Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. 12 When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. 14 I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 17 Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. 19 And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.
In John 17:11b-19, Jesus continues His prayer to the Father just before His Passion. This portion of the “High Priestly Prayer” emphasizes His concern for the disciples, who will remain in the world after His departure. His words are filled with love and urgency: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are” (v. 11b).
The unity Jesus prays for is not mere human agreement, but a communion rooted in the divine life of the Trinity. Just as the Father and Son are one in love and purpose, so too are the disciples to be united through the name and truth of God. In biblical thought, a name reveals the nature of a person; thus, being kept in the Father’s “name” (v. 11b) means being preserved in divine identity, holiness, and mission (cf. Exod 3:14; Jer 14:9).
Jesus affirms that during His earthly ministry, He guarded the disciples and none were lost, “except the son of destruction,” a reference to Judas Iscariot, which fulfills Scripture (cf. Ps 41:10; John 13:18). The “son of destruction” (v. 12) is not a predestined victim, but one who freely rejected Christ, reflecting the recurring pattern in salvation history in which God’s chosen ones betray His covenantal love—seen in the idolatry of Israel (Exod. 32), the rejection of His kingship (1 Sam 8:7), and ultimately in those who turned against Christ Himself (Matt. 26:3–5; John 11:53).
Jesus then says He speaks “while I am in the world” so that His joy may be fulfilled in His disciples (v. 13). This joy is not fleeting happiness but the deep and abiding joy that comes from knowing and doing the will of God, even amid suffering (cf. Heb 12:2; Ps 16:11).
In verses 14–16, Jesus declares that the disciples do not belong to the world, just as He does not. The term “world” here (Greek: kosmos) often refers to humanity in rebellion against God. Jesus does not ask that they be taken out of the world, but that they be protected from the evil one (cf. Matt. 6:13), affirming that discipleship is not an escape from the world, but a sanctified presence within it, shielded by God’s grace. This echoes the Church’s vocation: to live in the world but not be conformed to it (cf. Rom. 12:2).
Jesus concludes this section with a profound petition: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (v. 17). To “sanctify” means to consecrate, to set apart for divine use—just as the Levitical priests were set apart (cf. Exod. 29:44; Lev 20:7–8). Now, Jesus prays that His disciples be consecrated by the truth of God’s Word, so that they too may share in His mission. As He was sent into the world, so He now sends them (v. 18), anticipating the Great Commission (cf. John 20:21; Matt. 28:19-20). He even offers Himself in sacrifice—“for them I consecrate myself” (v. 19)—language that points ahead to His Passion and to the priestly offering of Himself for their sanctification (cf. Heb 7:27). By consecrating Himself, He becomes both the priest and the victim, offering His life out of love so that His disciples might be made holy in the truth.
In Scripture, a priestly offering refers to the act of presenting a sacrifice to God on behalf of others, particularly for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of communion with God (cf. Lev 16:15-16). In the Old Covenant, the high priest offered animals in the temple as atonement for the people’s sins. Jesus, the true and eternal High Priest, fulfills and surpasses these offerings by giving His own Body and Blood as the perfect and unrepeatable sacrifice (cf. Heb 9:11-14). Unlike the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant, His offering is made once for all. His sacrifice is unrepeatable because, being fully divine as well as fully human, His self-offering has both temporal and eternal consequences, making any repetition unnecessary and impossible (cf. Heb 10:10, 14).
This passage, read in light of the early Church’s understanding, shows that Jesus intercedes not only for protection but for transformation. The disciples are not simply to survive the world, but to be holy in it, proclaiming truth through the same Spirit and Word that sanctifies them.
Lord Jesus, you prayed that we might be kept in the Father’s name and sanctified in His truth. Help us to live in the world without being of it, to proclaim your Word with courage, and to remain united in your love. Consecrate us in truth, that we may carry your light into the world. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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