Jesus was to glorify the Father in his death v.1Waiting for response for John 17:1 and he looked forward to the remarkable opportunity to be achieved by it. He would have authority to give eternal life to a great many men and women v.2,Waiting for response for John 17:2 and he would give this life to those only who know both the true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent v.3.Waiting for response for John 17:3 Clearly, therefore, it is of vital importance to study God’s word to make sure that the God we worship is the true and living God revealed therein and to ensure we know the truth concerning his Son as the Christ i.e. the king of Israel, for this knowledge brings eternal life. Jesus had given God’s word to his disciples who received it gladly and believed the truth concerning him vs.6-7Waiting for response for John 17:6-7 and he prayed for them - not for the world, but for those who believed his word v.9.Waiting for response for John 17:9
Jesus was to leave his disciples in the world when he went to heaven and he prayed that they would be preserved from evil v.15Waiting for response for John 17:15 for the world would hate them because of their acceptance of his word. Though they would be “in the world” they would not be “of the world”, and they would keep themselves separate from its lusts and wickedness vs.13-16.Waiting for response for John 17:13-16 Only by the word of truth could they keep themselves pure vs.17-19Waiting for response for John 17:17-19 and Jesus’ desire for them was that they would not unite with the world but with him and the Father. God’s purpose is to develop a great multitude of men and women into a perfect unity with himself and his Son vs.20-23.Waiting for response for John 17:20-23
Jesus did not express this prayer for those disciples only, but also for all those who in later times would believe his word recorded by the apostles: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” v.20.Waiting for response for John 17:20 Thus, even today, any of us can read the scriptures and believe the truth concerning Jesus Christ and his Father in the hope that the prayer of Jesus will be fulfilled in us when he returns in glory: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” v.24.Waiting for response for John 17:24
Sometimes people cite the fact that Jesus and the Father are one to suggest that they are coequal, but this is refuted by these words of Jesus concerning his disciples who, of course, are not equal with him and the Father: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me”.
We are very privileged to have in our possession this prayer which Jesus expressed to his Father a short while before being taken to prison and death by his enemies.