The Great High Priestly Prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 17 (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday January 28, 2026

Prayer Series: The Great High Priestly Prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 17

Lesson # 35

The gospel of John, chapter 17, also records our Lord’s prayer life, particularly His Great High Priestly Prayer, when he made intercession for His disciples and for all believers throughout the church age.

His prayer was for them to be protected, sanctified, and unified, and for His Father to be glorified.

This was our Lord’s longest recorded prayer, which occurred during His public ministry on earth and was offered in the presence of His apostles, after the institution and celebration of the Lord’s Supper, immediately following the Upper Room Discourse recorded in John 14-16.

Most consider the “Lord’s Prayer” the prayer Christ taught His disciples at the Sermon on the Mount but this Great High Priestly Prayer is truly the “Lord’s Prayer.”

In John 17, the veil concealing the Holy of Holies is drawn aside, and we are admitted with our Great High Priest into the “holiest of all.”

Therefore, let us approach this passage with reverence and humility, doing as Moses did before the burning bush and removing our shoes because we are on holy ground.

The Great High Priestly prayer of our Lord in John 17 was audibly spoken before His apostles in order that they, as well as all believers throughout history and the angels, might get a glimpse of the wonderful fellowship that exists between the Father and the Son.

John 17, and our Lord’s Prayer, can be divided into three parts: (1) the Lord prayed for Himself (John 17:1-5), (2) the Lord prayed for His disciples (John 17:6-19), and (3) the Lord prayed for future believers (John 17:20-26).

John 17 teaches us four principles concerning our privilege as a child of God.

They include, (1) sharing His life (John 17:1-5), (2) knowing His name (John 17:6-12), (3) having His Word (John 17:13-19), and (4) sharing His glory (John 17:20-26).

John 17 also reveals the three-fold burden of our Lord’s Prayer: (1) security of the believer (John 17:6-12), (2) sanctity of the believer (John 17:13-19), and (3) unity of believers (John 17:20-26).

John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (NIV84)

“He looked toward heaven” is a typical Jewish gesture of prayer, whether offered to God or idols (Ps 121:1; 123:1; John 11:41).

The phrase “the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” refers to both the Father and the Son’s glorification through the Lord’s death, resurrection, ascension, and session at the Father’s right hand.

The ultimate objective of the Lord’s Prayer was the glorification of the Father.

Therefore, we, as the body and future bride of Christ, should have the same ultimate objective when offering intercessory prayers for others to the Father.

The glory our Lord was speaking of in John 17:5 was His “pre-incarnate” glory, meaning His glory as the Son of God before He became a human being.

The Lord Jesus Christ now turned His attention towards His disciples in John 17:6-8 and His prayer was based on their faith in Him.

The Lord Jesus Christ’s intercessory prayer in John 17:6-26 revealed His love and concern for His disciples and for every believer throughout the church age.

John 17:6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. (NIV84)

Like His Father, who is hidden on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ was in heaven previously hidden from view; but, after His incarnation, was made visible on earth as a man among men.

A three-fold relationship is described in John 17:6: (1) the Lord Jesus Christ is the One who reveals the character and nature of God, (2) the Father is the One who draws His disciples to Christ (John 6:44, 65), and (3) the men are the ones who obey the Father’s Word to believe in the Son.

The phrase “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine” refers to our Lord’s equality with the Father (John 10:30; Col. 1:15, 19; 2:9).

In John 17:13-19 the Lord emphasizes the fact that we have His Word and the “sanctity” of the believer.

The Lord Jesus Christ not only prayed to the Father for His disciple’s protection but also that they might experience joy in spite of coming conflict.

The Lord is requesting protection of His flock from Satan (cf. 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 John 2:14; 5:18-19)

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (NIV84)

In John 17:17, the Lord emphasized that we have His Word and, therefore, are sanctified in truth.

In John 17:17, the word “sanctify” is the verb hagiazō (ἁγιάζω), which means, “to make holy, to sanctify, to consecrate.”

The principle here, therefore, is that the church believer is consecrated, dedicated, sanctified, and set apart for the exclusive use of God.

The phrase “by the truth” indicates the believer experiences their sanctification by means of the Word of truth and other passages of Scripture teach this principle further (Eph 5:2, 25-27; 2 Th 2:13; 1 Pe 1:22-23; Ps 119:151-152; Eph 4:17).

The phrase “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” does not mean that the Lord intended to make Himself more holy than He already was; but rather, He was devoting Himself to the Father’s will in the interest of His work for the disciples.

His example of dedication and devotion to the Father’s will demonstrates His total and complete acceptance of the cross, and which dedication and devotion is the standard for the believer’s sanctification experientially.

John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (NIV84)

The Scriptures teach the Church the concept of unity by way of several analogies: (1) the last Adam and New Creation analogy, (2) the head and the body analogy, (3) the great Shepherd and sheep analogy, (4) the vine and the branches analogy, (5) the chief cornerstone and the stones of the building analogy, (6) the Great High Priest and royal priesthood analogy, (7) the Bridegroom and bride analogy, and (8) the King of kings and royal family of God analogy.

John 17:24 is a reference to the believer’s future glorification in a resurrection body, which is called in theology, perfective sanctification, which refers to the church age believer receiving their resurrection body at the Rapture, i.e. the Resurrection of the Church (1 Co 15:53-54; Gal 6:8; 1 Pe 5:10; John 6:40).

In conclusion of our Lord’s Prayer in John 17, seven principles are revealed concerning believers: (1) believers are given to Christ out of the world (v.6), (2) believers are left in the world (v.11), (3) believers are not of the world (v.14), (4) believers are hated by the world (v.14), (5) believers are kept from the devil (v.15), (6) believers are sent into the world (v.18), and (7) believers are manifested in unity before the world (v.23).