The High Priestly Prayer

The commonly known “High Priestly prayer” in John 17 can be seen as Jesus’ version of an altar call prayer. It serves as the culmination of the profound conversation held during the night of the Last Supper, in the final hours of Jesus’ earthly life.  This conversation is recorded in the Gospel according to John in chapters 13 through 16. His disciples surround Jesus, and John occasionally leans on his chest (13:23). He eats with them, washes their feet, tells stories, and teaches them what will develop in the next few days. It is Jesus’ last teaching to the ones he loves, and from this teaching, his last and maybe for some considered his greatest teaching, Jesus transitions into a heartfelt prayer, interceding for His disciples and all future believers, including you and me (John 17:20).

This prayer may be the closest example of what we consider a modern Christian prayer. Jesus moves freely between requests and explanations as He communes with the Father, much like we do today. For instance, in verse 3, He clarifies what he meant about eternal life in verse 2: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Notably, everything Jesus prays for in John 17 echoes themes and teachings He has already shared in chapters 13 through 16, which are key to fully understanding the prayer.

The High Priestly Prayer is the longest recorded prayer in the New Testament. Its title reflects Jesus’ role as an intercessor, akin to the High Priest, and the prayer itself can be divided into four sections: Glorify Your Son (verses 1–5), Keep Them in Your Name (verses 6–12), Sanctified in Truth (verses 13–21), and Given Glory to Be One (verses 22–26).

Glorify your Son (1-5)

“Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You.” (John 17:1)

In this opening section, Jesus acknowledges the authority and power of the Father. Similar to the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Your Name” (Matthew 6:9), Jesus exalts the Father as the one true God (John 17:3) who holds authority over all humanity (John 17:1–2). He asks the Father to help him walk through his glorification process. Jesus asking to be glorified with God can be correlated with “let your will be done” from the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10) because the only way for Jesus to be glorified is to be crucified and resurrected, fulfilling the will of the Father.

John 7:39 says that Jesus was not yet glorified at that moment. However, if Jesus is fully man and fully God, how is he not glorified? What does it mean that God glorifies his son? To glorify means to give praise, to value, and to honor. Within the text, Jesus explains how he has glorified the Father on earth by following his commandments (17:4). However, the glorification Jesus speaks of is His ultimate exaltation through His death, resurrection, and ascension, which the process starts in John 13:31-32 (“the hour has come” 17:1). In the letter to the Philippians, Paul expounds on what it means to “glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You.” Jesus is exalted (glorified) above every name to the glory of the Father.

"He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death —even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow —in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:8–11)

Keep Them in Your Name (6-12)

"I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are." (John 17:11)

God’s name represents his nature and character. His name is by which he is recognized and throughout chapters 13 to 17, Jesus repeatedly emphasizes the veracity of Him being divine and being sent from the Father so that the world may believe because God desires that everyone would be saved (John 3:16, Romans 10:13).

In John 15, Jesus had already explained to his disciples the meaning of being kept in His Name. By his blood, we have been washed (1 John 1:7) as he said when washing their feet: “If I do not wash you, you have no place with Me” (1:29, 13:8, 15:3). By his blood, we are brought into and are being connected to the true vine. Much like branches, to remain in Him (the vine) is to be kept in His Name (as he intercedes for us). Jesus also said that he was guarding and keeping his disciples in God’s name (17:12), meaning that without divine intervention, humanity cannot remain in unity with God. “For apart from Me, you can do nothing” (15:5). We need God to be right with God (Romans 5:1).

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works." (John 14:10)

Jesus commanded the disciples to love one another (14:15, 15:12), for to keep his commandments is to remain in Him and His love. God, through the Holy Spirit, works in and through us believers, enabling us to abide in His love, keep His commandments, and bear fruit that glorifies the Father (John 15:8). Consequently, whatever we ask in Jesus’ name will be done (15:7), and our joy will be made full (15:11).

Sanctified in Truth (13-21)

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth." (John 17:17,19)

To sanctify means to be set apart. In this section, Jesus asks the Father to set His followers apart through His word, which is truth. They are commissioned to be salt and light in the world, bringing heaven to earth, and demonstrating the unity and love of the triune God so that the world may believe in Him.

God equips those He calls. God's equipping mostly comes through the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, who is the one who lives in us (14:17). He will teach us all things, remind us of what God has said (14:26), testify of Jesus Christ, help us to be a witness to the world (15:26-27), convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (16:8), guide us into the truth and will disclose what is to come, glorifying Jesus by spreading his words through his believers (16:13-14).

Given Glory to Be One (22-26)

“The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.” (John 17:22–23)

God is One.

“Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” (John 14:11)

“The person who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9)

Through Jesus, believers are brought into intimate communion with God. The Spirit of God dwells within them, granting us access to heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and enabling us to reflect His glory. To behold his beauty (Psalm 27:4) and his splendor, the radiance of the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3). This shared glory binds believers together and reveals God’s love to the world, inviting all to believe and partake in His eternal life.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)

From that place of communion and intimacy with the Lord, Jesus prays that the glory given to Him might also be given to His followers, perfecting them in unity so that the world may know the Father’s love. Unity among believers reflects the unity between the Father and the Son. This unity is not merely for harmony among believers but serves as a powerful testimony to the world of God’s love and Jesus’ divine mission.

“If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.” (John 14:23)

“that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21)

“By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

How to pray

“You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are correct, for so I am. So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:13–14)

As it is an intercessory prayer, it would be better prayed over other people, especially other believers, but it can be used for anybody.

Summary of the High Priestly Prayer:

Father, the only true God, your will be done by glorifying your Son. Keep them abiding in Your name. That My joy would be made full in them. Sanctify them in the word of your truth by the Spirit. I pray that they would be with me in intimacy to see My glory and that the glory given to them would make them one with us and each other, as We are one, so that the world may know the truth about who You are and Your love for them. Amen.

Praying the Scripture:

1. Salvation for unbelievers: to be met with the glory of the Son (1-2)

2. Believers: To glory the Lord by obeying his commandments (4)

3. Believers (church leaders and teachers): To be good stewards of the people God has given them and to instruct them in the revelation of the knowledge of God (6)

4. Preachers, pastors, prophets, and evangelists: To repeat what God is saying from scripture with authority, to be received and understood with grace and favor (8)

5. Believers: To Abide with the Lord, remain and be kept in intimacy (11)

6. Believers: To be kept from the evil one (15)

7. Believers: To be Sanctified in the word with truth (17)

8. Believers: To be One in perfected unity rooted and grounded in love (21-23)

9. Believers: For greater intimacy and an outpouring of the Glory of Jesus Christ (24)

10. Believers: That our lives would be living sacrifices and testimonies for everyone to see and experience the wonder, power, and love of God (25-26)