John Knox, on his deathbed in 1572, asked his wife to read John 17 to him, saying, “There I cast my first anchor.” This chapter, known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, is a heavy anchor for our faith. It reveals the depth of Christ’s love for His first disciples and all who would ultimately believe in Jesus through their message. In this prayer offered up by Jesus shortly before His crucifixion, the Son of God interceded for all believers, asking the Father to keep us safe from Satan’s power, to sanctify us in the truth, and to unite us, thereby attracting others to the gospel.
The Hour Has Come
Throughout His ministry, Jesus often said that His hour had not yet come (John 2:4; 7:6). Yet, in John 17, He declares, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.” The moment had arrived for Jesus to fulfill His mission through His sacrificial death and resurrection. In John 17, Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and prayed,
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 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. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 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.”
Let’s note what Jesus prays leading up to the greatest act of redemption in human history.
A Prayer for God’s glory.
“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” (John 17:24)
Jesus prays that all those the Father has given him would finally see his glory, the glory the Father gave Him, because He loved Him from before the creation of the world (John 17:24). This prayer points to our eternal hope as believers. One day, we will behold Jesus in His full splendour as King, rejoicing in His presence forever, as we ourselves are also glorified.
Consider the petition of John 17:1-5. Jesus’ ultimate goal was to glorify the Father. Jesus glorified His Father through His life of perfect obedience. In every loving touch; every word He taught; every woe He pronounced on the Pharisees; every person He healed; every miracle and every encounter that brought eternal life, Jesus only ever sought the glory of His Father.
But paradoxically, God the Father would be supremely glorified through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, in finishing His work of redemption. As the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), Jesus looked to his impending work on the cross as if it were already complete. “And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5). Jesus could not have prayed these words if He were not Yahweh himself, equal with God the Father. He willingly embraced the cross as the pathway to glory.
Spurgeon noted, “He poured out his soul in life before He poured it out unto death.”
Ironically, it is the cross that brings God the most glory. This is the theme throughout John’s gospel (John 12:27-33; 13:30-33; 21:18-19). The greatest instrument of humiliation devised by man would become a beacon of glorification in God’s hands. Through it, Jesus accomplished redemption, and through our lives, we are called to reflect His glory.
In a strange twist, Jesus is most glorified in and through His followers when we reveal His character, presence and joy in our own lives (John 17:10). Jesus does not only want to live in His followers by His Spirit, but to be glorified in our lives too. This is especially true amid great troubles and opposition from the world. On the eve of His coming Passion and unspeakable suffering, Jesus, the source of all joy, prays for his followers to overflow with joy (John 17:13). Even the deaths of Jesus’ disciples would glorify God (John 21:19).
A Prayer for Protection
Jesus did not ask the Father to remove His disciples from the world but to protect them from Satan, the evil one and avowed enemy of Christ and His people (John 17:11, 15). We see this protective heart again in John 18:8, where Jesus responds to the armed soldiers, chief priests and Pharisees, “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
Jesus’ plea is striking given the persecution His disciples would soon face as he was arrested, beaten, crucified, and buried in the days ahead. Jesus was praying for the men who would carry his message of redemption to a hostile world, yet His concern was their spiritual protection, not their physical comfort. Christ’s petition is the same for believers today (John 17:20). He calls us to resist worldliness and to stand firm in a world that hates us, knowing that He intercedes on our behalf. Even though we have been sent into the world, we do not belong to the world (John 17:15-18).
A Prayer for sanctification
Jesus prayed for His followers to be sanctified by the truth, understanding that God’s word is our source of truth (John 17:17-19). He prayed for our holiness.
We are made holy by trusting in Jesus and repenting of our sin. But once we have been forgiven through Christ’s sacrificial death, holiness comes through obedience to God’s Word. Daily engaging in God’s word has a purifying effect on our hearts and minds, as the Bible teaches us God’s will, points out our sin, corrects and trains us in right living (2 Timothy 3:14-17). In today’s world, Biblical illiteracy weakens many believers. Some do not know how to read the Bible, others are disinterested in Scripture unless they feel it can instantly solve their problems. But Jesus’ prayer highlights the need for a life centred on God’s word, shaping our character, choices, and witness. Bible reading skills must be taught to new believers, as we will only be set apart for God’s work if we are made holy by believing and obeying His word. God’s word is our true North star in a post-truth culture. There is no other way to be sanctified.
A Prayer for Unity
Jesus’ prayer extends beyond the eleven disciples to all future believers in Christ. He prayed that we would be one (John 17:11). Christians who love their Lord will strive to live in harmony and unity with other believers, in answer to Jesus’ plea in John 17:20-21, “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
As Jesus looked around him, He would have seen Jewish Galileans, but He looked forward to millions of believers who would become his disciples from every age through history, adding daily to the great multitude before the throne of God (Rev 7:9-10).
In a world that loves to divide people with identity politics, Jesus prayed that we would rise above our different nationalities, races, languages and classes. Jesus called His followers to unity in Him and His word. As members of Christ’s diverse, indivisible Church, we are to be a testimony of God’s love to a watching world.
The Eternal Significance of Jesus’ Prayer
John 17 is a prayer beyond time. It stretches across centuries, embracing every believer who has ever lived and will ever live. In it, we see Christ’s heart for us—His deep longing for our sanctification, protection, and unity in a world that is not our home. Unlike a fleeting earthly intercession, this prayer has echoes in eternity, shaping the lives of all who belong to Him.
This prayer also challenges us. Are we living in the holiness Christ desires? Are we standing firm against the enemy? Are we pursuing the unity He prayed for? Are we using all that we have and are to promote God’s glory? Are we allowing God’s word to sanctify us daily? The High Priestly Prayer is not merely theological—it is deeply practical, calling us to respond to Christ’s intercession with faith, obedience, and love.
As we reflect on this prayer, we find assurance in knowing that Jesus, our eternal High Priest, is still interceding for us at the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). His words, spoken on the eve of His passion, continue to strengthen, sustain and sanctify His people today.
Prayer
Father, we thank You for sending Jesus to redeem us. We pray that You will be glorified in our lives. Sanctify us through the truth of Your word, protect us from the evil one, and unite us as one body in Christ. May we reflect Your love and bring others into Your kingdom. May we be salt and light in a decaying world. May we remain faithful until we see Your glory face to face. In Jesus’ name, Amen.