Jesus Christ · On the Church
The Prayer for Unity
Hours before His arrest, Jesus prays aloud — for Himself, then for the eleven men at the table, and then His prayer does something no other recorded prayer of His does: it reaches forward through all remaining history. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” If you believe, that clause is you — prayed for in advance, the night before the cross. And what He asked for you was one thing above all: that His people be one, with the Father-and-Son’s own oneness as the model, so that the watching world would believe the Father sent Him.
The Widening Circles
— John 17's three petitions — and where you stand in them“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word”
“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me”
“Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee”
Prayed For, In Advance
— John 17:20 — the clause that includes youEvery believer since the first century believes “through their word” — the apostles’ testimony, written down and handed on. That makes John 17:20 the one verse where a reader can watch Jesus pray for them by name of category, with the cross hours away. The old commentators lingered here, and said so plainly.
I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.III. Our Lords Prayer for His Church, and for All Who Would Believe on His Name, Through the Preaching of the Apostles and Their Successor. Joh 17:20-26. See on Joh 17:1 (note). Neither pray I for these alone - This prayer extends itself through all ages, and takes in every soul that believes in the Lord Jesus. And what is it that Christ asks in behalf of his followers? The greatest of blessings: unity, peace, love, and eternal glory.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), on John 17:20
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe." For since He was dying for them, and said, that "For their sakes I sanctify Myself," lest any one should think that He did this for the Apostles only, He added, "Neither pray I for these only, but for them also who believe on Me through their word." By this again He revived their souls, showing that the disciples should be many. For because He made common what they possessed peculiarly, He comforteth them by showing that they were being made the cause of the salvation of others.
John Chrysostom· Homily on the Gospel of John (407), on John 17:20
As We Are One
— the model, and its honest limitThe unity Jesus asks for is not organizational tidiness; its model is the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son. The fathers were careful on both sides of that sentence: the model is real — believers genuinely share, by grace, in the divine life through the Spirit — and the limit is real too: we are one by grace, never by nature, or the prayer would make us God.
He reminds us that the whole Christian people are one in God, and, as his well-beloved children, are "partakers of the divine nature." We have already said (and the truth must now be inculcated more in detail) that we are not one in the Father and the Son according to nature but according to grace. For the essence of the human soul and the essence of God are not the same, as the Manichaeans constantly assert.
Jerome· Against Jovinianus 2.29 (420), on John 17:20
The Saviour, then, saying of us, "As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they too may be one in Us," does not signify that we were to have identity with Him; for this was shewn from the instance of Jonah; but it is a request to the Father, as John has written, that the Spirit should be vouchsafed through Him to those who believe, through whom we are found to be in God, and in this respect to be conjoined in Him.
Athanasius of Alexandria· Four Discourses Against the Arians, 3.25 (373), on John 17:21
As thou art in me - This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality. That the world may believe - Here Christ prays for the world. Observe the sum of his whole prayer, 1.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755), on John 17:21
The Glory Given
— John 17:22 — unity as glory“The glory which thou gavest me I have given them” — a sentence so large the commentators reach for different facets of it: the indwelling Spirit, the standing of accepted sons, and Chrysostom’s striking claim that the oneness itself is the glory — greater even than miracles.
I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.The glory which thou hast given me, I have given them - The glory of the only begotten shines in all the sons of God. How great is the majesty of Christians.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755), on John 17:22
It is not the future glory of the heavenly state, but the secret of that present unity just before spoken of; the glory, therefore, of the indwelling Spirit of Christ; the glory of an accepted state, of a holy character, of every grace.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on John 17:22
"And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them." That by miracles, that by doctrines, and, that they should be of one soul; for this is glory, that they should be one, and greater even than miracles.
John Chrysostom· Homily on the Gospel of John (407), on John 17:22
That the World May Believe
— the unity's stated purpose — twiceTwice the prayer gives unity a purpose outside the church: “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (17:21), “that the world may know” (17:23). The visible oneness of His people is presented as evidence — the argument the world can check. Acts records the prayer’s first answer in plain narrative: “one heart and one soul.” And Clarke, having noted that, asks the question that has not aged a day.
The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.the prayer's first recorded answer.
But 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.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on John 17:21
That they all may be one - This prayer was literally answered to the first believers, who were all of one heart and of one soul: Act 4:32. And why is it that believers are not in the same spirit now? Because they neither attend to the example nor to the truth of Christ.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), on John 17:21
May be made perfect in one - That their union may be complete. That there may be no jars, discords, or contentions. A machine is perfect or complete when it has all its parts and is in good order when there is no portion of it wanting. So the union of Christians, for which the Saviour prayed, would be complete or perfect if there were no controversies, no envyings, no contentions, and no heart-burnings and jealousies. It is worthy of remark here how entirely the union of his people occupied the mind of Jesus as he drew near to death.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869), on John 17:23
"That they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me." He saith these latter words immediately after the other, to show that peace hath more power to attract men than a miracle; for as it is the nature of strife to separate, so it is that of agreement to weld together.
John Chrysostom· Homily on the Gospel of John (407), on John 17:23
Father, I Will
— John 17:24-26 — where the prayer finally landsThe prayer’s last petition changes register: not “I ask” but “I will” — a Son speaking, not a servant. And the thing willed is presence: that those given to Him be with Him, seeing the glory He had before the world was. The unity prayed for on earth ends in a reunion.
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.John's own echo — we shall see him as he is.
Here he returns to the apostles. I will - He asks, as having a right to be heard, and prays, not as a servant, but a Son: that they may behold my glory - Herein Is the happiness of heaven, 1 John iii, 2.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755), on John 17:24
Christ regards it as glory enough for us to be admitted to see and gaze for ever upon His glory! This is "the beatific vision"; but it shall be no mere vision, for "we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is" (1Jo 3:2).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on John 17:24-26
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”the last sentence Jesus prays before Gethsemane.
Where It Points
— unity, love, and the watching worldThe prayer for unity and the new commandment are one teaching in two forms: love between His people is the badge the world reads, and oneness among His people is the evidence the world weighs. Both were given the same night; both point at the same watching world.
Closing
The last thing Jesus asked for His church, before walking to Gethsemane, was not success, size, or safety. It was that they be one — one with a oneness modeled on God’s own, given so the world would believe. Every believer since stands inside that sentence.