What does Jesus mean by "this is life eternal" in this passage?

When Jesus says, "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," he explains that eternal life is not just living forever. It is a real, personal relationship with God. It means knowing the Father as the only true God, set apart from all false gods, and knowing Jesus as the One the Father sent. This knowing is trusting, loving, and walking with God through Jesus. Eternal life starts now, as we come to know God in this way, and continues forever.

Why does Jesus ask the Father to glorify him in this prayer?

Jesus asks, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." He is speaking about his coming suffering, death, resurrection, and return to the Father. His request is not selfish. He asks to be glorified so that, through his finished work, the Father will be glorified in saving people. He also asks to share again the glory he had with the Father before the world existed, showing that his glory with the Father did not begin on earth but is eternal.

What does it mean that Jesus has "power over all flesh"?

When Jesus says the Father has given him "power over all flesh," he is talking about authority over all people. This authority is given so that he might give eternal life to those the Father has given him. His rule is not like the grasping rule of earthly rulers. It is a God-given authority to save, to govern, and in the end to judge. Out of all humanity, he brings eternal life to those entrusted to him, showing both the greatness of his power and the kindness of his purpose.

Why does Jesus say he does not pray for the world but for those given to him?

Jesus says, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me." Here he is focusing his prayer on his disciples and on all who belong to him. They were given to him by the Father, they have received his word, and they believe he was sent from God. He is about to leave them in a hostile world, so he especially asks for their keeping, unity, and joy. This does not mean God has no care for the world, but that, in this prayer, Jesus is speaking as a mediator for his own people.

What does it mean that believers are "not of the world"?

Jesus twice says his followers are "not of the world, even as I am not of the world." He does not mean they leave the earth or escape daily life. Instead, their nature and deepest loyalties have changed. Through receiving God’s word, they no longer belong to the world’s way of thinking and living. They are set apart for God. That is why the world hates them. Jesus does not ask that they be taken out of the world, but that the Father keep them from evil while they live as his people in it.

What does Jesus mean when he prays, "Sanctify them through thy truth"?

To be sanctified is to be set apart for God and made holy. When Jesus prays, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth," he is asking the Father to use his word to shape and purify his followers. God’s word is not just true; it is the standard of truth. As his disciples hear, trust, and obey that word, they are separated from the world’s lies and dedicated to God’s service. Jesus adds that he sanctifies himself for their sake, offering himself fully so that they may truly be made holy in the truth.

Why does Jesus pray that his followers "may be one"?

Jesus prays that his followers "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." He is asking for a deep spiritual unity among all who believe in him, not just outward agreement. This unity comes from being joined to him and to the Father. It is meant to reflect, in a creaturely way, the unity between the Father and the Son. Jesus also says this unity will help the world believe that the Father sent him. When believers love each other and stand together in truth, it points beyond themselves to God.

Who is the "son of perdition" mentioned in this prayer?

Jesus says, "those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." The "son of perdition" refers to the one who betrayed him, the disciple who turned away and was lost. His falling away did not show that Jesus failed to keep those given to him; rather, it showed that this person never truly shared in that gift. His betrayal fulfilled what Scripture had already spoken. All the others were kept by Jesus’ care and the Father’s name.

How does this prayer apply to believers today?

This prayer was spoken with the first disciples present, but Jesus also says, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." That includes believers in every age. His requests still matter: that we would know the Father and the Son, be kept from evil, be made holy by the truth, and live in real unity. When you read this chapter, you see that Jesus had you in view as he went to the cross. His care, his words, and his requests still cover all who trust in him.

John.17.1

John 17:1

KJV Jesus

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

Prayer for the Son

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Prayer for the Disciples

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Prayer for All Believers

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.