John 17:20-26 Commentary

This section of Jesus’s lengthy prayer in John 17 is a good summary of the whole: it reveals the heart and intent behind the prayer, as well as what’s at stake.

Given the fact that along with pastoring I’m currently working on a PhD in the History of Christianity, I consider myself someone a little more on the lookout for historical significance or connection. And yet, somehow not until this year did I realize that Jesus’s prayer is not just about our present unity as the body of believers, but our communal unity as the church across time.

It’s right there at the beginning of the lectionary selection as Jesus prays, “I ask not only on behalf of these,” (his disciples), “but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” Everyone who has come to faith since the time of the apostles falls under that second category: we have come to believe through someone else’s word—someone else talking about and pointing us to God.

We read Jesus’s words in the gospels, inspired by the Holy Spirit but written by fellow human beings. We read the letters of the New Testament or the prophecies of the Old Testament and know that they are inspired and God-breathed, but are given to us through a fellow human’s participation as communicator. And as I consider my own faith and how richly blessed I have been to learn about the spiritual disciplines or to read different interpretations and commentaries on Scripture passages from people throughout the ages, I too know the power of being united in the work of the Holy Spirit through such blessings of others: we are united in seeking God’s face.

If nothing else, our unity follows the pattern of God’s unity, which is to give for the good and building up of others. Jesus describes this as the glory that the Father gave to him, the Son, which he has given to us. And as we participate in this to its fullest potential, becoming completely one with the purposes of God in our life together, we witness to the world to this ultimate truth: that Jesus came to the world for us, to love all of us with the same love that God has for God’s self.

Jesus knows that the world doesn’t know this kind of perfect love, but that it’s all he wants for us. He’s given his life for this purpose, and he will keep giving himself to the task. Notice how in verse 26 Jesus describes it as a task that he has done, will do, and hopes will be experienced right now. “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Past. Future. Present. Unity in God’s love is that important.

Textual Point

Two verbs dominate this section of Jesus’s prayer: “be” and “given.” Jesus is praying about what we might be or experience because of the mutual giving he and the Father are doing with one another. What’s really of note, though, is that each time Jesus talks about being given or giving us, he uses the perfect tense. In other words, God’s giving, whether to himself or from himself, comes with commitment. Being given by the Father to Jesus has lasting impact, and being given to the Father by Jesus has lasting consequences for us. The Father commits to us by giving us to the Son, the Son commits to us by giving us to the Father, and as we know, they give us the Holy Spirit so that we can continue to be given and to give.

Illustration Idea

As I mentioned above, I’m working on a PhD, and I was recently reading a commentary on this passage from one of my research subjects. The Puritan Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) believed that this prayer was more about our unity with the Trinity than it was our unity with one another. He definitely believed that our communal unity would occur, but that it was a byproduct of participating in the union that the Father and Son have with one another. Goodwin used the image of sun beams to get his point across. Far away from the sun, these rays of light are diffuse and spread out; but as they return to their source and become unified with the orb of the sun itself, they automatically get closer to one another until full unity for all the separate beams is found in the sun. Likewise, as we believers seek and get closer and closer to the unity of the Godhead, we will be like the beams of God’s glory, becoming brighter and more concentrated with one another the closer to God we become.