Today we come to the greatest prayer recorded anywhere in Scripture, and the greatest prayer ever prayed on the earth. John 17 provides a personal glimpse into the heart of Jesus as He is about to give His life as a ransom for sinners. What a privilege for us to hear the Son of God speak to His Father about our redemption, perfectly accomplished from start to finish. The prayer begins with a simple request: “Father, glorify Your Son.” It would be selfish for you or me to pray for our own glory, for we would do this only at the expense of God’s glory. Surely He would never give glory to a false god! But Jesus is God; that’s why the Father is more than willing to share His glory with the Son. Actually, Jesus is only asking for what was already His from the very beginning. He set aside His eternal glory when He accepted His role to take on human flesh for our salvation. Because He died and rose, Jesus made it possible for us to know God personally. This was all part of God’s gracious and wise plan. So now that it’s time to endure the cross, Jesus is not pessimistic or gloomy. He’s hopeful and expectant, ready to go home! (v 1-5). Next, Jesus intercedes for His followers. While God loves the whole world and pleads with lost people to repent and believe the gospel, Jesus doesn’t pray for everyone in the world indiscriminately. Rather, He prays specifically for those who belong eternally to Him. Having been given by the Father to the Son, they have embraced the truth about Jesus, and they have “kept” His Word. So Jesus prays that the Father would “keep” them from the evil one. Jesus doesn’t want to lose any who belong to Him, so He asks the Father to hold and protect all true believers. His desire is not for us to be isolated from the world, but for us to persevere in purity through every spiritual battle. By God’s power, we are to be “in the world, but not of it.” This growth in holiness occurs only as our minds are renewed with the truth of Scripture (v 6-19). In the final section of the prayer, Jesus expands His focus to include people who aren’t even born yet. Looking down through the centuries, He prays for all future believers. His desire is for us to be united in love, and the goal is evangelistic. Simply put, where the church is one, the world is won. God uses Christian community to produce in unbelievers a desire to experience His love for themselves. Best of all, everyone who is drawn into the fellowship of our Triune God will one day be gathered into His very presence. And this is where Jesus wants us to be! In that one joyous moment, our trials will be over and our faith will be sight. Praise God, we will see His glory forever! (v 20-26). For further meditation: