John 17

So closes the Saviour’s farewell address to his apostles. From man he now turns to God; and, as is suitable in address to God, in prayer. Yet is it not so entirely addressed to God as that man is wholly left out of thought; for all audible and public prayer is for man; that is, for others than him who prays, as well as to God. The very institution of public prayer includes a purpose of instruction, namely, to reveal and perpetuate the knowledge of what are our wants, and how to express them before God. Of such a nature is the Lord’s Prayer. And for this same purpose was this memorable intercessory prayer uttered aloud by Jesus in the hearing of his apostles, and recorded under guidance of the blessed Spirit by the hand of that very apostle who dwelt most deeply in the heart of Jesus. We might suppose that the prayer is recorded with verbal accuracy. But if our human presuppositions are not upon this point accurate, we may be sure that the very soul of the prayer uttered is in the prayer recorded, so that both would be for us identical.

As this prayer is uttered just before the great sacrifice by him who was at once Victim and High Priest, so it has been called, with much propriety, by Christian scholars, the HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER. But though uttered before the sacrifice, the actual standpoint in spirit of the great Supplicator is really at the close of the sacrifice; just as in the last verse of the last chapter, as we have noted, the standpoint of the Saviour’s triumph is after the triumph is won. See notes on John 12:31; John 13:31; John 17:11. The present prayer is uttered as if in fact the great work were completed; and as if, from the scene of battle, the blood-stained conqueror was stepping in triumph upon the threshold of heaven into the presence of his Father, claiming his investment with a glory belonging to him both by original inheritance and final victory.

Though properly called a prayer, but a small part and but a few points are precisely petition. For himself he claims, as his right, his glorious investment. For his disciples he supplicates unity, preservation, and consecration. For all future believers he supplicates the same holy unity, and indirectly prays for the conversion of the world to the faith. The greater part of the prayer is what we will call representation; performed by Him who is the great representative of us all before God.

A summary of the chapter will show that in John 17:1-5 he presents himself before the Father; that in John 17:6-19 he represents the case of his apostles; that in John 17:20-26 he represents before God, directly, the case of all future believers; indirectly, the case, good or ill, of the world.