John 17: 20-26

All four of the Gospels tell of how Jesus prayed prior to the crucifixion. Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane in the synoptic accounts focuses on the cross and the fulfillment of Jesus’ own vocation. Anguished, he asks that his disciples pray with him and as he lifts his cries to the Father, he asks that the “cup” pass from him but relinquishes his will to that of the Father - “not my will but yours.” The Johannine account of Jesus’s prayer differs in that it does not mention any hesitation or anguish for Jesus’ accomplishing his task and does not even include that he has apostolic prayer partners in the garden. Jesus’ relationship with the Father is sufficient for accomplishing the work of the cross. John’s account of Jesus’ prayer also expands beyond Jesus’ anticipation of what will happen to him on the cross to include his desires for the disciples.

The specific section of the prayer in John 17:20-26 seems to focus through Jesus’ words some theological themes of the gospel: 1) That it is the purpose of these words that the reader would come to believe the life-giving news that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31); 2) That through the Word of God, Jesus Christ, all things have came into being (1:3) and all believers are made children of God (1:12-13), and 3) It is through the Word alone that the Father is made known (1:18). Jesus prays for all the disciples who will believe through the testimony given by believers. He prays for their faith, their life as believers, and their witness. Three themes that Jesus’ prayer in this section emphasize for expectant ears are prevenient grace, dependance, and vocation.

First is the prayer for faith. Jesus prays for the faith of those disciples who are anguished at the mention of his departure in chapter 16, that they may believe. This anticipates the opportunity to believe for Peter and the beloved disciple looking into the empty tomb, Mary Magdeline in the garden when she sees Jesus, the hearing of the news from Mary and direct encounter with Jesus by the other disciples shut in the house fearful of the Jews, and Thomas who “must” see to believe. Even before the cross, Jesus prays for the faith of his disciples. What is more, he prays for us! What I mean by “us” is all who have come to faith and all who will come to faith by the Holy Spirit’s witness through the testimony of believers. All disciples became so because they were witnessed to. From the very beginning of the Gospel according to John, as Marianne Meye Thompson explains, “Those who believe find those who do not, bear witness to Jesus, and so bring others to follow him.”[1]  Jesus’ prayer affirms this and reminds us also that every decision of faith begins in the desire within God’s self, expressed in the prayer of Jesus. This is a message of prevenient grace. It is God’s own prayer of grace and welcome partnered with God’s saving work at the cross that predates our own prayer of acceptance. Salvation itself is a gift of God, an answer to the prayer of God’s own heart. The prayer also points us to the theme of dependence. We can do nothing apart from the Father, so Jesus prays for us. Faith itself is no act of self-reliance but trusting in God’s sufficient work in Christ. The prayer before the cross is not just a prayer for Jesus’ accomplishing of his vocation but also institutes our own vocation – that we might be children of God (1:12-13). The vocation of the disciples is to believe. In believing, who we are and our purpose is grounded in God.

Second, Jesus’ prayer is about unity within God’s self and within the community of believers. Jesus’ prayer anticipates the institution of the Church. When one considers the existence of the Church, one might point first to a post-resurrection reality, especially the day of Pentecost, when they were all together in one place and held all things in common. Yet, the existence of the Church begins and ends in the unity within God’s self, evident in the words of Christ. It is out of Christ’s unity with the Father that the Church can even be one, and the work of the Spirit in instituting the church is one with that of Christ and the Father. This too has echoes of prevenient grace. John’s inclusion of God’s desire for the Church’s unity in Jesus’ prayer prior to the cross shows that the Church’s practice of unity with God and others is never of its own invention. Unity for believers is grounded in a God who, from the beginning, is one. To be one, then, we must know God and God has made God’s self-known in Christ. In acknowledging that, this prayer for unity is also one of dependance. We can be nothing resembling the Church apart from the Father, so Jesus prays for us. When we submit to this, the Church’s unity becomes more than a self-contrived vision. As Bonhoeffer states, “Christian community is not an ideal we have to realize, but rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.”[2] Our vocation is not to manufacture our own image of “church” but to live in its divinely instituted unity – one in which we participate in what God has done in Christ and walk in faithful step alongside those we may never have chosen of ourselves, including ourselves.

Finally, Christ’s prayer addresses Christian mission. One may usually think of the great commission as a post-resurrection statement as it is in the synoptic accounts, particularly in Matthew 28:16-20. John too has some commission language from Jesus after the resurrection. He says to Mary, “Go tell my brothers (20:17),” and to the disciples, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you (20:20).” Yet, the prayer of John 17:20-26 shows that the commissioning of believers to go and tell the world about the Word does not begin after faith or even after the resurrection, but in the very heart of God, from the beginning and explicitly in the conversation of Christ with the Father. This is prevenient grace on display. John’s inclusion of God’s desire for the Church’s unity in Jesus’ prayer prior to the cross shows that the Church’s practice of unity with God and others is never of its own invention. It also commands the mission of the church be first grounded in its dependance on God. We can share nothing resembling the Gospel apart from the Father, so Jesus prays for us. How can the Church know how to speak to the world without the power of him who made it? To speak on behalf of the Word is to rely on the Word through whom all things, including those receiving the Gospel are made. This prayer also solidifies the church’s vocation. We go in the same pattern of the Christ who prays this prayer – as God has sent Christ in unity and mission to testify to the love of God, we too are sent on mission in submission to Christ’s nature and vocation. We are sheep of the good shepherd, supportive branches to the Gardeners’ growing Vine, taking upon ourselves John the Baptist’s testimony that we are ourselves not the light, but those who testify to the light.

[1] Marianne Meye Thompson, John: A Commentary, The New Testament Library, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015), 51.

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015), 13.