Scripture: John 17: 1-5

Jesus’s Prayer

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 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 work began.”

Scripture Commentary:

This entire chapter is Jesus’s prayer. From it, we learn that the world is a tremendous battleground where the forces under Satan’s power and those under God’s authority are at war. Satan and his forces are motivated by bitter hatred for Christ and his forces.

Jesus prayed for his disciples, including those of us who follow him today. He prayed that God would keep his chosen believers safe from satan’s power, setting them apart and making them pure and holy, uniting them through his truth.

How do we get eternal life? Jesus tells us clearly here – by knowing God the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal life requires entering into a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ.

When we admit our sin and turn away from it, Christ’s love lives in us by the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus came to earth, he was one with God. At the time of this prayer, when his mission on earth was almost finished, Jesus was asking his Father to restore him to his original place of honor and authority.

Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, and Stephen’s dying exclamation in the book of Acts, attest that Jesus did return to his exalted position at the right hand of God. Jesus is the only way to God.

Read the Entire Chapter:
John Chapter 17