John 17 explained: Jesus Prays Before His Arrest

Praying for himself (vv. 1-5)

"The hour" is his coming death, and Jesus asks God to honor him through it so that God is honored too. He describes eternal life as knowing God and Jesus, not just living forever, and Christians read his wish for the glory he shared with God before creation as meaning he existed before the world.

Praying for his followers (vv. 6-12)

Jesus says he has made God known to his friends, which many interpreters take to mean he showed them what God is truly like. He asks God to keep them safe and united after he leaves, and the one he says was lost, marked out for ruin, is generally understood to be Judas, who betrayed him.

In the world, not of it (vv. 13-19)

He does not ask for his followers to be taken out of a hostile world, only to be protected from evil while they live in it. "Sanctify" means set apart for God's purpose, and many interpreters take his setting himself apart as a reference to his approaching death.

Praying for later believers (vv. 20-23)

Jesus widens the prayer to everyone who would believe through his followers' message, asking that they be one, just as he and the Father are one. He links this unity to the world coming to believe that God sent him and loves them.

A closing wish (vv. 24-26)

He asks that his followers one day be with him and see his glory. He promises to keep making God known so that God's love for him will live in them too.

Key verse: John 17:21

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on what kind of unity Jesus prays for: some see it as a call for one visible, organized church, while others see it mainly as a shared spiritual bond among believers across separate churches.

Something to think about

What would it take for a group of very different people to be truly united, and would seeing that kind of unity change how you view what they believe?