John 17 Before leaving the upper room where Christ and His disciples celebrated the Passover, Jesus offered a prayer. He prayed aloud, though quietly, and the disciples listened carefully to His words. “Father, my time has come. Glorify me, Your Son, that I, Your Son, may glorify You. You have given me power over all, so that I may give eternal life to as many as You give me. Eternal life is knowing You, the only God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have finished the work You gave me. I have shown these followers Your name, and the words You have given me. They have received them and known that I came from You. They believe that You sent me. I pray for these, my disciples. I do not pray for the whole world, but those that You have given me because they are also Yours. Holy Father, preserve them in Your name now that I am leaving them, so that they can be one with Us. While I have been with them, I have preserved them and none have been lost, except the son of perdition (meaning Judas Iscariot). I pray that You would keep them away from evil. They are not of the world like I am not of this world. You sent me to this world, and I have sent them into the world to teach. For their sakes, I make Myself holy, so they can be made holy through the truth. I don’t only pray for my disciples, but all who follow me and who will follow me in the future through the teachings of these disciples. I ask that we can be one, I in them and You in me, that they will be made perfect. Let them be with me where I am.”
