Interceeding for the church.
We’re not listening to Jesus teach about prayer here. We’re overhearing Him actually pray—and the content reveals His heart for the church
Prayer – John 17:6-26
…the ultimate intercession for the church.
This article is part of our Prayers Series—a focused exploration of how Scripture teaches us to pray through biblical examples.
John 17:6-26 and the Architecture of Ultimate Intercession
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 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.”
~ John 17:6-8, ESV
The hour has come. Jesus knows that within hours He will be betrayed, tried, and crucified. In these final moments before the cross, He could pray for strength, for deliverance, for vindication. Instead, He prays for His disciples—not just the Eleven, but all who will believe through their word. This is the prayer of the Great High Priest interceding for His people.
We’re not listening to Jesus teach about prayer here. We’re overhearing Him actually pray—and the content reveals His heart for the church.
Why This Prayer Matters
John 17:6-26 stands as the longest recorded prayer of Jesus and His most comprehensive intercession for the church. Where other prayers in our series show us how to pray, this prayer shows us how Jesus prays for us. It’s simultaneously the most intimate (we’re overhearing Jesus with the Father) and most universal (He prays for all believers across time).
The prayer reveals Jesus’ priorities for His church: protection from evil, sanctification in truth, and unity that reflects Trinitarian love. Unlike the Lord’s Prayer, which teaches disciples how to pray, this prayer shows disciples what Jesus prays for them—past, present, and future.
For contemporary believers, this prayer provides both comfort (knowing what Jesus prays for us) and conviction (seeing His priorities versus our own). It’s formation through overhearing divine intercession.
Walking Through the Prayer
1. Jesus’ Report to the Father
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.” (v. 6)
Jesus begins not with petition but with report. He’s accomplished His mission: manifesting the Father’s name (character and nature) to His disciples. “Manifested” (ἐφανέρωσα, ephanerosa) means revealed, made visible, brought to light.
The phrase “whom you gave me” appears repeatedly, emphasizing divine election. These disciples aren’t self-selected followers but Father-given gifts to the Son. “They were yours, and you gave them to me” shows Trinitarian cooperation in salvation.
“They have kept your word” doesn’t mean perfect obedience but faithful adherence despite failures. Jesus sees His disciples’ hearts, not just their performance. This sets the foundation for His intercession: He prays for those who belong to the Father, were given to Him, and have received His word.
2. Mutual Knowledge and Belief
“Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 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.” (vv. 7-8)
Jesus celebrates His disciples’ growing understanding. They “know” (ἔγνωκαν, egnōkan) experientially, not just intellectually, that Jesus’ authority comes from the Father. This knowledge came through receiving Jesus’ words—the same words the Father gave Him.
The progression is crucial: receiving words → knowing in truth → believing Jesus was sent. Faith builds on revelation received and understood. Jesus prays for those who have made this progression, however imperfectly.
This establishes why Jesus intercedes for them: they’ve received divine revelation and responded with faith. They’re not perfect, but they’re genuine believers worthy of the Son’s intercession.
3. The Intercessory Focus
“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (v. 9)
Jesus clarifies His prayer’s scope. This isn’t universal intercession but specific prayer for believers. “I am not praying for the world” (περὶ τοῦ κόσμου οὐκ ἐρωτῶ) doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t care about the world, but that this particular prayer focuses on the church.
The reason: “they are yours” (σοί εἰσιν). Jesus intercedes for those who belong to the Father through faith. This teaches us that intercessory prayer has appropriate boundaries—we pray especially for fellow believers because they’re our spiritual family.
4. Mutual Possession and Glory
“All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.” (v. 10)
Jesus expresses the mysterious truth of Trinitarian ownership. Everything belonging to the Son belongs to the Father and vice versa. This mutual possession extends to believers—we belong to both Father and Son simultaneously.
“I am glorified in them” (δεδόξασμαι ἐν αὐτοῖς) is remarkable. Jesus finds His glory reflected in His imperfect disciples. Even with their failures, fears, and limitations, they somehow manifest Christ’s glory. This gives profound dignity to ordinary believers.
5. Prayer for Protection
“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.” (v. 11)
The first specific petition addresses believers’ vulnerable position. Jesus is leaving (“no longer in the world”), but His disciples remain in hostile territory. “Keep them” (τήρησον αὐτούς) means guard, protect, preserve.
“Keep them in your name” could mean “by your power” or “in your character.” Either way, protection comes through divine nature, not human effort. “Which you have given me” emphasizes the shared nature of Father and Son.
The purpose of protection: “that they may be one even as we are one.” Unity isn’t just organizational cooperation but spiritual oneness reflecting Trinitarian relationship. This unity requires divine protection because worldly forces fragment and divide.
6. Joy and Protection from Evil
“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 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. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” (vv. 13-15)
Jesus prays for joy amid hostility. “My joy fulfilled in themselves” (τὴν χαρὰν τὴν ἐμὴν πεπληρωμένην ἐν ἑαυτοῖς) suggests complete joy, not partial happiness. This joy comes from knowing Jesus’ intercession and the Father’s love.
The world’s hatred is explained: believers have received God’s word and therefore no longer belong to the world’s system. “Not of the world” doesn’t mean physical removal but spiritual distinction.
Jesus explicitly rejects escapism: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world.” Believers remain in the world as mission agents, not refugees. But they need protection “from the evil one” (ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ)—Satan’s attacks on their faith and unity.
7. Sanctification Through Truth
“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (vv. 16-19)
Jesus prays for sanctification—being set apart for holy purposes. “Sanctify them in the truth” (ἁγίασον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ) uses truth as the sphere and means of sanctification. “Your word is truth” identifies Scripture as the sanctifying agent.
The purpose is missional: “As you sent me…so I have sent them.” Sanctification isn’t for isolation but for mission. Holy people are sent people, set apart for divine purposes in the world.
“I consecrate myself” (ἁγιάζω ἐμαυτόν) refers to Jesus’ upcoming sacrifice. He sets Himself apart for death so His disciples can be set apart for life and mission. This is vicarious sanctification—Jesus’ holiness enabling their holiness.
8. Future Believers
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 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.” (vv. 20-21)
Jesus expands His intercession beyond the Eleven to all future believers—including us. “Through their word” shows the chain of gospel transmission: Jesus → apostles → all believers. This makes every Christian both recipient and link in the chain.
The prayer for unity intensifies: “that they may all be one.” This unity is grounded in Trinitarian relationship: “just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.” Christian unity isn’t mere cooperation but participation in divine unity.
The purpose is evangelistic: “so that the world may believe.” Christian unity serves as evidence of the gospel’s truth. Division undermines evangelism; unity validates the message that Jesus was sent by the Father.
9. Glory Shared
“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 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.” (vv. 22-23)
Jesus reveals the shocking truth: He has shared divine glory with believers. “The glory that you have given me I have given to them” suggests believers participate in divine nature and honor. This shared glory enables unity—we’re one because we share the same divine life.
“Perfectly one” (τετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν) suggests complete, mature unity—not just organizational but spiritual and relational. This unity demonstrates two truths to the world: that Jesus was sent by the Father and that the Father loves believers as He loves Jesus.
10. Eternal Vision
“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.” (v. 24)
Jesus’ ultimate desire for His disciples: eternal fellowship and divine vision. “I desire” (θέλω) is stronger than “I ask”—this is Jesus’ deepest longing for His people. “May be with me where I am” refers to heaven and eternal presence.
“To see my glory” suggests unveiled revelation of Christ’s divine nature. What believers know by faith now, they will see directly then. This glory exists “because you loved me before the foundation of the world”—eternal, pre-creation love between Father and Son.
This verse reveals Jesus’ deepest longing: He wants His disciples to see and share what He has eternally enjoyed with the Father. The goal of salvation isn’t just forgiveness or even heaven, but participation in Trinitarian fellowship and the vision of divine glory.
11. The Father’s Love Made Known
“O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 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.” (vv. 25-26)
Jesus concludes with both contrast and promise. “Righteous Father” (πάτερ δίκαιε) acknowledges divine justice—the Father’s character validates all His actions. The world’s ignorance of God contrasts sharply with Jesus’ perfect knowledge and the disciples’ growing understanding through revelation.
“I made known to them your name” (ἐγνώρισα αὐτοῖς τὸ ὄνομά σου) refers to Jesus’ entire ministry—revealing the Father’s character through word, deed, and ultimately through His death and resurrection. “I will continue to make it known” (γνωρίσω) suggests ongoing revelation through the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ departure.
The ultimate purpose transcends knowledge: “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (ἡ ἀγάπη ἣν ἠγάπησάς με ἐν αὐτοῖς ᾖ κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς). The Father’s eternal love for the Son—the love that existed before creation—becomes the actual experience of believers. This isn’t just knowing about divine love but being filled with it.
The prayer’s final phrase, “and I in them” (κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς), completes the circle: Jesus in believers, believers in divine love, divine love dwelling in human hearts. This is the mystery of the gospel—finite beings filled with infinite love through union with Christ.
Intercession Crescendo: Ultimate Love, Ultimate Unity
Jesus’ prayer moves from reporting His completed mission to requesting the Father’s ongoing care for the church. The progression reveals divine priorities: protection, joy, sanctification, unity, glory, and eternal fellowship. This isn’t what Jesus hopes for the church—it’s what He’s actively requesting from the Father.
The prayer’s climax isn’t human achievement but divine love dwelling in believers. The goal of all intercession is Trinitarian love becoming the experience of redeemed humanity.
Key Takeaways:
As Bereans, we should examine this teaching against Scripture (Acts 17:11). Here’s what stands firm:
- Jesus Actively Intercedes for Believers – This prayer shows Jesus’ ongoing ministry as our High Priest, praying specifically for those who belong to the Father through faith.
- Protection, Not Escape, is the Goal – Jesus doesn’t pray for believers to be removed from the world but protected from evil while remaining on mission.
- Sanctification Comes Through Truth – God’s Word serves as both the means and sphere of being set apart for holy purposes.
- Unity Reflects Trinitarian Relationship – Christian unity isn’t organizational cooperation but participation in the same divine life that unites Father and Son.
- Shared Glory Enables Unity – Believers can be one because they share the same divine glory that Jesus received from the Father.
- Ultimate Goal is Trinitarian Fellowship – The purpose of salvation is eternal participation in the love relationship between Father and Son.
- This Prayer Continues – Jesus’ high priestly intercession didn’t end with this prayer but continues eternally (Hebrews 7:25).
Editor’s Note: Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer serves as the capstone of our prayer series. Where Paul shows us intercession for growth, Daniel models confession for cleansing, Jesus teaches the master template, Hannah demonstrates praise, and Nehemiah shows leadership intercession, this prayer reveals what Jesus Himself prays for the church—past, present, and future.
This prayer provides both comfort and conviction:
Comfort: Jesus actively intercedes for you, praying for your protection, sanctification, joy, and eternal fellowship with the Trinity.
Conviction: Jesus’ priorities (unity, holiness, mission, love) should shape our prayers and lives.
Rather than personalizing this prayer (Jesus prays it perfectly for us), we can align our prayers with His priorities:
“Father, as Jesus prays for our protection from evil, sanctification in truth, and unity that reflects Your nature, help us pray similarly for fellow believers. May we intercede for the church’s holiness, unity, and mission as Jesus intercedes for us.”
This completes our foundational prayer instruction in this series. We’ve learned to pray for others’ growth (Paul), confess when we’re the problem (Daniel), follow the master template (Jesus’ teaching), praise when God answers (Hannah), intercede as leaders (Nehemiah), and understand how Jesus prays for us (High Priestly Prayer). Together, these prayers provide a complete grammar of biblical prayer.