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.
Jesus continues His prayer to the Father as the hour of His Passion draws near. He has guarded His disciples during His earthly ministry, and now He asks the Father to keep them in His name (vv. 11-12). In Scripture, the name of God points to His revealed presence, authority, and faithful care. Jesus asks that His disciples remain under the Father’s protection and stay faithful to the word He has given them.
Jesus prays “so that they may be one just as we are” (v. 11). The unity of the disciples comes from their communion with the Father through the Son. It is a unity rooted in faith, truth, and love. Later in this same prayer, Jesus will extend this petition to those who will believe through the apostles’ word (John 17:20-21). The unity of believers is therefore part of Christ’s own prayer for His Church.
Jesus recalls that none of those entrusted to Him was lost “except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled” (v. 12). This refers to Judas, whose betrayal had already been foreseen in the Scriptures (Psalm 41:10; John 13:18). Judas’ betrayal does not defeat Jesus’ mission. Even the treachery of His betrayer is allowed to unfold within God’s saving plan.
Jesus then says, “But now I am coming to you” (v. 13). He is returning to the Father through His Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension. He speaks this prayer aloud in the world so that His disciples may share His joy completely. This joy is the joy of belonging to Him, receiving His word, and knowing that the Father’s care will remain with them after Jesus returns to the Father.
Jesus has given His disciples the Father’s word, and this places them in conflict with “the world” (v. 14). In John’s Gospel, the word “world” can refer to the human race loved by God (John 3:16). Here it refers to human life organized against God, resisting His truth and rejecting His Son. The disciples still live in the world, but they now belong to the Father through Christ.
For this reason, Jesus prays, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (v. 15). He asks for protection, not escape. The disciples will remain where their mission must be carried out. The “evil one” refers to the devil, a fallen creature who opposes God’s saving work and seeks to draw human beings away from Christ. This petition echoes the Lord’s Prayer: “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). Christ’s disciples, present and future, need the Father’s protection because the Christian life is lived in a real spiritual struggle.
Jesus repeats that His disciples “do not belong to the world” (v. 16). Their identity now comes from Him. They may live among people who do not yet believe, work in ordinary places, and face ordinary burdens, but their deepest allegiance belongs to God. This calls Christians to live truthfully, pray faithfully, repent when they fall, and practice charity in daily life. These are ordinary signs that a person is allowing God’s word to shape the heart.
Jesus then prays, “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth” (v. 17). To consecrate means to set apart for God and for His purpose. Jesus asks the Father to make His disciples holy by the truth He has revealed. This holiness is not separated from mission. The disciples are consecrated so they can bear witness to the word of Christ.
“As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world” (v. 18). The mission of the disciples flows from the mission of Jesus. The Father sent the Son, and the Son sends His disciples. This sending begins with the apostles and continues in the Church. Those who follow Christ are called to carry His truth into the world by faithful teaching, holy living, and witness to the Gospel.
Jesus closes this part of His prayer by saying, “And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth” (v. 19). He consecrates Himself by freely offering Himself to the Father. This points to His sacrifice on the Cross, where He gives His life for the salvation of the world. Through His self-offering, His disciples are consecrated and strengthened for the mission He gives them.
Holy Father, keep us in Your name. Consecrate us in the truth of Your word. Protect us from the evil one, and help us live as faithful disciples of Your Son in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
––––––––––––––
Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. John 17:11b–19 and note on John 17:15.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 194.
- José María Casciaro, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 429-430.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 978-979, §§202-204.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1165.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition, with a Foreword by Pope Francis. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2022.
Comments