Day 36: The High Priestly Prayer (John 17:1–12)
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17:3 (NASB)
John 17 is sometimes called the High Priestly Prayer — Jesus interceding for His people before the sacrifice. He lifts His eyes to heaven and prays: 'Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.' The mutuality of glorification is characteristic of John: the Father glorifies the Son through the cross and resurrection; the Son glorifies the Father by accomplishing the work. Eternal life is defined in verse 3 not as a duration but as a relationship: 'This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.' To know God and to know Christ — not about them, but to know them — is eternal life.
Jesus prays for Himself in verses 1–5, then turns to His disciples in verses 6–19. He has manifested the Father's name to the disciples — made the Father's character visible. They received His words, believed He came from the Father, and kept His word. Jesus intercedes for them: He is no longer in the world, but they are. He asks the Father to keep them in His name, that they may be one as Father and Son are one. The unity for which He prays is Trinitarian unity — the unity of perfect love and mutual self-giving.
Verse 12 contains a remarkable claim: '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.' Not one was lost. The disciples who will scatter at the arrest, the disciple who will deny, the disciple who has already betrayed — none of them are lost. Judas was not a surprise; he was the fulfillment of prophecy. God's sovereign keeping does not exclude the possibility of human failure — it means that through it all, the kept ones are kept.
For Reflection
- Eternal life is defined as knowing God and Christ — not just information about them, but knowing them. How would you describe the quality of your knowing of God right now?
- Jesus prays for unity modeled on the unity of the Trinity. What is the biggest obstacle to that kind of unity in your closest relationships?
- Jesus said He kept all those the Father gave Him, and not one was lost. What does that kind of divine keeping do for your sense of security in your faith?
