17 "When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."
John 17:1-5
The 17th chapter of John has been called, not without justification, the holy of holies of the New Testament. It records for us our Lord's great high priestly prayer for His people. As Bishop Ryle comments: It is wonderful as a specimen of the communion that was ever kept up between the Father and the Son during the period of the Son's ministry on earth; it is wonderful as a pattern of the intercession which the Son as high-priest, is ever carrying on for us in heaven'. It can be usefully studied in three parts: 1-5, Prayer concerning Himself; 6-19, Prayer for His disciples; 20-26, Prayer for the Church universal. Before, however, turning to this detailed study, some general comments will be helpful. First of all looking at the passage in the perspective of the Upper Room discourse as a whole, we may note that having taught His disciples by the Word, Jesus now seeks to confirm that Word by prayer. This teaches us something of vital importance. It is that the preaching of the Word needs to be undergirt by prayer. It is prayer that gives edge and thrust to the preaching of God's truth. This may be some indication why the preaching of the Church today seems to have such negligible impact and effect in the life of the people. There is not enough prayer. Prayer is the neglected grace among the people of God. Our Lord Himself shows us here the real priority. But this is also a word of challenge to all who preach and teach the Word to pray the Word home to those who hear it. It becomes perilously easy to trust the power of the Word itself, but unless we learn to pray it in, it will not bear the fruit God intends it to.