1When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
4I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
6I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
7Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.
8For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
9I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.
10All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.
11I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
13But now I am coming to You; and I am saying these things while I am in the world, so that they may have My joy fulfilled within them.
14I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.
16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
18As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
19For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
20I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,
21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one—
23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
26And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17 Verse Notes
John 17:5
Jesus Makes Divine Claims in John's Gospel
In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself makes direct claims of divinity. He asserts his pre-existence and uses the divine name 'I am' (Exodus 3:14) when he states, 'Before Abraham was, I am,' leading his Jewish opponents to attempt to stone him for blasphemy. He also claims unity with the Father and shared glory with God before creation.
Summarized by AI · Did Jesus Think He Was God? A Closer Look at the Evidence · Did Jesus Think He Was God? A Closer Look at the Evidence · watch the clip
John's Jesus explicitly declares his divinity
In stark contrast to the Synoptics, Jesus in John's Gospel frequently speaks about his own divinity. He makes statements such as 'Before Abraham was, I am' (referencing Exodus 3) and 'I and the Father are one,' leading Jewish leaders to accuse him of blasphemy and attempt to stone him. He also claims that 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father' and speaks of the glory he shared with God before the world existed.
Summarized by AI · The Unknown Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John · Lecture 6: Embracing the Differences · watch the clip
John 17:22
Humans gain union with God and divine glory
Through becoming spirit, humans experience the Spirit of God dwelling in them and can dwell in God, gaining access to the heavenly realm in this life. Jesus states, 'I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you' (John 14:20). Furthermore, Jesus gives his glory, the glory of the only Son, to believers 'so that they may be one, even as we are one' (John 17:22), enabling humans to share in the Logos's oneness with God.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 11: John | Reimagining Jesus · watch the clip
Deification and Divine Status
John's Gospel presents a concept of deification, where human beings can acquire a divine status and attributes through Jesus. Jesus states in John 17 that he has given believers the same glory the Father gave him, and that they may be one as the Father and Son are one. Furthermore, in John 10, Jesus cites a Psalm where God calls humans 'gods,' implying that believers can possess a subordinate, participatory divine nature.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · What's the Point of John's Gospel? · watch the clip
Divergent Teachings of Jesus in John vs. Synoptics
The teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of John fundamentally differ from those in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke). In John, Jesus consistently presents himself as a pre-existent, divine, celestial being who came down from heaven, a concept not clearly present in the Synoptics. Furthermore, John's Jesus emphasizes spiritual indwelling, immediate possession of eternal life, and human exaltation to divine glory, contrasting with the Synoptics' focus on eternal life as a future gift and a kingdom on earth.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Is the Gospel of John a Forgery? · watch the clip
