Read John 17:1-26.

Note: Verse two literally reads, “you have given him authority over all flesh.”

 Introduction⤒🔗

John 18 begins with the statement, “When Jesus had spoken these words [an obvious reference to the teaching contained in the previous chapters], he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he entered, himself and his disciples.” In light of this introduction to our Lord’s time spent in the garden of Gethsemane, which culminated in His arrest and subsequent trial, it seems most reasonable to assume that His prayer recorded in John 17 occurred in the upper room as the climax to His final discourse (Jn. 16).

The contents of our Lord’s final earthly prayer, as recorded in John 17:1-26, should serve as a guide for our prayers.

Our Lord Prays that the Father Would Be Glorified (vs. 1-5)←⤒🔗

It is appropriate for the Son to make this request at this time, for “the hour has come.” The hour of which Christ now speaks is the hour of which He spoke on an earlier occasion when certain Greek (proselytes?) who were present at the annual Passover had requested an audience with Him. Upon hearing of their request, “Jesus responded by saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified’” (Jn. 12:23). It is the very hour when the Son of man shall be “lifted up from the earth” (vs. 32). John informs us that, in saying this, Christ was speaking of the hour of the crucifixion: “He said this to show the kind of death he was about to die” (vs. 33). As noted, on that earlier occasion, the Lord had indicated that this would be the hour in which “the Son of man [would] be glorified.” So, in keeping with this expectation, He now makes His request: “Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son.”

The Son now goes on to supply reasons for confidence in making this request; reasons that assure Him that the Father will grant His request. The first reason is the Father’s previous acts of glorifying, or honoring, the Son: “glorify your Son...²just as you have granted him authority over all mankind [literally, “over all flesh”], in order that, to all whom you have given him, he should give eternal life.”

Christ is referring to the fact that the Father has appointed the Son to serve as the Judge of all the earth: “Neither does the Father judge anyone; rather, he has entrusted all judgment to the Son; ²³so that everyone may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father” (Jn. 5:22-23a). On that previous occasion, Christ had also testified, “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he desires” (Jn. 5:21). (Although the Father has appointed the Son to be Judge of all, it is His commission to be the Savior that the Son highlights in His present petition. This, as we shall see, is in keeping with His present request.) It is in light of those previous acts whereby the Father honored, (or, glorified), the Son, that Christ now makes His present request.

A second reason for confidence that the Father will grant the Son’s request is the fact that the Son has fulfilled the mission for which the Father sent Him into the world. Thus, the Son “reminds” the Father: “I glorified you on the earth by accomplishing the work you gave me to do” (vs. 4).

Thus, it is on the basis of the Father’s previous acts of honoring the Son and the Son’s faithfulness in fulfilling the messianic work the Father gave to Him do, that the Son now makes the request: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son.”

In making this first request, Christ is asking the Father to honor/glorify Him by making His work to be fruitful. On that earlier occasion, immediately after declaring that the hour had come for the Son to be glorified, He had spoken of the fruitfulness that would result from His atoning death upon the cross: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn. 12:24). The Son is now requesting that the same will hold true with regard to His atoning death on the cross, namely, that it will result in spiritual fruit: the fruit of conversion unto Jesus the Messiah.

In the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah, we find the Messiah bemoaning the fact that His labor appears to have been in vain: “I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.” Christ now finds Himself in the same situation, as He informed His disciples: “the hour is coming, in fact it has come, when you shall be scattered, each one to his own home, and shall forsake me” (Jn. 16:32).

But, in that passage of Isaiah 49, no sooner does the Messiah utter those words of concern than He expresses His confidence in the LORD, God His Father, “Surely, the justice I deserve is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God” (Isa. 49:4). In the following verses the LORD affirms the fact that His faithful Servant shall be amply rewarded:

And now this is what the LORD says, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant, [he who appointed me] to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel unto him, (for I am honorable in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength), ⁶indeed, he says, It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and to bring back those of Israel whom I have preserved. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Isa. 49:5-6

Thus, when Christ utters the petition, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son,” He is requesting the Father to fulfill the promise made to Him as the Messiah, the promise recorded in Isaiah 49:5-6.

In verse five, the Son makes a further request, namely, that He be restored to the position He occupied with the Father from all eternity: “And now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory I had with you before the world was [created].” At the very outset of the Gospel, John had identified the Son, (using the title, “the Word”), in the following way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2^He was in the beginning with God” (Jn. 1:1-2). The Son is requesting that the Father honor Him by restoring Him to the divine position He occupied with the Father from all eternity; and that the Father restore the Son to this honor in His incarnate state as “the Word become flesh” (Jn. 1:14), in His incarnate state as the God/Man.

The ultimate purpose for which the Son makes these requests is for the Father’s glory: “Father...glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you.” By granting the Son’s requests, the Father is glorified.

First, Father is glorified by showing Himself to be faithful to His word: “the LORD, the God of Israel says...those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30). By honoring/glorifying the Son for His faithful accomplishment of the work assigned to Him by the Father, the Father is demonstrating His own integrity as the God who keeps His word, and thereby bringing glory to His name.

Furthermore, by fulfilling the Son’s request to be restored to His former position of glory, this time in His incarnate state as Christ Jesus the God/Man, the Father is glorified, by showing Himself to be the self-giving God who does not withhold any good thing from the one who submits to Him and faithfully serves Him. As the Apostle Paul testifies:

...God exalted him to the highest position and bestowed upon him the name that is above every name; ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:9-11

“The name of Jesus” should be understood as the name Jesus now possess; i.e. the name the Father has bestowed upon the Son in His incarnate state as Jesus the Messiah. That name is none other than the divine name of LORD, Jehovah. In other words, the Father has, indeed, restored the Son to His position of divine glory, and has done so in the Son’s incarnate state. Note that bestowing the divine name upon the incarnate Son is unto “the glory of God the Father.” As noted, by the exaltation of Christ, the Father is glorified, proving Himself to be absolutely loving and demonstrating that He does not withhold any good thing from the one who submits to Him and faithfully serves Him.

Our Lord Prays that His Disciples Be Preserved (vs. 6-19)←⤒🔗

The Lord Jesus refers to His disciples as “the men whom you [i.e. the Father] gave me.” The disciples are numbered among those whom the Father has given to the Son (Jn. 6:37,39). Here is the doctrine of divine, sovereign election, as the Apostle Paul writes to the Romans: “whom [God] foreknew, he also predestined...³⁰Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called; whom he called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30). When it comes to the doctrine of election, we must understand that, although we are like God, (able to make responsible moral choices), God is not the same as us, (He has a greater range of options, one of which is the ability to exercise complete sovereignty over His creatures without violating their moral responsibility). Notice that the Father gave the Son these men “out of the world.” The elect of God are called, not because they are distinct from the world; on the contrary, they are called by divine choice out of the world. The Apostle Paul informs the Ephesians, “In love, ⁵he predestined us to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ, by his own will and desire, ⁶for the praise of the glory of his grace” (Eph. 1:4-6).

The Father gave them to the Son because they belong to the Father, “they were yours and you gave them to me.” It is because they are the Father’s unique possession that He entrusts them to the Son. Moses testifies of Israel, “Indeed, heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth, with all that is in it. ¹⁵[But] the LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and he chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples” (Deut. 10:14-15). What is true of the covenant nation corporately, is true of each of God’s elect individually. The Father entrusted the disciples to the Son so that the Son might reveal the Father to them.

The Son declares, “I revealed your name to [them].” To “reveal the Father’s name” means to reveal by means of a close and personal encounter the person and attributes of the Father. In Exodus 33:19; 34:5-7, we find the account of the LORD revealing His “name” to Moses. Christ, the Son, reveals the Father by means of the good works the Father does by Christ (Jn. 10:32a; Jn. 12:10b). But above all, He reveals the Father’s name by means of His own Person: (Jn. 1:18; Jn. 14:9). The Son not only testifies that He has revealed the Father’s name to His disciples, He has also proclaimed the Father’s word to them: “The words you gave me I have given them (vs. 8). Here Christ is referring to the whole body of teaching that He has imparted to His disciples throughout His entire earthly ministry. As He has made clear, “I have not spoken on my own [authority]; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (Jn. 12:49; see, also, Jn. 3:34; 7:16; 8:26b).

How did the disciples respond to the Son’s ministry? The Son reports, “they have kept your word.” The disciples have recognized that the word spoken by Christ is the Father’s word. Consequently, they have received it and embraced it. To “keep” the word has the connotation of adhering to it as the truth to be believed and by which to live. “Now they know;” by embracing the word, (and embracing Christ, the living Word, Himself), the disciples have gained assurance and certainty that “whatever you have given me comes from you;” (i.e. the certainty that Christ has spoken the very word of God). On behalf of all the disciples, Peter testifies: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have believed and know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn. 6:68-69). In verse eight, the Son sums up His ministry to the disciples and their response to that ministry: The Father gave Christ the words, Christ gave the Father’s words to the disciples, the disciples received these words; consequently, they know with certainty that the Son “came forth from [the Father]” and “they believed that you did send me.” Notice that the receiving of the word spoken by Christ has led to a believing in the person of Christ Himself.

Having described the disciples’ spiritual identity and His ministry to them, the Son asserts that He is praying specifically for them: “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me” (vs. 9). Christ distinguishes the disciples from the world and offers prayer on their behalf because “they are yours,” they belong to the Father. Furthermore, because of the Son’s intimate relationship with the Father, (“All that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine”), the Son has a special and personal interest in these men whom the Father has entrusted to His care. The Son then states yet another reason for His prayer on their behalf, the fact the He is “glorified in them.” Their obedience to the Son is both a source of joy to the Son (Jn. 15:10-11a) and a source of glory (honor) to Him.

Now, in verse eleven, the urgency of the Son’s prayer on behalf of the disciples becomes apparent. “I will no longer remain in the world;” He will no longer be physically present to keep them and protect them. But “they are in the world;” the disciples must remain in the world, at this present time they cannot accompany the Son who is returning to the Father. The disciples are no longer of the world, yet they must remain in the world; herein lies the great danger (cp. Jn. 15:19). Because of this change in their relationship, (from physical presence to departure), and because of the potential peril it poses, the Son prays, “Holy Father, keep them in your name... so that they may be one just as we [are one].”

The request is that the Father would make certain that the disciples’ relationship with the Father, based on the work of the Son, would continue to be maintained. The Son makes this request in light of what He had foretold: the disciples would be scattered; every man would go to his own home, (forsaking their commitment to one another); they shall abandon Christ (Jn. 16:32). But the Son’s request of the Father is that the spiritual bonds, (between them and the disciples and between disciples and one another), though about to be severely strained, would not be irreparably broken. His prayer is that the scattering would only be temporary, followed by repentance and a re-gathering, due to the Father’s preserving work.

The Son testifies that while He was present with the disciples, He caused them to maintain their relationship with the Father: “I kept them in your name.” Consequently, “not one of them perished,” with the exception of “the son of perdition,” (i.e. Judas Iscariot); and that occurred, not through Christ’s neglect, but “that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (cf. Psl. 41:9). But now, due to His departure, the Son will no longer be able to carry on this ministry (vs. 13). So, “these things,” (i.e. that the Father would preserve the disciples’ relationship with Christ and the Father, and their relationship with one another), “I ask...[while] I am [still] in the world.” The Son brings this urgent matter to the Father’s attention and prays for the Father’s preserving work, “so that they may have within them the fullness of my joy.” The dual themes of John 15:11 are here merged into one: showing the intimate connection between the Son’s joy in His disciples and their joy in Him.

“I have given them your word” (vs. 14), the reception of which has brought them into fellowship with “the only true God,” and His Son, Jesus Christ (cf. Jn. 17:2b-3). Consequently, “the world hates them; because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” The disciples have come to share in the relationship Christ sustains to the world, one that stands distinct from and in opposition to the world.

Although the disciples have been spiritually transferred “out of the world,” the Son does not request that they be physically removed from the world: “I am not asking that you would take them out of the world” (vs. 15a). In verse eighteen He makes explicit the reason He has not requested their removal from the world: He has appointed them to fulfill a divine commission in the world and to the world (cp. Jn. 15:26-27).

What the Son does request is that the Father “keep them from the evil one” (vs. 15b). His prayer is that the Father would preserve them, and prevent them from being held in the clutches of the devil unto their own condemnation: Judas was given over to the devil and his evil will; Peter and the other disciples would be restored to Christ (cp. Lk. 22:31-32). By repeating the disciples’ status as it pertains to the world and to Himself (vs. 16), the Son is stressing the urgency for the Father to answer His petition on behalf of the disciples. Thus, even as the Father had entrusted these men to the Son, now, the Son is entrusting them to the Father’s care.

Negatively, the Son requested the Father to preserve the disciples from the evil one (vs. 15b). Now, positively, He requests the Father to “sanctify them” (vs. 17); (i.e. set them apart unto Himself as His own possession). This sanctifying work is done by exposing them to the truth and transforming them by the truth. The truth is nothing other than the Father’s word: His word is the embodiment of the truth and the exposition of the truth, as such it is the only standard for faith and practice.

The Son has requested the Father to sanctify the disciples. Now, He testifies, so that the disciples “indeed, may be sanctified in truth [i.e. truly sanctified], for their sakes I sanctify myself” (vs. 19). His act of sanctifying Himself is a reference to the cross (cp. Jn. 15:13; Jn. 10:11). It is only by our Lord’s atoning death on the cross that our sins are forgiven, enabling us to be justified before the Father. It is by our union with Him in His death that our old sinful nature is put to death; and being subsequently joined with Him in His resurrection life, we are truly sanctified. Thus, on the basis of the incarnate Son’s own sanctification, (His separating Himself from the world by means of the cross), and His disciples’ participation in that sanctification, the Father, who is holy (vs. 11), is able to comply with the Son’s request that He sanctify the disciples, (i.e. that He embrace them and set them apart as His own holy possession). The process of sanctification requested in verse seventeen, can only be carried out in the life of those who have been “truly sanctified” (vs. 19): separated from the world unto God by means of their union with Christ in His death and resurrection life.

Our Lord Prays that His Church Be Brought into Glory (vs. 20-26)←⤒🔗

The Son’s concern now goes beyond the original disciples to include “those who believe in me through their word” (vs. 20). His prayer is that “they may all be one;” He is requesting the Father to grant that there be a unity among them. More specifically, this unity is to be patterned after that which exists between the Father and the Son: “just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.” Furthermore, it is a unity that can only be achieved by their entering into the unity of the Father and the Son: “may they also be in us.” The purpose for which the Son requests this spiritual unity is “that the world may believe that you sent me” (vs. 21). So, this unity must not only be a spiritual unity, it must also be a visible unity, since its intention is to bear witness to the world that “you sent me;” (i.e. that Jesus, indeed, is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Matt. 16:16).

We must understand that this request is made in light of what Christ foretold His disciples while still with them in the upper room: “Behold, the hour is coming, in fact it has come, when you shall be scattered, each one to his own [home], and shall forsake me” (Jn. 16:32). Furthermore, it is made in light of recent events that had taken place in Israel. There had been a number of contemporary movements that had ended in fragmentation and had come to nothing. The respected Jewish scholar, Gamaliel, had reminded the Sanhedrin of those failed, fragmented movements headed by false messiahs:

³⁴...a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and...³⁵addressed them, Men of Israel... ³⁶Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Acts 5:34-37

Thus, the Son is now urgently requesting the Father that He would prevent the same thing from happening to His disciples. In effect, Jesus is praying: “Father, my disciples are about to be violently scattered. But, Father, please see to it that this scattering does not result in apostasy. Even in the midst of their crisis, cause the relationship they have with You to be preserved; gather them as a shepherd gathers his sheep, and cause those who believe in me through their witness to be united with them.”

Referring to the relationship that existed between Himself and the disciples during His earthly ministry, the Son declares, “The glory that you gave me I have given them; so that they may be one, just as we are one.” The glory of which Christ speaks appears to be a reference to the divine name, which the Father gave to the incarnate Son (vs. 11), in order for Him to reveal that name to the disciples (vs.6). By receiving the Son’s testimony, and receiving the Son Himself, the disciples have entered into spiritual fellowship with the Father and the Son: “I in them and you in me.”

This request, (that there be both a spiritual and visible unity among His disciples and those who would believe their testimony, a unity that would serve as a witness to the world), was granted by the Father at Pentecost and in the early years of the apostolic witness.

Notice the emphasis on the visible unity of believers in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts:

Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the LORD added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:41-47

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴There were no needy persons among them, for from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Acts 4:32-35

...they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. Acts 5:12b

Notice, secondly, that the unity among the believers was of the same kind that exists between God the Father and God the Son: a self-giving love, a mutual sharing, a mutual possession of all things. This is the same type of unity Jesus testified exists between the Father and Himself (Jn. 5:19-20a). Again, Jesus would testify, “All that belongs to the Father is mine” (Jn. 16:15a), and, “All that is mine is yours, and [all that is] yours is mine” (Jn. 17:10a).

Notice, thirdly, that this visible, spiritual unity was a powerful testimony and evidence that this, indeed, was a work of God. Although the religious leaders were minded to kill the apostles, the elder statesman, Gamaliel, quieted them with this warning:

When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the [apostles] be put outside for a little while. ³⁵Then he addressed them: Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men... ³⁸Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God. Acts 5:34-35, 38-39

The unity of the church, as it appeared on the Day of Pentecost, and the time immediately following, is seen to be a testimony that this, indeed, is a work of God; and by implication, that Jesus is the Messiah.

But Christ looks beyond Pentecost and the time immediately following, to the day of final consummation. His prayer is not only that the Father would keep the disciples in the spiritual unity they share with the Father and the Son, but that this spiritual unity be finally manifested in all of its fullness. He is here speaking of His body the church being brought into “perfect unity” (vs. 23), something that will only be realized on the day of His return in glory (cf. 1 Jn. 3:2). He prays for the manifestation of that perfect unity, “so that the world may know that you sent me and [that you] love them just as you loved me” (vs. 23b). The result of this perfected unity shall cause the world to know that the Father has sent Christ, and that the Father loved the church (the body of believers) just as He loved Jesus Christ His one and only Son.

Finally, the Son expresses His desire that “those whom you have given me may also be with me where I am, so that they may behold my glory.” He is speaking of nothing other than the divine glory that the Father shares with the Son because of His love for the Son: “[the glory] you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (vs. 24). Now, out of love for those whom the Father has given Him, the Son requests our presence with Him in glory. The disciples were given a glimpse of that glory during the days of Christ’s earthly ministry, as the Apostle John testifies, “we beheld his glory, his glory as the one and only [Son who came] from the Father” (Jn. 1:14). In all likelihood, John is especially referring to the occasion when he, along with James and Peter, witnessed Christ’s transfiguration. Speaking of that occasion, Peter declares, “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷He received honor and glory from God the Father when such a word as this was spoken to him by the Majestic Glory: ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased’” (2 Pet. 1:16-17). It is the privilege of the entire church of the Lord Jesus Christ to behold His glory, not for a fleeting moment, but for all eternity.

Note: Philippians 2:6 teaches that the Son exists in “the form of God,” which means He shares the full divine identity of the Father. As such, He shares “equality with God;” (i.e. the Son shares the same divine status with the Father). Now, in John 17:24, we find the Son requesting the Father to grant the redeemed to behold the glory the Father gave to the Son. Here is, not the mystery, but the wonder of the Trinity. What is revealed to us is the fact that there is a willful subordination exhibited by the Son, which enables the Father to exhibit His self-giving love. This is the wonder of the Trinity that the redeemed shall behold (and experience) throughout all eternity.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What is our Lord’s first petition (cf. Jn. 17:1a), and for what purpose does He make this request (cf. Jn. 17:1b)? What promise had the LORD made to the Messiah? See Isa. 49:5-6. As Christians, should we not likewise petition the Father to glorify His Son Jesus Christ, and thereby bring glory to His own name as His faithfulness to His Son is manifested? Note Phil. 2:9-11,

After Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes toward heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you... Jn. 17:1

And now this is what the LORD says, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant, [he who appointed me] to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel unto him, (for I am honorable in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength), ⁶indeed, he says, It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and to bring back those of Israel whom I have preserved. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Isa. 49:5-6

Jesus is requesting His Father to fulfill this promise; and by so doing, the Father will be glorified through the display of His integrity.

Wherefore, God exalted him to the highest position and bestowed upon him the name that is above every name; ¹⁰so that before the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:9-11

2. What testimony does the Lord Jesus make in John 17:4? As a Christian, are you glorifying God by accomplishing the work He has given you to do? Note Col. 4:17; Rev. 3:2. Are you being steadfast in the work of being a godly Christian husband/wife, father/mother, child, friend? What special work of ministry has the Lord given you to accomplish?

I glorified you on the earth by accomplishing the work you gave me to do. Jn. 17:4

The Apostle Paul instructs the church at Colossae:

And say to Archippus, 'Take heed to the ministry that you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.' Col. 4:17

The Lord Jesus exhorts the church in Sardis:

Wake up! Strength the things that remain and are about to die; for I have not found any of your works completed in the sight of my God. Rev. 3:2

3. What is the glory that Christ requests of the Father? See Jn. 17:5. What does the Father’s sharing His glory with the Son reveal about the Father? Note Jn. 5:20. How does the Father’s display of self-giving love serve to bring glory to His name?

And now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory I had with you before the world was [created].Jn. 17:5

...the Father loves the Son and [therefore] shows him everything that he is doing. Indeed, greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. Jn. 5:20

4. For whom does the Lord Jesus pray (cf. Jn. 17:6a, 9, 20)? What request does the Lord make of the Father on our behalf? See Jn. 17:15. Does this mean we will never be tempted or ever be subjected to even severe trials at the hands of the evil one? Note Job 2:6; Lk. 22:31. What does the Apostle Peter testify of God’s faithfulness to those who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus? See 1 Pet. 5:10-11,

I revealed your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word... ⁹I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours... ²⁰I am not only praying for these men, but also for those who believe in me through their word. Jn. 17:6, 9, 20

I am not asking that you would take them out of the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. Jn. 17:15

The LORD said to Satan, Look; everything that he has is in your power; only do not lay your hand upon the man himself. So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:12

Then the LORD said to Satan, Look; he is in your hand; only spare his life.Job 2:6

And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren.' Lk. 22:31

But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will personally restore you, support you, strengthen you, and establish you. ¹¹To him belongs the dominion forever. Amen. 1 Pet. 5:10-11

5. What is the final petition the Lord Jesus asks of His Father? See Jn. 17:24a. When will this petition be fulfilled in all its fullness? See 2 Thess. 1:10. What further blessing awaits the Christian? See 2 Thess. 2:14,

Father, I desire that those whom you have given me may also be with me where I am, so that they may behold my glory, [the glory] you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.Jn. 17:24

...when (Christ) comes, on that Day, to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at by all those who believed... 2 Thess. 1:10

...[God] called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. 2:14