I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. 26 I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”
Jesus continues His prayer to the Father as the hour of His Passion draws near. He has prayed for the disciples who are with Him. Now He looks beyond them and prays for “those who will believe in me through their word” (v. 20). His prayer reaches every generation of believers who receive and accept the apostolic witness. This includes those who first heard the preaching of the apostles, and it includes those who come to faith today through the Church’s proclamation of Christ.
Jesus prays “so that they may all be one” (v. 21). The unity He asks for comes from the communion of the Father and the Son: “as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (v. 21). Christian unity begins in God’s own life and is shared with believers through Christ. It is lived in faith, worship, charity, and fidelity to His word. St. Paul describes this unity as “one body and one Spirit,” “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” and “one God and Father of all” (Eph. 4:4-6).
This unity also has a mission. Jesus prays that His disciples “also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (v. 21). The unity of believers is meant to bear witness to the truth of Christ. When Christians live in faith, love, and visible communion, their life points beyond themselves to the Father who sent the Son. Jesus had already told His disciples, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35).
Jesus then says, “I have given them the glory you gave me” (v. 22). In John’s Gospel, glory is especially seen in Jesus’ loving obedience to the Father, which reaches its fullness in His Passion, death, resurrection, and return to the Father. The disciples are drawn into that glory by belonging to Christ, receiving His love, and obeying Him. Their unity is brought “to perfection as one” when the life of Christ shapes them more fully and makes them witnesses of the Father’s love (v. 23).
Jesus then speaks with deep tenderness: “Father, they are your gift to me” (v. 24). Believers belong to the Father, and the Father gives them to the Son. Jesus desires that those who belong to Him may be with Him and see His glory. This points to the final hope of salvation, when believers will be with Christ and see Him clearly. St. John later writes, “We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2). St. Paul also speaks of believers being transformed as they behold the Lord’s glory (2 Cor. 3:18).
Jesus’ words also reveal His eternal relationship with the Father. The Father loved Him “before the foundation of the world” (v. 24). The Son who is about to suffer and die is the eternal Son loved by the Father before creation. His mission in the world comes from that eternal love, and His desire is to bring His disciples into communion with that love.
Jesus calls the Father “Righteous Father” (v. 25). The world, understood here as humanity that has not received God’s revelation in the Son, does not know the Father. Jesus knows the Father perfectly, and His disciples know that the Father sent Him. Through His Passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus will open the way for believers to enter fully into communion with the Father that He reveals. He has made the Father’s name known, and He will continue to make it known (v. 26). In biblical language, God’s “name” means His revealed identity, His presence, and His saving action.
The prayer closes with Jesus’ desire that “the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them” (v. 26). Christian life is rooted in the love of the Father made known through the Son. Believers are called to live from that love in a way that strengthens unity, deepens faith, and helps others recognize that Jesus was sent by the Father for the salvation of the world.
Father, draw us more deeply into the love You have revealed through Your Son. Strengthen the unity of all who believe in Him, and help our lives bear faithful witness to the truth that You sent Him for our salvation. May we remain in Christ now and come at last to see His glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Sources and References
- Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. John 17:20-26 and note on John 17:24.
- 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, 431.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 979, §205.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1165-1166.
- 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. London: T&T Clark, 2022, 1433.
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