18-20; 1 Corinthians 16.5-9; 2 Corinthians 2.12; Colossians 4.3-4; 2 Thessalonians 3.1-2).