Jesus» prayer for disciples. 17:1–26

HERE JESUS SHIFTS FROM ADDRESSING the disciples to addressing the Father (17:1–26); after he returns to bestow the Spirit in 20:19–23, the disciples will pray directly to the Father for themselves (16:23–26) because he will have given them a new relationship with the Father (16:27) based on his own (16:28). Nevertheless, this prayer undoubtedly provides a model for their own; disciples concerned with their Lord's agendas ought to place a high priority on unity with other disciples. Just as such unity would have helped them through the crisis imminent during Jesus» prayer (cf. 16:31–32), it would give believers victory in their continuing conflict with the world (16:33; cf. 13:35; 15:18–27). For comments on ancient prayer and believers praying as Jesus» representatives, see 14:13–14; cf. also comment on Jesus» prayer in 11:41–42.

Käsemann emphasizes the testamentary character of ch. 17,⁹³⁸² but as we have remarked earlier, the testament as a whole begins in ch. 13. Where the testamentary genre is most relevant to ch. 17 is the frequency of blessings and wish-prayers in testaments (e.g., Gen 49; Deut 32–33).⁹³⁸³ That John closes the previous section of the last discourse before opening this prayer (ταΰτα έλάλησεν, 17:1) suggests the prayer's special significance for John's audience.⁹³⁸⁴ Käsemann rightly notes that much of the Gospel's theology climaxes in this concluding section of Jesus» final discourse in the Gospel,⁹³⁸⁵ though one should note that many other passages also provide prisms that refract larger cross sections of Johannine theology. As Minear points out, this prayer represents «the decisive turning point between ministry and passion,» viewing the hour of Jesus» glorification «both proleptically and retrospectively.»⁹³⁸⁶

The chapter also reflects standard Jewish motifs, such as the unity of God's people, their love for God, God's glory, obedience to God's message, the election and setting apart of God's people, and the importance of obeying God's agent (Moses in Jewish tradition). One writer links such motifs specifically to the Cairo Geniza manuscript of the Palestinian Targum to Exod 19–20,⁹³⁸⁷ another points to parallels with a hymn from Qumran;⁹³⁸⁸ in short, most of the motifs reflect common Judaism, yet reinterpreted in a christocentric manner and reapplied to the christologically defined community.

Further, to whatever degree John has adapted the discourse and prayer to encourage his audience in their particular situation,⁹³⁸⁹ it is clear that a prayer of Jesus before his passion already stands in the passion tradition (Mark 14:36).⁹³⁹⁰ But whereas, in Mark, Jesus prays for the Father to spare him from the passion if possible (Mark 14:36), here he recognizes and accedes to the Father's purpose, requesting the hour of glorification (17:1).⁹³⁹¹ John does not deny Jesus» reluctance to face the cross (12:27) but places heavier emphasis on Jesus» obedience.⁹³⁹²

Traditionally some have viewed Jesus» intercession in this passage in terms of the OT role of high priest⁹³⁹³ (Jesus» role in some early Christian traditions; Heb 2:17; 3:1; 4:14–15; 5:10; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1; 9:11); the chapter title «Jesus» High-Priestly Prayer» has circulated since the theologian David Chyträus (1531–1600).⁹³⁹⁴ But Jewish tradition also emphasized the intercessory role of prophets;⁹³⁹⁵ more significantly, the probably testamentary character of the final discourse might point to patriarchal blessings,⁹³⁹⁶ particularly the prayer and blessing of Moses (Deut 32–33),⁹³⁹⁷ as background. But because the content of these blessings does not parallel John 17 very closely,⁹³⁹⁸» one may need to look to the experience of John's audience for more of the content. A variety of backgrounds are possible, but most important within the context of the Fourth Gospel is that Jesus becomes, before his exaltation, the first Paraclete, or intercessor (Rom 8:26; 1 John 2:1; see extended comment on 14:16).⁹³⁹⁹ This suggests that John 17 models part of the ministry of the Paraclete who would come after Jesus» departure (14:16) and of those who share his ministry (15:26–27).⁹⁴⁰⁰ The Fourth Gospel presents the Paraclete especially as an advocate or prosecutor in the disciples» conflict with the world, but Jesus has also been promising them more direct access to the Father in prayer once he goes to the Father (14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:26–27).

The setting of the prayer is essentially the same as that of the last discourse, excepting the specific mention of a change in Jesus» posture. «Lifting up» onés «eyes» was a common posture of prayer (11:41; cf. Mark 6:41; 7:34) in early Judaism (1 Esd 4:58; 4 Macc 6:6, 26)⁹⁴⁰¹ and appeared among Gentiles.⁹⁴⁰² Because God was envisioned as being in heaven,⁹⁴⁰³ both Jews⁹⁴⁰⁴ and Gentiles⁹⁴⁰⁵ regularly lifted their hands in prayer, supplication, or worship.

John 17:1–5 alludes back to previous declarations that the hour of glory had come, through which the Father and Son would glorify one another in the cross (12:23–24, 28; 13:31–32).⁹⁴⁰⁶ In the context of the entire Gospel, Jesus» return to glory here includes his exaltation but takes place by way of the cross.⁹⁴⁰⁷ The reader of the Fourth Gospel is by now prepared for such a statement, but we should not miss the striking offensiveness of the language: glory was partly honor, whereas the cross was one of the greatest humiliations conceivable to the ancient Mediterranean mind.⁹⁴⁰⁸ Jesus «looks for glory in the last place» the world would expect it.⁹⁴⁰⁹ In this passage as in others, a complex of associations cluster together, including Jesus» glory and love, God's name, and the revealing of God's word;⁹⁴¹⁰ this is the natural outworking of the analogy with Moses introduced in 1:14–18 (see comment there). Thus Jesus» crucifixion and exaltation to the Father is the theophany that will reveal the divine name to the disciples.

Jesus and the narrator had been declaring that his «hour» would «come» from 2onward (7:30; 8:20); from 12they have been declaring that it had finally arrived (12:27; 13:1; 16:32; cf. Mark 14:41). The request that the Father glorify the Son so that the Son might glorify the Father was in effect a request that the Father now hasten the cross (12:23–24; 13:31–32), revealing the Son's love for, and devotion to, the Father.⁹⁴¹¹ This prayer is strikingly different from Jesus» Gethsemane prayer in the Markan passion tradition, but John undoubtedly intends this prayer to complement Jesus» revulsion to the cross, not to contradict it. It continues the Johannine «Gethsemane» prayer of 12:27–28⁹⁴¹² and fits «Your will be done» at the close of Mark 14:36. Jewish literature often declared the eschatological sanctification⁹⁴¹³ or glorification of God's name. Jewish literature also recognized that God must be praised or glorified in the present.⁹⁴¹⁴ Because onés «name» involved onés «honor,» it is not surprising that some texts link name and glory.⁹⁴¹⁵

Perhaps lest the accusers of John's audience complain that glorifying Jesus detracted from God's glory, John is at pains to demonstrate that it is the Father himself who glorifies Jesus and that Jesus» costly glory glorifies the Father (7:18; 8:50,54; cf. 1 John 2:23). Jesus is exalted on the basis of his prior submission to suffering for the Father's honor.⁹⁴¹⁶ In Isaiah, God glorified himself in glorifying Israel (Isa 44:23; 46:13; 49:3; 55:5; 60:1–2, 7, 9, 19, 21; 61:3); thus an Amora could remark, for example, that God told Moses to glorify Israel, for Israel's glorification would glorify God.⁹⁴¹⁷

That Jesus rules «all flesh» (17:2) simply means that he rules «all humanity.»⁹⁴¹⁸ This was a role normally attributed to God alone,⁹⁴¹⁹ but the Fourth Gospel reveals that the Father has repeatedly delegated his authority to the Son (3:35; 5:22, 26–27; 13:3);⁹⁴²⁰ the Father's gifts to the Son (especially disciples; also glory, revelation, and authority) and the Son's gifts to disciples in fact make the present context the Gospel's greatest concentration of δίδωμι (17:2,4,6–9,11–12,14,22,24). That Jesus was authorized to give eternal life to his own would encourage those whose faith was challenged by opponents who claimed to speak for God apart from Jesus (cf. 6:37–40; 10:28–29).

John 17continues the connection between the Father and the Son; eternal life, eschatological life, involves an intimate relationship with the Father and the Son (see discussion of «knowledge» in the introduction, ch. 6).⁹⁴²¹ The connection between Jesus and the Father in 17is very close. It is even grammatically possible to construe the dual object as a hendiadys, identifying Jesus Christ with «the only true God,» but this construction is impossible both logically and from the standpoint of Johannine theology.⁹⁴²² In John's theology, the Son is not the Father, and it is hardly coherent for Jesus to identify himself as the Father he was addressing. The close association, however, places Jesus in the role reserved for the Father (or at least divine Wisdom) in standard Jewish teaching. Besides 1:17, «a legitimate anachronism,» 17is the only instance in the Gospel in which «Christ» appears as part of a proper name and not simply a title.⁹⁴²³

If any ambiguity remains concerning Jesus» identity in 17:3, it vanishes in 17:5, which affirms Jesus» preexistence with the Father in glory.⁹⁴²⁴ Jesus is not paralleled here primarily with Moses but with God's own revelation, presumably with Wisdom and Torah in early Jewish thought. Greek philosophers could speak of onés spirit returning to its prenatal existence at the body's death,⁹⁴²⁵ but such an image fits neither the language of this passage nor the worldview of the Gospel as a whole; likewise isolated Jewish examples of God keeping the names of his chosen ones with him⁹⁴²⁶ do not match the exalted image of this passage nor relate to the Christology of this Gospe1.

The «glory» harks back to its first mention in the Gospel, in 1:14, where Jesus» disciples, like Moses, saw God's glory in Jesus; like Moses with respect to God, they will reveal Jesus» character as they reflect his glory (13:35; 15:8; cf. 2Cor 3–4, esp. 4:6). Jesus» glory in the flesh expands the theology implicit in the Synoptic transfiguration tradition (Mark 9:2–8; Matt 17:1–8; Luke 9:28–36) or perhaps Paul's experience as reported in Acts (Acts 9:3; 22:6; 26:13). Both the transfiguration narratives and Paul's encounter as depicted in Acts reflect the tradition of God's glory revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai.⁹⁴²⁷

This makes all the more likely that Jesus is here God's word or wisdom, with the disciples taking the place of Moses.

Although the relation between knowledge of God and eternal life (17:3; cf. 1 John 5:20) makes passable sense in a Hellenistic framework,⁹⁴²⁸ it also fits the covenantal use of «knowing God» in the biblical tradition (Jer 31:34; Hos 2:20).⁹⁴²⁹ Hellenistic Jewish wisdom had already identified knowing (έπιστασθαί, είδέναι) God and his power with righteousness and immortality (Wis 15:3). More may hinge on the ϊνα in 17:3; if one takes it in its most frequent (and classical) sense as «in order that,» knowing God would be the result of eternal life. This could be taken as corresponding to the more radical second-century gnostic ideologies, such as Valentinianism, where knowledge «is not only an instrument of salvation but itself the very form in which the goal of salvation, i.e., ultimate perfection, is possessed.»⁹⁴³⁰ Such a view might, however, still equate knowledge with eternal life, which reading the grammatical construction in this manner would not. Further, a grammatical argument based on the classical force of ϊνα would be misleading; this construction in 17may simply represent a Semitism⁹⁴³¹ or, more likely, an example of the broadened use of conjunctions in Koine.⁹⁴³² In this case it means «that» (e.g., 4:34; 6:29), which is how translators usually take it. Knowing God includes embracing his revelation in Christ, sharing his «things» (16:13–15; 17:14, 17), particularly an intimate relationship of love with him (17:25–26).⁹⁴³³

That Jesus glorified the Father «on the earth» (17:4) refers to the whole of his earthly ministry. Jesus was not «of the earth» (3:31) but spoke in earthly analogies (3:12) and, in a sense, provided, to some degree, an earthly analogy in his incarnate life to explain the character of God in humanly comprehensible form; finally, he would be lifted up from the earth into glory (12:32).⁹⁴³⁴ In the cross, he finished the work the Father called him to do (cf. 4:34; 19:30), though his followers still need to be «completed» or perfected in unity (17:23).

His request for glorification in 17repeats the thought of 17:1, except that it adds the notion of Jesus» precreation glory. This is no Jewish-Christian adaptation of the Hellenistic concept of apotheosis for heroes;⁹⁴³⁵ Jesus is not becoming God but returning to the glory he shared with the Father before creation. His preincarnate glory appears in 12:41, but his precreation glory harks back to the very opening of the Gospel (1:1–2), manifested in a way obscure to the people among whom he lived in the Gospel (1:10–11,14).

The prayer is arranged chronologically; after Jesus prays for himself in 17:1–5, he turns to prayer for his disciples.⁹⁴³⁶ Jesus» prayer for the disciples falls into two primary sections: his prayer for his current disciples (17:6–19, esp. 17:11–19) and his prayer for his future disciples (17:20–24; cf. this concern in 20:29–31). The first prayer primarily concerns protection from the evil one who works in the world into which they are sent but of which they are not a part (17:15); their separation from the world recalls Jesus» own, as in 15:18–25. The second prayer focuses on another issue apparently still paramount in John's day: the unity of believers, that the world might recognize Jesus» activity among them (17:21–23).

Jesus gives the Father's message to the disciples because he has the Father's message (17:6–8); likewise, Jesus has the disciples precisely because they, too, belong to the Father (presumably through divine ordination) and hence have been entrusted to the Son (17:9–10). This paragraph continues the emphasis on the solidarity and (still more so) the mutual sharing of the Father and the Son that is introduced in 17:1–5.

Jesus revealed to the disciples God's «name» (17:6), partly meaning his honor⁹⁴³⁷ but very probably also implying his character and identity (14:9; 17:26).⁹⁴³⁸ Acting by God's name could represent dependence on God (e.g., 1QM 11.3). When God acted in history, he often did so for the sanctifying of his name,⁹⁴³⁹ as he would do also at the final day.⁹⁴⁴⁰ God expected his people to sanctify his name (kiddush haShem was central to Jewish ethics), especially by righteous deeds.⁹⁴⁴¹ Some rabbis opined that God's name was hidden in the present age but would be revealed in the coming age;⁹⁴⁴² Jesus» revelation of the Father's name is thus consonant with John's emphasis on realized eschatology. Moses sought to know God's «name» to reveal God to the people (Exod 3:13; cf. 33:18; 34:6–7); here Jesus provides his disciples, who are like Moses, with the same privilege.⁹⁴⁴³ This experience would continue more fully after Jesus» glorification (14:21).

That Jesus» disciples kept the word he gave them (17:6; cf. 8:51; 14:23; 15:20), as Jesus kept the Father's (8:55), may recall the obedience of Moses but probably reflects more generally the obedience of Israel or a faithful remnant within Israel (Deut 33:3, 9) .⁹⁴⁴⁴ Yet in giving them the Father's word (17:6, 8), Jesus is again greater than Moses, who gave the word to Israel; in John's language, the law was given «through» Moses, but the actual giver of the law was God himself (1:17; cf. 6:32); thus the passage again portrays Jesus in a divine role. At the same time, Jesus remains subordinate to the Father, emphasizing that whatever he gave the disciples was from the Father (17:7). Perhaps, in the language of Exodus, Jesus is the «angel of YHWH» (Exod 3:2), but in the language of John (1:1–18) and of the early Jewish context he reflects, Jesus is divine Wisdom, which imparts God's teachings to Moses and all those who will hear (e.g., Wis 7:27; 10:16; 11:1).

The disciples realized that all that the Father had given Jesus was genuinely from the Father (17:7), in this case referring especially to Jesus» message (17:8; cf. 12:47–50; 16:15). That the Father had «given» disciples to Jesus (17:9; also 17:24) reiterates a striking image in the Fourth Gospe1. Early Judaism taught that Israel as a whole was predestined (see comment on 6:43–44), but like some other early Jewish Christian writers (e.g., Rom 9:6–32; Eph 1:4–5), John emphasizes the predestination of individuals in Christ through their faith in Christ. Jesus prays on behalf of the disciples (17:9) in a way that provides a model for how disciples will soon be authorized to pray for themselves in his name (16:26–27).

When Jesus says that «all things» (πάντα, neuter) that are his are also the Father's (17:10), underlining the point of 17:7, he merely repeats the general wisdom of 16:15; the Father and Son are so intimate that they share everything in common. Likewise, the Son by inheritance is a lord over the Father's house (cf. 8:35). In this context, he states this general principle to reinforce the more specific point of 17:9: the disciples for whom Jesus prays already belong to the Father as well as to himself (10:14, 28–29), and hence the Father will surely answer Jesus» prayer. Jesus is glorified in his followers (17:10; cf. 2 Thess 1:12) the same way the Father is: by their fruitfulness (15:8), especially by their love for one another (13:35) expressed in unity (17:21–23). Although the idea is less central to this chapter, he may also be glorified in their sufferings (21:19) and in their triumph following such sufferings (11:4; cf. 9:3).

Though Jesus was leaving the world (17:11), he was sending the disciples into the world just as the Father had sent him into the world (17:18). Nevertheless, because they had his message, they were not of the world (17:14) but were being set apart by that message (17:17) as Jesus was set apart (17:19). Those whom the Father gave Jesus (17:9–10) now are again in the Father's hands (17:11), except for the one destined to be lost (17:12).

Although Jesus was leaving, his disciples would remain «in the world» (17:11; cf. 13:1), which carried with it the attendant challenge to be «in the world» yet not «of it» (17:14–18)–a task Israel usually proved unable to fulfill when confronted by pagan practices around it. The address «Holy Father» (17:11) is not unexpected in an early Jewish milieu⁹⁴⁴⁵ but specifically fits this context: Jesus has been keeping the disciples separate from the world (17:12), and now the Father will continue to keep them set apart (17:11).⁹⁴⁴⁶ God is the measure of holiness (cf. Rev 4:8), and whatever is «holy» is «separated» to him (e.g., Exod 28:36; 30:10, 32, 36–37; 31:14–15; 39:30; Lev 21:6–8). The goal of their being kept from the world is that they may be «one» (17:11; cf. 10:16; see comment on 17:21–23). Separation from the world naturally produces internal community cohesion (see comment on 15:18–25), but here the idea seems to be that the common unity with the Father and the Son, apart from the world's quite contrary interests, yields unity among Jesus» followers (cf. 17:21–23).

Jesus «kept» the disciples from the world by God's name (17:11). The έν here is probably both locative and instrumental:⁹⁴⁴⁷ on the one hand, if the disciples are «in the world,» they must be protected «in God's name»;⁹⁴⁴⁸ on the other hand, God protects his people by means of his name. As in Revelation, believers can remain faithful to God's name (e.g., Rev 2:3, 13; 3:8) and are marked off from the world by God's name, his symbol of authority over them (Rev 3:12; 14:1; 22:4; cf. 7:3; 13:17). In the Fourth Gospel, «keeping» (τηρείν) usually refers to God's commandments⁹⁴⁴⁹ but in 17:11,12,15 (cf. 1 John 5:18) refers to God keeping those who obey him, perhaps playing on the language of God keeping those who keep his word (cf. Rev 3:10). He keeps them in the face of the world's hostility (John 15:18–25).⁹⁴⁵⁰

That Jesus lost none of his own in the first generation except one foreknown for apostasy (17:12) might encourage persecuted believers whose community had already expertenced some defections (cf. 1 John 2:19); the point is important enough for John to reiterate it for his audience (18:9; cf. 6:37). Jesus protected them in part by laying down his life to prevent their death (explicitly in 18:8–9; cf. 10:15); given the weakness of the disciples (13:38; 18:25), preventing their arrest at this point may also have prevented their terminal apostasy. That John elsewhere emphasizes that Jesus had lost no sheep (10:11–12) and that, in fact, no one could seize them from his or his Father's hand (10:28–29) suggest that this was a matter of encouragement John felt his audience needed.

If the reconstruction of the Johannine community most commonly held today is correct in its basic contours, John may here encourage Jewish believers whose faith has been rendered less stable through the polemic of respected leaders in their synagogue communities. They had never considered that following Jesus might separate them from Israel, the people of God, and their opponents» claims that they had been separated from God's people may have shaken them. Throughout the Gospel, John therefore reminds them of Jesus» union with the Father, whom their opponents do not personally know; by union with Jesus, his followers are united with the Father and remain the people of God regard-less of the views of some hostile synagogue officials (cf. Rev 3:8–9).

John's audience could be assured that neither those who left the community in John's day (1 John 2:29) nor Judas (6:64) took Jesus by surprise. As «son of destruction,»⁹⁴⁵¹ the betrayer was destined or foreknown for his role (17:12). Jewish wisdom texts could call wicked Sodom «people of destruction» (έθνος απώλειας), that is, «people for destruction» (Sir 16:9). The Dead Sea Scrolls speak of the wicked as «children of the pit» (השחת), that is, those destined for destruction (CD 6.15; 8.14); Jubilees also calls the wicked of past eras «children of destruction.»⁹⁴⁵² Perhaps most strikingly, at least one extant witness to early Christian tradition suggests that some Christians had already designated the anticipated «man of lawlessness»⁹⁴⁵³ as a «son of destruction» (2 Thess 2:3; cf. Rev 17:8). Just as many «antichrists» who opposed the true teaching about Christ could reflect the character of a future anticipated antichrist (1 John 2:18) and just as the Fourth Gospel emphasizes the eschatological condition of the present more frequently than future eschatology, Judas functions as a paradigm for human evi1.⁹⁴⁵⁴ Because Judas probably also provides a model for apostate members of the community (cf. 6:66–71; as does the antichrist, 1 John 2:18–19), this association casts apostates in a very negative light (cf. 15:6).

Opponents of John's audience may have complained about what appeared to them an inconsistency in the gospel tradition: Jesus is omniscient, yet he chose a disciple who ultimately betrayed him. John is at pains to point out that Jesus foreknew the betrayer, whose role was part of God's plan (6:64, 71; 13:21, 26, 27); in support of such a thesis is the point that the only disciple whom Jesus lost was, in fact, the betrayer himself. John reinforces this point by informing his audience that the loss of the betrayer fulfilled Scripture (17:12) and hence was necessary because, as even their opponents recognized, Scripture cannot be broken (10:35). The necessity of a betrayer might be inferred simply from Scripture concerning Jesus» suffering (cf., e.g., 19:24,28,36–37; 20:9), but «Scripture» here probably alludes to the passage already cited in 13about the betrayer. It is not necessary to find a text that directly mentions a «son of destruction.»⁹⁴⁵⁵ When John later refers back to this text, however, it is not only that Scripture (the Hebrew Bible or its Greek translations) might be fulfilled but also that the «word» of Jesus might be fulfilled (18:9); for John, both are God's message.

As Jesus prepares to leave, he speaks «these things» that their joy might be full (17:13), implying that his words (coupled with the second Paraclete, 14:16–17, 26) function as a surrogate for his bodily presence as the Word among them. At first, one might think that he refers solely to the words of the immediate context, namely, the prayer.⁹⁴⁵⁶ But ταΰτα consistently refers to the whole message he has been giving his disciples (13:17, 21; 14:24; 15:17; 16:1,4, 6,25, 33),⁹⁴⁵⁷ including in the immediate context (17:1; probably 18:1). Most important, the words that bring fulness of joy (17:13) must include his earlier words to them (15:11).

Because they, like Jesus, are not from the world (e.g., 8:23), the disciples share with Jesus in being objects of the world's hatred (17:14; 15:18). Because of this, Jesus prays further for the Father to «keep» them, that is, to preserve them, from the evil one (17:15).⁹⁴⁵⁸ Such preservation does not involve removal from the world and its hatred (17:15) but protection from succumbing to the designs of the evil one (cf. Matt 6:13).⁹⁴⁵⁹ (The substantive use of «evil» often points to Satan.)⁹⁴⁶⁰ Other Jewish pietists praised God for «keeping» or «guarding» them from those who would destroy them.⁹⁴⁶¹ Wisdom, too, was said to «keep» or «guard» God's servants (e.g., various forms of φυλάσσω, τηρέω, and their cognates in Wis 9:11; 10:1,5).

Believers must be «kept» because they are «in the world» (17:11, 16), yet they are not «of» the world (17:14).⁹⁴⁶² They reflect the character of Jesus rather than that of the world (15:1–17) and hence are in conflict with the world (15:18–25). This is a separation of values, not of geography. Whereas the Qumran community was to remain physically separate from outsiders (1QS 5.18; 9.8–9; CD 13.14–15)–especially practical for the wilderness Essenes– the separation of Johannine believers is an internal rather than a geographical one.⁹⁴⁶³

That God's «truth» was also his word or law fits early Jewish thought about the law (cf. Ps 119:142,151,160).⁹⁴⁶⁴ Jewish tradition recognized that God had sanctified Israel, that is, set Israel apart for himself;⁹⁴⁶⁵ some early texts associate this setting apart with God's commandments.⁹⁴⁶⁶ Jewish blessings regularly praised God for sanctifying his people through the commandments he had given them; these blessings usually included a reaffirmation of the particular commandment the person was fulfilling.⁹⁴⁶⁷ Priests were consecrated to God in a special way, not given land to till (Deut 18:1–5) that they might devote themselves un-distracted to God's work. Most of all, disciples would be set apart like Jesus, who was consecrated wholly for the Father's purposes (10:36), pursuing wholly the agendas from above alien to the world. Jesus'word had set his disciples apart (17:17) and cleansed them (15:3) if they, like those who offered these blessings for God's commandments, obeyed the word in practice (13:17).⁹⁴⁶⁸ John may allude to Jesus himself (cf. 1:1–18) as well as his spoken words as the message through which God would set them apart more fully;⁹⁴⁶⁹ his own presence was mediated through his words (12:47–48) and his disciples» witness for him (16:7–15).

This text presupposes that God's word is already set apart.⁹⁴⁷⁰ In 10:36, Jesus declares that the Father set him apart before sending him into the world; in 17:19, he consecrates himself again so they may be consecrated in truth–perhaps meaning in himself (14:6).⁹⁴⁷¹ For God to make his people holy was to make them like himself (17:11; cf. Lev 11:44–45; 1Pet 1:16).⁹⁴⁷² John's idea of holiness is not, however, physical separation from the world so much as it is separation from the world's values; like Jesus, the disciples were «sent into the world» (17:18; cf. 20:21).⁹⁴⁷³

As Jesus had prayed for his first disciples rather than the world (17:9), now he prayed for his future disciples (17:20)–generations like John's own (cf. 16:2). Others would believe through the first witnesses» message (17:20) and be sanctified through that message (17:17). These subsequent believers should remain united with other believers, particularly the apostolic founders (17:21), so the world might believe (17:21, 23). Jesus» mission was to glorify the Father by the cross (17:1–5); he yearned for his disciples to display God's glory through unity (17:22–24).

The evangelist especially wishes his audience to overhear 17:20: the prayer for unity concerns not merely the first generation but their own generation as well, just as their generation's faith will be rewarded even more than that of the first generation (20:29–31).⁹⁴⁷⁴ Subsequent generations would believe through the first generation's «word» (17:20), thus sanctifying them as well (17:17); their «word» was God's own word, Jesus himself mediated through the witness of the disciples (see comment on 16:7–11).⁹⁴⁷⁵ The witnesses in the Fourth Gospel, from John the Baptist to the disciples to the Samaritan woman, thus become a bridge to, as well as a paradigm for, the faith of John's audience.

This renders all the more relevant for John's audience Jesus» specific prayer on their behalf: unity for the sake of their witness. Just as the unity of Father and Son was central to John's apologetic (one thus dare not oppose the Son while claiming loyalty to the Father, 10:30), the unity of believers is at the heart of John's vision for believers (10:16; 11:52; 17:11, 21–23). The Fourth Gospel equipped John's audience with an apologetic approach from Scripture but most of all summoned them to invite the open-minded to «come and see» (1:39,46; 4:29,39–42), which in their day must have included the questioning to experience the presence of Jesus living among his followers by the Spirit. This presence of Jesus would be experienced through prophetic proclamation (16:7–11) but also through the mutual love of the disciples, who thus revealed Jesus» character (13:34–35; 15:8–12). The way believers treat one another is an essential component of proclaiming Jesus to the world.⁹⁴⁷⁶ Indeed, if one compares this prayer with Jesus» earlier prayer in 11:42, one finds that the unity of believers provides the same kind of witness concerning Jesus» origin as Jesus» raising of Lazarus (ότι συ pe άπέστειλας, 11:42; 17:23).

It is noteworthy that when the prayer turns to generations after those of the first disciples, the mention of unity (17:11) becomes a central emphasis (17:21–23). Whereas the «world» was divided (e.g., 7:43; 9:16; 10:19; 12:42–43), Jesus» followers were to be cohesive (13:34–35; 17:21–23).⁹⁴⁷⁷ Disunity characterized the broader culture as a whole.⁹⁴⁷⁸ Intercity rivalries, for example, were common.⁹⁴⁷⁹ Writers and speakers emphasized the need for unity for the state,⁹⁴⁸⁰ for armies,⁹⁴⁸¹ for families,⁹⁴⁸² and so forth, and the dangers of disunity;⁹⁴⁸³ they might praise those who made peace.⁹⁴⁸⁴ Personal enmity was standard in partisan politics⁹⁴⁸⁵ but also extended to matters such as favored teachers⁹⁴⁸⁶ and literary competition.⁹⁴⁸⁷ Sometimes, however, enemies could be reconciled.⁹⁴⁸⁸

Although a unity rooted in love would address other issues as well, one matter of unity the Gospel surely addresses is ethnic unity. The emphasis on the Samaritans» ready acceptance of Jesus points in this direction (4:39–42), as does Jesus» objective of «one flock,» probably referring to the influx of Gentile Christians to follow (10:16; cf. 11:52). Unity also challenges the secessionists of 1 John.

John 17:22–23 repeats and amplifies the basic thoughts of 17:21: Jesus wants the disciples to be one as he and the Father are one that the world may recognize the divine origin of both Jesus and his disciples.⁹⁴⁸⁹ Beasley-Murray notes that the Qumran community «called themselves the unity» but sought unity between themselves and angelic saints above, whereas in John the unity is rooted in God's work in Christ.⁹⁴⁹⁰ The church has already «achieved in Christ» the miracle of unity, as in Gal 3:28, though in practice the early church clearly continued to experience divisions (Acts 6:1; 3 John 9–12);⁹⁴⁹¹ believers must work to keep the unity of the Spirit that Christ established. But in any case, the loving unity between the Father and the Son provides a model for believers, not necessarily a metaphysical, mystical ground for it.⁹⁴⁹² Jesus and the Father mutually indwell each other (17:21; also 10:38; 14:10); by Jesus dwelling in them and with the Father dwelling in him (cf. also 14:23), Jesus» followers would experience God's presence in such a way that unity would be the necessary result (17:23). John would probably view the inability of believers to walk in accord with one another as, first of all, a failure to accede to the demands of the divine presence both share.

Jesus receives glory (17:22, 24) and gives it to believers (17:22) that they may glorify God (cf. 17:21, 23; 15:8);⁹⁴⁹³ if they are to glorify God as Jesus does, however (17:4), they must love him and one another to the extent that he did, to the point of death (21with 12:32–33). As in Paul's theology, believers who would share Jesus» glory must first share his suffering (Rom 8:18; 2Cor 4:17; cf. Eph 3:13; 2 Thess 1:5–6, 10). Jesus shared with them teaching (17:14) and everything he had received from the Father (15:15), as the Spirit continues to mediate to believers (16:13–15). Now Jesus says that he has shared with his disciples God's «glory» (17:22); this statement directly fulfills 1:14, for the glory that Moses could see only in part the disciples now witness in full (see comment on 1:14–18). The law was given through Moses, but the full revelation of God's character is given to the disciples in Jesus Christ (1:17).⁹⁴⁹⁴ Believers who walk in this revelation of God's character cannot divide from one another (17:22).

The great love of the Father and the Son for believers is a staple of early Christianity in general (Rom 8:37) and of the Johannine tradition in particular (e.g., 14:21; 16:27; cf. 1 John 3:1; Rev 3:9). Nevertheless, that the Father loved Jesus» disciples «even as» (καθώς) he loved Jesus (17:23) is one of the most remarkable statements of the Gospel, given the enormity of God's love for his uniquely obedient Son (3:35; 5:20; 10:17).⁹⁴⁹⁵ Yet this depiction of the measure of God's love toward believers is consonant with the emphasis that God demonstrated his love for the world by sending his Son to die for it (3:16). Jewish tradition celebrated God's love for Israel, but some Tannaim found inconceivable the notion that God would love Israel more than the first patriarchs.⁹⁴⁹⁶ God's love for Jesus» followers is of the same character as his love for his unique Son, Jesus–so that in the end, all of Jesus» true disciples become «belo\^red disciples."⁹⁴⁹⁷ One might think that «completed» in unity suggests that such unity is a goal rather than a presupposition for believers (cf. 4:34; 17:4); but one might conversely take the perfect tense of the participle to suggest an established reality stemming from the divine indwelling (17:23), so that believers need merely guard a unity already accomplished by Christ (as in Eph 4:3). In either case, the sense would be the same in practice: Christ's indwelling produces the unity among his followers, and believers must therefore walk accordingly.

Jesus wants the disciples to dwell with him where he is (17:24), that is, in the Father's presence (14:3–6).⁹⁴⁹⁸ The Father had given Jesus both the disciples and Jesus» own glory (17:24), and Jesus wanted the disciples to dwell in his presence, beholding his glory. The image is eschatological (e.g., Rev 21:11,23) but, in John's emphasis on realized eschatology and especially in light of 14:1–3, emphasizes disciples beholding Jesus» glory in the present. They beheld his préexistent glory (12:41; 17:5)⁹⁴⁹⁹ during his earthly ministry (1:14; 2:11; 8:54; 11:4) and would continue to do so through the Spirit (16:14; cf. 7:39). Undoubtedly this means that they would continue to experience his glory through the Spirit's testimony as they continued to recite his acts of glory in the gospel tradition (14:26); it also implies continuing revelation of Jesus to the disciples through the Spirit (16:13–15).⁹⁵⁰⁰

The world had not known God though knowing him was eternal life (17:3); but because Jesus knew the Father and the disciples knew that Jesus represented the Father (17:25), Jesus would make the Father known to the disciples that God might enjoy an intimate, loving relationship with them by Jesus dwelling in them (17:25; cf. 10:14–15).

The «holy» Father (17:11) is also the «righteous» Father (17:25; cf. 1 John 1:9),⁹⁵⁰¹ perfectly just (7:24; 16:8, 10; cf. Rev 15:3), and the one who can put his own people in the right.⁹⁵⁰² John climaxes on a summation (17:25–26): Jesus had revealed the Father to them⁹⁵⁰³ to provide them an intimate, loving relationship with him and one another. As Carson puts it:

Jesus» departure does not have as its goal the abandonment of the disciples to solitary isolation. Far from it: his goal is to sweep up those the Father has given him into the richness of the love that exists among the persons of the triune God.⁹⁵⁰⁴

Disciples» intimacy with the Father is mediated through Jesus (14:6), but because of their immediacy with Jesus, they also have immediate contact with the Father (16:26–27). Because their direct relationship with the Father and the Son is a central theme of the final discourse, its centrality for the Gospel as a whole cannot be overestimated. John encourages his community that their very relationship with the God of their ancestors testifies that they, and not their accusers, are heirs of Israel's covenant promises.