1 Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you;
2 even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
4 I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do.
5 Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
7 Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you,
8 for the words which you have given me I have given to them; and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.
9 I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
11 I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
13 But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.
14 I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.
19 For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.
22 The glory which you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one,
23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one, that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25 Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
8 passages from writers of 3 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
Reading as
Questions they answer differently
On verse
Oldest first.
Hilary of Poitiersc. 310–367Early church, Westin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:21–23And this unity is recommended by the great example of unity: As you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in Us, i.e. that as the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, so after the likeness of this unity, all may be one in the Father and in the Son. … Our Lord, however, explains the gradation and order in the consummating of this unity, when He adds, I in them, and You in Me; so that inasmuch as He was in the Father by His divine nature, we in Him by His incarnation, and He again in us by the mystery of the sacrament, a perfect union by means of a Mediator was established.
And this unity is recommended by the great example of unity: As you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in Us, i.e. that as the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, so after the likeness of this unity, all may be one in the Father and in the Son. … Our Lord, however, explains the gradation and order in the consummating of this unity, when He adds, I in them, and You in Me; so that inasmuch as He was in the Father by His divine nature, we in Him by His incarnation, and He again in us by the mystery of the sacrament, a perfect union by means of a Mediator was established.
Hilary of Poitiers, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:20–23; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Bishop of Poitiers in Gaul, who wrote the first Latin commentary on Matthew to survive whole.
John Chrysostomc. 347–407Early church, Eastin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:21This as again does not express perfect likeness, but only likeness as far as it was possible in men; as when He says, Be you merciful, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is merciful. … For there is no scandal so great as division, whereas unity amongst believers is a great argument for believing; as He said at the beginning of His discourse, By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another. For if they quarrel, they will not be looked on as the disciples of a peacemaking Master.
This as again does not express perfect likeness, but only likeness as far as it was possible in men; as when He says, Be you merciful, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is merciful. … For there is no scandal so great as division, whereas unity amongst believers is a great argument for believing; as He said at the beginning of His discourse, By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another. For if they quarrel, they will not be looked on as the disciples of a peacemaking Master.
John Chrysostom, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:20–23; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Archbishop of Constantinople, called “golden-mouthed” for his preaching; his sermons on the Gospels and on Paul's letters are still read in the Orthodox church.
Augustine of Hippo354–430Early church, Westin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:1Our Lord, in the form of a servant, could have prayed in silence had He pleased; but He remembered that He had not only to pray, but to teach. For not only His discourse, but His prayer also, was for His disciples’ edification, yes and for ours who read the same.
Our Lord, in the form of a servant, could have prayed in silence had He pleased; but He remembered that He had not only to pray, but to teach. For not only His discourse, but His prayer also, was for His disciples’ edification, yes and for ours who read the same.
Augustine of Hippo, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:1–5; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, the most widely read of the Western church’s Fathers. His Expositions on the Psalms are mostly sermons to his people, hearing Christ and the Church in every psalm.
Augustine of Hippo354–430Early church, Westin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:3Moreover, if the knowledge of God is life eternal, the more advance we make in this knowledge, the more we make in life eternal. But in life eternal we shall never die. Where then there is no death, there will then be perfect knowledge of God; there will God be most glorified, because His glory will be greatest. … There will be praise of God without end, where will be full knowledge of God. There then shall be heard the everlasting praise of God, for there will there be full knowledge of God, and therefore full glorifying of Him.
Moreover, if the knowledge of God is life eternal, the more advance we make in this knowledge, the more we make in life eternal. But in life eternal we shall never die. Where then there is no death, there will then be perfect knowledge of God; there will God be most glorified, because His glory will be greatest. … There will be praise of God without end, where will be full knowledge of God. There then shall be heard the everlasting praise of God, for there will there be full knowledge of God, and therefore full glorifying of Him.
Augustine of Hippo, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:1–5; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, the most widely read of the Western church’s Fathers. His Expositions on the Psalms are mostly sermons to his people, hearing Christ and the Church in every psalm.
Theophylact of Ohridc. 1050–1107Orthodoxin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:25After then that He had prayed for believers, and promised them so many good things, another prayer follows worthy of His mercy and benignity … as if to say, I would wish that all men obtained these good things, which I have asked for the believing.
After then that He had prayed for believers, and promised them so many good things, another prayer follows worthy of His mercy and benignity … as if to say, I would wish that all men obtained these good things, which I have asked for the believing.
Theophylact of Ohrid, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:24–26; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
A Byzantine archbishop in Ohrid (in today’s North Macedonia), whose commentaries on the Gospels gather the Greek Fathers.
John Calvin1509–1564ReformedCommentaries · on John 17:15He shows in what the safety of believers … consists; not that they are free from every annoyance, and live in luxury and at their ease, but that, in the midst of dangers, they continue to be safe through the assistance of God. … If, therefore, we wish to be kept according to the rule which Christ has laid down, we must not desire exemption from evils, or pray to God to convey us immediately into a state of blessed rest, but must rest satisfied with the certain assurance of victory, and, in the meantime, resist courageously all the evils, from which Christ prayed to his Father that we might have a happy issue.
He shows in what the safety of believers … consists; not that they are free from every annoyance, and live in luxury and at their ease, but that, in the midst of dangers, they continue to be safe through the assistance of God. … If, therefore, we wish to be kept according to the rule which Christ has laid down, we must not desire exemption from evils, or pray to God to convey us immediately into a state of blessed rest, but must rest satisfied with the certain assurance of victory, and, in the meantime, resist courageously all the evils, from which Christ prayed to his Father that we might have a happy issue.
John Calvin, Commentaries, on 17:15; Calvin Translation Society (Edinburgh, 1843–1855); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
The French reformer of Geneva, from whose teaching the Reformed and Presbyterian churches come.
John Wesley1703–1791MethodistExplanatory Notes upon the New Testament · on John 17:3To know - By loving, holy faith, thee the only true God - The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Son and the Holy Ghost, no more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, 1Cor 8:6; … and Jesus Christ - As their prophet, priest, and king: this is life eternal - It is both the way to, and the essence of, everlasting happiness.
To know - By loving, holy faith, thee the only true God - The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Son and the Holy Ghost, no more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, 1Cor 8:6; … and Jesus Christ - As their prophet, priest, and king: this is life eternal - It is both the way to, and the essence of, everlasting happiness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 17:3; London, 1755; the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
The Anglican priest who began the Methodist movement; his notes on the Bible were written for ordinary readers.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brownpublished 1871Presbyterian and AnglicanA Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments · on John 17:21The indwelling Spirit of the Father and the Son is the one perfect bond of union, knitting up into a living unity, first all believers amongst themselves; next, this unity into one still higher, with the Father and the Son. … So the grand impression upon the world at large, that the mission of Christ is divine, is to be made by the unity of His disciples. … the Spirit of Christ, illuminating, transforming, and reigning in the hearts of the genuine disciples of Christ, drawing them to each other as members of one family, and prompting them to loving co-operation for the good of the world--this is what, when sufficiently glowing and extended, shall force conviction upon the world that Christianity is divine. … living and loving oneness in Christ is sometimes more touchingly seen even amidst and in spite of minor differences, than where no such differences exist to try the strength of their deeper unity. … Should not Christians ponder these things? Should not the same mind be in them which was also in Christ Jesus about this matter? Should not His prayer be theirs?
The indwelling Spirit of the Father and the Son is the one perfect bond of union, knitting up into a living unity, first all believers amongst themselves; next, this unity into one still higher, with the Father and the Son. … So the grand impression upon the world at large, that the mission of Christ is divine, is to be made by the unity of His disciples. … the Spirit of Christ, illuminating, transforming, and reigning in the hearts of the genuine disciples of Christ, drawing them to each other as members of one family, and prompting them to loving co-operation for the good of the world--this is what, when sufficiently glowing and extended, shall force conviction upon the world that Christianity is divine. … living and loving oneness in Christ is sometimes more touchingly seen even amidst and in spite of minor differences, than where no such differences exist to try the strength of their deeper unity. … Should not Christians ponder these things? Should not the same mind be in them which was also in Christ Jesus about this matter? Should not His prayer be theirs?
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, on 17:21; 1871; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Three ministers, two Scottish Presbyterians and an Irish Anglican, whose commentary on the whole Bible was written to be short and plain.
John 17
John 17:1–25, World English Bible
John 17 in the Bible · Told in the Story: Chapter 53, The Way, the Truth and the Life
What others have written
8 passages from writers of 3 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
Oldest first.
Hilary of Poitiersc. 310–367Early church, Westin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:21–23And this unity is recommended by the great example of unity: As you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in Us, i.e. that as the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, so after the likeness of this unity, all may be one in the Father and in the Son. … Our Lord, however, explains the gradation and order in the consummating of this unity, when He adds, I in them, and You in Me; so that inasmuch as He was in the Father by His divine nature, we in Him by His incarnation, and He again in us by the mystery of the sacrament, a perfect union by means of a Mediator was established.
Hilary of Poitiers, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:20–23; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Bishop of Poitiers in Gaul, who wrote the first Latin commentary on Matthew to survive whole.
John Chrysostomc. 347–407Early church, Eastin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:21This as again does not express perfect likeness, but only likeness as far as it was possible in men; as when He says, Be you merciful, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is merciful. … For there is no scandal so great as division, whereas unity amongst believers is a great argument for believing; as He said at the beginning of His discourse, By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another. For if they quarrel, they will not be looked on as the disciples of a peacemaking Master.
John Chrysostom, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:20–23; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Archbishop of Constantinople, called “golden-mouthed” for his preaching; his sermons on the Gospels and on Paul's letters are still read in the Orthodox church.
Augustine of Hippo354–430Early church, Westin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:1Our Lord, in the form of a servant, could have prayed in silence had He pleased; but He remembered that He had not only to pray, but to teach. For not only His discourse, but His prayer also, was for His disciples’ edification, yes and for ours who read the same.
Augustine of Hippo, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:1–5; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, the most widely read of the Western church’s Fathers. His Expositions on the Psalms are mostly sermons to his people, hearing Christ and the Church in every psalm.
Augustine of Hippo354–430Early church, Westin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:3Moreover, if the knowledge of God is life eternal, the more advance we make in this knowledge, the more we make in life eternal. But in life eternal we shall never die. Where then there is no death, there will then be perfect knowledge of God; there will God be most glorified, because His glory will be greatest. … There will be praise of God without end, where will be full knowledge of God. There then shall be heard the everlasting praise of God, for there will there be full knowledge of God, and therefore full glorifying of Him.
Augustine of Hippo, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:1–5; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, the most widely read of the Western church’s Fathers. His Expositions on the Psalms are mostly sermons to his people, hearing Christ and the Church in every psalm.
Theophylact of Ohridc. 1050–1107Orthodoxin the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas) · on John 17:25After then that He had prayed for believers, and promised them so many good things, another prayer follows worthy of His mercy and benignity … as if to say, I would wish that all men obtained these good things, which I have asked for the believing.
Theophylact of Ohrid, in the Catena Aurea (the Fathers on the Gospels, gathered by Thomas Aquinas), on 17:24–26; translated under John Henry Newman (Oxford, 1841–1845); the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
A Byzantine archbishop in Ohrid (in today’s North Macedonia), whose commentaries on the Gospels gather the Greek Fathers.
John Calvin1509–1564ReformedCommentaries · on John 17:15He shows in what the safety of believers … consists; not that they are free from every annoyance, and live in luxury and at their ease, but that, in the midst of dangers, they continue to be safe through the assistance of God. … If, therefore, we wish to be kept according to the rule which Christ has laid down, we must not desire exemption from evils, or pray to God to convey us immediately into a state of blessed rest, but must rest satisfied with the certain assurance of victory, and, in the meantime, resist courageously all the evils, from which Christ prayed to his Father that we might have a happy issue.
John Calvin, Commentaries, on 17:15; Calvin Translation Society (Edinburgh, 1843–1855); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
The French reformer of Geneva, from whose teaching the Reformed and Presbyterian churches come.
John Wesley1703–1791MethodistExplanatory Notes upon the New Testament · on John 17:3To know - By loving, holy faith, thee the only true God - The only cause and end of all things; not excluding the Son and the Holy Ghost, no more than the Father is excluded from being Lord, 1Cor 8:6; … and Jesus Christ - As their prophet, priest, and king: this is life eternal - It is both the way to, and the essence of, everlasting happiness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 17:3; London, 1755; the text of CrossWire’s public-domain module. The edition
The Anglican priest who began the Methodist movement; his notes on the Bible were written for ordinary readers.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brownpublished 1871Presbyterian and AnglicanA Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments · on John 17:21The indwelling Spirit of the Father and the Son is the one perfect bond of union, knitting up into a living unity, first all believers amongst themselves; next, this unity into one still higher, with the Father and the Son. … So the grand impression upon the world at large, that the mission of Christ is divine, is to be made by the unity of His disciples. … the Spirit of Christ, illuminating, transforming, and reigning in the hearts of the genuine disciples of Christ, drawing them to each other as members of one family, and prompting them to loving co-operation for the good of the world--this is what, when sufficiently glowing and extended, shall force conviction upon the world that Christianity is divine. … living and loving oneness in Christ is sometimes more touchingly seen even amidst and in spite of minor differences, than where no such differences exist to try the strength of their deeper unity. … Should not Christians ponder these things? Should not the same mind be in them which was also in Christ Jesus about this matter? Should not His prayer be theirs?
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, on 17:21; 1871; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Three ministers, two Scottish Presbyterians and an Irish Anglican, whose commentary on the whole Bible was written to be short and plain.